Inneal Aleksander

Inneal Aleksander clad in full battle armour and servo harness

"*Better bend than break. Better break than broken.*"
—Inneal Aleksander

## History

Circa 579.M41 the child who would eventually become known as Inneal Aleksander was born upon the Segmentum Obscurus planet of Sacris. Unlike many Sacris natives who went on to join the Astartes Inneal wasn't anything special; He wasn't a noble, he wasn't the son of some great warrior, he wasn't even related to the clan chief. Inneal was nothing more than some simple hunter from the fog covered marshes of the planet.

From a young age he was taught to handle the sword, to shoot a bow and to fight close quarters with knight or hand. While he never lived with his clan for long enough to truly make a name for himself by the age of seven Inneal was shaping to become a true credit to his Clan, and to the people of Sacris itself. He could fight a man twice his age, he could run down a beast with no more than a knife, he could even handle a claymore and cut a target from edge to edge.

It was during a hunting trip that Inneal caught the eyes of the Astartes that would eventually become his sworn brethren. He had ventured out, with a small group of his clan mates, he was out to prepare for his trial, which would happen in a few years time. As part of this he was expected to kill, and survive, a predator who was hunting him as he was hunting it. Moreover, he had to complete the hunt with nothing more than his knife.

Thus the young boy set out on a hunt against a wolf, armed with a sword. The wolf was an easy start compared to the powerful predator his final trial would require, and his sword would make it easier than with a knife. The group silently made their way through the fog, following the paw prints sunken into the soft mud below. As they moved Inneal's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to a large figure that was stalking the group a short distance away.

"Something is stalking us elder brother" Translated from the native Sacrisian dialect.

"Silence child. It doesn't matter. Thats is not our prey and you shall pay it no mind" Translated response as Inneal's elder brother snapped back

Inneal nodded his response as he continued to move forward. However, he wasn't able to tear his gaze away from the creature as the group moved. Every movement they made the beast followed closely behind them.

"Brother...it is still following. I think its goi..."

"Silence child! I will not let your cowardice endanger this party. If you want to return to camp then go now."

Inneal crouched, in silence as his brother berated him for what he thought was little more than childish fear. However, as the final, almost hissed, words of Inneal's brother vanished into the cold Sacris night Inneal saw it. The large grey furred beast that had been following them crouched back before suddenly launching itself forward into a leaping pounce towards the party.

In a moment that would go on to define Inneal's life any cowardice that his brother might have been able to see vanished. The young boy's grip tightened on his sword as he jerked up from his crouch and charged at the beast. A moment later Inneal's shoulder connected with the creatures chest. While he wasn't big, or overly strong, Inneal was smart. He knew that simply slamming into the beast would accomplish nothing but to knock him flying. So the child dropped his weight and used the beast's momentum to send it flying into a nearby tree. Within a moment Inneal was back on his feet and barrelling back towards the creature. Jumping onto the creature Inneal raised his fists, his sword lost in the impact, and started to pound them into the creature. While it was true he had no chance of besting the creature with just his fists, luckily Inneal had a hunting party at his back. It took a few moments for the party to get over their shock at seeing a child fist fighting the Sacrisian fauna. However, when they did the party quickly came to Inneal's rescue and slaughtered the beast. Although the party helped to pin the beast down it was, in fact, Inneal who landed the final blow. Thus he completed his rite of hunting the hunter and became one of the youngest hunters within his clan.

Removing the head from the beast the hunting party returned to their camp with both the head and the body. While the party felt on top of the world at that moment, the apex hunters on Sacris, that couldn't be further from the truth. Watching the event unfold from a short distance away was one of the great angels who came from the moon above the planet. A member of the great Storm Wardens was watching the party. Thus, a week later, when the recruiters from the chapter decided that it was time for a new recruitment trial. A trial that Inneal would find himself taking part in. So the child found himself completing in what practically amounted to an obstacle marathon. He fought trolls, he avoided pockets of toxic gas, he trekked through the deadly Sacrisian marshes. While on the trial some of those competing unfortunately met their end but a small number made their way all the way to the end. One of these skilled, and slightly lucky, few was one Inneal Aleksander.

So Inneal was taken from Sacris and, on board an astartes ship, travelled up to the moon of Highcastle. It was on that moon that Inneal first saw the fortress monastery that shared its name. It was also there that he started his path to becoming a Brother of the Storm Wardens. Although he had survived the trial he still had to undertake the brutal training, the soul crushing conditioning and the life threatening surgery. However, at the age of nineteen Inneal finally found himself a full member of the Storm Wardens...a full blooded Astartes. However, that wasn't the end of his training. During the years spent becoming an Astartes Inneal was discovered to have an affinity for the mechanical arts...this he was sent to the red planet of Mars to continue his training. Two more years saw the man commit countless tomes and scripture to memory, he learnt to fix and use titanic ammounts of imperial technology and even how to operate the mechadendrite that were attached to his armour. By the end of the two years Inneal was not only a sworn member of the Storm Wardens...he was a member of the specialised Tech-Marines.

That was many long centuries ago. Centuries that have seen Inneal undertake deployments across the galaxy, and see things that would make mortals cower in fear. He has served four vigils with the Deathwatch, before his current vigil, each within a different Watch Fortress. His first vigil was stood when he was only one hundred and ten years of age and saw him serving out of Watch Keep Extremis. He stood the vigil for three and a half decades, serving under the forge of Keep Extremis. He decided to stand the vigil for two reasons; One was to improve his own knowledge of the technology that was out there to be found and two was to prove to himself and his chapter that he was more skilled then than he was given credit for.

His second vigil was stood at the age of two hundred and forty six years of age and was stood within the Watch Fort Pykman. It was during this six decade long vigil that Inneal started to learn more than he could have hoped about regarding the technology of the Necron threat. He was even able to get some hands on experience with their gauss weaponry. This vigil helped Inneal make the decision that once every century he would present himself to the Deathwatch to stand a vigil with their order. He made this decision as his two prior vigil had proven they were important for learning new information and a useful way of proving himself to his chapter, the Inquisition and to himself.

Vigil number three was stood when Inneal was three hundred and seventy two and saw him standing in in the great rings of Watch Fortress Damaroth. While Inneal spent this time serving, as any brother of the Deathwatch would, in combat deployments against the Xenos threat he also spend a large amount of his time studying the rings for the fortress itself trying to learn all he could about it. While he was unable to deduce anything new his research, along with his extensive vigils, started to put him under the watchful gaze of the Inquisition's Ordo Xenos.

The fourth vigil was stood in Inneal's forth century, specifically at the age of four hundred and forty five. This vigil was a short one, only three decades but it was stood within the Black Bastion. It was during this vigil that he was able to prove himself to the Bastion's high command and to the Master of the Forge. Thus when Inneal returned to the bastion at the age of five hundred and eight, twenty four years ago, he was approached to take the role of the Bastion's Master of The Forge. Of course, Inneal wasn't going to turn down such an honour and thus for the last twenty four years had been serving as the Black Bastion's Master of The Forge.

## Appearance

Inneal is a man only a fraction taller than the average of his kind. Standing at eight foot seven inches he couldn't be picked out as possessing unusual height. However, if you were to weigh him and his brothers Inneal is significantly heavier. Possessing dense and significant muscle mass, gained through centuries of working on heavy equipment, he also possesses a number of cybernetics that further increase his dense muscle mass. When clad in his Mark X Tacticus Artificer Armour Inneal cuts an imposing figure, only enhanced by the iron halo that frames his head and the Servo-Harness that snakes off his back.

Removing his helmet reveals the shock of bright ginger hair that covers Inneal's head; A shaggy mane of ginger hair that falls to just below his shoulders, that is normally braided or pulled up into a low pony tail, and matches the shaggy ginger beard that covers the lower portion of his face. His two emerald green eyes appear intense, focused and far older than the face they sit within. Although both eyes are cybernetic they are almost indistinguable from organic eyes.

Although half a millennium old Inneal still holds the look of a young man, practically looking in his mid thirties. His skin has the pale caucasian colouration or someone who has hidden most of their life in the sunless forges. However, it is relatively unblemished, minus the scars from his cybernetics, and practically free of wrinkles and the ravages of age. It's unknown if this is due to life extension technology or simply the natural appearance of the Astartes. When going into battle Inneal often applies wode paint to his face in the traditional battle markings on his home planet

## Personality

Although Inneal is a high ranking member of the bastion, and a tech-marine, he is surprisingly carefree and kind in nature. He is more then willing to fix something for someone, even if its out of his job description, he is willing to teach and he is always willing to learn and improve his own knowledge. In his office the man always has a small collection of alcohol, specifically Sacris whisky, and is more than willing to share with anyone as long as they are willing to sit and drink with the man.

However, when the time to actually work comes around Inneal becomes extremely focused, and some say a little blunt and aggressive. This is mainly due to the fact that Inneal is used to being able to simply get on with his work in times of combat and not being question on why he does something. Although he can be a little intimidating during this time, he isn't actively meaning to be impolite and can be convinced to explain what he is doing.

Finally, to summarise Inneal's personality would be easy. He is a cheerful, friendly, easy going lad who enjoys what he does and goes about it with a methodical, almost instinctual, nature.

## Abilities and Traits

As master of the forge for the Black Bastion it is clear that Inneal's primary ability is his almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the Imperium's weapons, vehicles and armour. Rivalling some of the more senior tech-priests on Mars it has been said time and time again that the man is able to deduce what is wrong with a Machine Spirit from a simple glance. However, this may be partly due to his HUD constantly feeding him a stream of data and reports.

However, alongside being a Tech-Priest Inneal is an Astartes first and foremost. A warrior of the Emperor, and like almost every brother within the Deathwatch he is an extremely skilled one at that. Able to use all his weapons simultaneously with practically no issues, able to pull to bare almost every weapon available to the Imperium and he is even able to cast his weapons aside and fight with his armoured fists if the need arises. Somewhat surprisingly for an Astartes, but not so much for a Storm Warden, Inneal is a skilled swordsman. Preferring his modified Sacris Claymore over the Omnisian Axe of his kin.

While Inneal's relationship with Mars, and his fellow test-priests, isn't the best the man is himself a relatively diplomatic man. He has been known to take a brother who disagrees with the way he does something into his office along. While the first brother that he invited expected to be disciplined, thrown out or possibly executed Inneal in fact poured him a drink and listened to what he had to say. Taking into consideration what the brother said Inneal actually changed the way he went about his daily actions

## Weaknesses

One of Inneal's main weaknesses is the fact that many people do not see him as quite right. Many Astartes see him as being too close to the Adeptus Mechanicus, and many tech-marines see him as being too flippant and bending the Mechanicus' laws a little too much. This means that some people don't want to follow his orders in specific areas, but will in others. Due to this reason Inneal has to occasionally pull rank to ensure his orders are followed without changes, bending or ignoring.

Although his major cybernetics are shielded against EMPs most of his minor ones are not. This means if Inneal is stuck with an EMP blast he can find his arms and legs no longer working or, in some drastic cases, his balance thrown off by his inner ear no longer being active.

## Equipment

### Armour

* **Mark X Tacticus Artificer Armour**
* **Iron Halo**

### Used Weapons

* **Forge Bolter (Shoulder Mounted)**
* **Plasma Pistol (Shoulder Mounted)**
* **Grav-Pistol**
* **Sacris Claymore (Modified with a power field)**
* **Frag/Krak Grenade**
* **Sgian-Dubh (Combat Knife)**

### Munitions

* **Standard Bolts**
* **Antiphasic Bolts**
* **Hellfire Bolts**

### Equipment

* **Servo-Harness**
* **Lumen (Handheld)**

### Mechadendrites

* **Manipulator Mechadendrite**
* **Weapon Mechadendrite (Forge Bolter)**
* **Weapon Mechadendrite (Plasma Pistol)**
* **Optical Mechandendrite**
* **Plasma-Cutter**
* **4 low profile manipulator mechadendrite**
* **Flamer Mechadendrite**

### Cybernetics

* **Right Arm (To Elbow)**
* **Right Leg (Complete)**
* **Eyes (Both Complete)**
* **Left Hand (Complete)**
* **Inner Ear (Both Complete)**
* **Bionic Lungs (Inc. Filter and oxygen reserves)**
* **Mind Impulse Unit**
* **Calculus Logi Upgrade**
* **Locator Matrix**
* **Memorance Implant**

### Familiar

* **Recording Servo-Skull**
* **Guardian Servo-Skull With a Xenos Particle Caster**
* **Monotask Servo-Skull**
* **Servators**

## Relations

### Friends/Allies

* **Ordo Xenos**
* **Inquisition**
* **Deathwatch**
* **Storm Wardens**

## Quotes

### By:

"*Here's tae us, wha's like us, damn few and they're aw deid.*"
—Traditional Sacris drinking toast