Ychne Ghrem

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Rank

Consul Herald

Current Status

Unconfirmed reports of his death during the Siege of Geigenhive, however rumors of his presence at skirmishes at Centrumeh Gate have surfaced.

Bio

Once a loyal and staunch Imperial Fist Astartes, an elite among his brethren and bestowed with the honour of bearing his Praetors Standard. Ychne was originally dispatched to the Savage Sub-Sector along with the Kildrech Crusade to ensure that the VIIth had a solid staging point on the fringe in the Southern edge of Australis Ultima. While the original mission was a success, the onset of the Heresy forced the commanders of the Crusade to re-evaluate their mission parameters and took a more active role in the protection of their System and surrounding Sub-Sector.

History

Escape From Nestro

Ghrem's allegiance to the VIIth faltered after the harrowing experience of Escaping from the abandoned docking arm of Nestro station, Ychne Ghrem was a changed man. Witnessing brother execute brother irrelevant of their master, Emperor or Horus, in the depths of madness or in the desperate bid for freedom, Ghrem had floundered. What he saw stripped him of any and all faith he had for his brothers and cause.

The Emperor and Terra were far from here and the politics of warmongers was leading to the deaths of billions and the sundering of the glorious edifice they had raised out of the darkness.

Upon his rescue, Ghrem was one of the first proponents to consider their abandonment of the field, the fact that he was not executed on the spot showed every commander in the meeting that the feeling was shared amongst them in earnest. It was not to leave in cowardice, although they were sure it would be seen that way, but in disgust. Disgust at the level at which the Legions had fallen and their Machiavellian Primarchs with them.

With the agreement to leave the theater of war, the next obvious question raised was what to do in regards to their standing and fealty to the VIIth. Again Ychne led the way in throwing off those shackles; reminding the commanders of the teachings from the Moirai on Kildrech Prime and the good that they have done there and for them to follow their Fates and determine their futures, no matter how contradictory it sounded, it rang as pure as the Imperial Truth.

With the decision to form the Company of Kildare, Ghrem was likewise reformed and elevated to the rank of Herald, his sacred banner becoming his sign of office and namesake in one.

Post Crushing of Grox

The transmission light blinked out on the bridge console of the 'Duty', moments latter Ychne Grem stepped down from the dais and opened a vox link to his command cadre.

"Brothers, we have just received a secure vox transmission from the 1st Company. They believe that the Traitors in-system will be making a concerted strike at Geigenhive, their purpose is as yet unknown. Typically the Loyalist command are unwilling to preempt this assault leaving those garrisoned at the Hive significantly vulnerable." The Dark Herald paused momentarily to lock his scarred helmet in place, his ensuing voice taking on the hard metallic, almost robotic, tones caused by the hardware's voice amps.

"Our departure from Trugoy will be delayed and we have already altered course for the Hive world; we make orbital insertion in one hour. I have notified our forces in the Oteal and Kildrech systems of the delay." Snatching up the Company's banner on his way out of the Bridge, Grem completed his orders en route to the launch bay.

"While the Traitors appear to be searching for something, we are to discover their goal and assess. The Loyalists will likely be more concerned with repelling the offensive, assuming that it is an attempt to form a beachhead. If it is something which the Company can use to protect Kildrech, I want it."

The channel was filled with vox click acknowledgements before the guttural roar of Thunderhawk engines priming for launch prep overwhelmed everything else.

Siege of Geigenhive

The blackened earth could have been mistaken for the landing sites of the squadron of Thunderhawks now arcing towards the horizon and, eventually, orbit, but closer inspection would quickly reveal that while the crushed earth certainly contained the foot prints of the mighty transports the damage was not all their doing. Laced amongst the scorched soil and ashes, the occasional glint of slagged metal caught the hazy pre-dawn light and, even rarer, a few pieces of shattered bone. In the crevices of rubble and underneath smoldering heaps the offending pale green flickering glow betrayed the true culprit.

One such Phosphex ember was crushed out by the soot encrusted ceramite boot of Ychne Grym as he resheathed his saber and surveyed the immediate area, now secure and being patrolled by his men. They would need to move on to their next waypoint before the fallout of the Rad Weapons they had unleashed triggered the monitoring alarms in the nearby hive, their primary target. Grym turned back towards the tech marine who was just completing a Rite of Cleansing on one of the many field repaired Dreadnoughts who had accompanied the strike force.

"Are you done Jakor?" The Techmarine didn't answer straight away, instead uttering the last binary blessing before rising and turning to face his commander.

"Yes sir, Gerhard is functional and will be able to continue." Jakor briefly paused as he scrolled through the data appearing on the inside of this helm, "It is hard to differentiate the radiation signatures between his faulty reactor and that of the splash exposure from the explosion, but either way they are still within acceptable levels and Gerhard would refuse to power down even if they weren't." Grym smiled slightly at the last, watching the giant Cortus Pattern Contemptor rise back to his full height and power up his Graviton guns as if to emphasis his readiness. Nodding acknowledgement to the Techmarine, the Herald returned his attention to the rest of the strike force, now ready to depart, only waiting on one more combatant.

As if on cue, the Knight emerged from the swirling smoke which had settled over the area around the landing zone, its foot falls only now being heard despite its proximity. Its off white armour plating nearly camouflaged in the hazy air, accentuating the intricate vines and black roses etched onto its surface. Grym noted that the Knights weapons were already chambered and prepared for battle, another smile graced his lips.

Ychne opened a direct vox link with his ally, "Thank you for coming Lachesis, you're wisdom and prowess will be greatly appreciated in this trial." The towering Knights head turned and focused on the Herald, a single vox click acknowledgement and a slight bow of respect was all the response he was given before the Castigator strode forward once more, leading the strike to their next objective.