The Conclave

Hello Conclave
As stated this is my first ever preliminary skeleton of an idea and I am more than happy to consider sweeping changes to most aspects if it benefits the role play or fun in-game. As stated this is just the bare bones, major fleshing out will obviously take place before its good to go. Three characters at the moment;
Inquisitor Helena Shal'tan, female, 34 sol standard years old, born on Hydraphur Forgeworld, Segmentum Pacificus, into a wealthy aristocratic family. Assigned bodyguard from birth, Marcus Veer, to serve until time of death, be it his or hers. Marcus taught her many things, swordsmanship foremost amongst them.
As with all Shal'tan family members, Helena was well educated and disciplined from a very early age. The Shal'tan family was a powerful political force on Hydraphur, clashing with the often intrusive Ecclesiarchy on many occasions, a dislike of which Helena still vaguely carries to this day. Her immediate family were killed by a political rivals plot using smuggled Xenos technology. The main perpetrator was caught (though no charges against the rival family were ever levelled) and as punishment entered service as a servitor enslaved to the remaining heir of the Shal'tan family, Helena.
The incident attracted the attention of the Ordos Xenos, due to the tech involved. An Inquisitor arrived at Hydraphur and left a lasting impression on the young Helena, who enlisted into Imperial Service sometime later, taking her trusted mentor Marcus (her only real remaining family) and the servitor she calls only Brak (A Brak being a small verminous rodent rife throughout the lower levels of Hydraphur).

The rest to follow, along with stats etc within the next few days. So to round up, an Inquisitor of the Ordos Xenos, her longtime protector and friend, and a servitor named Brak.
Thoughts so far, suggestions for the future story?

Off to bed but figured I'd pop in -- couple of quick things that have caught my eye so far:

--34 is almost unfeasibly young for an Inquisitor. It's possible, but only in the most exceptional of cases. Something I've come across is the idea that giving a 40-year-old the authority an Inquisitorial seal represents is like putting a small child in the White House; as such, rather than 34, I'd make Helena a fair bit older. Remember that the Imperium is full of people that look like they're 34 but are well into their second century or even older.
--As an established world that cropped up in the Shira Calpurnia books, you'll need to be careful with using Hydraphur. It can be done, but you'll need to be aware of the canon/fanon disconnect, and the risk that your characters' travel histories are going to read like a Top 20 list of the most famous planets in the Imperium. Besides which, making up your own worlds is really fun ;D

Beyond that, what I'm seeing looks fine so far, so let's see some more of it! :)

I'd echo Koval's comments, especially on the canon/fanon part - there are probably a good dozen reasonably fleshed out worlds, systems and sub-sectors floating around on here that you can take a look at to get an idea of how little work is necessary, and how much work you can do, to sketch and flesh out your own homeworld or base of operations for a character.

Helena's route of development from orphaned heiress to Inquisitor would probably depend heavily on what you mean by "entering Imperial Service" - local/system law enforcement or Adeptus Arbites smuggling ring smashing could give you a more confrontational style, or a glowing career in investigative work around the mercantile trade links of her homeworld (and the actions of this rival family) might lead to a greater network of inspectors, data miners, links to the Navy, perhaps among Rogue Traders and the like...

Will she make a dedicated effort to hunt specifically for Xenos tech? (Does she believe, as so many do, that the encroaching xenos threat is a taint that should be stamped out with extreme prejudice like any other?)
Is she looking to ally with the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor that investigated the killing?
Or is she driven by a vendetta that, once burned out (through successful revenge or just losing sight of why it continues), leaves her with a skill-set that is best utilised in the Inquisitorial world? (Creepy servitor would lend credence to this one.)

No doubt some of this is already in the works for your future story, so more c&c when we get more words.

More or less the same as Koval started with.

As far as Helena's age, while there are canonical examples like Eisenhorn having been promoted at something like 24 (although neither Koval or I are too keen on Dan Abnett's writing anyway, community opinion is that these kinds of ages are too young.
Bear in mind, this is the highest authority possible - when we look at how few youngsters reach high political office (some constitutions even forbid it), it's not really likely that they'll hand Inquisitorial seals to individuals not deemed experienced.

Few Inquisitors will want to have agents who are not at least into young adulthood - they're not emotionally mature enough yet; It then takes a while for their potential to be a worthwhile apprentice to show through - even Inquisitors cannot evaluate someone in the short time some backgrounds have people taken on directly as apprentices in; Then there's a fairly long apprenticeship... at the end of which, the apprentice has to be vetted by three Inquisitors (one of whom can be their mentor, so that requires two other Inquisitors to be prepared to stake their reputations) before they achieve the rank.

It's not really plausible to get a short cut. Less than 40 is unlikely*, and most will be considerably older (which isn't a great problem when rejuvenat can slow the ageing process by a factor of four or five quite easily - being 80 when you've been on rejuve for several decades of that isn't even really middle aged yet).
*My youngest Inquisitor was promoted at 38, but it is almost universally accepted (including by himself) that this was really earlier than it should have been and was rushed through by his mentor (who called in favours from other former apprentices to fill out the necessary three sponsors).

~~~~~

Hydraphur: Generally, we don't encourage the use of canonical characters or locations. It's not completely forbidden, but it can clash either with canon changes, or other players' fluff.
For an example of that, if we look at the number of characters created after the release of Inquisitor who were supposed to have been mentored by Tyrus, he'd've needed to have had hundreds of apprentices simultaneously - none of whom knew about each other!

And, as Koval says, it's just a little too contrived for some of us that plots keep gravitating back to the same characters and planets - they do represent only the tiniest percentage of the million worlds of the Imperium!

Crafting a world can be just as interesting as crafting the characters that come from it. I've got my own little sub-sector (as part of the bigger "Carthax sector", a joint project from the forum) filled with worlds of my own crafting, and most of my characters come from there. It's not hugely limiting - planets are massive places, so any number of cultures and communities can come from them.

For these reasons, I've got only a single character from a canonical world, Mordant Prime. I was doing the model based on art in an old WD and I decided I liked the fluff that went with it too much. So I let myself get away with it that once.

QuoteAn Inquisitor arrived at Hydraphur and left a lasting impression on the young Helena, who enlisted into Imperial Service sometime later.

That's not really how becoming an Inquisitor works - you don't choose to become one, you are chosen to become one.

Given the nature of your background includes the rest of her family being killed, I'd personally re-write it as follows:

Have the killing happen sometime in her youth - maybe 14 years old. With no family members left, her natural destination would be the Schola Progenium - I'm sure the Ecclesiarchy would delight in getting their claws into the progeny of the family they've clashed with before. You can use this, perhaps, as a further part of her dislike. (Particularly as Marcus would not be allowed to accompany her).

The Inquisitor comes along to investigate the xenotech and naturally wishes to interview the survivor (on which note, how did she survive?). He sets up some of his agents to further investigate - Marcus is "recruited" as local assistance for the agents, con.

On the capture of the perpetrator (and perhaps other elements of the xenotech smuggling ring) some years later, he returns to the planet.

Marcus has perhaps proven himself well enough the Inquisitor wishes to take him on - but Marcus refuses to leave without Helena.
As Helena is in the Schola (and there's a Imperium-wide "understanding" that the Inquisition have their pick of Schola students, if they wish it), now of a more mature age and has good records (well, regarding aptitude. Obedience and discipline very much less so!), the Inquisitor considers this an acceptable "request" (a phrase chosen by the Inquisitor as a reminder that one does not make demands of the Inquisition).
Brak, now servitorised (perhaps because it amuses the Inquisitor, perhaps under local law), is also permitted along.

Over time, she proves herself as a potential apprentice, an actual apprentice and eventually gets a full promotion (maybe in her 50s) - her servants accompany her.
Add on some years for her own time as an Inquisitor... so maybe she's in her 70s, 80s or so these days. However, thanks to juvenat, she can comfortably still physically be in her 30s.

That could be a better explanation of how she made it into the Inquisition, as opposed to skimming over it as much.

Feel free to use those ideas in part or in entirety, if you wish.

INQUISITOR HELENA SHAL'TAN PROFILE, EARLY YEARS
(one again please feel free to throw in suggestions, possible alterations, any canon conflicts. All comments much appreciated :) this is just the first part of Helenas story, her training within the Inquisition will follow..)

The life of Inquisitor Shal'tan is, much like many of the Inquisition, shrouded in much mystery and conjecture. Below are the pieced together fragments of her early life, taken from data logs, journals, reports and data packets. Her story will of course continue in time.

++ 831.M41 - Chandra V,  Falkin system, Segmentum Pacificus;
Helena Shal'tan, daughter and first child of Akran and Jill Shal'tan, born into the Emperors light this day as 5th heir to the Shal'tan Dynasty. Immediate re-assignment of Household 2nd Captain Marcus Veer in effect. Cognitive Augmentation and Infant Enhancement Therapies to commence within one cycle. Cellular mapping complete, no mutations found. Glory to the God Emperor ++

  ++ Excert taken from Captain Marcus Veer personal data cache (14) 843.M41 ++
'She continues to improve at a remarkable rate, already reaching Tier 8 on the servitor sparring program. If she continues at her current pace I'll have to upload the first of the adult sparring sessions within the next few months. With the Lord and Lady Shal'tan off world again we may be able to bring the riposte masterclass forward as well, though I feel even that may not be enough to keep her entertained for more than a few days.. She requires true competition. Perhaps I can up the lethality of the servitors programming again, though it's already far too high for a 12 year old girl. By rights she should be a red smear on the floor every time she steps into that training room, but she dances through the servitors  and all that's left at the end is ribboned skin and circuitry.
She wants a new blade for her 13th birthday, I've told her that if she can master the Telgran Knife cross - form by then I shall have one fashioned to her hand and balance. Or maybe she'll just disarm me and simply take mine... I am unsure if that is a jest.'

++SUBJECT - Caleb Jones, 17 sol standard years, lower east hive block sector 4 ++
++CRIME - Politically motivated sabotage and murder of 5 members of the Shal'tan Dynasty using means-unknown acquired Xenos technology ++
++ PUNISHMENT - Servitude Imperpituis. By Chandran law to be bound to remaining Shal'tan family member Helena Shal'tan from day of augmentation until unit can no longer function ++
++GRANTED - BY ORDER OF HIGH JUDGE SHAN MELIFANTE, CHANDRA V ADEPTUS ARBITES, 845.M41. ALL GLORY TO THE GOD-EMPEROR++

+ ACCESS GRANTED +
Inquisitor Kel Arvalane, Ordos Xenos
Personal log continues 845.M41 -
'The energy signature confirms, a simplified version of an Eldar warp charge smuggled into the shuttle prior to launch. The Adeptus Arbites is still examining all security documentation available though have probably already caught the only person that they are going to; Caleb Jones. A simple boy, the poor wretch was no doubt promised much wealth for his complicity in the crime, though he will now pay the price for his stupidity. The remains of the shuttle were as expected, the dark taint of the warp touched and twisted the inside before the cold vacuum of space did the rest. 5 bodies were found in one way or another melded with the shuttles innards. There is little doubt that the attack was Politically motivated, the Shal'tan family being prominent on Chandra V and amongst the Falkin system as a whole. It is possible that one of the older families have decided to take the Shal'tan's out of the game, perhaps thinking their use of Xenos tech would conceal the proximity of the perpetrators. The Ordos Xenos shall expose their folly to the purifying light of the Emperors justice.
The sole surviving member of the Shal'tan Dynasty is a young girl left behind, one Helena Shal'tan, who if her 'Captain Protector' has any wits about him will be on her way into obscurity as we speak. She is now the only valid remaining target. She cannot be allowed off world, as I cannot risk her pursuers losing the trail. The girls life is irrelevant.
I have instructed Throne Agent Thule to track her down and report on her movements. Once we have her located we shall watch and wait for the serpent to raise it's head once more. The originators of the weapon will be discovered, hunted, cornered and cleansed. The Emperor demands nothing less.'

++ Excert taken from Helena Shal'tan personal data cache (65) 845.M41 ++
'She arrived today, the Inquisitor. They say she traveled all the way from Mantor IV to get here just to take a look at bits of the bomb he used. And maybe the bits of my mother and father too. I saw her crossing the promenade on her way to the Arbites compound on 5th street, looking hard and cold. Like a walking statue of one of the old heroes, but made of humming metal and pale skin instead. Marcus has told me that we have to leave tonight, that whoever told that boy to do what he did to my parents will be after me now too. He was upset, Marcus that is not the boy (I don't think he will feel upset ever again soon), not upset for my mother or father but for me. He thinks that I will feel lost and lonely now, but the truth is I don't. Marcus has been my protector for so long and my parents never home, that I think more of him as a parent than I ever did of them. I loved my mother and father, but I love Marcus more, and I know he loves me too.
I've not packed much, just some warm clothes and a few trinkets from when I was younger. Marcus says we are going north, but I don't know where. I don't think he does either. The most important thing is strapped to my leg just like Marcus showed me, the knife he bought me for my 13th birthday. I know how to kill a person, as easy as dancing under the moons, but I don't want to. Not really. Marcus says it's a gift from the Emperor, but why would he give somebody such an awful gift? Maybe one day I'll ask him.
It's all a bit of an adventure isn't it? I'm not scared, not one bit. I know I've got Marcus to look after me. And he's got me to look after him.'

  ++ THRONE AGENT THULE DATA BUNDLE INCOMING ++
  ++ AUTHENTICATION LEVEL 4 REQUIRED ++
  ++ *******++
  ++GRANTED++
  ++THANKYOU INQUISITOR ++
  +    Target located, coordinates 121N by 47E sector 6, northern hive continent. Facial recognition confirms HELENA SHAL'TAN accompanied by one male. Targets have ceased all ground movement, residing within disused munitions bunker 3. Observation post established, awaiting orders + 

  ++ Excert taken from Captain Marcus Veer personal data cache (28) 845.M41 ++
'Gone to ground, know we were followed. The bunker provides a good spot to channel any attackers but if they're armed with anything heavier than a stubber we don't have much chance. Best bet is to draw them into the dark, into the loading bays, where between us we could perhaps take them, numbers dependant. Any more than 4 and we're done. That girl moves like a Banshee, it feels ridiculous to talk about a child this way but Throne, she's fast.
Setting up the grenades now, first two men through that door are vaporised, third gets a Las round through the eye. They're not taking her from me.'

+ ACCESS GRANTED +
Inquisitor Kel Arvalane, Ordos Xenos
Personal log continues 845.M41 -
'The situation has become infinitely more complicated. Helena Shal'tan and her guardian Marcus Veer were found by Throne Agent Thule four days ago and their position relayed to me. As expected, the serpent struck, though the end result was far from favourable. 4 human males between 20 and 30 sol standard years, no doubt recruited from the lower hive levels once again, attempted to storm the bunker in the first hour of darkness. One it seems was incinerated by a well placed krak grenade, his silhouette flashed to the wall, another with his skull displaced by a Las round. The other two I found with multiple blade wounds deeper within the complex, one clearly taken apart by Veer. The other was different, the wounds smaller, more delicate, almost a grace to the spurts of claret surrounding the body. This orphaned heiress it seems has much more to her than meets the eye. I would have expected Throne Agent Thule to observe and understand this having monitored the site extensively for several days.
He did not.
Upon entering the bunker to assess and apprehend the suspects thought to be alive it appears he was attacked, naturally, by Veer, who had no doubt taken him for another assailant. A struggle ensued, Thule had apparently not counted on the girl as a threat and paid for this complacency with his life, that delicate little knife of hers finding it's way up through the left transorbital socket and into his brain.
In a single night I have lost an agent, all 4 possible sources of information and with them the trail. The bait is gone, with only a slim chance of recovery. The Adeptus Arbites have deployed two Wasp interceptors to the area; they may find them, they may not. For now I can only wait.
The girl intrigues me though... Her part in this has the scent of fate woven through it. Emperors light I may salvage something from this mess after all.'

  +   + Transcript, fighter control, northern hive continent sector 6, year of our Emperor 845.M41 + +
Wasp 04 - 'got em.. '
Wasp 05 - 'coordinates?'
04 - '845 mark 3, going slow and bleeding heat, looks like one of thems injured. Easy money'
05 - 'Alright, let's call it in before sun down, they'll get picked up within the hour'
04 - 'come on Crane, don't you want to play with them a bit first? Closest bolt without taking off a limb wins?'
05 - 'are you [EXCOMMUNICATE]ing serious? You know the Inquisition is all over this one, they aren't some run away mutes hiding from the Ecclesiarchy, they're somebody Will. Somebody who can make us nobody if we put a foot wrong. Call it in before I put a bolt round through your exhaust to make sure I don't end up a servitor'
04 - 'is my sister still giving you a hard time? You know I can speak to her if it'll help your relationship in any way'
05 - 'just call it before I do and claim all the credit'
04 - *laughter* 'alright, but only because I don't want her marrying a lobotomised heavy lifter. Control this is Wasp 04, please inform the inquisitor that we've found her lost Brak rats..'

  ++ADEPTUS ARBITES INTERROGATION CELL 01 EQUATORIAL HIVE CONTINENT SECTOR 3 VIDEO LINK, INTERROGATING OFFICER - INQUISITOR KEL ARVALANE, ORDOS XENOS ++
++SUBJECT - HOUSEHOLD CAPTAIN MARCUS VEER, SHAL'TAN DYNASTY ++
*chair scrapes*
KA - 'Marcus, I trust the Arbites are treating you.. Mildly. Do you understand why you are here?'
MV - '... Because I killed your man'
KA - *sighs* 'No, Marcus, you didn't. She did. I don't care for being lied too, no matter how unconvincingly. I am an Inquisitor Marcus, there is no higher authority. If another lie passes your lips I shall bring one her fingers into this room and place it on this table. My agent was a fool, in the end. He rushed into a situation he didn't wholly understand and has paid the price. No, I am hunting for the killers of your paymasters Marcus. Not that young idiot currently contemplating an eternity of oblivious servitude in the cells beneath us, but the ones who are dealing with Xenos technology. The ones who put the bomb in his hands. The ones whose very existence is an affront to the imperium. Now, I'll ask again. Do you understand why you are here?'
MV - '... I don't know. I don't know anything, I just knew she was in danger. That's why we ran. Please you can't hurt her, she's just a child, please..'
KA - 'ah yes, just a child. A child who slaughtered a man in the dark with a knife, then plunged it into a Throne Agents skull. She was a child Marcus, now she's a killer, thanks to you. Thanks wholly to you. You taught her yes?'
MV - *inaudible*
KA - 'speak up Marcus, a man should be proud of his work. You taught her to kill, yes?'
MV - 'yes, I taught her...she is gifted...'
KA - 'yes, she is gifted. A gift, indeed, to the Imperium. Marcus, I shall be frank with you. You are here because I need her. More specifically I need her name. She is the last remaining Shal'tan, therefore she is a target. No longer political, that much is clear, the Shal'tan power base has been removed. There is some other motive, not immediately apparent. You see Marcus, I need her, and she needs you. I will be placing her in harms way, I guarantee it. I would sacrifice dozens of girls Helenas age to catch one smuggler of Xenos tech if it was required of me. However I don't have dozens, I have one. So you will need to keep her alive for me. I am asking nothing more or less than what you have already spent years of your life doing. There is simply more flavour. And the rewards will be great. Can you do this for me Marcus? Can you serve the Emperor of man as loyally as you do Helena?'
MV - *shifts in chair before looking up* '...I don't have an awful lot of options do I Inquisitor...'
KA - *smiles* 'no Marcus, you don't. Of course if I'm going to have the pair of you running around after me I'm going to have to do my share of looking after you too. Consider yourself an Acolyte of the Inquisition, with all the privileges and responsibilities their in. Your charge as well. Helena will learn much during her time with me, I will make sure of it. If she survives this chapter of her short life of course.'
MV - *inaudible*
KA - 'No, I'm not soulless Marcus. I just gave my soul to the Emperor a long time ago.'

... Wow, in short.

That's one hell of a re-write there. It all looks good so far, although my final thoughts will depend on exactly how her service with the Inquisition is handled.

Daaaaaaaaaaaaamn.

You'll do just fine here.

At this point Helena's lining up to be an excellent acolyte/bodyguard/assassin, based on her blade skills and the presumably somewhat traumatic change from entertaining adventure time to vicious murder in the dark.

As Marco says, there remains a lot to be clarified in her service under an Inquisitor - presumably Arvalane, but not necessarily.

Depending on how you want to run the story, you could always have her be an Acolyte/Interrogator running her own cells, with a regular personal staff, and let the progression towards getting her rosette grow organically out of games and/or RPs you play.

Thanks for the encouraging comments guys, much appreciated :) Helena's time in training before promotion to Inquisitor is in the works now. Ideas still welcome though, there's plenty of scope for expansion. Thanks again!

Next part of Helenas story :) plenty more yet, hope no one's bored by long posts lol

Knowledge is power. Below lies a collection of data recordings, audio logs, and reports concerning one Inquisitor Helena Shal'tan and the beginning of her life within the Inquisition. The story told by those within it :

++ Excert taken from Acolyte Marcus Veer personal data cache (131) 848.M41 ++
'Shes getting worse, darker by the day. I see it in the way she moves, the things she says. The way she has to force a smile or a laugh. And her eyes, of course. Inquisitor Arvalane is using her abilities to meet her own ends, with no regard for Helena's emotional state, abusing the gift of the blade and deploying her as some mindless weapon. Something to drop into the hole and leave to deal with the Inquisitions mess. How many cells have we taken out now? 20? 25? How many people has she had Helena kill? I cannot stomach the thought.
Three years since Arvalane took us from the jails and gave us a path, a way out. Dangerous, but at least with an Inquisitor behind us we stood a chance. Three damn years and we're still here, orbiting the same choking ball that is Chandra V, hunting the same damn criminals, using the same damn methods. Helena goes down, they find her, we kill all but one, the Inquisitor takes their life slowly and finds out what they know. We find the cell, drop Helena in, she kills everything. No information is ever found, the cells are independent of each other. Rinse and repeat.
This cannot continue, we need to stop taking the heads of the hydra and find the heart. I'll take this to Arvalane... But I doubt she will listen. The Inquisitor is stubborn, relentless, indifferent. I wonder if she even cares that we find the root cause, she seems to have lost interest. At night she takes Helena into the cargo bay to pour her dark words into her ears. And every time Helena emerges looking that little bit colder, that little bit more detached.
I fear for her, I fear for what she is becoming. There is a bright spark within that girls heart that I don't want to see smothered by Inquisitor Arvalanes zealous vendetta. Hold on in there girl, I'm coming for you'

+ ACCESS GRANTED +
Inquisitor Kel Arvalane, Ordos Xenos
Personal log continues 848.M41 -
'Marcus. The useful thorn in my side. He has once again decided to question my command and methods applied in the training of Helena. He has his uses, namely his unflinching loyalty to the girl, a quality that she will need in the years to come. But I will not stand for interference in the bringing about of a potentially useful servant of the Emperor. The galaxy is a vast darkness, lit only by the sputtering lights of the enlightened world's of the Imperium. Tiny candles in a winter blizzard. Beset by the Xenos, the heretic, and the daemon, it takes something of equal strength and resilience to protect these tiny flames, and the Emperors answer is the Inquisition. Marcus must quickly realise that the girl he has raised is no more, she is becoming something better than herself. The Inquisition has found a use for her, and whether he likes it or not she will need to fortify herself against the encroaching darkness. Love, compassion, mercy. These are weaknesses which must be purged.
If the purity of Helena's soul is his concern, then I shall inform him that his battle is already lost. She is now a weapon, a weapon that requires tempering with training and the blood of the unclean'

++ Excert taken from Helena Shal'tan personal data cache (366) 848.M41 ++
'There were twelve today. I don't remember their faces, I don't remember their screams or the strange noises they made when the knife went into them. I never do. But my mind does, I know that tonight my mind will show them to me again, mixed in with all the others. Maybe my mother and father will be there, like last night. Or maybe Brak. Or Marcus. Poor Marcus. He's sad in my dreams, too.
I informed Inquisitor Arvalane that once again the cell was clean, no information found leading to any other cells, no information on why my life is so important to them, nothing to suggest where the Xenos tech is coming from. She didn't seem to care very much. She just seemed glad that the cell was so populated. But Marcus darkened when he heard, like he always does. I miss the old Marcus, the happy, proud Marcus... But then, I guess he misses the old me. A lots changed in three years. I'm not the girl he took into that bunker - I'm the girl he brought out. The knife in the dark.
Instruction with Inquisitor Arvalane is going well. We're still on the 'Enemies Within' section (it's longer than I thought it would be) but I think we're near the end. She's teaching me that the galaxy is full of dark and dangerous things, that the Emperors light is the only thing between mankind and total destruction. Not love, or compassion, she says there's no room for that. I wouldn't disagree with her directly to her face (who would? Oh, yes, Marcus...) but I don't think she's right. I don't care for people in general. If I don't know them then I don't care. I don't love the Inquisitor, I don't love Brak, I don't love anyone.
Except him. I could never stop loving him. I hope he knows so, because even if I don't show it I will always feel it. Maybe I should tell him, it would be nice to see Marcus smile again.'

  +    + INQUISTORIAL FRIGATE 'DARKSHARD' CENTRAL MEMORY BANK DATED 848.M41 INCIDENT MARKER 100947 ALPHA, USER - ACOLYTE MARCUS VEER + +
  +    + SURFACE SCAN CHANDRA V+ +
  +    + SECTOR 16 NORTHERN CONTINENTAL HIVE+ +
  +    + RESIDUAL WARP INTERFERENCE DETECTED - PSYKER WARNING + +

  +    Audio log - Darkshard upper gantry - 848.M41 +
Marcus Veer - 'How long have you known that it was a Psyker Inquisitor? How long have you knowingly exposed her to danger when you knew what was orchestrating the whole damn thing?'
Kel Arvalane - 'Firstly Acolyte, I will brook no further challenge to my command. You are here because you have a use to me, do NOT forget your place within this, or you will find that your annoyance outweighs your usefulness and you will taste the cold dust of vacuum before the day is through. Secondly, I am not obliged to explain my actions to you, or anyone in fact within the entire Segmentum Pacificus. Do not test my patience Marcus, you run a thin line'
MV - 'They've seen something haven't they. That's why they're after her, why they killed her parents... They knew that somehow the Shal'tan family was the link to their demise, and that's why they're trying to kill her. Throne, that's how they always know where she is, because that damn psyker smells it in the warp! You knew but allowed it to continue... so that she had the opportunity to kill more people. So that you had an endless supply of easy opponents to throw at her. All the while a cursed PSYKER roamed free on the planet importing Xenos technology with impunity! And you dare to call yourself an Inquisitor?'
KA - 'Calm yourself Veer! Do not question my loyalty to the Inquisition, or the imperium at large... The psyker is gamma level, certainly nothing higher. The Xenos tech is tracked, every piece, by the Arbites. They have done so  for the last year. And Helena? The girl needs to see blood, Marcus, oceans of it. She needs to learn to close herself off from the true horrors of what it means to dedicate yourself to the Emperor, to kill in his name. She is Inquisition, her duty will forever more reside in the blood and screams of the Imperiums enemies. That is where you will find her from this day forward, with every moment spent hunting the next Xenos, the next heretic, the next mutant, or studying for when she does. You are her guardian Marcus Veer, it is why you are a part of her journey, she will need you, but the girl you knew is dead. Do not think for an instant that you will ever get her back.'
MV - 'so what now? Keep killing smuggler's until one finally slips a dagger into her back? You've no regard for her well being'
KA - 'You're correct, my only interest is the safety and continued survival of the Imperium. She has an incredible talent for murder, but her training is just beginning. Her first lesson? The complete annihilation of the Enemy Within is a condition for the Imperiums survival. Every smuggler of Xenos tech will die, and the psyker will be her final opponent. Her examination. Should she live she will have proven her resolve to me and her training will continue. We will find more Enemies to kill, more people to murder, more blood to spill. This will repeat, and repeat, and repeat. And she will learn more with every fall of the knife. She will be in great danger, which is why I know that you will continue to accompany her and follow my orders, because you love her and wish to be in a position to protect that which you love. You would kill for her. You see, we're not so different you and I Marcus. The only difference being that I am in a position to kill far more than you.'
MV - 'do you expect me to sit back and allow you to hollow out her soul? There is more to her than that Kel, so much more'
KA - 'There is a degree of compassion within her that I cannot remove, no matter how hard I may try. And you are the centre of it. I have allowed it, for sometimes it can grant an initiate a sum of strength. But you are also her greatest weakness. I cannot hollow out her soul Marcus because she has given a degree of it over to you. You are her guardian, protector, father. She will not release you. She cannot release you. Your fear of her losing her humanity is misplaced.'
*long silence ensues*
MV - '......when will she be expected to take the psyker'
KA - 'I had planned on her continuing to dismantle the cells, however in light of this conversation it may be beneficial to both Helena and yourself to bring events forward. It will be within the week. Gamma level psykers are many throughout the Imperium, though cornered and against the inexperienced they can be quite dangerous. I suggest you spend the time wisely and prepare her for what is to come.'

++ Excert taken from Helena Shal'tan personal data cache (367) 848.M41 ++
'Marcus and Inquisitor Arvalane spoke yesterday, and seem to have reached some understanding. The air between them seems lighter, there is a respect that wasn't there before. I hope it lasts!
This is a only a short entry as I have a very busy day ahead. Both Marcus and Inquisitor Arvalane have training serials planned for me today, apparently they're interlinked (working together in my training too, a first for everything!) the focus on psychic defence. Marcus said something about a big push in a few days, maybe even an end to all this smuggler's business, though he's going to explain more during training. I'm not sure if I feel excited or nervous... I know when its done we won't be going back down to Chandra, we'll be off some place else. I'd never even left the hive before Arvalane turned up, never mind the system! So I suppose feeling nervous is to be expected.
I know I'm ready for whatever else is down on the surface though, no matter what it is. Marcus has given me the skills, Inquisitor Arvalane the tools and the knowledge. I'll make my next entry when it's all over, so for now I guess I had better sign off with something meaningful. I guess I'm in the Inquisition after all, so to quote the Inquisitor -
For the Emperor.'

  +    Greth III, Grethan system, Segmentum Pacificus, 849.M41 +
  +    Imperial Navy orbital defence control +
  +    CONTROL - 'State Designation'
  +    DARKSHARD - 'Inquisitorial Frigate Darkshard, identification 67162 Epsilon'
  +    CONTROL - 'Confirmed. State business'
  +    DARKSHARD - 'Prisoner drop, Grethan super-max secure penitentiary, surgical division'
  +    CONTROL - 'Confirmed. State nature of prisoner'
  +    DARKSHARD - 'Psyker, gamma level, male'
  +    CONTROL - 'Confirmed. State sentence'
  +    DARKSHARD - 'Surgical exploration of frontal lobe in accordance with Pacificus regulation on psyker experimentation. Death.'
  +    CONTROL - 'Confirmed. Glory to the Emperor'
Helena Shal'tan - 'Indeed control...glory to the Emperor. And death to his enemies.'

Once more, the story of Inquisitor Helena Shal'tan's rise through the Inquisition follows. Only two entries are made for this brief but traumatic period of her life, the time when her true hatred for the Xenos begins to take form. The story as told by those within it:

++ Excert taken from Helena Shal'tan personal data cache (3104) 892.M41 ++
'How strange to be writing this, now, after almost 50 years. I had always thought of her as something immovable, steadfast, an yielding force sweeping throughout the Imperium like the legions of old. Something that would likely live forever, that you could never envisage falling or succumbing to anything smaller than a battle cannon. I also think that I always envisaged I'd die first, and that she would just carry right on exterminating Xenos until the Emperor woke up on his Throne and jumped off, laughing at the Custodes for their ridiculously impractical helmets. Strange how one minute something can be so solid, so forever, and the next it's just...dust, spilling between your fingers.
I suppose I should start at the beginning. We arrived at Janus VI roughly one month ago after hearing conflicting but numerous reports of a possible Eldar sighting within the nobility district of the planets southern capital, Hale. Inquisitor Arvalane had recalled myself and Marcus from scouring the factoriums of the Keldon system, despite knowing that we had spent the previous three months establishing an adequate cover story within that sector. Perhaps I should have forseen difficulties right there and then, recalling us in the middle of an operation, breaking us from cover. That, and the fact that she had never asked for help before.
Any rogue Xenos is a cause for concern, in any city, on any world of the Imperium. Janus VI is not of great strategic value, it is not a highly prized forge world or a productive farming planet, it does not produce great architectural wonders or export mighty weapons of war. It is but the typical world in which humanity as a species has established a tenuous foothold in the stars. Why would a rogue Xenos, an Eldar no less, come to this world? Quite simply, I do not know. Only the Emperor himself could fathom the workings of the Xenos mind, and I do not envy him the talent. What I do know is that the filth could not be allowed free reign on a world of the Imperium, a fact that every member of the Inquisition is taught from induction and upholds until death. Our path was clear.
Upon arrival at the city of Hale we were met by the planets Imperial Governor, High Magistrate Forbe, an old man grown weary with the pressures of office, and the terror of a Xenos stalking his streets. He presented the Inquisitor with a data slate, replaying footage of a PDF squad under attack within the city limits, the camera mounted on a troopers helmet. A flash of blackness and 3 men lose their heads, another screams with both his arms ending in clean, courterised stumps. A fifth joins the chorus, his hands clawing to keep his innards from spilling out onto the street. The screams are met by another, entirely alien sound. The howl of an Eldar. I feel Inquisitor Arvalane recoil from the sound, as do we all. A moment later and the camera is knocked to the ground, rolling at an impossibly quick pace into a nearby door entrance. No one needed to state that the troopers head was undoubtedly still in his helmet.
She displayed no fear, as befitted her rank, ordering the city's nobility district shut down, all access barred until further notice and dispatching a PDF contingent to each area of strategic interest within a 15km radius. But for the way she did not meet my eyes I would not have thought her troubled, her usual stalwart self. Looking back, I wonder if perhaps I should have said something. That we should request aid from the Conclave, or that the nearest kill-team be seconded to the planet. But I know in my heart she would never have agreed. Time would be wasted, and the Xenos waits for no one. It had to be stopped now, before any more destruction to the heart and soul of the city could take place. We wouldn't need to find it she said, it would find us.
And of course, it did. Three nights of waiting was all it took, thermal imaging and bio scanners piercing the dark. It was upon us before we had even realised it was there, it's jet black armor somehow masking the signature. Marcus was down before he even had time to call out, his right arm gone at the shoulder. Instinct reached out to me, and by the smallest of margins I kept my scalp, before the beast was upon the Inquisitor, howling through its grotesque death mask like a Banshee of old. Kel Arvalane, 285 years of service to the Emperor, fought hard and fast - with honour. By the time I had risen to my feet she was already wounded, the Eldritch blade humming blue arcs as it shaved the left side of her face, evaporating skin and blood to the bone. She hardly seemed to notice, the plasma pistol in her hand lighting with a blinding flash before discharging into the aliens armoured thigh. A devastating shot, it's leg half vaporised, blue plasma and liquid Xenos flesh splashing onto the permacrete, steam bleached bone sizzling in the harsh air of Janus VI. But such a shot came at a price, and aiming the weapon had left Arvalane vulnerable. As the witch fell, so too did the Inquisitor, her armour opened from groin to shoulder, blood like black oil spilling into the darkness. I had hardly taken a step, and the battle was as good as done. Not a single murmur left her lips as she folded to the ground, not a cry of pain or a shout of anger, not even a gasp of surprise. Was she dead before even hitting the ground? Marcus seems to think so... But I like to think that a dignified silence after a lifetime of duty was what kept her. Maybe even a little smile. I guess we'll never know.
The Banshee wasn't dead of course, it falteringly managed to stand as I knelt by Kel, her empty eyes looking down the street at something far off and imagined in that last instant. Off balance and wounded it still presented a significant threat, though surprise and speed were it's best weapons, and both had been lost. I wish I could say that I held a degree of control over my actions, that I fought and killed the creature quickly. But I would be made a liar, for quick it was not. The sounds it made through its helmet speakers were not made for human ears, the pitch and tones seared to the inside of my skull, yet even now I would not take it back. I relished it's suffering. The head sits mounted in the Darkshard's command quarters, its blade at my hip, and the body purged in the flames of retribution.
Marcus survived, no thanks to me, managing a tourniquet and a medevac request before passing out. Hypovalaemic shock, the medics told me. A stubborn old goat, I told them. The  prosthetic should be fixed within the month. If I had lost Marcus I don't know what I would have done, though he tells me it's best not to dwell. Such thoughts stir a fire in me that make my hands twitch for the knife. I'll never allow him to be wounded so badly again, by my life I swear it.
I intend to include all of this in the final death report transmitted to the Pacificus Conclave. The ship and ourselves shall remain in orbit of Janus VI until new orders arrive, hopefully within a few weeks. I am unsure how to fill the time.. perhaps training with this newly acquired weapon is in order. I dare say Marcus can aid me while he awaits his new arm. The sword killed my mentor, therefore I can think of no greater a dishonor to its previous owner than to use it to kill as many of its kind as possible.
Death to the Eldar. Death to the Xenos. And Death to the enemies of man.'

  +    Data destination - Inquisitorial Frigate Darkshard +
  +    Data originator - High Inquisitor Vik Penn, Ordos Xenos, Pacificus Conclave +
  +    Permission granted +
'Serventus Mortis notification received, Inquisitor Kel Arvalane will be honoured and remembered as she would wish, as a servant of the Emperor. No more, no less. Acolyte Helena Shal'tan, based on previous recommendations made by Inquisitor Arvalane you are promoted to Throne Agent of the Inquisition, with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities their in. The Darkshard is placed temporarily under your command until a suitable replacement for Inquisitor Arvalane can be found. Your next objective will be found at coordinates 652 by 871 by 328 in accordance with standard galactic axis orientation. Possible Xenos activity reported on planet designation Korpus XI. Report on findings, deliver imperial justice where required. All glory to the God Emperor.'

Any comments much appreciated, only one more installation to her background I think. I am more than happy to consider any suggestions or recommended alterations so far, thanks for reading!

That was a great read, From the original to how you have built layers of depth to the character is really good. look forward to the next piece.