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Verena Kain

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Colonel Verena Kain was the commanding officer of the Salinas PDF, formed from the remnants of the Achaman Falcatas regiment of the Imperial Guard, in late M41.[1a]

History

Spoiler!
This page contains spoilers for: The Killing Ground (Novel)

Early Service

Kain served during the Falcatas' deployment to Subsector Paragonus to suppress the Chaos-fueled rebellion of the Warlord Crozus Regaur. Like many of the Falcatas, she became an experienced and battle-hardened combat leader, but also ruthless and short-tempered. She eventually rose to command the "Screaming Eagles," one of the regimental companies, after its commander, Leto Barbaden, was promoted to command of the entire regiment.[1a][1b]

Salinas

As a reward for twenty years of combat service, the Falcatas were awarded the Right of Settlement and allowed to occupy the planet Salinas in the subsector, while suppressing any rebellious elements there.[1b]

In fact, there had been no open rebellion on Salinas, but in the Eagles' view, especially Kain's, the entire sector should have eagerly welcomed "liberation" from the forces of the Ruinous Powers, and those that did not deserved no mercy.[1c]

During the subsequent insurgent war between the Falcatas and the Sons of Salinas, Barbaden planned to massacre the civilian inhabitants of the city of Khaturian, in order to draw the rebels into the open. Kain carried out her part in the massacre with gusto, marching ahead of Barbaden's Leman Russ Battle Tank as Hellhound tanks burned the city to the ground, and precise lasgun fire from her troops cut down people trying to escape the burning buildings.[1b][1d]

As Barbaden expected, the Sons' enraged and grief-stricken leader, Sylvanus Thayer, was provoked into leading the Sons of Salinas into a "glorious charge" against the Falcatas, where the former were slaughtered.[1a][1b]

After Barbaden assumed the governorship, Kain was promoted to command of the Falcatas, though she was rankled when the unit was converted from an Imperial Guard regiment into a Planetary Defense Force, a reduced status in the eyes of many.[1a][1e]

Although the insurgent war came to an end, sporadic terrorist acts continued for many years thereafter, and Kain often had to take the lead in dealing with them.[1a][1b][1c]

In late M41, Uriel Ventris, Pasanius Lysane, and the Unfleshed were deposited on the planet by a Daemon Engine after their escape from Medrengard. Kain was commanding a scouting mission when she ran across the two Space Marines and took them back to Governor Barbaden for questioning.[1c]

Matters came to a head when the Unfleshed were possessed by the spirits of the people killed at Khaturian, and began wreaking havoc. When the Unfleshed attacked the Falcatas' primary base, their leader, the Lord of the Unfleshed was possessed by the alive, though comatose, Thayer. The Lord overwhelmed Kain's bodyguards, lifted her into the air, and then hurled her into a fire, burning her alive.[1f]

When Uriel, Pasanius, and the Grey Knights confronted the Unfleshed, Thayer forced them to "witness" the Khaturian Massacre through psyker memories. Seeing the willing, even eager, part that Kain had played in the massacre, Uriel could not repress the feeling that her death had been quicker and far less painful than she deserved.[1d]

Sources