Wulf Khan
Wulf Khan is the Astra Militarum Major of the Catachan CMIII Regiment, who is a veteran of a thousand battles and legend in a dozen systems.[1]
History
The Catachan CMIII was among the Imperial forces that unsuccessfully defended Lazulai from a Tyranid invasion. As the world began to fall to the Xenos, after months of warfare, the Regiment's remaining hundreds of Guardsmen were defending Cobalt Fortress under Khan's command. The Fortress itself was led by the Cadian 2012th General Kvelter and was one of the last left on Lazulai. The Major believed this was largely due to the General's efforts and skills, which had led Khan to greatly respect her. However with Lazulai deemed to be beyond saving, no further reinforcements would be sent to the surviving Imperial forces there. Though the Major knew the CMIII was expected to die fighting the Tyranids, Khan continued to inspired her Regiment to fight on as if the Emperor Himself was watching them.[1]
However as Lazulai was being consumed by the Tyranids, cracks began showing between the Cobalt Fortress' Regiments. This became an issue after the Cadian 2012th Captain Bligh had the Catachan CMIII Guardsman Falke Adair arrested for infringement of discipline, breach of the disciplinary code and insubordination. The Captain had taken upon himself to be responsible for delivering the Emperor's Judgement on wayward Guardsmen, following the death of Commissar Schuto and was going to execute Adair after he found her guilty of his charges. Thankfully Khan's orderly, Sergeant Rutger Haruto, informed the Major of what was happening and she was able to intervene in time to save Adair's life. Though Khan was forced to knock the Captain out in order to do so. Afterwards, the Major was ordered to meet with General Kvelter, who informed Khan that an overwhelming large force of Tyranids were heading in the direction of the Cobalt Fortress. Due to this, Lord Commander Stone of Sector Command had ordered General Kvelter to send out a small force to retrieve a vital asset that was located far away from the Fortress. Though the General did know what it was, she suspected it was a weapon that would finally end the threat the Tyranids posed to the Imperium.[1]
Unbeknownst to Khan, this had been an ongoing mission and was the true reason that several heavily armed groups of Imperial forces had recently been deployed from the Cobalt Fortress. However each group had met with failure, after being found and then destroyed by the Tyranids. Now with Cobalt facing certain doom, Stone wanted a final attempt to be made to recover the asset. But since their heavily armed groups had been quickly destroyed, Kvelter decided to send out a group that would not be noticed by the Xenos. The General had decided that the Catachan CMIII would be the ones to undergo the mission, as they had the best chance of traversing the hellscape the Tyranids had turned Lazulai into. Kvelter then told the Major that she would be leaving the Fortress with a squadron of her Guardsmen and an Adeptus Mechanicus agent-adept who would oversee the extraction of the asset. They would then head towards Opal Bastion to meet with an liaison officer from the Cadian 82nd, who would lead them to it. In order to ensure the best chance for their success, though, the General would draw the Tyranids' attention by advancing towards Jasper Fortress. Kvelter would lead all of her surviving personnel in the attack, which included the remainder of the CMIII. The General and Major both knew how this advance would end, but it would at least give Cobalt's Imperial forces a proper final fight. Khan would then salute Kvelter, before leaving to pick her squadron for the mission.[1]
Sources
- 1: Deathworlder (Novel), Chapter 1
