Tobias Kelp
Tobias Kelp was a Sergeant of the Valhallan Ice Warriors.[1]
Originally a member of the Valhallan 301st regiment, he became a member of the Valhallan 597th when the 301st was amalgamated with another regiment (the 296th) following losses taken defending the planet Corania from the tyranids.[1]
The 597th did not have an easy founding; tension between its two component regiments simmered in transit through the Warp aboard the troopship Righteous Wrath and came to a boil when an altercation in the mess hall resulted in a massive brawl. Kelp provoked Corporal Bella Trebek into throwing the initial punch, after refusing to eat a meal off a plate bearing the 296th's regimental insignia and insulting both the 296th and Trebek.[1]
As one of the instigators of the brawl (which resulted in at least three deaths), he was later court-martialed. The Righteous Wrath's commanding officer, Captain Parjita, wanted the offenders sentenced to execution, but he was convinced to transfer the responsibility for punishing Kelp and the others to the Commissariat by Ciaphas Cain, the 597th's regimental Commissar. He decided to commute their execution by sentencing them to be transferred to a penal legion at the first available opportunity.[1]
Sources
- 1: For the Emperor (Novel) - Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium (Omnibus), Chapter Two