[[File:IG5EYarrick.jpg|right|thumb|250px|'''Commissar Yarrick''' holding a decapitated [[Ork]] head aloft with his [[Power Klaw]].^{{Fn|1}}]]

'''Sebastian Yarrick''' is an [[Imperial Guard]] [[Commissar]] famous for his participation in the [[Second War for Armageddon|Second]] and [[Third War for Armageddon|Third]] Wars for [[Armageddon]], in which he twice fought against the [[Ork]] forces of [[Warboss|Warlord]] [[Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka]]. His leadership and bravery during these conflicts have made him one of the greatest heroes of the [[Imperium]]^{{Fn|1a}}.

Von Strab was grievously mistaken. Under his incompetent leadership, the planet fell bit by bit until the Orks reached Hades Hive. Here, Commissar Yarrick commanded the defending forces, inspiring them to a fanatical degree of bravery and resolve. Not a single soldier was executed for cowardice during the fighting at Hades Hive, even in the face of the overwhelming Ork numbers^{{Fn|1a}}.

Yarrick himself was always on the front lines during the fighting. He received many battle wounds, the most grievous in single combat with [[Warboss]] [[Ugulhard]], who severed Yarrick's right hand with a swipe from his [[Power Klaw]]. Such a wound would have killed a lesser man, but Yarrick's iron will allowed him to not only survive, but to decapitate Ugulhard with his [[chainsword]] and then pull the Power Klaw from his corpse and hold it aloft for all to see. The sight caused the Orks to flee in terror, while simultaneously causing the human defenders to charge forward with renewed vigour. Only after the Orks had been routed did Yarrick allow himself the luxury of passing out^{{Fn|1a}}.

The Imperial defence of Hades Hive was so implacable that eventually Ghazghkull himself joined the attack, leading his forces from the front. He tried to take the Hive by every strategy he could imagine, but Yarrick countered them all. Eventually, Hades Hive became a personal battle between the two warriors. When Ghazghkull fell upon the hive, Yarrick realised they could not hold their position. In a series of daring shuttle runs, the remaining forces managed to escape. Yarrick himself received a near-fatal wound in combat with Ghazgkull, and hovered near death during the final stage of the evacuation^{{Fn|1b}}.

Eventually, the war ended with the arrival of Commander [[Dante]] of the [[Blood Angels]], whom the defenders of Armageddon turned to for leadership. Although the [[Space Marines]]' offensive pushed the Orks off the planet, Yarrick's defense of Hades Hive was recognized as the turning point of the war, and he was hailed as the Saviour of Armageddon^{{Fn|1b}}.

In 944.[[M41]], three years after the end of the Second War, Yarrick formally came out of retirement and requested a military expedition to thoroughly cleanse the surrounding worlds of Ork raiders, his particular goal being to hunt down Ghazghkull. One such planet, [[Golgotha]], was to be where this purge would end for the Imperials in a crushing defeat by the Ork defences. Yarrick's personal [[Baneblade]], the ''Fortress of Arrogance'' was abandoned⁷ {{Fn|2}} and Yarrick himself was captured by Ghazghkull. After torturing the Commissar for several weeks, Ghazghkull decided to let him go, feeling that the Warboss' planned re-invasion of Armageddon would be much more fun with Yarrick on the other side.{{Cite This}}

Before the war commenced, Yarrick had the remains of the ''Fortress of Arrogance'' [[Operation Thunderstorm|salvaged from Golgotha]] and repaired, to serve as his personal command vehicle.⁷ {{Fn|2}}

Ghazhkull opened the conflict by obliterating Hades Hive from orbit, effectively throwing down the gauntlet to his old adversary^{{Fn|1b}}. Fortunately, Yarrick had foreseen this attack; where another commander might have diverted resources and men to protecting the city he had so ferociously defended before, Yarrick acted out of cold military logic and without a trace of sentimentality. Seeing that Hades Hive could not be defended, he had it evacuated before the Orks attacked, and concentrated his forces elsewhere.⁹{{Fn|4}}

Eventually the Third War for Armageddon degenerated into a grueling war of attrition, thwarting Ghazghkull's hopes for a clear victory^{{Fn|1b}}. When Ghazghkull fled Armageddon and the [[Black Templars]] prepared to give chase, Yarrick petitioned High Marshal [[Helbrecht]] to allow him to join their quest; Helbrecht agreed, and Yarrick immediately set off, determined to rid the galaxy of Ghazghkull for good^{{Fn|1a}}.

Yarrick's weaponry reflects both his iron will and his keen understanding of the Ork mind, which respects only strength and is also highly superstitious^{{Fn|1a}}.

In the aftermath of the Second War, he replaced his missing hand with the same [[Power Klaw]] that had taken it, specially modified to fit his arm. It is powerful enough to kill in one swipe^{{Fn|1a}}.

After hearing rumors from the Orks that he could kill with a glance, he had his missing eye replaced with a bionic replacement, the [[Bale Eye]], that can fire a laser beam, similar in effect to a [[laspistol]] at close range^{{Fn|1a}}.

Before the Third War, Yarrick requested that the ''Fortress'' be reclaimed from Golgotha. During [[Operation Thunderstorm]], an [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] Reclamator expedition found the remnants of the venerable Baneblade, and during its voyage to Armageddon upon one of the great Mechanicus Arks, it was repaired and re-fitted. Now, Yarrick once more leads armoured assaults against the greenksin hordes from the cupola of the ''Fortress of Arrogance''.⁸{{Fn|3}}

The ''Fortress'' was refitted with an armoured cupola, giving Yarrick a "pulpit" from which to command and inspire. The turret also includes enhanced sensor and communications arrays and was repainted in the black colour of the [[Commissariat]], with a huge skull fixed to the front of the hull.⁸{{Fn|3}}

During gameplay, Yarrick's iron will is represented by his ability to shrug off wounds and return to battle, even wounds that should take him out of play. He also has a special forcefield which shrugs off almost all attacks^{{Fn|1a}}.

*''"Heroes of Armageddon! You have withstood the evil savagery of the Orks, and they having nothing left for you to fear. So raise high the black banners of vengeance - now is our time."'' -- during the [[Third War for Armageddon]]^{{Fn|1c}}

*^{{Endn|1}}[[Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition)]]:**a{{Endn|1a}}: p. 63**b{{Endn|1b}}: p. 24**c{{Endn|1c}}: p. 19*{{Endn|2}}: [[Gunheads (Novel)]] by Steve Parker*{{Endn|3}} Games Workshop website- http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?categoryId=400032&pIndex=1&aId=3000023&multiPageMode=true&start=2*{{Endn|4}}: [[Helsreach (Novel)]] by [[Aaron Dembski-Bowden]]