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bluntpencil · 10-01-2012, 03:34 PM

Arbitrator Victor Gethsemane
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"Multiple counts of unsanctioned homicide. Sentence: Indefinite indentured servitude.

One count of attempted murder of an Adeptus Arbites Officer. Sentence: Summary execution.

Your plea of innocence has been noted as a count of wasting Adeptus Arbites time. The appropriate fine will be levied from your kin posthumously."

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Homeworld: Maccabeus Quintus
Career: Arbitrator (First Rank: Confessor)

Stats

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Trained Skills:

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Talents

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Faith Talents

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Traits

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Equipment:

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Sold!

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Current Gear [7,810 to spend!]

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Alternative Equipment (Using Arbitrator Starting Gear
Equipment:

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Advances (4,900/4,900)

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Background

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A verbal account from Interrogator Matthews.

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"Right, an abridged personnel evaluation? Okay...

Arbitrator Gethsemane is from the many-blessed world of Maccabeus Quintus. The people of Maccabeus Quintus are known for being blessed, many times over. The good Arbitrator knows that, and applies it to his daily service of the Lex Imperialis.

He cares little for the usual Ecclesiastical trappings of the Adeptus Ministorum. He claims he sees the Emperor's Divinity in the laws He has laid down, and how their unique knowledge of the human condition allows the Law to operate.

He could have become a priest as a boy, according to reports, but chose to lay down the law instead. He thought preaching and singing had nothing on practical applications of faith, punishing the guilty and burning witches.

So, yes, he'd been immersed in the faith as a boy, and gone through much of the schooling, but he was willingly tithed to another Adeptus on his coming of age (Reports indicate he volunteered). There would be no pulpit preaching for Victor Gethsemane, he was going to be an Arbitrator. He'd bring faith and judgement to the unclean, apparently.

So, yes, he stamped on heretics and yelled a lot. Life was good. Well, it could only get better. Of course, things didn't go as expected.

Gethsemane was assigned to a precinct on Scintilla. 'Pristine Bulwark' is its common designation. Pretty standard: It was a good place for rookies to get training. His rigid faith in the law was well respected by his instructors; even if he was considered less personable than the others, he still had a fair amount of presence, and a hell of a loud voice. Apparently that's a good trait in a Judge.

Anyway, in his first notable assignment, he was part of a fifty-strong team, pulled from the reserves of the Golgenna Reach sub-sector and assigned an 'easy' mission to give those without experience, or recuperating from injuries, the opportunity to bash in a starving cult hiding in the mines. The young Arbitrator relished the opportunity, I'm led to believe.

It went wrong. It was a Throne-damned charnel house. A maze of horrific traps and deadfalls. The Arbitrators were massacred, few surviving. Gethsemane still says little of the misadventure, describing it simply as, ahem, "An investigation of prohibited occult practices, followed by a routine Castigation Purge."

Of course, the fact that he was one of only a handful of survivors from the original fifty, and that the following purge was large in scale and involved the Inquisition says otherwise. The other survivors whisper about how Gethsemane rallied some of his comrades with faith in the Emperor and a resolute determination to get the job done and enforce the law. The rumoured summary execution of his superior officer for dereliction of duty and failing to act probably helped too.

Those that survived were largely scooped up by agents of our own Ordos, destined for greater things (or purgation). Gethsemane moved into the role of Inquisitorial footsoldier easily. His unflinching resolve and conviction made him perfect for jobs that were too brutal for others. We all saw the mess after that riot in Sibellus, didn't we? Wowee.

Anyway, for his actions in the following years, largely involving punishing the followers of Lady Orlea Grey, actually Myrchella Sinderfell, he has gained favour with his superiors, including myself, even being awarded a Sacristan Bolt Pistol, which are given only to trusted Acolytes of respected Inquisitors, such as, well, you know. Right...

Still, the Crimson Countess remains at large. She is currently, under her Lady Orlea Grey alias, wanted for the following crimes: Proscribed occult activities, promotion of proscribed occult activities, obstruction of the Imperial Tithe, heresy, treason, the attempted murder of seven Arbitrators and the murder of forty-two Arbitrators. She, as Myrchella Sinderfell, is wanted for far worse, but that is largely classified to extreme levels.

Gethsemane probably hopes to get the opportunity for rev... no, justice, upon her, but I assume he knows that this is unlikely. Personal vendettas blind one to the fact that there are potentially billions of heretics out there needing sentenced. He has a duty to do, but, should the opportunity come up, her screams will be ten times those of the Judges she left smeared across the Red Vaults. He's not abandoned a mission to chase down leads... but I've seen what he's done to others that were involved in that nightmare. Most unpleasant but most impressive, I must say. Whew."

An overview of an Adeptus Arbites Personnel File

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A Day In The Life

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"Hello again, sir. As requested, another report on our Acolyte Gethsemane, following the 'Hearts and Minds' debacle of last year.

Anyway, as you know, for some reason, last year, the Inquisition wanted to provide the Adeptus Arbites with a helping hand with its propaganda machine. Adept Scipio Julius of the Hive Sibellus Broadcasting Unit, along with his cameraman, Davos Maximus, was assigned to our Arbitrator Gethsemane on a routine operation... Here we go..."

The pict-recorder looks at the floor, steel, of course. Armoured boots, various sizes, uniform gunmetal toecaps and black colouration. They don't move. The camera jolts a little, giving an impression of motion.

It pans up. Yes, they're moving, and in some sort of vehicle. It pans around. Yes, a Rhino, in the common parlance. A group of heavily armed and armoured individuals sit, ramrod straight, as the personnel carrier moves around. The viewer can, of course, hear the armoured treads of their conveyance moving, and at some speed. That probably indicates that there is some sort of emergency. That and the gunfire.

The reporter, next to the pict-recorder operator, looks terrified. His face blanches as something explodes outside.

The lead Arbitrator, his name-badge saying 'Gethsemane' speaks up in a voice that sounds like it's trying (and failing) to be emotionless. Its emotions seem to be a mixture of boredom and anger. He seems to be rhyming off things the others already know. Was this standard procedure, to make sure there were no mistakes, or was it for the benefit of the recording?

"Guilty parties have gathered unlawfully in the central plaza.

Known crimes are as follows: Unlawful association, Sedition and Rioting. The sentence can vary from violent dispersal to a twenty year incarceration with the associated indentured servitude.

Suspected crimes are as follows: Illicit Occult Activity, Association with Wanted Occultists and Treason. Should these crimes not promptly be proven false, the sentence is, of cou-"

As the Rhino appears to slow to a stop, the distinctive ping of bullets ricocheting off its armoured hull can be easily heard, causing Arbitrator Gethsemane to pause, and raise a finger to indicate a change of plan.

"Re-evaluation: Guilty parties' known crimes now include Assault on the Adeptus Arbites. Suspected crimes now include Attempted Murder of Adeptus Arbites. The sentence is, of course, death.

Use lethal force."

He looks down at the floor for a moment. His lips move, but the words are inaudible. It looks like he's... offering a prayer? It's hard to tell, as the camera is jolted a little as he does so.

And with that, the Arbitrators ritually rack the slides on their heavy shotguns, the loud noise sounding like a drumbeat. The reporter swallows and attempts to look enthusiastic. He looks down at his brightly coloured flak armour, then looks at the grim carapace worn by the men and women of the law. He obviously thinks his orange jacket makes him look a target now. Hell.

The exits slide open, revealing dazzling daylight and smoke, a change from the dim red lights of before. Such bright daylight was odd in Sibellus: It is one of the biggest Hives in the Calixis Sector, after all. Still, they were on the outside of the Hive, so it happened sometimes, if the winds were strong enough to blow away the smog.

The Arbitrators storm out, nervously followed by the news team. Gunfire and the crack of las-fire can be heard, until a very obvious censor cuts out all sound from the video when chanting can be heard from the rioters.

Various flashes. The Arbitrators continue on, unshaken, the rebels and rioters clutching at their blinded eyes as they are gunned down mercilessly.

One man lies on the ground, apparently screaming, his leg torn apart by a shell. A Judge pumps another cartridge into the chamber of her shotgun, ready to end him at point-blank range.

The sound comes back on. Yes, screaming.

Arbitrator Gethsemane puts a hand on the Judge's shoulder, and shakes his head at her.

"Unnecessary ammunition expenditure."

He then stamps his boot onto the head of the injured man, crushing his skull like a grapefruit. It is hard to tell if there is a weapon near him.

It's a massacre, of course. There's no way the Adeptus Arbites would release a video showing anything else. Of course, it shows legions of soldiers at the end, and happy citizens thanking the Judges for their courage, but that could have been on a different planet for all that the viewer can tell.

"...Funnily enough, the video never actually got broadcast to the general public. The reporter and the cameraman were both recruited by myself on grounds of 'bearing witness to the profane and responding appropriately'. They've gotten over their squeamishness quite admirably thanks to our law enforcing friend... so I guess the whole propaganda idea got us something useful.

What I want to know is why he's considered interesting, and why he's filed along with dozens of priests and...

Yes, above my pay grade, sir. Shutting up, sir. "

Finished! But I can alter things to allow for linked characters: Cell Directives, Secret Tongue (Acolyte), etc etc.

The backstory introduce NPCs he has been involved with in the past. I can change them and their names if needed.