Katryna Vreiken

Katryna Vreiken (born 071.M42) is an Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus and former commanding officer of the 88th Upsilonic Jaegers regiment of Tempestus Scions. Hailing from the Schola Progenium on Ethrea Secundus, Vreiken rapidly rose through the ranks of the Tempestus Scions, achieving the rank of Colonel by age 29. Her defining moment was during the Battle of Sulara IV in 100.M42, where her troops helped defend the Inquisition Fortress World against invading Chaos forces. This earned her the attention of the Ordo Malleus and led to her induction into the ranks of the Inquisition. Vreiken is known for her iron will, impulsiveness, and selfless compassion, always leading from the front and firmly determined to always do the right thing. This often leads to her clashing with other Inquisitors, due to her stances on matters such as purging and Exterminatus.

History
Katryna Vreiken was born in 071.M42, the daughter of two officers in a regiment of the Ashimar Nova Guard. Both were killed in action when she was three, and the young Katryna was sent to the Schola Progenium on Ethrea Secundus. While an exceptional student, Katryna frustrated her instructors by her seeming inability to fit into any of the Schola's career paths - she was too impulsive and disobedient for the Commissariat, not religious enough for the Adepta Sororitas, and completely unsuited for an Administratum desk job. Ultimately, she settled on joining the ranks of Ethrea Secundus's Tempestus Scions, the Upsilonic Jaegers. She passed through the Scions' brutal training program with flying colors and was commissioned as a Lieutenant due to her keen eye for tactics and strong leadership potential. The newly-commisioned Lt. Vreiken was then assigned to the 88th Upsilonic Jaegers. Vreiken would continue to distinguish herself throughout her service with the 88th Upsilonic Jaegers, and by 096.M42 had risen to the rank of Colonel and now commanded the entire regiment.

In 100.M42, at the age of 29, Col. Vreiken and her regiment were called to the Inquisitiorial Fortress World of Sulara IV to shore up its defense in the face of an approaching Chaos attack. It was here that she first met her future close friend and companion, Brother-Captain Gustave of the Grey Knights, who greeted her upon her arrival on the planet and psychically imparted to her all necessary knowledge of Chaos and the Warp. When the attack came, Vreiken's Valkyrie-borne forces helped turn the tide against the Chaos invaders, though they withdrew once it was discovered that the relic they sought had been already stolen by a Necron. In the aftermath of the battle, numerous Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus attempted to recruit Vreiken as an Acolyte, but Vreiken, knowing that her regiment would be purged for their knowledge of Daemons and the Grey Knights, turned them all down, refusing to abandon her troops out of principle. Vreiken was only saved from the firing line by Inquisitor Arman Tevasias, who recruited both her and her entire regiment into the Inquisition, with Vreiken as his Acolyte and the 88th Upsilonic Jaegers as Inquisitorial Stormtroopers.

The following year, Tevasias and Vreiken, along with a unit of Grey Knights led by Gustave, took part in a mission to the Daemon World of Laeran to rescue Lord Inquisitor Sigarda from captivity at the hands of the Knights of Laeran. They arrived on the planet by tagging along with one of the Knights Celestial's many crusades to retake the former Shrine World, which they called Airtha. During the mission, Tevasias was killed when he attempted to rescue prisoners from a torture chamber who were in fact willing Slaaneshi cultists. Vreiken took charge of the situation and completed the mission, rescuing Sigarda who promoted her to Inquisitor on the spot for her efforts. Gustave, along with a dozen of his battle brothers, were assigned to work alongside her, and she was given a Dauntless Light Cruiser named the Judgement of Sulara.

In 104.M42, Vreiken would become romantically involved with Inquisitor Cardon Amyras of the Ordo Hereticus. The two began working together after Vreiken responded to a call for help from him when a Chaos cult he was investigating summoned Daemons, necessitating the aid of the Ordo Malleus. Cardon was immediately smitten with Vreiken and began dating while working together in their investigations. Cardon's knowledge of the Imperial Creed and his skills at investigating and social maneuvering complemented Vreiken's combat skills and knowledge of Daemons, and within a year the two had uncovered more cults and heretical plots than either would have on their own. However, Cardon became increasingly paranoid and protective of Vreiken after she was seriously wounded in a battle against a Greater Daemon of Khorne. Vreiken broke up with Cardon in 105.M42, when Cardon carried out an Exterminatus against the world of Bosora, under siege by the Word Bearers, out of a selfish and mistaken belief that the situation was too much for Vreiken and Gustave to handle.

Vreiken and her forces were present on the penal world of Garrus-Elba during the Alpha Legion-led insurrection on the planet in 106.M42. There she attempted to recruit Lt. Frideric Rhodes of the Ashimar 43rd Nova Guard into her retinue, but Rhodes rejected the offer and had his memory of their encounter psychically erased from his mind by Gustave.

Vreiken took part in the events of the Skaventide in 120.M42, where she enlisted the aide of the Harlequin Finclaire, as well as Space Marines of the Blades of Morkai and Storm Wraiths chapters and Custodes led by Shield-Captain Antipater to defend Segmentum Solar from the Skaven invaders.

Personality
If Vreiken could be described in one word, that word is "altruistic." Vreiken is utterly selfless in her approach to her duties as an Inquisitor, caring deeply not only for her subordinates but for the people of the Imperium as a whole. Having personally faced the guns of an Inquisition firing squad, Vreiken refuses to conduct purges of civilians and Imperial Guard troops who witness Chaos, instead opting for the more humane but laborious process of mind-wiping them. In addition, she is firmly against Exterminatus except as an absolute last resort, only carried out once all other options have been tried and failed. After all, Exterminatus should have been carried out on Sulara IV with how dire the situation was, but the day was still ultimately able to be saved.

Both in and out of combat, Vreiken is impulsive, strong-willed, and witty, always charging into action with a confident grin and a sly remark at the ready. This however is a mask for her own insecurities, as she grimly carries out her duties to an organization she hates and only joined to keep herself and the men and women under her command alive, knowing that she will be an Inquisitor until she dies, for none but the Grey Knights are expected to survive in the service of the Ordo Malleus.

Vreiken is very close friends with Brother-Captain Gustave of the Grey Knights, who serves as her constant companion, confidant, and bodyguard. She secretly harbors romantic feelings for him.

Equipment
Vreiken is most commonly armed with a plasma pistol and power sword, and is highly skilled in the use of both weapons.

For the first several years of her career as an Inquisitor, Vreiken continued to wear her Tempestus Scion armor, due to it providing good protection and being what she was used to. However, this resulted in many not believing her to be an Inquisitor until she offered proof, and even after adding purity seals and other Inquisition iconography to the uniform still was not immediately taken seriously. Her cape was a gift purchased for her by some of her Stormtrooper officers and acolytes, and at Cardon's recommendation she commissioned a suit of custom carapace armor to match it.

By Katryna Vreiken
"'I know what you're going to do with them if I join you. They fought and died to save your precious little fortress world, and that's how you're going to reward them for it? By making it so they never existed? If that's how the Inquisition works, then I want no part of it.' - Vreiken refusing to join the Inquisition after the Battle of Sulara IV, 100.M42" "''I can't let this planet die. Not while there's still a chance to save it... if we blow up our own worlds at the first sign of heresy, then we're no better than the Great Enemy." ''- Vreiken to Inquisitor Cardon Amyras prior to the Exterminatus of Bosora, 105.M42