The Militarum Tempestus's COL. Derek Mitchell: Cadian Conscript Veteran turned Inquisitional Colonel.
 Veteran Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

PHILOSOPHY:
This is the loadout for my Veteran Reject in Darktide. It functions around one simple philosophy: K.E.A.L. (Keep Everyone Alive). Here is the belief, even outside of the rigidity of "FOR THE EMPEROR!" or "FOR CADIA!" roleplaying:
"If you can't hold your own, how can you expect to hold your squadmates? If your squadmates can't hold their own, how can you expect them to hold you, or the opposite: How can they expect you to hold them? You are not here to top the leaderboards. Your focus, is mission success so you can get that sweet, juicy loot and XP. You are a jack of all trades, master of none. You are to balance yourself to where even the likes of Thanos is put to shame."

"By ensuring your survival, and your teammates ensuring their own survival, mission success is all but guaranteed, if each teammate can function as an individual and effective unit alone, by themselves, when KARK hits the fan."



THE BREAKDOWN:
Kills = Toughness Engine: Weakspot kills, specialist/elite kills, and any kill achieved give a minimum of 5% toughness in return. This includes both Melee AND Ranged. Meeting all of the kill criteria with a RANGED weakspot kill, mathematically yields 75% toughness return.

Cohesion: Stick with the team ya KARK! (Up to 33% Toughness Damage reduction depending on amount of allies, or entities that count as allies (Cyber-Mastiff), within coherency range.

Krak Grenade: Cracks open hardened enemy armor and skulls all the same. NEXT TARGET, PLEASE! (Gets rid of big chonky crusher bois)

The 76% Rule: If you manage to maintain ABOVE 75% toughness, incoming damage to your toughness is reduced by +50%.

"MORE KILLIN'!": Additional damage to elites, and increased melee speed for horde-clearing and priority target termination alike.

Survivalist: Passive ammo regen. "BULLETS TASTE GOOD IF THEY ARE FREN!" (I also opted to give +25% more rounds to myself. Mmmm. Brass tastes good doesn't it?)

Improved grenades and passive grenade regeneration: +1 Krak Grenade (max total 3) every 90s. +75% base damage to Krak Grenades.

Professional Drill Instructor: You yell at your recruits to make them toughen up with Cadian rigor! ( Voice of Command, replenishes all Toughness and staggers ALL ENEMIES within 9m. You and your teammates within coherence range get +50 toughness, and this can be applied OVER your maximum toughness.

Passive +10% Ranged Damage: Put that Karkin' Reaper out of his misery, please?

Passive +30% Weakspot Damage: Tell the Beast of Nurgle to GURGLE on its OWN Chaos, not my BATTLEFIELD-INDUCED-SLAUGHTERHOUSE Chaos mmmkay? I can only kill so much you know! You've gotta get in line, and by CADIA is there a LOOOOOOONG waitlist....

Additional Close-Quarters Damage Bonus: Upon screaming at your lesser, unruly conscripts, you get +15% damage to enemies who dare cross your lines!

Desperado LLC (IFYKYK): +25% melee finesse bonus, with a side of +10% melee critical hit chance, and another side of a MAUL Arbitrator voicelining that you are a very fine Lex Keeper.

Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't: Killing an enemy with a melee attack gives +25% ranged damage, and killing an enemy with a ranged attack gives +25% melee damage.


"SHOOT IT TILL IT DIES!": Continuous HITS (meaning any hit, ranged or melee) applies 2.5% Brittleness to the hit target, stacking up to 16x, and lasts 5s. (Brittleness is an enemy debuff that reduces target armor ratings, allowing the entire team to deal more damage through improved armor penetration.)

"I GIVE YOU GUNS, YOU GIVE ME DEAD BODIES, MAGGOT!" (IFYKYK): Gain Ranged Specialist on Melee Kills (Stacks 10 times). Gain Melee Specialist on Ranged Kill (Stacks 1 times.) When you wield your Ranged Weapon, you activate your Ranged Specialist effect to gain +2% Ranged Attack Speed, 2% Reload Speed, as well as +33% Ranged Critical Hit Chance on your next shot, per stack. Lasts 10s. Conversely, when you wield your Melee Weapon, you activate your Melee Specialist effect, to gain +15% Melee Attack Speed, and 10% Dodge Speed and Dodge Distance. Lasts 10s.

"Excessive? You can never have too much of a good thing!": Activating Ranged Specialist also replenishes up to 3.3% of your missing ammo in your Clip from your Reserve, rounded up, for each stack. In addition, activating Melee Specialist and/or Ranged Specialist replenishes 20% Toughness. 3s Cooldown for each.

WEAPONS:
I just use the two weapons that I think are cool. You can easily just make this into a cookie-cutter infinite lazer build, but, lasguns aren't that cool to me compared to the sheer kinetic impacts of bullets, and the guns generally sound cooler with bullets than they do with lazer beams. Plus, this gives room for more variety on whatever the Kark you want to use as weaponry. Swap my weapons out for what YOU like. Just account for the perks and blessings and you'll be ***slightly*** less golden than the God-Emperor himself.

Now, unless you want a dope backstory lorepiece bonus, go start representing some Cadian Might on Atoma, and show that grumpy Provost that you are MORE than just BLOCK-FODDER, you are a MEAN, GREEN (if you have green on your character), HERETIC-KILLIN' MACHINE! I mean come on, even the Skitarii has to respect THAT, right?!







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BACKGROUND/LORE:

Deployed to the Mourningstar by order of Inquisitor Grendyl of the Ordo Hereticus due to Interrogator Rannick's lack of "favorable results" on Atoma Prime, and more specifically, the Tertium Hive, the Inquisition's Militarum Tempestus's COL. Derek Mitchell was to accompany the "distasteful Reject Strike Teams" and ensure a successful cleansing of the forces of Chaos across Tertium, and later, the entirety of Atoma. With the additional intervention of the Lex Arbites, Mitchell was to spearhead the operation while the mandates of the authoritarian Arbitrators patrol and secure the streets of Tertium after his, and the Reject's efforts proved fruitful. With each inch of territory gained, the Arbitrators enforced ruthless, righteous judgement of those who remained and claimed to be faithful to the all-powerful God-Emperor. As for Interrogator Rannick? Despite his self-centered ignorance, he knows better than to question a unit that Inquisitor Grendyl himself endorsed. He too is familiar with the "Hidden Edict" of the Inquisition. To Rannick and the rest of the crew, they think it is best to "leave well enough alone". They pretend they never saw him. They never address him directly. They even try their hardest to maintain the "superiority over convicts" approach, even when they know he is aboard a Valkyrie with the Rejects in tow, while trembling in their respective boots internally. 

The Colonel was a former Guardsman of the Astra Militarum. Born on the revered fortress world of Cadia, the Astra Militarum watched with a keen eye for proper recruits, most notably for those who show promise to be befitting of an Officer ranking. Captains of Astra Militarum, along with unexplained appearances of Inquisition representatives on brief occasions, closely monitored Mitchell's actions in his adolescence and training. They found that he was not only able-bodied, but well-disciplined, with multiple accounts of Sergeants commenting on his evaluations that "He's practically got the mental fortress of Cadia itself!".  No matter what twisted scenario the Astra Militarum threw at him, he refused to break, be it physically, mentally, or spiritually. This garnered increased intrigue of the aforementioned Inquisition representatives. They quietly had the Astra Militarum put him through numerous, atypical, grueling scenarios and were instructed to play it off as if it was normal training. Mitchell's demeanor never changed. Rigid in protocol, discipline, and mental fortitude, he cleared each and every test. It was then decided that he be placed in real combat, in a classified Inquisition-sanctioned containment operation in the Agripinaa Sector on Cadia, tasked with neutralizing a rogue Astra Militarum unit that had succumbed to warp-madness. Shortly after the conclusion of the operation, just before reaching the extraction point, Mitchell felt odd... He felt that his commanding officer was not himself. The captain’s eyes, normally rigid and calculating, held a faint, unnatural glassy calm. His hand lingered too deliberately near a sealed iron coffer salvaged from the rogue unit's makeshift command center, which was formed on the grounds of an overrun Militarum checkpoint. The captain practically caressed an unsanctioned relic that should have been marked for immediate incineration. Not long after, the captain began to raise his bolt pistol, claiming it to be of "Field Warp-Contamination Preventative Measures". Mitchell instantaneously drew his stub pistol sidearm with textbook precision, and put a round directly through his commander's visor before the man could finish the blasphemous cadence on his lips, without hesitation. The remaining squad members froze, weapons raised in horror, completely unsure what to do with the percieved traitorous event that occured before them. Even from their visors, it was evident that they were looking at each other in sheer panic, unsure what to do with the lowly and traitorous conscript who stood tall and cold in the face of potential execution. Mitchell holstered his sidearm, with his autogun safely on his back via sling, and held his arms out, as if welcoming the opportunity to be shot.

"So? That's it then, yeah? Go on. Get it over with already! Standin' there like karkin' idiots, the lot of you! Wouldn't know a heretic from a karkin' servo-skull! Shakin' in your boots, afraid of gettin' demoted, instead of doin' what needs to be done! That artifact was to be subject to incineration by EDICT, ya knob-heads! Yet 'ol Cap'n over here, cradling the thing like a Tech-Priest does to a fresh boltgun! So go on then, mag-dump me already! Use that Cadian confidence in yas' to pull the trigger! An' don't tell me you lot aren't REAL Cadians eh? 'Cause that'd be disgraceful! Damn-near traitorous in my eyes!"

The remaining squadmates look at each other, and at the ground in search for answers, then revert back to pride. They had to prove that they ARE true Cadians. They began to raise their weapons.

Then, a matte-black Valkyrie dropship arrives, clad in Inquisitor iconography. The distant and silent observation team from the Inquisition stepped out from the dropship's doors. A cadre of Inquisitors and their associated personal guards emerge from the craft. The inquisitor guards rush out, weapons trained on the confused squadmates. The lead inquisitor trails behind and moves upfront. He holds up his hand. "Hold your fire, Guardsmen. Lest you be subject to the Lex." They didn't arrest Mitchell for mutiny or brand him a traitor. Instead, the inquisitor approached Mitchell. "A bold move, for a mere conscript. Tell me, what drove you to such lengths, to risk being subject to a firing squad, comprised of your very own brethren?"

Mitchell lowered his arms and replied: "I saw heresy and corruption. The Cap'n I knew don't act like that. I knew these lot didn't have the steel to do it. I silenced the corruption in His name."

(Inquisitor): "Your intuition was right, conscript. But, having known your captain for so long, how could you bring yourself to execute him?"

Mitchell: "Once I seen them tainted, glassy eyes, he wasn't my captain no more. He's just a puppet of The Archenemy."

(Inquisitor): (He pauses, cracks the slightest of smiles, and nods in approval) "Very good, conscript. Very good. Come. You are due for reassignment effective immediately."

Mitchell: "With all due respect sir, we've got a war of our own here on Cadia. The heretics spread throughout this place like a Tyranid spore-bloom."

(Inquisitor): (Gives a look of pleasant surprise) "You would challenge a direct order from an Inquisitor to defend your home?"

Mitchell: "Make no mistake, sir. I would challenge any direct order threatening the safety of not just my home, but of the Imperium. I'm a Cadian. I was born to fight till my last breath. I serve the Emperor, not the Inquisition."

(The Inquisition Guards even pivot their attention to Mitchell in shock for a moment, then back at the confused squadmates, still holding them at gunpoint.)

(Inquisitor): (He pauses in thought, and allows a warm smile to surface) "A bold move. Never in my entire service to the Throne have I met a conscript who would openly defy a direct Inquisitional order, to safeguard the Imperium. Come. You will still serve and protect His will, but with much greater ability. The arrangements of such were already made years ago."

Mitchell: (Nods, and follows the Inquisitor cadre into the Valkyrie.)

(Inquisitor): (Pauses at the door, turning to the confused squadmates) "Oh, and to you 'Guardsmen'..... You will await the next dropship to arrive, and promptly report to the nearest Lex Arbites stronghold for cowardice, failure to eliminate heresy, and treasonous behavior. These crimes will NOT go unpunished. Failure to report to the Lex will result in execution by Inquisitional Edict. You are NOT befitting of service in His name, let alone service as a true Cadian."

From that day forward, Mitchell was officially pulled from standard infantry lines and inducted into the Inquisitorial Militarum Tempestus secret war-machine. Decades of relentless black-ops warfare followed. He proved his tactical brilliance during the bloody internal purges of Kasr Tyrok, held the line as a hardened Captain during the tragic Fall of Cadia, and eventually rose to the rank of Colonel. By the time Inquisitor Grendyl requisitioned Mitchell's abnormal affinity for lethality and uncompromising doctrine for the crisis on Atoma Prime, Mitchell was no longer just a mere Cadian conscript. He was the Inquisition's cold, unyielding, invisible hammer, ready to bring absolute order to the chaotic depths of the Tertium Hive. And as the saying goes when you witness him, if you see him at all: "If you think you've seen him, you've seen nothing. And if you really think you've seen him, you might notice the cell you're in." 

Admitting to seeing him in action was a punishable offense, equating to treason, and goes against Lex and Inquisitional Edict alike. Not even the Adeptus Astartes are exempt from this decree. Hence, the "Hidden Edict". Clad in armor ranging from the Athonian 98th Warhelm, the Inquisition's Shroudwrap Warplate, and his tried and true fatigues with his Field Vox Unit from his days on Cadia, Mitchell deliberately chose these armor pieces to inflict maximum psychological warfare on the enemy. Letting them know that he is no stranger to close-quarters combat, displaying that he is an enforcer of the Inquisition itself, and that despite his status, he is a true Cadian at heart. He even refuses to use anything other than his Cadian MK XIIIG Assault Chainsword, and his service Agripinaa MKI Infantry Autogun from his days on Cadia, unless it is out of absolute necessity. He holds the under-appreciated service of the Athonian 98th at a high bar, giving even the "unruly Hive-Rat Warband fodder" his utmost respect for engaging in unfavorable and overwhelming combat without support units. This, marks his uncompromising doctrine:

"If you're nothing without your weapon, you shouldn't have been issued one in the first place."

"If you can't hold your own, how can you hold your battle-brothers?"

"One failure in your unit, is a catastrophic cohesion failure. BEGIN, AGAIN." (Restart training exercises to the beginning when the slightest of flaws occurs. Squad-wide punishment must be enforced for one soldier's failure.)

"No loose ends."

"Brutality and Lethality, are FUNCTIONALITY. How can your squad function, without functionality?"

"YOU are the weapon. The armaments and environments you are given or placed in, are your tools." (Anything and EVERYTHING is a weapon in the mind of a TRUE Guardsman)

"Heretic lives are mere variables to be solved. They are no better than block-fodder, no matter the uniform."

"The best training exercise is a live-fire, live operations exercise." (If you are to operate with him as a dedicated unit canonically, you would be subject to live-fire exercises, and eventually, live operations as training. If you die? Pity.... The Emperor does not look upon you favorably, then.)

"An enemy, in any form, is STILL, a TARGET."

"Your existence matters not. Strip yourself of your humanity. There is no room for error in His will. You MUST only exhibit functionality, lethality, and absolute obedience to the Throne. Morals, trivial emotions, squabbles, even Exterminatus are variables to be eliminated. If you are not thinking to serve His will, how can you walk the streets of the Imperium? How can you truly claim you are a servant to the God-Emperor?"

"Second only to your servitude to His will, is your Edict to K.E.A.L. . You are not here to compete for attention. You are not here to be displayed in a drama to the Imperium's populace. In fact, you aren't even here at all. You ceased to exist the moment you set foot on that dropship. Your past life is gone to the sands of time. Everything you were before you walked into that dropship, is gone. Some of you may have fought for Cadia, and have every right to fight in the name of Cadia. But make no mistake: You are here to exert His will, and His demands. As such, your second most important Edict to follow, is to keep everyone in your squad alive. Failure to do so denotes failure of cohesion. Failure of cohesion denotes failure of operational security. Failure of operational security denotes failure to serve the Emperor. Failure to serve the Emperor denotes that of a heretic. And if everyone is a heretic? His Sovereignty is compromised. And if His Sovereignty is compromised, you have willingly handed over the keys to victory, to our very way of life, to the Archenemy."
                                                                                                   "Si Vi Pacem, Para Bellum."