ok, how about 156, still youngish but not a fresh faced scrub lol.

also, i think ill have adopted a handful of imperial army troopers.

[hider]
Name: "Blood Knight" Tarkus
Age: 156
Legion: Formerly Death Guard
Planet of Origin: Barbarus
Physical Description: 
Tarkus is slight of build for an Astartes. While he is still taller and broader than a regular human, he carries a smaller frame than most of his brothers. He appears gaunt and sickly even though his body is whole and strong. He is much the same as his legion in that he projects a grim determination, one soldier of the unstoppable Death Guard march. However since his legion's fall he has taken on a somber look, sadness that his Legion and Primarch would fall into rebellion. 

In his Mk IV armor he looks like any other Deathguard, unpainted armor with green trim. However his right arm and shoulder guard is colored a deep blood red, like that of the Dusk Raiders that came before the legion found their Primarch. His company painted their own armor in response to mutterings and rumor of a stark division between the Barbarus and Terran Death Guard, declaring themselves as Terran born loyalists, and Tarkus did the same with them even though he was not terran born he was enough of a brother that they did not only encourage him to paint his armor he was ordered to by his company captain only days before their drop on Istavaan III


Skillset:
Tarkus is an apothecary, and an expert one at that. He is exquisitely skilled in patching the gravely wounded back together, a skill he has employed many many times on the front lines with his company. When healing a fallen comrade he will place himself between the front lines and his patient if no cover is readily available try to save his brother even while bullets and plasma are striking all around him. He ignores all but the most pressing of danger while doing his work, and this has led him to take more than a few bullets. 

After his medical skill he is a terrifying close range combatant. He fights with the fury of a World Eater once he can close with them and use his sword, However he seems reluctant to do so trying to hang back and provide support for his brothers. While a master swordsman and brutal close range fighter he generally stays at medium range and fights from there only rushing in to beat attackers off his brothers with savage efficiency and tend to them.


History:
Tarkus only vaguely remembers any time before becoming a full Astartes, but he remembers being singled out for Apothecary training. He excelled during his time at the medicae temples and became one of the better Apothecaries that the Death Guard had, not so remarkable as the best or even one that drew great notice from anybody other than his company but still highly skilled. He was then transferred out to a Terra born company, Tarkus was the only Legionnary born on Barbarus in the whole company but their Apothecary had been killed and he was moved to fill the vacancy.

He was treated like an outcast for several years, until a long and brutal battle for the planet Aragosi. The battle drew out longer and longer as the human defenders had weapons that where a very close match for the Death Guard. Their relentless march however was never halted, the marines took the planet one meter at a time. hundreds of Death Guard died but nobody in Tarkus' company was killed, many where wounded and should have fallen but Tarkus was always there to drive the enemy back and save them from the brink of death. He was given the title "Blood Knight" while on Aragosi as well, his Company Captain was severely wounded when he was taken by surprise by several soldiers with a kind of power blades, The rest of his company where bogged down by heavy fire emplacements and grueling melee combat but Tarkus simply charged forward through the hail of gun fire, hacking and cleaving his way through the enemy formation until he reached his captain and fought off each soldier by the time he knelt over his captain and began sealing his wounds Tarkus was covered in blood and his captain called him "Blood Knight" 

His years of service passed much the same for years remaining largely oblivious the strife in the ranks. He heard rumors and whispers of some kind of division between the Terran and Barbarus Death Guard but he didn't put much weight behind them as he believed that silly little problems like what planet the marine was born on made little difference, but he painted his armor like that of the Dusk Raiders regardless. and 1 week after painting his armor he was dropped onto Istavaan. He fought savagely for the legion trying to obtain the objective in his orders but that was before the virus bombs fell, he was one of the few Death Guard that managed to take cover in one of the heavy fortifications and seal themselves from the bombings. Once it was over the planet was silent for a few moments, and in that silence he began to realize the scope of what was happening. When he and his squad left the scarred fortifications that had saved their lives they where met by World Eaters and Death Guard, his squad didn't fight with honor or even valiantly. They fought with desperation and reluctance. Tarkus couldnt believe his eyes as he watched his brothers turning on one another and the battle broke something inside Tarkus. He managed to find a small bomber and escape Istavaan but at great personal cost. He had to kill dozens of whom he used to believe where brother Astartes before he escaped and in the blood shed he lost part of his unshakable will. 

During his escape he "adopted" a few soldiers of the Imperial army, he wasnt sure how or why they where on the planet or how they had survived the bombing but here they where fighting for their lives. A dozen troopers holed up in a bombed out building hammering the crazed World Eaters back. When Tarks found them there where still 4 world eaters trying to get into the building with several corpses of their own strewn about the ground before the building. Tarkus ambushed them from behind and between the fire from Tarkus and the Imperial Army they felled the remaining World Eaters. He entered the building and he was hailed as a hero by the troopers, but he could see the real cost in lives. The World eaters had caught a whole company in this building and slaughtered them down to the dozen remaining. He decided that the Army units would come with him during his escape. They fought with the same desperation that his former squad did, but 6 managed to survive to the ship along with Tarkus.

Psychological Profile:
Tarkus is dower and brooding, the horrible events of Istavaan playing behind his eyes constantly. He is still obviously a Death Guard with an iron will to continue on but spending any significant time with him will betray what is beneath. Not only is he furious with his legion, primarch and astartes as a whole but he laments the loss of each of his brothers, he simply wants the fighting to end because he has seen all that he can stomach and he is convinced that the Imperium will suffer for too long if it is allowed to continue. His staunch will reasserts itself in the resolution that he may blow his own brains out once the heresy is over but he cant just yet. He has to at least try and make it right before he dies. 


Equipment:
Mars-pattern Storm bolter: a standard issue Mars pattern storm bolter
Mark III Iron Armour: Tarkus' armor is the old Mk III, his heavy armor is deeply scarred and damaged from his battles. However most of the damage has been from Istavaan. but it still bears the coloration of the old Dusk Raiders.
Apothecary gauntlet: Most of the chemicals and reagents in the gauntlet are nearly depleated it is still in working order and can successfully preform its function.
Thunder Edge Chainsword: Still stained in the blood of traitors from Istavaan, has not been cleaned since he fled the battle.
Standard Bolt pistol: its a standard issue bolt pistol that is rarely used.
NPCs:
6 Imperial Guard troopers
equipment: 
5 Hot Shot las-guns
Flak jackets
2 frag grenades
1 Melta-gun
[/hider]