Veidt al-Miraj

The Distant Past
Veidt al-Miraj was born on Tallarn 987.M41 as the the oldest of two children. When he was eight years old, Veidt lost his father and younger sister when a large earthquake caused a local transport tunnel to collapse on top of them, causing Veidt to begin harboring a deep-seated hatred of the planet. Though his conscription into the Imperial Guard was anticipated, the usual feelings of desperation were tinged with the hope of leaving Tallarn and surviving long enough to live a better life elsewhere.

In the Imperial Guard
During the 18-month instruction on-world, it was discovered that Veidt had an exceptional talent for sharpshooting and he found an instinctual aptitude with a Long-las during his training as a Weapons Specialist. This skill set made him an ideal candidate for scouting units in the Tallarn 11th Desert Raiders, and he was placed in a squad of five other Guardsmen whose mission directives ranged from reconnaissance behind enemy lines to assassinating key targets under cover of night.

During his nearly eight years of service, Veidt always clung to the grand ambition of one day living a peaceful life away from the perpetual fear death lurking behind every corner. Embracing this creed, he perceives every foe as an obstacle to be cut down.

Present Day
Though morose that the escape he sought cost the lives of his comrades, Veidt looked forward to beginning his new (safer) life as an agent of the Inquisition.

However, as an Acolyte, Veidt has found that he's left the frying pan only to enter the fire. Though his average risk of dying on any particular day has decreased, the enemies he now faces are far more ominous and he often finds his combat abilities useless when the problem can't be solved with intelligently-applied lasfire.

Veidt regularly decries the incompetence of his new squad (including the other Guardsman), who appear unable to determine which end of a gun the bullets come out of and fail to hit the broad side of a barn after accomplishing that momentous feat. In combat, his comrades seem capable only of attracting enemy fire, a role which should rightfully be his. Though thankful for the better survival odds, this relationship becomes worrisome when Veidt must leave the safety of cover to rescue the only teammate who can drive the escape vehicle from having his head blown clean off (though a particular Psyker somehow managed to do that all on his own).

Veidt's relationships with his teammates vary wildly: the Tech-priest is autistic even by Tallarn standards, the speechless Moritat Assassin is usually absent from the party (coward), the Scum either wants to be his best friend or stab him in the back (maybe both?), the Commissar he was "too slow to save" has been replaced with an equally zealous Cleric, and the remaining Psyker might be a cool guy if he didn't accidentally summon demons all the time.

Disposition
Cynical and sarcastic, Veidt plays the role of the party's straight man.

Veidt often finds his actions conflicting with his better judgement. Though reluctant to admit it, he believes wholeheartedly in the importance of The Guard, realizing that it's not the ever-distant Adeptus Astartes, but ordinary soldiers who keep the countless horrors of the universe from overrunning the Imperium. Throughout over seven years of fighting on multiple planets, Veidt has seen the lives which the "meat-grinder" has protected and knows first-hand that a single well-aimed las shot can save thousands. Veidt can even find a degree of nostalgia in the spartan conditions he lived in for the camaraderie which made them tolerable.