The 53rd acknowledges the warband's effort to assist the campaign, but my feeling is that they do not go far enough.
Commissar Dukane, Vox Intercept VIII (Dukane's Arrival)
Commissar Dukane is a leader of the Moebian 53rd Regiment who states she is taking control of the war efforts in Tertium.
Dev Blogs[]
Only in Death Does Duty End[] |
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The release of Unlocked and Loaded brought a new face to the Mourningstar. Commissar Darinda Dukane has assumed command of the Moebian 53rd regiment - the famed Steelheads. These stalwart troops have been deployed to Tertium at the behest of the Planetary Governor, Lord Margrave, who is disturbed by the perceived lack of progress made by the Inquisition.
But what is a Commissar of the Astra Militarum? The Commissars of the Officio Prefectus are fearsome, iron-fisted authoritarians who keep the wheels of the Astra Militarum in motion. To the masses of Humanity, most of whom recognise the black greatcoat, peaked cap and polished boots of a Commissar from hab-block propaganda frescoes or grainy recruitment vids, these inflexible men and women are Imperial authority made manifest. Their amorphous remit is to ensure that all do their duty in the Emperor’s name, and the high rank and wide-ranging powers of these Departmento Munitorum agents give them leeway to enforce discipline at all levels. Should discipline and morale falter, should orders fail to be obeyed in anything less than exemplary and immediate fashion, it is these ruthless men and women in black who take whatever steps necessary to restore order – no matter the cost. A Commanding Presence Commissars rarely assume direct command of a regiment and the circumstances by which Commissar Dukane came to head up the 53rd remain shrouded in mystery - or are at least snarled up in the processes of the Imperium’s infamous bureaucracy. However, it is plain that she enjoys the full confidence of the sectors lord militant, and has swiftly moved to assume immediate control of the Atoman warzone, masterminding aggressive deployments by the 53rd and rallying the winnowed survivors of the Moebian 21st - until now, the only official Astra Militarum presence in Tertium. Uneasy Allies With initial drop zones secured, Dukane has taken station on the Mourningstar and even now casts a suspicious eye over Grendyl’s warband, whose motives and masters she clearly does not trust. Nonetheless, she is too practical not to recognise the necessity of allies and has assigned the finest drill sergeants of the 53rd to tutor the rejects in proper weapons drill. Expendable allies they might be, but every heretic the members of the warband eliminates is one less heretic to stand in her path. But not everything is going Dukane’s way. Tertium’s insidious cult refuses to let this upstart newcomer foil their long-held plans. Even as the 53rd secures new ground the heretics prepare to strike a humbling blow, presenting Sergeant-Major Morrow with an opportunity to prove the warband’s worth… |
Quotes[]
Morrow speaks to Operative directly when walking past Commissar Dukane for the first time on an Operative.
- Morrow: You'll have seen by now that we have a new face aboard the Mourningstar. My advice? Keep your head down and let it play out as business as usual.
- Morrow: "Good" and "Bad" don't come into it when you're dealing with a comissar. We're all just meat for the grinder.
- Morrow: But if you want to live long enough to even MAKE it to that grinder, keep your opinions to yourself.
- Morrow: I might let you backchat me, but if you do that with Dukane you won't even see the bullet that kills you.
- Morrow: And if anyone asks ... you never heard this from me. Got it?
Mourningstar Vox Chatter[]
Morrow[]
- Dukane: Sergeant-Major, I require access to the strategium. Has it been attended to?
- Morrow: We should have the correct crypt-key clearances in place, ma'am. I'll get it confirmed.
- Dukane: See that you do.
- Dukane: The 53rd acknowledges the warband's effort to assist the campaign, but my feeling is that they do not go far enough.
- Morrow: Mine too, ma'am. I'll meet with your adjutants. We'll see what can be done.
- Dukane: Do so swiftly. I am not a patient woman.
- Morrow: Right you are, ma'am.
- Dukane: You've been a long time from Armageddon, sergeant.
- Morrow: Have I? To be honest, I can't say that I've really noticed.
- Dukane: Surely you yearn to be part of a true military command, rather than ... whatever this is?
- Morrow: You making me an offer, ma'am?
- Dukane: Not as yet. But we shall see.
- Dukane: I am still waiting for Explicator Zola to present herself to me.
- Morrow: Yes ma'am. Working on it, ma'am. I'll have her report at the earliest opportunity.
- Dukane: See that you do.
- Morrow: [Sotto] If only it was up to me ...
- Dukane: Just how did you find yourself in Inquisitor Grendyl's service, sergeant-major?
- Morrow: Well ... The way I see it if the Inquisitor hasn't seen fit to tell you, I probably shouldn't. Sorry, ma'am.
- Dukane: I see.
- Dukane: I've been reviewing your record, sergeant-major. Large sections of it appear to be ... missing.
- Morrow: Probably just data-gremlins. ma'am. Back on Armageddon, things got a big(bit?*) tricky during the final days of the war.
- Dukane: Which war was that, exactly?
- Morrow: There's only one Battle for Armageddon that matters, ma'am.
- Morrow: Commissar? You asked me to tell you when the command uplink was working again?
- Dukane: Excellent. I'm on my way.
- Morrow: Yeah, well ... I'm afraid the system's still down. The Interrogator suggested you speak to Enginseer Kayex to arrange a stopgap.
- Dukane: What kind of a war are you prosecuting here?
- Morrow: The only one we can, ma'am. However we can.
- Morrow: Commissar? If the supply situation continues to worsen you'd do well to talk to Commodore Hallowette. She has a good line on that stuff.
- Dukane: Let us hope such measures do not become necessary. This is a military campaign, not some privateer's hobby.
- Morrow: [Sotto] Yeah, the rest of us used to think that and all.
Idle Conversation[]
- Dukane: Where are my strike teams? We require additional support.
- Overseer Marsett: I relayed your request to Interrogator Rannick.
- Dukane: I do not make "requests". I issue instructions. I expect them to be carried out.
- Overseer Marsett: I made certain to relay that also.
- Dukane: Is there any report from Battlezone 12?
- Overseer Marsett: Not so I have heard, ma'am. But then ... the entire sector is cut off. I fear the worst.
- Dukane: Martyrs all. They will be remembered.
- Overseer Marsett: The Battlegroup has engaged in Sector Twelve. Knight Commander Dragor reports ... significant enemy casualties.
- Dukane: I am sure he does. He has a tendenct to count every dead heretic at least twice.
- Overseer Marsett: Even so ... the tally is rather impressive, ma'am.
- Dukane: For all his bluster, he is a true soldier. The Imperium could use more like him. This Warband doubly so.
- Dukane: Interrogator Rannick instructed you to spy on me, did he not?
- Overseer Marsett: It is not for me to speak for the interrogator. I am to provide you every courtesy ... ma'am.
- Dukane: Yes ... most convincing.
See Also[]
- Dukane's Arrival - Vox Intercept VIII
- Commissar Report I & II - Dukane's journal
- Dev-blog: Only in Death Does Duty End
- Narrative Trailer | Unlocked and Loaded
- Tertium Tales: Training Day
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
Voiced by Rebecca Hanssen.