Warhammer 40K: Commissar Yarrick – The Legendary ‘Old Bale Eye’
With Commissar Yarrick bowing out of the grimdark (for now), we figured it was good time to dive into his backstory and history.
Sebastian Yarrick is an Imperial Guard Commissar famous for his participation in the Second and Third Wars for Armageddon, in which he twice fought against the Ork forces of Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. His leadership and bravery during these conflicts have made him one of the greatest heroes of the Imperium.
Commissar Yarrick History
The Second War for Armageddon
In his youth, Yarrick had learned the Ork language from a captured raider, and became an expert in the way the Ork mind worked. Before the Second War for Armageddon began, in 941M41, he had already served in a dozen campaigns as a commissar with Armageddon‘s Planetary Defence Forces and gained a reputation for unswerving loyalty to the Emperor. In fact, he was already of advanced age at the time of the War and was scheduled to retire on the day the Orks landed.
When the first warnings of the Ork landing came, Yarrick was on Armageddon to assist in the founding of the 4th Armageddon Regiment. Yarrick swiftly observed that Ghazghkull was a more cunning and tenacious warlord than previously encountered among Orks, and Yarrick ordered the planet’s astropaths to send a call for help. Herman von Strab, the inept Overlord of Armageddon, insisted that Armageddon could deal with the Ork threat on its own, and banished Yarrick to Hades Hive as punishment for circumventing von Strab’s authority.
Von Strab was grievously mistaken. Under his incompetent leadership, the planet fell bit by bit until the Orks reached Hades Hive. Here, Commissar Yarrick commanded the defending forces, inspiring them to a fanatical degree of bravery and resolve. Not a single soldier was executed for cowardice during the fighting at Hades Hive, even in the face of the overwhelming Ork numbers.
Yarrick himself was always on the front lines during the fighting. He received many battle wounds, the most grievous in single combat with Warboss Ugulhard, who severed Yarrick’s right hand with a swipe from his Power Klaw. Such a wound would have killed a lesser man, but Yarrick’s iron will allowed him to not only survive, but to decapitate Ugulhard with his chainsword and then pull the Power Klaw from his corpse and hold it aloft for all to see. The sight caused the Orks to flee in terror, while simultaneously causing the human defenders to charge forward with renewed vigour. Only after the Orks had been routed did Yarrick allow himself the luxury of passing out.
The Imperial defence of Hades Hive was so implacable that eventually Ghazghkull himself joined the attack, leading his forces from the front. He tried to take the Hive by every strategy he could imagine, but Yarrick countered them all. Eventually, Hades Hive became a personal battle between the two warriors. When Ghazghkull fell upon the hive, Yarrick realised they could not hold their position. In a series of daring shuttle runs, the remaining forces managed to escape. Yarrick himself received a near-fatal wound in combat with Ghazghkull, and hovered near death during the final stage of the evacuation.
Eventually, the war ended with the arrival of Commander Dante of the Blood Angels, whom the defenders of Armageddon turned to for leadership. Although the Space Marines‘ offensive pushed the Orks off the planet, Yarrick’s defense of Hades Hive was recognized as the turning point of the war, and he was hailed as the Saviour of Armageddon.
Battle of Golgotha
In 944.M41, three years after the end of the Second War, Yarrick formally came out of retirement and requested a military expedition to thoroughly cleanse the surrounding worlds of Ork raiders, his particular goal being to hunt down Ghazghkull. One such planet, Golgotha, was to be where this purge would end for the Imperials in a crushing defeat by the Ork defences. Yarrick’s personal Baneblade, the Fortress of Arrogance was abandoned and Yarrick himself was captured by Ghazghkull. After torturing the Commissar for several weeks, Ghazghkull decided to let him go, feeling that the Warboss’ planned re-invasion of Armageddon would be much more fun with Yarrick on the other side.
The commissar narrowly escaped the planet with his detail while Cadian Kasrkin and Armoured Divisions held the line long enough for his dropship to lift off. The remaining defenders afterwards were overwhelmed and slaughtered. Repelled and defeated, the cleansing of the sector was ended for the time being and the fleet returned to Armaggeddon to re-arm and assist with the rebuilding.
The Third War for Armageddon
The Third War for Armageddon would prove to be a much harder battle than the Second. Yarrick arrived back on the planet two weeks before the invasion began. By overwhelming vote, he was offered supreme command of all Imperial forces on the planet, and he accepted.
Before the war commenced, Yarrick had the remains of the Fortress of Arrogance salvaged from Golgotha and repaired, to serve as his personal command vehicle.
Ghazghkull opened the conflict by obliterating Hades Hive from orbit, effectively throwing down the gauntlet to his old adversary. Fortunately, Yarrick had foreseen this attack; where another commander might have diverted resources and men to protecting the city he had so ferociously defended before, Yarrick acted out of cold military logic and without a trace of sentimentality. Seeing that Hades Hive could not be defended, he had it evacuated before the Orks attacked, and concentrated his forces elsewhere.
His first order was to send all remaining Imperial aircraft to destroy as many of the Orks as possible before they could touch the ground. Eventually, the Orks landed their Roks, providing them with pre built fortresses. Yarrick personally led the assault on one of these with a force of Cadian Shock Troopers. Eventually the Third War for Armageddon degenerated into a grueling war of attrition, thwarting Ghazghkull’s hopes for a clear victory. When Ghazghkull fled Armageddon and the Black Templars prepared to give chase, Yarrick petitioned High Marshal Helbrecht to allow him to join their quest; Helbrecht agreed, and Yarrick immediately set off, determined to rid the galaxy of Ghazghkull for good.
After much pursuit Yarrick and Helbrecht were able to finally catch up to Ghazghkull. However while they were able to corner his flagship Kill Wrecka in the ensuing Battle of the Haunted Gulf, Ghazghkull was able to escape into the Warp and begin his Great Waaagh!. When Yarrick saw the Ork Warlord vanish, he slumped and knew that his escape meant ill for the galaxy.
A Mysterious Loss
The Imperium has recently put out a bulletin across the Departmento Munitarum with news of Commisar Yarrick’s death. It is said that the Emperor has allowed him to lay down his mortal weapons and return to the Emperor’s side. There he will be remade and send to reenter the greater war – his glorious souls ablaze. It is unknown what the exact circumstances of Yarrick’s death were, but many rumors are whirling.
Commissar Yarrick’s Wargear
Yarrick’s weaponry reflects both his iron will and his keen understanding of the Ork mind, which respects only strength and is also highly superstitious.
In the aftermath of the Second War, he replaced his missing hand with the same Power Klaw that had taken it, specially modified to fit his arm. It is powerful enough to kill in one swipe.
After hearing rumors from the Orks that he could kill with a glance, he had his missing eye replaced with a bionic replacement, the Bale Eye, that can fire a laser beam, similar in effect to a laspistol at close range.
See Lexicanum for more on the Aramgeddon Wars
That Power Klaw might not be standard issue – but I don’t think anyone has the “rank” to tell Commissar Yarrick that.
