Colonel Schaeffer

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In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, Colonel Schaeffer is a famous commander of the Imperial Guard. He is the commander of the 13th Penal Legion, known by the men as Colonel Schaeffer's Last Chancers. Schaeffer is an officer of the Commissariat - responsible for discipline in the Imperial Guard - and has had some dealings with the Inquisition.

Schaeffer's exact origins are unknown, and often open to speculation by the men he leads in battle. Many - including his long-time second-in-command, Lieutenant Kage - believe that the Colonel is not quite human. The Colonel is said to be over three hundred years old, and his body has been reconstructed by Inquisition tech-priests whenever he dies (presumably) or has been seriously injured. Among the injuries he has revealed to his men, Schaeffer has had an arm severed by a plasma bolt, his spine crushed by a tank, and his eyes replaced - the donor for the eyes was a tech-priest who sinned against the Machine God of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Most common Imperial citizens (especially the rank-and-file of the Imperial Guard) are of the opinion that many of the men in penal legions - murderers, rapists, heretics, deserters and other assorted scum - should be executed accordingly, but Schaeffer is a fervent believer in granting a last chance to the men and women in his command; if they serve under his command, they can possibly save their souls and receive a pardon, allowing them back into Imperial society. He often receives many such men - at one point, he had four thousand men under his command - but only the strongest survive, and this select handful is often used for the Legion's true mission. He is also known as a master of close combat and maintains iron discipline when leading his men in battle.

Colonel Schaeffer's current status is unknown; his last known mission was to the planet Armageddon during the Third War, to capture or kill the treacherous former overlord of Armageddon, Herman von Strab.

[edit] References

  • Chambers, Andy; Haines, Pete, and Hoare, Andy (2003). "Colonel Schaeffer's Last Chancers", Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Imperial Guard, 4th Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-410-8. 
  • Thorpe, Gav (2000). 13th Legion. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84154-1397. 
  • Thorpe, Gav (2003). Kill Team. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 0-74341-1757. 
  • Thorpe, Gav (2004). Annihilation Squad. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-0750.