Hans Kemlich was born on Salome Nigra into the family of a wealthy Navis Nobilite trader who specialized in the transport of lacrymata and witch-spore to the Adeptus Terra and the Inquisition.  At the age of sixteen he joined the "Jade Tigers", a brat gang in the city of Assyrion where for the next four years he fought his way up the ranks as the Tigers cut a bloody swathe through the worker's districts of the city, always managing to avoid the Adeptus Arbites and the retribution of other gangs.  At  age twenty he had been Gang leader for two years when one day  following a raid on some Tech Gangers the Tigers were ambushed by the Adeptus Arbites.  Following a bloody gun battle the Tigers were finally captured and brought before the local Magistrate who immediately ordered the entire gang to be executed the next day at sunrise.  While he awaited the dawn in his cell an Imperial Navy officer came to visit him.  After introducing himself Lord Admiral Lucian Marburg explained that he always watched for the arrest's of young gang leaders with good leadership skills to become officers within the Navy.  In the end he was offered a position as a trainee Tactical Warfare officer aboard the Fist of Light a Cobra Class Destroyer in Demacles Squadron.  Lord Marburg said to him "This will be the last chance you get boy, fail the Emperor this time and you will join your fellows in the after life..." and with these words in his ears he accepted the position.

Ensign Kemlich excelled at his new occupation and after a year he was promoted to Lieutenant and 12th Tactical Warfare Officer aboard the Hammer of God, a recently recommissioned Mars Class Battlecruiser. 

Four years later the Hammer of God and her battle group were sent to escort an Exterminatus fleet to the planet Korus IX in the Davies Cluster.  As the Fleet dropped out of the warp they were ambushed by a large Chaos fleet.  The battle was swift and bloody with only three ship out of thirty one being able to escape back into the Warp before they were destroyed.  While the Hammer of God had survived she had been horrificly damaged during a boarding action that had killed the Captain and most of the command crew on the bridge as well as leaving a young Lt. Kemlich a broken mess. 

During the next six months while Kemlich recovered he kept his mind active by creating strategies for the assault on the Korus System and though he didn't realize it word had reached the Lord Admiral himself.  On the day he returned to duty he was summoned to the Admirals ready room at Port Berrigan to discuss the strategies he had formulated in his convalescence.  Lord Marburg was so impressed with his mix of unconventional strategies and more traditional tactical doctrines that he had Kemlich transferred to the flagship as his 1st Tactical Warfare Officer to help implement the battle plans he had created.

With Kemlich's input the Lord Admiral quickly had the system pacified at a much lesser cost than had expected and, as a reward the now Chief lieutenant Kemlich was awarded with the Solar Cluster and entry into the Knightly order of Kar Duniash. 

The Korus conflict was the launching point for Lord Kemlich's career and in the fullness of time was made Captain of his own ship and eventually in his fortieth year of Service he was made Lord Admiral of Battlefleet Angelus.  Lord Kemlich is respected for his inspired Cruiser tactics and success rate against the Eldar, a success rate which has yet to be equaled by any other Admiral in Ultima Segmentum.  Over the years however he has often come under fire for his sometimes quite bizarre tactics with some Admirals claiming that he is dangerously insane, a claim that is immediately dismissed by any Officer who has served under him in battle and by the now retired Lord Marburg.

Lord Kemlich has a deep and abiding love for the Hammer of God and when he was given his choice of Flagship he chose her much to the discomfort of other Sector Commanders who believe that an Admiral belongs on a Battleship an attitude that Lord Kemlich treats with a great deal of scorn. 

What ever his detractors may say no one can deny that pirate activity in Angelus Sector has halved in the time he has commanded the fleet.
 

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Angelus Sector
 
 

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