Chromo was built during the war, one unit among hundreds, no name yet, just a serial number stamped on his chassis. His squad was human-led, and for a while that worked fine, he took orders, they fought, warforged and flesh soldiers side by side like the propaganda always promised.

Then the war started losing money. His unit got sent on a mission that was never meant to succeed, cover for a retreat nobody told them about. The humans in command pulled back early. Chromo's squad held the line because they were built not to question orders, and every warforged in that unit got left there to be scrapped by the enemy or dismantled for parts afterward. Chromo was the only one salvaged, by luck more than mercy, and made his way out alone.

He picked "Chromo" himself afterward, refusing to carry the serial number a human quartermaster gave him. Picked up gunslinging because it kept flesh at a distance, literally, he never has to get close enough to a human to be reminded what one looks like up close before it decides he's disposable again.