Alpha Legion - Specialist Formations: Effrit Stealth Squad - The Effrit Stealth Squad was a specialised infiltration unit within the ranks of the Alpha Legion that operated during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras during the late 30th and early 31st Millennia. The Legion Seeker Squads employed by many Space Marine Legions were, according to some reports, pioneered first by the Alpha Legion to this end, and certainly such squads, along with specialised Legion Reconnaissance Squads, were common to all of the Legions' battle formations, although their use sat poorly within the more honourable combat doctrine of some of the Legions like the Space Wolves. These tactics were taken a stage further by the Alpha Legion in the creation of an elite unit geared specifically to rapidly inflicting targeted casualties behind enemy lines, known variably as the Headhunters or "Effrit" -- although this latter term may also have referred to the act of assassination, and the sowing of destruction and chaos behind the lines in mid-battle, as well as a particular unit type. This preference for high-impact strikes carried out by small, elite infantry units is evidenced by the fact that both Legion Destroyer Squads (who suffered none of the opposition found in some Legions to those so assigned) as well as speculated Alpha Legion sabotage operatives are also classified as "Effrit" in some accounts and treated as a respected Veteran cadre within the Legion. These operatives were chosen for their adaptive thinking as well as their ability to improvise. The Effrit Stealth Squad was personally led by Omegon, one of the twin-primarchs of the Alpha Legion. Little else is known of this elite formation, as the Alpha Legion was notorious for the obfuscation and secrecy that surrounded the internal workings of their mysterious Legion.Headhunter Kill-teams - The histories of the Great Crusade record that it was the Alpha Legion that conceived of the deployment of Legion Seeker Squads, a unit configuration that spread to the other Legions as the Great Crusade expanded outwards. The Legion did not halt at Seeker Squads however, and had since fielded a further refinement of the concept in the form of Headhunter Kill-teams. These supremely skilled infiltrators specialised in creating conditions of all-consuming chaos among the enemy's ranks, sowing confusion by eliminating key officers, positions and assets. In doing so, the Headhunters brought about a tipping point in a battle or an entire campaign, the fulcrum upon which the fate of worlds was balanced. Headhunter Kill-teams were made up of the most skilled infiltrators and assassins in the Alpha Legion, and fielded at the direct command of a senior commander. They had access to some of the most prized wargear their Legion could provide, including special ammunition conceived specifically to penetrate armour up to and including Legiones Astartes battle plate.Lernaean Terminator Squad - Another designation, again driven from ancient Terran myth by the Alpha Legion, was the "Lernaean". This cognomen appears to have been given to the XXth Legion's most expert shock assault troops, particularly to dedicated Terminator companies and in some instances Legion Breacher Siege Squads and Dreadnoughts. Few knew of the Lernaean Terminator Squads, though not because the Alpha Legion sought to obscure their existence, but rather because they rarely left behind any witnesses of their deeds. Clad in Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour chased with baroque finery and armed with Volkite Chargers, this made them fearsome close assault and vanguard spearhead units against which few enemies could stand. In particular, battle recordings of certain Lernaean Terminator units mark them as being equipped with advanced teleportation assault capacity and specialised heavy weaponry such as compact Conversion Beam weapons and phase-field generator gear. The foremost task of the Lernaean was to swiftly isolate and destroy the most powerful frontline troops and potent battlefield assets a foe possessed, and to do so in such an emphatic and bloody manner that not only was a potential threat to the Alpha Legion's attack eroded, but the psychological shock of their attack would further damage enemy morale. Such was the calculated cruelty and cold brutality employed by the Lernaean Terminators that their reputation quickly spread beyond the Alpha Legion itself.