Ordo Xenos - History: The Ordo Xenos was created in the mid-32nd Millennium, though in fact the Inquisition had been founded over a thousand standard years earlier in the early 31st Millennium at the express order of the Emperor after the great betrayal of the Horus Heresy had begun.The Inquisition was initially a relatively small and highly secretive organisation, comprising only a small group of skilled Imperial agents drawn from all of the Imperial adepta and nobility as well as select Loyalist Space Marines from both the Loyalist and Traitor Legions. They were tasked by the Emperor and chosen by Malcador the Sigillite at the end of the Heresy with uncovering and destroying every threat to the Imperium of Man, from both without and within, but with a special emphasis on defeating the servants of Chaos.The exact origins of the Ordo Xenos and the Deathwatch are uncertain, but its inception can be traced to the period known as the Time of Rebirth in 544.M32, and the arrival in Imperial space of the largest Ork WAAAGH! seen since the Ullanor Crusade during the closing years of the Great Crusade.Led by the mysterious warlord known only as "The Beast," this Greenskin invasion threatened the very Throneworld of Terra itself. During this conflict, remembered as the "War of the Beast," it was the newly-elected lord commander of the Imperium, Chapter Master and sole surviving member of the Imperial Fists named Koorland who devised the concept of utilising small elite Adeptus Astartes kill-teams to eliminate vital strategic assets of the encroaching Greenskins and eventually, The Beast itself. Though reluctant at first to acquiesce to the lord commander's plan to approve the creation of such a force since it would only strenghthen the power of the Space Marines within the Imperium, desperate times called for desperate measures. Therefore, the High Lords of Terra consented to Koorland's proposal.The original recruits for this newly-created elite force were drawn from the survivors of the various Chapters who took part in the initial invasion of The Beast's capital world of Ullanor Prime. These Chapters suffered severe losses during the invasion. Thus standing in vigil over their fallen brethren, the seeds of the Deathwatch were sown.Lord Commander Koorland eventually came to an agreement with the Inquisitorial Representative Wienand to assuage any doubts by the rest of the Senatorum Imperialis that this elite force, named the "Deathwatch" in honour of those brethren who had died in battle on Ullanor Prime, would fall under the purview of the Inquisition, but an Astartes would ultimately serve as its Chapter Master.It was in the wake of the War of the Beast that the Inquisition itself was formally divided into the first two of the Ordos Majoris, the Ordo Malleus and the Ordo Xenos. The Deathwatch was chosen to be an integral part of the newborn Ordo Xenos and serve as its Chamber Militant the way the Grey Knights served as the Chamber Militant of the Daemon-hunting Ordo Malleus.The Ordo Xenos could also be said to have gradually evolved before its formal recognition in the wake of the War of the Beast from that group of Inquisitors who were primarily interested in investigating and studying the alien species of the Milky Way Galaxy and eliminating any threat to the Imperium that these xenos represented.The Inquisitors of the Ordo Xenos accept responsibility for protecting Humanity from the predations of hostile aliens. To most of the Imperium, the alien is an abomination, a heathen who desires Humanity's destruction and who must be slain for the good of Mankind. Most Inquisitors share this view and pursue the alien to the point of extinction if they can. Some aliens are a threat to the Imperium in a military sense, invading large swathes of Imperial space, ransacking planets and killing or enslaving the inhabitants. The green-skinned rampaging Orks and voracious Tyranids are chief among these large-scale threats.The Astra Militarum and Navis Imperialis are the main weapons deployed against these xenos hordes, and the Imperium's war zones are constantly ablaze with battles against them. The Ordo Xenos is instrumental in leading the Imperium's military forces against major xenos invasions, gathering intelligence and deploying troops.An Inquisitor in this position makes decisions that can cost millions of lives and he or she must be prepared to go further than even the most hard-hearted Astra Militarum general or navy admiral in stemming the alien tide. Some of the Ordo Xenos' greatest Inquisitors, such as the legendary Inquisitor Lord Fidus Kryptman, have sacrificed entire worlds to deny them to alien forces.The tactics of the ordo's Inquisitors and their retinues vary depending on the situation and the level of alien taint revealed. Where the threat is subtle, they will use guile and stealth, wielding their power as if it was a scalpel used to cut out a growing malignant cancer. When the alien menace is great, the Inquisitor can commandeer the aid of entire regiments of the Astra Militarum. As well as having the capacity to command the Imperium's military forces, the Ordo Xenos also have access to the ordo's Chamber Militant, the Deathwatch Space Marines.The Deathwatch is an unusual Chapter that draws its members from the Veteran members of other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, with Astartes serving in the Deathwatch for a set period of time before returning to their original Chapters. Most Space Marine Chapters are a part of this ancient agreement, sending Space Marines with the most appropriate skills to be trained and equipped for a term of service as specialised alien hunters under the command of the Ordo Xenos.A kill-team of Deathwatch Space Marines is invaluable when an Inquisitor comes to exterminate an alien infestation, investigate a potentially deadly alien world or eliminate a particularly loathsome xenos creature. Some Deathwatch squads are placed at the disposal of an entire Inquisitorial conclave dedicated to the protection of a single Imperial sector, but most of them are appointed to the retinue of a particular Inquisitor until their mission is complete.While many Ordo Xenos Inquisitors believe that all aliens must be killed, this is not true for all of them. Some believe that if an intelligent alien species does not wish the Imperium harm and does not move against Imperial interests, then cooperating with them is not out of the question. Some aliens possess technology that far surpasses the Imperium's own, such as the elegant Digital Weapons made by the ape-like Jokaero, and trading for such technology may be to the Imperium's benefit.Furthermore, the Imperium shares common enemies with some xenos species, and alliances between Imperial and alien forces are sometimes a necessity. Some Ordo Xenos Inquisitors actively foster these alliances, believing that their superior knowledge of alien methods and mindsets negates the risks of collaborating with xenos.These beliefs are considered Radical among the Ordo Xenos and their adherents can be shunned or even hunted down by their brother Inquisitors. Nevertheless, the contact an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor has with alien species can impart a belief that some of them can be used, not just destroyed, by the Imperium.