Deathwatch - Joining the Deathwatch: It is considered a great honour among the Space Marines to join the Deathwatch, for in many ways they are a level above their kinsmen -- the elite of the elite. Just as the Adeptus Astartes are recruited only from the most promising warriors of all Mankind, the Chapter is formed from only the most talented and lethal of proven battle-brothers who have already earned Veteran status. This makes it an Astartes force truly like no other.The Deathwatch is organised into small, elite companies, much in the style of a Space Marine Chapter. Its numbers are not recruited from a single homeworld, however, nor from trusted source planets rich in quality genetic stock.Instead the organisation is comprised of Space Marines from Chapters that have pledged to tithe a portion of their strength to the endless war against the alien. Its ranks number only heroes, and each of them has already proven himself an expert alien hunter even before his training as a Deathwatch operative began.Should a battle-brother consistently excel in the slaughter of the alien, he will invariably come to the notice of the officers of his Chapter. Most commonly it is the captain of his company that vouches for his skill in combat against the alien, his Apothecary that attests to his impeccable physical ability, and his Chaplain that weighs his strength of character and the sanctity of his soul. If all three officers are in agreement, the Chapter Master is consulted, and with his approval the potential recruit's fate is set. Though it may be Terran years until he is finally called upon to join the Long Vigil, he will become one of the most specialised of all the Imperium's defenders, every waking solar hour given over to a single overarching goal -- the eradication of the xenos foe of Humanity.Most of the Chapters in the Imperium will despatch a brother chosen to join the Deathwatch after a ceremony to mark his departure. The Ultramarines gather as much of the relevant company's strength as possible, saluting their departing comrade as he boards the black-hulled Thunderhawk that will take him to his new life. The Dark Angels Chapter sends him on his way under an oath of secrecy, reminding him that he must never speak of hidden truths.Regardless of Chapter, the occasion is always a solemn one. All know in their hearts they will likely never see their brother again -- he will join the front line in the war against the alien as a martyr to the cause. In recognition of his probable fate, the initiate's power armour is painted jet black.Upon arrival at the watch fortress that will become his new home, the Deathwatch recruit begins a punishing regime of physical and mental conditioning that takes him to the peak of efficacy. He may have faced dozens of alien species in his former life, but thousands more haunt the dark reaches of the galaxy. Through a gruelling new course of hypnoindoctrination, the recruit's subconscious mind is filled with every detail the Deathwatch has gleaned about the nature of its xenos nemeses. So it is that when he comes to battle an alien he previously considered unknown, its weak spots and vulnerabilities rise unbidden to the forefront of his mind.Once a Space Marine has completed his training, any former rank he may have held in his Chapter is put aside, and he is assigned to a squad known as a "kill-team." Each of these groups is a band of disparate battle-brothers taken from as many as ten different Chapters, all of whom have their own cultures, specialities and insights into the arts of war. This can lead to friction and rivalry as personalities clash and spark against one another, but the members of the team share the same core ideals, and have sworn the same vows -- to defend Mankind no matter the cost to themselves.The Space Marines that fight together in these kill-teams inevitably bond in adversity. Every team learns to respect and even rely upon its differing methods and abilities. By the time the kill-team plunges into the white heat of battle, it has been forged into a weapon far stronger than the sum of its parts. As any swordsmith knows, the finest blades are made of many layers, and must be folded together, beaten, and tempered before they can be considered masterpieces of their craft. It is just so with the Deathwatch kill-team; each squad is a unique and exceptional weapon whose edge has been honed so finely it can topple an alien empire with a single, well-placed strike.As the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Xenos, the Deathwatch is formally tasked with the study and, if necessary, the extermination of dangerous intelligent xenos species encountered by the Imperium. They are also tasked with the observation of alien races, and the acquisition of their devices, artefacts and other technology for further study by the Adeptus Mechanicus.Sometimes it is necessary to use a weapon against the enemy who created it, although this is never done lightly. The Deathwatch is constantly vigilant for sabotage, or to advise if it is truly safe to use a weapon of xenos origin. The Adeptus Mechanicus is always on the lookout for alien technology; for instance, the C'tan Phase Sword, used by the Callidus Assassins, was recovered from a Necron Tomb World and successfully integrated into the arsenal of the Imperium.The Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes are bound by an ancient oath made to the Emperor to provide troops to the Deathwatch. However, particularly amongst some of the more radical Space Marine Chapters, this can be a great test of duty, especially for those like the Dark Angels or the Black Templars that see the Inquisition as corrupt and an enemy of the rightful political independence and autonomy of the Adeptus Astartes.Although there is no question of any Chapter or Space Marine failing to fulfill their ancient pledges, Chapters like the Iron Hands, Dark Angels, Space Wolves and Blood Angels have a notoriously strained relationship with the Inquisition. It is not unheard of for Radical Ordo Xenos Inquisitors to find the secondment of Deathwatch troops to their command facilitated by aiding one of these Space Marines Chapters against the political machinations of a puritanical Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor.Other Chapters such as the Ultramarines, Crimson Fists and Imperial Fists have a far closer relationship with the Inquisition as a whole and the Ordo Xenos itself. Space Marines from these Chapters are more frequently and in greater number inducted into the Deathwatch, although a kill-team may be made up of any variety of Astartes as the resources of the Ordo Xenos' Chamber Militant are positioned around the galaxy.The Space Marines making up a Deathwatch kill-team can vary hugely in personal philosophy, culture and custom but are bound together by their loyalty to the Emperor and their zealous hatred of the alien enemies of Humanity. A Space Marine will remain with the Deathwatch until the Inquisitor leading the detachment or his watch master deems that the necessary tasks have been completed so that he may return to his Chapter with honour.