Deathwatch - A Taste for War: Members of the Deathwatch are often exposed to threats and foes they would not have encountered had they remained within the ranks of their Chapter. While a battle-brother fighting as part of his home Chapter will doubtless see years of bloody and terrible combat, he usually does so shoulder to shoulder with his company, supported by Predator AFVs and Rhino APCs, heavy weapon platforms and orbital overwatch.By contrast, while a Deathwatch kill-team has access to some of the most remarkable technology in the Imperium, they can never rely on having such luxuries in combat, often standing alone against whatever dangers they might face. Added to the fact that a kill-team is only a handful of Space Marines, the foes they face can be more dangerous and exotic, such as powerful alien commanders and unspeakable xenos horrors.In a few short standard years serving in the Deathwatch, a battle-brother will have faced down and defeated countless alien and Heretic foes, often in close personal combat with only the strength of his kill-team to back him up.It is little wonder, then, that many battle-brothers who are seconded to the Deathwatch rise to the ranks of Veterans as the experiences they accrue and missions they complete give them a wider sense of the terrible struggle the Imperium faces every day and the multitude of hidden foes arrayed against it.In time, this evolution of their skills and knowledge will set them apart from their original Chapters and forge them into something uniquely adapted to fighting and killing xenos. Thus a Deathwatch Veteran is a battle-brother who has not simply spent years serving in the Deathwatch, or one who has formed a bond with brothers from other Chapters. Rather he is one who has adapted to the service of the Deathwatch and the special missions and foes with which it must deal.Indoctrinated by the unbreakable bonds to his Chapter and his sense of duty to his Chapter Master, no battle-brother ever leaves these loyalties behind, but instead adds to them, becomes more dedicated to the cause of the Imperium, whether it is through the orders of his watch commander or his own personal focus.Not all battle-brothers are suited to long periods of secondment to the Deathwatch, many simply doing their duty before returning to their own Chapter. However, those that adapt to the way the Deathwatch functions, and those able to balance the teachings of their Chapter with the autonomy and independence required of a kill-team become valued additions to the Deathwatch. The Deathwatch values these kinds of battle-brothers and is active in developing their skills and abilities, creating kill-teams that can undertake the most hazardous of missions with a chance of success. Equally, Chapter Masters honour those battle-brothers who have acquitted themselves well in the Deathwatch and respect the skills they have mastered.Over years of hazardous missions and combat, the members of a kill-team will learn to rely heavily on each other, something which is evident after even a few missions among those newly seconded to the Deathwatch, but which becomes far more pronounced in Deathwatch veterans.Combined with missions that will see the kill-team operate against some of the worst foes the Jericho Reach has to offer, and often without support from any kind of Imperial aid for solar weeks, months, or even longer, this creates a powerful autonomous fighting unit.Even in such circumstances, the Deathwatch can still rely on these Veteran battle-brothers to live up to their duty to the Chapter and their duty to the Emperor, where Astra Militarum specialists given such operational freedom often become increasingly difficult to command or direct.Such skill and resolve is the mark of a true Deathwatch veteran and kill-team, battle-brothers of such focus and temper that no task remains beyond them regardless of the odds they might face or the enemies which rise up to meet them.