THE STRUCTURE OF THE SHIELD

Almost every Deathwatch base in the Imperium has the same core structure. The Watch Commander usually a Watch
Master is attended by a strategium staff of Librarians, Chaplains and Dreadnoughts, whilst his Techmarines are
entrusted with rule of the Armoury, and his Watch Captains with the leadership of four largely independent Kill Teams.

STRATEGIUM WATCH ARMOURY

Librarians COMMANDER Corvus Blackstars
Chaplains Transport Vehicles
Dreadnoughts Land Raiders

WATCH WATCH WATCH

COMPANY COMPANY COMPANY
PRIMUS SECUNDUS TERTIUS
Watch Captain Watch Captain Watch Captain

Kill Team Kill Team Kill Team

Kill Team Kill Team Kill Team
Kill Team Kill Team Kill Team
Kill Team Kill Team Kill Team

WATCH WATCH
COMPANY COMPANY
QUARTUS QUINTUS
Watch Captain Watch Captain
Kill Team Kill Team
Kill Team Kill Team
Kill Team Kill Team
Kill Team Kill Team

Though the greater structure of a watch fortress is traditionally kept sacrosanct, the teams under a Watch Captain are flexible
in the extreme. In times of war against a transparent threat, some may be specialised towards combating a particular breed
or even rank of xenos. This may result in battle-brothers moving from one Kill Team to another. It is rare for Kill Teams to
be kept cohesive for long, though there are those whose histories have spanned the centuries, forming bonds of brotherhood so
strong they are counted amongst the foremost assets of the Chapter.

Whenever one of a watch fortress command staff takes leadership of one of its Kill Teams, the name is changed accordingly
for example, when led by Epistolary Galius, Kill Team Tidaeus would become Kill Team Galius for the duration of that
mission. All teams can adopt more specialist configurations at the behest of its leader, but when the nature of the enemy is
unknown, it is common for Kill Teams to adopt Aquila tactics, a wide-spectrum offensive pattern capable of adapting to
overcome any obstacle. At the time of the Ghosar Quintus Anomaly, the team led by Ortan Cassius was arranged in this
pattern its formal designation was Aquila Kill Team Cassius.

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 WATCH FORTRESS TALASA PRIME
Talasa Prime, the archetypal training world for the Deathwatch in Ultima Segmentum, maintains an Aquila pattern watch fortress
in addition to dozens of attendant watch stations. It has a wide variety of Kill Teams, each tested against those races that would
encroach upon Ultramars borders. Overall command is entrusted to Watch Master Mordelai, a humourless and extremely efficient
proponent of Malleus war doctrine, who has the long-standing trust of Marneus Calgar himself.

WATCH COMMANDER
Watch Master Mordelai of the Imperial Fists

LIBRARIUS RECLUSIAM ANCIENTS

Epistolary Galius Brother-Chaplain Mordran Symio, Venerable Dreadnought
of the Novamarines of the Blood Angels of the Blood Angels

Epistolary Kuran Brother-Chaplain Kubalai Nihilus, Venerable Dreadnought

of the Revilers of the White Scars (Chapter unknown)

Hengir Stormhowl Brother-Chaplain Jeramael

of the Space Wolves of the Dark Angels

WATCH WATCH WATCH WATCH WATCH

COMPANY COMPANY COMPANY COMPANY COMPANY
PRIMUS SECUNDUS TERTIUS QUARTUS QUINTUS
Watch Captain Watch Captain Watch Captain Watch Captain Watch Captain
Tidaeus of Greymane of the Artemis of Arteros of the Nereus of the
theUltramarines SpaceWolves theMortifactors Blood Angels ImperialFists

Kill Team Prium led by Kill Team Saleth led by Kill Team Zakaellon Kill Team Cabalerez Kill Team Xarveus led
Sergeant Prium of the Sergeant Saleth of the led by Sergeant led by Sergeant by Sergeant Xarveus of
Praetors of Orpheus Silver Skulls Zakaellon of the Cabalerez of the theUltramarines
Disciples ofCaliban CrimsonFists

Kill Team Kaamun Kill Team Vashtor led Kill Team Enthrugei
led by Sergeant by Sergeant Vashtor of Kill Team Crull led by Kill Team Cruad led led by Sergeant
Kaamun of the theSalamanders Sergeant Crull of the by Sergeant Cruad of Enthrugei of
IronHands Flesh Tearers the HowlingGriffons the Mentors

Kill Team Tyreus led

Kill Team Corvelax by Sergeant Tyreus of Kill Team Dothros led Kill Team Dentreich Kill Team Sotorr led
led by Sergeant the HowlingGriffons by Sergeant Dothros of led by Sergeant by Sergeant Sotorr of
Corvelax of the theMinotaurs Dentreich of the the IronLords
RavenGuard BlackTemplars

Kill Team Vonst led by

Sergeant Vonst of the Kill Team Toldorax Kill Team Amarator
Kill Team Kades led BrazenClaws led by Sergeant Kill Team Zaeron led by Sergeant
by Sergeant Kades Toldorax of the led by Sergeant Amarator of the
of the Scythes of Knights of theRaven Zaeron (Black Shield, Patriarchs ofUlixis
theEmperor Chapterunknown)

17
THE TIES THAT BIND
Each Kill Team is selected with utmost care. The archives of the Deathwatch detail every members history, the oaths he
has sworn, his areas of expertise, the races he has engaged and any quirks or flaws he may have. The teams leader will
delve long into these records before each mission, for his choices can be the difference between victory and death.

The battle-brothers of the Deathwatch are exceptional Veteran from the Blood Angels Chapter, whereas in the
individuals taken from Chapters across the galaxy. In this defence of a bastion complex, it will almost certainly be the
diversity and fund of experience lies great strength. Where one other way around. Long-standing rivalries between Chapters
member of a Kill Team may not have encountered a specific do sometimes sour these relationships, at least initially
breed of alien, another will have met that creature in battle headstrong Space Wolves may clash with dour Dark Angels in
and defeated it, or one roughly analogous to it. Once a Kill an echo of their Primarchs famous rivalry, and a tactician from
Team has fought together long enough to share the full extent the Hammers of Dorn may endlessly debate the finer points
of this knowledge, it will often be disbanded, its members of the Codex Astartes with his Ultramarines equivalent. Over
assembled into different Kill Teams to learn anew. With a time, however, these instances of conflict lead to long-standing
gamut of hard-won wisdom much in evidence, the battle- respect or even firm friendship.
brothers of each Kill Team come to rely upon one anothers
expertise; they have little option, for they may spend years out Kill Teams are borne to their allocated war zones by onyx-
of contact with their watch fortress. It is common for a veteran hulled Strike Cruisers. These magnificent warships operate
sergeant to seek his mens advice as often as the other way out of the watch fortresses, using their Warp engines to ply the
around, and in many cases act more as an arbiter than as a cursed tides of the Empyrean in order to reach their target as
traditional commander. swiftly as possible. The Navigators that steer them are amongst
the best in the Imperium, as are the Astropaths that provide the
Deathwatch officers will invariably choose the members of their psychic link back to their base of operations. So it is that the
Kill Team in order to draw on as much relevant experience Deathwatch slip through the sea of stars like stilettos cutting
as possible. With different Chapters having long-standing through silk silent and swift until the time comes to stab at
specialisations, it is easy enough to identify who will have the the heart of a xenos empire. It is just as well, for if even a single
most relevant insights in a given circumstance. In matters of Deathwatch vessel misses its mark, it could spell disaster with
how best to launch a close assault, a Sternguard Veteran of that failure, a swathe of Imperial space could be ceded to the
the Imperial Fists will likely yield to the advice of a Vanguard alien, never to be recovered.

AQUILA KILL TEAM CASSIUS

ORTAN CASSIUS
Chaplain

VAEL JENSUS RODRICUS ANTOR EDRYC

DONATUS NATORIAN GRYTT DELASSIO SETORAX
Veteran Librarian Veteran Vanguard Veteran Vanguard Veteran

GARRAN ENNOX DRENN ZAMEON JETEK

BRANATAR SORRLOCK REDBLADE GYDRAEL SUBEREI
Terminator Veteran Veteran Veteran Biker

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 THE STRIKE WELL-AIMED
Over the course of the Imperiums history, the Deathwatchs Kill Teams have worked miraculous feats of arms. They have
stymied alien invasions, cleansed infested space-fleets, and even hunted the denizens of hostile planets to extinction. In the
process, some necessarily become specialised in the persecution of a particular type of enemy.

Some Kill Teams accomplish such unalloyed success against It was Kill Team Brontos that first codified Malleus tactics.
their chosen foes that their methods are taught in every watch When breaking the Tyranid war-monstrosities infesting Rakkor
fortress. For example, the methods Squad Veridium used to IX, Captain Brontos and his men rode to war in a Land Raider
eradicate the remnants of the Beasts greenskin armies in whose godhammer pattern lascannons claimed three Carnifex
M32 are still in widespread use. Codified as Furor tactics, kills en route. Charging into the fray, they used power maces
their techniques involved the delivery of explosive firepower to stun the largest of the survivors, and then cracked even
across a wide frontage. By concentrating on the tightly-packed the thickest exoskeletons with their heavy thunder hammers.
throng at the fore, Squad Veridium aimed each detonation Brontos took the same approach to shatter the Dread Mob
to cause maximum collateral damage, sowing the field with of Big Mek Dakkahorn, the Wraith Host of Yme-Loc and a
dismembered corpses that slowed those elements behind. boarding party of daemon engines led by Warpsmith Gruallex.

Venator tactics were perfected after fighting the all-female Purgatus tactics were developed by Librarian del Athyu,
pirates of Wych Cult Sybilla. Frustrated by the Eldars sworn enemy of Craftworld Ulthw. They involve the
ability to evade the Emperors vengeance, Jaaghen Khan concentration of utmost force upon the leaders of the alien
requisitioned bikes for his combat squad and led his enemies hordes. By taking a commanding position on the battlefield
on long running battles where they perfected the art of leading under the psychic aegis of their Librarian, and then pouring
their fire. When the enemy struck back by surrounding them, pinpoint firepower into their quarry, Kill Team del Athyu
the Khan brought in the rest of his Kill Team. Equipped with overloaded their Farseer targets mystical shields and shattered
comprehensive data concerning their targets, the Kill Team the runebone armour protecting his vital organs. It was then
filled the air with so much firepower that the Khans nimble that the killing shot was punched home, leaving the enemy
foes were torn from the sky. This has proven an invaluable host leaderless whilst the greater conquest began. Since that
tactic against fast-moving xenos hosts ever since, be they day hundreds of alien warlords have been executed with these
capricious Eldar, Ork Kults of Speed, or even the outriders of same tactics, their invasions brought low before they could
a Necron metaphalanx. claim a single world.

19