Scout Marines

In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the new members of Space Marine Chapter are known as Scouts. Scouts fight as lightly armed skirmishers. Their duties are to infiltrate the enemy positions or to fight as skirmishers ahead of the rest of the Chapter. Operating behind enemy lines, Scouts set ambushes for unwary foes, spy out the enemy's movements, and gather what information they can about their opponent's plans. Sometimes, Scouts will pounce unseen within an enemy camp, capturing a commander for integration or sabotaging equipment and supplies. Striking fast and hard, the Scouts accomplish their mission and vanish before the enemy has the chance to retaliate in force.

Rites and Initiations
Every Chapter of Space Marines must recruit new warriors into its ranks in order to survive. The process varies from Chapter to Chapter, many recruiting from their own homeworlds or worlds. Whatever the tradition of a particular Chapter, warriors must always be chosen when they are still young, before their bodies become too mature to accept the many bio-implants (see gene-seed) that will turn an ordinary human into a full Space Marine. During those years, the warrior is know as Space Marine Scout - he is neither fully a Space Marine nor entirely human.

A Space Marine Scout has much to learn. Not only must he become accustomed to the many biologically engineered enhancements which are at work on his body, but he must learn the litany of battle that will fortify and strenghten him. He will undergo several phases of initiation into the Chapter's own secret cults, and he will get his first chance to fight in battle.

Space Marine Scouts are neither as tough nor as experienced as full Space Marines. Scouts can fight alongside other Space Marines in the main battle-lines, and often do so. Indeed, every Chapter has its tales of valiant actions by Scouts pressed into front-line service during moments of desperation.

Once chosen from the ranks of aspirants, a human warrior must undergo the ritual trials unique to his Chapter. Once accepted, the genetic implantation and induction begins. The warrior has taken his first steps to becoming fully fledged Space Marine. The Scout is then placed under tutelage of a sergeant who will oversee his induction and training. These sergeants lead the Scouts in battle. Not yet ready to join a company, the young Scouts live alongside other Scouts in the 10th Company halls where the warriors sleep and train, and learn the legends of their Chapter. Only after Scout has proven himself in combat will his sergeant judge him worthy of the title Space Marine, and pronounce him ready to join one of the companies.

10th Company
In the majority of Chapters it is the responsibility of the 10th Company to train recruits. As such, the officers and sergeants of the 10th Company are often amongst the most experienced brethren of the Chapter, often having passed through the ranks of 1st Company and forgone promotion to higher office. Though all of the Chapter's Scout squads come under the 10th Company, it is very rarely fielded as a tactical unit. Instead its squads are detached to other reserve or battle companies, accompanying the battle brothers to war and fullfilling the vital role in which they excel.

The Codex Astartes places no limit on the number of Scout squads that may comprise the 10th Company, although in practise few Chapters will ever have more than 10 at any on time. Most will have significantly fewer, depending on the suitablity of aspirants and casualty levels.

Tactics and Training
The tactics utilised by Space Marine Scouts provide a very practical method of war. A Space Marine must be fully versed in every conceivable aspect of warfare, even those he will not practise as a battle brother. Thus, Scout learns the art of subterfuge, approaching the foe unseen and striking before his presence is noted. Such tactics are rarely, if ever, practised by the reserve and battle companies, for the Codex Astartes dictates a very direct form of warfare.

Scouts usually work on reconnaissance mission in advance of the main force of Space Marines, gathering information, hunting down enemy formations and relaying intelligence back to their leaders.

Specialist Equipment
Space Marine Scouts are issued with all manner of specialised wargear. In many cases these items are crafted by the Chapter's tech adepts for specific roles or missions, and all enable the Scout to carry out his mission with deadly effectiveness.

Each Scout wears a tight-beam squad comm-link, which is used to transmit encrypted data to the other members of the squad without the risk of enemy signals interception. The squad's leader has a long-range link,with which he can communicate with other units.

A Scout's armour is constructed of the same ceramite plates that typify power armour, except of course it is not powered and such the Scout cannot bear the weight of full suit. Instead, his fatigues are woven from a carbon/titanium composite that is capable of turning the most powerful of small arms fire.

Scout Camouflage
Space Marines rarely use any form of camouflage, for their entire combat doctrine states that they are best deployed as shock troops, their very presence filling the enemy with terror.

There are instances when a Chapter may utilise patterns approved by the Codex Astartes, and in most cases this is relation to the role of Scouts. As ever, Scout must be conversant in every aspect of war, and so an understanding of concealment and the use of camouflage are essential.

Weaponry
As Space Marines whose training is not yet complete, Scouts don't have access to much of the formidable weaponry than their more experienced battle brothers can draw from. They have no special weapons, and are limited to two heavy weapons: the heavy bolter and missile launcher. Still, these two options can stop almost anything they should face in battle, but it does mean that they can't rely on the more efficient tank-hunting guns, such as lascannons and multi-meltas. Still, they have some options to deal with enemies.

Combat Knife; simple and still quite effective in some cases for taking out target silently yet effectively compared to the crude (and noisy) chainsword, chainfist or power fist.

Chainsword; issued usually for squad leaders.

Bolt Gun; the standard issued weapon through all ranks of Space Marines.

Bolt Pistol; usually issued for squad leaders or more experienced troops than regular Scouts.

Heavy bolter; the main, and usually only fire support that the Scout squad can rely on behind the enemy lines. Clumsy and heavy, but effective and easy to maintain.

Sniper Rifle; issued to Scouts and it is equipped with a poweful optical image enhancement array, and this is linked with their rifle's scope to allow them to literally see down the barrel of their gun. The rifle fires a small dart made from a deadly toxin chemical. The liquid chemical is frozen into a dart or sliver within the gun before it is fired. Unerring accuracy is afforded by a low power beam of invisible laser-light which drives and guides the chemical dart to its target. If the target is armoured, the beam automatically pulses when the rifle is fired, punching a tiny hole which allows the toxic dart to penetrate.

Shotgun; ideal for assaulting lightly-armed troops and effective in close quarter fighting or for clearing cramped spaces.

Grenade / Missile Launcher; usually used to destroy lightly armoured enemy vehicles or take out enemy bunkers.