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"Yours is to serve, unto the last drop of your blood, that your brothers might live to fight on. Watch over them, heal them, offer up your very life should it extend theirs but a moment, and by your sacrifice the enemy be slain. And when the time comes that you must fulfill your most solemn oath, speak clearly, speak proudly, speed the bolt that brings his end and send him joyous to the Emperor's side. Then do your duty, take that which is due, and know your mission is done."

— Extract from the Apocrypha of Eons, Verse V, Chapter L (M40 Redaction)
DarkAngelsApothecary

A Primaris Apothecary of the Dark Angels Chapter.

An Apothecary is a specialist Firstborn and Primaris Space Marine medicae officer who possesses advanced biomedical and scientific training and who serves as a combat medic and research physician for his Chapter. An Apothecary's role in battle is to recover the gene-seed from slain Astartes and to tend to the wounded and maimed.

Outside of combat, Apothecaries are responsible for monitoring the Chapter's neophytes for mutation or flaws in their gene-seed and organ implants and for carrying out the implantation process in their Chapter's aspirants. The Apothecary is well-versed in the arts of battlefield first aid as well as advanced surgical techniques, cybernetics and bio-engineering.

The Apothecary must be as courageous as his fellow Space Marines if not more so, for he must perform his life-saving surgeries in the midst of the battlefield. If a Space Marine is injured, the Apothecary will use his medi-pack, called the Narthecium, to tend to the wounds. Nartheciums can dispense medical aid and perform complex surgery -- cauterising, stitching, removing shrapnel, and more. Even severely injured Space Marines can fight again with the aid of the Narthecium.

Whereas Chaplains are charged with maintaining the spiritual health of the Space Marines in a Chapter, it is the Apothecaries' role to mind the physical well-being of their battle-brothers.

Several of a Space Marine's specialised organs can self-heal wounds that would kill a non-augmented man outright, but such functions take time, and will not happen during a melee or fire-fight. It is the Apothecary's duty to stabilise the worst of wounds, patching up a transhuman warrior's seemingly mortal injuries so that he may return to battle within moments.

Not all injured Space Marines can be saved, however. Even when a wound is beyond healing, the Apothecary's duties are not done. He can calm the dying and speed them on their way by granting them the Emperor's Peace since the Narthecium also includes a special humane euthanasia device for this task, ironically called a Carnifex, that is a solid, spring-loaded piston of metal. This is applied to the sufferer's temple, its powerful spring hurling the piston through the Astartes' brain and killing him instantly.

Apothecaries are armed and armoured like the brethren they serve, and have undergone the same extensive combat training. Their priorities may be healing or extracting gene-seed, but they too are fully exposed to all the horrors of a battlefield, and every company of every Chapter tells tales of the extreme lengths their dutiful Apothecaries will go to ensure their charges are kept alive, one way or another.

Apothecary1

A White Scars Firstborn Apothecary doing his duty during combat.

It is standard for each company in a Chapter to have at least one attached Apothecary, and it is common practice to have several more that work in the Apothecarion, where they train Initiates and also ensure the Chapter gene-seed -- both in the gene-banks and in the Space Marines themselves -- remains genetically pure and free of deleterious mutation through constant testing.

Additionally, it is the most senior Apothecaries that implant gene-seed into neophytes, ensuring the Chapter has a new influx of recruits to match the rate of those lost in constant battle.

A number of Chapters scattered across the Imperium have unusual cultures that can impact their Apothecaries' craft. Those who tend to the Iron Hands, for example, must be so well-versed in the implantation and maintenance of bionics that their roles and those of the Chapter Techmarines begin to blur.

Conversely, Mortifactors Apothecaries spend almost as much time on the battlefield claiming macabre relics from fallen brethren as they do healing the living, while the Apothecaries of the White Scars must learn to ply their trade within the transport bay of a hurtling, lurching, bouncing Rhino -- for the Chapter's hunt waits for no man.

Role

"Do not fail your brothers. Though their bodies die, their spirit must return to the Chapter. That is your charge. In Nostra Manus - Progenies Futura."

Votus Apothecarius
EC Apothecary Mk IV

A Pre-Heresy Emperor's Children Legion Apothecary.

Every Chapter maintains a core of Apothecaries drawn from its Veteran battle-brothers and trained in the genetic mysteries of the Adeptus Astartes. The exact number of these specialists varies from Chapter to Chapter, though most will have enough to oversee the creation of new Space Marines as well as to join the command sections of each of its companies.

Just as favoured battle-brothers can rise in rank and work their way into the elite 1st Company of the Chapter, an Apothecary will be assigned based on his skill and standing, the greatest of their number tending to the Chapter Master himself.

In cases where the Space Marine has lost a limb or suffered massive organ failure, but yet clings to life, the Apothecary will use his Narthecium to inject the Space Marine with chemicals keyed to his Larraman's Organ. This sends the cells' healing processes into overdrive, and seals even the deepest wounds under a layer of coagulated blood and scar tissue.

The Space Marine can then be evacuated away from the fighting, or if extraction is impossible, filled with combat stimulants and dragged into position against some cover to fight on for as long as he can.

Apothecaries are at once mighty warriors and selfless servants, and each would fight their way through hordes of vile enemies to reach a fallen battle-brother and then transfuse the very last drop of his own blood to save the life of the wounded. Along with being highly trained in the fields of medicine, surgery and biomedical research, they are amongst the elite warriors in the Chapter.

Apothecaries are greatly honoured by their brethren, as they are responsible for maintaining the purity of the Chapter's gene-seed. If its gene-seed were to become mutated or corrupt, this could well bring the Chapter's extinction or its fall to Chaos.

The Apothecaries are charged with maintaining the health and genetic purity of the Space Marines. Their skills and equipment, when combined with the genetically-engineered organs and biological resilience of a Space Marine, allow an Apothecary to perform battle surgery with a good chance of success.

NartheciumPrimaris

An Apothcary's Narthecium

Space Marines rarely go into battle without an Apothecary being available, as every Astartes is a valuable resource and to lose any of their gene-seed would be a blow to the Chapter. Each company in a Chapter has an attached Apothecary that accompanies them into battle.

Additional Apothecaries staff the Chapter's Apothecarion, although these senior Apothecaries rarely take to the field, instead acting as biomedical researchers and occupying themselves in taking part in the training of neophytes and potential new Apothecaries.

It is unknown if new Apothecaries start out as regular line Space Marines like Chaplains or begin their careers from the start as medics much as a Chapter's Librarians begin as psykers.

However, the introduction of Helix Adepts among the ranks of the Vanguard Space Marines may represent an Astartes' first step toward inclusion among the ranks of the Apothecarion.

Genetic Guardians

PrimarisApothecary

A Primaris Space Marine Apothecary of the Imperial Fists extracting gene-seed from one of his brothers on the battlefield using his Reductor Pistol.

Ministering to the wounded is the secondary battlefield responsibility of an Apothecary. This comes behind the completion of the mission, as well as ensuring the recovery of the Chapter's gene-seed from the fallen. Without the gene-seed the Chapter would be unable to create new Space Marines -- the genetic information it carries is the crucial component in the transformation of a mere human into a transhuman Space Marine.

Bereft of this vital bio-component, the Chapter would wither and die within a generation, its losses irreplaceable. Thus the loss of even one Progenoid Gland is a terrible blow for any Space Marine Chapter, and an Apothecary will go to great lengths to ensure that none are left to rot upon the field of battle, or worse -- fall into enemy hands.

Should the Space Marines hold the field after an engagement, the Apothecary is able to walk among the dead, using his Narthecium's Reductor to extract the Progenoid Glands of the fallen, punching the hollow blade into the corpse and sucking out these vital organs.

The battle-medic's task becomes significantly more difficult when the Space Marines must rapidly withdraw from combat, giving ground before a vastly more numerous foe, or if the combat zone is unstable, such as a burning voidship or collapsing hive city. The Apothecary must work quickly under fire to recover the gene-seed, wrestling bodies away from the enemy or making daring charges into no man's land to reach a fallen battle-brother.

When the Space Marine Chapters first encountered the Tyranids, the Adeptus Astartes made a horrific discovery. The savage aliens would consume a battle-brother completely, feasting on his bio-matter and combining it with their own. For the Apothecarion, this was anathema to everything a Space Marine was, and the true and utter death of his genetic legacy.

When Space Marines fight against the xenos swarms of the Hive Mind, it is considered a great shame by the Apothecarion to allow the fallen to be taken by the foe, and Apothecaries will fight their way through hordes of chitinous horrors to recover the dead.

If the gene-seed cannot be recovered then it must be destroyed, and though it is the lesser of two horrors, it remains preferable to allowing the remains of a Space Marine to fall into xenos hands. In extreme cases an Apothecary will even destroy himself, especially if his Narthecium is filled with extracted Astartes genetic material, rather than risk such sacred DNA being absorbed by the Tyranids.

Secrets of the Apothecarion

Apothecarion

The Apothecarion of a Space Marine fortress-monastery.

Apothecaries are far more than battlefield medics and angels of mercy. When not at war, they work in the Chapter Apothecarion -- a sprawling complex of subterranean vaults or fortified towers within a fortress-monastery given over to the Chapter's Apothecaries.

Here, behind heavy ferrocrete blast doors and watchful Gun-Servitors, the medics keep and catalogue the Chapter's genetic history and maintain the purity of its gene-seed.

Deep-frozen catacombs, connected to the Apothecarion, house thousands of sealed flasks, each one holding an extracted Progenoid Gland, Biscopea, Neuroglottis or other Space Marine gene-seed organ. From this store, the Apothecaries will create new generations of Adeptus Astartes.

This is far from a simple process, and takes all the skill and ability of the Apothecary. Just as the recruits will be tested and trained, the Chapter taking only the bravest and hardiest of candidates, so too must the Apothecaries test the gene-seed. The organs are put through a lengthy series of trials, the battle-medic subjecting each sample to varying stress levels of radiation or chemical agents to see how it reacts.

This is vital to ensure its purity, as even the smallest flaw can grow into terrible and heretical mutation if left undetected. Equally, the process of melding a gene-seed organ into one of the Chapter's recruits is made far more dangerous if there is something awry with the biological secrets held within.

This can cause the Space Marine organs to grow out of control, fuse together or burst forth from the flesh of the subject, resulting in death, if fate is merciful, or a horrific semblance of life if not.

An Apothecary therefore oversees every step of the creation of a Space Marine; even after a battle-brother has been accepted into the Chapter, every one is monitored to ensure he does not develop mutation and his organs and glands remain in good function. Space Marines are regularly examined by the Apothecaries, but the results of these tests remain a closely guarded secret of the Chapter.

Any flaws in the Chapter's gene-seed will be seen as a weakness; fractures in its biological construction that could lead to heresy or madness. Even a single mutation, if it escapes notice, might cause the gene-seed to degrade over subsequent generations, polluting whole batches and spreading its taint through the ranks of the Chapter.

Apothecaries must also prepare the gene-seed tithe all Space Marine Chapters send to the Adeptus Terra. This sample will be examined for its purity before being stored away for the founding of new Space Marine Chapters. If there is even a small flaw in the gene-seed, or any sign of mutation, it can cast a shadow over the Chapter and even bring excommunication from the Imperium in extreme cases.

Genetic Enhancement and Bionic Augmentation

Apothecaries are trained in the performance of advanced surgery and grafting of bionics, delving into the field of bioengineering. When a Space Marine is grievously wounded in battle and survives, he will usually end up on an Apothecary's surgical table.

Whether this is to restore function to damaged organs or to mend shattered limbs, the Apothecarion has a store of the battle-brother's genetic material kept within gene-banks just for this very purpose. From the bio-seed of the Space Marine, replacement lungs, livers and hearts can be grown, even great sheets of new skin for when a Battle-Brother's own has been burnt or flayed away.

Apothecaries have no way, however, of restoring missing limbs. When a battle-brother is maimed in this way, Apothecaries will work with the Chapter's Techmarines to craft a cybernetic replacement. Often created for a specific battle-brother, these bespoke augmentations are then sutured into muscles and screwed into bone. Through a painstaking process, the Apothecary will then weave nerve endings with monofilament receptor wires so that the limb might respond to the Space Marine's neural impulses.

Eyes, organs, arms and legs can all be restored via bionics, granting a battle-brother little loss of function -- sometimes even improving on the original -- and the hardened steel casing mimics the natural resilience of the Space Marine's own flesh.

After many Terran years of war and thousands of battles, when the battle-brother dies, the Apothecaries reclaim their mechanical bounty, slicing free tendons holding adamantium-plated hands, crystal lenses from eye sockets and blood-drenched mechanical organs hidden deep in chest cavities. These devices may then find a future in other wounded Space Marines, passed down from one generation to the next like revered suits of battle-plate.

Sometimes, on an extended campaign, an Apothecary is forced to repair a battle-brother far from the advanced technologies and sanctified tools of the Apothecarion. This kind of battlefield surgery is cruder and quicker, intended to get the Space Marine back into the fight as quickly as possible.

Bionics will be scavenged from the dead, while chemical stimulants are substituted for true healing. Stitched meat and fused muscle is then hidden under the ceramite plates of Power Armour, and the Space Marine is sent back into the fray.

Prime Helix

"Pain and death are illusions of the weak mind. While his gene-seed returns to the Chapter, a battle-brother cannot die. Without death, pain loses its relevance.
He that may still fight, heal.
He that may fight no more, give him peace.
He that is dead, take from him the Chapter's due.
"

— Attr. to Master of the Apothecarion Aslon Marr
PrimeHelix

An Apothecary's Prime Helix Badge in multiple Chapter variations.

The insignia of the Apothecaries is the "Prime Helix", a badge that symbolises the Space Marines' altered DNA which ultimately derives from the Emperor of Mankind's own genome, rendered in bright red.

The symbol represents the sacred genetic code of the Chapter's gene-seed. In battle this makes them distinctive among their fellow Space Marines, allowing their battle-brothers to protect the medic from harm, as well as call for his aid when needed.The helix symbol is often adorned with additional iconography such as wings and skulls.

The Apothecaries of most Chapters wear white Power Armour, with the left shoulder plate retaining the traditional Chapter colours along with the Chapter badge. The right shoulder plate displays the Prime Helix. Some less traditional Chapters use different colour schemes for their Apothecaries.

Deathwatch Service

Deathwatch-apothecary

An Ultramarines Apothecary seconded to the Deathwatch.

Many Apothecaries are known to perform the Long Watch with the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Xenos, better known as the Deathwatch. Deathwatch Apothecaries take on a number of additional duties over those performed in their parent Chapter.

For a start, they must master the genetic inheritance not only of their own gene-seed, but of a myriad of other Chapters too, so that they might monitor and maintain the implants of all their fellow Space Marines, each of which may be drawn from a different Chapter.

In this matter, Deathwatch Apothecaries occupy a uniquely trusted position. Space Marine Chapters do not lightly share the details of their gene-seed, with its associated traits, variations, and even mutations. Deathwatch Apothecaries are sworn to maintain the secrets of each of the Chapters from which their fellows are drawn, an oath that carries the harshest of penalties should it ever be broken.

Aside from monitoring the state of the Space Marines' implanted organs and altered metabolisms, the Apothecaries must also be ever alert to the risk of alien contamination. Whilst undertaking their missions, Deathwatch Kill-teams are likely to come into contact not only with creatures of utterly alien biology, but with all the bacterial life that accompanies them.

While the Space Marines are blessed with the very strongest of human immune systems, it is known that the spores of some alien life forms can cause mutation or death even in the Adeptus Astartes. There are some xenos that actually reproduce in this vile manner, their seed infecting the victim and slowly mutating him into the original life form. Such genetic blasphemy must be guarded against, and the Apothecaries administer an entire bank of metabolic and genetic tests on every member of a Kill-team before and after every mission.

Another area in which the Deathwatch Apothecaries are highly involved is that of training. Deathwatch Kill-teams push their bodies to, and beyond, the limits of even their unique superhuman physiology, and the Apothecaries must monitor this process closely. But they are a part of the training too, for the Apothecaries often aid the Watch Captains in formulating the most arduous of training regimens.

Using his unique knowledge of his charges, the Apothecary can induce various states in his battle-brothers, under which their skills and strengths will be tested all the further. Interfacing remotely with a battle-brother's armour systems, the Apothecary might disable a limb, limit blood oxygen levels or simulate the effects of any number of poisons, all in the cause of maintaining combat readiness.

The greatest duty that a Deathwatch Apothecary must perform is to recover the gene-seed of a fallen battle-brother, so that it may be returned to his parent Chapter, and he may live on through the creation of future generations of Space Marines.

This is a solemn enough task in a normal Chapter, but takes on an additional weight in the Deathwatch. No Chapter would agree to despatch its sons across the galaxy to fight at the behest of the Inquisition and other Chapters (some of whom may be ancient rivals), were it not for the certain knowledge that their gene-seed will be returned should they fall.

It has been known for a Chapter to temporarily withhold its honour service to the Deathwatch if too many of its Space Marines serving with the Ordo Xenos have been killed and their precious gene-seed irretrievably lost. Thus, the survival of a Space Marine's parent Chapter and the reputation of the Deathwatch itself relies on the action of the Apothecaries.

Wargear

Apothecary

  • Diagnostor Helmet - Apothecaries often replace their usual helmet with a Diagnostor Helmet, which contains upgraded Auto-senses and readouts to assist with their charge of treating the injured and maintaining their battle-brothers' physical combat readiness.
  • Narthecium - The tool of an Apothecary's trade, a Narthecium contains implements specially designed for Space Marine physiology and for performing first aid without having to remove the patient's Power Armour. It also comprises various counterseptics, skin patches, transfusions and other compounds engineered for the Space Marines' physiology, and several stasis tubes for storing recovered gene-seed.
  • Reductor - Retrieval and storage of a fallen battle-brother's gene-seed is so critical that Apothecaries carry a special tool for this operation, often included as part of the Narthecium. While a Reductor is not required for Progenoid removal, it significantly reduces the time. This surgical implement fastens under the wrist. It includes a monomolecular saw for penetrating Power Armour and Ossmodula-enhanced rib cages, and a diamantine-tipped extractor drill.

Primaris Apothecary

  • Diagnostor Helmet - Apothecaries often replace their usual helmet with a Diagnostor Helmet, which contains upgraded Auto-senses and readouts to assist with their charge of treating the injured and maintaining their battle-brothers' physical combat readiness.
  • Reductor Pistol - The Reductor Pistol is similar to the Narthecium's Reductor tool but takes the form of a pistol and is used to both retrieve and store multiple-sets of Astartes gene-seed on the battlefield. The Reductor is designed to punch through Space Marine Power Armour quickly and cleanly; and can do much the same to the skull of a rampaging Ork Warboss if he gets close enough to the Primaris Apothecary.

Apothecary Variants

Apothecary Biologis

ApothecaryBiologis

A Primaris Apothecary Biologis of the Ultramarines carrying his vivispectrum to obtain xenos tissue samples on the battlefield.

An Apothecary Biologis (pl. Apothecaries Biologis) is a Primaris Marine Apothecary who in the Era Indomitus has been specially trained to gain biological samples of xenos enemies on the battlefield. Understanding your enemy, no matter how vile, is the key to defeating them. Thanks to the protection of his mighty Mark X Gravis Power Armour, the Apothecary Biologis can advance through withering enemy fire to take samples of enemy biomatter with his vivispectrum, ultimately allowing the forces of the Imperium to turn their foes' biology against them.

Apothecaries Biologis were particularly important in the Imperium's battles with Hive Fleet Leviathan after its invasion of the galactic west of the Imperium Sanctus during the Era Indomitus. They were able to acquire the genetic samples that provided Imperial strike forces with new and more potent ways to target the increasingly new Tyranid bioforms that the Hive Mind was constanty developing to counter Imperial defences.

Blood Angels

BA Sanguinary Priest

Sanguinary Priest of the Blood Angels Chapter

A Sanguinary Priest is a specialist officer unique to the Blood Angels Space Marine Chapter and its successors among the Sanguinary Brotherhood.

The Sanguinary Priest performs the duties of an Apothecary in a Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter as well as other services peculiar to the inheritance of the Primarch Sanguinius.

While the Apothecaries of other Chapters monitor their charges for genetic purity and provide all needed biomedical services, the duties of the Sanguinary Priests transcend this mundane medical need.

Some Scions of Sanguinius are driven by a terrible death-seeking madness called the Black Rage, brought on by visions of the death of their primarch when he confronted the Warmaster Horus aboard his flagship the Vengeful Spirit in orbit of Terra during the closing days of the terrible Horus Heresy.

Others are afflicted by the terrible Red Thirst, a craving for blood which some claim may be the first signs of corruption by Chaos.

The Sanguinary Priests tend to Astartes afflicted with these genetic curses. They are also responsible for inducting all aspirants into the Chapter as neophytes as well as overseeing their implantation with the gene-seed and Astartes organs.

Wolf Priests

SW Wolf Priest

Wolf Priest of the Space Wolves Chapter

A Wolf Priest is a specialist officer unique to the Space Wolves Chapter.

A hybrid of the Chaplain and Apothecary roles found in Codex Astartes-compliant Chapters, the Wolf Priests administer to the physical and mental well-being of the Chapter's warriors and also choose the aspirants to the Chapter from amongst the feral barbarian tribes of Fenris.

These dour warriors combine the attributes of both combat medics, trained in the arts of healing and the lore of genetics, and tribal shamans, heavy with the accumulated wisdom of the ages.

The Wolf Priests have no master save the Great Wolf himself, the Chapter Master of the Space Wolves.

Notable Apothecaries

  • Khiron - Khiron was an Apothecary of the Iron Snakes Chapter who originally served with Ridates Squad. On the world of Cozan, Ridates Squad came up against a Daemon, who haunted them and directed its minions against them. Ridates Squad was caught in a deadly crossfire with the forces of Chaos in a gully and the entire squad was decimated in less than six minutes. Through sheer chance, only Apothecary Khiron survived when a stray round brought down the rocky wall of the gully, burying him in rubble. As Khiron lay buried and unconscious, the Daemon passed over him, believing that he was dead. This encounter left Khiron with knowledge of the vile creature's unforgettable smell. When Khiron finally emerged from the rubble, all he could do was recover the Progenoid Glands from the bodies of his fellow battle-brothers. Thebes Squad later overran the Daemon's minions, but the creature fled and hid within the wounded body of Brother Krates. Blinded by the Daemon's malefic powers, Thebes Squad brought Brother Krates back to their fortress-monastery on Karybdis. But Khiron recognised the Daemon's signature smell, and immediately set upon Krates with his Bolter, slaying him. His fellow battle-brothers were horrified, thinking Khiron had lost his mind to the taint of Chaos, and jailed him in the Tholos beneath the Chapter House. While incarcerated, Khiron reflected on recent events and quickly realised that he had in fact not killed the Daemon, since he had used a Bolter instead of cleansing flame, and that the Daemon must have moved on to possess another host body. Unfortunately, his brothers would not listen to his claims. When Damocles Squad returned to Karybdis, Sergeant Priad requested Khiron as a replacement Apothecary for his squad's own deceased Apothecary, Memnes, and was subsequently denied. Priad then went to visit Khiron in the Tholos to investigate the stories of his madness. Khiron warned Priad of the Daemon, and informed him that he had asked for the ritual of Oethanar in two sunsets. Later, Priad sensed the peculiar, signature smell of the foul Daemon in Captain Skander of Phocis Squad during a combat drill and attacked him. Sergeant Priad eventually killed both the possessed captain and the Daemon with a Flamer. Priad then embarked with Damocles Squad to the Primarch's Causeway on Ithaka to rescue Khiron from the Oethanar. They barely managed to reach Khiron before the Wyrms could devour him. Having been vindicated for his actions, Khiron was later reinstated as Damocles Squad's Apothecary.
  • Meric Voyen - Meric Voyen was an Apothecary of the formally loyal Death Guard Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. He served in the 7th Great Company under the command of Battle-Captain Nathaniel Garro. Shortly before the beginning of the Istvaan campaign, Garro was furious with Voyen when he found out that the Apothecary was a member of the Legion's secret warrior lodge that had begun to form within the ranks of the XIV Legion. Garro did not approve of the warrior lodges because of the inherent secrecy and subterfuge that were inherently distasteful to him. Outraged, Garro silenced the outrage of the Astartes under his command, but pulled Voyen aside to chastise him in private. Though he would not censure the Apothecary for being a warrior-lodge member, he let him know what his feelings were about the manner. He made Voyen promise him that from hence forth, there would be no more secrets between them. Voyen reluctantly agreed, though he didn't understand why his Battle-Captain still placed his continued trust in him. During the battle on Istvaan Extremis, Garro was gravely wounded when he received crushing damage to his torso, arm as the loss of his right leg from the mid-thigh down. Anxious to attend his seriously wounded commander, an Apothecary from another Legion had reached him first -- Chief Apothecary Fabius of the Emperor's Children. Though reluctant to allow an Apothecary to treat his commander, he allowed Fabius to continue, for his timely ministrations had saved the Battle-Captain's life. Voyen eventually let the matter pass. Garro's leg was eventually replaced with a bionic leg of excellent quality. Before the Death Guard was to embark for the campaign on Istvaan III, Garro was furious at Voyen, when the Apothecary would not declare him fully healed and therefore the Battle-Captain was deemed unfit for battlefield operations. His command also remained on limited duty until their commander was fit to reenter combat. As a result, Garro and his Great Company would not be going down to unleash the final assault upon Isstvan III. Those orders came directly from the Death Guard's First Captain, Calas Typhon. Garro was to be stationed instead aboard the frigate Eisenstein during the assault on Istvaan III, while Commander Ignatius Grulgor of the 2nd Company kept a close eye on the Terran-born officer. They were both to be assigned to duty stations with their Command Squads aboard the Imperial warship, where they would supervise its operations. The rest of their Great Companies would remain in reserve. During the assault on Isstvan III and the Choral City, they would provide standby tactical support for the Drop Pod deployment operation, and remain on alert to perform rapid-reaction interdict duties. Being stationed aboard the Eisenstein would ultimately prove to Garro's and the 7th Great Company's salvation. Unknown to Garro and those that remained loyal to the Emperor, the rot of corruption had fully spread through half their Legion. Istvaan III was in actuality a carefully prepared trap by Warmaster Horus to cull those Loyalist elements from the various Legions under his command in one feel swoop. Eventually Garro discovered the virus-bombs that had been secreted aboard the frigate, and he went to confront Commander Grulgor. Garro barely escaped being assassinated by the traitorous Death Guard officer and his loyal Space Marines. Shaken by these turn of events, Voyen finally admitted to Garro that he had heard rumours within the warrior-lodge meetings that treachery had been fomenting within the ranks of the Death Guard. These seeds of corruption had blossomed into barely concealed resentment for the Emperor's abrupt departure from the Great Crusade following the Triumph of Ullanor, and the Legion Astartes being subjected to the whims of the newly formed Council of Terra. During the famous flight of the Eisenstein, as they fled towards Terra with a warning of the Warmaster's treachery, Voyen continuously called Garro's actions into question. When they became trapped in the Warp, in desperation, Garro decided that he would detonate the frigate's Warp-Drive in a forlorn hope of bringing attention to their plight by a passing ship. Voyen drew his Bolt Pistol on his commander in an attempt to stop him, but Garro managed to stare down his insubordinate Apothecary, who lowered his weapon. Fortunately, the Eisenstein's exploding engines was seen by the Imperial Fists Legion's capital ship, the Phalanx. The survivors of the Eisenstein were brought aboard and taken back to the Segmentum Solar. Garro and the other survivors were brought as far as Luna and placed under house detention within the Somnus Citadel, under the stewardship of the Sisters of Silence. But Voyen and his fellow Loyalist Death Guard would be subjected to one final horror when one of their men, Solun Decius succumbed to the vile decease known as Nurgle's Rot and transformed into a Warp-possessed daemonic entity known as the "Lord of Flies." Garro was forced to destroy his former battle-brother on the surface of Luna after a titanic struggle. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Voyen informed Garro that he was formally renouncing his oath as an Astartes, for he could no longer inflict violence upon another living creature. He also felt that he had let down his commander and his fellow battle-brothers once too often. Though Garro encouraged Voyen to reconsider and stay, Voyen refused the offer. He declared that from henceforth, he would dedicate the remainder of his life as a healer, first and foremost, and that he would not rest until he had found a cure for the wretched Warp-spawned plague that had claimed Decius's life.
  • Brother Corbulo - Brother Corbulo is the Sanguinary High Priest of the Blood Angels Space Marine Chapter. He thus serves as the leader of the Chapter's Sanguinary Priests (Apothecaries) and the Bearer of the Red Grail, the Chapter relic that was used to preserve the blood of their Primarch Sanguinius after he was slain by the Warmaster Horus aboard his Battle Barge Vengeful Spirit during the closing days of the Horus Heresy. The sacred chalice is used by the Sanguinary Priests and all aspirants of the Chapter to drink the sacred blood of their Primarch as part of the Ritual of Creation for all Blood Angels Astartes. As sometimes happens with Blood Angels battle-brothers, Corbulo bears a striking physical resemblance to the Chapter's lost Primarch as a result of a specific expression of his gene-seed. Brother Corbulo shares the Great Primarch's far-seeing eye and deep wisdom and leads his brethren in the ancient quest to eradicate the Flaw that afflicts their Chapter.
  • Ulrik the Slayer - Ulrik the Slayer, also known as Grandfather Lupus and the Guardian of the Sons of Russ, is the Wolf High Priest of the Space Wolves Space Marine Chapter and is the oldest of all the Space Wolves other than the Chapter's Dreadnoughts. His great mane is white as the slopes of the continent of Asaheim on the Space Wolves' Chapter homeworld of Fenris. Ulrik is older even than the mighty Logan Grimnar, the Great Wolf of the Chapter, who has fought in the name of the Emperor for over 700 Terran years.
  • Thrar "Wyrmblade" Hraldir - Wolf Priest of the Space Wolves Chapter during the 32nd Millennium, Hraldir was instrumental in the development of the genetic engineering program known as The Tempering -- the Space Wolves' effort to expunge the genetic deficiencies of the Space Wolves' gene-seed in order to create new Successor Chapters. Hraldir came closer than any other since the Emperor Himself at understanding the nature of the Canis Helix. During the First Battle of The Fang, he confronted the Thousand Sons Daemon Primarch Magnus the Red and was slain. With his death, the secrets of the Space Wolves' gene-seed and how to remove the taint of the Curse of the Wulfen died with him.
  • Sternhammer, Warden of the Lost - A Wolf Priest known only as Sternhammer to the defenders of the Cadian Gate came to represent all the actions of the Space Wolves 13th Company during the 13th Black Crusade. He fell on the Forces of Chaos mercilessly and then withdrew before any Imperial force could make successful contact. Sternhammer was reported to have been in a great many different war zones light years apart from each other, leading a band of bestial warriors that he would unleash like giant hunting hounds upon the foe. He was reported to have saved the 143rd Cadian Regiment at Cadmus Binary. Alongside a powerful Wolf Lord, this Wulfen Guard slew the Night Lords Chaos Lord Sinax. Only a few days later and five light years away, Sternhammer was reportedly sighted once more, leading a boarding action aboard an Imperial Navy vessel that resulted in the scuttling of the Light of Fatidicus, so that the enemy would not capture it. More than a hundred victories were attributed to Wolf Priest Sternhammer and his warbands. Whether they were the same band, or many, and whether Sternhammer led them all himself is unknown, but the Defenders of the Cadian Gate remain both heartened and terrified at the memory of the mournful howls of the Wulfen he led into combat.
  • Fabius Bile - Fabius Bile is an infamous Chaos Space Marine Apothecary, originally of the Emperor's Children Traitor Legion, who has repeatedly attempted to use his knowledge of cloning and genetic engineering to create superhuman beings under his control in a quest to match and then exceed the Emperor of Mankind's original scientific achievement in creating the superhuman Adeptus Astartes. Travelling the galaxy more widely than any other Chaos Lord of the Traitor Legions, Bile has earned a number of epithets and aliases from those who have suffered the affects of his vile experiments. On Dimmamar, Bile is known as the Chem-master, on Arden IX and in the Bray System he is called Manflayer, to the wretched tribes living amongst the ravaged hive cities of Paramar V he is the Clonelord. He often refers to himself as the Primogenitor, claiming to have unlocked the secrets of the Emperor's earliest replicae (cloning) experiments during the creation of the Primarchs and the first Space Marines. Bile's twisted alchemical knowledge and skills at genetic manipulation can be attested to by every planet he has had contact with, for he has left a trail of foul deviants and twisted abominations wherever his ships have landed -- his name is a curse to the Adepts of Terra as his pollution of Mankind's gene-pool has become ever more apparent.
  • Fabrikus - Apothecary Fabrikus is an infamous Chaos Space Marine of the World Eaters Traitor Legion. Fabrikus' name is a dark legend in the Apothecarion of every Space Marine Chapter. A brilliant man, he served with the elite 1st Company of the World Eaters, gaining distinction as a warrior and as a surgeon, before following Primarch Angron into the service of the Ruinous Powers. In the centuries since the Horus Heresy, his name had become a byword for perverse experimentation. Some said he was even behind many of the mutations undergone by the Chaos Space Marines: the fusion of flesh to armour of the World Eaters, the hellish combination of near-dead warrior and implacable war machine that was a Chaos Dreadnought. His masters required more Space Marines, more than could be provided by the harvest of the gene-seed from those already serving their unholy purpose. Fabrikus had spent the centuries experimenting with the other races available to him, but the gene-seed refused to take, or else it produced mutations that were unhelpful. Therefore, he had decided to return to take up his earlier role as an Apothecary and harvest the Progenoid Glands from a more pure source, unaffected by the energies of the Warp -- that of captured Space Marines loyal to the Emperor. In this way, these new measures would help ensure his success in the creation of new types of Astartes loyal to the Ruinous Powers of the Warp and unstoppable in battle.
RS Master Apothecary Kregor Thann2

Master Apothecary Kregor Thann of the Red Scorpions Chapter making use of his Narthecium.

  • Master Apothecary Kregor Thann - A senior Apothecary of the Red Scorpions Chapter, Kregor Thann is currently seconded to the Deathwatch. He is currently serving his Vigil within the Jericho Reach. A veteran of countless warzones and a master of biological weaponry, Thann gained renown as the mastermind behind the geno-tailored toxins that made the Purging of Castillium possible, defeating the horrific Thazeme xenos when no other weapon could slay them. In the aftermath of the Purge, Commander Antir petitioned Lord High Commander Ortys to consider Thann for Deathwatch service. Thann arrived at Watch Fortress Erioch in 815.M41, and has served ever since. Thann was not assigned to a Kill-team, but rather remains as part of Watch Commander Mordigael’s command staff, tasked with engineering a virus or toxin that could be used to combat the Tyranid menace. Like many Apothecaries in the Red Scorpions Chapter, Thann had served as a Sergeant as well as in his role as a medic, which is quite useful to less-experienced Kill-teams deployed to the Orpheus Salient of the Achilus Crusade. Operating at the edge of the Orpheus Salient, pushing deep into the heart of the Tyranid advance, Thann continues to coordinate with each Kill-team that is operating deep behind enemy lines in order to gather samples and deploy newly developed bio-weapons.
  • Garreon, "The Corpsemaster" – Garreon was the Chief Apothecary and one of the Veteran battle-brothers of the former Astral Claws Chapter that survived the final Loyalist assault on Badab Primaris during the closing days of the Badab War. To this day, Garreon still continues to serve the whims of his wretched Lord Huron Blackheart, who commands the Renegade Space Marines warband known as the Red Corsairs. The Red Corsairs now call Chief Apothecary Garreon "The Corpsemaster," not because he harboured any desire to see the dead walk, but because he took a pathological interest in the biology of the dying and the dead among the Astartes, both of whom provided him with a harvest of precious gene-seed. He believed, as had many Apothecaries throughout the history of the Adeptus Astartes, that the future of their brotherhood lay in a better understanding of human genetics and xenobiology. He performed regular dissections on enemy Space Marines and his fellow Red Corsairs both -- in some cases whilst his subjects were still living. He could keep his victims alive for a phenomenal length of time, reducing them to skeletal, still-living things that begged for a release that was an eternity in coming.

Sources

  • Codex Adeptus Astartes - Dark Angels (8th Edition), pp. 33, 92
  • Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (8th Edition), pp. 65, 153, 155
  • Codex: Black Templars (4th Edition), pg. 18
  • Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition), "Sanguinary Priests", pp. 48-49
  • Codex: Blood Angels (4th Edition), pp. 8, 15
  • Codex: Blood Angels (3rd Edition), pp. 5, 19
  • Codex: Angels of Death (2nd Edition), pg. 96
  • Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition), pp. 52-53
  • Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex), pg. 39
  • Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition, 1st Codex), pg. 25
  • Codex: Chaos (2nd Edition), pp. 44, 102-104
  • Codex: Dark Eldar (5th Edition), pg. 22
  • Codex: Space Marines (9th Edition), pp. 32-33
  • Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pp. 66, 125
  • Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 55
  • Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pp. 88, 125
  • Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), "The Lords of the Chapter," "Command Squad", "Armoury of the Space Marines - Special Issue Wargear"
  • Codex Space Wolves (5th Edition), pp. 23, 50
  • Codex: Space Wolves (3rd Edtion), pg. 29
  • Codex: Space Wolves (2nd Edition), pp. 34, 39, 48, 76-77
  • Deathwatch: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 68-71, 165, 173, 175
  • Deathwatch: First Founding (RPG), pp. 38, 43-45
  • Deathwatch: The Jericho Reach (RPG), pp. 140-141
  • Horus Heresy: Collected Visions
  • Imperial Armour - The Horus Heresy: The Betrayal - Book One, pg. 198
  • Imperial Armour Volume Nine - The Badab War - Part One, pp. 76, 184
  • Index Astartes I, "Children of the Emperor - The Emperor's Children Space Marine Legion"
  • Index Astartes II, "Wolves of Fenris - The Space Wolves Space Marine Chapter" & "For the Emperor - Space Marine Chaplains"
  • Inferno! 29, "Crimson Storm" by Dan Abnett
  • Insignium Astartes, pg. 41
  • Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness (1st Edition)
  • Warhammer 40,000: Compendium, "Medics", pp. 27-32
  • Warhammer 40,000: Index Astartes - Apothecaries (Digital Edition)
  • Warhammer 40,000: Conquest Collectible Card Game (Picture)
  • White Dwarf 278 (US), "Heroes & Villains of the 41st Millennium: Fabius Bile"
  • White Dwarf 255 (US), "Index Astartes First Founding: Children of the Emperor"
  • White Dwarf 227 (US), "Chapter Approved" & Fabius Bile: Chaos Lord", pp. 73-80
  • White Dwarf 208 (US), "Faith and Vengeance: Space Marine Chaplain Background and Tactics", pp. 78-86
  • White Dwarf 166 (US), "Space Marines: Codex Imperialis", pp. 8-19
  • White Dwarf 158 (US), "Ragnar Blackmane, Njal Storm Caller & Ulrik The Slayer in Space Marine: Space Wolves", pp. 9-13
  • White Dwarf 157 (US), "Space Wolf Army List: Space Marines Space Wolves", pp. 2-21
  • White Dwarf 156 (US), "The Space Wolves", pp. 8-25
  • White Dwarf 102 (US), "Index Astartes: Medics", pp. 71-80
  • Galaxy In Flames (Novel) by Ben Counter
  • Fulgrim (Novel) by Graham McNeill
  • The Primarchs (Anthology), "The Reflection Crack'd" by Graham McNeill
  • Brotherhood of the Snake (Novel) by Dan Abnett
  • Dark Imperium (Anthology), "Apothecary's Honour" by Simon Jowett
  • The Gildar Rift (Novel) by Sarah Cawkwell
  • Red Fury (Novel) by James Swallow
  • Black Tide (Novel) by James Swallow
  • Forge World - Space Marine Apothecary
  • Warhammer Community - Warhammer 40,000: Leviathan – What's In The Box?

Gallery

Primaris Space Marine Forces
Command Primaris CaptainPrimaris LieutenantVanguard LieutenantPrimaris Ancient
Specialists Primaris Apothecary (Helix AdeptApothecary Biologis) • Primaris LibrarianVanguard LibrarianPrimaris Chaplain (Judiciar) • Primaris Techmarine
Veterans Bladeguard VeteranVeteranVeteran IntercessorVeteran Assault IntercessorSternguard VeteranTerminator (Assault Terminator)
Battleline Intercessor (Heavy Intercessor) • Vanguard Infiltrator
Close Support InceptorReiverIncursorAssault IntercessorJump Pack IntercessorOutrider
Fire Support AggressorDesolation SquadEradicatorHellblasterVanguard EliminatorVanguard SuppressorInfernus SquadFirestrike Servo-turretHammerfall Bunker
Combat Walkers and Vehicles AstraeusRedemptor Dreadnought (Brutalis DreadnoughtBallistus Dreadnought) • RepulsorRepulsor ExecutionerImpulsorGladiator (Gladiator ReaperGladiator ValiantGladiator Lancer) • Raider Pattern Combat BikeInvader ATVInvictor Tactical WarsuitStorm Speeder (Storm Speeder HailstrikeStorm Speeder HammerstrikeStorm Speeder Thunderstrike)
Aircraft OverlordDrop Pod
Space Marine Forces
Chapter Command Chapter MasterMaster of the KeepMaster of SanctityChief LibrarianMaster of the ApothecarionMaster of the ForgeMaster of the WatchMaster of the FleetMaster of the ArsenalMaster of the MarchesMaster of the RitesMaster of RelicsChief VictuallerLord ExecutionerMaster of RecruitsMaster of ReconnaissanceMaster of the SignalChapter AncientPrimaris AncientChapter ChampionHonour Guard
Company Command Command SquadReclusiam Command SquadCaptainPrimaris CaptainLieutenantPrimaris LieutenantCompany AncientCompany Champion
Specialists Librarian (EpistolaryCodicierLexicaniumPrimaris LibrarianVanguard Librarian) • Chaplain (ReclusiarchPrimaris ChaplainJudiciar) • Apothecary (Primaris ApothecaryApothecary BiologisHelix Adept) • Techmarine
Veteran Squads Veteran Marines (Sternguard VeteranVanguard VeteranVeteran IntercessorVeteran Assault IntercessorBladeguard Veteran) • Terminator SquadTerminator Assault Squad
Battleline Squads Tactical SquadIntercessor Squad (Heavy Intercessor Squad) • Infiltrator Squad
Close Support Squads Assault SquadAssault Intercessor SquadJump Pack Intercessor SquadInceptor SquadReiver SquadIncursor SquadSuppressor SquadBike SquadOutrider SquadCenturion Assault Squad
Fire Support Squads Aggressor SquadDesolation SquadDevastator SquadHellblaster SquadEradicator SquadEliminator SquadInfernus SquadCenturion Devastator Squad
Neophyte Squads Scout SquadScout Bike Squad
Light Vehicles Assault BikeAttack BikeScout BikeRaider Pattern Combat BikeInvader ATVLand Speeder (Land Speeder StormLand Speeder TempestLand Speeder TornadoLand Speeder TyphoonLand Speeder VengeanceLand Speeder ProteusDarkshroud) • Storm Speeder (Storm Speeder HailstrikeStorm Speeder HammerstrikeStorm Speeder Thunderstrike)
Combat Walkers Dreadnought (Castraferrum DreadnoughtSiege DreadnoughtHellfire DreadnoughtIronclad DreadnoughtVenerable DreadnoughtMortis DreadnoughtChaplain DreadnoughtLibrarian DreadnoughtFurioso DreadnoughtDeath Company DreadnoughtRedemptor Dreadnought (Brutalis DreadnoughtBallistus Dreadnought) • Wulfen DreadnoughtDoomglaive Dreadnought) • Nemesis DreadknightInvictor Tactical Warsuit
Armoured Personnel Carriers RhinoRazorbackDamocles Command RhinoRhino PrimarisRhino AdvancerImpulsor
Main Battle Tanks Predator Destructor (Predator AnnihilatorBaal Predator) • Land Raider (Land Raider PhobosLand Raider CrusaderLand Raider RedeemerLand Raider AchillesLand Raider PrometheusLand Raider Terminus UltraLand Raider AresLand Raider ExcelsiorLand Raider Wrath of MjalnarLand Raider Angel InfernusLand Raider Solemnus AggressorLand Raider Anvilarum) • Deimos Vindicator Laser DestroyerRepulsorRepulsor ExecutionerGladiator (Gladiator ReaperGladiator ValiantGladiator Lancer) • Astraeus
Artillery WhirlwindVindicatorStalkerHunterWhirlwind HyperiosLand Raider HeliosThunderfire CannonFirestrike Servo-turret
Aircraft/Air-Deployed StormtalonThunderhawkThunderhawk TransporterShadowhawkStormravenStorm EagleFire RaptorStormhawk InterceptorCaestus Assault RamDark TalonNephilim JetfighterStormfangStormwolfCorvus BlackstarOverlordDrop PodHammerfall Bunker
Rare, Relic or Retired Vehicles Contemptor Pattern DreadnoughtDeredeo Pattern DreadnoughtCerberus Heavy Tank DestroyerLeviathan DreadnoughtJavelin Attack SpeederJetbikeDeimos PredatorDeimos RhinoSabre Tank HunterLand Raider ProteusKratos Heavy Assault TankMark IIb Land Raider PhobosMalcador Assault Tank (Malcador Annihilator) • Sicaran Battle TankSicaran VenatorSicaran Punisher Assault TankSicaran Arcus Strike TankSicaran Omega Tank DestroyerSpartan Assault TankTyphon Heavy Siege TankFellbladeFalchionMastodonDeimos Whirlwind ScorpiusXiphon Pattern InterceptorStormbirdKharybdis Assault Claw
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