Editing Gland War Veteran (section)

==Origin & Development==
After the Forge World of Dantris III became heavily infested and polluted by Tyranid forces, the Techpriests of the planet, under orders from radical Inquisitor-Lord Varius, modified several companies of the Lostock 23rd to fight in the hellish conditions.

They had many organs and drug-secreting glands implanted in their bodies so that they could survive unprotected in hazardous environments. New additions such as organs that would secrete stims, painkillers, and various medical drugs; more powerful natural air filters via a modified lung; enhanced bio-musculature structure for increased strength and reflexes. Their genetic tempering and augmentation has made them a distinct [[Abhuman]], although whether they can breed and successfully pass on their genetic coding and new augmented organs is unknown. Their combat abilities and aggressiveness were also further increased in order to deal with the myriad of threats from the varied Tyranid forces.

Heck, the Gland War Veterans were so successful and super-anal retentive that even the [[Hive Mind]] thought they were crazy as fuck. Despite the heavy losses the veterans took, they were able to ensure the successful defence of Dantris III. Only three Gland Warriors are believed to have survived, which were taken by the Inquisition for study and "debriefing".

At least one of them ended up in an Inquisitor's retinue so apparently "debriefing" doesn't always mean "dissected" or "killed with fire." Not all that surprising since they exist with the sanction of an Inquisitor Lord and the Mechanicus knows how to make them so dissection would be pointless. So, they got to experience one of the rare, honest-to-Emperor, Inquisition debriefings.

With that being said, the original pioneer for Glandies, Inquisitor-Lord Varius, has been placed under investigation by the [[Ordo Hereticus]] for exceeding his Inquisitorial mandate by intentionally sabotaging a Tyranid research facility, and then allowing the force sent to investigate to suffer heavy losses and (with the exception of the [[Red Scorpions]]) be entirely wiped out just to demonstrate how powerful/intelligent the Tyranids could be [[Grimdark|(don't worry, he performed]] [[Exterminatus]] [[Grimdark|afterwards to wipe them out).]] The data on Gland Warriors is held as evidence of his own damnation; however while they've drawn it up, his death warrant remains unsigned because the Glandies are so useful to the Imperium (in effect, until the Tyranids are wiped out they're not going to do a thing to hinder him). Still, the Inquisition probably found it couldn’t use the Gland Warriors as evidence against him when they tried him because it was made by the Adeptus Mechanicus. He merely ordered enhanced Guardsmen, which is not heretical at all.

Gland War Veterans look almost indistinguishable from the average Human (especially if in armour), though they may be differentiated by increased muscle mass, heavier skeletal structure or a constantly heightened state of agitation or hyper-aggression.

However the augmentations that they receive can often have drawbacks. The early Lostok Gland Warriors could push their bodies significantly higher in feats of endurance than normal humans, but occasionally were at constant risk of metabolic breakdown; other Glandies risked temporarily shorting out their secretion glands if they were overused, but without any fatal flaws. Thankfully later developments in the D-99 regiment had no drawbacks at all.

Later refinements to the Gland Warriors capabilities attempted to increase their effectiveness against other xenos breeds such as Orks, Tau or Eldar, but never had the same successes as those Gland Warriors sanctioned by Inquisitor Varius against the Tyranids. These new Glandies would always have some kind of drawback. They could increase muscle mass and aggressiveness at a cost of over-calcifying their bones and joints (making it difficult for them to move), or increase their levels of aggression but make it nearly impossible for them to follow complex orders in battle. A shame the Imperium is too pants-on-head to realize that warriors capable of squishing a Tyranid invasion are perfectly good enough for fighting any other enemy. Heck, with some Commissariate sponsored discipline, tactics training and improved wargear, the aggression enhancements could be removed to make for more reliable, skillful soldiers to improve their effectiveness even further. Or just lobotomize them and stick in some control cybernetics instead. Not like they're ever going to be allowed to live past their service anyway.