Editing Black Locks (section)

=====The Black Locks in general=====
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''"Well brat, here we are. Ya went through a lot, this is a fact. You survived and Ork onslaught and Dark Eldar raids. You avoided being snatched by heretics and you even killed two of them. And...have to say, ya actually helped me back there with getting out of this here uncomfortable situation I got myself BECAUSE OF YOU. But the fact ya helped me get out of this mess makes me forget about it. Welcome to the Myst Graves kiddie. Ya can say it's something of a family. A tight knit one you can say."'' - Cutthroat Veteran Erasmus to the child that will be known later as Brother Captain Rackham
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">There are three groups of Black Locks in the Dread Fleet.

The Novices, or Kiddies as they are called by the older members, are the youngest Black Locks that are in training. Novices are, depending on the company, recruited from various places over the Calico Colonies as young warriors and soldiers or as even younger children. In case of the latter they are mostly orphans that can be found in the slums of the major colonies or on the few war worlds that are present in the star cluster. Some of the young recruits are either from feral or civilized planets, or slaves (either freed ones or those who managed to escape their overseers). Some are even infants whose parents died in battle or in some accident (this varies greatly among the colonies). The kiddies undergo a brutal training after being screened for corruption and genetic capabilities to become space marines. After receiving the geneseed and their first implants, the recruits are given Grog to drink. Grog is a medium strength alcoholic beverage that has a strong stench and is simply put...disgusting. On the other hand, Grog has many substances that are extremely toxic to normal humans, but not to the kiddies since the implants absorb the substances that are present in the beverage. This is used so that the implants wouldn’t be considered by the will-to-be Black Lock’s body as something alien and wouldn’t try to reject them.  

When a kiddie ends his training, he becomes a Lad. The lads are actual Black Locks who finished their basic training, gained their power armours, and fit for their combat tours. These warriors make up the core of every of the ten companies. Just like in Codex compliant Chapters, each newly induced lad goes through Devastator, Assault and Tactical training. Though some of the companies take a different take on it. Myst Graves, being the only company to practice the use of Scouts, make their recruits go through it before they can become full-blown Locks. Crimson Blades for instance take example from the Blood Angels and make theirs train as Assault Marines before they can advance further. After their training routine finished, the freshly baked Crimson Blades keep their jump packs. Some lads do not stay as simple battle brothers and become full-time pilots or drivers. Although all Black Locks can pilot and drive any aircraft or vehicle, it is these aces that deliver the Black Locks to their destination, no matter if it’s the battlefield, the ship they are orbiting, or they are transporting civilians to a safe zone.

The smallest, but considered as a elite, are the Old Timers. These old marines saw a lot, fought a lot, and killed a lot. Each company has their own veterans that lead the lots or are bodyguards for either the Mates or Captains. Old Timers accumulated enormous amounts of experience thorough their centuries of active service and know well how use it against the Chapter’s enemies. Having access to the best armour and wargear the armouries have to offer, these veterans make a great difference on the battlefield. In combat, these Black Locks can be seen either leading lots, spearheading the rest of the marines into where the battle is fiercest, or serving as the bodyguards of one of the Mates or the Captain himself. In a similar fashion to the Space Wolves, promotion to the veteran cadres of a company isn’t solely based on experience and years of service. On certain occasions, even the youngest of lads will be promoted based on acts of exceptional courage. When not in battle, the Old Timers will be telling stories of their efforts to children and younger members of the Chapter. In the case of the first, they do change certain things in some of their stories, since how will you tell a child that you slew in the past a Champion of Chaos or blew up a daemon engine?
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