Editing The Justicars (section)

=Organisation=

Where many legions had idiosyncratic and unique organisational structures born of their deep-rooted cultural and philosophical backgrounds, the Thirteenth had always kept there own simple and clear. Keeping their organisation based on the Terran standard, the Justicars only added the '''Compliance Group''' to their structure. The legion did not field many battle groups and by the late Crusade they had none at all, preferring instead to use the smaller Compliance Groups to achieve the same objectives. Early in the Crusade it was not uncommon for multiple Compliance Groups to be assigned to a single campaign, using their flexibility and deception to defeat the enemies of the Imperium with great effect.

After the Justicars fell foul of Mars, they looked to bind every ally they could trust to their banner, from Forgeworlds to Rogue Traders. Notably, the legion took to ''"adopting"'' Imperial Army regiments who proved their skill and reliability, especially from worlds the Thirteenth had brought into the Imperium personally. Declaring the regimental home planet as a legion recruiting world, the Justicars would set about drastically improving the quality and intensity of the training these regiments were given. Then the legion could funnel these regiments into Justicar Compliance Groups, who provided a backbone of men the Thirteenth trusted and knew were capable. 

The only other major deviation that set the Justicars apart from their Astartes brothers, was the freedom with which they gave their commanders to realise objectives; operational commanders of the Justicars and even the Imperial Army were given clear objectives and a time frame within which to complete these in. This left the subordinate leadership to independently plan and implement how they would achieve their objectives, and do so appropriately to the forces they had at their disposal. These mission-lead tactics proved very effective, and complemented the Thirteenth legions greater doctrine.

==Doctrine==

The doctrine of the nascent XIII legion could be simply categorised as conventional; the legion began its history as a small, specialised force designed to track down and eliminate enemy psykers. However, in the closing days of the Unification Wars, it became clear many of the line legions would require time to recover their depleted strength, while the young XIII legion were in relatively good order. And with a healthy stockpile of stable geneseed ready to be implanted, the Emperor ordered the XIII to begin preparations to adapt to a new front line role while the other legions rebuilt.
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The legions reunification with their primarch would bring about significant changes to this conventionality. Having participated in an insurgency on his homeworld, Uriel understood there was more to war than blades and bullets, and learned to see beyond the battle when planning strategies. He installed a doctrine that revolved around the principle of denial and control; the legion would seek to seize or destroy their opponents ability to wage war itself before finishing them off.
To achieve this aim, 4 themes were made paramount to the Justicar doctrine: 


:* '''Deception'''<br/>

Misleading and confusing the enemy causes them to operate upon a false perception of reality and thus makes them vulnerable to the Justicars own strategies. 
Information warfare, psychological operation, and counter-intelligence all serve to further this theme, making the 13th an unpredictable and frustrating foe to face.

:* '''Coordination'''<br/>

Coordination is employed by the Thirteenth to magnify the effects of their strategies upon their enemies. Strong lines of communication form the keystone to this theme and form a backbone for the legions forces. Intelligence networks and reconnaissance forces bolster and utilise these communication lines to ensure Compliance Groups coordinate their strategies with devastating effect on the enemy. 

:* '''Flexibility'''<br/>

The critical elements in war are speed and adaptability; the ability to move and make decisions faster than the enemy. The Mechanicum feud forced the legion to adapt to overcome their supply shortcomings by substituting equipment for ruthless training, and building flexibility into their organisation. Thus the Justicars segment their forces into groups who operate autonomously, merging and segmenting as required.
Combined with coordination this serves to make the Justicars elusive and unstoppable by infusing their forces with the spirit of the campaign, giving them a clear objective to accomplish, and then letting them run. This has lead to the Thirteenths forces possessing an extraordinary strategic agility, often making their Compliance Groups seem like much larger forces than they actually are.

:* '''Mobility'''<br/>

The use of mobility to undermine the enemy has long been a central theme of warfare. While not as fast or mobile as some legions or simply lacking the equipment, the Justicars solve their shortcomings by using mobility itself as a weapon. Aware they have to pick their battles carefully, the legion will withdraw from a confrontation with the enemy with no remorse. This often draws enemy forces into rash pursuits which the Justicars are only too happy to indulge. Once opportunity presents itself, the Thirteenths forces will mount their counter-offensives and flanking manoeuvres on the now over-extended enemy with striking effect.


These themes enabled the legion to prosecute their campaigns with an impressive economy of effort, expending the least effort for the most gain. 
The legion became increasingly reliant on these methods as the Great Crusade wore on, and they mastered them as much out of necessity as desire.<br/> As the Great Crusade advanced however, the legion Compliance Groups found themselves transitioning from front-line forces into a specialist role hunting down witches across the Imperium. This transition cost the legion many battle honours, but they never complained, such was the cost of duty.
Post-Heresy, these strategies persist, having been simply augmented by the sorcerous powers and mutations imparted on the legion and their auxiliaries by Tzeentch. 




==The Emissarium==

''"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."'' <br />
(Ancient [[Tiberia V|Tiberian]] Proverb)

roles:

:* Handling diplomacy and inter-legion communication
:* Coordinating operations with the 13th when required
:* Discreetly watching over other legions for any questionable behaviour
:* Establishing intelligence networks for foreseeable future operations
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Akin to the Crusader Host on Terra, the Emissarium was officially a non-combat role, with a single marine, or Emissarius, embedded into each of the other legions. 
The role was a temporary posting, and was held for about a two decades, before being rotated to another.
The rotation, and the Emissarius itself was designed to teach the brightest and best of the 13th the skills and philosophies of the other legions. The purpose of this being that they could be studied and adopted, or methods devised to counter them.
While officially a non-combat role, being attached to the retinue of a Primarch or Battle-group Commander meant Emissarius often saw a great deal of combat.

At the outset of the Heresy, Uriel had manipulated the rotation of the Emissarium to ensure that he had marines he could trust in the right positions; he assigned men he trusted to the legions Uriel had determined would side with Hektor, and the few loyalists the 13th had were assigned to the legions Uriel believed would remain loyal. This helped keep the 13ths loyalty undetermined for such a long time into the Heresy.
In this way the Emissarius was a vital source of information for the 13th, and helps explain how the Traitors in general were so successful prior to the Siege of Terra.


==Specialist Troops==

'''Stalker Squads'''

''"You can't hide from your shadow"'' <br />
(Stalker motto)

'''Roles:'''
:* Witch kill-team operations
:* Reconnaissance
:* Logistics interdiction
:* Communications and infrastructure sabotage

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Ironically, these stealthy warriors became the face of the Thirteenth Legion due to their frequent collaborations with other Legions. The Stalkers were chosen from among the ranks of ordinary battle brothers for their strength of will, intelligence, and stealth skills, and were recognised as an elite formation the equal of any other in the Space Marine Legions. However, the Stalkers' formidable talents were best employed in small bands tasked with the elimination of witches. Due to their special training and equipment, these Legionnaires became peculiarly resistant to the works of psykers and they were particularly feared by the Eldar.