Editing Children of Armok (section)

=Legion Organisation=

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++ Subject: Children of Armok. ++

++ Topic: Legion Organisation. ++

++ Authored by: Imperialis Logistica Corpus Logistician, Merlynn Xavius. ++

++ Accessing// ++


Foreword: Greetings reader, I am Merlynn Xavius formerly of the Imperialis Logistica Corpus

Attempting to make sense of the methods and organisation of the Children of Armok one is, as always, forced to deal with paradox and contradiction, both through the numerous conflicting reports and the contradictory evidence left on worlds conquered by the hands of the XIIIth Legion, left wrecked and wretched in the wake of its arts of war. 
One source from an authoritative individual might present the Children's organisational mechanics as highly complex and cloaked in intricate webs of secrecy far beyond any other legion; However a different report, also from reputable sources, might describe the Children's inner workings as meritocratic and fluid. 
Certain commonalities do however exist, extrapolated from various accounts of battles the XIIIth Legion fought, and to some extent from what we think we know of the legions training and induction practices. But even with what we do have establish, there is doubt as to whether this is the truth or just more misdirection and misinformation.



The first of the common characteristics displayed by the Children of Armok, is the emphasis placed on unified action, and on initiative to further the legions aims in the big picture. Such finely tuned co-ordination and faultless loyalty to the legion is necessary to remain cohesive with the rapidly changing and adapting offensive and defensive tactics Uriel introduced into his Legion, and the fluidity with which the Children deploy on and off the battlefield. 

It has been reported that from their first days as Aspirants, the warrior-recruits of the Children of Armok would train and fight together as a single squad, rather than individual soldiers; the success of each marine, and even their very survival, dependent on the success of the unit as a whole, forcing the aspirants to work to further the unit rather than themselves, and fostered the close-knit bonds, and instinctive co-ordination that characterises the legionnaires of the XIIIth. 
Paradoxically, despite this stress on the importance of the unit above all else, each individual aspirant is taught to withstand torture and interrogation, and even some rudimentary principles in making a mind-probe by a Psyker a little more difficult, the Children following the wisdom of the old adage that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.


After much data-mining and sifting through reports of events involving astartes believed or confirmed to be from the XIIIth legion, the second common characteristic of the legion becomes clear: its supreme talents in the arts of espionage, politics, infiltration, information-control, and assassination. 
Tactics of attrition, trench warfare, static defence, and the frontal assault, are strategies eschewed by the Children, unless completely unavoidable, and even then they would only ever engage with those strategies on the XIII Legion's own terms or to serve a greater purpose. 

It would be a mistake however, to underestimate the Children of Armok's abilities in pitched battle or on a level strategic field, as they have repeatedly demonstrated their abilities to hold their own and repeatedly turn events in their favour, abilities which had drawn grudging praise from both the Warmaster Hektor and Thomas Gaudin[?] in action. 
The tactical coherence and fluid mastery of complex stratagems deployed by the Children of Armok, especially in the realms of infiltration and covert assaults also made them masters of eloquent maneuvers, feints and ambushes, finding their beginnings in Uriels mastery of Regicide and battlefield strategy, that were then expanded on and honed down every day since by the marines of the XIIIth. 


It is unclear whether the Children ever conformed fully to the original operating structures and organisational patterns laid out for the Space Marine Legions in the Principia Belicosa at the start of the Great Crusade, and post-Heresy in the Codex Astartes.

To an external observer though, the Children bears extensive resemblance to the basic Legion patterns, although the command structure and the organisation of the XIII Legion can be just about discerned as being radically more fluid, complex and specialised than any other legions. 
It seems entirely probable, given the evidence available, that the individual Legionary's role and position within the division he was attached to was dynamic, and changed frequently, presumably whenever the tactical or strategic need demanded so, but perhaps had some higher purpose the ultimate goal of which remains unknown to those looking in to the legion like myself.

The Children's companies, battalions and chapters (sometimes appearing to be referred to as "Sections", "Bodies", "Groups", and "Blocks" in shifting meaning) were created and deconstructed seemingly at the whim of Uriel and the XIII Legion's commanders, making it impossible for anyone to gauge the true strength the Children will deploy in until they finally reveal their hand. 



Continuing this concept of formlessness, unit numerations were swapped, or used outside of the unit, and heraldry changed and adapted. Personnel and resources were reassigned or removed entirely from an order of battle, only to be later again replaced. 
Such organisational ebb and flow were noted not only between active deployments but also even during the course of a particular campaign. This made the Legion's strength, intentions and deployments almost impossible to gauge or track to foe and friend alike.
This practice seems to have been continued long after the Children of Armok complied with the Codex Astartes, with some questionable reports claiming that marines of successor chapters regularly changed their identifying colours and insignia with those of other chapters based from the legion, making it difficult to assess any individual chapters true strength. 
This deceptive and secretive nature continues deeper, with some observers suspecting that some sightings of Uriel were actually just one of the Children marines tall enough to impersonate the primarch as a body double. Other theorists have suggested that some marines, believed to have been members of the Children's command structure, were actually Uriel himself, playing the part of a simple marine, as opposed to the primarch. 
Such reports and theories are unfounded however, and how anyone could not recognise the primarch of the Children is unknown. 



Exact figures for the martial strength of the XIII Legion prior to the beginning Hektor Heresy are few and far between. 
The few sources we do have vary wildly, some making incredible claims which may both overestimate or undervalue the Children's true manpower. 
The most reputable figure available, believed accurate around the time of the Istvaan Drop Site Massacre put the XIII Legion at between 120,000 and 130,000 Legionaries strong, placing it within the middle tier of Space Marine Legion strengths. 
Some theorists have argued that the true figure is far lower, somewhere in the 71,000 range based upon the largest concentration of Children forces ever seen in operation in a single theatre. 
With hindsight and diligent corroboration however, evidence of multiple simultaneous battle-groups operating in far distant locales suggests a far higher figure than either of these estimates. Numbers estimated well into the range of 190,000 Legionnaires which, if accurate, would make it one of the most formidable Legions in sheer size alone, a number obscured from both sides of the Heresy that was to follow. However, as with everything relating to the Children of Armok, separating truth from fiction is next to impossible, and while their is evidence that does corroborate the larger figure, many of the sources are unconfirmed, or unreliable at best, where the 120,000 figure seems far more credible. 

I have recorded the various theorised Legion Strengths here for posterity, and because any insights we can get into the Children may help us to unravel the truth behind their deceptions; even though they are loyal, it makes me uneasy to imagine Space Marines could still be hiding secrets from the Imperium, the scope and implications of which we can only fathom. 

The Legion appears to operate with only ~50% of their total forces ever campaigning together at once. The rest of the Legion being spread out across the Imperium in small self-reliant groups, regularly travelling great distances to the sectors and systems they see as areas of interest, always remaining in periodical contact with other divisions in the legion, even if that contact is through the Children's back channel intelligence networks.
 

The average Child of Armok will travel further in his lifetime, than 3 marines from any other legion.
They do this as a means of maintaining, extending, and culling their intelligence networks to ensure they know everything they possibly can about the galaxy, and more importantly, the players in it.
As a factor of this, the Children also spend the most time out of any Legion traversing through the warp.


From evidence gleaned from many hours searching old record, it seems that the Children use many terms for organisational force breakdown, with the 'Body' being the most regularly used term.
Although it seems interchangeable, shifting from a definition for a squad or group of squads, all the way up to multiple chapters in size.

The Children use a very dispersed organisational structure, dividing their legions into divisions, each individual division is referred to as 'a Body'.

Each 'body' is it's own self-contained, self-reliant combat force.
Each 'body' is broken down further into a cell-style structure, compartmentalising each cell, and limiting their exposure, while keeping them more or less self-reliant. 
The 'body' is made up of the Head, Arms, Torso, and Legs.

The Head is presumably the brains of the operation. Breaking down into specific roles, such as the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth if need be. 

The Arms are the muscle behind the body's operations. They do the on-the-ground shooting, and take part in the actual operations.
The units committed to the field are called 'hands'. With a hand being made up of as few as 5 individual marines, and upwards in size as necessary for the scope of the operation.

The Legs do the legwork for the body as a whole. They are in charge of transportation, but are also entrusted with doing any pre-operation prep-work, ie scouting, infiltration, tailing targets etc. 
They operate in the field, but nearly always in support of the Arms.

The Torso makes up the largest part of the body, with reserve units to support any of the other sections as needed.
They also maintain the body, including roles such as quartermaster, requisitions, armour, weapon, equipment, and vehicle maintenance and upgrading, logistics, and cleaning up after operations.

Using this metaphor as a basis for their legion organisation, is typical of the Children's playful demeanour, seeing it as a game.

==Specialist Squads==

===Stalker Squads===

Stalker squads specialise in reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering and were consummate masters of stealth, infiltration and sabotage deep behind enemy lines. 
Often remaining quiet when enemies were in sight, and reporting there location, direction, number, and armament to command so that other forces could be assigned to destroy them, allowing the Stalker squads to remain undetected, and continue providing up to date battlefield intelligence, as well as utilising their snipers and explosive charges to take out strategic and tactical objectives.

Stalker squads were also usually responsible for many of the guerrilla operations undertaken by the Children, using their skills of infiltration and sabotage to great effect behind enemy lines, working in conjunction with a Political Operations Officer to distribute propaganda, and win the local hearts and minds, while crushing the resolve and morale of their enemies with their constant hit-and-run attacks; always striking their target and disappearing before a retaliation could be organised.

The origins of the Stalker squads come from the Iron Rangers Heliwyr squads, who would use stealth and infiltration to get deep into enemy territory and help guide allied forces and harass enemy supply lines. 
Where other legions reconnaissance squads were used in a purely observational role, the Heliwyr and Stalker squads turned the humble scout into a fearsome formation, capable of wreaking great havoc.
The Iron Rangers often cooperated in operations with the Children early in their legions history, the two legions sharing an affinity for similar types of warfare, and thus the normally guarded Iron Rangers shared their experience and skills, the Children offering their own in return. 

These squads also spread to the other legions, although most were toned down from their incredibly clandestine beginnings, although still retaining the core concept of a guerrilla and reconnaissance role; it was from these formations that the later Adeptus Astartes Scout Marines were created after the Second Founding in the early 31st Millennium.

===Headhunter Squads===

The Headhunter squad was a new formation, created by Thirteenth to fill the role of rapidly disabling enemy command chains and eliminating persons of interest. They were comprised of legionaries chosen mostly for being the best assault marksmen and close quarters fighters in the Legion, but also for their quick thinking and personal agility; often the window of opportunity to make the "kill-shot" is mere moments, and thus fast and accurate reactions were highly prized.

Using the chaos of battle as a distraction, a Headhunter Squads primary role was to seek, identify and execute designated enemy targets. 
Commanders, officers, medics, demagogues, champions - whomever the target was, they were marked, and would be dead before the smoke of battle had cleared. 

The Children of Armok Legion were the first to form this squad configuration. It's deadly effectiveness earning it as much acclaim as it gained detractors for being dishonourable. Despite many legions resisting, its effectiveness made it popular, and many legions adopted it for their own use. 

Special ammunition and weapons were often deployed by the Headhunter Squads, to ensure a target was eliminated effectively and efficiently.

Headhunter Squads in the Children are also usually the best at Urban fighting in the legion, their quick reactions, and high precision giving them the edge in the cramped battlefield conditions of urban fighting, where enemy fire can come from difficult and oblique angles.
This predisposition for quick reactions and the emphasis on speed needed to function, meant that Headhunter Squads in the 13th would sometimes operate in scout armour, to allow them better range of movement.

===Counter Tactic Units===

Utilising the custom Koln pattern LandSpeeders (similar to the Landspeeder Storm) and Schwarzefalken-Pattern Stormtalon ground attack aircaft, which were customised and outfitted for transporting troops. 
The Counter Tactic Units, or CTU's, undertake sudden assaults and raids on unsuspecting foes, often far behind enemy lines, or in the flanks and rear of assaulting enemy forces, before their assault has made contact with the bulk of the allied forces.
Utilising the mobility offered by their transport vehicles, the CTU's strike the enemy hard and fast, hitting strategic or tactical targets quickly, then seizing and holding the ground, or remounting their transports to hit their next target.

Their targets are often designated by Stalker Squads, Insidiators, and Kokolny agents, giving the CTU's up to date intelligence to base their attacks on.
They are the most cavalier of all the Children of Armok, and tend to focus less on espionage and subterfuge, in favour of rapidly removing and enemies ability to operate effectively.
In environments unsuited to fliers, the CTU's utilise vehicles, often favouring bikes and rhino's, dismounting to do their assigned mission before remounting and riding off.
On rare occasions they will deploy from drop pods, but this tends to be a one-use attack, and so is only used as a last resort, with the CTU switching over to a regular combat role once the ground has been secured.

==Specialist Ranks==
The Children have 4 distinct ranks of 'Officer' relevant to their particular set of strategies. All officers above sergeant will rotate through training in each of the 4 roles, whereby they can pick a specialisation, or put themselves onto rotation. 

Being on rotation means that the marine will be given command in one of the 4 areas, on a case-by-case basis, meaning a Child of Armok officer on rotation could be put on political operations for one campaign, then in the next might be assigned to guerrilla operations, or counter-intelligence the next.
Rotation is generally only staffed by those who display equal talents in all areas, and are usually candidates for higher command later on. 

- 
'''GO2 - Guerrilla Operations Officer'''  - in charge of insurgencies, working with locals, and recruiting networks on the ground. Also responsible for on the ground political based long operations that require shooting and combat.

'''CIO - Counter Intelligence Officer''' - in charge of keeping the Children's operation secure, and managing exposure to outside influences. Deals with enemy spies, and internal informants recruited by the legion.

'''PO2 - Political Operations Officer''' - In charge of political interactions, usually of a subtle nature, but also small-scale or contained/controlled operations. In charge of political analysis, and interactions of the areas they are based in. Requires above average (by the Children's standard) abilities with language and persuasion.

'''ICO - Intelligence Case Officer''' - In charge of gathering intelligence for the Children. They tend to operate alone, or with a small squad, and  are often isolated from the rest of the 'body' they are assigned to. They are responsible for setting up networks, and are usually those who make the initial connections with Xenos/Rogue Traders on behalf of the legion, before passing them off to a PO2.


The Children also have 2 special roles they assign to Marines who display impressive talents in the required areas.

1 -  'Emissarius', or legion liasons - these individuals have a good grasp of both intelligence, and counter-intelligence, but excel in political interactions, and have a great deal of diplomatic and inter-personal skill. 
They are assigned to other Space Marine Legions, and travel with them, working as a point of contact between the legion they are attached to and the Children, usually feeding intelligence and messages to the Primarchs/Leaders they are attached with. They also spy passively on the legion they are attached to, obtaining in depth intelligence on all the key individuals, legion and unit strengths, and current actions the attached legion is undertaking. They don't always find out everything, but that isn't their role - that is covered by the Childrens non-marine agents and ICO's.

2 -  The Insidiators, who are explained below.

==Legion Infiltrators - The Insidiators==
'Insidiators' or independent field agents - these are marines deemed to have skill sets that make them well suited to working alone or leading entire chapters outright.
Displaying talent in all of the roles the Children have for officers, insidiator's are given their own jurisdiction to go where they please, and pursue the objectives they see as benefiting the Children in the short, or long-terms. 
They are occasionally given direct aims to achieve by their own chosen methods, but these are usually only when something needs to be done with the utmost speed and secrecy - this job falling to those most capable to achieve it. 
As a result, they are often on first name basis with Uriel himself, who commands the Insidiators directly. 
Operating under code names and aliases, they often pose as, or travel with rogue traders (or non-puritan Inquisitors post-Heresy) as they provide the insidiator with a good cover, and the means to achieve his ends.

In some cases, with Uriel's approval, the insidiator's will be assigned a 'body' to achieve their ends, posing as the higher command, thus keeping the 'Body' in the dark, and thus deniable.
As a result of their covert nature, insidiators often eschew the use of their power armour, for less obvious garb or scout armour, but will always have their power armour available for any circumstance they can foresee they will require it.
As a result of this, their power armour is nearly always repainted, only using the legion's colours when that serves a useful purpose.

'''Meta-Knowledge Notes'''
Insidiators are believed to be recruited directly from the legions neophyte program, as no marine from any chapter can ever recognise them. 
In fact, the Insidiators are recruited from the ranks of Group 13. In extreme circumstances, a marine inducted into Group 13 will undergo Insidiator training before he has even seen active service with the Group.


==Group 13==
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++ //CircleOfArmok ++

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++ Report Request Accepted. ++

++ Subject: Children of Armok. ++

++ Topic: Group 13. ++

++ Welcome, Chapter Master. ++

++ Accessing// ++


Group 13 is a secret sub-group inside the Children of Armok.
Only Uriel, his command staff, advisors, the Insidiators, and Chapter Masters know of their existence.
All of Group 13's marines are selected personally by Insidiators, the Group 13 commander, or Uriel himself. 
They use different armour colours, and even have to learn and adopt different mannerisms to the Children, so that no-one could link the two. 
Most notably, they bear no legion emblem, their pauldron painted jet black.

The recruits for Group 13 are spirited away in the middle of operations, usually in a situation that makes it look as though they were killed, where they are written up as 'dead/missing'. 
Their identities are officially killed off, and they have any identifying marks removed, from fingerprints to tattoos, even old wounds are grafted up and new ones made to make them impossible to identify, then they undergo facial reconstruction surgery.
Once they are completely unrecognisable, they begin their official training into Group 13, which brings them up to incredibly high levels of skill and fitness, and fostering self-reliance and initiative.

This gave rise to their own nickname, used among those who served in the Group 13 only: 'the Unlucky Bastards'
They assume this nickname due to the fact joining the Group requires you to "die", lose all your friends, your battle honours, and all of your possessions; you lose your identity. Then you have the dirtiest, most suicidal missions the Children, maybe even any marine, has to go on. Thus casualties are comparatively high in Group 13, the kick being that no-one ever knows they existed or died - like they were never even born.

This harsh, unforgiving take on the reality is tempered by the Children of Armoks nascent humour.
Thus the nickname 'Unlucky Bastards' is also used as a dark joke, with enemies treated as being 'Unlucky Bastards' too for having to face the elite Group 13.
Common in-unit jokes are along the lines of "The enemy have us surrounded - now we can't miss them now, the unlucky bastards!", and "Which way to the front lines? Just turn left when you get shelled, then drive down that road until you get blown up", and other jokes stemming from a casual attitudes towards dying caused by the high likelihood that they actually will die. 


Any Group 13 marine questioned on who he is, will likely just reply with "I am an Unlucky Bastard", and nothing more.

Once training is complete, they are assigned to a section, whatever their previous rank was, they start in Group 13 as a marine/squad member. 

In Group 13, there is very little room for advancement - those that survive long enough to become leaders, are by that point hardened and skilled enough that death in battle is unlikely, the only real room for advancement that offers consistent opportunity, is as an Insidiator. 

Insidiators are all former Group 13 members, given almost unlimited jurisdiction and direct oversight by Uriel, and of course the Group 13 commander, whom they still operate under. 
Other than pursuing Legion specific aims, the Insidiators also prepare intelligence and ground work for the Group 13 troops, calling in the allocated sections when the designated target is identified and investigated.
Then Group 13 hit hard, fast, and with the element of complete and utter surprise.

Group 13's purpose is black flag operations (attacks on friendly targets), assassinations, and long-term infiltration missions, as well as undertaking kidnap/capture missions, and guarding and smuggling intelligence and items deemed critical to Uriel or the Children's needs and aims.
Sometimes Group 13 conducts operations against the Children themselves, but usually they are involved in attacks on Imperials - these attacks designed to turn opinion, galvanise support, or manipulate troop movements to better aid the Children, and Uriels plans.

During the Heresy, Group 13 was responsible for cleansing the relatively few loyalists in the Childrens ranks deemed to be a problem.
Only Arkady Balotin and a handful of his marines escaped, being pursued all the way to Terra by a small force of Group 13 manhunter squads, where Balotin's pursuers, who he presumed to be a traitor legion unit from the colours of their armour, were forced to withdraw, leaving Balotin the lone survivor. 
A significant number of loyalists still remain in the ranks of the XIIIth Legion, being manipulated and kept in the dark to be used as distractions for investigators, keeping any investigation away from the corrupt marines, and leaving the impression that the Children are loyal and unspoiled by the influence of Chaos. 

Group 13 remains loyal to Uriel, operating on both sides of the legion (the ''"loyalist"'' side, and those in the traitor ranks)
But they mostly operate on the Imperial side, it being where the black operations Group is most needed.

'''Meta-notes:'''

Group 13 are a secret, and small 13th Chapter. 
They are mainly used for counter-intelligence roles; where the Imperium is looking into the legion and its activities, Group 13 are actively preventing anything damaging from getting out. 
They also are used for black flag operations, and assassinations that cannot be linked back to the legion. 

They are kept secret by making extensive use of disguising their legion heraldry, thinking nothing of painting their armour in another legions colours.

After the Heresy, they remain in their role, but undertaking many more counter-intelligence operations.
Since the Codex Astartes, the Children of Armok having been split down into chapters, Group 13 operate outside the Imperium's knowledge, hiding themselves using the colours of many of the XIIIth Legions successors, so that they may travel the Imperium without drawing attention to themselves. 
They operate in smaller numbers than they did previous to the Heresy, sometimes travelling in just small squads under the disguise of a Rogue Trader or more riskily, an Inquisitor, using controlled Astropaths to send ridiculously complex coded messages, that are only decipherable with the codex used to create the code in the first place.

When they fail in a mission, and their bodies are recovered, it is assumed that they are traitor marines attempting to infiltrate the Imperium, but due to their lack of recognisable identity, they are never linked with the Children directly.

==Non-Astartes Agents: the Kokolny==

++ Report Request Pending... ++

++ Alpha Clearance Required. ++

++ Clearance Challenge: Recognised. ++

++ Clearance Level: Alpha. ++

++ Report Request Accepted. ++

++ Subject: Children of Armok. ++

++ Topic: Non-Astartes Auxiliary Forces. ++

++ Authored by: Imperialis Logistica Corpus Logistician, Merlynn Xavius. ++

++ Accessing// ++



The Children of Armok make an abnormally high use of non-astartes in their ranks, surpassed by only by the Silver Cataphracts, and their Strelky in terms of numbers, but possibly not in terms of use.

Where other Legions interaction with Non-Astartes was limited to fighting alongside them, or having them under their direct command as Imperialis Auxilia, the Children utilised their Non-Astartes as espionage agents, terrorists, and saboteurs to sow anarchy and confusion in the enemy ranks, as well as provide up to date intelligence for the arrival of the Children themselves.
Unlike the other legions who swore their fealty to the Emperor, the Kokolny swore fealty directly to the Children of Armok, serving them before others.
Whether they do this for the (mistaken) concept of glory of being a spy, for personal gain, or for personal reasons is not entirely clear. 

Believed to be called the 'Kokolny', an ancient Perfidian word believed to translate as 'puppet' or 'pawn', the Kokolny make up the largest percentage of the Children of Armoks networks of agents and assets. Whether Kokolny is the true term is under speculation, as in the few existing reports of Remembrancers and Imperialis Logistica officials, various names have been used.
Kokolny being one of the most common names along with 'Chanakya', but others used are 'Peshka', 'Diandang', 'Zameya', 'Hydra', 'Colubrum', and 'Ningyo'. Other terms may also exist.
It is unclear whether these terms are interchangeable, or if they represent different roles or ranks inside the Kokolny




The Kokolny's role seems to be in doing the 'grunt work', and infiltrating locations and organisations where the Children Legionaries can only remain temporarily, being the recognisable Astartes that they are. 
More than just spies and assassins however, many Kokolny seem to keep their profession or job when they become Kokolny, giving the Children's networks facilitators for their operations; smugglers, legitimate and illegitimate merchants, rogue traders, hitmen, forgers, con-men, armed-robbers, criminal underbosses and enforcers, custodes officers, munitorum and other Imperial logistical and administrative officials, even Imperial Army/Guard soldiers and officers.

Even xenos are thought to have been brought into the fold of the Children's networks, presumably being identified in the same way all Kokolny are - by a discreet tattoo of a serpent, travelling in a circle to eat its own tail, usually hidden somewhere on the body,  hidden by clothing, jewelry, or hair. The hands, palms, and armpits are common places to find these tattoos, but it varies so much that no true pattern can be ascertained. 


Many Kokolny that are recruited undergo biochemical, cybernetic, and surgical augmentation to enhance their abilities, and to obtain the perfect disguises for where they are to be sent as undercover agents. 
Others operate independently, being trained how to blend in, and being left to do so until they are contacted. 
Others are highly trained, and work directly with the Children themselves, providing light infantry, manning vehicles, scouting, etc.

All recruits are trained in a facility, always referred to as the 'Greybox'. It is unknown whether there is one single facility, or a great number of these facilities scattered around every sector, as the Kokolny are believed to be recruited from all over the Imperium, making one single facility seem unlikely.

Basic Kokolny training seems to involve being instructed in intelligence, and counter-intelligence techniques, unarmed combat training, small-unit tactics, weapons training, with specialisation in the use of small weapons, such as knives, sub-machine stubbers and auto-guns, and pistols, as well as methods for making, using, and defusing explosives. 
Kokolny recruits also seem to be taught medicine, survival skills for harsh environments, the basics of Imperial law, and receive expert training in driving  vehicles and piloting of small craft. Criminals captured that were believed to be Kokolny, have all displayed these talents along with a variety of other skills, these being the only constants. 

After basic training is completed, Kokolny seem to go through voluntary specialisation training, where they may be taught skills such as forgery, smuggling, acting, disguising, methods of assassination, breaking and entry, safe-cracking, architecture, various forms of engineering, esoteric history, cryptography, how to read body language, and skills related to investigation and tracking.
One claim torn from the mind of an agent believed to be one of the Kokolny, implied that the Kokolny recruits would instruct each other and their ''Giant Instructors'' (who are presumed to be Space Marines) in a very open and meritocratic manner, sharing experience and skills with everyone involved. 
The same mind-grab implied that the Kokolny were able to weigh in on discussions with the same weight to their words as their ''Giant Instructors'' and more experienced Kokolny members. 


Some agents believed to be Kokolny have also been reported as displaying psyker abilities, usually limited to mind clouding, and wiping, possibly being used as a means for Children of Armok legionaries and their agents to walk openly in places they would normally be easily noticed. The Children themselves have been reported as having used these methods themselves, so to have taught the Kokolny would seem to make some degree of sense. 


Those that are recruited into being Kokolny seem to come from a variety of professional backgrounds, although a great many seem to have military, or criminal related backgrounds.
Many are believed to be criminals, as there are many reports of prison complexes, and gulag-ships transporting penal regiments around the Imperium having been attacked, and prisoners taken. 
Whether this is related to the Children of Armok or not is impossible to tell, but with so many of the captured or killed agents believed to be Kokolny having their DNA samples match known fugitive criminals, it seems a possible that the Children were involved. The implications of such a theory however, beggar belief, and in this light it seems implausible there is a link, yet when one delves through the scant available evidence, one cannot miss the potential link, although it would seem to be little more than a conspiracy theory to all but those convinced of the Children's guilt.


What missions exactly the Kokolny undertake are purely speculative, as any that have been captured and suspected of being Kokolny have never said a word to authorities, and have most peculiarly, had their minds wiped of their original identities, and seemed to be shielded from all casual mind-probing, only the most thorough of searches yielding anything relevant, most of this ,. 

The mind shielding is most telling, as it indicates some form of mind reprogramming by a powerful psyker, which would presumably be far beyond the resources of any criminal organisation. However, shortly before publishing this report, in a small system near to the deathworld of Catachan, a criminal organisation operating out of the jungles of their own deathworld had a powerful psyker in their midst, blanking and shielding the minds of all the members of the organisation, so that they would never inform on their criminal brethren's operations. This would seem to prove it is within the capabilities of even a small criminal organisation, yet this could be yet another layer to the deception the Children would have us believe is the truth. 


Most criminals believed to be Kokolny that are captured, yield very little to interrogation and mind probing, what we can ascertain is that they are highly trained, fanatically loyal, conditioned to withstand torture and interrogation, and rarely have any knowledge about other operatives or their masters. 
Thus, with no evidence of who they work for or what their purpose is, the whole 'Kokolny' theory of the Children of Armok, is just that. A theory.

Worthy of note however, and the one thing that brings the whole theory to a close in a typical fashion, is that all those captured that were believed to be Kokolny, have been rescued and take away by unknown forces, usually by force, although sometimes through bluff and disguise.

This consistent recovery of suspected operatives makes one wonder if the Kokolny, if they exist as we believe them to, are a valuable member of the Children's legion, or a disposable asset.  


++ End of Report ++


'''Meta-notes:'''

The Kokolny are recruited from all over the Imperium - they are always individuals who have displayed some level of talent in a field related to espionage or assassination, or have an unusual skill or knowledge that cannot be easily found at their level. 
They are looked after and trained heavily by the Children, and do the things the Children cannot do, such as infiltrate organisations, and blend into crowded places. 
However, they are still used in ruthlessly measured ways, and Kokolny agents are not expected to survive for more than a decade, though many still do - it all depends on how active the sector they operate in is. 

They are often criminals or soldiers, but anyone with the talents or position the Children deem relevant for their operations are taken. 
Not all Kokolny survive the recruitment process and training, as it is quite rigourous, especially the torture and interrogation resistance training. 
But those that survive are highly skilled, highly motivated operatives. 

The Kokolny agents skills and insights are recorded and anything new that they share is passed onto the rest of the Children legion, to further train Legion marines and Kokolny alike.

== [WIP] Legion Command Hierarchy==

++ Report Request Pending... ++

++ Alpha Omega Clearance Required. ++

++ Clearance Challenge: Recognised. ++

++ Clearance Level: Alpha Omega. ++

++ Report Request Accepted. ++

++ Subject: Children of Armok. ++

++ Topic: Legion Command Hierarchy. ++

++ Authored by: Imperialis Logistica Corpus Logistician, Merlynn Xavius. ++

++ Accessing// ++

Foreword: 
This was the hardest part of my report, as there is a veritable Logistica Librarium aisle just for reports and observations on the XIII Legion's apparent Command Structure. Thus the following can, at best, be only a theoretical guideline; There is simply too much conflicting evidence to draw any true pattern from. 

Much of the information that I speak with confidence on, is only due to the insights and evidence gathered by Inquisitor Enoch Vestin, who has invested vast quantities of his time and power into investigating the Children's nebulous forms and elusive leaders. 
And it should be noted that, even Inquisitor Vestin is careful to add caveats to what he knows, but here I will take liberties with what he says, as his knowledge and insight is vastly superior to my own on this subject.

++

[[File:Children1.png|300px|thumb|The Children of Armok's chain of command.]]

The Children of Armok seem to have an endless repertoire of command structures and various forms of complex hierarchies. However, based on the average, deduced from hundreds of reports, they have at least 2 main separate Chains of Command, either of which may be the real one, if they do only have the one. 
One we will call the 'official' hierarchy, recorded by the Logista Corpus and datalooms, which is of an uniform nature with the standard structure used by most legions. And another, that we will refer to as the 'unofficial' hierarchy, this being a far more complex structure, on a record authored by Inquisitor Vestin's former master, Inquisitor Harlon Zaros, before the Inquisitor was stranded in the warp. 
This record, though badly damaged in many places did survived, and gives those who can read between the bursts of static and harrowing screaming, a valuable insight into the possible inner workings of the Children of Armok.  
Though the single reference to a ''Group 13'' is quite perplexing.

Leadership has been observed as being selected on a case-by-case basis, often given to the Marine with the most experience in the relevant field. This leads to strange phenomenon, whereby lower ranking officers are able to outrank their superiors as their expertise is deferred to in situations that are appropriate to it.

To hold any officer role in the Children a marine must have served in a minimum number of campaigns, having served in each area of the legions roles, and have experience relevant to the operation the marine is assigned to, ie having the most experience in guerrilla operations, will likely mean you are in command of guerrilla operations the next time they are needed. 
This has 2 main ramifications for the Children:

Firstly, their leaders are experienced and tested individuals, who have proven their talents, and thus have the utmost respect and loyalty of the men under their command. This is why the sergeants insignia is that of a veteran. 

Secondly, the average experience of the average squad member is far higher than most, due to the fact that so many marines rotate through different roles as they survive campaigns, and continue this rotation through specialist roles, while only a relative handful of leadership roles are available. Leaving the average XIIIth Legionnaire skilled in all roles, if not an expert in one, which is often the case. This broad experience base is useful for a Marine, allowing them to maintain an understanding of the ever-changing strategy and tactics of the Children.


==The Children of Armok and their Dual Loyalty==

[CURRENT WIP]

This will detail how the Children are able to maintain their double agent position in the loyalists camp, while being a traitor legion, and how they work on the Traitors side of the divide. 

Pending relocation to a more suitable heading/section of this wiki page.

Naturally inclined towards deception and duplicity, the Children of Armok felt at home living double lives, so after Hektor failed the Children adapted to the post Heresy status quo, slipping naturally into the double agent role within the Imperium.
However, this was not a normal situation for the Children to adapt to; the Heresy had just been fought and won by the loyalists, with tensions and emotions still running high, suspicion and distrust was rife.


Just prior to Aubrey revealing himself as a traitor at the culling of the Gorgers etc, Uriel warns the Imperium of the treachery, partly to maintain their cover, and partly to have all eyes be on Aubrey, and away from Uriel and Hektor. 

Uriel continues this calculated revealing of the Traitors plans, sometimes in a way that means the loyalists win at the expense of another Traitor legion - Uriel thinking nothing of selling out an asset to keep his larger game of duplicity going. 

Paramar is set up, as far as the loyalists are concerned, Uriel warns that Hektor will attack Paramar, and sets off to protect it. Once there he is besieged and assaulted by the Traitors, sustaining heavy casualties in the process - this is not what really happens however, the Children gifting the world to Hektor and staging a fight, having their "casualties" repaint their armour in the colours of the Heralds and Zealots, so that they may hide in plain sight, and continue their operations on the Traitor side of the civil war. 
Having "fought and died" for the Imperium, some of the suspicion is averted, all witnesses on Paramar having been killed by the Children or the Traitors.  
 
Various small battalions of the XIIIth Legion that were scattered across the Imperium on their assigned missions were now ordered to find the nearest loyalist legion, and pitch in to help - Uriel making a lot of use from the legions loyalists, kept in the dark about the Childrens fall by exploiting the one way information chain that a cell-structure organisation allows, and keeping them busy out of the reach of the main legion.

For the rest of the Heresy, the XIIIth are largely out of reach of all the major events, only present in small numbers. 
Their intelligence helping in places, and harming in others - a picture of the XIIIth being outsmarted by Hektor becoming a popular take on the legions involvement among much of the Imperial leadership. 

Uriel and Hektor have a small disagreement over strategy when the Traitors reach the Sol System leads to Uriel not warning Hektor about the approaching 3 loyalist legions, the Void Angels, Silver Cataphracts, and Steel Marshals until it was too late. (Uriel cautioning Hektor to wait and build up strength before taking Terra, Hektor stubbornly sticking to his unforgiving and relentless attack philosophy.

Post-Heresy, Gaspard Lumey investigates the XIIIth personally, but due to careful manipulation, doctoring of evidence, and careful blackmail, assassination, and coercion of witnesses, the Children are found to be innocent of any actual wrong doing, although come out of the investigation looking to be incompetent and uncoordinated - something very far from the truth. Uriel leads Lumey to this conclusion of incompetency as a means of getting Lumey off of his back - operating on the assumption that the investigation needs to find something or the Children would look "too clean" in the investigation. 


After the legion is broken down into Chapters, it continues to operate as it did before, just now in slightly smaller organisational formations than they used to operate.
Counter-intelligence becomes paramount, with all information about the Legion controlled and obscured. 
Due to the distrust towards Space Marines, the legion is forced to make even greater use of its Kokolny agents than before.
Generally, the legion will mainly pursue Xenos threats, leaving the Chaos side warband that split off at Paramar, and Group 13, to do the dirty work on the Imperium itself. Although, the Children and their successors still occasionally will be involved in deniable operations, due to the increased scrutiny they are under, especially from certain Inquisitorial factions, these types of operations are eschewed to maintain a more codex image.