Lord Kallozar Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Another Alpha Legion question for you guys to get your teeth into. How does the Alpha Legion organise itself in terms of structure/hierarchy? I ask this because by all accounts, The AL values team effort and unity and frown upon solo heroics or individualism. So how come the Alpha Legion have Chaos Lords and Lieutenants, or even more extreme - Daemon Princes?? Surely if all Alpha Legionaires are meant to be as a unit and equal then there would be no Chaos Lords in their ranks as that is a very individual position of great power over others! Equally so, how can AL squads have Aspiring Champions, as again thats a singular position of authority over a squad?? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Apostle Thirst Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Just because they're focussed on working together doesn't mean it's a democracy. There had to be someone who says 'right, this is our big goal, and you guys get to do it' (the lord), 'alright Alpharius, this is where we will strike first, teams Alpha, Beta, China are going in' (captains), and 'Alpharius, Alpharius, Alpharius, and Alpharius, you're with me, Alpharius, you take the rest of squad Alpha and achieve objective Alpha' (champions). Then they use covering fire, move as a unit, no-one charges when the command isn't given, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excessus Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Alpha Legion use military hierarchy just as any other space marine force, but instead of the commanders being chosen for their sorcerous power or brute strength, I suspect they are chosen because of their superior skills in tactics, coordination and strategies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadlight Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 In my opinion, i see the Alphas as more of a terrorist organisation with different cells operating independently, each with its own leader, goals, agenda, etc. there is no set structure like the ultramarines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellios Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 The AL has leaders but it trains it's members to be able to operate after the loss their commander so that the whole kill head kill the body thing won't work. This also assumes that the AL of today operate like the AL of yea olden days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Kallozar Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Cheers for the replies guys, it has certainly helped clear things up. After reading some AL fluff they seem to be quite an unstoppable force when they really put their plans into action. I particularly love the story in the Chaos codex about the Blood Swords chapter being completely oblitorated due to the manipulative schemes of the Alpha Legion. The Alpha Legion seem to be the terrorists of the 40k world is that the general concensus? Or does that title go to the Night Lords? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excessus Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 It's the Emperor's Swords, our lovely Alpha Legionnaire buddies...well, nowadays, hehe :D And yeah, they are a thorn in the Imperium's side all right...the high lords of terra has declared them wiped out three times already but they have always come back for more anyway...haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kol Saresk Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Cheers for the replies guys, it has certainly helped clear things up. After reading some AL fluff they seem to be quite an unstoppable force when they really put their plans into action. I particularly love the story in the Chaos codex about the Blood Swords chapter being completely oblitorated due to the manipulative schemes of the Alpha Legion. The Alpha Legion seem to be the terrorists of the 40k world is that the general concensus? Or does that title go to the Night Lords? Terrorists would technically go to the Night Lords since terrorism is a specific type of guerrilla warfare that is meant to invoke fear in order to achieve a goal. The Alpha Legion would be more like Black Ops then anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hushrong Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 To echo earlier responses regarding rank: "When there is a pack, there is always a leader" The interesting thing is, kill the leader and it has no effect on the morale, mission, and performance of the Alpha Legion. I find that to be fascinating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kol Saresk Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 To be honest, I'd have to say that there would have to be a well established chain of command after some fashion, even if it is just in the individual cell. I believe this due to how fluid they adapt when a command presence is eliminated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Father Ferrum Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Many special missions units cross-train intensively, rotate their leadership, and always ensure that every member of the squad knows every facet of the plan being put into practice. This means that every member of the team is capable of doing every other team member's job, and anyone can take charge and knows exactly what to do in case the leader goes down. This seems exactly like the sort of technique the Alpha Legion would utilize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kol Saresk Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Good point. The only reason I said because there never seems to be any infighting in the AL. Other than the Alpharius-Omegon Schism at any rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quixus Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Other than the Alpharius-Omegon Schism at any rate.There is a schism? Please enlighten me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kol Saresk Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Read The Serpent Beneath in the Primarchs anthology. Unless you want spoilers. In that case: When the story starts, we see Omegon approaching Sheed Ranko on suggestions about who to recruit for infiltrating the Alpha Legion. There is this whole explanation about how there is an information leak from either an Alpha Legion operative or a Legionnaire from a secret base. The secret base is an asteroid housing a xenos artifact that creates a high pressure area in the warp that makes the area directly surrounding it like the eye of a storm. Literally. The immediate area is calm but the edges are warp storms of insane magnitudes. It is supposed to be part of the source for the warp storms separating the Eastern Fringe from Terra. Specifically it is keeping the White Scars from going there. Well, Omegon gets everyone together and recruits an extremely powerful psyker. Omegon leads an attack on the base to remove any trace of it in case it was part of the leaked information. They tear the base inside out. Psyker uses telekinesis, her only power, to angle the asteroid base towards the sun. Turns out that Sheed Ranko had been pretending to be Omegon under Omegon's orders so everyone involved in the mission would be eliminated with the mission. Except for Omegon. At the epilogue we see Omegon and Alpharius talking. Omegon tells Alpharius that one of the base members who helped with Omegon's infiltration was a source who leaked out the base's existence and that the base was destroyed by Loyalist forces. Basically he lies to his twin about the whole shibang. And then we see some weird thing about a suit of armor that appeared to be nondescript to the casual observer but nothing was elaborated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyaenidae Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Read The Serpent Beneath in the Primarchs anthology. Unless you want spoilers. In that case:*snip* Wait...wait...so, there might be a Alpha Legion civil war on the way? As in, Alpharius's camp vs. Omegons? :cuss Ow. My head... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kol Saresk Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Don't shoot the messenger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyaenidae Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 No, I'm kinda psyched about it, to be honest, or at least the potential. Kinda like if the CIA raised it's numbers to astronomical sizes, then went into an internal shadow war with itself. Knifes in the dark. Silenced Bolters shattering skulls in narrow alleys. Garrottes slipping through throat-flesh in dank sewers. This could be where we see the Alpha Legion at it's greatest, if written correctly. I approve. Edit: Terrible spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Father Ferrum Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 No, I'm kinda psyched about it, to be honest, or at least the potential. Kinda like if the CIA raised it's numbers to astronomical sizes, then went into an internal shadow war with itself. Knifes in the dark. Silenced Bolters shattering skulls in narrow alleys. Garrottes slipping through throat-flesh in dank sewers. This could be where we see the Alpha Legion at it's greatest, if written correctly. I approve. Edit: Terrible spelling More terrible spelling -- the plural of knife is knives. In other news, I fully expect what is, at this point, the opening salvos of a shadow war in which only one combatant knows he's fighting, to become an exceedingly epic sub-plot within the overall Heresy narrative. Honestly though, it's a twist I saw coming even as far back as the end of Legion. A key literary device throughout history has been the concept of close friends or siblings taking opposing sides in conflicts. It's especially prevalent in comic books -- just consider Professor X and Magneto -- but I'm still excited to see how it proceeds and of course, how it all turns out in the end. As usual with my favorite, I'm not expecting any concrete answers, but even an open ending is still an ending of sorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyaenidae Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 More terrible spelling -- the plural of knife is knives. Thanks, jerk. :) I'll be sure to rub your mistakes in your face next time... j/k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Father Ferrum Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 More terrible spelling -- the plural of knife is knives. Thanks, jerk. ;) I'll be sure to rub your mistakes in your face next time... j/k We're both soldiers. It's in our blood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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