Brother
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This article is about the Space Marine rank; for the short story by Gav Thorpe, see Battle-Brothers (Short Story). |
Brother (or Battle Brother) is the lowest rank within a Space Marine Chapter.
Overview
All Neophytes become Battle-Brothers after passing their initial trials and being implanted with the Chapter's geneseed, before earning honour in battle and rising up through the ranks. Battle-brothers endure decades of training before becoming fully-fledged Space Marines.
"Battle-brother" is also a general form of address used by Space Marines in conversation with each other.[1][2]
The most common unit for a Brother to be assigned to is a Space Marine Squad of up to ten marines, including the Sergeant or equivalent rank from whom the battle-brother takes his orders. In a typical Codex Chapter, Battle-Brothers complete their training in a Scout Squad, then are initially assigned to a Devastator Squad to master long-ranged weaponry, then an Assault Squad to master close-quarters combat. Only after mastering both of these aspects are they assigned to the most common formation within a Space Marine Company, the Tactical Squad. If Battle-brothers show a particular aptitude for one of these styles of combat, they may remain assigned to these specialist squads.[1] Those which show technical aptitude may be sent to Mars to train as Techmarines.[1]
The Dark Angels were known to alternatively address their Battle-brothers as “Knights”.[3]
Equipment
Battle-brothers are well-versed in the art of combat and are able to effectively use most weapons from the Chapter's armoury, including melee weapons such as the chainsword, ranged weapons such as the bolter or plasma gun, long-ranged weapons like the lascannon or heavy bolter, and short-ranged weapons such as the flamer or melta gun.[Needs Citation]
Sources
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- 1: Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition),[Needs Citation]
- 2: Codex: Space Wolves (5th Edition),[Needs Citation]
- 3: The Lion: Son of the Forest (Novel) Chapter 4
