Scalpel of Choice

The Scalpel of Choice was one of the unique training rituals for aspirants of the Alabaster Order legion. The value sought after by the Twentieth Legion among their recruits was vision. Martial skill, courage, discipline, while having their place, were placed secondary to the ability of the Legionary of the Twentieth to understand and to execute what Gustave believed to be the singular mission of his Legion: the preservation of Humanity. Every marine needed to understand that the battlefield was a mere physical barrier to what the true destiny of the Astartes was. That a Legionary's life was valued in only the lives of humanity could be saved. Only those who could adopt this creed within their spirit would be granted the opportunity to join their ranks.

Undoubtedly, this emphasis on what might be labelled as the strategic objective is what allowed Gustave to produce an unusual number of transhuman doctors and medics. While intelligence was not presented as the same obstacle as vision was, there was a natural tendency for the Alabaster Order to seek out individuals who possessed the necessary mental aptitude to strengthen the apothecary corps. It was rumoured that one reason the Twentieth Legion could compensate for its exacting recruitment protocols was the liberal use of its own medical specialties to find the young men who had the genetic components to produce a proper Astartes. Officially, the Alabaster Order denied any secret genetic testing methods not approved by the Mechanicum's Biologis wing and simply had a particularly stable gene-seed strain.

The difference in intelligence potential could often determine in which segment a new Legionary would serve. The higher the intelligence rating, the more likely the recruit would be encouraged to join the Alabaster Order. The less gifted recruits would often be relegated to the more militant Brotherhood wing of the Legion. Another important distinction would be attitude. Some recruits, for however bright they may be, could not accept the less martial Alabaster Order. Likewise, those who wanted to serve as best as they could in protecting humanity were given some role in the Order.

Ultimately, though, a recruit did have the final say in their destination. The Twentieth Legion was loathe to force a decision upon a recruit who had resolved upon one Legion branch or the other. So long as they were ready to heal or die on the behalf of their parent species, Gustave was satisfied.

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