Editing Celestial Lions (section)

==Ultimate Fate==
The Lions are now working to rebuild with the help of a temporary detachment of Black Templar specialists, including some apothecaries and techmarines. Though it'll be hard considering there's less than ninety-five of them left and their homeworld is nuked, another Imperial Fists successor chapter recovered from near-extinction in less than a century after being reduced to 12 Marines in total. Plus, while the Inquisition may get away with bullying later-founded chapters, it would be tantamount to suicide for anyone to mess with the [[Black Templars|largest space marine chapter]] excluding the [[Dark Angels]] <strike>legion</strike>.

Now let's talk about that retcon mentioned earlier. You would think with the Indomitus Crusade going on, it's more than likely Guilliman sent some Primaris Marines to rebuild the Lions, right? RIGHT?!? NOPE, as it turns out, this is not the case; the Inquisition's saltiness was so severe that [[derp|they ended up never actually getting the information to CREATE PRIMARIS MARINES]] and had to get the information from their brother chapter the [[Emperor's Spears]]. It's not explicitly explained as to how that happened, but presumably they just weren't included in any relief fleets' destinations (and since those usually have Custodes to ...[[BLAM|convince]] anyone not accepting of NuMarines, one must wonder how did this come to pass).

The salt continues to flow for the Inquisition when in the novel ''Spear of the Emperor'', it's stated that Ekene Dubaku was beheaded by a [[Callidus]] posing as thrall servant of Amadeus Kaias Incarius from the [[Mentors]]. So now the Inquisition, Officio Assassinorum, and the Mentors have dishonored and therefore majorly pissed off yet another Chapter ''and'' the Black Templars, and that's ignoring the fact that all sons of Dorn stick together, being the closest thing to a Legion of old, second only to the Dark Angels. Even if the Mentors were ignorant, then those other institutions have now pissed off three Chapters and all of their friends.

Out of universe this further proves that ADB is a hack for killing off cool characters to shill his OCs (debatable inasmuch Ekene Dubaku is also his OC) and can't live a day without showing how bad and oppressive Imperium is: while the Imperium's closeminded fanaticism contributes to its grimdarkness, the post-Armageddon cleansing of the Celestial Lions contradicts established lore. No one, especially not nameless Inquisitors, have the power to just ignore multiple Space Marine chapters, and none but the Emperor himself have the authority to prevent the Custodes from reinforcing an obviously loyal chapter. The Inquisition like to claim that they speak with the Emperor's authority, but the Custodes ''actually'' do, and what's more, they don't have to announce it, because nearly everyone knows that it is so, and those few boneheaded exceptions are inevitably [[BLAM|corrected]] before long.

ADB's hamfisted heavyhandedness runs counter to logic, and this obviously, this results in grimderp fluff. In universe on the other hand: "Ork snipers" could have been accepted for a time, grots are on the level of the human with the same ballistic skill after all, and it's not like there is concrete proof of Assassins being involved in this one: after all, each Inquisitor has a retinue, some being the size of small armies, so finding snipers shouldn't have been a problem. But now the Assassinorum has openly been involved in what most definitely qualifies as treason. Of course, on paper at least, '''EVERY''' use of an Officio Assassinorum operative requires authorization of the Imperial Senate (and there is a special minor Ordo with the sole purpose of ensuring this fact), but this is forgotten once again for the sake of the story; alternatively, this could be explained away as an Inquisitor exceeding his remit [far from uncommon, especially in ADB's work] and appropriating the use of an assassin already in the field.

There's also the further complication that recent fluff has made it explicitly clear that the Officio Assassinorum's reverence for the Emperor and HIS law is marrow-deep, and that staying focused on the art of killing in service to the Master of Mankind allows them to stay largely clear of the internecine politicking that often plagues the other branches of government; however, the Officio does not take kindly to attempts by third-parties to infiltrate their organization, and even less kindly to being co-opted by anyone not granted the authority to do so. Guilliman, a primarch, and son of the Emperor, appointed Imperial Regent by his father, which was confirmed by a High Lord of Terra, Captain-General Trajan Valoris, has that authority. Some nobody Inquisitor, or even Inquisitor Lord does not. So it may very well be that the Inquisition has also added itself to the Assassinorum's shit-list as a result of this petty dumbfuckery as well.

Receiving Inquisitorial permission or orders to kill a Chapter for enforcing the Emperor's law is... complicated to say the least. Getting the resources to actually manage it also presents a problem. Another point is that the Inquisition itself is not a single entity, with a complex net of counterbalances ensuring one person (or even a whole cabal of them) don't wield too much power without answering to anyone, effectively policing itself. For example, [[Kryptman]] and Inquisitors who supported him in destroying numerous worlds were excommunicated despite his Exterminatus campaign turning out to be justified. And we as readers are meant to believe the Inquisitors responsible for the initial incident with the Celestials Lions are not only not punished for their deeds, but gathered enough support to continue their bullshit unopposed ''for one hundred years''.

However, with the murder of the Chapter Master, the chapters allied to the Lion's have had enough. Which chapters? The Emperor's Spears, and the motherfucking Black Templars to start. With both saying that if an inquisitor shows their face near a Lion, the Templars will go to war for the Lions, and the Inquisition can probably rule out the acquiescence from any other sons of Dorn. Furthermore, the Celestial Lions would have no trouble finding additional allies; the Space Wolves are the obvious first example, but the Dark Angels and Ultramarines, as well as many of their descendant chapters, not to mention both of their recently returned respective primarchs, would probably be amenable to the plight of the Celestial Lions.

Regardless, '''WHEN''' this gets back to Guilliman, and make no mistake, it '''WILL''', some heretics are gonna die and the Inquisition itself could take a major hit. Frankly put, the Inquisition has simply made too many enemies of late, while simultaneously not producing sufficient levels of success; abusing their authority, and ultimately damaging the Imperium as a whole. While [[Malcador_the_Sigillite|a mere human]] opposing [[Rogal Dorn|a son of the Emperor]] is not without precedent, knowing the circumstances, those responsible are likely to be be executed by their own colleagues to, at the very least, minimize the damage to their public image; all the more so since more and more in recent fluff, we're seeing the Inquisition is painfully aware that it's on notice. That is, as long as the author who gets to write it has at least a single functioning brain cell.