FOR THE EYES OF THE HOLY ORDERS OF THE EMPEROR'S INQUISITION ONLY

M41.995, Primarch of the Dark Angels Space Marine chapter–one of the first founded legions–Lion El'Jonson has returned to the galaxy. His whereabouts before this were undocumented, and all that was known is that he disappeared some time shortly after the Horus Heresy. His emergence has brought with it a band of Astartes calling themselves "The Black Knights of Caliban". This chapter has been observed minimally as they appear to be few in number, less than 200. As this does not comply with the Codex Astartes, they have been refilling their ranks, albeit at a very slow pace. The Black Knights are led by one Chapter Master Zabriel. Attempts to convene with the Chapter Master have led to many Inquisitors being ignored or warned to stay away. The Black Knights have been seen working alongside other Astartes with varied results. They have been observed giving combat support to the Ultramarines, Black Templars, Flesh Tearers, and Lamenters Space Marine chapters. In these combat situations, the Black Knights appear as stalwart beacons to rally around. Many of the Astartes within the chapter appear to be over 200 years old, allowing them to more easily guide the younger and less experienced Marines into victory. Something of note that is odd about their relations to other chapters of Space Marines is their apparent dislike of their parent Legion. The Dark Angels have been observed actively denying combat support from the Black Knights, and as far as the Inquisition is able to tell, they carry no love for each other. Their tactics are ancient, mostly relying on warfare stratagems which haven't been used since the Horus Heresy. Despite this, they often claim victory with minimal, if any, casualties. They are conservative in their battles, no doubt a result of their low number. Their weaponry is similarly as old as their tactics, with many variants of bolt and plasma weapons which are no longer in production. Their armor, also mainly composed of earlier marks of Astartes power armor, is painted entirely black with silver trim and red accents. This concludes my report on the Black Knights of Caliban.

IDENTITY CONFIRMED: WELCOME, LORD INQUISITOR

FULL DOCUMENT ACCESS GRANTED

If you are reading this, you are one of the few I have trusted with such key information. I am Lord Inquisitor Drychon Gract and the so-called "Black Knights of Caliban" are not as they appear. To make a long story short, they are the remnants of the Fallen. To those of you unaware, the Fallen are traitorous Space Marines who turned against their Primarch during the Horus Heresy. It is doctrine within the modern Dark Angels chapter to hunt down and exterminate any Fallen they may encounter, so it is little wonder why they and the Black Knights do not cooperate. You may be asking how it can be that traitorous Astartes have been allowed to live among the likes of a Primarch for so long. This is something I asked myself as well and thus needed to seek out answers. Through much effort I secured an audience with Lord Lion El'Jonson himself. Within this document I have transcribed the recording I made with a hidden vox mic of my conversation with the Lord of the First.

RECORDING BEGINS

[BULKHEAD OPENS]

CHAPTER MASTER ZABRIEL: My lord, this is the one who wished to speak with you.

LION EL'JONSON: I see. You may leave us, Zabriel.

CHAPTER MASTER ZABRIEL: As you wish, lord.

[CHAPTER MASTER ZABRIEL EXITS, CLOSING BULKHEAD BEHIND HIM]

LORD LION EL'JONSON STARES AT ME, ATTEMPTING TO GAIN SOME INSIGHT ON MY MISSION, NO DOUBT.

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: [Bow] My lord Lion, it is an honor to finally meet with you. I am Lord Inquisitor Drychon Gract of the Ordo Hereticus of the Holy Orders of the Emperor's Inquisition.

LION EL'JONSON: Raise your head Inquisitor Gract. My time is precious and limited so we may skip the formalities. Why exactly are you here?

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: As you wish. In truth, lord, I have come to question you on grounds of suspicion regarding the Astartes now known as The Black Knights of Caliban. I have been very thorough in searching the records of the several Chapter foundings and have found no such chapter with this designation. Despite this, by the age of several of their battle brothers, they have certainly been around for long enough for such records to exist. Since your reemergence coincided with the… discovery of this lost chapter, I assume you have some answers to this.

LION EL'JONSON: You will excuse my lack of understanding in this matter, Lord Inquisitor, my mind has yet to fully grasp what has become of my father's Imperium. You mean to say that the founding records of the Black Knights have been lost?

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: Er… perhaps. But what I find more likely is-

LION EL'JONSON: I know little of the state of the imperial bureaucracy, but this is outrageous. How could such precious documents have been lost?

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: My lord, I believe you misundersta-

LION EL'JONSON: I understand clearly enough. You will return to your search to find these records. If none can be found, I want the man responsible for their disappearance to be rightfully punished.

[SILENCE]

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: My lord, I know the truth of the Black Knights.

[SILENCE]

LION EL'JONSON: Speak your next words very carefully, Lord Inquisitor.

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: The Astartes known as "The Black Knights of Caliban" are in reality remnants of the group known as the Fallen. I was lucky enough to find ancient records from the Horus Heresy which document the names of those Dark Angels who turned against you nearly 10,000 years ago. Knight Captain Zabriel was one such name, but there are many others who happen to be within the ranks of the Black Knights.

LION EL'JONSON: Very well. The truth, then. It is true that the Black Knights are composed of my sons who were once called "fallen". However, their tales are not those of betrayal, but of confusion and fear. I know you were not alive during the times of the Heresy, so I do not expect you to know what those times were like. But I ask you to imagine this: You are a soldier stationed on your home planet. No commander or general, just a rank and file soldier. You have been stationed there by your lord commander, whom you view like a father. Every day, there is news of battles you wish to have participated in, knowing your brothers died fighting a war you had been unjustly forced out of. On top of this, the enemy of the war is always changing. Allies whom you shed blood with one week turn traitor and fire upon their own the next. Uncertainty and anxiety spread, and all you can do is sit and wait, hoping for a chance to prove yourself. Meanwhile, those above you, your commander and his commander above him, know something you don't. You hear rumors of things beyond your comprehension and it merely adds to the confusion already deeply seeded within your mind. You wait and wait and wait, these feelings growing more and more intense as the days pass by. Then, suddenly, your lord returns. You feel as though it is finally time to enter into the war once again. Righteous purpose fills your breast, but as you look up into the skies, the unexplainable happens. You see heavy bombardment fall upon your position, all coming from your lord's voidship. You see landing craft and drop pods deploying soldiers you once called brothers. You see those same brothers gun down the men you had been stationed with and in that moment, you can only think of your own survival. You fight back, not knowing what is happening or why, only that your life is in danger and your lord has ordered your death. In a desperate attempt for survival, the planet's garrison plans an evacuation. But before you can leave, you see your lord, in the flesh, cutting down your brothers as if they were no better than the traitors you had wished so desperately to fight while trapped on that planet. As you make it aboard the evacuation voidships, there is no doubt in your mind of what has happened. Your lord has betrayed you for reasons you do not know. You can only assume that he has fallen in with the likes of the others who had turned against the Emperor. That is the truth of the Black Knights of Caliban.

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: You mean to say these men betrayed you out of confusion?

LION EL'JONSON: They did not know they had betrayed me at all.

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: Perhaps, but betrayal, whether knowingly done or not, is still betrayal.

LION EL'JONSON: Then what would you have me do? Kill them all? No. I have spilled the blood of far too many of my sons, I shall not spill any more.

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: Then allow the Inquisition to do so for you, my lord. These traitors must not be allowed to live, even you can understand that.

[THE LION RISES FROM HIS SEAT]

LION EL'JONSON: Listen to me very closely, Lord Inquisitor. I have given these men the chance to redeem themselves. Though they were once lost, I have been the one to show them the path. They fight for humanity just as you and I do. None of them are tainted by the ruinous powers and all of them have pledged themselves to me personally. I will not deprive them of their redemption as I did 10,000 years ago. If you think to do so, then I will not let you leave this ship.

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: You would kill me to protect traitors?

LION EL'JONSON: I am protecting my sons!

[SILENCE]

[SILENCE]

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: Do you realize what you are doing, lord? Do you not see the consequences that this will bring? Your sons have already betrayed you once, what is stopping them from doing so again?

LION EL'JONSON: I am stopping them. You could never understand the bond between a Primarch and his legion. To you, their words are not worth the air they spent speaking them. But when spoken to me, any words from them are only the truth. They are loyal to me as they were during the Heresy.

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: And when they betray you again? What will you do then?

LION EL'JONSON: If such a thing happens, I will take full responsibility and kill all of them myself.

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: Did you not just say that you would not spill the blood of your sons?

LION EL'JONSON: Yes. I did. They will never betray me. Of this, I am certain.

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: …Very well. I will not have the Black Knights declared excommunicate traitoris. But know this, your faith in them is misplaced. A traitor once is a traitor always, no matter how much redemption they feel they have earned. And when the day comes that they betray you, and by proxy the Imperium…

LION EL'JONSON: Then I will deal with them myself.

LORD INQUISITOR DRYCHON GRACT: As you wish, lord.

[BULKHEAD OPENS AS I LEAVE]

The Lord of the First is an unruly man. His emotions flair when his sons' lives are in danger and it makes him unpredictable. I would caution against sending anything less than the most experienced field agents to spy on the Black Knights of Caliban. That being said, I am putting out an order to keep tabs on the Black Knights from any available agents of the Ordo Hereticus. If they are seen committing any acts of treachery or heresy, the full might of the Inquisition is to bear down on them. Remember: Innocentia Nihil Probat.