[masterofweirdness]

A bit 'o fluff and stuff... its not much, just a rough draft of the history for now. I'll be getting down to squads, sergeants, and the like, once I get some time.

Every once and a while, when I deem it necessary to actually send out these reports, I figure I might as well make them interesting, Lord Inquisitor, hopefully, you won’t mind the fact that this one probably isn’t as professional as my last, yet alas, that is because my former scribe died in service to Him Who Watches Us. Anyways… hopefully this scribe’s work will prove satisfactory.

Introduction:

The Black Suns is not, as you may have heard, a Renegade Space Marine chapter, but in fact an entire Chaos Fleet that is a blight upon Segmentum Pacificus. The fleet is led by a renegade group of space marines who number in the several hundred. These space marines do seem to refer to themselves as the Black Suns, though I am not sure that this is the original name of their chapter, as there is no record of such space marine chapter in the Imperial Records given to me by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Instead, I believe this group of Space Marines was once called the Shrieking Falcons chapter.

And so, I have decided it fitting that I should begin this report on a short discourse on the Shrieking Falcons chapter itself.

The Shrieking Falcons

The Shrieking Falcons were a “younger” chapter, formed sometime in the 37th Millennium. They followed the Codex Astartes as much as most chapters do these days. Their Geneseed is 100% Ultramarine. Nonetheless they were highly decorated warriors of the Imperium, having fought in many wars across Segmentum Pacificus, including the recent 13th Black Crusade, which is ultimately where they met their curse.

The Betrayal

During one of the many battles in the 13th Black Crusade, the Shrieking Falcons were at the front of the fighting. Their opponents were a rather large contingent of Black Legionaries along with several thousand cultists. To aid the Shrieking Falcons were only three regiments of Imperial Guardsmen.

It was obvious that without additional manpower, the Falcons would meet with defeat. Thus, they prepared a truly bold maneuver. The Chapter Master, Xavier Ranlof, along with the entire first company would teleport directly into the heart of the Black Legion’s base of operations and attempt to destroy the commanders of the Chaos horde.

The plan worked. One hundred marines, arriving in the middle of a base not designed to defend from an attack that bypasses all of its defenses.

Still, the battle was bloody. Dozens of marines fell at the sheer volume of firepower the cultists were able muster, and though the primary opponents in the base were cultists, over fifty Black Legionaries were in the base, most of them elite warriors.

Lord Xavier and his command squad fought through the thick of the fighting, and managed to assault the headquarters of the Black Legion within the base. Here, they faced not only most of the Black Legionaries within in compound, but daemons and disgusting, gibbering beasts that were once men.

In the midst of this fighting, the master of this section of the Black Legion, Lord Baine approached Lord Xavier and challenged him to single combat. The fight that ensued was a great sight to behold (or so says the records of the Librarium of the Chapter). Lord Xavier fought greatly, his twin chainswords blocking every blow from the blade of Lord Baine. Finally, with a mighty slice, Xavier removed the head of Lord Baine from his body.

With the death of Lord Baine, the defense of the Traitor Marines crumpled. The Shrieking Falcon 1st Company overwhelmed the remaining defenders and destroyed them all, taking the Chaos HQ.

The taking of the Chaos HQ should have heralded victory for Army of the Imperium. But this was not to be the case. The cleansing of the planet was a brutal affair. So brutal and deadly, that the Shrieking Falcons decided to remain and aid the Imperial Guard in their job of removing the Chaos presence from that planet.

What followed was a blood-bath of a guerilla war. It was only thanks to heavy use of the Shrieking Falcons 10th Company that Black Legion was finally removed from the planet.

However, during this campaign of eradication, it became obvious that some was wrong with Chapter Master Xavier. He acted and behaved differently. In fact, so did many of the head of the Chapter. In particular, Captain Marcus Quint of the 3rd Company, Master of Sancity Gerard Frenddon, and, to a lesser degree, even the Head Librarian Mortius Venitor seemed different.

Then, it happened. Suddenly, without any apparent reason, the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th Companies openly declared themselves no longer loyal to the Emperor, furthermore, they said that they now followed the Runious Powers!

Of course, this was a blow to the war effort. Though the war was in its final stages, the rebellion of the Shrieking Falcons caused more than one battle that never should have happened.

The Black Suns

Four hundred marines, their equipment, and a number of Chaplains, Librarians, and Techmarines rebelling and turning Traitor, the Shrieking Falcons could not believe it. Of course they moved on, electing a new Chapter Master and consolidating their forces in order to regain their loses (nearly half the chapter, as well as the 1st Company and most of their Terminator Armor). Most importantly, the Librarium looked at all records of the previous campaigns that could have made their brothers turn to Chaos.

After months of ceaseless work the reason for the betrayal was finally discovered. It appears that, upon the defeat of Lord Baine, Chapter Master Xavier took his weapon, not knowing that it contained a daemon of great power within it.

This daemon, slowly, surely, corrupted the high ranking leaders of the Chapter, as well as the 3rd, 5th and 7th Company leaders. Then, when their corruption was assured, the rest of their men soon followed, when they were finally ready, all four hundred marines rebelled.

Of course they were not heard of for some time. Then, rumors of a new Chaos Army, one led by a giant, a man who seemed more than a man. After some investigation by the Ordo Herticus, it was found that this fleet called itself The Fleet of the Black Sun, and was in fact, led by the Traitors of the Shrieking Falcons chapter, most of them still alive and well.

Though the meaning of the name is not entirely known to me yet, I intend to find out.

Complied by,

Inquisitor Abraham Hyrdomus