Dark Angels successor spitballing idea

[Valkyrion]

After reading BBB9: Crusade, I found myself mulling over the prospects of Dark Angels that may have been left behind, perhaps over multiple planets within the same system, that are stranded and have to fend for themselves, eventually becoming their own chapter. 

 

Around 500 disparate survivors of the thramas crusade are left behind when the Dark Angels fleet leaves. We're talking 500 men from 70,000, so it's a tiny percentage, but I don't know as to the feasibility of such a thing occurring. 

 

Assuming it's plausible, then I have to make another assumption that craft such as Thunderhawks and Stormbirds can make interplanetary travel within the same system, otherwise all my guys would be stranded where they are.

 

The final assumption would be that, provided interplanetary communications already existed on their planets, these stranded marines could talk to each other through the planets own communication systems without the need for astropaths.

 

Without the dark angels fleet, and the carnage wrought by both the dark angels and the night lords, this merry band stay around system X for X amount of years, eventually having to recruit from local populations and salvaging weapons and forging their own ammo and so on until eventually a thousand years or so later, they are re-discovered by the imperium and recognised as a new chapter.

 

 

 

Are my assumptions incorrect therefore rendering the whole idea moot?

[WrathOfTheLion]

I think that could make sense, nothing about it seems odd to me.

 

Another thing to consider is that there are all these patrol fleets that it mentions that are involved in the Southern parts of the Imperium, as well as the various watch outposts (almost like Deathwatch) in the north, guarding against Xenos in the Ghoul Stars. Since these were all separately acting from the main Dark Angels fleet, as well as the forces at Caliban, they'd be natural to splinter off.

One can almost envision the Guardians of the Covenant, for example, being the remnants of one of those watch outposts.

[Valkyrion]

The patrol fleets idea is sound too, but I think they are more likely to be missed. Someone somewhere in legion command would know that patrols were active or outposts manned. 

They could still splinter and become a successor chapter for sure, but they'd at least be known. 

 

I'm thinking that in the mayhem of the aftermath of the siege of terra and the scouring and the loss of all the primarchs that my guys would have no one left alive to remember them and by the time they are found, all the original legion members would be long dead.

 

They'd need an apothecary to be a survivor though, wouldn't they. Otherwise how else would they recruit? 

[Grotsmasha]

I cannot reconcile with my head-cannon that the Legion would forget or misplace 500 Marines when leaving a warzone. I can, however, see them overlooking a Garrison force due to the Siege, and the Scouring, and the events on Caliban (everyone who knew about the garrison is killed).

 

So rather than accidentally being left behind, perhaps it was deliberate and intended as temporary, perhaps due to losses, the Dark Angels literally lost too many ships and couldn't transport them (unlikely, but more likely then being forgotten(IMO)), or filled their ships with evacuees and didn't have the space.

 

As a Garrison force spread out across the planets, they would be left T-Hawks or S-Birds, which are definitely capable of travel between planets in the same system. They would also be left (limited) ground assets, a Techmarine, and Apothecary.

[WrathOfTheLion]

I think one of those patrol fleets could easily get lost in the aftermath of the Battle of Caliban, and because they were autonomous, they're told to reorganize as a chapter that may or may not be recognized by the Imperium. More importantly, they may even purposefully obscure that such a chapter was organized. They could easily be out and about for 100 years with the Scouring going on, to then only come back in contact when it is revealed that Fallen begin dropping out of time, giving the justification for unrecorded chapters.

A garrison may have orders, that location must be defended against say, a Khrave force or some other eldritch xenos. They may decide not to report back, again intentionally, because it is critical that this outpost remain functioning.

Edited September 29, 2021 by WrathOfTheLion

[Valkyrion]

I cannot reconcile with my head-cannon that the Legion would forget or misplace 500 Marines when leaving a warzone. I can, however, see them overlooking a Garrison force due to the Siege, and the Scouring, and the events on Caliban (everyone who knew about the garrison is killed).

 

So rather than accidentally being left behind, perhaps it was deliberate and intended as temporary, perhaps due to losses, the Dark Angels literally lost too many ships and couldn't transport them (unlikely, but more likely then being forgotten(IMO)), or filled their ships with evacuees and didn't have the space.

 

As a Garrison force spread out across the planets, they would be left T-Hawks or S-Birds, which are definitely capable of travel between planets in the same system. They would also be left (limited) ground assets, a Techmarine, and Apothecary.

 

Your second point is pretty cool. Rather than being accidentally forgotten they are in fact 'deliberately' forgotten....at the time no one knew about Luther et al so with such upheaval going on, the small garrison on a moon in a system outside of imperial territory is simply lost to bad paperwork for a thousand years....I'll mullet over, as the 80's rocker said. 

[jaxom]

The patrol fleets idea is sound too, but I think they are more likely to be missed. Someone somewhere in legion command would know that patrols were active or outposts manned. 

They could still splinter and become a successor chapter for sure, but they'd at least be known. 

Reports of fleet destruction while there ended up being some survivors, planets lost but confused with others due to bureaucracy; I think there are options.

 

"Rigel IX was scoured of all life," but it turns out that's not the same as "Rygel IX" or "Rigel Ix," etc. Then Battle of Caliban happens and no one has time to check the details. The 'lost' hear reports that Caliban was destroyed and the Lion is dead so they turtle up and wait for things to shake out (like the Legion did right before the Lion was found). No one comes to claim them so they eventually organize as a Chapter post-Scouring.