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The Astartes do fall under the Inquisition's jurisidiction. Inquisition pretty much has jurisdiction over everything but the High Lords, Custodes, and Emperor.

The Astartes primarily have a beef and act independent from the Adeptus Terra and Ecclesiarchy. They tend to have a great respect for the Inquisition and are even fearful of it.

The Alpha Legion

I mean! No, the Inquisition. Yup, always the Inquisition who calls Exterminatus. Never anyone else, no chance of that, no sir. The Inquisition.

If the situation ever arose where Calgar gave an order and an Inquisitor counter-manded it, then I very much doubt that Calgar would override the Inquisitor. Instead he'd most likely listen to the Inquisitors objections or try and sway the Inquisitor. BUT!, as I said Calgar is an experienced leader who has seen more than his share of warfare, and if he believes a planet is so far gone that it has no hope of being saved or ever being use to the Imperium again then I would imagine that Inquisitors would also view it in the same way.

As for the Astartes and the Inquisition? Oh those glory boys are most certainly under the Inquisitions authority. The Inquisition has had entire Chapters wiped out because of a heretical taint and anyone, from the lowliest of scum to the highest ranking Lords of Terra, who does not bow to their authority is putting themselves and others at risk. No-one is above the Inquisition, no-one can subvert the authority of the Inquisition, no-one would dare speak out against the Inquisition and that includes the Emperor's own Astartes.

Lastly, Ultramar. On the Eastern fringe of the Imperium. They have Orks & Tyrannids on one side and the Imperium the other. It's not the Imperium who would risk war with Ultramar but Ultramar who would risk civil war with the Imperium. Ultramar is tiny compared to the rest of the Imperium - 14 worlds compared to a million? Certainly it's a nice buffer zone, but apart from that Ultramar is insignificant compared to the rest of the Imperium. Politically and religiously it would be risky condemning the Ultramar sector as heretics BUT with the right spin on it the Imperium could come out looking the righteous - the Ultramarines have turned against the Imperium and the most Holy God-Emperor, proof that no-one is free from the taint of corruption! Listen to the preachers, to the wise Ecclesiarchy! Only through the God-Emperor can you avoid the fate of the Ultramarines.

Sparks_Havelock wrote:If the situation ever arose where Calgar gave an order and an Inquisitor counter-manded it, then I very much doubt that Calgar would override the Inquisitor. Instead he'd most likely listen to the Inquisitors objections or try and sway the Inquisitor. BUT!, as I said Calgar is an experienced leader who has seen more than his share of warfare, and if he believes a planet is so far gone that it has no hope of being saved or ever being use to the Imperium again then I would imagine that Inquisitors would also view it in the same way.

As for the Astartes and the Inquisition? Oh those glory boys are most certainly under the Inquisitions authority. The Inquisition has had entire Chapters wiped out because of a heretical taint and anyone, from the lowliest of scum to the highest ranking Lords of Terra, who does not bow to their authority is putting themselves and others at risk. No-one is above the Inquisition, no-one can subvert the authority of the Inquisition, no-one would dare speak out against the Inquisition and that includes the Emperor's own Astartes.

Lastly, Ultramar. On the Eastern fringe of the Imperium. They have Orks & Tyrannids on one side and the Imperium the other. It's not the Imperium who would risk war with Ultramar but Ultramar who would risk civil war with the Imperium. Ultramar is tiny compared to the rest of the Imperium - 14 worlds compared to a million? Certainly it's a nice buffer zone, but apart from that Ultramar is insignificant compared to the rest of the Imperium. Politically and religiously it would be risky condemning the Ultramar sector as heretics BUT with the right spin on it the Imperium could come out looking the righteous - the Ultramarines have turned against the Imperium and the most Holy God-Emperor, proof that no-one is free from the taint of corruption! Listen to the preachers, to the wise Ecclesiarchy! Only through the God-Emperor can you avoid the fate of the Ultramarines.

Having the power to wipe a Chapter out is not the same as having it under your authority. Space Marine Chapters are NOT under the authority and control of the Inquisition; an Inquisitor cannot command Space Marines, like he can command the Imperial Guard or the Navy. If the Inquisition wants something from the Adeptus Astartes they must ASK, rather than simply flash their rosette and give an order; and, furthermore, the Space Marines are perfectly within their rights to refuse. That said, antagonizing an Inquisitor is politically damaging, so the Astartes generally accede to Inquisitorial requests whenever possible.

. . . and on the Inquisition's side, I would imagine they are EXTREMELY careful not to ask Space Marines anything they think will be refused. Imagine the political fallout of being turned down cold by Space Marines. At that point, the Inquisitor would basically have two options; back down and accept a serious blow to his prestige, or press the issue and risk permanently damaging the Inquisition's relationship with this Chapter and potentially the Adeptus Astartes as a whole. Whether the Chapter is wiped out or openly defies the Inquisition and suffers no consequences (BOTH of which have happened, in the past), the Imperium as a whole loses.

BeRzErKeR wrote:

Sparks_Havelock wrote:If the situation ever arose where Calgar gave an order and an Inquisitor counter-manded it, then I very much doubt that Calgar would override the Inquisitor. Instead he'd most likely listen to the Inquisitors objections or try and sway the Inquisitor. BUT!, as I said Calgar is an experienced leader who has seen more than his share of warfare, and if he believes a planet is so far gone that it has no hope of being saved or ever being use to the Imperium again then I would imagine that Inquisitors would also view it in the same way.

As for the Astartes and the Inquisition? Oh those glory boys are most certainly under the Inquisitions authority. The Inquisition has had entire Chapters wiped out because of a heretical taint and anyone, from the lowliest of scum to the highest ranking Lords of Terra, who does not bow to their authority is putting themselves and others at risk. No-one is above the Inquisition, no-one can subvert the authority of the Inquisition, no-one would dare speak out against the Inquisition and that includes the Emperor's own Astartes.

Lastly, Ultramar. On the Eastern fringe of the Imperium. They have Orks & Tyrannids on one side and the Imperium the other. It's not the Imperium who would risk war with Ultramar but Ultramar who would risk civil war with the Imperium. Ultramar is tiny compared to the rest of the Imperium - 14 worlds compared to a million? Certainly it's a nice buffer zone, but apart from that Ultramar is insignificant compared to the rest of the Imperium. Politically and religiously it would be risky condemning the Ultramar sector as heretics BUT with the right spin on it the Imperium could come out looking the righteous - the Ultramarines have turned against the Imperium and the most Holy God-Emperor, proof that no-one is free from the taint of corruption! Listen to the preachers, to the wise Ecclesiarchy! Only through the God-Emperor can you avoid the fate of the Ultramarines.

Having the power to wipe a Chapter out is not the same as having it under your authority. Space Marine Chapters are NOT under the authority and control of the Inquisition; an Inquisitor cannot command Space Marines, like he can command the Imperial Guard or the Navy. If the Inquisition wants something from the Adeptus Astartes they must ASK, rather than simply flash their rosette and give an order; and, furthermore, the Space Marines are perfectly within their rights to refuse. That said, antagonizing an Inquisitor is politically damaging, so the Astartes generally accede to Inquisitorial requests whenever possible.

. . . and on the Inquisition's side, I would imagine they are EXTREMELY careful not to ask Space Marines anything they think will be refused. Imagine the political fallout of being turned down cold by Space Marines. At that point, the Inquisitor would basically have two options; back down and accept a serious blow to his prestige, or press the issue and risk permanently damaging the Inquisition's relationship with this Chapter and potentially the Adeptus Astartes as a whole. Whether the Chapter is wiped out or openly defies the Inquisition and suffers no consequences (BOTH of which have happened, in the past), the Imperium as a whole loses.

i.e. Celestial Lions. There are other ways to take down a pure Chapter than accusing them."Accidents" do happen...last surviving apothecary shoot on landing...

BeRzErKeR wrote:Space Marine Chapters are NOT under the authority and control of the Inquisition; an Inquisitor cannot command Space Marines, like he can command the Imperial Guard or the Navy.

Actually, officially they can. If you go by GW fluff, that is. It's just that the Chapters have a very independent streak and do not appreciate being ordered around, and it's quite bothersome to put them down as this does not only take a lot of time (when said Inquisitor rather wants to deal with whatever he tried to send the Marines against) but also means that there is one less Marine Chapter in the galaxy, and they are far harder to replace than some rebellious Guard regiment. As unreliable as they may be, keeping them around is still better to than nothing. Additionally, Inquisitors constantly plot against other Inquisitors, and having a Marine Chapter on one's good side means a lot in this game of shadows. All of this has, over the millennia, developed into a tradition of respectfully asking a Chapter rather than commanding it - but on paper, the Inquisition's authority is unlimited.

"Each Inquisitor is a peer of the Imperium, one of a finite elite who hold ultimate authority over mankind. As such, an Inquisitor can recruit any military or civilian force in the pursuit of Imperial duties, from hive world security details through entire Space Marine Chapters, Titan Legions and vessels of the Imperial Navy."
- 5E Rulebook

No, officially they can't, if you go by GW fluff, that is. But they can. The problem is the fluff says BOTH. As you demonstrated with that quote from the 5E rule book, inquisitorial authority is absolute. But numerous SM codex says the opposite, as does the FFG RPG's, and numerous other sources. The problem is the fluff is written by people, people who don't usually know all the fluff out there (were such a thing even possible). So when writing about the inquisition they tend to talk about their unlimited authority, when talking about groups that don't fall under their authority they talk about that. I tend towards the latter interpretation as it is more likely writers about the inquisition didn't know about the AdMech's, SM chapters, and RT's immunity than vice versa, but I can see people going either way.

According to many sources the inquisition doesn't have QUITE the unlimited authority some people claim. They have complete authority over anyone in the Imperium (including the high lords), not over those who you might call 'allied powers within the Imperium', i.e. the Adeptus Mechanus, Space Marine chapters, and Rogue Traders. They are not technically part of the IoM's organization, they assist as they choose, and are not subject to inquisitorial authority.

What they do still have, due to their immense power, is the ability to wage war on whoever they wish by declaring them heretics, which means most groups are wise to do what they say anyways. However, some groups have more power and influence than any single inquisitor (UM and SW being good examples), and so can get away with a lot, even countermanding and assassinating inquisitors.

I would wager the UM and Calgar are even more able to act against the inquisition than the SW, though obviously you can only go so far. With their political and military power, historical importance, and ties within the inquisition, they could get away with a lot if they so chose. But you only have so much good will, act out to much, spend all that political and social currency, and you will eventually find yourself without allies and vulnerable.

It's more of a request from someone at the level of chapter master, likely depending on the rank of the Inquisitor. They could likely order around some chapter's grunts, but mostly it'd be best if they went through the Chapter Master/Captain present.

As for the Exterminatus I think it was only the Inquisition, though there are probably some Chapter Masters capable of making the order. The request goes through to the Ad Mech though which in the end have to decide as they worship the missiles if I remember correctly. I'd guess it'd work similarly to requesting a titan.

Ah, I'm aware that certain sources will most definitely differ from others - especially where the FFG RPGs or various Black Library novels are concerned. But GW's own books such as the Codices? I'd have to re-read them, but I cannot recall any statement that they should be completely out of the Inquisition's reach, only that their independence from the normal chain of command is stressed again and again, which I do not see as contradicting Inquisitorial authority.

And I'd neither call the AdMech nor Marine Chapters "allied" powers. "Alliance" indicates a partnership, where the term "client state" would be much more fitting. At least if, again, one would go by GW sources, which continuously describe Mechanicus worlds as "Imperial planets", the Tech-Priests as having accepted the Emperor as "the ultimate master of mankind" and the Space Marines as "Imperial forces". The whole "allied" bit seems to be stressed by the fans of both sub-factions, but I don't subscribe to it.

In the end, I guess it's all about interpretations, as always and everywhere in 40k. Maybe there even are contradictions in GW books I did not notice yet (or simply forgot), but in this case we can still pick what suits us best.

Which would even be possible if it's just some FFG book that came up with it. I certainly know enough people who now go by the idea that the Deathwatch is completely independent from the Ordo Xenos. Emperor forbid the mighty Space Marines might actually have to follow orders from someone were it otherwise! Yet, that's just as valid as anything else.

In the spirit of taking all fluff as correct, it is also very possible the organizations themselves don't agree on this point. Space Marines, and likely the Ad-Mech and Rogue Traders, seem to take their autonomy from the Imperium as a given where inquisitors likely feel the opposite. In fact this seems far more likely than either interpretation being absolutely correct, and fits both actions behavior.

In the end you have four factions that have the power to effectively wage war upon one another, each believing in their own, God-Emperor given authority in the matter. And so no matter which interpretation is 'correct' (indeed if any of them can be said to be correct) in practice they are 'diplomatic', exchanging favors and performing acts of 'good will'. And when conflicts happen it is the faction that can enforce its will over the other that gets their way, e.g. a space marine chapter gets wiped out or an inquisitor gets assassinated and no one is willing to make an issue of it. A wise man, inquisitor, chapter master, rogue trader, or head fabricator, avoids conflict if the outcome is not clear in advance.

The truth is, in the real world authority between organizations and countries is often not very clear cut, and the one to end up with power in a situation often comes down to the one with the most political clout. I am sure it is the same in the Imperium, and likely to a much greater degree.

So as for me personally, I think I am revising my position to be that SM chapters and such likely do believe the inquisition doesn't have authority over them, inquisitors believe they do, and that explains perfectly why they typically approach each other diplomatically.

Well, on this scale the fluff is (I believe) not exactly written from an in-character point of view, so I would take it as neutral and bereft of such intentional contradictions. If contradictions exist, they do so because the writer alone - be he from GW, FFG or BL - preferred his interpretation of the topic, and according to people like Gav Thorpe this is just how it's meant to work. There's so many things that are utterly incompatible in any case; the question on Inquisitorial authority is just one of many aspects. I go with the universal description in the 5E rulebook as it is meant to explain how the Imperium as a whole works and comes directly from the studio. Doesn't mean that this is any more "right" than any other interpretation, but personally I think this makes the most sense when looking at the larger picture. People will disagree on this, but none of us can be "wrong".

Not that I would disagree on the idea that many Marine Chapters will not agree on the Inquisition having this right, mind you. In the Imperium, it often boils down to "might makes right", and many organizations have overlapping jurisdictions or unilaterally perceived independence/authority, particularly where the Marines or the Ecclesiarchy are involved, which is why it so often comes to blows between the factions involved. Essentially, I agree with about half of what you wrote.

I seemed to be implied in the Inquisition War trilogy that any inquisitor can order one, but they are likely to be questioned over it afterwards, it's not taken lightly.

Public inquiry!

Lynata wrote:Well, on this scale the fluff is (I believe) not exactly written from an in-character point of view, so I would take it as neutral and bereft of such intentional contradictions. If contradictions exist, they do so because the writer alone - be he from GW, FFG or BL - preferred his interpretation of the topic, and according to people like Gav Thorpe this is just how it's meant to work. There's so many things that are utterly incompatible in any case; the question on Inquisitorial authority is just one of many aspects. I go with the universal description in the 5E rulebook as it is meant to explain how the Imperium as a whole works and comes directly from the studio. Doesn't mean that this is any more "right" than any other interpretation, but personally I think this makes the most sense when looking at the larger picture. People will disagree on this, but none of us can be "wrong".

Not that I would disagree on the idea that many Marine Chapters will not agree on the Inquisition having this right, mind you. In the Imperium, it often boils down to "might makes right", and many organizations have overlapping jurisdictions or unilaterally perceived independence/authority, particularly where the Marines or the Ecclesiarchy are involved, which is why it so often comes to blows between the factions involved. Essentially, I agree with about half of what you wrote.

There've been several points at which GW have stated that ALL the fluff, including the stuff they themselves (as opposed to BL) write is biased, incomplete, or otherwise untrustworthy. In essence, it's all IC stuff. Or, at least, that's how I think of it.

Basically, I just interpret the Imperium as being massively more complex than I think a lot of players think of it. It isn't a monolithic organization; it isn't even an empire, really. It's an extremely ad-hoc organization, hammered together under the pressure of constant warfare out of thousands upon thousands of emergency measures. Only the very most important things actually work, and even they move so slowly as to be nearly irrelevant to any single human. There are many seemingly absolute laws, complete with dire punishments attached, but authority and power is so fragmented that most of the time they cannot be enforced; and even when the ability to enforce them exists, often either the will is lacking or the political situation makes it unwise. For instance, the Decree Passive ostensibly forbids the Ecclesiarchy from maintaining men under arms, but even setting aside the sneaky end-run of the Sisters of Battle, there are numerous references in MODERN fluff to the Frateris Militia!

The Inquisition's authority is unlimited, except when it isn't, and yet it is also tightly circumscribed by the real, dangerous power of those around them. Furthermore, the Inquisition is divided against itself; an Inquisitor who takes full advantage of his authority to defy some other powerful Imperial figure has not only antagonized the locals, he cannot even be sure of the support of his own colleagues, and that's assuming there are any colleagues nearby in the first place! The Adeptus Astartes are fiercely independent yet totally loyal, and at the same time thousands of them have gone renegade while others openly defy Imperial organizations (such as the Inquisition) and enforce THEIR version of Imperial rule, which is the same in the broad strokes but varies in detail. The Adeptus Mechanicus is technically an entirely DIFFERENT state, complete with their own (heretical, by Imperial standards) state religion.

So, legally, Inquisitors and ONLY Inquisitors can order Exterminatus. In reality, anyone in command of a vessel capable of destroying a planet can do so. Whether they face any hard questions over it depends on what organization they belong to, where they are, the situation in that region at the time, and how powerful they are.

BeRzErKeR wrote:There've been several points at which GW have stated that ALL the fluff, including the stuff they themselves (as opposed to BL) write is biased, incomplete, or otherwise untrustworthy. In essence, it's all IC stuff. Or, at least, that's how I think of it.

Well, even following this perspective, an IC chronology dealing with the Imperium as a whole (or even the entire galaxy with all the playable races, as the rulebooks contain descriptions on all of them) would still have less bias than one focusing on either the Marines or the Inquisition alone. This is just to explain my reasoning, though - when it comes down to it, there are surprisingly few "hard truths" concerning the background, the overlapping consistency between the various interpretations being limited to the most basic stuff such as the Emperor being the boss and Terra being the capital. Which makes discussing topics such as this one so difficult.

BeRzErKeR wrote:In reality, anyone in command of a vessel capable of destroying a planet can do so. Whether they face any hard questions over it depends on what organization they belong to, where they are, the situation in that region at the time, and how powerful they are.

That is most definitively true, human beings are capable of independent thought, after all. And in theory, even Corporal Joe Smith from the Umpteenth Random Grenadiers regiment could say "no" to an Inquisitor - just that his chance of surviving such open display of insubordination would be noticeably smaller than those of a Space Marine, in practice leading to a nigh-100% quota of deference.

The High Lords, Inquisitors, and Space Marines have the authority to order exterminatus.

Only Space Marines and the Inquisition have access to the equipment required to conduct an exterminatus. Virus Bombs and Clyclonic torpedos specifically. Both are standard equipment on an Astartes Battle Barge. The Inquisition has catches scattered about the galaxy at their headquarters.

Most of the time the Inquisition doesn't have the time to go to their own caches to equip the Imperial Navy ships they have under their control and so they have to call up the nearest SM chapter and say "Yo, I need's some Virus bombs dropped. Can you help me out over here?"

and is there any Inquisition-owned ships has "exterminatus" weapons? or only Space Marines ship carry that weapons so that the power balancing can be maintained (and the Inquisitors will not blown away any planet at whim, without proof that a planet harbors a dangerous heresy)

I believe the Inquisition does have ships that carry the weapons, but most of the time Inquisitors arn't traveling around in their big black ships which are just screaming "Inquisitions here, everybody run!!!"

Hence why they most often have to beg space marines to come and do the Exterminatus for them.

I think the question on whether and what kind of ships the Inquisition has depends a lot on where you look as well. Aside from the Black Ships, I've seen various licensed products deal with the subject - the Dark Millennium TCG had a whole set of Inquisitorial warships participating in the Pyrus Reach conflict (examples: [1], [2], [3]), and the Daemonifuge comics had Inquisition cruisers as well. Then again, the latter also had the Lunar-class cruiser "Hammer of Thor" as an Ecclesiarchy fleet flagship, but hey.

The Frateris Militia isn't a standing army, it's a militia. Most of them don't even have guns. This does not violate the Decree Passive, as the Ecclesiarchy doesn't arm them, give them uniforms, or even train them.

Sparks_Havelock wrote:

IronSnake wrote:lol My thoughts exactly.

Marneus: "We will commence exterminatus... "
Inquisitor: "But...."
Marneus: *harsh glare* "WE WILL commence"
Inquisitor: "I hereby accuse thee of foul heresy for speaking out against, and attempting to subvert the authority of the most Holy Emperor's Inquisition. You will be confined pending investigation and trial. Suck on that you blue git."

Fixed that for you there. I know it was meant to be a joke, but Calgar could not get away with countermanding an Inquisitors orders, ever, no matter how important he thought he was. The authority of the Inquisition is absolute and no-one is above it. Attempting to subvert that authority is heresy as you're denying an Inquisitor and thus doing the work of the enemy.

Calgar could get away with ordering Exterminatus but if an Inquisitor says "No" then thats the end of the matter. However, Calgar isn't stupid, for all that he's an Ultramarine, and if he reckoned a world should be condemned as Exterminatus then there would be a good reason and the Inquisition would most likely agree with it.

As for Astartes Captains 'getting away' with ordering Exterminatus, if an Inquisitor caught up with them over it they might full-well agree with their reasons for reducing the planet to ash. If they don't, that's it for that Space Marine Captain. Exterminatus is a last resort, when a world/planet is too far gone and there are no other options. This is why Inquisitors are supposed to be the only ones with the authority, officially, to sanction Exterminatus (apart from those few who are granted the authority to order it due to their role). Last thing the Imperium wants to do is destroy planets which could be retaken and still be of use to the Imperium, so having Astartes Captains, Admirals and Lord-Generals running around ordering Exterminatus is generally a bad, bad thing.

Well I highly doubt Calgar would ever contemplate Exterminatus without good reason. It would be more like this:

Marneus: "We should commence exterminatus"
Inquisitor: "I concur"
*exterminatus jig dance commences*
*high fives*

Panopticon wrote:From the fluff I have read it seems that Astartes can do it, in the Blood Ravens novels(I know,but they still count) a mere captain orders a couple.

Which Captain? Angelos? Just that in Dawn of War, it's explicitly stated that he requested an exterminatus of Cyrene. Not sure about any other places though.

KingDeath wrote:Since Astartes have no authority whatsoever over other imperial organisations i wonder how they can justify declaring exterminatus over a world, especialy imperial ones.

Astartes might be outside the normal Imperial chain of command, but that's a far cry from saying they have no authority over other Imperial organisations.

daveNYC wrote:Astartes might be outside the normal Imperial chain of command, but that's a far cry from saying they have no authority over other Imperial organisations.

Well, respect and authority are two different things. The Horus Heresy pretty much ended the latter, removing direct command over the Imperial Army (which became split up into Navy and Guard) from the Astartes.

SomeRandomEvilGuy wrote:

Panopticon wrote:From the fluff I have read it seems that Astartes can do it, in the Blood Ravens novels(I know,but they still count) a mere captain orders a couple.

Which Captain? Angelos? Just that in Dawn of War, it's explicitly stated that he requested an exterminatus of Cyrene. Not sure about any other places though.

Dawn of War: Ascension; Angelos ordered exterminatus on Rahe's Paradise, a BR recruiting world that was a Necron Tomb. Apparently, either the Blood Angels or the Thousand Sons sealed the Necron Tomb during the Great Crusade with the Eldar's help. No further spoilers.

I was under the impression that only an Inquisitor can give the order but that Astartes battle barges carried the payload. The only use it when summoned by Inqs to do so.

No, they can do it as long as they can justify themselves before the Inquisition. Don't forget, orders from a ranking Astartes officer supersede all Imperial organizations barring the High Lords of Terra. The Inquisition may override them, but the Astartes military mandate matches that of the Commissariat and the Inquisition (in their case, they can use it any time, while the Astartes and the Commissariat can only use their mandate in wartime).

Tadashi wrote:No, they can do it as long as they can justify themselves before the Inquisition. Don't forget, orders from a ranking Astartes officer supersede all Imperial organizations barring the High Lords of Terra. The Inquisition may override them, but the Astartes military mandate matches that of the Commissariat and the Inquisition (in their case, they can use it any time, while the Astartes and the Commissariat can only use their mandate in wartime).

The authority of an Astartes officer is way below that of the Inquisition, as an Inquisitors authority does cover everyone from the scummiest mutant to the High Lords of Terra. The military mandate of the Inquisition is greater than that of the Astartes in that the Inquisition can 'request', re: order, the Astartes about. Whilst the Astartes might start to act like children, resenting being told what to do and whining about it, the Inquisition has that level of authority and everyone bows before it.

When it comes to justifying actions, I can't see the Inquisition being particularly pleased with an Astartes Captain who took it upon themselves to annihilate a planet for which the Inquisition may, possibly, have had a means of retaking or a plan for. Members of the Inquisition have to justify their actions and 'clean up' after themselves. If they then have to start clearing up mess caused by Astartes going beyond their mandate, then the Inquisition are going to investigate and God-Emperor help those who they find wanting in the course of their duty.

Only the Inquisition truly has the authority for Exterminatus. Anyone else doing it had better have a bloody good reason or they're going to be spending more than a little time on a Black Ship of the Inquisition, unless they're executed first.

Astartes aren't stupid. Usually, only Chapter Masters order exterminatus, but Captains rarely if ever give the order. In any, case, Astartes only order exterminatus when the situation is really hopeless, or it isn't worth spilling blood for, and the Inquisition usually agrees.

While technically the Inquisition has authority over Astartes, the actual situation is different.

The Inquisition knows the Astartes are the Emperor's will personified. Only a stupid Inquisitor exercises his authority over space marines forcefully. The Inquisition knows they have very little real ability to force space marines to do anything, hence they try to stay on the space marine's good side. If an inquisitor goes and mouths off to a chapter that refuses his order, the most likely outcome is the inquisitor getting repremanded and the chapter getting an apology from his superior. When a Chapter Master says "no", he usually has a damn good reason that the inquisition will agree with.

Grey Templar wrote:While technically the Inquisition has authority over Astartes, the actual situation is different.

The Inquisition knows the Astartes are the Emperor's will personified. Only a stupid Inquisitor exercises his authority over space marines forcefully. The Inquisition knows they have very little real ability to force space marines to do anything, hence they try to stay on the space marine's good side. If an inquisitor goes and mouths off to a chapter that refuses his order, the most likely outcome is the inquisitor getting repremanded and the chapter getting an apology from his superior. When a Chapter Master says "no", he usually has a damn good reason that the inquisition will agree with.

If the Inquisition approaches the Astartes then the Astartes know that the Inquisition has no-one else who can do what they need done and that the situation is certainly dire. The Inquisition can call upon their own personal armies, their Ordo's Chamber Militant, the Imperial Guard & Navy, PDF, mercenaries, but should it get to a certain point and they need the Astartes, the Space Marines are not going to deny an Inquisitor because who else is there that can do what the Inquisition needs done? They wouldn't call upon a Chapter to 'borrow a Tactical Squad for 10 minutes' to clear out a cult. They only use the Emperor's Angels of Death when they need to and it's only a stupid Chapter-Master with no understanding of what is at stake that would refuse an Inquisitor. Refusing an Inquisitor is a bad, bad thing to do. You're obstructing the Inquisition, aiding and abetting the enemy and the Inquisition will not take that kindly. The Chapter-Master may sign his own death-warrant by refusing the Inquisition unless he has an unbelievebly undeniably superb reason. If he hasn't then the Officio Assassinorum is right at the Inquisitions beck and call and nothing will save an Astartes from a turbo-penetrator round to their head.

The situation is that it suits the Inquisition to not tread on the Astartes toes unless they really, really need them and have no choice but to 'request' them to do what needs to be done, but when they do call upon the Space Marines it is wise for the Astartes to do as requested. It's a bit like the relationship between the Imperium & Adeptus Mechanicus - wary of each other but will help the other out when needed and I'm sure the Astartes do need the Inquisition - after all, who roots out the cults on the Astartes recruitment worlds without causing disruption or destruction to the planet? Imagine Astartes trying to investigate cults?

(As for 'Emperor personified', they haven't got a great track record have they? Half their Legions turned to the Ruinous Powers, although one or two were shoved rather than seduced to it, and lose Astartes to the Ruinous Powers continually. Good job the Inquisition keeps an eye on them, eh?)