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I made a Space Marine army recently using the celestial lion paint scheme and I was wondering if they would logically ally themselves with the Tau. I made my own fluff saying that the Tau saw they were in jepordy and decided to help them. Since the Lions were baisically destroyed by the inquisition could they have a grudge against them and ally with the Tau?? Just wondering since I just started getting into the fluff and War gaming all together.
Thanks :3

Acording to the allies matrix, yes you totally can. If your really concerned about the fluff then I would say heck no, desperate alliance at best. Remember its a CRIME to associate with Xenos. But thats just my 2 cents

If you are talking about a permanent alliance, then that would make the Space Marines heretics (but they don't have to go Chaos for that reason). They've been indoctrinated with the whole "kill the alien, purge the heretic, burn the mutant" thing after all. But it wouldn't be the first time a Space Marine chapter went rogue, so if that's what you wanna do, sure. They would be ostracized from the rest of the Imperium though.

@tgjensen
Thats what I was hoping for actually, a rogue space marine chapter who are considered heretics to the Imperium Of Man. ^_^ Since I wanted to make a more open minded Space Marine Chapter.

I suppose such a thing is possible, though may raise a few eyebrows. Longer term, though, I would think the Tau would end up breaking off this kind of alliance.
Over time the Tau would attempt to integrate them into the Empire as part of the greater good - which the Marines wouldn't think twice about refusing because it would mean handing over their autonomy and the ownership of all their kit, including sacred relics and banners and the like.
Refusal leads to tension leads to breakdown of negotiation and alliance, eventually ending in the two forces coming to blows over some important objective that can't satisfy them both.

First off: Yay, Celestial Lions!

As to the question itself, I'd have to agree with Spartak and tgjensen. The Lions may be one of the more reasonable and noble Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes (or indeed amongst all groups of the entire Imperium), but at the end of the day they are still Space Marines, each and every one growing up in a xenophobic environment, having been subjected to hypno-indoctrination and having fought for decades if not centuries against "the alien" and likely having lost a brother-marine in fights against more xenos than just Orks.

Another issue may be the matter of how closely you want to stick to the fluff. If you are playing the Lions after their retreat to Hive Tarsus, then you should be aware that the few survivors have sworn to die on Armageddon. The Chapter has no future, so its remaining ~90something Marines want to go out with a bang, taking as many of the greenskin enemies that killed their brothers with them as possible.

That being said, there may be ways around this little inconsistency, if you discuss the matter in your homebrewn background. For example, a White Dwarf entry about the conclusion of the worldwide Armageddon 3 campaign mentioned how, in spite of the war against the Orks raging on, many Space Marine Chapters have withdrawn from the planet due to the current Season of Fire - a planetary phenomen that severely hampers troop movements and pretty much turned all combat action on Armageddon into trench wars, something that the mobility-focused Marines aren't particularly good at.

Perhaps the Celestial Lions would reconsider their vow if they feel they're needed elsewhere. Their loyalty to the people of the Imperium seems to be very strong, and regardless of how they feel about the Inquisition (about whose interference they still do not have any evidence), I'm not sure the incident would change this. The 13th Black Crusade breaks out in close chronological proximity to the Season of Fire (the Blood Angels' fleet changes course to Cadia shortly after having left Armageddon), and maybe your Marines stumble into other incursions en-route to their new destination, too, explaining games against more enemies than just Orks and Chaos.
You could even have Inquisitor Apollyon "arrange" for direct clashes with Inquisitorial or other Imperial assets, including regiments of the Imperial Guard who were told they'd fight Chaos Marines, or an Adepta Sororitas Strike Force erroneously tasked with purging the Lions for doctrinal heresy.

The Assassins that killed the Celestial Lions are tracked to Tau space to eliminate an Ethereal by order of the Inquisition.

Learning of this the Celestial Lions, with revenge in their hearts, leave Armageddon for the Tau Empire.

En Route they meet (x) Cadre and warn them of the threat to the Ethereal, forming an awkward alliance.

How the information came to the Celestial Lions is dubious, could the Inquisition be laying out a final trap for the last of the Chapter

Thanks for your Ideas everyone, I would consider many things since there are so many options to choose from. Thanks again
:3