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Just wondering how the Inquisition might be able to track down a fleet-based Chapter that went Rogue in the following manner. Say, hypothetically, a Chapter were to begin as fleet-based, but then end up constructing a permanent space station out of an asteroid ring (like the Oort Cloud) without informing anyone outside the Chapter. Upon being declared Excomunicate Traitoris, they change all of their insigniae and paint jobs, and operate as if they are now a different Chapter. Would they be able to get away with this? If not, how long would it take for their ruse to be discovered, especially considering the unreliability of Imperial records?

The Inquisition maintains records of all known Chapters, although there are some whose origins are lost to time. However, since all Chapters are required to tithe geneseed to the Adeptus Mechanicus, for purity testing, among other reasons, the fact that this Chapter doesn't, and appears to have never done so, is grounds for immediate censure, up to and including extermination, if their geneseed is proven to have become corrupted beyond acceptable levels.

They might get away with it for a while if they were to take the colours and iconography of a chapter that was either thought lost in the warp or destroyed through some other means, especially if they only let them selves been seean and a single strike cruiser or a couple of frigates with a small number of marines on board.

But either of these may bring down the inquisition on them to investigate any way as they would be looking for taint, although if they stuck to small groups it may take a long time for the inquisition to here about them, and by that point they would have built up a lot of good will & history with the locals.

Plus with how fickle the warp is you might expect some form of handshake code for units reappearing along time / distance from where they were last seen, simply to reduce the likelihood of infiltration

Hmmm, I'd say if they stayed ship-based they'd stand more of a chance.

I'm imagining this renegade chapter as descended from the Alpha Legion gene stock. Using extensive covert operations, they have a large database of Imperial codes and callsigns with which they impersonate various different chapters over the course of an operation.

It's only through chance, or the dedicated scrutiny of an Inquisitor, that their masquerade can be discovered.

Plus, if they're that secretive, they could very well have a base built into an oort cloud hiding somewhere in the uncharted regions between Imperial space.