+2329113.M41+
+CLASSIFICATION: MU-GRADE+
+PERSONAL NOTES: INQUISITOR [REDACTED]
+REF: GRANITE FISTS, ADEPTUS ASTARTES+
+BEGIN ARCHIVE+
Per the instruction of my superior, High Inquisitor [REDACTED] of the Ordo Hereticus, I have completed an evaluation of the Granite Fists chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, based in the Velatorus system containing a notable forge world of the same name, following the integration of Cawl's Primaris gene-seed in to their ranks. My factual findings are as follows, with an addendum of speculation.
Summary: As is usually the case when investigating an Adeptus Astartes chapter, compliance to my requests was provided to the letter in the most minimal format imaginable. If there are any secrets here, I judge them to be well-hidden but benign enough to avoid short-term concern from the Inquisition. While this reclusive behavior comes as no surprise, for purposes of later conjecture I will note that I unusually encountered the most difficulty from the Master of the Forge and his Mechanicum-sworn staff.
As Imperial records suggest, I do not believe Belisarius Cawl did not personally visit this system, nor did he directly provide this chapter with Primaris reinforcements. The secrets of Primaris gene-seed were delivered by [REDACTED] of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and has primarily seen use in newer recruits rather than attempting to implant the new organs in their veteran cadre. There is wisdom in this choice, as the Granite Fists suffered a great many losses during the attempted coup of the forge world Velatorus during the communications blackout caused during the Cicatrix Maledictum rupture - see addendum regarding Granite Fists crusades.
I have nothing out of the ordinary to note regarding the spiritual health of the chapter. As most other chapters allegedly descended from Imperial Fists gene-seed {REF: [REDACTED] FOUNDING M33}, they see the return of Guilliman as an omen of great significance rather than a new manifestation of the Emperor as some chapters do. Hope that Dorn will someday return has swollen within their ranks and they fight with renewed determination that should they attract the attention of a Primarch, no fault will be found. Likewise, their geneseed displays no decay from the last 800 years of stability reports and their adherence to revised Codex Astartes discipline is within acceptable variance.
My visit to the chapter's Armory was the only segment of my journey which I feel I must note as unusual. I have seen fortress-monasteries who felt their armory was at full strength with what the Granite Fists consider to be their "reserve" force. Dozens of seemingly pristine Rhino-chassis vehicles armed in all manner of STC formats appeared ready for immediate deployment, as well as a handful sporting Heresy-era armaments. More Land Raiders than many chapters can muster even for great battle rested in their repair bays, their machine-spirits waiting to be awaken for battle. Tragically, the casualty rate in the defense of Velatorus has swollen the ranks of their Dreadnoughts, though I observed these are mostly stock chassis rather than the Primaris Redemptor-pattern approved for mass production. Given the adoption rate of Primaris among their infantry, I was surprised at the lack of vehicles that Cawl has recently unleashed on the Imperium. When I pressed further, the Master of the Forge provided an unsatisfying answer about the STC formats arriving some decades later than the Primaris gene-secrets and the machine-spirits of the Velatorus manufactorums stubbornly rejecting Cawl's designs.
My overall conclusion is that there is no reason for the Ordos to spend any more of our limited resources scrutinizing this chapter. They appear to be without risk of falling to heresy or gene-seed mutation. However, I include the following notes for future investigations as I suspect some motivations of the chapter have been carefully omitted in the data they have presented to me.
Prompted by my visit to the overflowing armory and the uncooperative nature of the chapter's Techmarines, I instructed my archivists to analyze just how the chapter was able to maintain so many vehicles at a time when the Imperium's resources are stretched thinner than ever. The answer is not entirely surprising: the chapter receives a regular tithe from Velatorus. What is surprising is that this tithe appears to consist almost entirely of the very best vehicles and equipment the forge world produces, even by the demanding standards of the Adeptus Astartes. It is customary for the Adeptus Mechanicus to perform some amount of field-testing prior to delivering their product to the intended recipients, and the equipment provided to the Granite Fists is second to none by the ratings earned during these trials. Reports from Astra Militarum commanders and other Adeptus Astartes deployed alongside the Granite Fists frequently include notes on how the machine-spirits of the chapter's vehicles performed well above typical effectiveness.
Research conducted by my staff during the travel time to and from the Velatorus system suggests that the Granite Fists were founded in M33 and stationed in this system specifically as a safeguard against the forge world falling out of Imperial compliance. This time period roughly corresponds to the Fourth Black Crusade, as well as an uncharacteristic blackout in all Imperial archives for the entire Velatorus system for a period of approximately 78 years. It would be easy to lay blame at the Despoiler's feet for this outage, but I do not believe the Black Legion ever darkened Velatorus. Imperial records have been so thoroughly scrubbed from all imaginable sources that I find it more likely that a high-ranking member of the Adeptus Mechanicus turned their back on the Emperor and attempted to claim Velatorus as their own. This theory is corroborated by further study of logistical shipment reports before and after M33 which indicate a significant change in the kinds of finished goods that Velatorus exports to other systems. The damage incurred by even a minor and brief civil war involving the Adeptus Mechanicus would have permanently destroyed some irreplaceable manufactorums, and indeed some technologies vanish entirely from Velatorus' manifests by M34.
The chapter's own record of deeds as well as Imperial documentation indicate that Great Enemy has sought to claim Velatorus eighteen times since the Granite Fists were established, and have been rebuffed each time. Careful analysis of defense station pict-logs revealed that the same ship has appeared as part of the fleet in fourteen of these attacks, despite being confirmed as destroyed on three separate occasions by the Imperial navy. The ship in question bears a profane, inverted Mechanicum skull with a third eye. I have never seen this iconography elsewhere in all my service to the Emperor and my team was unable to find a suitable cross-reference. The mysterious ship was present in the most recent assault on Velatorus, during which the Granite Fists suffered particularly grievous losses. Documentation of this conflict is incomplete, but as near as I have been able to tell a shockingly high number warriors of the chapter sold their lives dearly to safeguard crucial manufactorum facilities on the planet's surface. The strength of the invading force is unclear, but for so many Adeptus Astartes to have fallen, it must have been a muster of ghastly magnitude.
With regards to the chapter's historical battle record, most of the documented combat actions of the Granite Fists are within an expected sphere of influence around the Velatorus system. There are occasional reports of the chapter's warriors appearing in conflicts all across the galaxy far beyond the distance such a chapter would typically defend. While it is not unheard of for the sons of Dorn to undertake great crusades for glory and honor, but in my experience these voyages often further the secret agendas of the chapter. The campaigns we were able to verify do not seem to correlate to other major galactic conflicts, but my data-archaeologists were able to find evidence of unusual Mechanicum distress calls within 20 years and 100 AU of all confirmed accounts.
These data points lead me to believe that not only do the Granite Fists know who the traitor of Velatorus was, they believe he or she is still alive. I cannot prove it, but I would wager a fortune that this Dark Mechanicum overlord is the central figure behind the continued attacks on Velatorus, seeking to reclaim the forge world that slipped through their fingers in M33. The fact that they have eluded capture for this long undoubtedly chafes at the honor of the chapter. The death or capture of this individual would avenge the deaths of countless Granite Fists who have perished in the defense of Velatorus over the millennia, and I suspect the chapter will not rest until their vengeance is satisfied.
