Mendozians
Xavier Mendoza is possibly one of the most notorious Inquisitors in the history of the Imperium. A fanatical man, he quashed Chaos wherever he found it. Immediately following the Horus Heresy he became convinced that all Space Marines were servants of Chaos and began an all-out Holy War against the remaining loyal Adeptus Astartes. Mendoza’s action came to a head when he boarded a cruiser of the newly formed Black Templars chapter. He accused the crew of harbouring Daemons and declared them heretics. After a swift trial, fifty Space Marines were burnt at the stake. Xavier Mendoza was later found dead, probably assassinated.
- A Guide to Famous Inquisitors
The Mendozian faction is one of the oldest of the smaller factions of the Inquisition, reaching back to its earliest days. It’s survival, despite the vast span of time since the War of Mendoza, as it has become called, and despite the accusations of Radicalism and Heresy, is due primarily to the fame of Inquisitor Mendoza. Held up as an example of the consequences of questioning the Emperor’s trusted servants, Mendoza also holds a strange appeal to those who have reason to distrust the Astartes.
Some fully agree with Mendoza’s position, and hold that the Space Marines have become tainted by Chaos. Among these, strange and convoluted conspiracy theories are common - that the Siege of Terra was merely a conflict between Traitors, either without the Emperor’s knowledge, or fighting for control of the Emperor, that the creation of the Astartes Legions was already tainted by the Powers of Chaos and that the very geneseed that makes an Astartes carries in it a thread of evil, that the Primarchs had been manipulated by their corrupted Legions into a conflict intended to consume them. Beyond this, the behaviour of the Flesh Tearers, the Marines Malevolent, the persistent rumours that surround the Unforgiven, and many other incidents are held up as proof that the Astartes are fundamentally Tainted, and may have been from the start. Convinced there is no fundamental difference between the Chapters and the Traitor Legions, these Inquisitors often become experts in dealing with Traitor Marines, though at the cost of any possible co-operation with the Chapters. Equipped with a wide variety of specialist weaponry, from Penetrator round similar to those used by the Vindicare Temple to banned toxins designed to trigger reactions in the Astartes organs, these are isolated but determined warriors fighting a war most do not believe exists.
Others who would fall under the Mendozian philosophy hold only that the Astartes Chapters are dangerous. Rather than them being directly tainted by Chaos, these Inquisitors instead see them as an unacceptable risk in the Imperium, and feel that the Imperium has failed to truly learn from the horrors of the Heresy. They point here to the undeniable power held even by one Space Marine. Incidents such as the Constantinus Iconoclasm show that a very small number of Space Marines can shift the entire history of a world. Allowing individuals with such power any level of free reign seems to these Inquisitors a ridiculous and dangerous idea. The suggested response varies from Inquisitor to Inquisitor, some suggesting that the Chapters be broken again, with central Genesis and Training facilities producing Space Marines who would then be appointed to various military organisations through the Imperium, similar to other specialist troops. Others call for an immediate cessation of the creation of new Astartes, to eventually break the power of the Chapters, or that the Chapters should no longer look inwards or fight wars of defence, and should dedicate themselves entire to fighting enemies beyond the borders of the Imperium. Less prone to being viewed as heretics than their more hardline brothers, the reformed Mendozians can find allies among Imperial servants who have seen the dark side of the Astartes, whether it is the dreadful horror of a Marine who has lost control, or the dismissal of ordinary human concerns by the superhuman.
The quote first appeared in Warhammer Monthly, after the second installment of Inquisitor. It was a section about famous inquisitors - apparently Czevak wears glasses, looks like a murderous postman, and has exterminated 42 species that had never been discovered before him.
