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CHAPTER 2: ANARCHIST TO ARCHON
Time: Approximately 3 hours prior to planet strike on Mid Childa
Abroad the flagship of the Hydrakin Kabal, the Vivisection, Quattro sat on her throne, psychotically giggling about the upcoming vengeance she is about to unleash upon Mid Childa. Nonetheless, a small part of her mind began to marvel and wonder at the surreal journey that had given her the control of the Hydrakin Kabal.
Time: 5 years prior to planet strike Mid Childa, 1 year after the Jail Scaglietti Incident.
It was a blessing in disguise; she thought she was done for good when the Dark Eldar raiders decided to target the TSAB prison she was kept within. Unlike the guards, who foolishly chose to resist, Quattro, along with Jail, Uno and Tre were taken as prisoners instead.
"Please, don't-" that was the voice of a TSAB officer begging for clemency as she was injected with something. For a second, the Haemonculus looked at her calmly as though nothing will happen. Suddenly, the TSAB officer kneeled over in pain as her flesh bulged and ripped apart her skin, transforming her into a pathetic blob creature, quivering with fear, her voice still hauntingly human as she continued to pray to the Saint King for deliverance. The Haemonculus looked at the pile of flesh and motioned for his Warcks to move it back to his ship – there may be use yet.
Quattro continued to observe her surroundings. The passage of the Dark Eldar had been marked with wanton bloodshed, bright crimson streams of blood running slick throughout the prison corridors marking where her once-captors once stood. Here was a glass statue of a TSAB prison nurse; there another officer had his intestines extracted while he was still alive. Decapitated heads mingled with corroded corpses; another TSAB officer shattered as her reflection was caught in a Shattershard. More committed suicide due to pure despair; and as each atrocity was achieved the Dark Eldar warriors only grew in strength as they drank the suffering like a desert wanderer at an oasis.
Quattro smiled. It was her kind of world. She may be chained as a prisoner still, but this time she could grow to like her captors. Unbeknownst to her, there was already another force present on the station observing the destruction; one which also had an interest in the collapse of the TSAB.
Instead of being sent directly to the coliseum for combat, the Archon – his name now forever obscured – had asked for Quattro and all those related to her to be brought before him. This was unprecedented; even being a half-born Commorrite Eldar would have doomed one to obscurity forever, never mind being singled out by the Archon.
Yet that was precisely what happened. The Archon claimed that he had foreknowledge of the four's talents; he further claimed that he can unleash their bound talents, that the path to power they had once sought can only be achieved through combining their ambitions with the resources at the disposal of the Hydrakin Kabal. Even without looking, Quattro could already sense Jail's excitement at being able to practice the forbidden technologies without limits. His vision of the "Egineer's Revenge" will finally be realised, and he can create a new haven on Mid Childa.
Astute readers will realise that no true Archon would ever do this. To a certain degree, the Archon did not make this offer willingly. By this stage, The Archon, Jail Scaglietti, Uno, Tres and Quattro were already pawns to a third power; one who whose sway is near irresistible.
Upon their arrival in Commorragh, the Dark City, their long journey of induction into the higher echelons of power began.
Jail Scaglietti and his ever loyal assistant, Uno, was whisked away to the bowels of the Homunculus lairs; and once again mysterious benefactors ensured that the Prophets of The Flesh were willing to impart its ghastly knowledge upon him. To Jail, however, most intriguing was their pinnacle of cloning technology. In the howling, moaning, writhing halls of The Tower of Flesh he found realms of fascinating information with which to complement his existing research on Project F. Though initially disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm regarding the development of combat cyborgs, in the later stages of his 'apprenticeship' he was able to integrate cyborg technology in the creation of Grotesques and Wracks.
Tre, on the other hand, was whisked away to the Coliseums of the Wyches. Here she learnt the valuable lesson that speed can be complemented with pain provided the right weapons; from Impaler coupled with Shardnet, to the form-shifting Razorflails, the Hydragauntlets, the Electrocorrosive Whip and Agoniser – each and every form of a Wych's close quarters combat, she mastered them with a vengeance.
Quattro herself, however, was kept with The Archon and trained as a Kabalite Warrior. To what ends and why, she was never sure; in her heart bitter ambition made her wish that she was sent to as specialised places as her sisters or her father had been. Nonetheless, little did she know her answer and her calling will come to light soon enough.
It would be prudent to note that their sanity began to unravel - for the Dark City is not forgiving towards that particular trait. Engrossed by successive tinkerings of the flesh, Jail and Uno have lost sight of the 'Engineer's revenge', becoming more and more obsessed rather with the amalgamation of the Eldar sciences with their existing knowledge. Tre steadily became increasingly aloof, her frown dissolving into a face of uncaring disdain for all those whom she slain. The most noticeable change was with Quattro. Her dual personalities gradually meshed into a deadly entity, giving her the radiance of a psychotic overgrown child which disguises a fierce and brutal strategic intellect.
Through it all, they, too, began to notice something gnawing away at the depths of their existence...
The Order of the Silence, they called themselves.
The mysterious backers had been kind enough to "reveal" themselves to Quattro. She had the hatred and the ambition to pull off what they required, they claimed.
Of all the candidates on their list, Quattro was deemed to be suitable for she had the hatred and dedication required. Jail and Uno were too preoccupied with the forbidden science and knowledge to give much attention to their scheme; and Tre lacked the strategic acumen with which to pull off the plan. For the Elusive Agents had already planned what is possibly the largest extortion and trap to hunt down their one single target. One whose name they dare not even say, one whose deeds have been burned into the very fabric of time and war itself. With naught but his gilded tongue he would defeat entire legions and send them fleeing.
Yet this warrior has his weakness. Soft hearted as ever, he will never hesitate to fight for the defenceless, especially when the fate of an entire planet was a stake. Always eager to go into the thick of the crisis, his bravado borders on the reckless. He could never resist a genuine cry of distress.
The trap required two things in plenty; a pacifistic planet which would undoubtedly draw this warrior's attention once attacked. In turn, the attacker must be blind to reason, only caring for the sowing of death and destruction, with each soldier a sentient being so as to truly acknowledge the special threat this warrior poses – and partake in the thrilling hunt of the last of this warrior's species.
Mid Childa and the Dark Eldar were a perfect fit for the situation. As far as the Elusive Agents and Quattro were concerned, it was a win-win scenario for everyone.
When the time came, 3 years later, the change was swift, brutal.
There were an exceptional few who were not swayed by The Elusive Agents. They were disposed of by those who were already under the influence, and through this coup Quattro was able to master her control over the Hydrakin Kabal. Through her personal connections with Jail and Tres, even the Coven of the Everspiral and the Bladed Woe Wych Cult laid at her command.
Quattro remembered the fine mustering of her forces when she announced her plans to strike on Mid Childa. Ranks upon ranks of Kabalite Warriors and Trueborns, all loyal to her alone, awaiting the order to murder. Tres proudly training and leading her parade of Wyches, Reaver Jetbikes and BeastTamers to forever perfect their art. Most spectacular, however, were Jail and Uno's creation; an unholy fusion of cyborg and flesh crafting, their new Wracks and Grotesques have quickly won the grudging acclaim from other Haemonculi covens.
Yet the nightmare ends not. In the weapons workshops, the energies of stolen suns power forbidden machines in the manufacturing of the Gadget Drones. On the rallying grounds, more and more mercenary units of Incubi, Hellions and Scrouges joined her legion, eager for the taste of blood and death. The comparative few Mandrakes that were interested continued to lurk in the shadows of the armada. Every passing day, Eldar Corsairs who had fallen for decadent sensations sought to join the ranks of the Hydrakin.
Yet despite all this, a fear remained - within both the Eldar kin and Quattro. For the Commorite Eldar forever fears the gaze of those who bear the gift, and Quattro remembers bitterly her underestimation of Mid Childan and Belkan magic. To assuage the fears of all, however, through the Harlequins she learnt of a STC device prized by the Imperium of Mankind-one called The Sanctum, supposedly with full spectrum interruption capabilities. To wage war on Mid Childa, she needed that device secured.
