It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that, but I a) hadn't had the time, being busy with my studies, and b) just needed a break. I also recently ironed out a few mistakes I've spotted when reading through my story again(there probably more, but that's for another time). Can't say how regularly I'll update from this point forward, but there will only be two more chapters after this one. I hope to have improved a little in my absence. As always, enjoy reading.

-Kate


Chapter VII

It was night and the sky was clear, offering a wonderful view at the stars. Two bronze moons shone upon the ashen desert, which this night was brimming with activity. Slowly and unwavering, an army marched over the dunes, their metal feet sinking deep into the soft ground. The skeletal warriors moved in perfect synchronization, some of their 'bones' and their archaic looking weapons emitting green light. Hundreds marched towards a white structure at the horizon, but their advance had been known for hours and now the Eldar waited.

Once, eons ago, there had been a river running across the plain, which had cut a depression through the soft stone beneath the sand. By now it was long dried out, and while the Necrontyr could have gone around, they walked straight through it. A small light started blinking, as the first passed the triangular object. Without a Necron Lord awake, their approach was very simple, straight forward. They were simple warriors, a vanguard, a few hundred maybe, more than enough for some enemies, but the Eldar had endured millennia and they had fought this enemy before.

Exarch Cadaith of the Dark Reapers watched them from the temple, his warriors gathered around him. One level above, the Swooping Hawks and Warp Spiders were preparing to strike, their incantations having only been finished moments ago. Others, Wild Riders and Shining Spears waited in the desert, ready to strike at the flanks.

It was truly a shame that his former student had already fallen, slaughtered along with her fellow Rangers by the Necrontyr. Once he had taught her to strike with patience and precession, not to rush into battle as so many other Aspects. Had it all fallen on death ears? Cadaith did not believe so; Yaidev had come to him as a young woman, before ever fighting as a Wild Rider, despite being a Clan Chief's daughter and a life as a Ranger should have complemented the Reapers' ways.

He pushed those thoughts aside, as the portal several meters behind the Reapers opened. Heat sought its way up and not just physically. It touched on every fiber of his being, as Khaine's fire washed over them. As an Exarch, Cadaith knew nothing but constant preparedness for battle, he was like a predator, always on the hunt, but now it had intensified tenfold. Not long ago, a sister Exarch of the Fire Dragons had descended with the Seers into the temple's depths. At that point everyone had known what had rested among others beneath the sands of Petra, why the Farseer had been so keen on finding this place. Now with heavy, ground-shaking steps, the burning titan emerged from his grave, blood dripping from one of his hands, the metal of his body cracking from the intense heat. Smoke and flames rose into the night, bright flaming eyes turning towards the green glow in the desert and he opened his jaws for a numbing scream, which could have shamed any Banshee, if they'd been capable of such an emotion right now. The runes on his body and sword flared up, the floor cracking up beneath his feet. Not even the unholy metal armor of the Necrontyr would withstand the personification of the Eldar's god of war. The Avatar of Khaine was with them.

As the Bloody-Handed God strode forward, the Hawks took to the air, their vibrant blue armor in stark contrast to the black sky above, a handful of Nightwings accompanying them. Two Illum Zars appeared, their violet crystals glowing as they were fully charged, joining them in the air. The Banshees, Dire Avengers and Fire Dragons followed the Avatar, while Cadaith and his Reapers would remain as the last line of defense along with a few platform-mounted heavy weapons.

The Eldar's goal was not to destroy the Necrontyr entirely, but to recover, everything of worth from this world, before it was overrun. Beside the Avatar, there were supposed to be ancient artifacts, weapons, scriptures from before the Fall, as well as the remains of those who had fought against the Necrontyr of Petra millennia ago and had built this temple as a sort of guard-house. Last estimates said that it would take about one and a half more days to secure everything and allow the Eldar to return to the Webway. The Necrontyr had been supposed to attack in one; either Arhainceyl estimate had been wrong, or Yaidev had truly caused them to awake sooner from their slumber. To Cadaith it mattered little in the end. Soon enough he would slaughter the same enemies his ancestors had vanquished here once and the thought filled him with anticipation and pride.


Jane pulled her white coat straight, the sigil of the medicae stitched above her right clavicula.

"Stop fussing."

She turned to Taylor, who stood to her left and smiled encouragingly at her. "Not all of us are seemingly incapable of being nervous." Jane pointed out.

He shrugged indifferent. Along with the Inquisitor and the other Acolytes, they had gathered at one of the Adrastos' hangers, awaiting another Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos; Rafael Giuliano and he was bringing along Space Marines. Never before had Jane met the Emperor's chosen, and it sent her heart racing. Like everyone else, she had put on uniform, already wearing a grey bodyglove and light carapace armor beneath her coat. Taylor had been the only one needing a friendly reminder to dress up properly. Now however he was almost indistinguishable from an inquisitorial Storm Trooper, except maybe from the long ponytail he had bound his wavy hair into, and the heavy collar around his neck. Plus he was the only one, looking actually relaxed.

Even from behind the heavy doors, they could hear the hangar's shutters opening and the transporter engines roar as it landed. Less than a minute later the shutters had closed again and a green lamp above the doorway came back to life. "No one will talk, unless spoken to." The Inquisitor reminded them and Jane noticed that his eyes were fixed on Seth, whose unusual stern expression remained unmoved.

The door opened and they followed the Inquisitor into the hanger, the air still rushing back in, creating a rather strong draft, throwing Jane's hair across her face. Quickly she brushed it back, as the transporter opened its hatch. The operatives formed a line behind Lord Nicomedo and the medicae kept her eyes fixed on the barely lit vehicle's insides, only revealing huge towering shapes in the shadows, difficult to make out.

The first to leave the ship was the Inquisitor, a man as tall, but older than Lord Nicomedo, the skin a bit darker, his hair already white, as was his long neatly cut beard, while his eyes were dark and almond shaped.

"Inquisitor Rafael Giuliano." His lordship greeted his college, an honest smile on his face. "I am grateful for your timely arrival."

The older man returned the smile. "It has been some time, old friend. I am looking forward to going into battle with you again. May I introduce the honorable Kill-Team in my company?" Behind him, five towering figures stepped out of the craft, each even a head taller than the Eldar, who was being hidden for as long as their allies remained onboard the Adrastos. Jane involuntarily held her breath when they stepped into the light. The Astartes were like statues come to life, faces hidden behind expressionless helmets, in armor black as pitch, one shoulder guard silver, lines in High Gothic engraved upon them, the right shoulder guard of each in the colors of their individuals parent chapters, along with the according sigil. "Lord Averroes of the Angel Encarmine" The Astartes with the red shoulder guard gave a short nod. Jane caught a glance of the sigil, a blood drop with bat-like wings. "Lord Boethius, coming to us from the Ultramarines, and from the Imperial Fists, Lord Clavius. Lord Erasmus of the Doom Eagles." This time the one with the silver guard, a black, stylized eagle with a skull for its head upon it nodded. "And joining us from the Brazen Minotaurs, Lord Ptolemy." His guard showed a black bull's head on a white background.

"My Lords, I am honored to meet you; welcome on the Adrastos."

"Thank you, Inquisitor." The Imperial First spoke, his voice deep and clear. "We have been informed of the Necron threat on this world."

Lord Nicomedo nodded. "Indeed, they have begun to awaken on the planet below and we have to cripple them for now, as we lack the number to defeat them. I will layout our plan shortly."

"None of us had the chance to combat this enemy before." The Angle Encarmine explained. "We are looking forward to learn more about them."

Learning how to kill them, Jane translated silently, finding herself unable to keep her eyes off the warriors; their presence alone was awe-striking to the young woman and she fought the instinct of stepping back.

"You'll be given ample time to study them, Milord." The Inquisitor assured them. "If you'd please follow me to the Briefing Room, we have little time to act."


The wait was attritional. Growing impatient, Talranis waited with his fellow warriors out in the desert, standing ready to strike the flank of the Necrontyr. He watched them enter the depression, the green light emitted by their bodies announcing their presence far and wide. With the war mask already donned, Talranis felt his heart beating in anticipation and the slight vibration of his bike. He changed his grip on his spear to a more comfortable position and looked over to his mentor. His Exarch was one of two hailing from the Shining Spears, who had come to Petra, their bikes and armor in blue and white, separating them visually from the normal Wild Riders and Guardians of Saim-Hann.

Suddenly a warm wave washed over Talranis' spirit. It was truly inciting and he turned his head to see a bright fire from the Temple. Then a loud archaic shout shook air and earth and all Shining Spears raised their weapons at once, greeting the Avatar of the Bloody Handed One.

As the burning titan marched towards their enemies to welcome them properly, the mines that had been set in the depression went off.

"Mael dannan!" Shouted the Exarch, the words Talranis had so eagerly waited for. In less than a second all bikes were in the air. Dust and sand had been thrown into the air, but the Shining Spears pressed on regardless, even as the Nightwings and Hawks above opened fire upon the enemy. Only as the jetbikes reached the Necrontyr they stopped and almost blind Talranis fired his weapon at a dark shapes, aiming for the green light. He heard metal crack and the shape collapsed, though the Eldar didn't see it as he was already taking on another enemy. First rule of the Shining Spears: never stop. As soon as you slow down you're easy prey for your opponent.

Suddenly green flashes went passed him, only barely missing him. Finally they were fighting back; it would have been a disappointment not to meet any opposition. One flash hit a warrior flying next to Talranis and out of the corner of his eye, he saw his brother's body turn to ashes, his bike crashing into the sand immediately. Not too far away another exploded. Talranis managed to get one more hit before he left the depression on the other side, along with the survivors, enemy fire following them.

As they prepared to turn around for another attack, Nightwings and Hawks attacked anew, joined by the Illum Zars. Explosions of purple light engulfed the depression, shutting down the machine creatures. Talranis looked around and saw that they had suffered five losses, two of them brothers of his shrine, the others Wild Riders. He had no idea how many of the enemy had already fallen, but he had already taken down four alone. The Aspect Warrior was confident about their victory tonight. In a few minutes the Avatar would join the battle, ending what they had just started. Was this really the threat the Seers had been so worried about?


This was truly exciting. Taylor and Seth were in the armory, putting on the last of their equipment. The former soldier's expression was still grim, deep in thought as it seemed, contrary to Taylor. This was so much different from anything he'd ever done before, not to mention that he would meet Eldar and was to play a crucial part in taking down a powerful Farseer. He could hardly await it. A shame that none of the Space Marines would join them; how he'd loved to see them in battle, but with the Eldar Yaidev leading them it was sadly impossible.

"I hope today will wipe that stupid smile off your face." Seth growled.

"What's wrong with it?"

The other man gave a snort of derision. "Only idiots and psychopaths smile before going into battle. I hope you're just an idiot."

"Interesting, coming from someone who volunteered to spend years of his life with the Imperial Guard."

"I never said I haven't been an idiot once."

The Untouchable grinned. "Once?"

"Don't even go there. Just get no one killed and think before you act out there. Someone who can't feel fear is bound to get into trouble."

His friend wasn't wrong; Taylor wasn't on his own anymore and now the Inquisitor's life depended on him. "You think the same of the Space Marines?"

"You don't have decades or centuries of combat experience, Taylor. You were never properly trained for this." Seth reminded him. "Nor do you have the discipline."

"Aren't you the one who wastes himself occasionally?" It seemed only recently that the older Acolyte had sobered up. Indeed, there was no longer this light scent of alcohol about him, not even on his breath, which in Taylor's opinions made hand-to-hand combat in their training sessions far more pleasant and less reminiscent of the many bar-/pub-fights he'd been in over the years.

"Never before or during a mission." Seth defended himself, his voice sincere. "Still, for something like this, you technically require more training than a few rounds in the shooting gallery and basic hand-to-hand combat."

"Then we'll consider this our training." A female voice replied. "It's not like we have much choice."

With a friendly smile, Taylor welcomed their medicae. "Ah, Jane. Ready to go?"

She nodded, still completely dressed minus the white coat this time. "You'll need to wear these on the planet." In her hands, Jane was holding two leathery masks, each with two large filters where the mouth should have been.

"Masks?" The Untouchable questioned with a frown. "Why? Is the air that poisonous?"

She shook her head. "No, actually it's quite breathable, but very thin. Spend too much time down there and you'll first get a headache, lose strength, before you collapse and pass out."

"Masks it is then." Taylor declared and grabbed one for himself, throwing the other over to Seth. "You sure you don't wanna stay onboard?"

"I'm fine." Jane assured him, but biting briefly on her bottom lip.

"You're pale as marble." He pointed out, smiling compassionately.

"I already told you that I'm nervous, but I'm still going down there." Her voice sounded a bit more aggressive than Jane had intended.

"Easy." Taylor said, having raised his hands defensively.

With his mask in one hand Seth showed up next to him. "Taylor is right though; if you already think you can't handle it, it might be better if you request to remain here. Once we're down there, we can't always keep an eye on you."

"I can handle it." Jane assured them defiantly, before leaving them again with swift steps.

"Suit yourself." Very slowly Seth leaned towards the Untouchable and added. "I think she's getting bolder."

"If so, I think you're going to have a problem. Still planning on hitting on her?" The Untouchable's grin had returned.

Seth's eyes stared at the ceiling, as if he was in deep contemplation. "I'm reevaluating; I feel like my chances have just made a sudden free-fall."

"Perhaps there's gonna be an opportunity you can heroically save her neck today."

The former Storm Trouper rolled his eyes. "Or she ends up traumatized and won't let anyone near her. I'll do my best to get us in and out alive that's priority above all else."

"Yeah, just don't overwork yourself for Durai." Both laughed at this and Jane who was still just around the corner shook her head in amusement, finding comfort in the sound.


Elowyn's heart rejoiced as she took to the air, seemingly carried up by the hot air, rising from the Avatar marching below. To fight this old enemy on this very planet was exhilarating and the Avatar's rage fueled her with the lust for bloodshed and excitement, her trigger-finger itching. She was flanked by her brothers and sisters, all in the brilliant sky-blue of the Swooping Hawks, their faces unreadable beneath the white helmets, but Elowyn knew they felt the same; they were Aspect Warriors after all.

She could see the enemy below, marching straight to their doom. Their force was smaller than she had expected and with the Bloody Handed God on their side, the Eldar could not lose this battle. Along with the Nightwings the Hawks reached the enemy's position and they began to rain death upon their foe, unleashing their Lasblasters. Their light cut through the night and through the unholy metal of the Necrontyr upon impact, dots of green light disappearing one by one.

Now the Illum Zars joined in, both unleashing the force that had been building up in the energy crystals. Each shot caused a bright purple explosion, shredding the enemy's warrior to scrap metal. Elowyn could not else but laugh in satisfaction at the destruction beneath her wings, even as the enemy returned fire. Green beams of energy shot past her into the night, but with ease the young Swooping Hawk evaded them, seeing them far in advance. Given their speed, the aerial warriors of the Eldar soon passed over the few hundred of the Necrontyr and with a quick glance over her shoulder, Elowyn saw the jetbikes of the Shining Spears and Saim Hann's Wild Riders charging the enemy's flanks from both sides. More las beams illuminated the darkness and along with her siblings, Elowyn turned around for the next assault.

The jetbikes had just made it through the Necrontyr's ranks when the Hawks attacked anew. At this point the machines seemed confused. Without their Lord they could not determine which of the Eldar to attack, some shooting into the air, attempting to hit the Hawks, others firing after the bikes.

Following their second assault, the Avatar finally reached the enemy. Excited Elowyn watched as the burning God lifted his fiery sword. With another deafening war cry, the Avatar brought it down in a wide swing. The blade cut through the Necrontyr, melting even their metal where it touched them. Of course they fired upon him, but simple warriors were no match for Kaela Mensha Khaine. More firepower was needed for such a deed, more than these just awakened, not completely powered up automatons could bring to this fight.

A green blast suddenly hit one of Elowyn's brothers, the gauss energy turning him to ash, what little remained of his body and armor falling as several pieces to the desert below. The Aspect Warrior cried out in anger and fired back, her other siblings joining in, sharing her wrath. The Swooping Hawks were the embodiment of vengeance and they would live up to their reputation.

With the combined fire of the Dire Avengers, Fire Dragons, Warp Spiders and jetbikes, along with the blades of the Banshees the Eldar made short work of their foe. Soon the dried out riverbed was covered with the body parts of Necrontyr, a few Eldar scattered among the battlefield, along with the wreckages of a handful of jetbikes, smoke rising from them. Still, victory was theirs, the losses as far as Elowyn could say minimal. Following their Exarch, the Hawks landed.

"This was but the first wave, my students." Her Exarch spoke, once they had all gathered around him. "More are sure to come and they know now that they face a formidable force. The next time it will be more than simple warriors."

"The next wave will fare no better than these have." The Banshee Exarch proclaimed, having overheard the other priest of Khaine. "Like our ancestors before we will beat them here and send them back into their tombs."

"Khaine's fire burns brightly in you, sister, but do not overestimate yourself."

"Keep to your skies, brother." The Banshee retorted. "Calm your quivering nerves in a safe distance if you must."

The Swooping Hawks' Exarch was about to reply, but his words were replaced by scream of pain. Metal claws had dug themselves into his lower leg, the hand and arms they were attached to, emerging from out of the desert's sands. Elowyn drew her blade to assist her teacher, when something grabbed her by the ankle with bone breaking strength. She snarled in pain, catching herself before stumbling to the ground and looked down. A metal hand with massive claws had come out of the sand and all around Elowyn countless more rose into the night.


The engine roared soundly, even through the vessel's thick hull, but Jane didn't pay attention to it. She was sitting the closest to the cockpit, head leaned against the cool wall, silently praying to herself, a small Aquila in her folded hands. Not long ago, she'd taken something to calm her nerves, after she'd studied the Adrastos' inventory earlier. Thankfully there had been something that calmed her stomach and nerves, without impairing her mind. As she felt the craft taking off, Jane lifted her head a little to look at Seth, who was sitting across from her. He seemed relaxed enough, leaning against the wall behind him, eyes closed, the expression on his face almost serene. It looked as if he was merely sleeping.

Her eyes wandered further to the others in the craft. The inquisitorial forces had split in two teams; Lord Nicomedo had taken Brennan and of course Taylor with him to face the Farseer, the Eldar Yaidev leading them. Jane brayed that the xeno wouldn't betray them, but it was surely a fool's hope. Xeno was xeno. Given Taylor's properties as a blank, naturally Mandrake and Djamila, the latter now flying this craft to the surface of Petra, hadn't been able to join the Inquisitor, while Durai refused to work with the Eldar, so along with Jane and Seth, they had reinforced Inquisitor Giuliano's team. The team that would destroy the generators.

This second team, consisted of them, the Inquisitor himself along with his own three Acolytes and the five Space Marines. Jane knew nothing about these other Acolytes, their faces, like her own now, hidden behind face-concealing masks and before their departure, there had only been a brief exchange of greetings. In their bodygloves and carapace armor they were truly interchangeable. Nervously she looked over to the Astartes, who were closest to the hatch. Not even during the briefing had they removed their helmets and spoken rarely. It was strange how their presence was both reassuring and unnerving in equal measure.

They all carried different weapons, the Angel Encarmine a massive power ax and a plasma pistol, the Ultramarine a Plasma Gun, a sword at his side as his secondary weapon. Both the Doom Eagle and the Brazen Minotaur carried a Bolter, likely with armor breaking rounds to destroy their artificial enemies. Only the Imperial Fist carried a heavier weapon, a Plasma Cannon capable of melting about any target it was aimed at.

As the entered the atmosphere Jane could feel her stomach twist as the gravitation of the planet below made itself known to them.

As soon as everyone was on the ground Djamila was off to circle over the valley in which the xenos' catacombs were located. She would be waiting to extract them once their mission was finished, otherwise they'd risk losing their best pilot or the craft itself. The noble Astartes took the more vulnerable Acolytes and the Inquisitor into their midst, as they marched to their destination nearby. Already Jane could see a strange glow.

Less than five minutes later, as she looked upon the valley opening up in the grey desert, all color left her face. Countless artificial structures rose from the grey sands, their smooth surface black or dark grey. Most were quadrate, several stories high, but there were also dark pyramids and obelisks towering above them. Lines of sickly, yet bright green ran over each building, illuminating the dead city with ominous green light. It was clear that more of the city still remained covered by the desert, and they saw half buried entrances and more rooftops barely looming into the open.

The party headed down into the valley, Jane having to fight the urge to turn and ran. By now they could hear a humming noise and as they reached the first of the structures, the medicae noticed that the green light emitted it. Surprisingly nothing had stirred in the city so far, only the wind blew between the buildings, howling as it did.

"Where are they?" One of Inquisitor Giuliano's acolytes asked, his voice kept low. "You would think there'd be something defending such essential structures as their generators." Admittedly Jane was wondering the same; a part of her had expected they'd be under fire from the moment of their arrival.

"Maybe they're out for a walk?" Seth suggested. "I know I would want to stretch my legs after such a long time asleep." About everyone turned to, mainly puzzled or annoyed. Who knew what the Space Marine displayed underneath their helmets, but the Acolyte didn't seem to mind the attention he received.

The Brazen Minotaur next to Jane spoke. "I would have expected a former trooper to be more professional."

"As did we, Milord." Durai noted, a hint of disappointment lingering in his usually so monotone voice.

"Concerning your question, Arrick: I suppose the defenders, which are already awake are out fighting the Eldar. Until our landing the Necrons could not have known of our presence." Inquisitor Giuliano answered him with a hushed tone, his eyes scanning their surroundings vigilantly. "However we must act quickly. I doubt our arrival has gone unnoticed."

Lord Averroes of the Angels Encarmine took the lead, the others following him to a pyramid, which appeared to be the centerpiece of a plaza of sorts. It was an awe inspiring sight in Jane's eyes, the top reaching higher into the sky than any of its surrounding structures, the top flanked to both sides by the two bronze moons of Petra. If she had had a pictograph, she would have preserved this incredible scenery.

Jane could not dwell on it however, as the Astartes reached the portal leading into the pyramid. His lordship didn't know that they had received the layout of the city and the catacombs below from the Pathfinder Yaidev; apparently her ancestors had carefully cataloged this place millennia ago just for this purpose. The portal was large enough for at least seven Astartes to enter side by side and inside it was almost completely dark. The path led downwards with no possible deviations, the sand covering the ground even in here. Their only light sources were the two green lines along the walls, heading down as well like guidelines.

"Better put on your night vision." Seth whispered next to her, tapping a small blue button on his mask. She nodded and did the same. Her surroundings brightened up significantly and Jane saw that their way down continued on for quite a while. Already she dreaded the thought of having to walk or flee up all this way again…if they survived that was.

They had made a quarter of the way, when suddenly the steps of the Angel Encarmine hit on something else than sand. Jane looked and saw grey, well grey-greenish stairs thanks to the night vision. The sand had been removed here, or perhaps had never gotten this far in the first place, and now that the party had stone beneath their feet, it was easier to walk, the heavy steps of the Astartes echoing soundly through the corridor. The further they got, the more tense they all became, most weapons now pointed at the bottom of the stairs. Still; so far nothing had attempted to stop them.

At the end of the stairway was another portal, as large as the first one they'd come through, but what lay beyond it had them all hold in. No corridor or hall awaited them, no, it was a cavern, so enormous in its dimension that it seem extended over the entire area beneath the valley, maybe even further. Pillars of solid stone supported the ceiling far above their heads, each about 16 meters in diameter (about 52.5 feet), a broad pathway leading into the cavern like a natural ramp and from what they could see, the path wind itself around those pillars. However not all was natural down here. Buildings, so reminiscent of crypts stood scattered across the cavern, they too covered by the green lines, which sometimes would form strange, but simple runes. As soon as Jane could think properly again, she wondered if the Necrons were resting in these crypts, waiting to strike. Fog crawled over the cavern's ground, reaching up about knee-high. It reflected the green light, giving it a somewhat moldy appearance.

On the brighter side, their destination was already in sight. Atop of a hammock stood five round generators, the large cables leading away from them even visible from a distance.

"Our objective awaits; let us proceed." Lord Boethius spoke.

The Inquisitor nodded and along with Lord Averroes he was the first to step down the path into the thick fog. Quietly they followed the road, their way leading them around the numerous stone pillars and past crypts, their doors however were thankfully closed. Suddenly something cracked beneath Jane's boots. She frowned and kneeled down, dispersing the fog to her feet by waving her hand. And then she starred directly at a white skull. The others of the party saw it as well, some having heard the same cracking noises as well.

"There are bones everywhere." Seth noticed, looking about him and he was right. Countless covered the floor, most not intact anymore, many seemed to have been partially burned or melted.

Inquisitor Giuliano picked up the skull Jane was still fixated upon and examined it carefully. "Eldar." He finally said. "These must be the remains of those who fought the Necrons here millennia ago."

"They seem to have been unsuccessful in their efforts." The Imperial Fist noted.

"Oh, on the contrary, they banished them into these tombs; but still, many died before victory was achieved."

"Let us not join them here." The Doom Eagle decided.

Jane was surprised to see the Inquisitor putting the skull down rather carefully to the side of the path, where no one would step on it. He noticed her look and smiled. "Only a small gesture of respect, from one old warrior to another. My dispute is with his descendants."

Was he what Djamila had told her about; a radical Inquisitor? In the short time she'd been on the Adrastos, the medicae had learned more about the Inquisition and its duties, at least as much as she needed to know for the time being. But wouldn't that made Lord Nicomedo a radical as well? Accepting the help of an Eldar, relying on the information she provided? Jane decided to leave these questions for some other time and followed the Inquisitor deeper into the catacombs.

They had almost made it to the generators, when the Doom Eagle suddenly raised his weapon. "We're being watched." He declared.

"About time." His battle brother from the Brazen Minotaurs replied. "Bad manners in a host to keep us waiting this long."

Then Jane heard it, the clicking of metal against metal and she reached for her own weapons, two Hell Pistol. She had no idea if they would be any good, but she lacked the experience for anything larger.

"Two o'clock!" One of the Astartes shouted.

All turned at once and Jane trembled at the sight of the first Necron she ever laid eyes upon. Nothing humanoid, as she had been told, but a creature with a segmented body, almost snake like with a blade at the end of its tail, the upper body broad with six limbs, all ending in curved blades, each as large as a man's entire torso at the least. Something like a bony spine emerged from its back, the head comparatively small for such a bulky body, triangular, with a single green glowing eye at its center. It looked down at them from a crypt, standing upright like a cobra ready to strike.

"Canoptek Wraith." Inquisitor Giuliano spoke. "Be on your guard; I've read they can phase out of the normal space-time continuum whenever they please, entirely or partly.

"So it can bury its claws into us, while the rest of its body is unreachable for us?" Mandrake asked, his own Plasma Gun aimed at the machine.

"Yes, yes it could."

"This is going to be a lovely evening." Seth joked halfheartedly.

"Enough discussion." Lord Clavius fired his Plasma Cannon, the bright blue bolt dashing towards its target.

The Canoptek Wraith however dived down the crypt, letting it detonate somewhere at the cave's ceiling. The explosion was as bright as a small sun, blinding for about a second, and Jane covered her eyes with her arm. Tones of stone fell from the ceiling, somewhere behind the crypt, out of sight, but the ground shook upon impact. Space Marines and Acolytes alike opened fire, yet neither Bolter fire nor plasma could hit it, each shot going straight though, hitting only the crypt's closed doors. Swiftly the Wraith came at them, straight for one of Inquisitor Giuliano's Acolytes. The man backed off, still firing at the creature, but it was a waste of ammunition. The almost transparent looking Wraith pierced him with one of its blades. He winced and looked down, seemingly surprised that there was no hole in his chest, nor was there blood. Then the Wraith phased back in.

It was only the blade, but it was all it needed. This time the man jerk, as his insides were torn apart, Jane watching in horror as the unholy machine began to retreat its blade again…the black armored Angle Encarmine appeared out of nowhere, his Power Ax raised above his head, coming down faster than Jane could realize what was going on. With one clean cut, Lord Averroes separated the blade from the still phased out body. With three of its limbs, the Wraith stabbed for the Astartes, but he dodged them all, if only barely. It had been close enough however to have it phase out the blades, which scratched upon the power armor's paint. Too late did the machine noticed that its calculations had been off, the Ax cutting through the first two as well, before it could retreat them all again.

Completely phased out the Canoptek Wraith analyzed the situation. Jane felt her heartbeat even in her brain, she was breathing fast, even though she had hardly moved. And then it just ran off.

"Was that all?" Lord Ptolemy asked.

"It will make repairs and contact the other guardians." The Inquisitor told him. "We need to move fast, before reinforcements arrive."

They all started running, the medicae forcing herself not to look at the disemboweled body of the Acolyte. Her eyes however betrayed her and she stared at the corpse that was still leaking some blood. She jumped when someone placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come Jane." She heard Seth's voice." It's just up this hill." Jane nodded and together they followed the team. "We actually made it." Seth breathed. "The generators."

They were standing in front of five massive, circular generators, each about as high as a three-story building and almost as broad in diameter, the cables in the ground as thick as a large tree's trunk.

"Split up; we want to move out as soon as possible." Each Marine carried a charge, one for each generator, which would blow up not only the generators themselves, but everything else in a large radius around along with them, though Jane didn't know that radius would be. However, she was certain that along with the explosive potential of their targets, the entire cavern would collapse and bury the crypts. Thank the Emperor for remote detonators. As the Astartes split up, she stayed with Lord Ptolemy, unsure what to do next. He seemed to pick up on that.

"Is this your first time, little medicae?" She tensed as he addressed her directly.

"Yes, sir." Jane said rather weakly.

"Hell of a first mission you picked." He noted. "They didn't even give you a sufficient weapon." At his words she looked down at her pistols, silently agreeing with the Space Marine. "For maximum efficiency we have to set the charges up there." Ptolemy noted, looking at a spot well above his head that not even he could reach. "Medicae Pravin, why don't you give a hand?" Jane could only nod stiffly. "Good; then stop being so shy and get over here."

"Yes, Milord."

"Now, I will lift you onto my shoulder and give you the charge. Follow my instructions to the letter."

"I will, sir." For a moment she feared he would break her bones, but surprisingly careful, he took her and lifted her up, over his head. She had to place her feet in the small room between his shoulder guards and the helmet, needing a few seconds to stabilize her stance, his one hand against her leg helping a little. As soon as she stood secure, Lord Ptolemy gave her the quadrate shaped package of explosives, in size about the same as her ribcage, so Jane needed to take it with both hands. Damn, she was high up.

The moment he had given her the package, he began to explain. "Put it at the wall, at the same level as your head…" Step by step he talked her through it, until the charge was set, one of the small light bulbs turning from red to green. It had all taken about a minute or two.

"I'm done." Jane told him.

"Good; we need to rejoin the others and get out of here. I would hate to have this place blown to oblivion with us still inside."

"Couldn't agree more, Milord." She told him as he placed her back on the ground. Swiftly they returned to the path they had come, the others, with the exception of the Ultramarine already waited, but he arrived a mere moment later.

Inquisitor Giuliano nodded. "Good, all are present. Let us move out; we've lingered here for too long already."

They were definitely done with walking at this point, the Acolytes running, the Astartes almost jogging next to them as to not leave them all behind. It was easy enough downhill, but the path constantly went up and down. At the third hill, Jane could hear it, a chittering noise, as if made by countless small metallic wings. The medicae dared to look behind her, seeing a swarm of small machines, following them gaining on them with every second. They looked like metal insect, the size of a Space Marine's fist with a single, glowing eye and six clawed appendages. There were no wings, other than the sound indicated, and yet they emitted the humming sound so reminiscent of a plague of locusts.

"Scarabs!" Jane heard someone shout and she put all her strength into her legs, even though deep down she knew she hadn't had the stamina to get her through the cave and up the stairway. She was sure to collapse long before she ever made it up there, if the Scarabs didn't get her first. And then just behind her, someone screamed.

Another of Inquisitor Giuliano's Acolytes was being killed, the Scarabs surrounding him, until he disappeared behind countless little drones. She heard him scream as they tore him apart, saw his shape collapse, before the screaming and crying stopped.

"That's it!" The Imperial Fist stopped, turned around, both Seth and Durai having to leap out of the way and fired his Cannon. And this time, he hit. The swarm was swallowed by the light, the buzzing sound dying like the screams before. Once the light was gone, there was a crater, filled with a grey, liquid metal, as far as Jane could identify it. Only a handful of Scarabs had survived, none undamaged. Disoriented they circled the crater and Jane watched as they repaired themselves, limbs that were hanging loose from their bodies, reattaching themselves properly.

"We're not fast enough to outrun them!" Lord Erasmus told them and he was no doubt correct.

"That can be fixed!" With one hand Lord Ptolemy grabbed Jane as they ran and threw her over his shoulder like a bag. She coughed at the hard impact and was about to ask him what he was doing, when he spoke to her. "Just shot at anything behind me, little medicae."

"They're already coming!"

"Then I suggest you don't miss!" More Scarabs emerged to join the pursuit, but they were not alone and once more Jane paled. An enormous machine snaked its way through the cave, around rocks and pillars, its body like a metallic centipede, easily as large as two or three tanks, its two dozen, blade-like limbs crushing the bones and the stone beneath it. It had one large eye at the center of its head and eight smaller ones around it, while below the head, it carried two guns, the barrels glowing green like the eyes. "Tomb Stalker on our six!" Ptolemy bellowed, firing his Bolter one handed, so he didn't have to turn around. In the meantime Jane was trying to aim over his backpack, though the constant up and down was making it difficult. She could see the Bolter rounds hitting their target, punching huge holes into the metal, one tearing off a limb even. But the holes simply closed themselves again, the metal fusing together as if it had become liquid for a moment.

We're not escaping this! The medicae realized.

Suddenly another Canoptek Wraith appeared next to the Tomb Stalker. It too carried a gun beneath its upper body and as the barrel started to glow brighter; it could only intend to shoot at them. Something in Jane didn't want to go without a fight, she aimed, she fired. The bright, powerful las projectile hit the Wraith at its left shoulder. It didn't punch through, only left a scratch on the metal, but it knocked the shoulder back and with it the entire Wraith, just a little. It was in that moment that it fired, but now out of alignment. The green bolt of energy went past Ptolemy by a mere meter and impacted on the stone pillar next to him. Tones of stone were simply atomized, the shot having carved out a massive piece of the base. They could all hear the stone crack, as they left it behind them and like a chopped tree it fell. With a deafening crash the pillar collapsed, straight at the path. The dust that had been thrown into the air caught up with them, enveloping the team; thanks to the masks however they had to breathe in none however.

They all risk a look over their shoulders, while they all kept running. Where the Necrons should have been, only rubble remained and Jane could only stare at it in disbelieve.

Lord Ptolemy laughed out once. "Well, I guess I have to take what I've said earlier; those little pistols suit you quite well."

Seth too laughed, but longer and somewhat out of breath, running behind the Space Marine. "Nice shot, rookie!" He told her, giving her a thumbs-up as he ran.

"Pure luck!" Durai retorted, having trouble keeping up same as his fellow Acolyte.

"So what? We can use it!" The former Storm Trouper replied with a grin.


Everything was grey, not just the sky, but the air itself. It wasn't really fog or the sand though; it seemed to Taylor as if someone had cleaned their duster in the planet's atmosphere. A large duster, mind you. He could vaguely make out trees, conifers and scattered tuft of long yellow glass in the distance. Brennan had landed a few kilometers away from the temple to avoid immediate detection, which meant a walk through the cold desert of Petra for them. To hide the small group on their flight here and the following hike to their destination, the Pathfinder used a blue glowing rune, which was now dancing around her body like a firefly.

"How is it that a Pathfinder uses the runes of a seer?" Nicomedo asked, his tone telling of his distrust.

"Centuries ago, when I still lived among my people on Saim-Hann, I walked the Path of the Seer." Yaidev explained. "From those times, I have kept the runes just in case; after all, they have been made especially for me. Among them is one to help me navigate among the myriad stands of the future, and this one was given to me, so I would remain hidden to the preying eyes of demons on my journeys there." Briefly a smile showed on her lips. "But it works just as well with mortal psykers. Do not worry; Arhainceyl has given me nothing but grief; I will not allow him to sense us for now."

"For now?"

The Eldar nodded. "We can't just enter the temple. I will try to lure him outside by making my presence known. He will want to deal with me discretely, or at least will only bring a few trusted with him." She walked off and the Inquisitor followed. Taylor had the feeling that he did so only begrudgingly; giving the lead and putting so much trust into a xeno was more than just a little troubling. Even the Untouchable wasn't sure how he felt about this. He'd like to think that he didn't come on this planet just to die.

The small group wandered through the desolate landscape for over almost hour, maybe it was less, but who could tell, only occasionally passing crippled trees along the way. Taylor wondered how it had looked before the Necrons had destroyed it and left it like this. Hopefully the others were alright. Jane had been terrified and rightfully so: first time on a mission and she had to walk right into Necron catacombs. Even with a few mighty Space Marines it was questionable if she came out of there alive. Emperor protect them all.

Slowly Taylor could feel his legs getting heavy. Marching through sand turned out to be rather exhausting. So far he'd only known hive and agricultural worlds, which tended not to have any deserts, or if they had, there had held nothing of interest, sparing him the experience.

Suddenly the Pathfinder just stopped in her tracks. "They have awoken the Avatar."

"How do you know?" Nicomedo asked, his hand having gone instinctively to his sword.

"Even as a human, you should sense it, Inquisitor." She spoke, her calm sounding voice not able to hide how tense she was. "And for me, it is like a raging fire, urging me to fight. His presence brings out something dark within us Eldar."

"The seers would not have awoken it just for us."

Yaidev shook her head. "No; it means the Necrontyr are attacking my kin as we speak."

"Shouldn't the Farseer retreat his forces now?" Taylor weighed in. "You've told us that the warhost has not the number to face them."

"There must be relics still within the temple. He will secure what he can before leaving this world and in the meantime, my brothers and sisters will fall. Let us make haste."

Nicomedo merely nodded and they continued on, his two Acolytes following without another word. About fifteen minutes later the group approached a dune with a rock formation on top, rising from the sands and the ground beneath their feet became somewhat more solid. Once they'd reached the top next to the rock, they held in to look over the plateau that lay before them and Taylor could see a white structure not too far away, maybe three kilometers at the most. It reminded the Untouchable of ribs, a chest cage maybe, while elegant white towers reached up into the sky, though all was still partially covered with the sand. One could only imagine the magnitude and beauty of past times.

"It must have been a sight to behold once." Nicomedo remarked and the Eldar nodded.

"Most of it still remains beneath the sands and ashes of this world and shall never see the light of day again. We came to recover what was left by our ancestors, but if your allies don't succeed, we will join them here." Her eyes darted at him, in an almost threatening manner. "They must succeed."

"I am confident in my fellow Inquisitor's abilities. You, Pathfinder, worry about your end of the bargain."

She didn't look at the Inquisitor anymore when the replied, her eyes set on the top of the rock formation at which they were standing. "It will be fulfilled sooner than you thought."

Every one of them reached for their weapons, sword, pistols or gun, all pointing them to where the Eldar paid her attention to. A handful of robed figured had appeared out of nowhere, two armed with swords, their blades shimmering bright blue in the moon light, the other three with spears, which looked like they were made out of bones, the blades on their tips glowing blue as well. Their red and white robes were covered with black runes, only the one within their center wore golden ornaments. White helmets with pitch black faces glared down at the humans and the Pathfinder, unimpressed by the barrels aimed at them.

Despite speaking quietly and calmly, the Farseer's voice was perfectly understandable to all, as he spoke in low-gothic. "Inquisitor Basil Nicomedo; I have been expecting you."