A/N: I know this is a short chapter. Couldn't think of a good way to carry through without making this incredibly long, so I opted to go with a mini-chapter.
Disciple of Ember: There is actually a really good explanation for the lack of communication in the psychic part, it's from Louk's point of view and he has no understanding of how the Warp works so he thinks that is why. It will be explained fully in a chapter or two.
See if you can catch the very, very subtle Firefly reference.
Under the Mountain
Louk switched knees. His legs were growing sore from the constant crouching, his eyes weary from watching the drill work its way up, across, down, across… the door. They had gone full circle around the door twice now. Each time, the light grew brighter. Visible distortion showed where the laser had passed. The metal was melting, warping with that terrible prophecy that it would fall. Another round and it would cut through. Louk had already scouted out where the laser would go once it went through. He had marked the wall with a piece of chalk he had found and they all kept clear of that danger zone. The last thing they needed was to lose a warrior to a sudden spurt of laser.
In the time waiting for the beam to do its work, Angry Eyes had sent up another warrior to support the front room. With three in the room it had proven to be cramped, but they made do with what they had. They had set up behind the ruined desk, waiting for the inevitable onslaught. Louk had been graciously offered the spot closest to the door, first to enter the line of fire. Neither Eldar appeared interested in switching place. They crouched in incredible contortions that left nearly their entire bodies behind cover. A human acrobat would have been challenged to even reach the poses they made, but the xenos warriors had been holding steady for half an hour now. It did not look like they were straining.
"Any chance I can know your names" Louk asked. The female offered him a quiet look, eyes dark and brooding. She had not said a word to him since coming into the room. Her whole attitude was different from when she had spoken to him at the cell. Now, with battle looming, her eagerness to converse had faded away. She said nothing.
"I always liked knowing the names of the people I fight beside" he muttered, shaking his head at the stubbornness of the Eldar. "If either of you get pissy for me calling you 'pointy ears' in the middle of the fight, it's your own damn fault."
The warriors glowered at him. The one to his left, a raven-haired male wielding Inquisitor Jadus' hand cannon and Louk's kopis, spoke to the female. Their words were short, crisp, debate-like. Words flowed between the two for a minute. When they settled on a decision, they gave him their attention.
"Ulain" the female told him.
"Rhaeger" the male added.
"Now that's better." Louk nodded to each in turn. "Nice to meet you."
His knees felt like someone had dropped a hammer on them. Settling forward to lean against the desk, he stretched his legs and groaned softly. The initial rush of wonder and excitement at the prospect of battle had faded away for him. His attention had only held for a little while, eyes glued to the wandering light that showed where the mining laser fired. Now that he had some measure of a timeline, the tension faded and he afforded himself the opportunity to relax. Not too relaxed, but some relaxed. After all, there were only about thirty-some Penal Legionnaires and Eldar out there hungering to put his head on a stake.
Top right corner now.
He found it hard to not stare at the Eldar warriors. Their bodies were limber and supple like the branches of whisper oak. The sleek black bodysuits they wore showed every muscle, every sinew of their limbs, every inch of physical perfection that all Eldar seemed to possess. Ordinarily he would have found himself staring at Ulain over Rhaeger, but he had to admit, Rhaeger was a damn impressive man. His body was slimmer than a human's, but he had an exaggerated musculature that made the Eldar seem a caricature of a human body. He held the pistol and kopis with expertise, but it was clear he was used to larger weapons.
That Ulain was something else too, but he hardly paid her any attention. She seemed much like Angry Eyes, only less angry. A warrior through and through, much deadlier than Eulogy could ever be. Louk was beginning to imagine the sort of soldiers these Eldar made. They were incredibly patient, intelligent, and had nerves of steel. Those strange weapons they used seemed damned effective as well. Pity the Eldar weren't armed and armed with their own kit.
All they had to do was hold out until the Guard arrived. Louk prayed that Helsing would arrive first.
Angry Eyes stood a little ways down the hall, arms crossed over her chest as she regarded the door. From time to time her eyes had flicked over to him, but she never held that gaze for long. Disdain and resignation, that was all. She hated him, he could tell that without having to ask. Her loathing for general humans did not hold a candle to the vile look she gave him. He had to wonder if she might shoot him in the back once the battle started. 'Friendly fire' did not really apply in this situation.
"How's she doing" Louk called back. He knew it was a stupid, stupid thing to ask. The Eldar warrior sneered at him, her expression hardening to that fine line between outright hatred and ingrained obedience. A twitch of her hand gripped the autopistol from the belt she had taken from Inquisitor Jadus. This time she did not draw it, but the desire to raged across her clear blue eyes with the intensity of a storm. She did not answer him. She did not seem inclined to give him any hint, and his curiosity gave him only unwelcome glares. None of the Eldar appreciated his questioning. Their leader, what was it that the Druchii had called her? Farseer. That was an impressive title. She was very dear to them. He doubted he could show Helsing that same loyalty.
"Yeesh, at least he Praetorians talked about their kills." Louk glanced between his two Eldar companions. "You all are locked up tighter than a Sister Initiate before the Canoness. Your Farseer that important to you?"
The Eldar stared at him, confusion seeping into their faces. Rhaeger muttered something to Ulain, and she shook her head.
"Monkeigh" she sighed, and adjusted her grip on the shotgun. More words passed between the Eldar. Rhaeger gave the approximation of a snort and a laugh. Being entirely out of the loop, Louk merely observed and considered what he had said. Was that not right? Was 'Farseer' some other thing, or was it that the lowly human should not be using such a word?
"Pointy Ears" he growled back, an exasperated grin cutting across his face. The Eldar warriors gave him a sharp look. When they realized he was joking they scoffed and returned their attention to the door.
Top left corner now.
"Ork breath."
It took him a moment to comprehend what he had heard. Startled, he glanced over to Rhaeger. The warrior's face was utterly expressionless, his attention focused on the door as if he had not spoken. Maybe he was hearing things. These xenos didn't have a sense of humor so far as he had seen. But then he saw it, the nearly imperceptible twinkle in the Eldar's eye. Throne almighty, that was as clear a challenge as he had ever seen. He grinned broadly.
"Grox-humper."
"Dirt eater."
"Bardie doll."
Rhaeger gave a friendly scowl. "Your… mother… is prize Druchii breeder."
"Oh feck no, you did not just go there!" Louk let out a belly laugh. "Your momma's so fat the 'Nids sent a whole Hive after her."
A slight grimace, glistening in his eye as he digested the insult and thought of one of his own. "Nurgle wishes… you should take a bath."
"Better smelly than Ork bait."
"Better Ork bait than cursed… with grox schlong."
"So's your… wait, what?"
Louk set his lascarbine down and stared hard at the warrior. The Eldar appeared just as confused by his reaction as Louk was by the insult itself. If that could qualify as an insult. Had he heard that correctly?
"Run that by me again?"
The female hissed something to Rhaeger, her cheeks showing the palest shade of crimson. She averted her eyes they met Louk's. He glanced down self-consciously towards his belt. No, he wasn't showing anything. There was no way Rhaeger could have known any particulars. Was that a general Eldar opinion of humans? Well, that was an interesting tidbit of information.
"Guess that explains why you all are so uptight" Louk murmured, fighting down his slaphappy smile. The Eldar seemed to realize his verbal sparring partner found genuine compliment in the intended insult, and his face soured in disgust. His loss, Louk thought to himself. He shot another look over at Ulain, whose attention remained firmly on the door. She was concentrating real hard on not looking in his direction. Heh, hard.
A sudden kick to his back sent him sprawling against the desk. Shocked by the unexpected assault, he threw himself onto his back and brought the lascarbine up, fearing that Jadus might have somehow broken his bonds and gone feral on them all. It wasn't the Inquisitor. Angry Eyes stood over him, not appearing the least bit amused. Her head jerked up in the direction of the door, and that was all.
Bottom left now. One more stretch to go. Then the fun would start.
Angry Eyes gestured over her shoulder. Louk followed her gaze and saw two other Eldar muscling one of the table into the hallway. They had split it in half and stacked the two pieces against each other, forming a double-thick barricade that clogged the hallway. It would not be easy to get back over…
If she understood what he was thinking, she said nothing. She said something to the two Eldar, who listened quietly before nodding and offering a solemn salute. The seriousness in their expressions warned him of what they had exchanged. When she turned and vaulted over the table, hurtling the chest-high barrier with effortless grace, she was the last one to cross over. The unlucky three of them were not leaving the front room.
That fecking bitch.
Louk cursed under his breath, returning his attention to the beam of molten steel that was closing steadily on the final corner. The laser hadn't bitten all the way through yet, but the beam had cut so deep that a hard shove would loosen it. Either they would use the laser for another pass, probably a waste in Louk's opinion, or they would slap a demo charge and blast the door into the room. That carried its own problem. The front room was so small that blowing the door in could block up the hallway entrance. It also stood a good chance of killing Louk and his companions.
"Take my life, take my land…" Louk whispered the words under his breath as the beam drew ever closer. Just a meter to go. The Eldar murmured their own pre-battle words. Prayers, maybe, or oaths. That had never been Louk's way. He preferred dwelling on happier thoughts. "Take me where I canno' stand."
Half a meter. His trigger finger flicked the selector of his lascarbine, a nervous tic he had gained too early in his years to ever unlearn. Up, Safe. Middle, Single Shot. Down, Full Automatic. Stay on Full Automatic. It didn't matter how the enemy came through that door. He would empty a whole magazine first just to give them some breathing room. Worse for the barrel, but he didn't care. It was far better to die with an empty weapon than a clean one.
"I don't care, I'm still free…"
The beam dragged into the final corner. A spurt of superheated metal shot into the room, followed immediately by the thick yellow coil of roiling laser. Louk flinched to the side as it shot into the wall just an arm's reach to his right. He leaned away, recoiling from the ungodly heat that poured from the beam. Within moments sweat dripped down his forehead. Then the beam cut off, vanishing just as suddenly as it had appeared. In its wake came the noxious perfume of ozone and burnt metal.
"Ye can't take the Faith from me." He felt silent and strained his ears to hear what was going on outside. The hole must have been too small to draw any noise. All he could hear was his own harsh breathing and the faint scuffling of feet back in the cell room. His heartbeat was smooth, steady, strong. His hands did not tremble. He had been much closer to death than this. Here he had a fighting chance. All they had to do was hold until the Guard arrived.
"Come on, Helsing you stupid bastard." His muttered plea produced no effect. A heavy clanking noise alerted them all that something had been attached to the door. Explosive charge. This was going to hurt. "Get small, people."
He curled up behind the desk, abandoning his defensive posture. Ulain grimaced beside him. Her eyes closed and her mouth parted, lips hovering open to help ease the incoming concussion. On his other side, Rhaeger twisted the kopis in a full circle to loosen the flow of blood in his right arm. It went without saying that the Eldar knew how to handle themselves. Not having to worry about the soldiers at his side was something of a relief. And the two Eldar at the barricade down the hallway would provide additional support. As long as they didn't shoot him in the back in the chaos of the fight.
They waited for the explosion for a minute, then five, then fifteen. The door remained in place. No explosion shook the building. All that Louk could see through the pinprick hole in the corner of the door was light that hid the world outside. Fifteen minutes stretched into half an hour. Angry Eyes came back over the barricade. She stalked past Louk and went to inspect the door, fearless of any potential danger. He admired her courage, because his own mind filled with scenarios of sudden explosions tearing them all into bloody pieces. But he could not deny the little thrill that coursed through him at seeing her standing there, face set in a determined grimace, showing no fear, running her exposed fingers along the liquefied metal wound of the door. There was a nobility to her that reminded him of Lieutenant Eulogy on her best day.
"Monkeigh!" She gestured for Louk to join her. Knowing it was much safer to remain behind the desk, he nodded and eased out from his cover. Every instinct in his body screamed to go scuttling back to safety. But he approached her and followed her finger that thrust unerringly towards the hole. He crouched down and put his ear to the hole.
There was quiet, distorted, and unmistakable gunfire. Autoguns and lasguns, grenades and plasma discharges. Louk's heart leapt to his throat and he scrambled to his feet. The Eldar did not share his enthusiasm, but he did not care. The Guard had made it in time. That, or there was some serious infighting going on between the Druchii and the humans. That would be nice too… not as preferable, but nice nonetheless. He'd take Guard over infighting any day.
"We're saved" he said, his smile dying in its infancy when he reminded himself that this was not good news to the Eldar. The xenos would not be seeing any good endings here. They were inescapably trapped here. It was either the Druchii or the Imperium that would have them. "Now would be a good time for you to trust me."
Angry Eyes sniffed dismissively and turned back from the door. She stopped, hesitation stealing across her face for the barest moment at the sight of her two warriors watching her. Neither said a word, their expressions said it all. They wanted guidance. They expected her to have an answer. Her gaze flicked to Louk, who held his tongue. The last thing he needed to do here was to open his mouth an-
The door shrieked as a massive force shoved it inwards. Louk and Angry Eyes scrambled out of its way, leaping to the walls to avoid being crushed under the heaving metal block. It skidded forward a full two feet before careening to the ground, slamming down with a gunshot-loud bang. Artificial light of the city flooded in, as did waves of dust and the sudden symphony of weapon fire. A hulking form wielding power armor stood in the threshold, beams of light pouring over his shoulders and shrouding his face in shadow. Louk lifted his weapon for a moment, then lowered it when he realized who it was. He quickly gestured for the Eldar to stand down before they opened fire. The figure stormed into the room, storm bolter trailing smoke from recent usage. Helsing stopped just inside the doorway, his wide-brimmed hat covering all but the fierce scowl of his mouth. The storm bolter swept left, then right, then lowered as he took in the sight of Louk and the Eldar.
"Well then" he said, sighing heavily. A very careful motion of his power fist brushed the hat back, revealing the handsome and utterly serious face of Louk's Inqusitor master. "Looks like the gang is all here."