The early afternoon sun blazed high across Nussara VII and in the distance, smoke rose up from the other districts. Looking outside from behind a clear glass window on the 87th floor of the skyscraper, Reijiro felt a mixed sense of anticipation and perhaps a bit of unease as the battle raged on. Instead of his usual business suite, he was now dressed in a heavy set of dark red carapace armour that was worn over grey fatigues.
He had tried to convince the Elders that they should either get out while they still could or better yet, assist the ASF in fighting back these… Chaos invaders. Both suggestions were met with fierce disapproval for the Elders had claimed that it would be a blasphemy in the eyes of the God Emperor of Terra to flee from the Archenemy and to assist those who had turned their backs on his divinity.
The Emperor, thought Reijiro with contempt, what a joke! This supposedly immortal and everlasting ruler which the Elders venerated so much was probably nothing more than a senile old man or some ancient corpse hooked up to a machine. All his life as well as that of many others in the current generation of their clan, they had been brought up to try revere this distant monarch who he seriously doubted was even divine to begin with. It was all nothing more than some backwards religion which was held onto by an even more backwards people whose civilization crumbled all around them.
For years he and many others had tried to steer away the foolish course of what their organization began as. There was little profit to be made in remaining as a rag tag bunch of rebels who were too stupid to know that they had already lost and there was much more to make if they had focused on things such as the protection, rackets, smuggling and trafficking. Although he had enjoyed some success, he always knew that he could take them all much further if the Elders did not constantly hold him back.
This inaction especially had galled at Reijiro who despite also not having any real loyalty to the alien Tau and their Greater Good, still considered Jasserus his home and he just could not stand by as these invaders wrought such havoc. He wanted to be out there, taking the fight to these followers of Chaos but there there was little he could do for the Elders had been very adamant in their orders that every member of the clan were to prepare for the coming of the invaders.
From down below, one could see the defenses which had been prepared by the Private Military section of the Zanryū. Sandbag walls, barbed wire fences and heavy laser defense turrets both light and heavy which incorporated either the backwards artificial intelligences of the Imperium which they called Machine Spirits or some of the latest ones which held the same A.I. systems as those placed in Drones. The latter of which was something which the Elders had always been deeply uncomfortable with, again some useless custom and habit that had followed them from the Imperium.
With one hand held onto the grip of his powered Guntō, he once more felt that sense of restlessness for the shame of his failure had weighed heavy on him. Although none of the Elders or his grandfather had spoken a word about the failed mission, he had seen it in the old man's eyes that it was not forgotten. He swore that when this was over, he would find that stranger as well as the sniper who had taken a shot at him and he would make them eat the business end of his sword.
Although Ellarian had sworn to avoid riding in another ground based again, he immediately found that it was necessary to get back on to one, specifically the ork vehicle which miraculously had been undamaged in the fighting against the Cultists. The Outcast was now at the front, operating the primitive yet simple ork heavy gun while Sheia had once more been driving the machine and the Squat who was now clad in his egg-shaped power armour was riding in the passenger section. He had questioned the Tau as of how she knew about operating such a vehicle and his response had been a cryptic "It is a long story."
Had someone told him three cycles earlier when he was still fighting alongside the kin of Saim-Hann against the Mon'keigh Space Marines that he would soon find himself in the middle of an alien city that was still inhabited and would later being pulling off a robbery against more Imperials while the minions of the Great Enemy laid siege to said city, he would have been very skeptical. It was amusing really how fate somehow seemed to conspire in devising the most outlandish of situations. In his own travels across the Great Wheel, before his current employment with the Crescent Wings, Ellarian himself had taken part in a few adventures that simply would have stretched the boundaries of belief, but this one certainly was one of the stranger ones.
They traveled through a different section of the streets, one which was thankfully clear of Chaos fanatics but the signs of the Great Enemy's passage could clearly be seen here and there. Various sigils dedicated to the Dark Gods had been daubed along the walls or windows of the buildings they passed and there also were quite a number of the more grotesque markers which had been left behind, specifically the kind which had been made from the recently deceased. It was never pleasant to see such barbarous brutality, even if it had been committed to one of a lesser species.
Ellarian could already feel the faint but growing disturbance in the Warp as a great deal of raw Chaotic energy was building up somewhere not that was relatively not far away on a planetary scale. He had no doubt that there was some foul coven of Sorcerers who were responsible for the appearance of the Chaos army and if it was left unchecked, it was highly likely that both Chaos Space Marines and Daemons would also be appearing. It was not something that gave the Ranger much comfort for in times like this, a great army would be needed to combat the followers of the Dark Gods.
Eventually, they made it back to the apartment complex where they had left the Rogue Trader and the other mercenaries. The various aliens that had taken residence in the complex had set up more barricades and it looked like there had been several new arrivals among them. As the Ork vehicle was driven closer to the barricades, the Ranger saw several guns were immediately aimed towards them and for a moment, he was worried that they would open fire upon them.
Thankfully, not one shot was made as they slowed down and came to a stop near the makeshift defenses. The Ranger quickly disembarked from behind the turret along with Sheia and the Squat, the latter of which landed on the road with a loud thud and a slight tremor. The three then made their way towards the barricades and into the building where the rest of their company waited.
A gentle hum could be heard from within the cargo section of the Orca Dropship as a row of six Crisis Battlesuits were lined up along the central isle while several combat drones were held in place via magnetic transport racks. Within each of the Crisis Suits, elite pilots of the Fire Caste listened to reports about the ongoing battle, whether it be from the secure links with the Auxiliary Security or public media news stations.
At the front of the row was Commander Shas'O'Rhonai's own Crisis Enforcer and the commander himself was of course inside his suit. The situation was grim in Jasserus City where the Auxiliary were now reporting casualties as high as 60% along with mass desertion of their posts. The Auxiliary Headquarters was now the last bastion of defense within the city and was the current destination of the Crisis Team.
The Fire Commander himself had intently listened to reports and in his mind; he pieced together a picture of the ongoing conflict. The attack itself was wild and undisciplined like a greenskin Waaagh as the invaders originated from a section of the city that was notorious for being rather lawless and anarchic. Perhaps if there had been a stronger security presence in the district from where the invading army had arrived, this conflict could have been averted entirely.
He was pleased that at least the Auxiliary reinforcements from the other cities were already on their way with air, ground and orbital transportation being made available. Back in the mountains where the Ork threat was being contained, reports made it clear that the situation had hardly changed as the greenskins continued to launch waves upon waves of warriors against the besieging Fire Caste troops. The Fire Commander had also received word that the Kor'vattra were sending a warship that had the necessary armaments for tactical orbital strikes.
Unlike the Fire Caste whose entire planetary garrison was needed to deal with the orks, the Air Caste maintained only a few ships in orbit above the mountains for the local greenskins on Nussara had little in the way of space-flight. It was thanks to the Air Caste that during the ongoing campaign, the Tau forces held dominance over the sky and were capable of rapid transportation for their troops.
It would still take some time before the Fire Commander and his Crisis team arrived at their destination and until then, all they could do was wait and prepare themselves for the coming battle.
'Well I was not expecting that' spoke Merelen Cyierk as the Rogue Trader looked down towards the power armoured Squat, the group was now located on the ground floor of the apartment complex within a foyer, many armed alien mercenaries were now gathered around them. Ellarian himself quietly stood not far from the Rogue Trader and he patiently listened to the exchange.
'Seems like you made some new friends' said the Squat whose hirsute head was now bare for he had removed the helmet section of his armour.
'I gave them the same offer as with the rest of your group, plus a way off the planet' said the Rogue Trader who continued with a sarcastic tone 'what a surprise that more than half of these guys have bounties on their heads, one even has a death sentence on a dozen planets.'
'Comes with living in the shadows' shrugged the Squat in a non-chalant manner.
'How long until we get started?' asked Sheia who still wore her own armour with the stealth-field generator deactivated and the drone floated near the Tau female.
'Soon' replied the Rogue Trader 'my crew is already getting ready in their places'
Mar-Azytzeen and his company of Chaos Knights had arrived at the forward encampment set up by Sicarus and their cohorts. By his guess, the place where they had established the new base had once been a wide parking lot for civilian vehicles for he saw many ordered lines of yellow paint which had numbers marked upon the ground. At the moment, the Chaos Knights were awaiting a resupply for they had been ordered to pick up several grenades and other throw able explosive devices which was deemed necessary for the next phase of the invasion.
Unlike the rabbles of cultists, beastmen and fellow feral warriors that had taken part in this invasion, the soldiers who now surrounded the Chaos Knights were professionally trained and disciplined fighters who modeled themselves after the False Emperor's Imperial Guard. The Chaos Knights stood in stark contrast with their heavy plate armour which was imbued with sorcery, the large melee weapons they carried which ranged from chain, powered or ensorcelled weapons to eve their mighty steeds which were more daemon than horse. In comparison to the Chaos Knights, the "Chaos Guard" were dressed in Flak or Carapace armour which were painted with the colours of their masters, the Words Bearers and most of the soldiers were equipped with rifles or other larger guns.
Machine shamans of the Dark Mechanicus and their cybernetic servitor oversaw the maintenance repairs of war machines which ranged from treaded tanks to walkers and defensive gun emplacements. The crews of the vehicles were lined up in perfect rows in front of a wild eyed priest who spouted a catechism from the book of Lorgar. There were also groups of slaves setting up a defensive perimeter using sandbags and barbed wire.
The sights of this all filled the Doom Knight with a measure of disdain for as a follower of the Blood God, he had little faith in books, fortifications and machines. Give him a good sword, a shield, a company of fellow warriors and an open field and he would show anyone how a true warrior should fight. In the opinion of Mar-Azytzeen, machines like tanks and guns only sullied the purity of glorious combat.
Soon a cybernetic servitor came towards the Doom Knight and his company while carrying a metal crate which Mar-Azytzeen could see was filled with grenades. The use of small firearms or handheld explosives was fine in the opinion of the Doom Knight for such weapons left room for melee combat, it was the larger weapons such as the cannons and rifles which he disdained for it encouraged the armies to fight only at a distance. The company of Chaos Knights helped themselves to a variety of explosives which were neatly organized between frag and krakk grenades.
After taking a mixture of both explosives types as well as many smoke grenades and attaching them to his belt, Mar-Azytzeen and his company heard the loud shrilling as a Chaos Guard officer blew into a whistle and began ordering for them all to move out. The vehicles crews immediately sprinted towards their machines and squadrons of infantry began to board the armoured personnel transports. It dawned on the Doom Knight that there was a lot of heavy equipment around here, if that was the case then there was a strong possibility that they would run into opponents who may be very heavily armed.
Again did the Doom Knight feel his contempt rise towards those who so heavily depended on waging war from afar with on such an impersonal level. He longed to return to his homeworld within the Eye of Terror where battles were decided not at the impersonal exchanges of gunfire but in close quarters of melee where men lived and died by the sword.
Monitoring the ongoing conflict through the use of Skull Probes and hacked xenos machines, the Central Control Unit of the Zanryū Imperialis made its calculations while devising a strategy that would be best to deal with the Archenemy's forces. Light and Heavy Infantry troops were taking position upon the steps of the skyscraper and inside the nearby buildings. Multiple Chimera based vehicles were also hulled down on the avenues and streets, each machine was equipped with a pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber and other heavier weapons which would prove deadly against the invaders.
From the south, there came a great many of enemy armour and infantry which bore the foul marks of Chaos. The Machine Spirit within the CCU felt both appalled and enraged at the sight of these tainted machines which had a possible likelihood of also being possessed by warp-based entities. Quickly sending a stream of data in Lingua Technis to the other Machine Spirits of the Zanryū vehicles and their Auspex equipment, it highlighted which targets proved to be the most dangerous threat and which ones should be destroyed for later.
The enemy armour consisted of many familiar Chimera-based vehicles along with walkers such as Sentinels. There were also vehicles which were more commonly used by the Archenemy such as the bizarre Stalk Tank and the inferior Reaver and Brigand tanks. Among the most deadly though were the number of Leman Russ tanks which had been repurposed by the enemy forces and were equipped with Plasma Destroyers.
The distance between the invading force and the Imperial Remnants closed with many reinforcements from the former well underway. Klaxons and sirens blared as the organic troops readied themselves and through some of the Skull Probes, the CCU could read the body languages of the soldiers. Stress levels rose as the organics tensed themselves, officers shouted orders as snipers and heavy weapons operators took aim. The Chaos forces drew closer and closer until finally, shots were fired and battle had truly begun.
The Zanryū forces were first to fire with a volley of explosive mortar shells which was soon followed by the direct fire from Automatic Cannons, Multi-lasers, Laser Cannons, Heavy Bolters and Missile Launchers. The Chaos armoured units at the front of the enemy formation were decimated and so were those in the second row but many more charged onwards without any heed to the destruction of their compatriots and they rammed past the wreckages of the ruined vehicles while firing back with a barrage of deadly fire.
Explosions ripped across the surface of the tall skyscraper, causing glass to shatter into millions of miniature shards as a dust cloud of debris and chemical smoke spewed out from the ruined section. The damage which its sensors detected had been minimal so far but the Machine Spirit calculated a much greater increase as the engagement became more protracted. It was then that the Vox-Channels were flooded by transmissions which could only have originated from the enemy.
The transmission was spoken in High Gothic and its words were completely understood by the Machine Spirit for it was a series of blasphemous prayers dedicated to gods most foul and then there were five words which were constantly repeated over and over again "Death to the False Emperor, Death to the False Emperor"
A beeping signal was heard from the Rogue Trader and all eyes were on the white haired human female who gave them a grim nod before looking to Ellarian. The Ranger acquiesced for he had earlier been given a specific set of coordinated and he removed the pyramid shaped, Webway device from his pocket, he lifted the small thing up to his eye level and he poured a small measure of psychic energy into it. Soon a disc of shimmering light appeared before him and he heard gasps of surprise from the humans and other similar sounds from the aliens.
'We must go, gate not last long' quickly spoke the Ranger who had experience in guiding non-eldar through the twisting paths of the Webway.
The mercenaries who had been hired seemed reluctant to go through but both Merelen Cyierk and Sheia were quick to step forwards and the latter spoke in a matter of fact tone 'If you all want to get paid and get off this planet, you better do what he says.'
The mercenaries then began to look to one another, still uncertain before the Squat stepped forward and after a moment, the other humans who had accompanied him the previous night had followed. Soon more of the mercenaries stepped into the Webway and the Eldar Outcast led them all through the other worldly pathways.
Placing one eye behind the scope of a long-las sniper rifle, a Zanryū marksman was positioned by the wide glass window of an office space on the 24th floor. The Marksman and several other fellow snipers watched as the infantry troops of the invaders disembarked from their APCs with each one of the long range shooters picking a target. He took aim at one of the Chaos troops, a heavy weapons soldier who operated a drum fed Auto Cannon that was mounted on a long legged tripod.
A barrage of explosive shells from the Auto Cannon destroyed one of the Chimeras of the Zanryū and the Marksman was able to line up his shot. With a single squeeze of his rifle's trigger, the Marksman sent a single laser bolt down into the avenue leading to the skyscraper and he scored a perfect headshot towards the Auto Cannon operator. The loader of the gun looked to his comrade with surprise before another laser bolt struck the man in the neck and other heavy weapons operators were cut down by sniper fire.
A deep rumbling and a tremor shook the building as another explosion occurred somewhere down below. Picking another target among the enemy infantry, the Marksman then began to feel a strange sensation like some charge in the air before a lightning storm. Looking over his shoulder, the Marksman was suddenly blinded by a flash of white light that blinded him and in the next moment, there was the loud roar of gunfire from behind him. Snipers screamed in agony as the gunfire continued and the Marksman heard a series of footsteps swiftly moving in his direction.
As his vision cleared up, he saw briefly saw something wearing white carapace armour with a dark red paint and a face concealing gas masked helmet with an amber visor. Before he knew it, his assailant launched kick that knocked him off of his feet and it sent him back with such force that the Marksman ended up falling out through the broken glass window behind him and he fell to his death twenty four stories below…
When the alien portal opened back to the material universe, Krodien and several of the mercenaries eagerly stepped through with the Squat being the first one out. It was a very strange and not exactly a pleasant experience but it got them to where they needed to go. Quickly surveying the area for any potential threats, he found them to indeed be on the rooftop of a high building and his Exo-armour's sensors picked up the strong winds around them.
Having downloaded the blueprints and layout of the building from their employer's dataslate, the HUD of his visor then displayed an arrow that would point him in the direction of where they needed to go. There was an elevator shaft and a stairway that would lead down with the former being unfavourable to the Squat in his heavy suit of armour.
'All right, we need to head down to ten levels and from there we get what we are looking for and we get out!' called their employer who wore her wide brimmed hat and gas mask. 'You see anyone wearing white and yellow, don't shoot because they are on our side!' Added their employer and the mercenaries acknowledged the order.
'Right then lets go!' roared Krodien and the various mercenaries both human and alien gave loud shouts or other sounds of acknowledgement.
Several energy surges were suddenly detected inside of the building by the sensors of the CCU, each one was located at various points within the premises. Quickly alarmed at this sudden infiltration, it immediately raised the alarm but most of the security personnel were on the ground floor and engaged with the Chaos attackers. Through the security cameras within the building, the Machine Spirit saw several small groups of carapace or flak armoured individuals sporting a variety of different armaments.
These intruders were not dressed in the same way as the Chaos forces which suggested a separate, third party. The CCU's Machine Spirit had expected this possibility for during the previous conflict that had been referred to by the xeno-aligned rebels as the Great Liberation War, there had been a series of several seemingly random but well coordinated attacks that had taken a heavy toll on the Loyalist forces. The attacks had been carried out by a separate force of xenos mercenaries designated as Eldar with their leader who had single-handedly decapitated both literally and figuratively the high ranking officers of the Imperial forces that sought to protect the planet many years ago.
The Machine Spirit began sending a signal that would activate the various security systems within the building and in mere moments, the first of the machines came to life. Within hidden alcoves throughout the building and placed within now inactive stasis pods, several Combat Servitors equipped with either hand to hand combat or ranged weapons intended for close quarters were activated. Data streamed from the Servitors as they made internal diagnostic checks on their armaments and the reports that soon came in showed that each unit was combat ready.
Taking into consideration the fact that the forces that had teleported inside of the of the building had appeared in areas where there were minimal security forces suggested that they already had knowledge of the building's layout. In all likelihood as well, the Machine Spirit immediately assumed that intruders also knew where the former Regimental Command Staffs was located as well as the location of the CCU's own physical body.
Initiating combat protocols, the doors to the alcoves slid open and the Servitors began to walk out with a slow stride as coordinates were sent to the security units. With weapons primed, the Servitors advanced down the halls in search for these intruders.
Patience was not one of the greatest virtues which Mar-Azytzeen had but it had become a necessary one to avoid being used as mere cannon fodder and in the end, it proved to be rewarding. The war machines and infantry troops of the Sicarus and their fellow Chaos Guard allies were now fully engaged with the enemy flanking them from multiple sides. Having stayed back, The Doom Knight had seen the exchange of weapons fires and with it, he and his company had seen from where the enemy fired from.
Looking to his warriors and sensing the bloodlust that flowed within them, the Doom Knight ordered his warriors to ready their smoke grenades and to prepare to charge. With loud praises to Khorne, the Chaos Knights charged head on into the raging with gauntleted hands held onto the metallic canisters and as soon as they got clear from the infantry and vehicles, they threw those devices ahead. Clouds of smoke immediately began to conceal their path and Mar-Azytzeen heard the high pitched screams of pain from the steeds who had been cut down by gunfire.
Hurling more smoke grenades, the Chaos Knights protected themselves to the best of their abilities while putting their faith in the ensorcelled armour which they wore and in the Dark Gods to see them through and by some strange stroke of luck, they managed to get to the steps leading up to the great tower. With a roar of triumph, Mar-Azytzeen's steed broke through the cloud of gas and into a surprised group of armed enemy soldiers. In one glorious moment where everything seemed to slow down, the Doom Knight took in the glorious image before him.
Men dressed like Imperial guardsmen and wearing suits of dark red armour worn over grey fatigues looked up in shock as they spotted the Doom Knight who immediately stabbed one soldier in the chest with his Chainglaive and he lifted the unfortunate foe off of his feet. The Chain weapon roared as it further cut into the flesh of and bone of the soldier whose comrades were immediately struck down by the other Chaos Knights. Their steeds galloped up the stairs as guns which had been aimed at their allies were now trained upon them.
Bullets and laser bolts struck the Chaos Knights whose imbued armour was capable of absorbing such meager firearms but the larger weapons proved to be more devastating. With one last charge, the Chaos Knights rode up the stairs while hurling fragmentation grenades at the nearest groups of enemy soldiers who leapt out of the way as the explosives landed near them. Eventually they crashed through the front doors in a shower of metal and glass and they came into a wide, opulent room that richly decorated.
To the surprise of Mar-Azytzeen, his warriors were not fired upon by more soldiers and instead they encountered a group of men in full suits of crimson lamellar armour which like those used by the Chaos Knights was designed to emulate the warriors of a past age. Unlike the soldiers, these foes were mostly equipped with thin curved swords and spears which glowed with power fields and some also carried plasma pistols. Their faces were concealed behind fierce, stylized masks and each of them proudly bore symbols of the False Emperor of Terra.
Intrigued by the sights of these knew foes, Mar-Azytzeen immediately found that which he had hoped to find on this world, true warriors. Quickly ordering his warriors to dismount, the Chaos Knights eagerly obeyed as they left behind their cavalry weapons in the saddles of their steeds and they removed swords, axes, maces, spears and hammers which had been sheathed by their hips. Their weapons then began to glow with power fields and the Chaos Knights began to take up formation.
Footsteps were heard from behind them and Mar-Azytzeen glanced back to see several reinforcements from the grey and red armoured warriors and as his Chaos Knights were about to turn around to meet these foes, a deep voice shouted out from the crimson warriors. The grey and red soldiers were immediately halted in their tracks as the leader crimson warriors who carried a banner on his back spoke to them in some foreign tongue. The soldiers hesitantly obeyed and they returned to fighting the Chaos Guard while leaving the Knights to face these crimson warriors.
A smile spread across the lips of the Doom Knight as he began to feel a measure of respect for these crimson warriors who understood the meaning of honour. They would make fine offering to Khorne thought Mar-Azytzeen as he drew a powered sword and he activated the weapon.
Two forces who patterned themselves after the warriors of ancient Terra faced off and with a silent signal, they charged towards each other with war cries dedicated to Khorne and the to the False Emperor. The battle between the Chaos Knights and the Crimson Samurais had begun.
Equipped with the Waywatcher Carbine again, Ellarian cautiously moved forwards while at the back of their group along with Sheia and the Rogue Trader. They had taken a stairway to go down from the roof and so far, they had not encountered any resistance and now they were on a floor that was filled with narrow corridors. He could hear the sound of gunfire from far below and he felt the tremors as the building shook from explosions.
It was not lost upon the Ranger that the Rogue Trader wanted to use the alien mercenaries as meat shields and he supposed that he should be glad to not be there. Ellarian hoped that they would find this sword soon for the disturbance in the Warp been steadily growing. From his experience in dealing with the forces of the Great Enemy, when a place had become tainted by the touch of Chaos, the only sure way to excise it was with fire.
It chilled the Ranger's soul to think that somewhere on this planet; reality was likely now bending with buildings taking on strange new shapes and flesh altering with uncontrolled mutation. It did not sit well with him to simply leave the Chaos forces to their plots for the Great Enemy was the bane of all life in the Universe. He felt like there was something he could or should do but try as he might, he was simply one Eldar and he doubted that he could pull off some great deed that would rival the ones of Eldanesh or the Phoenix Lords.
Still he supposed that given his skills as a Ranger, perhaps he did not need to take the warrior's approach. Perhaps if he could assassinate a leader or sabotage some key elements of their army then he would have done at least something to strike a blow to the Forces of Chaos. It was all something that would have to wait for he had a more immediate concern now.
The warp disturbance which he had felt seemed to lessen the closer they moved towards one direction which also seemed to be where their target was. Most likely he realized that these humans they were supposed to be stealing from had psykers of their own who were using their powers to protect themselves from whatever sorcery the Chaos forces might employ. Having had the unfortunate experience to face enemy psykers in the past, Ellarian would not have been surprised if soon, they were assailed by opponents who could conjure up storms of warp lightning.
One of the mercenaries ahead of them, a reptilian loxatl began making a series of hissing sounds and several of their company immediately stood at attention. From the back of the group Ellarian saw vaguely human-like figure step into view and he saw the several cybernetic implants that were attached to its flesh and the weapon that replaced its arms. Before the horrid cybernetic slave could turn around and point its gun at them, a barrage of fire from various alien weapons slammed into the creature and knocking it off of its feet in a shower of blood and chemicals.
A loud mechanical screeching sound was immediately heard and it was followed by a loud crash behind the walls to their right. The Ranger's eyes widened in shock as the wall suddenly exploded in a shower of dust and masonry as something large slammed into the group. Alien blood was spilled as another, larger and more muscular cybernetic thrall equipped with twin chainfists tore into the ranks of the mercenaries.
Unable to get a clear shot without hitting one of the mercenaries, Ellarian watched in mounting dread as the hybrid creature spun about and cut down more of the alien before a well placed laser bolt from Merelen Cyierk took its head clean off.
'Don't just stand there! Get to work!' bellowed the human female and the mercenaries quickly began to scavenge from the bodies of the dead while carrying off their wounded or putting them out of their misery. The alien mercenaries clearly were not pleased and the three human ones who had accompanied them seemed to tense up.
'I don't think they like you now' whispered the human in the Imperial guard uniform as he tightly held onto one of those shotgun type weapons.
'As long as they know who is in charge' coldly replied the Rogue Trader who carried onward.
Looking towards Sheia whose red lens gaze was focused upon him, he imagined that underneath the helmet was a look of disapproval. Ellarian himself was not sure what to feel for had they been Eldar, he surely would have been horrified but as they were aliens of various lesser species, he did not feel quite bothered by it. The only thing that did bother him was the idea of facing more enemies with a significantly lesser degree of assistance which he could count on.
More explosions and gunfire were heard and felt from below and Ellarian wondered how the companions of the Rogue Trader fared. As he took another step he began to feel a strange psychic presence at the back of his mind and he instinctively tried to steel himself from its influence.
'Alien, alien can you hear me?' came a feminine voice within the Ranger's mind which had a crude, human pattern to it.
'I can, yes' was the cautious, telepathic reply of Ellarian who like many Rangers was skilled in the art of Thought Casting. 'Who are you' questioned the Ranger for this close to the Forces of the Great Enemy, there was the possibility that it was some daemon of the warp who may desire to posses him.
'A friend, alien' quickly replied the feminine voice 'I am part of Madam Cyierk's crew and you must know that a new development has occurred.'
'And how do I know that you truly are no daemon?' asked Ellarian.
'Look to the floor behind you and do be careful would you' replied the voice and the Ranger turned back, he heard the loud sound of gunfire from the floor below and he saw a volley of primitive slugs rip through the surface and up into the ceiling above them. 'Now do you believe me?' asked the feminine voice.
'Yes, I do now' answered the Ranger as the attentions of those in his company were drawn towards where the bullets had torn through floor.
'Good, because I need to keep this brief' said the feminine voice and Ellarian listened to her.