A/N:

Got the next installment served up and ready for y'all. Hoping y'all have a great end of the year. This chapter isn't as fully impactful as I hoped it would be, but I've been having a hard time writing recently and haven't been able to get a whole lot done. Still, I got the gist of what I wanted across. The rest of it will have to come later. I think I've narrowed down my writing hardships to the fact that I am writing back-to-back chapters. Finally hit the point in the story when I can time-skip without glossing over a ton of detail, so that should help. Pacing twenty-something chapters of near back-to-back is rough.

Disciple of Ember- So many fun things going on in this story. I don't think that it is possible to be Ordo Xenos and a puritan, which is part of the reason why I feel secure writing such crackpot characters into Helsing's retinue. Makes things more vibrant in the grimdark. Also, don't worry about Helsing's love(r...?). She won't be as hard to figure out.
drSpliff- I'm giving it all I've got, Cap'n! Don't know why, but your name made me think of Scotty. It could just be because I'm tired. But I can assure you that getting the little encouragements does help get me back on the keyboard.
BIBOTOT- I could have just been imagining things. Could have sworn someone had mentioned in a review or PM that they were trying to co-write a story. For some reason thought it was you. I don't know, I might just be going crazy. Either way, glad you enjoyed the chapter.
89- I know, it's great, isn't it? Louk gets to have so much fun in this story. Between getting shot up, beat up, yelled at, sneered at... He's such a champ.

Iora, Present Day

Louk was having seconds thoughts about leaving his home. He eased his way along the main thoroughfare of the Iora, leaning heavily on his polished adamantine cane. He wore a thick coat to protect against the onsetting winter chill, for all the good that did him. The narrow streets made for bitingly cold winds. His cheeks burned from the sharp breeze slapping his face. This was why he did not go out. He hated the winters on Tenea. They were cold and miserable. And worse every year. Just a few blocks made him regret his decision to go out. He did not even know what he went to look for. Sightseeing held no interest for him. He knew the few achievements of the city's builders. And he had no great interest in visiting the noisy markets.

Seeker walked with him, slipping through the crowd as if she did not exist, always managing to remain at his side no matter how thick the mob pressed. She was invisible in the crowd, a creature of shadow. No one paid her a glance. Her simple robes did not stand out amongst the bright yellows and blues of the natives. Always by his side, she remained a silent companion for his company. Her hands were hidden inside her sleeves, head down. Even so, she walked with clinical precision, avoiding objects and people as if she had the whole street memorized.

Some little ways behind them, Jaycel trudged along with one hand resting pointedly on the butt of his laspistol. He wore a simple military jacket, devoid of any markings. A broad combat bayonet was sheathed on his opposite hip. He was deadly with either weapon, and the power in his gait assured any in eyesight that he was not one to mess with. The crowd parted around him as if he had a disease, no one wanting to risk angering the intimidating man.

Today had been a bad day to go out. It was cloudy, windy, and the streets were crowded. He hated this world. The streets were clean, the people didn't have a care in the world. It was as if none of them remembered the gruesome war that so briefly but violently touched the planet only so far away. The people of Tenea had a short memory for serious matters. Louk doubted any of them truly knew the danger that had visited their planet. How closely the Inquisition still watched them.

Their ignorance was terrible and pathetic. People like this infuriated him. Should every Imperial citizen realize the dangers that the galaxy held, the if they put their faith in the Emperor as should be, every foe that mankind faced could be swept away. It would be a glorious thing, but never one to be realized. Louk held too intimate a knowledge of the nature of man to dream that mankind would make the right choice. Mankind was lazy, selfish, absorbed in his own sins. That was the way it had been, was, and would always be.

"What a waste" he muttered under his breath.

"Is it?"

Seeker could not possibly have heard him, not with the low rumbling of the crowd all around them. He cocked his head to the side, watching her for any sign of her thoughts. It would be easier to read the mind of a helmeted Astartes' warrior.

"You were saying, Inquisitor?"

Of course she had heard him. She missed nothing. Her name fit her well, because nothing escaped her vigilance. Apparently, even stuck in the middle of a bustling crowd, her hearing was razor sharp.

"I said it is a waste" he repeated, knowing now that she had heard him. She seemed to understand exactly what he meant, but had the decency, or respect perhaps, to ask him to explain.

"What is a waste, my lord?"

"All of this" he gestured around. "None of these fools understand what it costs for them to be able to live like this. They don't understand the lives lost, the worlds that burn so that more might be saved. It disgusts me."

"Disgusts you? That they should enjoy the peace and prosperity that others' provide them?" Seeker slipped a little closer. "Isn't that what the Inquisition fights for? Those innocent rest easy knowing that strong men stand guard in the night."

"Innocence and decadence are two entirely different things, Seeker."

"I see no decadence here." She raised a gloved hand and pointed across the thoroughfare. "I see mothers walking with their children. I see merchants selling the goods they bought from the farmers so that the citizens may eat. Is that decadence?"

"You know full well that is not what I am referring to" he grumbled. "It runs deeper than that. It lives in the nobles that flaunt their unearned wealth in petty displays of power to impress their rivals. And in the darkness beneath the streets where men kill and steal for their own gain. I have seen both extremes of society, Seeker. They are all the same. Evil and fault, in the hearts of all."

"I have heard some say that is the strength of mankind. It takes power to look at one's own failings and strive on regardless. True, there are many wanting in the realm of man. But there are many who know their value, who fight harder than any other race, to protect those who they know do not understand."

"Most would call that helpless folly."

"And others would call my words heresy." She seemed to give a dismissive shrug. "That is the fascinating concept of mankind. The other races, whether by choice or by nature, strive towards a common goal. With the Orks it is battle. With the Tau, unity. The Necrontyr desire the death of all that is not thei-"

"Necron." Louk whispered. Seeker paused, perhaps thinking over the word she had used.

"I have heard it both ways" she admitted. "Their ancient name, their formal name, is Necrontyr."

"And you know this how?" That was something that even a dedicated remembrancer would not know. It took very specific study to know something, anything at all, really, about the dead race.

"I have studied much" she replied. "You are only one of my interests."

He thought he detected a trace of unease in her answer, but there was no way to know for sure. And this was hardly the place to confront her on such knowledge. So he let is slide, and continued on his way up the grueling slope that led to the Parthenon of the Emperor.

"You were saying, Seeker?"

"Yes. I find great value in mankind's diversity. Even the Eldar, a race that once ruled the stars, confine themselves within the concept of restraint and self-control. They have shut themselves in from the galaxy, hiding behind their own devices instead of taking a firmer hand in holding back the tides of darkness."

"That's a rather simple view of things, don't you think?"

"I do not know what you mean, Inquisitor."

"I've met some Eldar, in my time." He chuckled softly, the tightness in his lungs reminding him that he was too old to enjoy a good laugh. "Of course, that's why you are here. Yes, they do not bring their full power to bear. And you are correct that they live on a diet of sacrifice and pride. But it is also true that they hold back for a reason. I have seen firsthand what the Eldar are capable of."

"The good and the bad?"

"No. I have only seen the good." Louk grimaced at the memories. "But that is enough to imagine the bad. There is a reason the Eldar no longer rule the galaxy. And perhaps it is better if they remain in the shadows. The galaxy could not survive another Eldar empire."

"You would prefer they disappear?"

He considered her question carefully. There were many ways to answer the question, because there were many outcomes for each answer. And none of them could give him any peace. Not anymore.

"I would prefer" he began, choosing his words carefully, "that they continue fighting the darkness on their own. Their elaborate machinations are almost as dangerous to us as to the true Enemy."

"It sounds as if you desire to never see them again."

"And it sounds like you think I might see another before I die" he countered. Seeker fell silent, a response he had not expected. Falling back a pace, she resumed travelling beside him, but remained out of easy conversation. Something he said had troubled her. And he didn't know what it was. Damn it, he hated her. He couldn't stand not knowing what she thought. His entire life he had survived by the ability to read those around him. Knowing a person's mind was the key to defeating them, whether in combat or in politics. He considered himself an expert in such things. But he couldn't get a single thing off of her.

"Well, it couldn't hurt to see one of them" he whispered as the familiar melancholy settled in. He knew full well that she was still listening to him. "There is one I would love to see again. Just one more time, if the Emperor could be so gracious."

The Hound's Call

Once again, the Eldar seemed to have anticipated his arrival. When he came to bring them their daily supplies, Dunker treading carefully alongside him, Sergeant Nicolai himself greeted him at the entrance to the passageway.

"Eldar enter one hour ago" he grunted. "No word from them."

"You think they're doing anything tricky?"

"Nyet. Gutterball watch them from viewport." The burly sergeant stuck his hand out in a stabbing motion, identifying the rancid pile of rags that marked their compatriot. Only in a rusted, disused ship's interior could his stench be masked so thoroughly. Standing just out of the light peeking through the glass, the ratman hid in the dusk between the light and darkness. His grey-mottled clothes blended perfectly into the shadows. A wraith, some had called him. A creature from night tales, designed to terrify children. A good enough description of the mutant, Louk had told himself many times before.

"He enjoying that, looks like."

"Bah. Vermin watching vermin." Gesturing helplessly, Nicolai turned away from the sight as if it pained him. His grimace faded. "I see you bring Dunk'er. Trying to start a war, eh?"

"If I am, better hope you men are better for more than guard duty" Louk said, his face utterly serious. The Thracian's eyes narrowed, considering his words, before he released a massive laugh.

"Ha! Very good. I tell men to double-check magazines. One can never tell with Eldar. Minds like vipers."

"Uh-huh." Casting another look in Gutterball's direction, Louk left Dunk'er with Nicolai and started forward. "He been standing there for how long?"

"Gutterball arrived soon after Eldar assembled. Has not moved since."

"You go over there to check for yourself?"

"No need. Gutterball would say."

"Let's hope so." He approached the ratman and stepped up next to him, curiosity getting the better of him. Offering little more than a huff in acknowledgement, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Gutterball and peered into the room. There was nothing unusual to see.

The Eldar sat around the three tables, engaged in what appeared to be a very intense debate. Lidrana occupied the center of the room, poised so that she faced all three tables as she addressed her fellow xenos. Whatever she was saying, the other Eldar were drinking it in. They listened without interruption, hardly even moved save to breathe. It was very solemn, very still. The only being in the room that showed any real sign of life was Lidrana. Turning precisely on her heel, she stared through the one-way mirrored glass at Louk, her piercing eyes smoldering like coals. She paused, redirecting the whole of her attention to staring him down through the glass. It unnerved him that she could sense him like that. There was no way to see through the mirror side of the glass. He had tried it before. Eldar trickery at work, this was.

"S-s-stupid sow" Gutterball muttered. His nose, the only part of him that was visible underneath his hood, twitched.

"You are peeping on them" Louk noted, ignoring the fact that Lidrana had turned to watch him, not Gutterball. Though they stood close, her gaze carried directly to him. It was his presence she had sensed.

"Struts about like s-s-she owns the ship." The mutant's words, so painfully formed, gurgled in his throat. They sounded very much like a rat drowning in sludge. "Saw her just the other day, escorted by the s-s-snobs."

"Yes, Helsing had a talk with her. He's learning everything he can about them."

"Should just kill them all" Gutterball snarled. "They're xenos. Filthy creatures."

The irony of his statement was not lost on Louk. But it seemed lost on the speaker. The fact that a misshapen, abhorred wretch like Gutterball had found something to look down on… it almost made Louk want to like the Eldar. He did not like the venom in Gutterball's voice. It went beyond loathing. It went much, much deeper than that. Much deadlier.

"They have their uses."

"Eldar s-s-skin make nice leather?" Gutterball turned his head just slightly in Louk's direction. "I wouldn't mind carving that one."

A tingle on his spine made Louk shiver. He could have sworn Lidrana's eyes had flicked over in Gutterball's direction when he spoke.

"You got something in particular against her?"

"That one... " his voice trailed off. "What would I not? She is hideous, vile, xenos."

"Yeah, you've mentioned that one already. That hardly makes her any different from the others."

"I do not like the way she looks at me" Gutterball added. His teeth clicked together rapidly, clacking just like the chattering rodent he resembled. "Like I am lesser."

You are. Louk kept that thought to himself. "Thought you'd be used to that."

"From you wholeskins. These pointy ears are different. They don't have the right. They're our p-p-prisoners."

"Guests, Gutterball."

"Prisoners" he growled back. "Stop pretending they aren't."

The fact that Gutterball was not the first one to tell him that set him on edge. He studied the Eldar inside, noticing that none but Lidrana had looked his way. They seemed oblivious to his presence. That, or they were ignoring him. Neither idea gave him much comfort. Was Lidrana something more? Was she also a witch? Helsing hadn't mentioned just how they were tied together, but he could not shake the feeling that Lidrana and the witch were connected.

"That one is trouble" Gutterball hissed. He idly picked at a little roach that scuttled out from under his robes and bit down on its head. "She is a predator."

"Aren't we all?" Louk dared to slap the ratman on the shoulder, hoping to ease the tension that crawled across his skin. "Don't worry about it, Gutter. She's well guarded."

"She'd be better as a rug. Red hair, that's good for trading. Could get a good spirit from it."

Biting back the myriad of unpleasant images that sprang to mind, Louk shrugged and gave up the conversation. Gutterball's eyes glinted off the light from inside. Louk held his stare for a moment, then turned away when Dunk'er rumbled up. He was glad for the excuse. An unhealthy shine had taken the mutant's face. He was one nasty freak.

"Ready to go in, big guy?"

"In?" Dunk'er's face twisted in confusion. He had most likely already forgotten the point of this visit.

"We're going to go talk to the Eldar."

"Oh… da guests! Yah!" The Ogryn nodded furiously, his jowls slapping about like a canine's. "I like dose guests."

"I'm sure you do, big guy. Now come on and help me get their food in." Louk made a show of reaching for the container. The Ogryn picked it up, eager to be helpful, and together they moved to the door. Remaining at his post, their ratman ally continued staring through the glass, a derisive sneer on his muzzle. He would be there for some time, Louk mused. Gutterball had all the markings of one of his obsessive states that he often fell into. Once he picked out a target, he couldn't let it go. Apparently, Lidrana might have become his new target. He'd have to talk to Helsing about that.

The Eldar all turned to observe his entrance, the collection of heads swivelling like dolls. The little one, he saw, glanced past him at the monstrous Ogryn with wide eyes. It smothered the unbidden response in a heartbeat, smoothing its face to resemble the featureless expressions of the others. That subtle response was enough to warn Louk that this would most likely not end well. Children were children, no matter their race. If that child was terrified of Dunk'er, it was going to react exactly how he feared it might.

"Brought your stuff" he said, addressing Lidrana moreso than the others. Pointing to a spot on the wall away from the Eldar, he gestured for Dunk'er to set it down over there. The Ogryns trundled over and set it down as carefully as he could, which meant it slammed into the floor with a loud enough clap to make the child flinch.

"Your duty is completed" Lidrana told him, a frost edging her words that made it clear he was not welcome.

"Not quite." Waving Dunk'er over to stand beside him, Louk took a long breath to gather his thoughts. "Got another reason for being here."

The slight stiffening of her shoulders was her only reaction to his announcement. The other Eldar rose, as if by unspoken command, and maneuvered around him to get to the container. They seemed to think that their part of his business had concluded. Ordinarily he would have felt relieved. Speaking in front of crowds, no matter how small, was not his forte. He would rather do this privately with Lidrana than to the whole group. But Helsing had given him specific orders to address the whole group. Throne!

"I have a message for you. All of you."

The Eldar ceased moving and turned back to regard him. The soldiers, ones like Ulain and Rhaegar, stiffened. Louk knew enough about orders from watching the lieutenant and her sergeants to understand that there was a fine line between an ultimatum and a command. The way he had just spoken had probably come across as the former. Eh, whatever.

"Deliver your message."

He stared at them all, trying futilely to compose a proper apology. This was something he should have planned out ahead of time. Some inane words to spit out and get over with. Even if he had, he'd be stumbling over it now. Lidrana's impatience showed as she glared at him. His throat closed, his tongue rested like dead weight. He could have sworn that a few traitorous beads of sweat welled up around his collar.

"I… uh…"

If he hadn't known the Inquisitor better, he might have wondered if Helsing just wanted to screw him over. This was some bitching penance to pay for. Penance!

"I considered what I said the other day," he began, fighting to remember just what it was that she had said. "There's a hel- whole lot going on right now, more than I am used to. What I did may have been uncalled for."

He got no response from any of them. The silence that followed was broken only by Dunk'er's heavy, guttural breathing. The Ogryn appeared oblivious to the seriousness of the situation. He was gazing about at the assembled Eldar with open curiosity, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"I owe you an apology" he ground out, gritting his teeth. The Eldar remained silent and unreadable. "The both of us. I made a mistake bringing Dunk'er in here. That was… stupid, of me. He meant nothing by what he did, but I won't bring him back again."

Lidrana continued to stare him down, showing nothing more than a faint spark of attention in her gaze. Uncertain of what else to say, Louk crossed his arms over his chest and glanced over to the Ogryn, who started in surprise.

"Uh… yah. I's sorry too" he grunted, though it was clear he was struggling to remember what he had done. Lidrana made a show of suppressing her derisive sneer, though not much of one. Louk took a short breath, then looked around to the others, seeking some sign of acceptance or understanding. Might as well have been looking for a wall to buckle.

"Is that the sum of your message?"

"It is."

"Then consider your message received." She made a short, cutting gesture with her hand that might well have been a dismissal. Turning her back, she joined the line for food. Louk watched her, wondering if this was what Helsing had wanted. He had no response to send back, no confirmation their understanding, or even their approval. Politics was not his strong point. He needed things to be blunt and honest. The Eldar were neither.

"Come on, then, Dunk'er." Louk patted the Ogryn on the shoulder to draw his attention away from the Eldar. "Let's go."

The whisper-soft scrape of fabric shoes alerted him to the approach of one of the Eldar. He knew without looking that it was the child. The other Eldar were far too quiet to betray any sound unless they willed it. The footfalls were tense, forced. The quiet in the room grew even more still.

When he turned around, the Eldar child stood just out of his reach, gazing up at him with its gaping, inhuman eyes. They were wide, alight with a blossoming intelligence that had yet to reach its full potential. Curiosity poisoned its mind, reflected in a humility that was entirely unEldar and distressingly human.

Aware that the Eldar warriors had turned to watch, Louk cleared his throat as quietly as he dared and faced the child. It said nothing. Hands clasped together in front of its stomach, it lifted a single finger and pointed to the Ogryn's massive back. Louk punched Dunk'er in the arm to get his attention. Confused, the Ogryn swiveled about and looked around, taking a moment to realize that the one who wanted his attention stood little taller than his own waist. Glancing downwards, Dunk'er started in surprise and took a step back.

The Eldar child stared up at the towering creature with barely restrained fear. It reached out its hand, seeking out the Ogryn's massive paw with its own thin fingers. Wrapping around his massive thumb, the child coiled its fingers about the thumb like a saber hilt. It took Louk a moment to realize the child was attempting to shake the Ogryn's hand.

He laughed. He couldn't help it. The absurdity of the situation astonished him. The child looked over to him, eyeing him with a look that bordered somewhere between indignation and hesitation. Oblivious to it all, Dunk'er lifted his hand a little in a pale mockery of a handshake, a bemused smile on his face. He chuckled as softly as an Ogryn could, understanding that something was worth laughing about.

Some of the Eldar exchanged uneasy glances. Ulain took a step forward past the others, closing in on the child with a protector's urgency. She advanced to the child and put a firm hand on its shoulder. She spoke in her exotic Eldar tongue to the child, who released the Ogryn and stepped back, head lowering to examine the floor. Ulain guided her back to the others, but not before offering Louk a thin-lipped not-quite-grimace. And that was it. Louk gave the Eldar one final look, noting now that several of them were pretending to ignore him, but were shooting sidelong looks his way.

When the hatch shut behind him he let out a deep breath. Gutterball slunk out of the shadows, the arrogant smirk on his muzzle confirming that the mutant had indeed watched the events inside.

"Well, now we k-k-know who the craven is, Reaper."

Louk glared at the ratman, his hands tightening into fists. "Watch yourself, shithead. Or I'll shove that twitching snout so far up your ass you'll be licking your Throne-damned tonsils."

"S-s-sure thing, Reaper" he replied, amusement coloring his voice. "Won't say a word about you grovelling to the d-d-damn pointy-ears."

"What the feck are you even doing here, Gutterball? You got a reason to be up in this area?"

"Do I need one?"

No, Louk thought bitterly. As a member of the Hounds, Gutterball had every right to be here in the Eldar's quarters. Most chose to avoid the place as if it had the plague. They couldn't be caught near it without Helsing's orders. They loathed it, reviled it. Some even created excuses to escape an order to the Eldar quarters.

He did not like the idea of Gutterball lurking around the Eldar. Something about the mutant being in the passage made his skin crawl. The others looked at the Eldar like strange, exotic creatures. Gutterball looked at them like prey. No way this side of Terra that could end well. There was nothing he could do about it, not by himself.

He would have to broach the topic with Helsing. There wasn't a good way to go about it, he knew that. If Gutterball was told to stay away from the Eldar, he would know that Louk had a say in it. Gutterball held some nasty grudges. And this was just the sort of thing he would hold a grudge over. It wasn't the staying away from the Eldar part that would do it. It was the being told to stay away. Just another time when the wholeskins pushed him down. Oh, there'd be hell to pay if he did that.

He wasn't sure which was worse. But he knew that the gleam in Gutterball's eyes set off warnings in his mind.