Serfs were setting off to cannon control centers. I took a seat in a shuttle going to the bridge with naval officers and enginseers. A lieutenant and two midshipmen in plain grey tunics with shark badges on their chests leaned over a dataslate, their talk too quiet to hear from my back seat. When it rolled out of the bay, the serfs all bowed their heads in silent prayer. Whispering litanies of battle and danger, I reached for the belt only to recall I'd left both weapons in the room. What a blockhead I'd become losing myself to neurotic musings, I thought, my mind fuzzy despite days of concentration and purification rites. Days after the trial, the faint longing for the power bestowed and withdrawn hadn't gone.
The calm of the barge had given way to the habitual fuss of a void battle. Commands and announcements clamoured every second, enginseers were exchanging loud remarks in the binary code as they scurried around giant terminals on the bridge. Instead of white lamplight the ancient platforms were basked in blood red of emergency lamps.
Above all, on a throne of steel between the stairway to the navigator spire and the sigil-encrusted dome of the Machine Spirit, Tyberos sat clad in armour, his chainfists and bolter ready for any boarding actions. The elite terminators of his guard stood to attention along the edge with activated power spears. A large hologram of the ships prepared for the engagement was spinning slowly over the inset projector in the center of the platform. A level lower was the main control terminal where the barge's decorated captain was shouting orders into the vox.
'Check the shield generators! Redirect all reserve energy to the main gun modules!'
I stared at the unknown object that could dock dozens of barges like the ours in its bowels. Perfectly round in shape, it was strewn with small points that formed weird patterns on its surface. It was moving towards the fleet that had slowed down to the minimum.
'What's this damn ball?' I asked the navy lieutenant climbing the stairs to the upper platform.
He frowned. 'An especially vile kind of xenos, ma'am. Haven't fought against 'em yet, but heard much from the Captain. They roam around in their battleships blowing up every vessel they come across. Every point on the ball is a cannon.'
On the middle level I stopped to look for my friends in the crowd. There were grey shapes of the Sharks towering over buzzing serfs but no red or purple or plain ceramite anywhere. My friends were probably locked in the living quarters or the forge. I took out my dataslate and opened the menu to connect to the ship network. Once the link was established, a popup window flashed red in the corner of the screen. 'Inquisitor, Lord Tyberos demands your presence near the main command terminal.' With the slate in hand I hurried up, scrolling down the list of channels on the run.
'Put it back or you miss the majestic sight, Inquisitor,' Tyberos' bass roared from the above. I flinched and nodded, stuffing the slate into the pouch. My fingers stiff with weakness and anxiety, I missed, and the slate slid out on the steps and rolled down. I ran after it but a sailor on the platform underneath caught it and handed it to me.
'My lord, I didn't notice the barge leave the warp,' I shouted to the Chapter Master.
'Because they have stumbled upon us on the warp road. If we exit the Immaterium now, we will get into the heart of a white giant. Such battles are rare everywhere but the outer dark where older races keep to their approved tactics.'
'Do you know these ones well?'
'Better than most. Better than I would like to.'
'Are my people safe, Lord Tyberos? I couldn't even send them a message.'
'It will wait, Inquisitor. Let them do their jobs. The main control center needs a seasoned tech-priest to watch over the battle and no less seasoned fighters to guard it.'
I walked between the terminators and stopped before the hologram. A long list of parameters appeared under the projection of the alien ship at my touch.
'It's almost two times bigger than the Phalanx,' I said.
'And five times as strong in firepower. What a luck to come across them after a few void battles without repairs.'
'Risky to go on raiding in such state.'
He shook his head, and I realised the lack of sense in this remark. 'Inquisitor, we are nomad-predators since the Wandering Ancestors left the Imperial space. Only in times of the Grey Tithe the Mechanicus allow us to visit forge worlds.'
I changed the topic. 'Are these xenos pirates who want to claim your loot?'
'Opportunistic hunters. Their thirst for fighting is second only to Khornate armies of berserkers.'
'That's why you've prepared for boarding.'
'These are mere rites of battle. If the Papalotl strike for serious, they will blow us to pieces with a few salvos. But I remember what the Ancestors had sworn on their way beyond the last borders. We have got no grave but the void, and so it will be until the Void Father Himself lifts our vows.'
I found the name of the race in the description of their mobile fortress, and another holographic image appeared under the battleships. A sleek arthropod silhouette similar to a giant moth with six long limbs and four wide wings with the same patterns as the rows of cannons on their ship.
'Were there butterflies on the world you come from?' said Tyberos. 'Imagine a butterfly three meters in height clad in a power exoskeleton. They were peerless sailors in the times after the Great War in Heaven but dabbled in sorcery foul and forbidden. The capital of their empire turned to a wasteland inhabited by abominations, daemons were ravaging their systems incessantly. So it was until the Old Ones turned their eyes to the border between realspace and the Immaterium torn by the daemonic spells. Among them was Lileath whom the Aeldari know as the Maiden, the one who watches over planets of wilderness and sends prophetic visions. But peoples of the Maelstrom and wanderers of the void honoured her as the Lady of Tides, mistress over the Great Sea and creatures of aether who dwelled there before the Chaos corruption. Her wrath begot a tremendous wave that rolled through the warp. Once the Papalotl felt the gathering storm, they hurried to their fortress-ships in terror, and the tempest threw them away like grains of sand and swept over the daemon-ridden planet. Until now on they have been roaming across the galaxy, afraid to return to their lost home for the shame of their ancestors' sins.'
'Didn't expect that eloquence from you, lord!' I said, entranced by the beautiful legend. 'Even Inquisitors who dig that deep are very few.'
'The outer dark tells its stories to those who are eager to listen. Now beware. The fleet will enter the range of their cannons soon.'
I opened the characteristics of the xenos' weapons and defences. 'They don't have void shields, unlike us. Our cannons can strike through their plasma shields.'
'Have another look at the generators. We don't have enough energy to power all the shields and cannons at once.'
I leaned over the platform edge, looking at the captain's screens over his shoulder. Most of the generators connected to the shields and the main guns were green, the yellow ones powered smaller batteries on damaged modules. But now, after a closer look, I noticed grey disconnected compartments here and there.
White points came flashing on the smaller screen next to the energy monitor. At the same moment the barge shivered from top to bottom. The impact threw me aside, and I rolled between the terminators down the steps. Emergency lamps were flickering in a feverish rhythm, the sirens' drawling wail drowned out the orders. I bumped my shoulder against the railing and got up holding to a sailor's outstretched hand.
'They've teleported torpedoes, ma'am,' he said. 'You're unarmed. Sorry for the advice, it would be better to send a messenger serf for your armour and weapons.'
'How many of our anti-torpedo batteries working?'
'Sixty percent, ma'am. Until this hit.'
He stepped aside to let me close to the screen. The yellow shields and a third part of the greens had turned red. The living quarters and the reactors were intact but only half of the bigger cannons had been spared by the first attack.
'Ten compartments of the lower decks destroyed, sir!' a trembling voice shouted from the speakers.
'Only the empty ones, the Void Father is merciful,' the captain grunted to himself tapping on the screens.
The next jolt shook the platform so the captain slammed into the screens. I gripped the railing with both hands and froze up. Absolute silence hit my ears worse than the crazed howl of sirens. Darkness fell over the bridge.
Then a mechanical voice clamoured with pitiless indifference. 'Critical damage to the energy systems. Unable to project the shields. The ship network will be shut down in five seconds. Five. Four. Three.'
'I thought space marine barges should be tougher,' I grumbled more to myself.
'I thought space marine chapters should have a homeworld to have their barges repaired,' the captain snapped from the dark.
'Librarians, build a kinetic shield over the main reactor!' Tyberos roared from his throne over our heads.
Librarium. Librarium. The thought flashed in my hazy mind, sent an adrenaline wave through my body. Power. A source of power. Unguarded. Evil. But lesser evil. An urge stronger than before. Warm blood trickled from the wound down the sleeve. The last chance. For the crew. For me. I started a litany trying to give it a better thought but the explosive mix of fear and lust for power didn't let me recall more than the first words. The urge I had wanted to muffle with the ideas of duty for years. With the indoctrination. Every Inquisitor turns radical. Most think I'd already made my own turn. Power. I shouldn't die today. I pressed both trembling hands to the pulsing solar plexus.
The wisp of crimson was radiating away in the black depth, invisible to the physical eyes. I took a deep breath, clenched my jaws and ran forward, my psychic glance locked on the sorcerous flame, jumping over the unconscious sailors. The barge had drowned in impenetrable inky black of the ocean bottoms but the sixth sense led me through the corridors with unbelievable speed. I could swear I'd only passed two or three crossroads but I was already standing before the gate of the Librarium.
I pushed the deactivated door, and it slid open. Embers from overturned censers were smouldering on the floor, giving the same ominous shade of crimson to the billowing smoke. The energy field had failed but the blessed sigils still suppressed the whispers from the lockers. They burned to the touch when I tore them off the lock. The case opened by itself once I removed the wards. The small box soared out spinning in the clouds of smoke. I reached for it with both hands, and the shard fell out to my palms.
A surge of might nearly ripped my soul away from my body. Quiet whispers turned to words. Words of promise. Words of power. I shook my fist with the shard, and a massive artifact stand rose over the floor like it was nothing and bumped into the vault. Data crystals and artifacts came down like hail on the tables and stalls.
'The might of sorcerers and kings,' a familiar voice whispered. 'The barge will perish. A word, and the shard will take you away. To anywhere you want. Make your sacrifice and rise.'
Shaking with power much bigger than I could wield, I held my breath, fearing to shatter the damn barge with a single flinch. Wrong. Something utterly wrong. Something that will make me a puppet, not a queen. If I escape alone. I breathed out, ready to drop the shard but stuffed it into the pouch instead. I'll be careful. Maybe one day I'll train well enough to manage its power by little, not channel it mindlessly.
Wiping off sweat and blood, I pushed grimoires away from the couch and sat down. Nothing remained but darkness. But emptiness. In a second the world will break apart in a burst of unbearably bright fire. No grave but the void. I should have gone to my friends instead. I'd abandoned them. We're born alone, we die alone. What if we don't meet beyond the last gate after these bloody minutes of weakness?
A white lamp lit over me. Hisses and cracks came from the wall speakers. Far away, Tyberos was shouting at someone. 'You have violated the deal, Chieftain!'
An artificial voice answered, 'You are to blame, Lord Reaper. You have removed the beacon from your barge. There are many unworthy armadas around on these lost routes. We will work it out on Oldshadow if your systems last long enough to get there.'
'Volentia, are you fine?' Taphius called from the gate. 'What terrible mayhem. It will take hours to put everything back on the shelves. Still, it was wise to get here from the bridge.'
He waved his hand and flopped down next to me, squinting at the mauled locker. I prepared for the most problematic discussion but he paid little interest to the mess.
'Lord Tyberos was speaking to the xenos commander,' I said.
'Aye, he had bargained with this damn genocidal moth even before they took me away from the Black Ship. Hope he'll get the repair costs out of him on Oldshadow.'
'What's that?'
'A nasty place. A very nasty place in the very heart of a warp storm. You've probably read about the Yu'vath.'
I scratched my head. 'The race that vied with the Eldar but lost to human crusades. Black mages and slavemasters.'
'That's one of their trade outposts, now more of a colony of survivors who fled the fall of their kingdom in the Calyx Expanse. They don't openly worship the dark gods here but welcome all kinds of scoundrels on their sorcerous markets.'
'The barge is nearly ruined,' I said. 'Wonder how you managed to fix at least some systems.'
He smiled. 'We have to thank your sage. It was clear he was a great prodigy even on Auriglobus. Here, your wonderworker has repaired the crazed servers of the main energy system with such rare Martian codes even the Master of the Forge was astonished.'
'He's from Holy Terra. Lord Mentor's friends are all special folks.'
'Don't mention this Lord Mentor in our Chapter Master's presence. He once appeared on board in the middle of a warp whirlpool and scared even the oldies shitless. He ordered Lord Tyberos to change the course, and our commander obeyed without questions.'
'Crinitus isn't as fierce as the old pariah but always finds a way to bend the others to his will. I hoped you Sharks could take me away from their control that has gone obnoxious.'
'We're exiles but loyal exiles, you know. But honestly, I can but express my sincere condolences. You're caught if they've decided to have you as a pawn or an agent. Inquisitors are Lord Mentor's favourites.'
I got up to my feet. 'I'll take a nap in my room until we're there.'
'I'd advise you to stay. It will get rough soon.'
The rocking shook the mutilated barge as warp tsunamis threw it up and down in the stormy Great Sea. I recalled the legend of the wave that had destroyed the corrupted alien world and carried their fortress-ships to all corners of the galaxy. The fall of the Aeldari had happened in the same way, the Yu'vath had been smitten and scattered by unknown forces even before the human empire entered the Dark Age. Is this the cost of supremacy for all sentient races?
Struggling with nausea, I repeated the litany of warp travel with an anti-motion sickness pill under my tongue. The librarians and the psyker serfs had gathered before the screen, their voices joint in a choir to protect the navigator.
When the rocking ceased, I lay face down on the couch, too weak to move. Taphius patted me on the shoulder. 'A xenos pilot cutter has found us. The worst hardships are over. If we leave out the other guests of this wonderful place, of course.'
I turned on my back and put both hands under my head, lazily watching the circles of our ships move across the screen after a small dot of the cutter along a meandering pass that led to a planet surrounded by all kinds of vessels large and small. An enormous black object among the docked ships caught my eye. Much larger than even the familiar fortress of the Papalotl stationed next to it, it was elongated and pointed on one side as Aeldari ships.
'Is it a craftworld?' I asked staring at the giant ship.
'It used to be,' said Taphius. 'But I bet it was taken from the knife-ears. Our scanners would have detected the Aeldari.'
The barge had entered the eye of the storm. The gathered psykers headed back to their duties. I got up with effort when Te Kahurangi walked past me.
Taphius raised his eyebrows. 'Where are you going?'
'I have to persuade the old men to take me to the surface. Those alien mages should have answers for one obnoxious riddle I have to break or it breaks me.'
Buckling my carapace on the run, I jumped out of a shuttle in the docks ten minutes later. To my surprise, Aphedron and Imudon were already there, waiting before the entrance of a Thunderhawk.
'It's been a kaboom.' I pulled a wry smile.
'Thank the Emperor that the old bucket is still rocking along,' Aphedron chuckled. 'I bet even a junk shop owner would screw up his mug at this pile of scrap-metal.'
'Except for a Yu'vath then.'
'Oldshadow is a pile of junk much worse and more decrepit than the bucket,' said Imudon. 'I hoped I wouldn't come back here after I'm done with the old job in the dark shrine.'
I didn't dare to ask him for trusty contacts. The more I talk to him, the likelier he finds out about the shard, I thought with vexation. Still I needed to stay close as I felt stronger around the seasoned warriors.
'Are our folks alright?' I asked them.
'Safe in the living rooms. Angel also volunteered but Tyberos insisted on him guarding the machinery with Fluffster.'
Tyberos and Te Kahurangi appeared in the other end of the dock with the usual silent retinue of a terminator squad. Behind them I saw the most unexpected companion. Panaque, in full battle gear and his best cloak, strolled forth with an air of smugness second to Aphedron's only.
'You'll get a rival soon, Magnificent,' I said waving my hand.
He grinned. 'I'm ready for an honest challenge then.'
'Inquisitor, I know why you are here,' Tyberos said as they came level with us.
'If even the Interrogator is allowed to visit the place, his superior has the right to join the expedition.'
'He has served with Ordo Xenos. You belong to the Hereticus. Do you want to rouse the marketplace sniffing around or running after whole bands of heretics?'
'As you've found out recently, I'm quite good at blending with companies.' I put my hand on the pouch to fortify myself with the creepy power of the shard.
He examined my face. 'I guess you will be safer in our company than here.'
Panaque, cheerful as always, walked up to me, nearly bursting with enthusiasm and news. 'Oh, ma'am, we've all missed you. The forge is no worse than your Librarium, I swear. Fluffster has shown me archeotech from the Dark Age of Technology, taught me to write command codes for a few rare ship types. I've helped him to reconnect the energy systems to the reactors.'
I shook his hand. 'Tell them I'm looking forward to joining them again. But for you all, we wouldn't have got even here.' A spark of irritation from Tyberos' aura reached my mind, and I changed the topic. 'You should know more about these winged muggers.'
He scratched his forehead. 'My first mentor mentioned them in his lectures but in those days I was busier with stuffing candies into my mouth every time he turned to the screen. Fluffster has told me much more. Their fortress-ship is made of pure adamantium. They were the race who discovered it millions of years ago. Even the holy Phalanx was probably made in the image of these flying ramparts by unnamed human artisans. Now the Orks are their main foes.'
His jolly eloquence didn't cease during our unhurried flight through clouds of whirling aether. He commented on the ships we passed by, boasted the bits of alien lore he managed to recall from his first months in the Inquisition. Only when the Thunderhawk landed, Tyberos shook his claw at him.
'Sorry, sorry, lord, I'm just delighted and proud…' Panaque jabbered on but Te Kahurangi raised his hand, and Panaque stopped in the middle of the sentence, his eyes open wide.
Through the door entered a tall humanoid shape, long-limbed and gaunt as a skeleton, leaning on a staff topped with a chunk of veined obsidian, and a sulky aura fell over us. Even though I had seen picts of the Yu'vath in manuals and encyclopedies, the reality turned out to be much creepier. Ornate jewelry of black and gold glimmered on the xeno's thin neck and wrists, a cloak of midnight blue embroidered with eerie runes dragged behind the guest. The xeno pulled off the hood of his cloak, revealing a pallid peaked face with fully black round eyes. His bloodless lips moved, and gem-encrusted sharp teeth shone in the lamplight.
'You are welcome to Oldshadow, dear guests,' the xeno said in High Gothic. 'One of your Chapter's gene-sires has often visited this place. And it is not the one called the Night Haunter.' His chuckle sounded like a cough.
'Greetings, venerable trade agent,' Tyberos answered dryly. 'Your drones have already examined the barge.'
The Yu'vath tapped on his staff. 'It will cost quite a lot, even with a discount.'
'I have a claim against Flamewing, the Chieftain of the Wandering Storm colony.'
'He is in the Hall of Commerce now. But your claim will be delivered to him soon so the dispute can be solved to mutual agreement. Trial by combat, if I am not mistaken?'
'Exactly.'
'You will be summoned to the arena in due time. Follow me to discuss the prices.'
He stepped out with relaxed majesty into the cold twilight of the alien city. Panaque ran after the marines. I stopped in the doorway for a second, clutching the shard, then walked out of the Thunderhawk on the specular obsidian pavement.
