Chapter Five
…..
First of all, I apologize for the long wait. I had been focusing on my Frozen fanfic "Be careful What You wish For," It's featuring Silvanna from Mobile Legends as an OC and Elsa of course from Frozen. It is quite different from Frozen Fics and action packed. So please do support it.
I am updating this fic since I am feeling sci fi attractions thus this. Anyway once more I am not an expert at Warhammer 40K and what I know, I learn from Dawn of War and the bits and pieces I read at fanfics, so don't be too judgemental.
I also apologize for the Admiral, General thingy last chapters. I had no idea what's the difference between the two. Ill edit it alongside the grammar mistakes once I've got time and do some research about it.
If you have an opinion on how to improve the story, post it at the reviews and Ill consider it for the next chapters.
Anyway please enjoy this chapter.
…
Ariannelle smiles completely amused as she observes the ever reddening face of Commander Jane Shepard of the Alliance. The commander had summoned her and Ela Ashbel here a few minutes ago for their "assessment mission" at Omega. Despite being almost mesmerized and rendered a drooling brainless idiot; the crew member whom she had shoved that bad caricature of a drawing that Ela Ashbel drew at the Primarch's goading of her drawing skills.
"It's not that bad!" the rather angry mental hiss of the Farseer echoes inside her brain. If it is done to a regular human, their head might have been turned to mush. If done to any advanced psyker like a Librarian, it would have caused brain aneurysms. For Ariannelle though, it is nothing more than a gentle playful shove from the Farseer of Bleeding Tears.
"Trust me, it is," she replies sagely earning her the irritated ire of the Farseer of Bleeding Tears.
"As if you can do better!"
"Oh I know can, I know I can," replies Ariannelle in still the same all-knowing voice. "I once posed as a painter of the cathedrals of-,"
"I didn't ask for your life story Mon-Keigh!" hisses the irate Farseer beside her whose face is now resembling one who is suffering from constipation despite her eyes focused on the talking Fate's whipping girl who is completely obvious of the other conversation that is being conducted inside the meeting room.
"Ah, ah, remember what your goddess said Ela, don't use that foul word or have you forgotten?"
"Don't use my name you filthy mon-GUUUUUHHH!"
Feeling quite pleased at riling up the ever stuck up Eldar Farseer, Ariannelle focuses on the last part of Shepard's words who had not an inkling that her words were being ignored.
"….and so this is why we need to Omega and find my two targets," she finishes with a pleased expression despite the sweat in her brow and neck showing. Ariannelle has to admit that the human had great mental strength. It is not easy after all to endure the presence of pheromones in her wings when they are excreted by her. Of course seeing that it is a small amount in order to simply mess with the Commander, but still. It's the thought that counts.
"Pardon me, could you please repeat all that you said, but this time make the words simpler and shorter?" asks Ariannelle immediately transforming the face of the Commander into a thunderous scowl.
Before she can explode though, the Primarch raises a hand ready to stop the tirade of words that is about to come out of Shepard's mouth.
"I'm just kidding commander. I know what you're saying. We are going to find two of the people that you are planning to recruit in this little trip of yours," she says with an eye smile. Mind reading is a wondrous thing mind you. It does the trick though to make the scowl disappear in Shepard's face as she takes a deep breathe to calm herself. It seems the distraction caused by the pheromones is gone for a few moments.
"This is not a laughing matter Ariannelle and I would appreciate it if you take it as such. Countless lives are at stake here," Shepard replies frostily making the Primarch just nod to assure her. There's no point antagonizing the human and Ariannelle did get her fun.
"Sure,"
She watches as the Commander sigh once more before looking at them. "This is Omega we are going, the both of you. It is not a place where one treads lightly and contains a lot of dangers. Lawlessness rules it and my advice to the two of you that you stick close to me and let me do the talking understood?"
Ariannelle refuses to snort at the words. If they consider Omega lawless, she does not want to know how they would label the underbellies of the Hive Worlds of the Imperium. Now those are places that could truly test your senses if you don't want to be robbed, eaten or murdered.
"Speaking of which though, other than this mission briefing, there are two things that I want to talk to you about," continues Shepard placing both hands on her hips, her face containing a scowl.
Ariannelle just nods at her to go on since Ela Ashbel seems in no mood to reply at the human commander unlike her.
"First off is how in the world did another of your kind whom I might add I had no idea what to call yet had managed to come aboard this ship without anyone knowing?" she says.
"They only noticed her now?" the amused tone of Ela Ashbel says out loud surprising Ariannelle a bit at the stuck up Eldar Farseer starting small talk. Nine times out of ten of the five days they are in the same eye-view, it had always been her to talk first (and probably annoy) and start a conversation with the Eldar Farseer.
"Oh you meant Isha?" replies Ariannelle.
"Lady Isha!" corrects the Farseer that she promptly mutes.
"Where did you find her?" she asks.
A sheepish expression appears at the Commander's face at that. "Below Engineering playing with a hamster of all things. How did she even get a hamster inside the ship? Woah, woah I'm going off topic here. Her name's Isha?" she asks quite exasperated at going off on a tirade.
"Yes, she is a healer and quite stealthy at that. She tends to keep quiet and loves to explore without any of us noticing it sometime," explains Ariannelle. That is the least she can say for the overpowered mythical being. She had been diving into enough minds in this ship to know that this universe is not yet ready for any knowledge of gods and immortal monsters.
"So she's a healer?"
"I just said that,"
"She knows how to fight?"
"In her own way though I won't recommend dragging her into one,"
"And my answer to my first question?"
"Ahh, the what race are we?" she says throwing a mental poke at Ela Ashbel asking her for her opinion receiving to a scowl of reluctant agreement from the Farseer.
Shepard nods in positive at her words making Ariannelle cross her arms below her breast making sure to push them a little higher to emphasize her chest. It of course serves little purpose other than amusement seeing fate's whipping girl fidget uncomfortable from the rather beautiful sight.
"We are Eldar," Ariannelle begins. "Me, Ela Ashbel here, Taenerya and of course our dear healer Isha; I admit that our appearance might be baffling to you since we look human. Nature has a way of doing things that does not give any explanation at all,"
"So meeting you three is First Contact?" Ariannelle can literally smell the disbelief emanating from the Commander. A passive swipe in her brain explains everything. Apparently in this universe, First Contact with another species is a big thing and needs a lot of pomp and presentation unlike back home where you shoot at anything that does not look, squawk or move like your kind. Seeing that as Shepard "recruited" them to her little suicide mission (ordained by fate); the Commander is in literally deep fucking shit once the higher ups get word that she issued a First Contact with an alien species and recruiting them to something insane.
"Yes, but you don't have to worry about meeting the rest of our kind," explains Ariannelle. "The method we used to travel marooned us on that planet by accident through desperation making the process rather unique and not replicable,"
"What're you talking about? We can't go back home?!"
"Later," the Primarch mentally replies at the mental jab of the Farseer.
"I-I see, that's news," Shepard's relief is plain obvious at that. After all if the four of them are representatives of an entirely new species; not only does Shepard lose four possible members for her suicide squad. She also has to face the music of possibly an angry alien race having their kind recruited by an unknown entity without their say-so.
"Yes, it is. Don't worry commander; we will help your merry band finish off this Reapers," says Ariannelle.
"How did you manage to know our goal?" asks Shepard in a confused tone. She did not after all manage to fully debrief them about that after their first less than stellar meeting.
"People talk….loudly," Ariannelle answers vaguely. There's no way in hell that she's going to admit that she pilfered the information from the woman with the big ass' head a few rooms away.
"I see," Shepard replies in a very unintelligent manner making Ariannelle wonder the mental capabilities of Fate's whipping girl. This is getting too boring for her. She has never been one for dull conversations.
"With all respect Commander we need to go and….prepare,"
"Oh okay, off you go and check for Doctor Chawkwas later for your medical examination," waves Shepard off.
"Certainly," Ariannelle lies smoothly as she exits the CIC room with Ela Ashbel in tow. As far as she was concerned, there's no way that she's going to the examination. She would set enough red flags if they ever got a sample from her. She had been browsing enough through this galaxy's extranet to read that genetic tampering is apparently a big no-no for these people.
Seriously? After years of dreaming and hoping for a galaxy at peace and not embroiled with superstitions, dogma and conflict of every kind, Ariannelle finds this new galaxy….disappointing thanks to the knowledge she managed to glean through the extranet. Sure there is a cooperation among the races but it is not peace, no. It is more like quiet. Corporations and government lackeys full of self-centered politicians and opportunists rule the masses stifling knowledge and growth while preparing laws that serve only themselves. At least back home, people still grow and learn even through the wars that the Imperium fought endlessly. There is a sense of purpose back home and unity even if it is through faith and the simple fact that everything around the galaxy plans to chew you up and spit you out in a thousand different pieces. Here in this new galaxy, people are soft, living their lives in squalor and wasting their days in monotonous lack of sense. There are no dreams, no desire to be among the great ones. Compound that to the also lack of responsibility. The Imperium of Man might be a bloated corrupt dying thing; but if there's one thing that the Imperium stands for is its responsibility on preserving mankind and prevent it from going down the drain in Chaos. Sure many botched such notion up but it's the thought that counts at least.
"MON-KEIGH!" the rather irritated tone of Ela Ashbel pulls Ariannelle out of her thoughts as she looks at the scowling face of the Farseer who had taken off her mask and looking terribly annoyed.
"Finally the dead comes back to reality. I have been trying to get your attention for five minutes. Lesser beings than you have died for making me wait that long," Ela Ashbel says, sniffing that cute nose in derision.
"It's good then that I am not one of those lesser beings yes?" Ariannelle replies in amusement at the rather infuriated look that appears on the Eldar's face. Vanishing her golden armor to her usual tight-suit regalia, Ariannelle lounges on the comfy sofa on the Observation Deck looking at the Farseer whose expression seems to be morphing from one of irritation and is that nervousness?
"Is there something you want to tell me Farseer?"
…
"When you said before that we have no way to return to our home; what do you mean by that?" Ela Ashbel asks looking at the rather distracting but gorgeous form of the female abomination.
Until now she has no idea how the lab experiment had that kind of form that would make the best Artisans of many Craftworlds go green with jealousy. For a half-Eldar, she should be nothing more than a pathetic mass of goo and deformities. Ela Ashbel had once participated on a raid with her cousins from Biel-Tan, a synchronous operation to better tie her fallen Craftworld with the most militant of the Eldar Remnant. Their target had been a laboratory of Tzeentch cultists who had been experimenting what the result would be for the union of Eldar biology to that of humans. They managed to dispatch the cultists no problem and searched for the Eldar samples that the fallen humans had in their possession. Suffice it to say that it was a horror story all on its own as they delved into the facility. Hundreds of glass tubes with half-deformed beings of babies. It did not need an expert to see that this was the result of trying to infuse Eldar to human genome. In the end they glassed that facility from orbit before spreading the knowledge Craftworld wide. Looking at Ariannelle though, she did not resemble any of the deformed monstrosities that she had seen on those labs.
Still, she has a different focus right now and she needs to put aside that complex mystery to ponder about for later.
"As I said to the Commander of course," answers the Primarch with a sigh. "We are stuck here Farseer, plain and simple,"
"You meant we can't go home?" Ela Ashbel asks feeling the starting point of hysteria tinge her Farseer training and self-control.
Like the abomination, she had also read the Extranet about this galaxy. Ela Ashbel's crashed Craftword is very less militant and tends to prefer living in peace on the planet which they call home; however they never did entertain any delusions of fully allying themselves to anyone except their other Eldar cousins. Even then it is only sporadically and in dire circumstances. To read words of information about different species cooperating and trying not to hack each other to pieces. It is as if Ela Ashbel had stepped unto a galaxy gone mad.
If this concept of species is introduced back in their galaxy; it would be the Asari leading the galaxy squaring off with the militaristic Turians who would be enslaving the Volus while dodging elements of the Salarians. The rest of the species; the Elcor, the Hanar and the Drell would be insignificant minor territories that the big wigs would be ignoring. As for the Mon-Keigh (she still can't believer there are also Mon-Keigh in this galaxy. They're like rats, present everywhere), they would be in a contested slugfest war with the Batarians who would be aiming to enslave them.
Unfortunately in this galaxy, such thoughts of hers are not present.
"I thought you're a Farseer. Repeating the same question in different words and expecting the same answer is something I did not expect from you," says the half-Eldar with a bit of a sneer and a teasing tone. Normally Ela Ashbel would explode from the teasing insult but her mind shelved it off as it is focused on something more pressing currently.
"Elaborate!" she snaps in a tone that she rarely uses. She usually reserves it on unruly initiates of the Path of the Seer. It is unbecoming of a Farseer, a paragon of self-control to lose his or her cool after all.
She watches the Primarch sigh as she sits on the sofa folding her arms in front of her which she leaned on with her chin.
"When Isha was freed she challenged the power of Nurgle straightforward creating what seems to be a rift on the Warp. They are exact opposites after all and even the Immaterium gets a tear when two opposite focuses clash quite horrendously. Of course as you already know, your goddess is not as powerful as the plague god himself else she had made good on her escape already. Thus I believe that in desperation she caused that attack in order to had an escape route. If she hadn't done that then our corpses might be added ingredients already to Granpa Nurgle's chemical mixture.
"That doesn't explain though why we can't go back," insists Ela Ashbel.
A small scowl appears on Ariannelle's face making Ela Ashbel involuntary flinch as she feels power leak a bit from the Primarch. She might be a Farseer and a strength on her own right, but Ariannelle is another class entirely. She had been quite used to the rather playful if not annoying and irritating attitude of the Mon-Keigh abomination that she lost sight of her true identity.
"You are a Farseer, Ela Ashbel. Use your head. Travel through the Warp is tricky at the best of times even with safety measures. Time and space is relative there and the laws of physics don't apply. Is it really that great of a wonder to land in another alternate universe that is not ours?"
"But why can't we go back and-,"
"She's right Farseer," a gentle voice like a river stops Ela Ashbel's words making the Eldar fall to her face as she bows in front of their goddess who has apparently entered during the Primarch's explanation.
"M'lady, my apologies for not managing to notice you," exclaims Ela Ashbel at the ground. She mentally kicks herself for not noticing one of their deities.
A sad smile appears on Isha's face as she gestures for Ela Ashbel to stand up from the ground. As usual the white dress that moves like wisps float behind the Eldar goddess. "I can feel your emotions brewing like a storm three decks below dear one,"
"My apologies my lady; I promise I will not-," she stops as the deity raises a hand stalling her explanation.
"There is no need to apologies daughter. Your concerns are valid and you have every right to be worried about your situation. It doesn't make you weak. It just makes you normal like everybody else,"
The Farseer of Bleeding Tears really wants to point out that she's a Farseer and she is expected to act steps farther than what is normal. Still she keeps her peace. If Isha says that it is normal to be worried as such. Who is she to contradict?
Her silence apparently pleased the goddess for she gestures for Ela Ashbel to sit beside her on the sofa. The Farseer can't help but blink though as she notices the furry animal critter being caressed by the goddess at her left palm.
"This is Aryan, I found her sleeping near the engines. Poor little girl got stuck in this ship when it is built," she introduces the hamster.
"You named it after me?" asks the Primarch, her angled eyes blinking. Ela Ashbel can't help but scowl at her lack of reverent respect.
"I planned to name her Asuryan, after the king of our pantheon but it's a she so I just improvised," explains Isha. "We are going off topic though and I believe that my dear daughter here is worried about not being able to go back?"
"She is," answers the half-breed before Ela Ashbel can deny anything to save face.
"I see," eyes of silver stare at her and the Farseer freezes at the gaze. It feels as if her soul is being scanned by Isha.
It remains for a few seconds or so with Ela Ashbel trying to limit her squirming as little as possible before Isha finally speaks: "I'm sorry daughter," her face morphing to one of gentleness and kindness so great that the Farseer feels like weeping.
"I know that you miss your home and you worry for them. You are a Farseer and you are right, you will be sorely missed back at our galaxy. The primarch is right dear one, it is my fault that you are here and trapped in this alternate galaxy. In my haste to escape Nurgle, I teleported us into somewhere where there is no version of him to torture me. I am selfish and in my selfishness I brought you along for the ride with your friend, Taenerya in a pathway of the Warp where Nurgle can't follow me. I am truly sorry,"
"No, no, you have nothing to apologize my lady," Ela Ashbel waves off trying to wipe off the tears that appear on her face. There is a thing about Eldar. No other species in the galaxy can control their emotions better than that of their race. However once the floodgates of thought and heart open, it pours like a dam.
As for Ela Ashbel, yes, Isha was right. Her worry to be back home is because of the perils of the galaxy and She-Who-Thirsts. Being a Farseer (despite newly minted), Ela Ashbel is an asset that her people cannot lose. Add the fact that their Craftworld is buried halfway in undergrowth at the planet they call home and her kin is stuck. However she is also sincere when she waves off the apologies of the goddess. Isha had suffered for so long from Nurgle's hands and Ela Ashbel takes great honor that she is part of the rescue team (despite her doing nothing but running to save her life) that freed their beloved goddess from her prison. Thus despite her worry for her Craftworld, she would not bedgrudge the goddess for what she did to escape the Lord of Decay.
"You make me so proud dear one," Isha smiles at her, caressing her face. "Thank you for understanding my decision,"
Ela Ashbel only vigorously nods her head, the strait blonde locks she has cascading around her face. Somehow the Eldar goddess makes her feel like a youngling when she's being caressed like this. She likes it and that unsettles Ela Ashbel. She is a Farseer after all and like all Eldar, has her pride.
"May I be excused my lady? I need to use this ship's version of a lavatory," she says earning her a nod from the goddess. Standing as respectfully as she can, Ela Ashbel picks up the war-mask of the Farseer and places it on her head sighing in relief as the familiar psychic enhancements and apparatus brings her emotions under steadfast control.
Bowing stiffly at the goddess and nodding at the Mon-Keigh ("Ahem: Isha") correction, human abomination Ela Ashbel walks out of the Observation room to the wash area of the ship where she can hopefully meditate in silence a bit about the reality of the new galaxy that she is stuck in.
…
Isha looks sadly as the door closes behind the form of the Farseer of Bleeding Tears. She meant it when she apologized to her about their being stuck here. During that last bout between her and Nurgle; she had been thinking about nothing else but simply to get away from her jailer. It was after all an opportunity she cannot waste. The things Nurgle did to her day after day without rest or respite nearly drove her mad. Thus she cannot be blamed for making the choice of said escape. If repeated, she would do also the same.
"She's scared," the melodious but confident voice of the Emperor's daughter speaks out making Isha look at the woman clad in a bodysuit holding half of her children's blood inside her.
"Is that concern I hear in your voice Primarch Ariannelle?"
"Maybe, I am also in the same position as her after all and it sucks," she shrugs.
"Are you not scared also?" asks the goddess blinking at the half-blood.
She only chuckles at the question. "I am afraid, I'm just a lot better at hiding it than her. I am designed to look fearless after all. Emphasis on the look part I'm afraid,"
Isha only looks at those beautiful golden eyes so full of confidence, strength and mirth. At least that's what others would see at her, for Isha though, she sees the thin layer of mist beneath all that pile that the Emperor programmed her to be. Her eyes peer through the soul of the being in front of her.
"You had a hard road young one and there is much confusion in you," Isha says out loud earning her a dry look from the Primarch.
"You read my mind?"
"And saw all your life. It is a habit for us deities," she shrugs.
And just like mist, the image of confidence that the Primarch exudes disappears leaving behind a slumped, tired looking beautiful woman, wings drooping at her back. "Then you understand why I agreed to help out this human's suicide mission to destroy genocidal machines?"
Isha only nods in affirmation. She can't help but pity the Primarch; slave to a mission from a father whom she barely knew and acts more like a strict teacher and commander; slave to a desire to make him proud of her; slave to the never ending fear and depression of being found out and called mutant and abomination by the very people she fought for.
In this universe is a new start for them, free from the corruption of the Warp. Maybe just maybe if she steers things the right way, she can avoid the mistakes that befell the Aeldari Empire and that of the Imperium of Man. She can sense no other Warp users in this galaxy other than them and that puts them at an advantage. For now though, she needs to point her confused companions to a direction before they self-destruct on their own personal worries and thoughts.
"Go in this mission Arianne, save lives like you did before and take Ela Ashbel with you. She has great potential but has little experience. Let her learn from you and keep her safe. This might also be what she needs, a new purpose to make her pull herself together. Taenerya also if she wants to,"
She watces as Arianne only nods at her words. Gulping she continues, but this time putting her heart in her words, speaking as the Mother of All to the half-Eldar.
"I know I am not your Emperor, your father Arianne but I am proud of you," Isha says sitting beside her. She can feel the Primarch flinch as her hand touches her shoulder. "You had a good soul inside, one worthy of the blood of my children, even more worthy in fact. Even from where I am caged I saw you and I am not disappointed,"
She can't help but smile at the gobsmacked expression that now adorns the Primarch's face. Said expression of course morphed then to one being slowly filled with joyful tears. Knowing very well how important this is to the Half-Eldar, Isha pulls her head to lie on her lap caressing the long hair gently. She had seen it, ten thousand years of lack of praise and recognition bottled up inside Ariannelle who never stopped wondering what her father would think of her. Despite her bravado and strength there had always been that lingering doubt that makes her wonder if what she's doing was wrong or right.
Letting a bit of the small amount of stored power inside her to fill the room, Isha hums a lullaby of sleep and rest as Ariannelle cries softly at her lap holding her head to her navel. Maybe just this once she can let what little of her power residue leak filling the entire room with feelings of comfort and familial rest. She can't hold it for long due to her lack of worship in this galaxy, but for a few moments it will hold.
Isha smiles as she continues the gentle mental healing that she is doing. This is her purpose and not rotting at Nurgle's domain. This is where she belongs healing the broken, the weary and the lost giving them a new chance at life again.
….
Jacob marches down the hallway heading down the storage compartments a level above engineering. He had been notified by EDI that the battle simulation holo had been used for six hours straight. Now Jacob himself is a soldier and he does understand that sometimes men who walk and talk their profession can be a little trigger happy when it comes to the holo. Six hours however non-stop even for food and drink is something to be concerned about. Even Krogan tends to take a few minutes break before diving in again.
"I just hope that nothing to freaky comes from this pointy eared aliens that the Commander just recruited out of nowhere," he thinks to himself as he follows the familiar corridors.
Long story short, the new extremely attractive but pale colored elven looking beings that Shepard recruited sends shivers down the former Alliance soldier's spine. They are too unnatural from their ethereal beauty, their pale skin, their gracefulness, even their very movement. Too perfect, too far from the norms of what defines as human, heck even one of them had wings, literally. Jacob knows enough of humanity that some religious folk back home might even perceive the said appendages as symbols of divinity. Humans have worshipped things by less.
Still, as much as he favors not being in the same presence as the aliens are (he had nothing against them except wariness), he needs to stop this one from causing itself self-harm.
Arriving at the enclosed room where the battle simulator holo is located, Jacob finds himself nearly skewered immediately as a flying sword nearly separated his head from his shoulders. It is only his Alliance training and minute luck that saved him. In a split second Jacob elected that prudence is the better part of valor and makes a quick retreat out of the room, the door closing behind him. Let the commander deal with this mess about a new team member. As far as Jacob is concerned, it is not part of his resume to deal with flying swords going at the speed of light aiming to remove his brains.
For only a split second though Jacob remembers seeing red-rimmed eyes belonging to the alien before the door closed.
Interesting.
…
Taenerya's breathe comes in ragged gasps as she looks at the closed door with her bonesinger sword embedded at its middle. Taking gulping swallows of air, she rein her turbulent emotions in before Isha can sense it. Eldar after all while masters of their emotional well-being also feel the most once they allow them; and losing her war mask that is the Banshee side of her, is taking its toll on her.
The reason actually is quite simple. As far as Taenerya is concerned, this new galaxy is an unknown to her and thus will contain many dangers not seen or heard yet by any of them from their galaxy. Being a Howling Banshee, Taenerya's specific and only job is to be the corded blade and muscle that will protect the more powerful psykers; in this case Ela Ashbel and Isha so that they can use their more powerful skills and abilities. Her responsibly is doubly important since she will be protecting the goddess that all her people love.
Thus despite her initial misgivings, Taenerya begins the long and painful process of fusing her personalities, Taenerya the Eldar to the Howling Banshee conceived by the war-mask. Eldar minds are not like human ones. In simpler terms they have split personalities depending on the path they are taking. In this case being on a path of Khaine and reinforced by his former war-mask, her alter ego is the faceless Howling Banshee bathing in its prey's blood. To be that without her war mask means accepting it fully, the peaceful Eldar that she is and the warrior, a process that hurts her very soul and mind.
Stumbling drunkenly back at the simulation with sunken eyes, Taenerya looks at the scoreboard. She now managed to kill ten Batarians there before she lost her lunch. Evidence of her struggle can be found all around the former mini bar with deep gouges and rents with the occasional vomit as she struggles fusing her two personalities. Clicking the reset on the simulation, she takes a deep breathe to prepare herself for more killing.
Still she would do this. She must not fail if she wants to serve as a Howling Banshee and be Taenerya at the same time.
…..
Jack Harper, AKA, the Illusive Man reads the report on his data pad sent by Miranda. His hand brings a Cuban Cigar to his lips as he takes in a puff of smoke, the sensation pleasant to his senses. Never let it be said that Jack is a person of class. Said cigars were imported from earth to here specifically and only the richest ones can afford them.
"Interesting," he mutters to himself as he reads the report.
Never did he expect that Shepard would find something on that icy cold hell of a planet that is Alchera. The main reason after all that he allowed the data packet to be given to Shepard is because of Kelly Chambers' insistence that Shepard be on the best frame of mind as she tackles the suicide mission against the Reapers. He never expected that she would find something there, or correction, someone. Of course he was skeptical of the report, beautiful elven like beings and even one with wings and another throwing lightning? That is a story from a fantasy book that even he is having doubts believing; and Jack Harper had seen a lot of things that normally would make regular people doubt.
Other way he would wait for the mission to Omega before he makes any plans into these new cards on the table. Once Miranda gets complete confirmation about their identities, then he can plan. Time is not an issue after all and so is haste. One of his agents embedded on the Alliance intercepted the message of Shepard to Hackett and promptly postponed it till he gives the go for it to be passed.
If this is a dud then he can promptly convince Shepard to throw off the cross-dressers from the Normandy due to them being civilians. On the other hand if they are a new species, then the benefits that Cerberus and humanity as a whole would be great. Other way it is a win-win situation. He looks at the report of the images sent to him by Miranda taken by the ship's cameras.
"Not bad looking at all," he mutters to himself before closing the data pad.
…
"WAAAAAGHHHH!" the massive cry of the Orks challenge the roaring sounds of battle around.
The world of Galaminus Secundus is aflame as large presence of the Chaos forces of the Death Guard challenge the might of the Imperium in this world, the PDF local forces reinforced by the thirty-sixth and seventh Vendolan Imperial Guard with a cadre of Cadian Artillery units as support with the fifth Company of the Raging Claws Space Marine Chapter to deal with the traitors.
The Chaos forces belonging to the realm of Nurgle came en masse into this world as the rage of the Plague god can be felt as he tries to look for his Isha stolen from him. The Imperials on the other hand increased their defenses as rumors of bright light like that of the Astronomican linger with its presence here as reported by the Psykers. This of course sends the Ecclesiarchy to a frenzy moving the Imperial Guard to put up a stronghold in this world till they can send agents to find the relic and source of light.
Good thing too for as the Chaos and Imperial Forces begin their slugfest the Orks came like moths to the flame. Now it's a threeway shootout as each try to fulfill their objectives amid the fighting. The Chaos forces of Nurgle investigating, the Imperials searching for the relic and the Orks clubbing anything and anyone they can get their hands on.
Into this mess, no one noticed the arrival of an Eldar ship silently above the planet.