Many years after the incident on Eambar, around the same time Imisha lost the use of her legs
Inquisitor Amaron was sitting behind his desk when the space marine scout captain stormed into his office. Word had been sent that he carried a report too important for warp communication. One that had to be delivered in person. A space marine patrol had been sent to investigate a world near the eye of terror where a large Eldar warhost had simply vanished. Ever wary the inquisitor had ordered increased surveillance on the cryptic xenos after he signed the latest truce. Never trust the alien. Trusting the visage on the scout captains face he had been right to mistrust them.
"Report. Where did the Eldar fleet go?" He called up a map of that galaxy on his desk, inviting the captain to highlight the location.
"It is gone sir" the captain stammered.
"You lost it?" The inquisitor was disappointed but not surprised. Tracking eldar fleets was like trying to hunt a fly in a snowstorm.
"No, sir. We found them. They seem to have assaulted a chaos stronghold in that sector. The captain put his armoured finger on a system on the map in front of him.
The inquisitor brought up the details for the system in question. It was much close to the eye of terror than eldar usually ventured. An all out assault on a fortified position deep inside enemy territory was very much unlike their usual tactics. But then again trying to make sense of eldar tactics was a madman's game. To human eyes they were a but a random force in the galaxy.
He threw down the pad and looked up at the captain.
"That's it? An Eldar assault on a chaos world? Why is that so important?"
"Sir. As I said. They are all gone. Both the chaos and eldar forces." The captains was obviously shaken. But by what?
"Calm down and speak plainly brother" Amaron barked harshly at the scout captain. "I understand the eldar and chaos forces had some battle that caused great devastation. While important information I can hardly see how it justifies this urgency. If you feel it warrants further investigation have your chapter send a team to pick up any survivors for interrogation."
"There were none" the captain said eerily. The inquisitor could see the whites of his eyes. There was fear there.
"I find it hard to believe that such a large scale battle would leave no stragglers. Are you sure you looked hard enough, brother?" At this point the inquisitor was getting annoyed.
"Yes." The scout captain's conviction was ironclad. As it should be.
"Explain."
"We scanned the battlefield from orbit. There was nothing left alive. Signs of battle there were plenty. We found tanks still burning, crashed ships and weapons all over the place. But no corpses, no blood. No trace of either traitor, daemon or eldar. All the animals were gone, plants withered and blackened. The entire place is dead. Down to the smallest virus."
The inquisitor rose abruptly from his desk.
"Which side seemed to have emerged victorious?"
The captain remaining silent.
"Brother, you were right to bring this to me. But we need to know which of the sides have this capability! Who won the battle?"
"Sir. As far as we determined both forces were totally annihilated. Warp shadows showed no traces of any ships leaving the system. As far as we can determine they all died there."
Slowly Amaron sat down again, deep in thought. For a moment it seemed like he had forgotten the scout captain in front of him. When he at last spoke he didn't even raise his head.
"Thank you captain. You are excused."
The scout captain bowed and headed towards the door. But in the opening he stopped and turned around.
"One more thing." He hesitated for a moment then spoke again. Amaron raised his gaze to meet the captain's.
"It smelled like...smoke. Even away from the battlefield. Even with no fires nearby."
Amaron froze in his seat. For the briefest of instances it was the inquisitor's eyes that widened in fear. Then he smiled and regained his composure.
"Thank you captain. Your service is appreciated" The captain bowed and left.
"Did you hear that?" The inquisitor uttered into the darkness.
"Yes" a deep voice answered from the shadows. The inquisitor lifted a datapad, recalling a report. The screen filled with the image of a smug faced eldar girl in a homespun dress, wearing a veil white as the first snow.
"An unknown eldar entity in the form of a veiled girl. No heartbeat, smelling of smoke. Capable of taking a bullet from an assault cannon straight to the chest without flinching." The inquisitor lifted the datapad. "These are your words."
"They are. I saw it with my own eyes." answered the voice from the shadows. The massive boot of a terminator armor stepped out from the shadows. The slate grey color meant only one thing.
"So did I" echoed the inquisitor. He didn't turn his head but instead scratched his scarred hairless scalp. "Her information proved correct, didn't it? She helped us capture a daemon that day."
"It did" said the deep voice from within the terminator armor.
"And she brokered a peace treaty on the other rim that has proved very beneficial for the imperium." The inquisitor closed his eyes and two swirling black eyes stared back at him in his mind. And the smell of smoke. Her words echoed in his mind. When the time comes, if left with no other option, I will pull all of this galaxy down with me through the veil.
"Your orders?"
Inquisitor Amaron opened his eyes again, put down the datapad and sighed heavily. They both knew what must be done. The inquisitor had put many a child to the torch for the good of mankind during his days. Even so this one, a xeno, one that had threatened and bullied him, proved especially difficult. But there was but one way forward that ensured the survival of mankind. Reluctantly he let the hammer fall and signed the order.
"Find it. Kill it."