Karmen woke, her eyes fluttering open despite how much they seemed to wish to close again. She then sensed the absence and turned in the sheets. Attelus was gone, she wasn't surprised in spite of her hammering heart.

With a sigh, she sat up, careful to keep the sheet from falling despite being alone and glanced around. The strange circular room-chamber made from a strange alien material was beyond foreign to her. It was weird there was no humming or tang of recycled air, it was also strange that if she or Attelus approached the edge of the room wanting a shower, the walls would grow out to make a bathroom like they had a life of its own.

It was strange, alien, but also vaguely familiar, like something was ticking in the back of her skull that she had seen this before.

That forced her back, back inside that damned tower lobby, facing down a daemon of The Changer of Ways. Her hands raised in a desperate bid to tear down its kine shield and open it to the withering shots of her friends.

While it managed to not only protect itself with its shield, summon its minions from the immaterium it got inside her head.

Karmen closed her eyes, trying to force the memory away but it seemed to become embedded in her train of thought.

It said it found a blocked out part of her memory, hidden from her and attempted to bargain with her by promising to unlock it for her if she stopped tearing down its shield. She'd refused, of course, snarling The Emperor's Prayer in defiance. A daemon's word was worth less than dirt so far as she was concerned.

But she'd managed it, somehow, and the daemon fell, thrown back whence it came, she'd lost all of her strength and consciousness but she'd succeeded. The irony was that it was a part of Kalakor's plan, but he didn't want her to tear down the shield just "try to" Karmen decided to frig him and did it to prove not just her strength of will and power, but to spite the Space Marine.

It'd turned out to be a mistake as Kalakor had a way to bypass the shield and made Karmen useless for the rest of the fight. It was partly because Kalakor hadn't informed her of his plan, but that was because the daemon might've taken it from her surface thoughts.

Anyway, the abominations of the warp lied, it was a fact as old as the Imperium of Mankind itself. But the strange familiarity of this place and it had claimed that...

Karmen clenched her teeth and shook her head, so hard it sent pain blurting inside her skull. She couldn't, wouldn't dwell on the daemon's claims, in that waylaid madness, which was likely its true intension.

She threw off the sheets and slipped off the bed, and went to retrieve her bodyglove, clenching her teeth to keep her mind focused. A few minutes after she had dressed, the door slid open, and Attelus stepped in, a Lho stick in his mouth, hands in the pockets of his flak jacket as per the norm for him.

It saddened Karmen Attelus had gone back to the dirty habit; it represented a huge regression in his mental health. That and she frigging hated the smell.

'You're awake,' Attelus said as he walked in. 'Good to see, there's some stuff I wish to talk about.'

For some reason that made Karmen's heart shudder. 'Such as?'

Attelus shrugged. 'I suppose we'll start on how we're going to talk to Jelcine about Tathe and his men.'

Karmen held back a relieved sigh. 'I would allow the Commissar to speak on his own behalf. That man...that man could...'

Attelus smirked. 'That man could what? Should I be jealous, perhaps?'

Karmen felt her face flush. 'N-no, just that it seems Delan Tathe could speak his way out of anything.'

Attelus frowned. 'Couldn't speak his way out of being under my father's thumb back on Omnartus. Do you think that Jelcine Enandra would be so sentimental toward him?'

'But-'

'Karmen, you're blinded by his reputation. I understand, but we both know you idolised them far more than I did. You were the one who'd wished to join their ranks so much.'

'Yeah, fine, maybe,' said Karmen. 'But I think there's something else that takes priority over Tathe and his men.'

Attelus sighed and hung his head, emphasising his bad posture all the more. Bad posture which returned right after the hell they fought through on Sarkeath along with his Lho smoking habit. 'Kalakor.'

'Yes, Kalakor, frig you,' said Karmen. 'Here we have a Space Marine, a supposed veteran-sergeant of The Raven Guard but who displays incredible skill at sorcery one of the most forbidden things of the Imperium and for good reason-'

'Yes, yes.'

'...Do not "yes, yes." me-'

'I'm sorry, but I already know that shit, Karmen. So please spare me the reiteration.'

Karmen folded her arms across her diaphragm. 'Tell men Attelus, have you asked him about his long and storied history yet?'

Attelus pursed his red lips, which were such a contrast to his pale skin and shuffled his foot, by the Emperor he could act like such a frigging child! 'No...'

'Why?'

'I just haven't gotten around to it yet.'

'Or you just have not worked up the courage, yet?'

He shrugged. 'A little of column "A", a little of column "B", in all honesty.'

Karmen sighed and facepalmed.

'What? Can you frigging blame me?'

'You told me he was open to informing you of it; you are an agent of the Inquisition, Attelus, such timidity is unbecoming of someone of your stature. For frig's sake you sparred him, didn't you? You have killed several of his kind, already. You have to do it soon as we'll be in the Calixis Sector in only a few days.'

'I don't know, Karmen,' said Attelus, back to doing that damn shuffling again. 'Sometimes ignorance can be bliss...'

'Indeed, but you are going to throw away that bliss, Attelus. Why the frig does this happen? You attract new followers like frigging cats, and...stray mysterious Space Marines. It's a pain in the arse.'

'Followers? Followers? What are you on about? Most of them frigging hate me, Commissar Tathe, especially, and as I recall it was you who'd convinced them with your retelling of our misadventures.'

Karmen frowned. 'That maybe so, but I still think it's you.'

'Grox shit,' said Attelus as his gaze fell to the floor. 'I'm no leader, the shit show on Sarkeath showed that.'

Karmen shook her head, wanting to argue that but managing to stop herself. 'Well, it happened to me, didn't it?'

'W-what?' said Attelus, his brow furrowing in bemusement.

'In the ruins of your home city, Varander, remember?'

Attelus' eyes narrowed. 'I forgot a lot of that, remember?'

She couldn't help flinch and look away. 'Y-you will never forgive me for that, will you?'

He looked at her with a tearful gaze which she supposed was guilt. 'I...I don't know, Estella. Maybe one day. Maybe one day.'

Attelus approached her so close they came almost nose to nose. 'Estella, how about we make a deal, huh?'

'Hmm, what kind of deal?'

He kissed her on the mouth.

'I would have never guessed it would be something like that,' said Karmen.

'Hmm, you can't read my mind, after all.'

'But, Attelus. I just put my bodyglove back on...'

'Well, it has to come off again, I'm afraid,' said Attelus. 'You do want me to go talk to Kalakor, don't you?'

'Attelus, that's tantamount to blackmail.'

He kissed her again. 'That's the best kind of mail, though.'

Karmen laughed. 'I have heard many lame lines over the years and that one has to be one of the lamest.'

'Only one of the lamest? I'll have to try harder next time, then,' he said while starting to unzip her bodyglove.

She wanted to reply, but soon found herself unable to make out much of a coherent sentence.

Karmen was glad of this because what she wanted to say more than the galaxy was, 'I love you.'


Marcel Torris along with Halsin and Delathasi walked into the training hall the Imperial Guardsmen and women were still in the midst of their close quarters sparring on the softened parts of the floor. All of them were a blur of skill and speed. It really reminded Torris how elite the Velrosian and the rest of the Elbyran soldiers, truly were. Even if Torris didn't think much of such obsessive close quarters combat practice, marksmanship in his eyes was a far more important skill.

That and fighting alongside them for hours on end.

Commissar Tathe watched on, stroking his chin as he strode back and forth. He was the very image of the Imperial Hero, the stereotypical, ruthless bastard Commissar in his ragged storm coat and black carapace armour and curved, fancy power sword sheathed at his hip. His handsome, tanned face was scarred, two crisscrossed his left cheek, and one ran down from his forehead to his right cheek.

Torris began to approach the Commissar, but he couldn't help halt as the huge silhouette of Kalakor lurking in the corner of the room caught his eye.

The Marine gave Torris the slightest of nods which Torris returned before beginning on again.

'Does the Space Marine scare you as well?' said Delathasi, the tall long-limbed young assassin apprentice's gaze was fixated on Kalakor.

Torris shrugged, unwilling to admit he did and yet again bemused by Delathasi, someone in her line of work would be so open with her emotion and fears.

'I am,' said Halsin, the young medicae's attention, by contrast, was on his feet, his hawk-like nose almost covering his small mouth entirely. 'But there is a lot I am scared of, so...'

'But yet you haven't shirked from your duties,' said Tathe as he turned to them. 'I was informed of how you managed to keep your head while treating my soldiers in the medicae truck with great skill as we battled the enemy just outside the whole time. That is the very definition of courage, young man. So don't be too hard on yourself, medicae Halsin.'

Halsin stopped, his jaw dropping.

Tathe looked to Torris. 'Does this mean...?'

Torris nodded. 'Yes, Commissar, he's finally woken up. But he's barely holding onto consciousness. But Halsin says he's good enough for you to speak to.'

A grin of triumph spread slowly across Tathe's face, and he spun away, calling for his trooper's attention. 'I have great news, everyone! Scout-trooper Dellenger has woken!'

Torris had thought this would make the troopers cheer in joy, but they looked more confused than anything. And on hindsight Torris couldn't blame them, the wound that Attelus had, while taken over by that daemonic blade, dealt the scout-sergeant a wound should've killed him outright.

'...How?' said one trooper one of the few Sovrithians that had elected to leave with them.

'By the grace of the God-Emperor, of course,' said Tathe, but to Torris' attuned hearing and reading of tone and body language, the statement rang false. 'And I am going to talk to him.'

Torris did not doubt that Tathe was a great leader and warrior, who truly cared for his men, but much of it was a front. Commissar Delan Tathe was a combat fatigued, almost broken person who had no real fire behind his actions any more. This Torris suspected was due to the death of the woman who he loved back on Sarkeath scout-sergeant Adreen. Or maybe not, as Torris had suspected this on his first meeting with Tathe.

Which, ironically, made Commissar Tathe an even greater man than the facade he showed and the hero the propaganda claimed. That Tathe kept going despite this for his soldiers and image was frigging admirable to say the damn least.

But the platitude seemed enough for the soldiers as they began to lighten up then finally their whoops and cheers rose.

Tathe looked back to Torris. 'Let's go,' he said.


In silence, with Halsin, Delathasi and Torris just behind him Delan Tathe walked through the strange corridors.

Tathe didn't mind the silence and he suspected his throne agent companions didn't either, but he felt he should get to know his new...allies? Employers? Friends? Comrades? Tathe wasn't sure what term he should use for them yet.

'Hmm,' mused Tathe. 'Halsin, Torris, Delathasi, I hope you don't mind if I ask you about yourselves? What home-worlds are you from?'

He glanced back the three throne agents and found to his little surprise, they were glancing among themselves, bemusement written across their faces.

'I suppose not,' said Torris with a sigh. 'I am from Malfi.'

Tathe's eyes widened despite himself. 'Malfi?' he said, forcing down the many terms he wished to use to describe that cursed hive world.

'Yes, Malfi. I was raised in the Schola Progenium there so had nothing to do with the shitty aristocracy that world is infamous for, just like most of the normal people there,' said Torris. 'Have you been there, Commissar?'

'No, can't say I have.'

'It's just as horrible as you might think, I was lucky, I suppose,' said Torris. 'Then joined the Adeptus Arbites when I left.'

'Yes,' said Tathe. 'I was informed of your status as a former enforcer of the Arbites. How about you Delathasi?'

Despite the young woman's dark skin, her blushing was quite distinct, she would've been quite cute, even with her boxer's nose and extensive acne, if it wasn't for the fact, she was a ruthless trained killer. Tathe had fought alongside her and while her skill with her dual swords wasn't the greatest Tathe had seen in his long and storied career, her willingness to use combat enhancement drugs more than made up for that. 'I am not permitted to share that information without the permission of my master, I am afraid.'

Tathe nodded, unsurprised by this, but he suspected her master, Saderth Darrance wouldn't have minded. 'Makes sense, what about you, young Mr Halsin?'

'Omnartus,' said Halsin.

'Oh,' said Tathe and the will to continue getting to know his new colleagues drained from him and the once comfortable silence was overtaken by an awkward one and Tathe couldn't have been more pleased when they walked by the two Velrosian troops standing guard at Dellenger's door and into the medical chamber. Only one patient laid in the strange cocoon-like bed and the Eldar warlock in his high helm and flowing robes stood over Dellenger looked up at Tathe as they entered.

Tathe stopped, his grasp shooting to his powersword.

'Be still your hand, mon...human,' said the Eldar, his voice echoing from his helm in an eldritch fashion. 'I am merely here to check up on the patient.'

Tathe kept his hand next to his sword, which was exactly what the Eldar asked, ironically. 'I'm just not used to seeing an Eldar who isn't trying to kill me yet.'

The Eldar did something which might've been a sigh. 'Yes, yes you are a great warrior and all that, who has split the blood of countless of my people, I am sure. Although, if it is mostly the dark kin, I suppose I can forgive it to an extent.'

'Klrith...' said Halsin.

'Halsin, your skill at healing is...impressive, but your methods are...if I might be honest, primitive, and this Dellenger-human might have died by now if it was not for me. Although...'

Dellenger's pained face was somehow paler than the norm, almost as white as the wraithbone walls and the sheets that didn't prevent him from fixing the Eldar with one of his patented withering glares.

'He should be long dead.'

Tathe shrugged. 'I wish to speak to him now he's awake...Klrith. That's your name, right?'

'One of my names...human.' said the warlock. 'And I am not preventing you from speaking to him, and it will not interfere with my work, so you may indeed speak to him.'

'I would prefer...' Tathe trailed away as the warlock turned back to Dellenger and raised his slender, armoured hands over him and the familiar tingling of psychic power began dancing its way over Tathe's pores.

Frowning, Tathe approached Dellenger's bed-side. 'It's good to see you're awake again, old friend.'

Dellenger didn't meet Tathe's gaze, his black hair messed up, his eyes ringed with deep, black bags. 'I...' the scout-trooper's voice was barely audible as it emerged from his dry lips. 'I'm...still, your friend?'

Tathe smiled, and as the wish to sit rose in his mind, a chair began to grow from the floor like a tree sped through time, and Tathe sat and by the Emperor was it comfortable. 'Yes, you are.'

'You...must have a few...questions.'

Tathe glanced back at Halsin, Torris and Delathasi who watched on with great interest. 'Not just me, I'm afraid.'

Dellenger nodded. 'O...of course. I'm...sorry...I haven't been honest with you...with Adreen. With...everyone. Maybe...it's a good time...I finally lay it all out...huh? Get it off my...chest.'

The scout trooper managed to gurgle a brief laugh at his terrible joke, as it was a cut across his chest that almost killed him, he was lucky, if the cut had been centimetre deeper it would've sliced through his hear, but Tathe didn't laugh. Dellenger rarely joked, or even laughed it seemed out of character for him, almost disturbingly so.

'Maybe. Take your time, old friend.'

'You must've...wondered...where I...got all my forbidden knowledge...from, right?'

'I did. Many times.'

'My...master taught it to me...Many...many years ago.'

'Your master? Like the master of scouts back in Velrosia?'

Dellenger shook his head. 'No, my real master. Ahh, frig it, I'm just going to cut to the chase. Do you remember the legends? The legends...of Prince Royd Destrillion Antares of Velrosia?'

'Of course, I do. I don't understand, what the hell does that have to do with this?'

'Please, Delan, it does...have a lot to do with this...You remember the mercenary? The one that worked with Royd after his ill-fated infiltration into Maranger with 1st regiment?'

Tathe's brow furrowed, and he glanced over his shoulder at the Inquisition agents again. 'Y-yes, his name was Adrassil, wasn't it? Come on, Dellenger this is-'

'Delan, I'm Adrassil.'

Tathe's eyes widened. 'What? That...That's.'

'There is...a lot of things...the legend doesn't tell, my friend,' said Dellenger. 'Such as the true...extent of my involvement in the...conflict...the involvement of my people in the true war, the shadow war against the real enemy.'

'This is...ridiculous. You're saying you're Adrassil? You think you're Adrassil himself? That would make you over one thousand years old.'

'I...is that so out of the realm of reality, Delan?' said Dellenger. 'I could've been...cryogenically...frozen. Or-'

'Elbyra didn't have that technology back then,' said Tathe. 'We were a feudal world. We weren't brought into the fold of the Imperium until around one hundred and fifty years ago.'

'Th-that's true, but...Ahh, damn...We...I...Just...'

'You just, what?'

'You...couldn't come back later...Delan? I just...can't explain this...right now.'

Tathe nodded and stood. 'Yes, okay. I'm not sure how much of this ridiculousness I can take any more.'

For a split-second Dellenger's eyes became filled with such sadness, Tathe couldn't help pause as guilt pulsed inside him. 'Y-you asked me for the...truth, Delan.'

Tathe just grimaced then turned and left.


'What do you think?' said Tathe as he, Torris, Delathasi and Halsin loited in the corridor.

Torris' eyes widened as if shocked Tathe would deign to ask him such a question. 'Think of what?'

Tathe fought the urge to roll his eyes. 'Of what scout-trooper Dellenger just said. Do you think he was telling me the truth? I was told about your skill at reading people, Torris this was why I'd asked you to keep an eye on him.'

Torris shrugged. 'I see...I think I need a little more time, but-'

'But what?'

'I think he is.'

Tathe furrowed his brow. 'I see, then maybe I should ask Attelus, then. See what he knows of the legend he wanted to be a historian, and he's from Velrosia, isn't he?'

'Indeed,' said Halsin. 'I am impressed by how much you remember about us, sir. Although, it seems his knowledge might not be-'

'I have to try,' said Tathe. 'I'm afraid if he thinks he's telling the truth, it might mean...'

'That he's lost his mind?' said Torris.

Tathe nodded.

'Or scout-trooper Dellenger could be telling the truth,' said Delathasi. 'Master Attelus Kaltos claimed he is what is called a "perpetual" immortal-'

'Frig off,' said Tathe as he turned and walked away.