Attelus' mind reeled, his brain thumping in his skull, and his whole body hurt in sympathy. How would he explain how the hell they got to the Gothic Sector and back in only four weeks? Was Drevan puritanical against co-operation with the Eldar? He closed his eyes, trying to take control of his anxiety.
Faleaseen! Please help me!
But there was no reply, where was she? Attelus understood her absence on Sarkeath due to the warp storm, but why here? Why now? She could use her power through him, allowing him to escape. But she did say while back that she didn't want to help him too often so he wouldn't become reliant on her; Attelus understood that; in fact, he agreed completely but now wasn't the time for that sentiment!
Farseer Faleaseen, frigging say something! I need your help.
Still nothing.
Looming over him, Drevan smirked, his arms folded. 'Attelus Xanthis Kaltos,' he barked, making Attelus blanch. 'I said that I had all the time in the galaxy, but that was an exaggeration, so tell me. Or do I have to kill another person?'
'I...I-'
Again, Drevan thrust his face in Attelus'. 'You are weak. You are pathetic. All I have done is kill a few nameless, faceless peons, and you have already told me a lot, and you are already close to a mental breakdown. A true Agent of the Throne would have let every single fool in this room die before telling me even an ounce of what he knew. Because that is the God-Emperor's true currency, is it not? Lives.'
Drevan's eyes lit. 'And I have yet to even begin spending the lives of your subordinates.'
Rage began to rumble and course through Attelus, and he struggled in his bindings, growling like a cornered canine. He should've just let himself die or even turned his blade on himself instead of being captured like an idiot, Faleaseen would've revived him, and Drevan wouldn't be able to manipulate him like this! But Drevan was right, frig it. Attelus had given in too easily.
Drevan laughed.
'Do not tell this son of a bitch anything more, Kaltos!' yelled Kolmoroff causing all attention to turn to her, and even with her augmetic eyes, Attelus could clearly see the rage in her face. 'Even it is just to spite him. I do not care what other horrific secrets you keep; this man is a coward and a monster who does not deserve to know more. Do not feel guilt for any of the murders at his hand; he is the one pulling the trigger, not you.'
Ugly rage took over Drevan, and he rounded on the Adept, aiming his bolt pistol at her head. 'What did you just say, you old bitch?'
'You said that lives are the God-Emperor's currency,' said Kolmoroff. 'And you are correct, and I am ready and willing as a loyal servant of the Golden Throne to spend my life rather than be used as a hostage for you to use to extract anything more from this young man!'
Attelus gaped, his respect and admiration growing for her all the more, by the Emperor, this old woman had some ovaries.
But Drevan just laughed, which made Attelus flinch and hiss through his teeth. 'Foolish old woman, brave, but foolish all the same. Do you seriously think that I only have the threat of death in my arsenal? Bring Adept Cianna Kolmoroff forwards.'
Two Sons pulled Kolmoroff to her feet and manhandled her toward Drevan.
'It is too bad you have augmetics for eyes...' said Drevan.
'Please, don't,' Attelus hissed.
'Shut it, boy! Remember, always remember, what is to come is your fault, no matter what this foolish old bitch claims. I do not enjoy resorting to such methods, but the end justifies the means.'
Even though it was fruitless, Kolmoroff struggled in the grasps of the two mercs, but it wasn't out of fear.
Drevan pulled a knife from his pocket, and the blade extended from the hilt with an ominous "click." Attelus knew a skinning knife when he saw one.
Kolmoroff was dropped on her knees in front of Draven, but her gaze was still fixed on Attelus. 'Do not tell this bastard anything more, Kaltos. Do-'
The adept was interrupted by Draven backhanding her across the face, and she smashed to the floor.
'Do shut it, I would bound your mouth shut, but the screams will-'
Drevan stopped short in his sentence as he reached to his micro-bead. 'Why are you calling me now?' he yelled.
Then the Inquisitor straightened and looked back at Attelus, his eyes wide and glazed with rage. 'What in the God-Emperor's name do you mean "they're dead"? All but one of the Stormtroopers and Hredrin? How? How in the God-Emperor's name did this happen?'
Drevan paused as whoever was on the other end of the link said something. 'What do you mean you don't know? Just...get men out there and find the killer, now!'
He switched off his micro-bead and rounded on Attelus, pushing the barrel of his bolt pistol against Attelus' skull. The Inquisitor's face an almost comical enraged rictus.
'I knew you were keeping something from me!' Draven shrieked.
Attelus couldn't help grin; not so smug now, are we? 'In all honesty, Draven, I've been keeping a crap ton of somethings from you. That's the advantage of having so very many secrets you can hide one important one among them all so well, not even someone such as you can find it.'
Somehow, Draven's face scrunched up even worse, so much so that his beard seemed to contour inside the lines. Then he hooked his gun arm around Kolmoroff's throat and held the skinning knife to her face. 'You are going to tell me who is out there now, or I will begin cutting into her, nice and slow.'
'Oh, I'll tell you,' said Attelus. 'But I guarantee you won't like it.'
'I will be the judge of that!' snarled Draven.
'Well, okay then. His name is Kalakor, and he's a Space Marine.'
The look on Draven's face was almost worth compromising Kalakor. Still, if Kalakor had finally chosen to act, Attelus suspected that whatever the Marine's plan was, it was already well underway, and there was nothing Draven, or any of his men could do to stop it.
Adelana frowned, trying to understand why their guards had suddenly became so irritated by what seemed like a broadcast on their general channel. Then about half of them jogged out of the room. It had to be Kalakor and/or Dellenger were up to something; she could only hope it'd be successful. Biting her lip, Adelana stole another glance at Karmen; the psyker had closed her eyes, her lips moving slightly, wordlessly, Attelus had taught her how to read lips, and it didn't take Adelana long to realise Karmen was whispering the Emperor's Prayer. She couldn't blame her, and maybe just maybe, the Emperor would come and help them. Although Adelana doubted it, she wasn't sure the Emperor would be too impressed with how and why they fought in His name.
According to the Ecclesiarchy anyway.
The doors opened, and in limped a man wearing an armoured segmented bodyglove which was torn and bloody. A gas mask covered his face, and he carried a lasgun; both marked him different from the others. To Adelana's eyes, the bodyglove seemed a bit too large on him.
The soldier's gaze swept across the room's entirety for a few seconds before he started limping rightwards and around the edge of the room. Adelana couldn't help watching him. None of the other guards around seemed to take exception to their new addition.
Then the soldier did something which caught her off guard; the newcomer gave her the slightest of slight nods.
Adelana looked away; it was Dellenger! It had to be, but what the frig was he up to?
She had no idea; Adelana had seen and heard how amazing a warrior he was, but that skill might not be enough now.
'A Space Marine?' Draven roared.
'A Space Marine. He's my...friend.'
Draven's eyebrows raised so high they seemed to reach the top of his forehead. 'Your friend? Your...friend! One cannot be "friends" with an Adeptus Astartes!'
Attelus shrugged. 'I beg to differ.'
'You should be begging for your life.'
Attelus didn't reply.
'Or for everyone inside the Refectories to be more accurate,' said Draven, then he reached for his micro-bead and began tuning it.
'N-no! Don't, please! I told you about Kalakor.'
'This is the consequence of your actions, boy,' said Draven. 'You have opposed me, smart-mouthed me and undermined me and now your...Space Marine is fighting against me!'
'I-I had nothing to do with this; he's doing this on his own volition; I swear.'
'Oh, I am sure he is; the Adeptus Astartes are notoriously impossible to control, even for us in the Holy Ordos. But he is still with you, and you must take responsibility for him and besides...'
Draven smirked. 'You should have told me of him in the first place. You keeping him a secret amongst your secrets just shows me that you wanted him to act against me, so yes, you take responsibility indirectly. Just like Omnartus, and it is the same for all of your friends and allies very soon.'
Attelus tried to launch at Draven, but the Sons surrounding him shoved him back to his knees.
'No! No!' Attelus cried; he was shaking again, tears swirling his vision.
Grinning, Draven activated his micro-bead, but then the grin slipped off his face. 'What?' he growled.
Draven's gaze snapped around, his eyes wide. 'I cannot get in contact with my ship.'
Attelus' anxiety drained away, and he dropped his head in a long sigh. The anxiety and fear were quickly replaced by a bubbling need to laugh in his chest, but he wisely managed to fight it down. Now was the worst time to laugh.
'What did you do?' snapped Draven, making Attelus look back at him. 'What The hell did you?'
'I've done nothing, Inquisitor.'
'No, it is that damned Space Marine, is it not?'
'I...yes, I guess,' said Attelus. He wanted so much to mock Draven, to say sarcastically how much of a "genius" he was that he managed to figure that out.
'He must have hacked into the network,' said Draven, then he reached to his vox-link and began to tune it seeming to forget Kolmoroff entirely. 'It is...'
Draven's face paled, then he threw Kolmoroff to the floor so hard she seemed to bounce, and a crack of breaking bones pierced into the ears. Kolmoroff began to moan and cry.
'Shut it,' Draven snapped and turned on Attelus, aiming his pistol at him. 'How in the hell did the Space Marine get up to my ship? Did you have a ship hidden somewhere?'
'No,' said Attelus thinking there was no point in trying to lie.
'How did you get on Iocanthos, then? My ship did not detect any other starships entering and leaving the system. No warp signature. Nothing!'
Attelus said nothing; his eyes fixed on Draven. You're Ordo Xenos, don't you know about the webway? In all honesty, there were all kinds of Xenos throughout the galaxy. Eldar was among the most well known, and it likely took a true Eldar specialist to know of the webway, perhaps even an Inquisitor like Attelus who'd co-operated with them to learn of it. Attelus had read over the archives on The Audacious Edge if there was anything on the webway, but he couldn't find anything. But Enandra was Ordo Hereticus, and yet it seemed she might've.
Draven's face twitched, then he laughed. 'How do you have soldiers from the Elbyran Contingent with you? My research says they were in the Gothic Sector; how did you travel there and back so fast? How?'
'I know you have a lot of questions,' said Attelus. 'And we can answer them, but you already know the stakes of our mission, more important Imperial worlds might...will die. Co-operate with us, help us stop Etuarq, and I will tell you everything you need to know. You have already murdered innocent Imperial citizens, but-'
'Murdered? Murdered! Do you understand!' I am an Inquisitor of the Holy Ordos. I am beyond the concept of "murder" everyone, and everything I place judgement upon is justified, for it is in the service of the God-Emperor of Mankind, you understand?
Attelus nodded and glanced at Kolmoroff as she writhed on the floor, somehow in silence, how she managed that Attelus had no idea, but his admiration for the adept grew even more. Drevan was losing it. Or he'd lost it a long time ago, and the pressure was making his mask slip.
'Tell me! What is going! On!' Drevan shrieked, and he pointed his gun at Kolmoroff.
'No.' Attelus blinked as he realised he'd said it a split-second after.
'What do you mean, "no"?'
'It means no, Drevan. Get your men to stand down and surrender, and I might tell you.'
'I will skin this old bitch's face if you-'
'If you skin her face-off, I won't tell you a frigging thing more! And I will make damned, damned sure that you and every single person associated with you will be declared Excommunicate Tratoris! And I swear to the Emperor of Mankind I will hunt you down, and I won't just skin off your face but every inch, slowly, starting from your toes to your skull.'
'N-Not if I kill you and everyone associated with you!'
Attelus grinned. 'Again, you seem to know when I'm lying, so you can see I'm telling the truth, and nothing but the truth when I say to you killing me won't matter; it'll happen. It will happen.'
Draven grimaced. 'You are insane.'
'Hmm, perhaps, most certainly, but I'm telling the truth, aren't I?'
Draven's pointing enlarged Adam's Apple twitched.
