19
Syra rounded a corner on the "Indefatigable" to see Dochan standing in the corridor. Syra hesitated but continued down the hall. He wasn't exactly sure how much he could trust the Tarellian not to attack him.
As he was about to pass Dochan the Tarellian spoke, "I have heard rumours about this mission you're going on to Nu'shar. Cuixtli tells me the Tau empire may exchange Twocaste's parents for completion." Syra turned to Dochan "Twocaste doesn't want to risk anyone on rescuing her parents, you can't tell her."
Syra hadn't told anyone about the details of the operation he was planning on the Tau world of Nu'shar. Most knew that Ethereal caste Tau had contracted him to investigate the Raexa on Nu'shar. But the fact that the Inquisitor, known as The Cheshire, had pressured the Ethereal into hiring him, he had told no one. Syra had also told no one that the release of Twocaste's parents was one of the things he was securing.
There was a moment he thought to ask Dochan how Cuixtli learned the Tau promised to release Twocaste's parents. Cuixtli was strange even for a xenos. Syra decided not to ask. The psychic frog alien certainly knew more than he let on and his actions, as usual, were impossible to predict.
"But she does worry herself about the fate of her parents" Dochan said. Dochan continued "It is odd for a Tau to have such concern for their parents." Syra knit his brow but answered "Because of her being a twocaste she wasn't allowed in the crèche. Her parents had to raise her in a fashion more like a human family. Why do you ask?" Dochan's eyes bored into Syra "I want to be part of your team."
Syra was taken aback "You know that will mean working along myself and the other humans on my team." Dochan grimaced "As much as I dislike the idea of working alongside humans, I owe her more than you can understand. I know she is too proud to ask others to risk their lives to rescue her parents. Yet her heart aches for their fate. I need to assist you in this even if it means..." The growls of Dochan's speech became more forceful as his translator struggled with his speech. "Working with scum like you."
Syra nodded. He knew his mere existence put him on thin ice with Tarellians, but he needed to ask a favour. "I currently don't have a team leader for my shield team. You seem to be a competent leader, and are skilled with a storm shield. Would you be willing to lead my shield team?" Dochan gave a resigned sigh, "I can do that."
The noble eyed The Cheshire coldly between looking over the records. Aware of Lord Lundaac's annoyance, he stopped tapping the rhythm he often made with his fingers while distracted. The tapping was from a chant from his childhood.
The chant went;
While to your mum you are a lying; Guardsmen are a dying.
While to your instructors you are a sighing; Guardsmen are a dying.
While from your work you are a shying; Guardsmen are a dying.
Lord Lundaac was in charge of the largest shipping firm on the world of Menenherti handling shipping for Inquisitor Horthvin. What Lord Lundaac didn't know was that the slaves he had been shipping for Horthvin were subsequently turned over to the Silath on Nu'Shar. And that Inquisitor Horthvin's ordo was corrupt, the ordo was called Ordo Textus.
The Ordo Textus was in charge of Subsector Textus. They were also responsible for studying a group of Aeldari constructs subsector. These constructs were networked together. The network as a whole was called the Dochas mu Dheireadh. Before the fall, a group of Aeldari had constructed this network in a desperate attempt to stop the birth of Slaanesh. They had powered the network with Aeldari souls.
Before the Imperium took control of Subsector Textus, servants of the God of Excess had damaged the devices allowing Slaanesh to consume the souls within.
Now broken, the Dochas mu Dheireadh amplified Slaanesh's voice in the minds of anyone close to one of the networked Dochas mu Dheireadh sites. Most in the Inquisition did not know this and The Cheshire and Lord Inquisitor Eveline Danton's other operatives had learned too late. With Slaanesh's presence amplified in the minds of the Inquisitors studying the Dochas mu Dheireadh the whole of the Ordo Textus became corrupted.
The Ordo Textus were too powerful to challenge directly. Lord Inquisitor Danton's operatives, were all that were holding back the corruption of the Ordo Textus.
The Cheshire again looked over at Lord Lundaac searching for the records The Cheshire had requested. In return, The Cheshire caught Lord Lundaac glowering at him when Lundaac thought he wasn't looking.
The Cheshire looked up at the large relief of a Guardswoman hanging from the ceiling. The relief was made of dark wood and looked down on him with a sad expression, as it menaced him with a bayonet. Lord Lundaac's seat was similarly threatened by other additional reliefs of Guardsmen and Guardswomen.
The decor of this manse, like all the others in this hive had been designed by the Ministorum. The nobility of the Hive city of Omnicus had all been implicated in heresy centuries ago. In an event called the Night of Candles the manses of the entire hive city had been burned. It had been a strange site to see the hive spires, looking like candles while the great houses on top, burned. The new nobility of the hive were appointed directly by the Ministorum. Houses such as the newly created House Lundaac were selected due to their devotion to the Imperial cause.
Before becoming The Cheshire, he had learned of the corruption of Omnicus' nobility. The thought of the pile of bones that had triggered the uncontrolled rage that had made him The Cheshire. That rage had led him to purge the nobility of Omnicus, an event now known as the Night of Candles.
However purging the entire nobility of a hive city had come with consequences. He and the other servants of Inquisitor Danton had been on the verge of breaking the Imperium's support of the Ordo Textus. The sudden draconian purge had caused the nobility of the subsector to rally around the Ordo Textus.
This should have led to him being declared traitor, but during the purge he had shown himself to be particularly deadly. Lord Inquisitor Danton had supported him so he kept his position. He had not been so lucky with the other ranking Inquisitor.
Inquisitor Maro had been a friend of the man he was before he became The Cheshire, Maro was no friend of what that man had become. The Ordo Textus had purposely corralled a hive fleet into the world Inquisitor Maro's wife and children lived on.
Maro had fallen in love with an Administratum official while she helped him in a case Maro was working on. Being an agent of the Inquisition did not lend itself to marriage but the heart wants what it wants. Agents of the corrupted Ordo had learned who Lady Maro was married to, and targeted her.
By purging the nobility of Omnicus, The Cheshire had robbed Maro of his vengeance. During their last conversation Maro admitted he partially blamed himself for making The Cheshire. Maro and Danton had often chastised the man The Cheshire had been for being too soft hearted for an Inquisitor.
The man he had been before, who he now thought of as dead, had thought that there could be a kinder gentler Inquisition. The Dead Man had done terrible things in the service of the Inquisition. Yet he believed he could make it better. Maro and Danton had constantly called him out on his naivete. He had seen they were right, at the foot of a pile of bones. While he regretted the overzealousness of his first purge as The Cheshire, he recognized the Imperium needed The Cheshire's brutality.
Lord Lundaac cleared his throat to get the Cheshire's attention. Lord Lundaac handed a sheet with the address of the warehouse Inquisitor Horthvin was storing his cargo of slaves before they were shipped. As he took the sheet he nodded to Lord Lundaac. Again, Lord Lundaac tried and failed to hide his contempt for The Cheshire.
Lord Lundaac was a loyal servant of the Imperium. The Cheshire had to forgive Lord Lundaac for hating him. The constant rictus grin the Cheshire couldn't stop making caused many to think he was a heretic. Lord Lundaac likely suspected he was a heretic Inquisitor working against a loyalist.
The Cheshire left Lord Lundaac's office, stepping out the door into the grand marble hallway he looked down at the paper. The Cheshire didn't know why the Silath needed so many slaves but he knew it was something that needed to be stopped. Slaanesh worshippers were known for their need of slaves but even the Silath did not typically use up so many so quickly. Ironically enough the Silath themselves were known for being opposed to the practice of slavery. This didn't stop them from using slaves, it only made them insist that their slaves weren't slaves, they were enforced workers.
The Silath referred to Slaanesh as the Earth Mother. They also had a tendency to deal with situations which made them look hypocritical, by simply relabelling their behaviour to look and sound acceptable.
The myriad races of the Raexa were primarily led by four races the Silath, the Goan, the Kagg, and the Nixra. Each of the four was dedicated to a single god of Chaos. There were many other Raexa races but cataloguing many of these races proved impossible. The combination of strange alien physiology and Chaos mutation made it difficult to identify these primarily Chaos Undivided, worshipping races.
The Slaanesh worshipping Silath were a race dedicated to art and the expression of art. This focus on narrative interpretation consumed their view and explanation of the galaxy to the point of being a detriment. No matter how much they insisted it did, the galaxy didn't follow the concise narratives they constructed.
The Goan were dedicated to Nurgle, who they referred to as the Great Father. The Goan based everything around ancient religious texts. The Goan characterized themselves as benevolent loving beings. But if anything challenged their literal interpretation of their texts, they became instantly hostile.
The Kagg were dedicated to Khorne who they referred to as the First Warrior. The Kagg were more disciplined than most other worshippers of Khorne. Militarism and authority structures were central to Kagg ethics. However in battle this veneer of civility fell away and they became frothing mad dogs like most worshippers of the Blood God.
The Nixra were dedicated to Tzeentch who they referred to as the Lord of all Ambitions. The Nixra were a race dedicated to scholarly pursuits. This was a double edged sword for them. On one hand they could analyse situations with incredible accuracy. On the other hand, they could be scatter brained. The Imperium had manipulated the Nixra into internalizing Silathi narratives. Silathi arguments were built on the subjective analysis of art. In the real world where tangible objective things were needed to survive, these arguments fell apart. Thus the Nixra andf the Silath tended to argue in circles never coming to agreement.
Lord Inquisitor Danton specifically manipulated the Raexa to empower the Goan and the Silath primarily. The Silath and the Goan were known for a sort of impulsivity with their actions. They both touted their belief system as being "natural." Neither one acknowledging that both were doing what felt natural to them and rejected the "naturalness" of the other.
Both complained about the bigotry the other directed at them. Both made the bigoted assumption that their natural was more natural than the other's. Dealing with their failures by simply rewording the same tired arguments over and over. Both seemed to ignore the question if doing what was natural was the answer why did the millions of years of galactic history look like they did.
The Cheshire's grin widened as he thought about how the Imperium had successfully played the Goan and the Silath. They would argue with each other over public vox networks. Every time they got frustrated with each other they would beg the groups who managed the vox networks, to control what the other Raexa races said by disallowing them access to the vox networks.
All the groups they begged were controlled ultimately by the Imperium, the Tau, or rival human cults. The Silath were especially proud of calling these initiatives, Anti Hurt speech laws. Regardless of what they called it, the mechanisms of censorship always worked into the hands of the powerful. And there was no power greater than the Imperium.
Despite their animosity towards the Imperium, Ultimately the Silath constantly played into the hands of the Imperium. This was why they were chosen as one of the primary voices of the Raexa. The Silath, like the other Raexa races were economically dependant on the Imperium.
An organization within Raexa space sold them products made from apples that were grown within the Imperium. Because the advertising of these products associated them with Silathi imagery the Silath actively believed that having preference towards these products was a statement of their beliefs. The Silath would criticise the other Raexa races for consuming products made with servitor labour. Seemingly blind to the fact that their preferred apple products were also made with servitor labour.
The Goan were as easy to manipulate as the Silath. Manipulating the imagery associated with their texts was a simple matter for the Imperium. The Goan could easily be whipped into frenzied erratic responses to minutia that went nowhere. Just as easily redirected from responses that would actually be a threat to the Imperium much like the Imperium did with the Silath.
Allthough the races of the Raexa had proven themselves to be malleable by Imperial propaganda ultimately they were Chaos worshippers. The madness and power of their gods rendered them impossible to completely control. However while the Imperium was fractured The Cheshire believed one day Humanity would retake the galaxy.
Regaining the Imperium's place against all the mad beasts of the galaxy seemed a lost dream. The force needed to keep the galaxy holding on to the shadow of order seemed to be out of Humanity's grasp. The dead man within The Cheshire pushed a thought of Twocaste into his consciousness. Syra's Tau whore believed that by demonstrating the behaviour she wanted, she could show the galaxy a better way.
Twocaste's idiotic belief was shared by no one in the galaxy. To Silath the oppressor/oppressed relationships defined everything. To the Silath it was unimportant that the historically oppressed be asked to engage in the behaviour the oppressed demanded of their oppressors. Twocaste would say, that it was always fundamental for beings to display the behaviours those beings hoped others engage in. To Twocaste, demonstrating these behaviours, was the central part of convincing beings it was important.
The Goan would say that the will of the Great Father was the ultimate gauge of morality. Twocaste would point out the religious wars the Goan had conducted. That their benevolence belied a brutal tendency for bloodletting.
The Nixra found it difficult to agree on a single moral stance. Their tendency to argue themselves in circles kept them from organizing around a single point.
The one race The Cheshire found himself in some agreement with were the Kagg. The militaristic Kagg believed that morality was subservient to the ability to apply force. Where the Kagg went wrong was to ignore that one day power in the galaxy would be seized by the servants of the Holy God Emperor. Twocaste would say this mad scramble for power was the root of the nightmare that currently defined the galaxy. She would say this cynical "might makes right" galactic view held by its believers made their lives hopeless. Beings who accepted and organized their lives around this belief were ultimately driven mad by this view.
The Cheshire stopped before the armourglass coffin that hung over the main hall of the mansion. All who entered or exited the mansion had to pass under it. Inside were the remains of the lord of the mansion killed on the Night of Candles.
When The Cheshire purged the nobility of Omnicus he built armourglass coffins and sealed the lords and ladies inside. He had left the lords and ladies inside their manses as he had roasted them alive in the fires of their burning legacy.
The former lord in this coffin was named Lord Thaddeus Qvingh. Lord Qvingh had been an honest man. He had however given in to the demands of the corrupted nobles. The Cheshire remembered how the man had begged not for his own life, but for that of his daughter. The girl was innocent, the Cheshire had spared her.
Lord Qvingh had been an informant for the Inquisition. His assistance had spared many. It was also true that Lord Qvingh had only worked with the heretics to protect his family and his people. However taint was taint and The Cheshire knew there was no tolerance for heresy. The first time The Cheshire had felt the Dead Man's presence within him was when he had sentenced Lord Qvingh to death.
Twocaste would say that the galaxy was the dark place because men like The Cheshire embraced cynicism and "might makes right" beliefs. The Cheshire couldn't help but start laughing as he stared at the mummified corpse, still locked in an expression of pain. The servants in the halls cast disproving looks at him but he couldn't stop himself.
The idea of the Tau mutant believing that treating others with compassion and reciprocity was worth doing even when it meant sacrifice was laughable. He believed that it was only through the absolute application of force that the Imperium held on to what it had.
Twocaste would say that it didn't matter if it was laughable or not. That the way she treated others showed them to treat her the same way. For him treating others in a decent way was only way was only worth doing if and when you got what you wanted out of it. It was a hopeless view of the galaxy. The Cheshire laughed even harder thinking of the Tau woman's naivete. The Cheshire pushed a thought into his subconscious, unable to confront it. Perhaps, Twocaste would rather be hopelessly naive than be a monster like him.
