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"A Custodian? Here?"

"Indeed. It was quite an interesting Vox-message."

"This might complicate things. But, I presume our deal remains unchanged?"

"Of course it does. The Warmaster's claim will not be denied. This...unfortunate turn of events is ultimately a chink in our plans."

"I think I do not need to remind you it was a chink in your former master's armor which proved his downfall. Or, so the legends goes anyway."

"If you value your life, you should consider never mentioning that again. We are merely business partners in the barest of senses. Displeasure us enough, and we will simply find one more willing among your followers to aid us. After disposing of you first, of course."

"Perhaps. But considering how near the Despoiler's plan comes, I allow myself the relief that you may need me more than you let on."

"You walk a very dangerous path, Zeno."

"I admit that. But I always have. It's in the very nature of my work. And I believe you can appreciate that. Reassure your master he shall have his foothold."

"I really wish our bikes had not been torn to shreds right about now. It would make this much swifter."

"Your statement is...seconded, Gan."

"Thirded. Or however you say that. This is seriously getting embarrassing. I didn't think I'd be carried this much while I could still fucking walk," Mira was clearly not getting used to being carried around any time soon. In a way, he sympathized with her. Feeling useless was one of the worst sensations one could experience from Kronos' own experience. But still, he could not see how or why she intended to distinguish herself against two superhuman warriors of the Emperor's own blood.

Yet...he did notice how she kept quiet for longer now. Perhaps it was simply reluctant acceptance, even to a tiny degree. Perhaps it was the examining of her new weapon.

Kronos was still unsure on the whole concept of her wielding a Bolt Pistol. As Gan had said, it was much like an ordinary rifle, even if one that fired some of the deadliest ammunition in the whole galaxy. But Astartes and Custodes spent years, perhaps decades mastering the common Bolter. He was in no doubt that Mira wouldn't do anything stupid with it, she was a very smart child despite the tantrums, and making herself useful in battle would likely help her vent while providing some measure of relief to them.

However, he still questioned Gan's rash choice. He questioned Gan in general. He simply could not get a read on the Marine. His quiet, cold, logical demeanor seemed to be more in line with the Raven Guard than his own bloodline. Yet, his ruthless attitude and desire for revenge did pin him closer to his gene-sire. And then the rash decision making did not spoke of either Legion well.

There was certainly something about him that was...off, for lack of a better term. Whatever it was, Kronos knew he would need to keep an eye on him for the foreseeable future. Not least of all now that he was their guide. Speaking of that...

"Gan, where exactly are we going?"

Gan did not say anything. He simply broke off from their formation. His decreased gait and altered course continued for several minutes, until he found what he was looking for. He swiped something off the ground, before joining back up with them. Both Mira and Kronos gave him a confused look as he revealed to them what he had been searching for.

"...A flower?"

Gan simply nodded. "Not just any flower, Custodian. A Sapphire Iris. A common plant in the Chogoran steppes, it's significance lost to these traitors. It is our signal."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Well, for an outsider, it is for all intents and purposes a normal flower, except for one aspect: it's scent," when Gan continued to receive befuddled looks, he further explained. "It is far sharper than the smell of most ordinary plants, which can be noticed already by an untrained nose."

Kronos and Mira both scrunched their faces at this, trying to reach a whiff of the supposed superpotent smell, and indeed they did. Kronos himself felt his nose as if cut by invisible blades, no doubt increased by the enhancements to his senses. Mira too noticed this, although to a lesser extent.

"So...I do not get it, what does that have to do with finding the squad?"

"Well, certain tribes take training of the senses to a far greater extent than usual. For you see, some want to know all that their environment can throw at them and more. So they build upon their senses, making hearing and smell and touch and taste hold just as much importance as sight. The tribe Baghatur Ganbaatar is from utilizes such a tactic, and either due to sentimentality or a bout of tactical genius, he has incorporated this sense training into our squad as well. All of us still alive will be able to follow his signal."

"I...am still unsure on this, Gan."

"Your worry is not unfounded Custodian, but trust in me. We have deployed this tactic to great effect in numerous campaigns. It has not failed us before, it will not fail us now."

Kronos considered so for a moment, until he reluctantly nodded. Had it been any other circumstance, he was certain he would've been more incredulous at the idea, but he supposed the dry, sterile desert air did make such a sharp scent all the more readable. The matter was helped by the fact that Gan did seem to know exactly where he was going. However, turning to Mira revealed that even she was hardly convinced.

He mentally sighed. Gan probably knew what he was doing. While he still couldn't trust the Marine explicitly, he did have faith in his skill at least, and the leadership of his commanding officer. The Custodian was intended to be superior in every way to his Astartes counterparts, but that did not excuse belittling them, especially when Ganbaatar had given him no reason to.

Still, his look over his companion had brought something else to occupy him for the moment.

"Mira, I would highly suggest that you begin wearing your helmet from now on. It will probably cause you some short-term distress, but we are actively engaged in a battlefield. Continuing further without it on would be a foolish course of action."

Mira looked like she was going to protest for just a moment, before resigning, finding acceptable logic in his statement. Though that did not stop her entirely from talking back as she donned it.

"You know, a Bolt round will take my head off, helmet or not."

"Indeed, but if there is one thing I have learnt during my two centuries of service, is that nothing can be left to chance. Tales of men who have survived Plasma shots to the head because of the humble helmet are not as uncommon as you might believe."

She released a small noise of contention, but otherwise said nothing beyond it. If she had continued, he probably wouldn't have noticed Gan coming to a stop in front of him. Or the sight of bodies before them.

Kronos halted in a couple of second as well. He watched over the gruesome scene, blood and spent ammo everywhere. Sprawled around them, the corpses of 7 of the Warmaster's spawn, each with horrific injuries. But, at the center of it all, as if a perverted work of gory art, were two of Gan's Brothers. Chingis and Khenbish, he would wager, but he had not been familiar enough with their faces to tell for sure, and especially so now given their condition.

The extent to which they had been defiled was truly disturbing, even to him. Their Progenoid glands had been unsurprisingly torn to shreds, denying the Sons of Chogoris chances of recuperating their loss. Their armor and symbols had been broken and scratched to the point of being unrecognizable, and even their scars of honor had not been left untouched.

Through all of this, neither of his companions said anything. Mira was likely in shock at the scene herself. She had seen much unpleasantry, he was sure, but he doubted she would've been prepared for this. Gan...he did not even bother to try and comprehend what Gan could be thinking at this moment. Though, he could sworn that the Marine was visibly shaking ever so slightly.

That was when he grabbed a nearby traitor's corpse and began punching it. Again, and again, and again. Mira seemed looked away, but Kronos kept staring with morbid curiosity. They were both disturbed to a degree, but both could also understand their companion's plight to a certain extent. If it went on for much longer however, Kronos would have to intervene.

Thankfully, Gan did stop. But his rage was yet only barely contained. The traitor's helm had caved in of itself, drying crimson spread across it as well as Gan's fists. The Marine's breathing could be visibly heard, even through his armor. That was when Kronos decided enough was enough. Simply letting him to his own thoughts wouldn't do any good.

"Gan..."

Before he could say anything else however, Gan suddenly removed his helm. His eyes were unreadable, even if his face had been twisted into a cold sneer. The Marine stared at the body he had defiled. Then at his massacred Battle-Brothers. And finally, his own hands, now covered in dried blood.

Internal conflict took him over, it's subtle hints reigning over his eyes. For a few moments, Kronos dared not to talk to the Astartes for fear of drawing the ire of the war within. He had no doubt he could restrain Gan if it came to that, of course, but he would rather not put their companion at risk. However, said companion did not seem so attentive to his condition.

"You...alright, Gan?" he was about to berate her quietly for speaking, but the words seemed to break the Marine from his self-imposed torment. He looked over to Kronos and his charge, his expression shifting to one of melancholy as he gazed in their direction.

"Hah," his eyes yet seemed transfixed to some point far in the horizon. But they soon shifted to them proper. "I am...sorry."

"You sure you alright?"

"Affirmative," he gave a weak smile for reassurance, which disappeared quickly as he looked back at his brothers' bodies. "Barbarians. Defiling the bodies of the fallen like this..."

"Gan," Kronos moved to speak to him again, but the Marine simply lifted one hand, seeming to struggle to find the words, the struggle within seemingly yet alive, if subdued.

"It is quite alright Custodian. I am once more regretful for letting my emotions get the better of me. But, you must understand, Khenbish was a cousin of mine. So, currently...processing the fact that he's been slain like this..." Gan's face had shifted to one of bitter resentment, yet guilt still hid somewhere in there, Kronos could tell by the sound of his voice. "Whatever vile Warp spawn inflicted such dishonorable deaths upon my brothers will be torn to shreds by our wrath."

He sighed as he barely tore away his gaze from the cadavers of his fallen compatriots. "But, alas, it'll have to wait once more. My rage boils at this but...we must move. Baghatur Ganbaatar may be waiting for us. Or worse still, he may be under treacherous assault himself. And I shall have no more of our precious heritage defiled by this filth."

"Would you wish to move the bodies?" Kronos knew that was most likely a rhetorical question. They simply had to keep advancing. They were vulnerable in such a small group, especially so in the open.

"...No," the very act of saying the word seemed to cause Gan to recoil in pain. But he stilled and continued. "We cannot afford to weigh ourselves down. The traitors have already done what they wanted. Their bodies will be touched no further until recovery forces arrive. We...will leave them here."

"I see. Then take at least solace in knowing your Brothers traded their lives for 7 and perhaps more of the traitor's own."

Gan nodded. His face was still one of confusion as he put on his helmet. But it was nonetheless better that if nothing had been said.

They began moving, likely following the same trail as before. But now, Kronos could see a waver in Gan's steps every so often. He gazed at the companion on his back, as she too seemed concerned. But, like most of his worries, Kronos would have to slam this shut deep into his mind. Every moment spent here was another moment he was not at his liege's back and call.

"Emperor's teeth..."

In the past few hours, as dusk settled onto the world, Ganbaatar had come to find a love for cultists. Not for being blaspheming, traitorous psychopaths with no other desire than to please their dark lords, but simply because of how disorganized and weak they were. Numerous rebellions had he squashed during his life which were child's play for one such as him. But this was not the case with their current enemy.

Another Bolt shell tore through the air, with him barely avoiding it. The Chaos Marines had certainly been a surprise, a very unpleasant one to say the least. Ganbaatar cursed in his own tongue as the Marine kept up his fire, waiting for the moment he'd need to reload.

The shooting stopped, and that brief instant was his cue. He rushed toward where the noise had come before, finding his target there. The traitor saw he would not be able to reload in time, dropping his Bolter and engaging an ancient Chainaxe he had strapped to his belt. The swing missed his head by a hair, but the Sergeant was simply faster, as his Power Fist punched through the traitor's chest armor, turning both of his hearts to pulp.

As he fell over, tainted blood leaking out of him, Ganbaatar recognized the stride and sound of his brother, who had taken a far more proactive approach to the situation. Namely, hauling his impressively large Heavy Bolter, as he finally stepped into view, conveniently just as a group of three traitors emerged from one of the walls.

They attempted to bring out their own weapons, but Batu's hand was already on the trigger. With a roaring noise comparable, if not superior to a screeching Thunderhawk, the weapon discharged it's massive ammunition in a relentless burst.

"Suffer the Emperor's fury!"

A fine finishing line, but the traitor's were already dead on the floor by the time Batu had spoken, blood and various other liquids oozing from the hundreds of orifices torn anew by the weapon's power. Ganbaatar preferred not to think of what said "other fluids" were. He knew some of these damned cousins worshiped Slaanesh, and he did not need those mental images. So he settled for something else.

"Great Khan's beard, old friend! Haven't seen you unleash such righteous wrath since the Areos Campaign."

"You may want to save your praise for now, Baghatur. We are boxed in."

Ganbaatar's small smile dropped immediately, as he checked his helmet's scanners, along with whatever information Batu's own had transmitted to them. They were indeed surrounded, with 13 traitors closing in on their location. He muttered another curse under his breath as he looked at his Brother once more.

"Think we can get out of this one?"

"Last time I was facing this many Chaos Marines, I lost an arm and nearly my head. And had a lot more ammo," he actively looked into his magazines as he said it, and Ganbaatar knew he was not one to lie during missions. "I don't mean to dishonor our great primogenitor Baghatur, but...we are outnumbered, outgunned and have lost any advantage we could possibly have."

Ganbaatar nodded as he readied his own weapons for the inevitable final stand. His instruments could not get a precise read on moving targets, but he knew they were coming. And they would be ready.

"Then, let us burn in a blaze of glory, and at least take some part in the purifying fire that shall cleanse this world of it's filth."

"Let us hope our final push marks the start of a song which will echo through the ages, that all shall tell tales of our great Brotherhood in the centuries to come. It was an honor, Baghatur."

Ganbaatar nodded. Poetic as always, Batu was, even in the face of death. "Ave Imperator!"

The Sergeant burst into a mad dash, his brother following close behind, returning his bellow with a roar of his own, only hampered slightly by the weight of his enormous weapon. The wall gave way easily enough, crumbling like chalk against their mighty armored forms. Immediately, Bolt shells flew through the air. Ganbaatar felt he had been hit, but adrenaline and his focus on his opponent prevented him from knowing where.

He shot the first one in the head, killing him immediately. The other two proved more troublesome, firing away at them. He managed by some miracle to avoid the gunfire, but he was almost certain Batu had been hit, despite engaging his own Heavy Bolter. The first eventually fell to their combined Bolter fire, but not before landing a nasty hit on him. That, Ganbaatar could feel, and he was more-or-less certain his liver had been wrecked.

But gritting his teeth, he moved on to the last of the group, hiding behind a wall and taking tactical shots at them. A wise choice, if not for the frailty of said defense against another Astartes. He made a mad dash toward the wall, while Batu served as a diversion, a knowing nod all that needed to be exchanged by them.

Ganbaatar took a shot of chance with his Power Fist, directly through the wall, not knowing where the traitor was exactly. Probability seemed to be on his side that day, as the massive gauntlet tore through the marble with little effort, pulverizing the Marine beyond it. His chest had entirely crushed, much of his armor seared and crushed under the power field. One more body felled by the Emperor's wrath.

But it would not be enough. Now, rage of battle slightly calmed, Ganbaatar could feel his wounds, how deep they were. He looked to his own approaching Brother, artificial bionic arm missing at the elbow, and numerous other scrapes and dents across his armor. He was yet keeping his massive weapon aloft with the stump, functioning arm at the trigger. But both knew they would be put out of commission if another such strike came.

And it would. Ganbaatar's visual display showed the vague locations of the other Chaos Marines, heading straight for them. Their fellows must have reported back before being cut down. He exchanged another look with Batu. They both knew what it meant.

This is it.

At last the traitors strolled into view, each of the remaining encircling them, ensuring no means of escape. One of them stepped forward, likely the leader, and in a voice too gruff to possibly belong to anyone except those touched by the Ruinous Powers said:

"Any last words, loyalist dogs?"

Ganbaatar would not grant the pathetic creature before him the satisfaction of a response. He simply lifted his Bolt Pistol ready to at least take one of the bastard Sons of Horus with him to the grave. Batu did the same, as the traitors all pointed their own weapons.

"I suppose not. Your lot always are stubborn to the end."

As the leader prepared to to engage his weapon, Ganbaatar gripped his own harder, while Batu similarly doing so as well. Then, just as the first shot was mere moments from being fired, the leader stopped.

He looked down at his chest, Ganbaatar following his vision, only to see something inexplicable. A massive slash, basically splitting the traitor in two, ran from one side of his chest to the other. He did not even have anymore time to react, as he fell over, torso rolling ways away from his legs.

The Marines closest to him seemed to have caught something of the invisible force however, turning back and opening fire. It wasn't enough. One was bisected vertically, his two halves littering the battlefield a second later. The other had his head cut clean off.

Only after the three Marines had been deprived of their life by a lightning force could their assailant be seen. His giant form radiated in the disappearing sunshine, blood and dust doing nothing to detract from the sheer gravitas of the armor or it's wielder. Despite encountering the warrior before that very day, an entirely different air was around him.

Gone was the polite guardian that generally kept to himself and preferred to discuss only business. Before them lay the Emperor's wrath, his fury given flesh and mighty arms to wage war against any and all threats to the Golden Throne. And wage war he did.

The Chaos Marines did not remain stunned for long. They were all trained super soldiers after all. They soon aimed their Bolters at the newly arrived threat, previous targets completely forgotten. That was when two more of them were downed seemingly out of nowhere. The first's entire head and upper torso were reduced to a steaming pile of slag. The second's head popped, a small implosion in it's place, very likely a Lascannon shot and Bolter round respectively.

Now fear began to be roused in the traitors, only intensified by the Custodian finally moving. Some aimed their weapons at assailers yet unknown, while others began firing at the golden warrior. Oddly enough, most shots failed to even graze him, and not from lack of accuracy, seemingly being pushed away by an invisible forcefield. Either the wondrous armor afforded to them or the Emperor's blood in full effect, Ganbaatar did not care to know. He only realized they would have to help as well.

He motioned for Batu to begin assaulting the traitors once more, as he aimed his own Bolt Pistol at the ones closest to him. The firing from before also resumed, Lascannon beams and Bolt rounds from places unknown. Now finding themselves surrounded, the Chaos Marines were quickly cut down themselves.

One more, Ganbaatar found moments to stare in awe at the Custodian in-between the firing. The Emperor's Golden Legionary moved with unreal swiftness, cutting a path of destruction without even engaging his Bolt Caster. The Chaos Marines would react to his blows seconds after they had landed, if they were even left standing or alive.

From the chaos, they also saw one of their mysterious benefactors join the battle as well. Gan had survived, and was now making his way to them, Bolter in hand and Lascannon strapped to his back. With one last barrage, the three Sons of Jaghatai struck down the last of the traitors, riddling him with massive holes, watching as the body hit the ground with a thump.

Kronos had to admit it had been some time since he had a proper engagement. It did not incite pleasure in him, as it did many other warriors, but it allowed him to settle to instinct and that did admittedly calm the more logical parts of his mind to an extent. The torrent of thought he had been exposed to since he had landed on this planet was not forgotten, but it took conscious effort to rein it in.

Battle took those horrid thoughts off his mind passively. And so, in a way, he did lust after it at that point, even if just a tiny fraction. Regardless, that wasn't important now. They had finally caught up to the Sergeant, and much more was yet to be done.

He gave the greeting of the Aquila as he approached. The Sergeant responded in kind. He had a feeling he was far more happy to see them than he might ever let on.

"Sergeant."

"Custodian," he turned to his Battle-Brother. "Brother Gan."

He said something in his native tongue, which Gan responded to in turn. Their chat was short, but Kronos could just barely make out relief in the Sergeant's tone. It was only natural of course.

"Hey! Anybody wanna help up here?!"

He looked to the source of the voice, finding his charge situated atop a building. He turned to stare at Gan, the only other person to be with her.

"I placed her there," he replied bluntly. "The elevated position would likely keep her safe from anything going on down here. Plus, she could provide some degree of support with the Bolt Pistol, just as she did."

"That girl has quite the shot," it was rare to hear praise from an Astartes directed towards a common man, let alone a mere adolescent girl. Yet as Batu said as such, Kronos could help but let a small smile slip from his lips.

Gan retrieved the child from the building, climbing and descending once more rather carelessly. For said carelessness, he got a string of curses, though he hardly minded. In the short while, Kronos gave Ganbaatar a brief rundown of what had happened to them, finding their stories to match, as Batu and him had too been ambushed.

He also took the time to explain Mira's newfound weapon as Ganbaatar asked him on it and how they had managed to find them. After a few grumbles, the Sergeant seemed accepting enough, no doubt helped by the fact that the girl had popped at least one Traitor Astartes' head off, a feat uncommon among novice Space Marines, let alone regular humans.

As Gan returned however, Mira following behind, he could practically feel the death glare the Sergeant was giving his Battle-Brother, but he was certain he had enough common sense to keep any criticisms to himself, in the light of the mission. Besides, he seemed to have been reminded of a missing member of their group.

"Tarkhan?" the question was simple, yet it still carried heavy weight for them all, most of all Gan.

"Taken in our first ambush."

A momentary pause as Ganbaatar processed the information. "And his gene-seed?"

"Beyond recovery," he could feel the anger resonating within Gan's voice. "Almost certainly ruined by the bastard dogs of Chaos. Chingis and Khenbish too, they were...defiled, their Progenoid glands ripped from their bodies."

Both Ganbaatar and Batu took a moment to reply. Whether it was simply coping or a sign of mourning, Kronos could not tell, but both spoke with cold wrath through their helms.

"Traitor blood will be spilled a thousand fold for this atrocity," Batu was the first to speak, but he was clearly the least composed.

"Indeed. But first, we must warn the other squads of their presence here. They could still be carrying out their assault without a clue of what awaits them," Ganbaatar's wrath was more subdued, undoubtedly thanks to his age and experience in such matters, but it was still there, until he gave off a sigh. "Alas, our vox-communications have been completely cut off."

"Yeah, Gan and Kronos couldn't contact you guys or anyone else either. Any idea what the Hell's causing it?"

"Some sort of signal jammer most likely."

"Decoys, ambushes, Chaos Marines, now preventing communication," Batu almost seemed perturbed. "We are no longer dealing with any average cultist takeover."

"Blast it all to the Warp. We cannot even contact the Sorsan Astra Militarum regiments for information."

"Speaking of that," Kronos finally decided to speak at last. "We suspect they have been corrupted from the inside as well, and have purposefully lead us into a trap."

"What?" the Sergeant was excusably incredulous at the notion. "All regiments under the operation were personally inspected by an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus and her retinue of Sisters of Battle, the Sorsan ones first among them. Any heretics that had infiltrated were summarily purged."

"Baghatur speaks truth," Batu spoke up. "I was there when the traitors were found, Custodian, acting as a White Scars representative ensuring the Inquisitor of our assistance."

Kronos desperately tried to hide not knowing what an Inquisitor was. He had heard his Emperor and the Sigillite use such a word in the past, but it was hardly in a positive light, which simply further compounded his distrust. He also had no idea what these Sisters of Battle were, or even this strange Ordo Hereticus. Thankfully, he did not have to stare dumbfounded for long, as his charge spoke in his place.

"So, lemme get this straight: the cultists nutbags have been planning this coup for years, maybe decades now. They had the time to set up decoy targets for you to strike, summon Chaos Marines and you really think they didn't get their hands into the Imperial Tithe?" both Marines now looked at the child, but she did not waver. "Hell, don't you find it suspicious that the information you were provided just so happened to lead all of us into a trap?"

"I do not like saying it, Baghatur, but the child makes perfect sense," Gan finally receded from the distance he had set between himself and the conversation. "Our targets were pinpointed perfectly. There is no way the cultists could have reconstructed them into decoys in a few short weeks of them having power. The Sorsan regiments would have pointed us in the correct direction, no matter what...if they had not been already corrupted. Furthermore, the heretics could've very easily been sacrifices, or perhaps even disposal of loyalist elements."

"All of the processed traitors did vehemently oppose against their conviction," Batu sounded nearly shaken. "At the time, I and the Inquisitor chalked it up to simple lying, but many became incredibly desperate. Not to mention, many were reported by their own fellow Guardsmen."

"Throne of the God-Emperor..." the Sergeant himself seemed about ready to sit down from the shock. "You may be right. And we have absolutely no way to contact the fleet of this treachery. They could be attacked from the back, without ever realizing what struck them."

"And with such a surprise, even smaller ships could inflict heavy losses upon said fleet before they are apprehended," Kronos at last felt comfortable joining in again. He would need to receive a covert briefing of everything happening in the Imperium as soon as he could however. "So many ways of inconveniencing even the full might of the Imperial war machine. However leads this Chaos cult is not one to be underestimated."

"Well, then, what do we do? We have no idea where our targets might actually be, and over time I fear even you Custodian could be cut down by the traitors," he hadn't thought of Ganbaatar as someone to fall to despair, even a slight one, but he supposed under their situation anyone would be tested. "With no reinforcements, no communications, and already outnumbered like this..."

"Simple. We march straight to the Grand Spire, and fix all that."

Everyone turned their attention to Mira once more. The child faltered somewhat under all of their inquisitive gaze, but she nonetheless continued.

"The Grand Spire used to be the seat of the Planetary Governor before, well, everything. If we attack it, there's a good chance we'll find more-or-less control panels for the entire planet."

"And then, we could shut off the communications jammer," Gan was the first to comment. "We could potentially even disable the Void Shields and Defense Lasers from there."

"We do not exactly possess the manpower, nor the firepower to mount an assault however," Batu then turned towards Kronos. "No offense to you Custodian, but I doubt even your assistance could help us break through what I can only assume would be the enemy's most heavily defended position."

"Well, I ask you White Scar, what other choice do we have?" he left the question hang for a bit, waiting to see if Batu could retort. When he could not, Kronos continued. "With those Void Shields and Defense Lasers, we have no extraction and no support. We either take the shot now that our squad has consolidated, or get picked off over time."

Every White Scar stood silent, contemplating his point. At last, a trio of nods followed, while Mira's opinion didn't even need to be voiced.

"Well, our goal is set then. We march for this Grand Spire, and slaughter anything in our path."

Author's notes: Sorry for that whole enormous-gap-for-ages thing. Procrastination and sorta-kinda-maybe burnout prevented this from coming out any sooner.

Again, not much to say. Wanted to get a longer chapter out for you guys to compensate for said gap a bit. I hope the next chapter will come out on "schedule", but I make no promises. As always, favs, follows and reviews are always appreciated, as I really want to hear you opinion more.

Otherwise, this is your resident nonexistent being signing off.