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Chapter 7: Chaotic complications
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Part 1
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Victory Bay
Kronus
The Lord Inquisitor was something else, all right! Commissar Weber didn't know what they fed and taught baby Inquisitors in their Scholas, but it had to be the good stuff – there was no other way to explain how someone as young as him managed to pull of what their resident Inquisitor did in just a few short days, not to mention that he even survived it more or less intact! The way he wasn't affected by the little blank was astounding as well.
"Leftenant Groban, sort out working parties to see to our dead, Leftenant Konner, get your Medicaes on the wounded, yesterday!" Weber barked orders to get his troopers moving. They were good people, especially for soldiers of a PDF regiment from a messed up place like Kronus. When it mattered, they didn't flinch and went after the Xeno for all they were worth, something the Commissar could only approve of. He knew very well that many of his colleagues who arrived with General Alexander weren't so lucky with their own regiments.
The only shadows staining his victory mood were the mechanical Xeno, those so called Necrons milling around and the Blood Ravens, which should have been an unthinkable treason just a month ago. Now, after seeing firsthand the Emperor's Angels of Death shooting at loyal Guardsmen and PDF troopers because something as innane as conflicting orders… Weber glanced at the back of the huge Astartes who went to speak with the Inquisitor and bristled. It simply wasn't right! He took a few deep breaths, doing his best to ignore the stench, and forced himself to calm down. The last thing anyone needed was for a Commissar of all people to loose his temper and do something regrettable. Still, he could dream of the Inquisition falling like the wrath of the Emperor himself upon everyone who had anything to do with the utter mess on Kronus, human and Xeno alike!
Weber just got everyone working on dealing with the battle's aftermath, when the Inquisitor emerged from the back of the Chimera. The Commissar's smile wavered when he saw the blank lass clutching Veil's side with one thin hand while she was busy munching on an opened field ration. Even at a distance, simply seeing the child was most unnerving experience, even before her wide open eyes starred blankly at him. Weber's smile froze on his face when the Inquisitor saw him and waved him to approach. He shook himself, he was a Commissar, for the Emperor's sake! He wasn't going to run from a little girl who when all was said and done was an asset for the Imperium!
Even if she made his skin crawl and feel like running as far away from her might be for the best…
"Inquisitor, how can I be of service?" Weber was proud that he kept his voice steady. Without being pumped with adrenaline and righteous anger at the Xenos, coming anywhere close to the brat was anything but easy.
"Commissar Weber, do us all a favour and find someone reliable to look after the child." Veil ruffed the blanks' short hair as if it was the most natural thing in the world, something that made the Commissar's appreciation of the man rise up another notch. To think he could handle her proximity and touch without flinching, it was simply incredible!
"I'll see to it personally, my Lord Inquisitor!" Weber declared and he was proud his voice rang with conviction. If the Inquisitor could force himself to tolerate the little blank, even her touch, he could do nothing less! He had an example to follow! "Hi there!" Weber waved at the girl trying to be as friendly as he could.
For better or worse she paid him no attention and continued to munch on her meal. Huh, were those waffles?!
"Good. I'm leaving her in your capable hands, Commissar. I'll be back to check on her once my meeting with the General is over. Take care." The Inquisitor offered Weber a salute and the Commissar hurried to return it.
Weber's determination took a nosedive once Veil managed to coax the blank to let him go and offered him her hand. Touching her was like handling a live power line! It was all Weber could do not to push her away and jump as far from the girl as he could. He had to keep repeating in his head that this wasn't her fault and that she wasn't going to hurt him or worse. That in fact, while in his presence he was as safe he could be from Chaos as one could get unless there was a genuine Emperor blessed Saint nearby!
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Eres Badlands
Kronus
A small convoy of vehicles drove through the baked hell that was the Eres Badlands. Every single machine was properly sanctified and blessed in the name of the Four Gods and repainted with blood and all kinds of holy symbols. The leading Chimera, which was faithfully liberated from the servants of the Golden Corpse, proudly wore the torso of a sacrifice as a hood ornament and liberally sprayed blood when the vehicle drove through any bump in what passed for roads in this forgotten place.
"I have fond memories from this place." Eliphas mussed from his seat on top of an ancient Rhino transport that drove in the center of the convoy. "It was over there I gutted couple of the Guilliman's boys..." He smiled in a fond memory and pointed at a small dusty hill in the distance. "I even kept their skulls until the last Black Crusade..." He continued. "Those were good times..."
"I don't care what you skull fetishists do to entertain yourselves nowadays, much less what you did ten thousand years ago." That unpleasant screech came from the Chaos Sorcerer ridding beside Chaos Champion.
Eliphas narrowed his eyes at the follower of Tzeentch, while the fingers of his right hand closed around the hilt of his good old Crozius. He had to remind himself that bashing in the skull of the Sorcerer right now would be counterproductive, no matter how much satisfying it would be. Perhaps once the ritual was done…
"We're almost there anyway." Eliphas pointed at the distance to the East. "Over there. Can you feel it Sorcerer? He hungers for blood. He can sense how the Corpse Worshipers and the Eldar are slaughtering each other." Those blue fools too, but who cared about them?
"The Prince of Pleasure would reward us for every Soulstone we sacrifice to him." The Sorcerer nodded in agreement.
The Chaos Champion looked back at the transports driving behind his ride, and smiled in approval. He could see the faces of many eager sacrifices, who had been busy carving the signs of their devotion in their own flesh and that of their children. While he usually preferred to spill the blood of the unbelievers and then feed their souls to the Gods, he had to admit that there were times when there was no substitute to blood and lives willingly sacrificed for the faith. This was going to work beautifully, he was sure of it!
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Part 2
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Eres Badlands
Kronus
All the warning they got was a brief wave of static before realty distorted and a massive green form materialized in front of the convoy in a shower of purple lighting. The leading vehicle slammed into the newcomer without even attempting to slow down resulting in an almighty crash and screech of twisting metal. Feet slammed into brake pedals and the convoy came to a sudden jerky stop. Tracks and tires dug deep into the baked ground and the sudden stop covered the whole convoy in a thick cloud of dust. Even as screams of outrage and vile curses came from the Chaos worshipers, a deep amused chuckle silenced them all.
"I'm not that easy to kill, hummiez..."
Eliphas' eyes narrowed to slits. Despite the dust he could clearly see the source of the interruption. That sorry excuse for a mushroom dared interrupt the Gods' work?! He was going to feed his soul to Khorne after… The huge Ork tore through the Chimera he crashed into with a wicked looking power claw attached to his right hand, which was properly covered in dried blood. His other hand ended up with a tri-barrelled weapon that was sliced nearly in two. No one sane would have used it, but of course that meant nothing for the dumb brute. Said brute being a Khorne cursed Ork, the damned weapon worked too, even if it shouldn't have.
The Chaos Champion moved much faster than even a trans-human had any right to and jumped clear off the Rhino with the Sorcerer vaulting off just a heartbeat later. They got off just in time too, because a moment later a Krak grenade fell through an open hatch and turned the vehicle's interior into an inferno. Shards of glowing metal tore through the armour barely missing the two Astarters.
Two more grenades fell through the air behind the Rhino and detonated, disintegrating a pair of the transports bearing sacrifices. Chunks of flesh and blood rained upon the dusty ground, only for the crimson fluid to be immediately absorbed without a trace.
"Damn you!" Eliphas roared, took his Crozius in hand and charged the Ork, determined to tear the offending Greenskin limb from limb!
The brute chuckled, grabbed the caved in Chimera, heaved as he picked it up and threw it at the next vehicle in the convoy, crushing their crew. The Sorcerer found his footing and sent a stream of fire at the Greenskin who merely shrugged it off as if it was nothing and met Eliphas' charge with a happy laugh.
The Crozius hummed with the promise of ruin in Eliphas' hand as he skid to a stop, his feed digging small trenches in the soil. He managed to halt his progress just in time to avoid a backhand strike from the Greenskin's grenade launcher, which left the beast open for a devastating strike that should have torn off its lower jaw. Instead the blessed weapon and its disruptor field merely dented the crude metal and rang the Ork's head like a gong. The brute took half a step back, paying no attention to the cultists and a handful of blessed Astartes who had finally pilled out of their vehicles and opened fire at him, and swung his power-claw at the Chaos Champion.
Eliphas jumped back avoiding the crude claws cracking with energy and glared murderously at the Ork. "Your suffering will be legendary, beast!" The Champion promised darkly. "Do you have any idea what you just did, you damned brute!?"
"You talk too much." Gorgutz smirked, took another swipe at Eliphas forcing him to move back to avoid it and pointed his grenade launcher at the Chaos Champion, all the while ignoring lasbolts and bolter round glancing off or blowing chunks from his crude armour.
Eliphas swore as he jumped back as far away as his enhanced body and power armour could bring him while clawing for his bolt pistol. A fragmentation grenade detonated where he stood just a moment ago throwing a geyser of dirt in the air and further obscuring the Ork. A second one blew closer to the Chaos Champion rattling his teeth and then a third one landed just in front of him. The following explosion sent searing shards glancing off and even digging into his armour and the shock-wave was enough to lift him off his feet and throw him away. An explosion that would have pulverized an ordinary human merely stunned and singed the Chaos Champion. He had the blessing of Khorne, he wasn't going to die so easily! He roared in fury and jumped on his feet, ignoring the aches caused by the grenades and ran back into the fray.
Finally, the Daemon Engines at the back of the convoy had entered the fray, which was admittedly a mixed blessing in this case. The demon possessed dreadnoughts moved past the halted column spewing flames cannon shells and bolter fire in the Ork's general direction. The brute himself had wadded into the cultists and cut to pieces a squad of Guardsmen who had seen the light of the Gods. When Eliphas saw him again, the Ork was busy tangling with the Sorcerer and a pair of Astartes in close quarters. The Daemon Engines put a stop to that in a hurry – four shells blew up a Chimera, tore two of the Astartes to bloody chunks and left the Sorcerer writhing on the ground leaking blood from the stumps of his legs. The beast didn't emerge unscratched – the detonations threw it off its feet, tore off the left side of its face and the crude bionic eye off its socked and finally demolished the grenade launcher complete with the arm up to the shoulder, not to mention they caved the left side of its armour and torso.
Any natural creature would have been stopped by this much punishment and died in agony. That green mushroom with delusions of grandeur? It laughed and got up on unsteady feet just in time for Eliphas to fall upon it and begin smashing it with his blessed Crozius. Weakened armour cracked and fell apart under the disruptor field, green flesh tore in chunks of bloody gore, a heavy bolter burst caught the brute in the side and it shook under the impacts before the pile of shot up scrap on its back glowed discharging green and purple arcs of energy. Prudently, Eliphas jumped away and it was just in time too – reality twisted so much it was painful to look at and the Ork disappeared with a crack of displaced air that rushed to fill up the void.
The Chaos Champion roared in frustration at being denied his kill. He looked wildly around, saw the still twitching form of the Sorcerer and walked toward him, blood-thirsty Crozuim in hand. The ritual was ruined now, they needed more willing sacrifices than they had at hand! He needed to hit and bleed something, someone, before returning to get his hands on more cultists and a larger force for an escort.
Failure was not an option, the Gods made that crystal clear.
The Sorcerer attempted to summon the Warp to protect himself, raising an arm that glowed with power. Eliphas shot the whinny bastard in the palm blowing the hand to tiny bloody chunks. At least Khorne should be mollified by the bloodletting… Before the Sorcerer could do something else, the Champion shot off the Sorcerer's other hand as well and then began smashing him with his blessed mace until there was nothing but bloody paste left, which was in turn greedily drunk by the ground below his feet.
While this as an unmitigated disaster, the sorry bastard most likely to try stab him in the back was now very dead so hopefully it wasn't all bad, Eliphas hoped.
