"Give me a target!" Syndragar roared.

"Shields holding!"

The hololithic display showed a flickering signal on their starboard flank, a new set of dots spitting out and advancing rapidly. Torpedoes.

"Full burn!" he ordered. "Starboard and dorsal batteries, fire at will! Karis, if you have an identification, I need it now!"

Llthaanhir stared at the hololith almost hungrily as the stormtrooper fought to clear up the sensor data.

The warship groaned as the mighty Skartix engine coil warmed up to full power, the acceleration enough to be felt, and Syndagar watched carefully, trying to judge the attack angle of the incoming ordnance. "Course change! Fifteen marks starboard, descend ten!"

"Guns report no effect, sir, they can't get a fix!"

"Of course they can't," he muttered. The cruiser shifted, then jolted as impacts sounded. Sirens sounded.

"Void shields have collapsed, minor damage!"

"Ordnance spotted, defence batteries firing!"

Syndagar stared at the display, holding his breath. This would be close.

Lascannons blazed and burned, and one sleek missile detonated. The other three massive weapons strained to keep tracking and avoid the fire... and slipped past the outer edge of the hull, missing by a matter of feet.

"Torpedoes have missed, repeat, enemy torpedoes have missed!"

"Batteries firing again!"

On the hololith, the flickering point of the Eldar ship abrupt flared, and Syndagar didn't need the call to know that they'd finally nailed the bastard. With unreal speed, the object changed course and blazed away, vanishing amongst the wreckage again. He gritted his teeth, but there was nothing to be done. The Soul Venom was fast, but she couldn't match the pointy-ears in a turn-and-burn fight. "Stand by," he barked. "They'll be back."

Karis moved to his side as the bridge relaxed from battle tension to readiness. "It was one of their smaller ships," she said tersely. "Based on the attack pattern and the weapons, I'd guess an Aurora-class light cruiser. Lethal forward firepower, deadly against larger enemies, but no broadside capability of any kind."

He nodded. "I've seen them in action. If we can close, we can destroy them with ease, but that'll be the difficult part. The question is, what are they doing here, and why did they attack?"

Karis looked thoughtful. "Not had many dealings with them, I take it?"

"Aside from exchanging fire, no." The captain considered the hololith again. "Tau you can do business with. Orks are not difficult to understand. But Eldar... Eldar look down on everyone and think in riddles and millennia. You?"

"They're simpler than you think," a new voice remarked sweetly. The daemon settled in the captain's chair, looked at the two of them. "Everything they do is to save themselves. When it comes right down to it, an Eldar will do whatever they think is best for their race. They just usually know more than their opponent, so they can look at a bigger picture. Whatever made them destroy both sides here, they clearly don't wish anyone else interfering. Our mere presence is a threat to them."

Karis glanced at her warily, then she bit her lip. "Zurashniel."

"Very likely," Llthaanhir agreed.

Syndragar glanced between the two. "Who and what is Zurashniel?"

When they'd explained, he wished they hadn't.

"Three hostile Marines," Tzarine said thoughtfully. "Capable, well armed and stealthy - not to mention patient. They've waited for opportunities, targeted the isolated, only moved in when the odds are stacked in their favour."

"And they likely know that we're here," Morgana added. "They've been smart enough so far, they'll have been monitoring events."

"So we need to trap them somehow," Tzarine finished. "Trick them into revealing themselves and then go from there."

Helga shrugged. "Just let me at them. I've killed Marines before, plenty of them."

"We've all got our share of kills on that front," Tzarine replied. "But even you've got limits. Korgar nearly took you down."

The seraphim looked unhappy, but she knew that her commander was right.

"The heretic has a point," Zophia said.

Tzarine gave her a look, but the other Sister ignored it and continued, "We've allowed ourselves to be trapped and intimidated. The Emperor has led you all to us, however, and whatever your choices may have been, you're a good soldier, Tzarine." She paused. "Better than I ever was."

Tzarine just nodded. She knew that admission must have hurt. "The thing to remember about fighting Space Marines is that one-on-one, they're just plain better. Stronger, tougher, faster, and their weapons pack a bigger punch just by virtue of being built on a different scale. As a result, it's vital not to fight on their terms. These three are fighting smarter than Korgar's Word Bearers, but they're isolated, heavily outnumbered, and they have no backup or resupply."

Her vox crackled abruptly, and she turned away. "Tzarine."

"It's Karis," came the reply. "You need to get out, now."

Tzarine shot a look towards Zophia, who was watching with cold curiosity, then turned away again. "What's happened?"

"The Venom was just attacked by an Eldar cruiser. We beat them off, but in an attrition fight in a debris, they hold all the advantages. That's not the worst news, though."

"Eldar?" Tzarine interrupted. "Did they destroy the fleet?"

"We think they might have contributed, but if they were here in force, we'd likely already be fleeing. Tzarine, Llthaanhir spoke with some of her contacts. Someone's gunning for us on the other side of the veil."

Tzarine lowered her voice, took a few steps further away. She could do without Zophia knowing about Llthaanhir. "What do you mean? One of Korgar's patrons?"

"No. A very old, very powerful Greater Daemon by the name of Zurashniel. Llthaanhir says this whole setup stinks of the bitch, they've got some kind of history and it doesn't sound friendly. Tzarine, I don't need to tell you that you're in no shape to take on something that powerful. Not without heavy losses."

"Which god?"

"Slaanesh."

Tzarine chewed this over. "I'm not leaving. There's a job to finish here. Whatever's going on down here, it's not Slaaneshi. 'Malice' is a rogue Marine, not even a Chaotic one from what I can tell. Doom Eagles, if that means anything to you."

There was a pause. "Not immediately. I'll get back to you. Llthaanhir won't be happy, nor will Syndragar, but we'll hold position. Don't be too long. Karis out."

The light on her HUD went dark, indicating the channel had closed. Tzarine bit her lip, then returned to the group, which she realized had all been watching her. "There's Eldar activity in the area," she said curtly. "They were driven off, but we should be wary. I've also been informed that there's a rumour of a Greater Daemon of the Enemy operating nearby."

Unrest sounded among troops on both sides, and Zophia instinctively made the sign of the aquila. Morgana looked positively alarmed. "Tzarine… if that's true, we could be in serious trouble. Remember Senaav. That could be small-scale compared to what could happen here if a Greater Daemon finds a weakness. Two battlefleets in ruins, mass warfare on the surface… and this Mission condemned to death. Ecclesiastical heartland or not, Shondar could be annihilated."

"And the Eldar are trying to prevent it," murmured Marie. She cringed slightly at the sudden attention. "It makes sense," she offered meekly. "Vile witches they may be, but they have shown themselves to be vicious enemies of Chaos on many occasions."

Tzarine nodded slowly. "The Venom has been used by Chaos in the past. The Eldar might have assumed that we were part of this grand plan."

Rhia spoke up for the first time in a while. "This doesn't help us in dealing with Malice and his friends."

There was silence for a moment, then Helga coughed, and Tzarine knew from her tone that there was a nasty smirk under her helmet. "I have an idea. But I don't think you're going to like it."

"She's staying," said Karis simply.

Llthaanhir sighed and clapped her palm to her face, an oddly human gesture that made both the Stormtrooper and the captain glanced at her in surprise. "Stubborn, stupid girl," the daemon muttered. "She has no idea what she's dealing with."

"Apparently they've identified the ones responsible. Rogue Doom Eagle space marines," offered Karis. "There's no sign of Chaotic involvement."

"That's what it looks like," Llthaanhir shot back. "Among my brethren, the joke was that Zurashniel was the spawn of a love affair between the Dark Prince and the Great Sorcerer. Believe me, the sooner we are clear of the system, and preferably the sector, the better."

"I agree," said Syndragar, his tone a mixture of irritation and amusement at finding this to be the case. "But all three of us know that our 'dear leader' will have other plans."

His meaning was lost on neither of the other two. Karis glanced at Llthaanhir. Out of the entire crew of the Soul Venom, she was the only one who had even a small idea of who and what the daemon was, but here and now, she wasn't sure what that meant.

The daemon just smirked slightly. "Concerned about my loyalties? Wary that the proposal of fleeing will make me slaughter you all? It's nice to be respected."

Syndragar looked her in the eye. "If I have to make a choice between Tzarine's crusades and the safety of my ship and crew, we both know which I'll choose."

"I suppose, when that choice comes…" Llthaanhir murmured, "You'll just have to see whether I… disapprove."

The entire bridge was watching the two. The guards tightened their grips on their weapons…

The daemon princess looked away, and the tension broke. "We're not there yet though, are we?" she said cheerfully. "I'll be back when things go wrong." Smiling toothily back at them, she left the bridge. Karis finally remembered to breathe.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Syndragar," she said, still watching the doorway that Llthaanhir had left through. "Zurashniel's crimes were well known even among the Hereticus, but I'm not convinced that I wouldn't rather face the Archcorruptor than Llthaanhir in a rage."

Captain Syndragar shot her a look. "Our previous 'patron' was a psychotic demagogue, who preached insanity and annihilation. But at least he never brought a pet daemon on board my ship, less a daemon that we know nothing about. Except you. You know who she is, don't you?"

Karis shook her head. "No. The name Llthaanhir was not one I ever learned," she said truthfully. "But she's old. That I can tell you. Fresh warpspawn don't make enemies of beings as powerful as Zurashniel. That… and I could tell, as we left Senaav, that she'd seen many worlds burn. Made many worlds burn."

"If this monstrosity is so powerful… why is she here, playing with small fry such as us and Tzarine?"

Karis shook her head. "I don't know," she said, and this time she was being honest.