Shadow of a Doubt
Chapter 31
The cameras in the walls picked out the details of the Inquisitors Astartes escorts, noting their chapter symbols. Kyreg looked at him and smiled thinly, recognizing them and in turn, giving him an idea of who the Inquisitor was. The Eldar weapons found on the man also proved interesting, the Eldar witch explaining what make those weapons had come from and what that meant for an Inquisitor to have them.
"He's certainly not a purist, but not necessarily a radical per say." Albert chimed in as he examined the weapons. "It's not unheard of for Inquisitors to maintain weapons of xeno origin if they might be in a place where they are unable to resupply.." Kyreg nodded, that he understood. However this Inquisitor was certainly not in Eldar space, and was still in Imperial space at the time. The Commander looked over at Catriona who shrugged. "We were asleep in stasis pods for centuries at a time, Commander. We barely even understand the purpose of the Inquisition aside from a tool of terror." The Sister of Silence Canoness replied, her hand resting on the armoured belt around her waist. "Albert, be the first to interrogate him. Give us details, let's get his tongue loose." The Rogue Trader sighed and nodded, always detesting having to deal with Inquisitors in any way shape or form.
The Inquisitor had been disarmed, his entire ensemble stripped from him and clothed instead in a set of grey robes, nothing on there that could be used or improvised into a weapon. The cell he sat in had nothing, no tables, no chairs, only a window to gaze in and a door. The door opened and Albert walked in, a full squad of his Grenadiers armed with hotshot las carbines with cut down Naval shotguns mounted underneath the handguard of the carbines. The Inquisitor stood up at once.
"I hope for your sake that you are a warlord of limitless resources and power, because that is the only way you will get out of this alive." Dion snarled out at him, while Albert gave him an odd look. "Why would I need to be a warlord? You are the captive here."
Dion barked out a harsh laugh while gesturing to the walls around him. "You believe yourself to be the warden and I the prisoner. No good sir, the moment you took me prisoner, the yoke of the Inquisition has snared all of you in here with me. No I'm afraid, you might hold me captive but I am hardly the prisoner." Albert tilted his head and nodded slightly. "You should ask then Lord Inquisitor, what sort of a man would take an Inquisitor prisoner." The prisoner smirked slightly. "A stupid man perhaps. A man with a death wish or even worse, a man in pact with the ruinous powers."
Albert shook his head. "No my Lord, perhaps all it takes is a man who recognizes Eldar weapons and how they do not belong on a member of the Inquisition. No, I don't think I have an Inquisitor in captivity. I imagine that I have a fraud."
The Inquisitor snarled again. "A fraud? Would a fraud be accompanied by a full squad of Space Marines?" Albert nodded. "Yes. A fraud would be accompanied by a squad of Astartes who have been declared Excommunicate. Do you not think I would recognize their colours?" The Inquisitor fell silent and snarled only as a reply. "I think if I was to hand you over to the Inquisition, it would be I that would be rewarded." The Inquisitor for a moment looked sullen before grinning at him. "Hand me over to the Inquisition? I doubt it. You might hand me over but it would be the word of an Inquisitor against a planetary lord. A stupid one at that. I would have to sit through some rather tedious hearings but I can plead my case. It would not be hard, and after all that, it would still be your word against mine."
"That is true. But in truth, it will not be me that you will have to answer to." Before the Inquisitor can ask, the door opened and Kyreg strode in, accompanied by Lilithfeon. A mask of hatred was worn on the Aeldari's face as it had become quite clear that the weapons he possessed had been taken off of battlefield dead, an act seen as utterly barbaric by the Craftworlds. The Inquisitor paled at this, not having been prepared to be the one held captive by an Eldar and a Space Marine.
The Eldar walked to in front of him and placed a hand on his head, and the next thing he saw was just pure light stripping away in his mind as he slumped over. However he would wake up standing dressed in his regular regalia, with the black armoured Astarte beside him while the Eldar stood there as well. In front of them he could see his memories, fragments of his memories and he would pale.
The Inquisitor chuckled as he closed the blast doors, his acolytes stuck on the other side could only scream as the last of them were torn apart by the Daemons that had been summoned. In his hand clutched a book bound in human skin, what he had come to this very planet for. He ran for the Valkyrie that had brought him there, the Inquisitional Tempestus Scions firing at full auto towards the warp beasts that seemed to spawn at random. As he jumped into the gunship, he would hit the close door button even as the Scions outside kept laying down fire. The Scion Sergeant would turn at the sound of the cargo doors closing and paused for a moment as a flash of betrayal could be seen only for a moment across the veteran's hardened eyes before he turned and resumed firing. The Inquisitor smiled thinly as he ignored what was going on outside and instead ran his fingers over the unholy book, grinning from ear to ear as the gunship left the atmosphere.
"Exterminatus. This planet has been lost to the Emperors Light." He ordered casually as the gunship landed. The pilots exchanged looks with each other and began to unbuckle themselves before the Inquisitor casually drew his las pistol and executed the two of them by a shot in the back of the head. The sudden flashes of the las bolts caused alarms over the ship with Naval Security Troopers running towards the gunship with their snub-nosed naval shotguns at the ready before he stepped out and waved them off. "They were exhibiting strange behaviour, I had to cleanse them to preserve their souls for the Emperor." He holstered the las pistol and walked to his quarters, not sparing a second thought as the planet of over five billion was torn asunder by cyclonic torpedoes and the planet surface left barren by the firestorms that raged over it.
The scene turned into blackness, the Inquisitor hissing as he looked over at the barren nothingness around him. "Eldar tricks, that is not what happened witch.. I recovered an extremely valuable relic! A treasure that should have seen me made Inquisitor Lord but no those fools, their minds were too closed to the possibilities." Lilithfeon looked at the Inquisitor wordlessly while Kyreg's mind was clicking away like a clock tower. This started to add together, especially with the Inquisitor being escorted by that chapter of Astartes. Images began to flow through again.
"I understand, Governor, just how valuable this item is. That is why I am here, to escort it to safety to an Inquisitional vault." The Inquisitor was sitting in a large parlour across from a portly man who was quite obviously made nervous by the situation he found himself in. "The thing is Inquisitor, and I completely agree however… uh.." The Governor was cut off by the entrance of a younger man in full carapace armour and a storm cloak armed with a hotshot las pistol at his waist accompanied by what looked like four well-muscled warriors in a full black bodysuits with war masks on. "What the Governor is trying to say, Inquisitor Ephemeris, is that this has already been assigned to me for safe keeping. My retinue and I will arrange for its safe passage, although I thank you for your interest in the safety of this relic." The last comment was barely veiled with toxic venom behind it, the younger Inquisitor staring at him with eyes that could almost be mistaken for gun sights.
"Very well Inquisitor, I am glad to see that it is in such capable hands.. I will take my leave then." Inquisitor Dion Ephemeris spat out at the other man before getting up. The image suddenly changed to the spaceport itself where the younger Inquisitor was waiting, with his retinue of assassins as well as a squad of Guardsmen dressed in the armour and uniform of the famed regiments of Elysia, armed with bullpup las rifles and heavier weapons. As the Valkyrie landed in front of them and opened its cargo doors, a sharp crack preceded the Inquisitor dropping to the ground with a massive wound in his torso. The assassins leaped into action, drawing out long power swords and moving faster than the eye can keep track of while the Elysian guardsmen dropped to a knee and formed a defensive circle around the Inquisitor.
"No survivors." A voice hissed out from the shadows, as the swarm of Eldar Pirates appeared out of the shadows with their xenos weapons and began firing, gunning down the Elysian guardsmen mercilessly while those of their ilk armed with long cruel sabers engaged the assassins. The assassins fought valiantly but one small cut was all it took before the four were convulsing on the floor, even though they had managed to kill at least five of the pirates. The Inquisitor with his dying breath reached into his armour and drew a thermite grenade, almost getting his hand on the activation stud before a long thin blade cut through the thumb almost on top of the stud, his thumb rolling to the ground. He would stare at it before looking up just in time to see the thin blade slice into his left eye, the keenness of the blade leaving his eyeball intact even as neural flayers at the tip of the blade fried the Inquisitors brains. From behind the pirates stepped out Inquisitor Dion who would pick up the locked box which he opened giddily, a necklace carved from human bone and a black gem that seemed to suck the light from around it. He nodded towards the pirates and gestured towards a waiting ship.
"Is that our payment?" The leader seemed to ask in High Gothic that seemed to be too graceful to be uttered from the lips of a human. "Yes, it is. Payment in full." The Dark Eldar smiled and bowed mockingly before entering the ship, his compatriots dragging the bodies of their own slain into the civilian marked ship, the closing cargo doors revealing the begging eyes of the women and children who had been forced into it as the last pirate closed the ramp. The Inquisitor smiled as he left, his attention focused on the necklace as he caressed it before closing the small lockbox and walking away.
"Dealing with the Drukhari, that is unforgivable Inquisitor." Kyreg spoke for the first time as the images around them dissipated, the trio once again surrounded by the white walls of the cell the Inquisitor had been placed in. "More Eldar mind tricks… I am an Inquisitor of The Emperors most holy Ordos.." He was interrupted by Lilithfeon slapping him across the face. "To bargain with the Drukhari, Mon'keigh. To make a deal for the life of your own kind through payment… you know not what you have done." The Inquisitor snarled at her but before he could launch into another tirade, Kyreg put up a hand.
"This is the favour I require from you then, Eldar. Take him with you. Take him to your ship, where you can fully interrogate him and open his mind up. Find out what it is that he hides." The Commander stated as he looked at the Inquisitor. The Aeldari Farseer tilted her head only slightly, before nodding. "I acquiesce to your request then. A bargain has been struck between us Mon'keigh." She nodded and seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, before a squad of Aspect warriors marched in, with wraith bone restraints in hand. They would take the Inquisitor and restrain him before marching him off. Wordlessly, Lilithfeon followed them out.
Kyreg would walk behind them, not knowing where they had appeared from but suddenly, the four Sisters of the Lupi Titania appeared behind him with their bolters in port order as they escorted the Eldar out of the palace. Outside in the battlefield that had taken place previously, what was left of the Eldar awaited them, including the Corsair Prince Galamon who smiled thinly at the Astartes Commander. "I did not think to see the day that I would see Mon'keigh be so restrained in their bloodlust." The Corsair Prince remarked icily. Kyreg chuckled underneath his helmet, a low threatening sound that would raise the hackles of those within earshot.
"And yet this is not the first time I have seen Aeldari leaving the battlefield defeated." The reply sent the Corsair's bodyguards into a fit, clenched jaws and curses spoken in xenos tongue would be their reply. With a slight chuckle, Kyreg turned, his cameoline cloak fluttering amidst the dusty ad hoc landing zone and walked back into his castle, followed by his Sisters of Silence bodyguards.
Do you truly believe we can trust Mon'keigh? Galamon asked of the Farseer who would pause mid step onto the landing ship. Trust him? I see no reason to trust him. But do I believe he means no ill intentions towards us? I do. If he wished, he would have exterminated us using the spirit stones as bait. Instead he has returned them. The Farseer would continue up the steps before disappearing into the interior. The Corsair Prince turned his head slightly towards the direction that the Legion Commander had disappeared to, before begrudgingly bowing his head slightly. As much as he detested it, handing the spirit stones back at least deserved his respect for this enemy.
As the transport would cloak itself and take off towards the Corsair's Wraithship, Catriona chuckled slightly. "Commander, you surprise me. I assumed you would have us deactivate our null collars and cut them down." Kyreg shook his head slightly, his helmet almost barely moving to a casual observer. "Information comes from all sources, no battle can be won without proper intelligence. Be it from the lips of man or xenos, it matters little." The red haired Sister smirked slightly as she locked her bolter to her armour. "So then Commander, what next?" Kyreg looked over at the landing ship that still remained in palace ground, its pilot having long since been hypno-indoctrinated multiple times over the past few days, he grinned underneath his helmet. "Next, we find a way off this planet."
Sergeant Larhu stood in the massive enclosed garden behind the palace, unhelmed although the power sword was strapped around his waist. Behind him stood the rest of the 21st Harrow, also unhelmed. In front of them stood Sergeant Bronchius, his attire similar although his armour was purple instead of dusk blue.
"Tell me then where is the Inquisitor? You have asked me to come here by messenger to parlay and I have come to do so and seek explanation. You have taken our charge." Sergeant Bronchius stated in a loud voice used to command.
"He didn't take your charge. I did." The Sergeant turned to see Commander Kyreg striding towards them, also unhelmed.
"That is bold of you to announce then, do you not fear that my brothers and I will just attack? There are more of us than there are of you." Kyreg smiled slightly at the Sergeants words. "You should know as well as I do, cousin, that we know no fear. It was one of His first Decrees for us. But of course you were not around at that time." The Commander smiled bitterly, his memories from over ten millennia ago the purest ones he had of being a Legios Astartes. The Sergeant frowned slightly, looking at the Commander questioningly. "You may choose to attack Sergeant, but remember this. I have fought in the Emperors name for over ten thousand years, and I have killed fine better warriors than either of us." The Sergeant hesitated for a moment, seeing the insignia and colours on the Commander. "Alpha Legion.."He hissed. The rest of his men all gripped their bolters tighter as he saw the colours.
"Yes, and you would do well to remember who came from Legion and who comes from a diluted bloodline that you yourselves have no idea of."
"We are of the blood of Dorn, our progenitor and our source of honour." Kyreg smirked slightly. "Come now Soul Drinker. We both know that your geneseeds do not match those of the Praetorian." The Sergeant looked surprised momentarily. "Unlike you, I have met the Praetorian and you do not have his genes. I do not need to know about the tests that were carried out to know that. None of you have his resoluteness. None of you carry his unyieldingness nor his singular focused mind. Who your progenitor truly is, there are a few I can guess of."
The Soul Drinkers looked at him and blinked slightly, each hiding their own emotions behind a mask of granite. "That.. is falsehood, I warn you against speaking those words again."
Kyreg laughed before gesturing at the symbol on his own armour. "I know more than what the annals of your entire Chapter held in its librarium. The oldest of you count yourself in centuries still, but for those of us who once walked in Legion strength, we measure in millennia. Tell me, do you know who you remind me of the most?" One of the Space Marines looked as if he was about to say something but Sergeant Bronchius placed an armoured hand in front of him. "You should never trust the words of someone wearing those colours."
The members of the 21st chuckled quietly amongst themselves at those words, even Sergeant Larhu cracking a slight smile as Kyreg smirked slightly. "You do not need to trust my words, Soul Drinker. Tell me, what is it that you wish then? Why are you here."
The Sergeants face took on a slightly sour expression for a moment. "You have the Inquisitor. We wish for him back." Kyreg shook his head slightly. "That will be impossible. He's chosen to travel with the Eldar, they've promised him glimpse of knowledge that he could not hope to attain otherwise." Bronchius grimaced slightly. "Although I do not trust your words, there is not much I can do about that now. Then in that case, we have been marooned here." Kyreg nodded slightly. "It does appear to be the case, although I would say for your own sake Sergeant.. it is not unwell news for you."
Bronchius looked at him sharply. "And what is that supposed to mean?" Kyreg stared at the Astarte for a moment. "We delved into his mind, we opened it to see what were the things he had done in his life. Although I suppose it depends on how far you have fallen yourself Sergeant. There is nothing that the Inquisitor wanted in life, that would have resulted in anything good for your Imperium."
The Soul Drinker Sergeant paused for a moment. "And what is that supposed to mean? Why would you hold any concern over the Imperium?"
Kyreg chewed on his bottom lips for a moment, a very human gesture he had picked up from the various times he had been embedded with Imperial Army or local human troops to overthrow a government on a planet. "I don't know if you would call it concern. It is something that I had a hand in, at least one of the bricks and some mortar on it had my hand on it. Yet, it is not concern. It's disappointment."
At those words, Bronchius took a step forward but the slight sound of metal on metal generated by Larhu drawing his power sword an inch arrested the full movement of the now angered veteran Sergeant. "Disappointment? The Imperium will withstand the ashes of time while you will be gone." Kyreg nodded in agreement. "I don't doubt it. But what do you think would happen if the Emperor still walked? The Custodians would march to war once again but instead of the enemy within, heads will be chopped and mortals in Terra itself will be held accountable for the path which the High Lords have taken His empire. The Imperium as the Emperor imagined it was a perfect war machine, and a place of absoluteness for humanity. Absolute fealty, absolute safety, humanity guided safely by His hands towards a new age where the stars belong completely to Man. No, not with the Inquisition letting its own run amok, nor with the Ecclesiarch having its own private army or even existing. No, the Emperor would call His Wolves and accompany him on his march towards war. I imagine even Guilliman would be held to account for the way he left things. The Emperor had never been anything less than absolute with his Sons. Failure resulted in rebuke, whether it be His words or spoken through the guns held by his other Sons."
Bronchius seemed to be a bit shaken, although Larhu's head could be seen dipping slightly in agreement. "You would dare imagine what the Emperor would do? What about the Heresy? The betrayal that tore the Imperium asunder?"
Kyreg laughed, a harsh bark that sounded more akin to a bolter going off. "Horus was magnificent, a commander that was peerless in his battle making. But each of the progenitors were all very much cursed with the same mortal faults but magnified. Each of the progenitors held fault. Sides were chosen long before true brothers turned arms upon each other. No, this was almost inevitable. It was too easy for the ruinous powers to dig their claws into the minds of the progenitors. Your progenitor… he had the same folly as Lupercal; pride. Their prides were each amplified beyond what mortal men could imagine, but that was the Primarchs, and in hindsight I wonder if the Emperor had too much of the mortal pride in him as well."
"You dare mock the Emperor of Mankind?" Bronchius hissed as he placed a hand firmly on the chainsword at his hip. "Do you truly believe you understand anything about the Emperor? You who has never once fought for Him?" The Sergeant growled at this and lunged at Kyreg, only for Kyreg to take a step back while drawing his phase sword at the same time, slicing the chainsword in half in one fluid motion. The Sergeant paused as he looked at the destroyed chainsword in his hand. "You protest but when have you fought for Him? Which battle plans did he direct that you participated in? Which one of the worlds did you take by His decree? Tell me Soul Drinker. Tell me then, if you have never met Him, how many drops of blood have you shed for Him?"
The Soul Drinker calmed down at these words although the other members of his squad looked at the Legion Commander uneasily. "You have fought for the Imperium. I have always fought for the Emperor. Those are two very different things. Do not suggest to me, Soul Drinker, that the High Lords are the equivalent to the Emperor. The only one who had ever been allowed to speak with his full authority was the Sigillite. The Imperium is the reason why you do not even know who your progenitor is." There was a long pause in the room as the two sides of Astartes stared at each other.
"So what now then, Soul Drinker? What is your next step?" Kyreg asked with a voice of authority that had once commanded more Astartes than even the High Lords could ever imagine seeing. "Next, I do not know. We have no Chapter to go back to, nor Monastery."
"Then you are in the same situation as we are."
Nameless Desert
The sand began to melt slowly as a shape began to take form slowly, a large tomb like structure appearing out of the massive hole in the ground itself, almost like a pyramid but with a square roof. Around it the thousands of slaves continued to chant the unholy words that brought the structure closer to the surface. Finally it seemed the structure stabilized and the massive hole slowly disappeared underneath it, the new structure standing but the chanting didn't stop.
The structure had smooth polished walls with medium sized bricks made up of a clear crystal, showing its contents. Skeletons from humans, to vaguely humanoid to even stranger alien creatures that have never been seen through the eyes of humanity before, each brick holding remains within. The door way was held open by glowing green marble, the harsh sunlight causing the arch on the door way to flash a brilliant emerald. The chanting finally stopped after alien flames alighted in the hallways of the building, and a soft whistling could be heard from within. The slaves then stood up as red robed mortals began to walk through the lines, each carrying a razor sharp knife to carve a symbol onto the topless slaves that stood motionless, each grimacing only slightly in the pain caused by the knife.
As the red robbed cultists reached the base of the pyramid, standing a small distance back, were those who wore green cloaks that wrapped around themselves, although the las rifles and telltale signs of body armour underneath them were an obvious sign that these men were not cultists. After a moment, a woman who was sitting in front of these armed men stood up from the seat that had been set in the sand and held her hands up, before uttering a single word. A loud crack could be heard as suddenly, the souls of every one of those slaves were ripped out of their body and sent into the structure, the green light turning slowly to red as more and more souls filled it. The light began to get more and more red until it was a dark crimson colour, a hauntingly cold smile on her face the only clue that the effect had been desired. Soon from the top of the pyramid was a small crack and dark purple glow as a small stone on it was lifted out of the small altar that it had been lain on and floated in the air slightly. Another word of the darkest warpcraft sent it flying into her hand and she examined it carefully, clicking her tongue lightly inside her mouth and smiled.
She turned to the green caped man beside her and chuckled slightly. "What do you think Urik? Is that sufficient for you?"
The bearded man shook his head. "The potential for this is limitless.. imagine billions upon billions. This is only a small sip of the fountain of souls."
She laughed lightly before she stood up, the two of them walking a short distance away. "What do we do about these red cloaked freaks then? Suggestions?" The man shrugged slightly. "They have been useful to us. Perhaps they can be of even more use. After all, ten thousand bodies, that can prove to be quite useful to our benefactor."
Natasha would nod although deep down inside her blackened soul, she wished nothing more than to drink deeply of the blood of these cattle. She had gotten her gift of Chaos a long time ago, in exchange for one of the most treasures sacrifices. Her great great grandfather had a long time ago became a Blood Angel, so all she could ever heard growing up were stories of the glories he had done for the Emperor. Of course none of that meant much to Natasha, but the seed of hatred had been planted. Her accomplishment had meant little, not when a relative was one of the Emperor's Angels. She grew bitter, and more dark inside until she had been conscripted. She had fought in the Guard, becoming ever more fascinated by blood. The different colours of blood that were formed depending on what the person felt before they bled. Where they bled. It was all fascinating to her until during her final year in the Guard, they fought a pitched battle against a rebellion, until the last of her company remained.
Twenty years prior
"Incoming!" The Sergeant screamed out as mortar shells streaked over and landed amidst their position, the broken down houses barely sufficient enough to block out the blast itself as shrapnel rained everywhere. She would stare at her hand where a long cut had formed from a piece of shrapnel, fascinated by the way the cut would drop out blood slowly in perfect tiny ruby pearls before Richard grabbed her and shoved her down as more shells rained into their position.
"Natasha, keep your fucking head down unless you really want to grow up to be a sponge." Her Corporal yelled at her over the din of the shells landing. She managed an awkward smile to Richard before nodding at the Corporals general direction.
"We have a lot of movement, Corporal, get on the horn with HQ. We need fire support now! Other wise our position is going to be overrun."
The Corporal nodded in response before picking up the radio receiver only to notice the multiple holes caused by the shelling and tossed it onto the ground with a sharp sigh. The Sergeant looked over and shook his head before leaning his las rifle out the window and began firing. "Overrun it is."
She hated firing the las gun. Not because she wasn't a good shot, she was a dead eye shot but she hated that the las bolts cauterised the wounds. She envied those on the stubber, where every shot hitting human flesh would create beautiful lacerations throughout their bodies, but unfortunately she couldn't exactly find a stubber to use.
"Sergeant? What's our plan?" One of the privates, a Private Siggurns asked. "The fuck do you think Siggurns? Keep shooting and hope we don't die." The Sergeant sighed slightly with annoyance as he resumed firing. Natasha kept firing but she knew that her life was done. She sighed internally, annoyed at the fact that even at her imminent death, she couldn't have at least a shell land where the other squad was just so she can catch sight of a beautiful fountain spray of blood. Shaking her head, she was about to load in another battery when suddenly, there was a loud woosh from above as six red armoured figures dropped to the ground in front of them, ignoring some of the las fire that struck their armour. Without any words, they simply stood and waited until the enemy got close enough and then they charged. With chainswords revving, they danced the most beautiful dance through the enemy, disembowelling and cutting apart the humans with ease while Natasha could only watch.
"The Emperors Angels! They're with us, we cannot lose then. Forward! Up and at em Guardsmen!" The Sergeant yelled out, jumping out from behind the shelter and leading the rest of the company forward behind the Assault marines. She recognized their colours, knowing them to be from the Blood Angels and she gripped her las rifle that much tighter with age old anger still pent up from her youth. However before they could get too far, a long burst of bolter fire cut down most of the company as rockets were launched into the melees that the Blood Angels had been involved in. After multiple explosions, one of them staggered back and collapsed almost in front of her. She froze as she stared at him, his helmet scorched as the massive hole in his chest began to leak out blood. Something prompted her to take out her bayonet and slowly pushed it in between the seals that sat in between the helmet and the breast plate, stabbing through until the 12 inch blade was exited the other side. She sat there fascinated by the sight before something told her to cut the head clean off. She began to saw back and forth and saw the most delightful streams of blood pouring out of the ever expanding wound until the head fell off. But she saw these two organs inside the neck, not something that a normal human would have and she would reach in to grip them and rip them out. Staring at the two large sacs, she was unsure why she did it. One part of her screamed at her to leave those and pick up the head. The other part however, a smooth soft voice in her head coaxed at her, whispered to her to take a bite. Eventually, she did. She took a bite of the heavy meaty sacks and instantly, something changed. Something that should have tasted like raw blood and meat instead tasted sweeter than ambrosia, and quenched a thirst in her that she didn't know she had.
Coughing slightly from how rich the blood was, she suddenly collapsed onto the ground and began retching, throwing up the protein bar she had eaten earlier but oddly enough, there wasn't a single trace of blood. That's when she realised that the sound she had begun to hear was the sound of the heavy bolter but not the gun fire itself but rather the sound of each clink of the belt. She would look over the battlefield and see the carnage for what it was, every drop of blood was almost in slow motion to her before she would drink deeply from the neck of the dead Astarte, her thirst subsiding slightly. With a bit of effort, she would shove the body away from her, surprised that she could lift such a heavy weight before collapsing onto the ground.
The battle had been over for hours, and the four tall dark looming shapes stood over her, discussing amongst themselves quietly about what they had seen her do. One of them nodded, and she was draped in a dusk blue blanket and covered up, before being carried off by these giants.