Reptile and Kaida reached a big set of double doors at the end of the hallway. Reptile pushed them open to reveal a grand hall. There were intricately decorated long tables around the hall, each with big, ornate, metal chairs placed around them. Tall thin windows ran up nearly the whole height of the walls around the room, they had the look of stained glass that beautifully illustrated some majestic battle scene, grand triumph or a strange monster. Reptile led Kaida to sit at one of the tables; he pulled a chair back for her, and he sat on another, next to her. The chairs were big and designed for the long legs of space marines; Kaida's feet didn't even touch the floor.
"This is our banquet hall," he said. "We will sit down together to celebrate our victories with a grand meal." Kaida looked around at the tables; they each had about enough seats for a team of space marines to sit at, maybe each squad had its own table.
"Do you think this place is fitting for great warriors like us?" he asked.
Kaida thought about the great warriors that had sat around this table, Reptile's squad no doubt; the 'great warriors' that killed her team. "It's very impressive," she muttered, not giving Reptile a full answer.
Reptile let out a sigh and laid a hand on Kaida's shoulder, "Nidhiki was cruel to you; he should not have let you experience the Warp so soon."
Kaida didn't look at Reptile, she only thought about the experience the sorcerer had forced upon her. She felt like her body had been violated, and she shed a tear for the innocence she once held on to. At the same time though, she felt as though the entirety of reality, of all realities, had been opened up to her; she almost thought herself privileged.
"You must have many questions," said Reptile.
"Who were the other tau?"
"Other tau?" wondered Reptile out loud.
"The tau around Nidhiki's throne; who were they?" she clarified.
A brief moment of pondering passed, "Yes, I know who you are talking about." Reptile leaned close and whispered, "They were not normal tau, were they? They were beautiful and too perfect to be real, am I right?"
Kaida didn't reply, but he already knew the answer she would give.
"When they looked at you, did they disturb you, and reach into your very soul?" He still didn't need a reply from her, he just moved back and spoke, "They were not Tau at all, they appear to you as your most bestial and carnal desires. They are the handmaidens of Slaanesh."
This wasn't surprising; she knew they were not tau. "Hand maidens? Are they servants?" she pondered.
"In a way," explained Reptile, "but we are all servants to Slaanesh in a way."
Kaida had more to ask, "You said Nidhiki was very old. How old is he?"
"He is more than ten thousand Terran years old." replied Reptile.
Kaida's mind boggled at the thought. To be so old and to have seen so much must be an incredible thing; an incredible thing that she could not even dream of. "That's unbelievable," she said.
"Is it?" replied Reptile, "Astartes are so much more than mortal. We would live forever, but for the irony of the astartes."
"What Irony?"
"That we will never die of old age, and yet we live our entire lives in battle. In truth, very few loyalist astartes warriors live to four hundred years."
It was a sad thought, potentially limitless lives being cut short by the very purpose they were created for. "How old are you?" asked Kaida, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"I am four hundred and fifty years old, and I have spent about two hundred and fifty years as a part of this chapter." He explained, "Those loyal to the God-Emperor do not get the luxury of choosing battles they will win; as a free chapter, we get that privilege."
"You were a part of another chapter?"
"Yes," said Reptile with a smile, "but that was a long time ago. I wish to change the topic of this conversation, as I fear I am going to end up boring you with my life story." Kaida thought the life story of a space marine might be one worth hearing, but she didn't stop him. "I want to know more about you," he said "So let's reverse the question you gave me. How old are you?"
Kaida was sure that Reptile didn't know tau time keeping so Kaida did a rough conversion in her head. "I think I'm fourteen Terran years old."
"So young!" commented Repile. "Is that a normal age for a tau warrior?"
"Yes," said Kaida, "We mature faster than humans."
"We must seem ancient to you," said Reptile. "I wonder, do you have a partner, or a mate?"
Kaida was again nervous about where Reptile was taking this, but she decided that it would make no difference either way whether she told Reptile the truth or not. "I do not have a partner. We don't have time for romance when we are out on campaign."
"And what does tau romance entail?"
"Well... uh... you..." the young tau struggled to find the right answer for the question, "I mean... we just..."
"Forget I asked," smiled Reptile, "Would you join us here for dinner later on? It will be a great banquet and the best food will be served."
"Is that human romance?" asked Kaida.
"Not at all; this table will be surrounded by the battle brothers of my unit, but I would be very pleased if you would join us."
To be dining at the table of the ones who defeated her in battle, not many could say that they have done that; but she was warming to Reptile. The fear and loathing that she had once felt towards him was gone. She was starting to feel a bit of affection for the super human. Whatever happened she needed to be fed, she hadn't eaten since before the battle and was very hungry.
"If you don't dine with us then you will eat with the slaves down below," explained Reptile.
She thought it would be better if she distanced herself from the human slaves. Not because she was scared of them any more than the marines, but because if she associated with them she might be considered to be on the same level by others on the ship. It was best to stay on as high a standing as possible with the marines, especially Reptile. "I'll sit with you," she replied.
"Wonderful" commented Reptile. "I know tau diets are not too different to human diets, so you should be able to enjoy everything on offer, and don't worry about not being able to eat as much as us. There are ways to enjoy all the excesses, even beyond the point that our bodies would have us stop."
Reptile took Kaida down to the bowels of the ship, to a small room, it was a medical room of some kind. There were vials and syringes adorning shelves all around the walls of the dark and dreary place. The one "bed" held a body that was covered by a sheet. The same size as a human, Kaida wondered if this was how they treated their dead slaves. A marine was standing next to the bed, he had no helmet on and Kaida could see madness in his eyes. He had a wide eyed stare that never blinked and a grin that never faded, constantly fixed on Kaida; no matter where she moved his stare followed, never blinking.
"Good day, Jeguda," said Reptile. Jeguda was a name that Kaida remembered; he was mentioned as being given the fourth prisoner, the fire warrior with the injured arm.
"Yes," replied the space marine, "it is a very good day." He was shaking with excitement, "A very, very, very, VERY good day. First I was given an exquisite gift in the form of a member of the tau species. It was a little bit damaged but I fixed that problem." Jeguda looked down at Kaida again, relishing whatever strange act he was envisioning. "Now you, one of the most elegant and beautiful of all the astartes on this vessel bring me another example of the Tau species that eclipses the one I already have in my possession." He bit his lip in excitement, drawing a small amount of blood.
"I'm glad you like her," said Reptile, "but she is mine."
The grin did not fade from Jeguda's face, he just turned his gaze fully on Reptile, "Then you must be here to see what I have done with my tau."
"I had a feeling you would do something remarkable," replied Reptile.
"Quite remarkable," said Jeguda. He stood at one end of the bed with his hands on the sheet, ready to pull it away to reveal what was underneath. "I am very proud of this." Jeguda gave the sheet a tug to unveil what was underneath; a tangle of blue meat and black metallic tubes and pipes interwoven in a display of seamless surgeons' craft. It took a moment for Kaida to realise that what she was looking at was the remains of the fire warrior. Eyes wide, she inhaled sharply and covered her mouth. His arms were gone, and the gaps where they should be were sealed. A complex array of wires and pipes that were intruding into different places on his torso, his head and around his neck connected him to a twisted engine situated underneath the table on which he was laid. The fire warrior's eyes were closed, but not as if dead, his naked, breathless and still body gave the impression that he was sleeping.
"Is he alive?" asked Kaida, stunned and fixed on the sight of one of her kind in such a disfigured state.
"Oh, yes, quite alive, young tau," said Jeguda, "Quite alive." Jeguda hopped round to the opposite side of the table and reached down to the machine under the fire warrior.
Without warning the fire warrior violently convulsed into life, he arched his back and appeared to scream, but his scream was not of a living thing. The engine was forcing it's sounds though the body of the fire warrior, as the pitch and the tone of the sound changed, so too did the angle of the tau's writhing and the expression of pain that was stretched across his face; twisted and contorted as if the sound that was coming out of him was physically grinding at his senses.
Kaida held her hands up to her head to block out the noise, it was piercing and painful, she could feel the warped vibrations writhe in the air around her. The intricate details that were interwoven into the misshapen noise were elaborately crafted; and with each new note and pitch that was sent through the tau, and each new position of exquisite agony there was the evidence of a true artist. And then, there was no noise, he and the machine were silent and still; as if the machine commanded the tau to stop.
"Very good!" said Reptile with a smile. "I'm impressed."
"Thank you," replied Jeguda, "I could do the same for your friend, if you like."
Kaida moved behind Reptile a little, seeking comfort.
"I appreciate your work, Jeguda, I really do," insisted Reptile, "but Kaida has more ahead of her."
Kaida had her eyes fixed on the mutilated fire warrior, thinking of the pain he might be in, or if he was asleep, what mad and warped dreams he may be experiencing. "Why did you do this?" she murmured, not really aiming her question at anyone, or even expecting an answer.
Jeguda was taken aback by the very notion of the question. "Did you not hear the glorious, wondrous sound I have created?"
Reptile understood the distress Kaida might be feeling, he knelt down, close to her eye level and asked, "Was he your friend?"
Kaida didn't know him, the only experience she had with him was when they met briefly in the cabin, "I didn't even know his name."
"How can you care so much for someone that you don't even know?" asked Reptile.
"I just..." Kaida thought back, this fire warrior had asked why she had no battle scars, no wounds from battle, he was questioning her honour. He had no idea what she went through and he has the nerve to question it, just because he received a small battle wound. Kaida couldn't justify her concern for the warrior.
Reptile stood up again and said to Jeguda, "Don't keep it too long."
"Why?" came the reply, "are you enjoying the company of these aliens too much?"
Reptile glanced down at Kaida briefly, "You could say that. But you will get bored of the sound eventually, Jeguda, and there is no need to keep it around if you're not using it."
Leaving Jeguda's room, Reptile remained quiet, as they walked up the halway, hand in hand. Kaida had become accustomed to holding on to Reptile, and just accepted it. Reptile was a known quantity, she was more familiar with him than anyone else on the ship, and she felt safe. The strong astartes warrior acted as her guardian, and she was assured that if anything were to happen, Reptile would protect her.
"How do you feel about what you just saw?" he asked.
"I don't know," replied Kaida.
"No?"
"I thought I felt pity for him," she lowered her volume, "at first..." she paused in her answer, as if she was ashamed of what she was going to say.
"Enjoying the sound that was created does not make you a traitor to your species." Kaida looked up at him. "It shows that your mind can break through the taboos that are set into your brain by the society of your upbringing. Enjoying the sound shows that you have a free mind, capable of enjoying the most extreme of artwork presented to you, no matter what was used to create it."
"That's not it," said Kaida.
"Then what?"
"I'm worried that my pity turned into feelings of hatred; for the fire warrior I mean."
"I see, did you have a history with this fire warrior?"
"No, I mean, not really. He only ever said one thing to me; he believed I was a coward."
Reptile stopped and kneeled down to her, he could see that there was self doubt in her eyes. "I would never consider you a coward, Kaida. I saw the way you fought until there was no point in fighting any more, and I have been witness to how your soul is embracing an entirely new fate; that takes great bravery indeed."
Kaida was very puzzled by what Reptile was saying, "What do you mean?"
"You will see, Kaida."