Chapter 8

Jesse Koda, Lord General's Retinue Squad Sergeant 'Trigger'

Jesse splashed some of the cool water from the basin onto his face, before staring at his reflection in the mirror yet again. He had been in the relative safety of the Eldar's stronghold for three days now. He looked around his small quarters. It was far more comfortable than the Imperial bunkers he was used to, but he knew that this apartment was little more than a servant's house for the likes of the Eldar.

He moved from his ensuite to the main living quarters. The place the Eldar had given him was indeed beautiful; He had a living room, kitchen, bed and bathroom all to himself – something he could never hope to acquire in the Imperium. But it wasn't home, and he was too distracted by current events to truly indulge in the sanctity of this place.

He looked out the main window in the living room. The Eldar had created a hidden stronghold somewhere in the sector, right under the Imperial's noses. Jesse had no idea where he was on the planet, but in truth he wasn't surprised. The Eldar were infamous for their trickery and deception. Jesse had dealt with the Eldar before, but oftentimes he had only come to realise it months later.

The Eldar stronghold was built into the cliff faces of a ravine. The Eldar had projected a force field over top of the ravine and directed a river to flow along it, so that they were hidden from any eyes in the sky. The sun cast an eerily beautiful light through the river and onto the stronghold. At the end of the stronghold the river fell off the force field and cascaded in a powerful waterfall. This waterfall served as the primary entry point in and out of the stronghold for anything too large to fit through the small Webway gate in the centre of the sanctuary.

Jesse looked down at the base of the ravine – the hub for the Eldar's citadel. He saw markets and shrines that meant little to him. The place was bustling with activity. Everything seemed to move with an unnatural fluidity that made Jesse realise how sluggish his movements were.

In his first few hours in the citadel, Kaldeer had explained to Jesse that the city was usually only inhabited by a small group of Exodites that inhabited the world, but that they had always kept close ties with the Eldar of the Craftworld Biel-Tan, and once the war between the Imperium and the Tau had broken out, had alerted Biel-Tan of the threat the war expressed to some ancient Eldar catacombs, hence why the citadel was now so heavily populated.

Jesse hadn't taken much note of what Kaldeer was telling him, he was too distracted by his recent getaway from the Inquisition. He was grateful to the Eldar for his companionship, for he had felt unwelcoming eyes in the citadel ever since his first step.

Jesse hadn't seen Kaldeer since showing him to his quarters. The Eldar had commanded that Jesse be treated with the utmost respect and his every need attended to, yet still Jesse felt discontent tugging at his mind.

Three days, he thought to himself bitterly. And nothing. Here I sit in unimaginable luxury, while Achilles rots in his own dungeon at the hands of a blind Inquisitor.

Anger flared up inside Jesse yet again, and he stormed back into his bathroom and up to his mirror. He looked at his reflection in an attempt to stare into his soul yet again, but all he saw was his angry eyes staring back at him.

What are you doing here? He asked himself. All you need is a lead. All you need is to find out who killed the mayor, that's all you need to have a decent shot at getting Achilles out of prison!

And what have you done so far? he shouted at himself. Lounged around a xeno city and killed a marine! You filthy heretic.

He lashed out and punched the wall next to the mirror.

Check yourself, soldier! he shouted back to himself. He looked back into the mirror's reflection to see not his own face, but the face of the man who trained him; the face of the man who sacrificed himself to let him live; the face of his father. The flashback hit Jesse like a bullet. He choked up and bowed his head.

You did what you needed to do to survive, he told himself in his father's voice. To let one die for the good of many is a choice you will inevitably have to face.

Yes sir, he replied. Memories of him standing to attention in dark rooms, a bulky rifle held clumsily in his arms came to him. His father paced around him, inspecting the warrior who was no more than a boy with an eye so keen only because of the love he had for his son.

You know what you need to do. Now you go get that job done so you can move on to your NEXT job, do you understand?

Yes sir.

You will succeed no matter what confronts you. You will fight no matter the odds. You WILL stay loyal to the Imperium, no matter how desperate you become. Otherwise I'll hunt you down myself.

Yes sir!

Jesse looked back up at his reflection, and saw in his eyes a burning determination. He looked at the long, sandy blonde hair that fell around his face.

And clean this mess up, he thought to himself, as his father always used to say.

With steps filled with purpose, Jesse strode back into his living room. Taking a small dagger mounted on a wall, he went to his balcony. He took off his silk shirt courtesy of the Eldar, and knelt on the hard floor.

Jesse took a moment to breathe deeply. He meditated for a second. He felt a cool breeze touch his skin. He felt the cool hardness of the stones beneath him, and he felt his heart beating in his chest. Closing his eyes, he ran his hands through his hair, and began tracing lines in his scalp with his fingers. With the knife, he began to shave away his locks of hair. He felt them lightly brush his skin as they fell. The lightness of their touch irritated his skin slightly, but he refused to scratch it. With a cool efficiency he shaved the hair from his head.

The ritual was over within fifteen minutes, and Jesse felt much more self-respecting for it. He knelt on the balcony for a few moments, before roughly shaking his head and clearing his throat.

"Enough soul searching," he said aloud. He sheathed his new knife in his belt, and put his shirt back on. With steps filled with purpose, he strode across his apartment and banged loudly on his front door.

He didn't have to wait long for a slender Eldar maid to open the door in response.

"Is something wr-" she managed to say before Jesse grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her into his apartment. Despite her slender appearance, Jesse could feel an incredibly strong body beneath her thin robes. This was no ordinary Eldar, Jesse could tell that she was one of t he elite Aspect Warriors.

Regardless of her strength, Jesse managed to overpower her and pin her against the wall.

"Why have you been watching me?" he demanded. He wasn't even sure if the woman spoke Gothic.

"Kaldeer," he said, saying a name he knew she'd understand. From the look of pain on the beautiful woman's face, he almost felt bad. But he knew that the Eldar were a deceptive race, and that a warrior such as this wouldn't feel any hurt from the grip she was locked in.

The only reply the woman gave were a few whimpers. Jesse slammed her against the wall again.

"Answer me!" he shouted. He saw a fire flare up behind the woman's eyes, and her face lost its former look of pain. With lightning speed, she brought her knee up into Jesse's ribs, sending him reeling.

Trigger spun around just in time to raise his hands and defend himself from an onslaught of blows from the woman. He palmed three of her punches aside, but she was too fast for him, and her fourth blow connected with his jaw.

The blow would have broken the jaw of a man with slower reflexes, but Jesse was no such man. He rolled with the punch and spun all the way around on his heel. He stretched out his arm and managed to coat hanger the Eldar on his forearm. The she-warrior dropped to the ground, and Jesse seized the opportunity to drop all his weight on his opponent. He pinned her to the floor and unsheathed his knife, bringing it to her throat.

"I don't want to fight you!" he said to the woman, but he could tell that she was too fired up to listen. He threw away his knife and got to his knees and waited for his opponent's response.

The maiden watched Jesse for a moment, and he could see her mulling things over in her mind. He knew that she was too proud a warrior to attack an opponent that clearly wouldn't fight back.

"You are a good fighter," she said to him in his own language, albeit with a strange accent. Jesse found the sound beautiful; indeed he found everything about the woman attractive. Locks of dark brown hair cascaded down her shoulders. Soft, white robes covered her almond skin, and keen green eyes peered at him through the hair that covered her face. He instantly regretted manhandling her the way he had.

Focus, soldier, he told himself.

"Why have you been watching me?" he asked.

"We don't want you wandering about," she admitted to him, but Jesse could tell that she was picking her words cautiously. "We don't want you doing stupid things. We need you where we can see you."

"Am I a prisoner?"

"In a way."

"Take me to Kaldeer."

"I shan't," the woman said flatly. Her nerve impressed Jesse while also annoying him.

"I'll fight my way to him if need be."

"You'll fight many."

"Your superiors will stop you; I know they'd rather not see the alliance between our people tarnished by my blood."

Jesse could see that his comment hit its mark. The woman sat in silence for a moment. She frowned at him.

"Your people are the reason we're in this mess," she shot at him. Jesse shrugged.

"I know of no mess," he said.

"You wouldn't," the woman said spitefully. Her words poked at Jesse's pride. He was the head of the Urban Tiger's Spartans. He was supposed to know everything about anything that was under the Tiger's jurisdiction. He didn't let his feelings show on his face.

"I will take you to Kaldeer," the Eldar said to him. "But only to keep you quiet. Know that your tantrums will seldom get you what you want in the future."

She gracefully rose and walked to the door. It took Jesse a second to realise that he was to follow her. Comparatively sluggish to the Eldar, he picked himself up from the floor and briskly walked to the woman's side. She was already in the narrow corridor outside his apartment by the time he caught up.

"My name's Jesse, by the way," he said, hoping to ease some of the tension.

"I know who you are," the Eldar said icily. Jesse immediately felt stupid.

By the Emperor, don't act like some hormonal boy.

In silence, Jesse followed the Aspect Warrior through the narrow corridors of the Eldar citadel. She moved with a fast grace that Jesse struggled to keep up with, and as the minutes past he began to appreciate how sluggish his kind were. The pair passed several groups of other Eldar, and by the way they parted to let the Aspect Warrior through, he knew that she was highly respected.

The woman led Jesse down a spiral staircase that ended outside a large double door. Jesse had no idea where in the citadel he was.

"You'll find Kaldeer in here," the woman said. "Give me your knife, you shall enter unarmed."

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll keep my knife," Jesse said with a sly wink. The Eldar woman smiled.

"You know," she began. Jesse's heart fluttered into his throat. "I really-" and with one swift movement she thrust her fist into Trigger's gut, winding him, while stepping around him. She brought her arm around his neck while he was stooped over, and straightened him out into a vice-like headlock. She brought his own knife to the bottom of his chin. Jesse had no idea at what point in her assault she had managed to get her hands on his knife.

"-think you should have given me the knife," she finished. Jesse could hear the smile in her voice. She released Jesse from the headlock and pushed him towards the door. "Go."

You stupid, stupid human. He thought to himself as he watched the woman leave. He could tell that she had regained some of her lost pride.

Jesse stood at the door for a moment, straightening his robes and catching his breath. He slapped his face a few times to get into the zone, before placing his palms on the door, preparing for his dynamic entry.

He slammed the doors open, expecting there to be a dark room with a schematics table in the middle and various surprised Eldar generals poring over it. What actually greeted him wasn't exactly what he expected. There was indeed a dark room with a schematics table in the middle, and various Eldar officials in the room, but each and every xeno eye was fixed on Jesse from the moment he entered. Not a single Eldar seemed surprised to see him. He saw Kaldeer push his way to the front.

"I didn't realise that knocking was a custom not practised by your kind," Kaldeer said with a smirk. Jesse scanned the room again and quickly realised that Kaldeer was the only friend he had in the room.

"I need to know what's going on," he whispered urgently to the Eldar. "You've been holding me prisoner while I have no time to waste."

"We couldn't have you getting in the way."

"In the way of what?"

"Our… investigation."

"By the Throne, tell me! What are you investigating?"

One of the Eldar officials behind Kaldeer called out to him in a language Trigger did not understand.

"He says you ask too much," Kaldeer explained when he saw the menacing look on Jesse's face.

"Only because you tell me so little!" Jesse shot back to the entire room. He stepped past Kaldeer so he could better present himself. "What have you been keeping from me! All I need to know is if you have any leads on who killed the mayor of Ivy city!"

"I killed him," Jesse heard Kaldeer say from behind him. He spun on his heel to confront the Harlequin.

"You what?" Jesse said to him, half in shock. "We needed him alive to negotiate with the damned Inquisition, and you saw fit to kill the fool? Truly the Eldar are a fallen race."

"Do not think my actions were without reason, human," Kaldeer flared up at the mention of his race. "While you fools were blundering about in the name of order, our enemy has moved unseen."

"There is nothing bloody unseen about this Tau invasion!" Jesse shouted at Kaldeer. He closed the gap between the pair. "We fight day and night! The whole sector is about to crumble and you waltzed right in and framed the one man keeping us together for murder!"

Jesse stared angrily into Kaldeer's eyes, but the Eldar's face was blank.

"It is not the Tau of who I speak you fool," Kaldeer said quietly. Jesse lashed out.

"Who then!" he shouted, pushing Kaldeer in the chest. The Eldar's body was denser than it appeared, but the force of the push still staggered the elf.

"Who do you think?" Kaldeer said, pushing Jesse back. Again, the strength of the Eldar body surprised Jesse and he staggered back. "These rumours of cults are no lie!"

Jesse stopped and gaped at the Eldar.

"Finally the human understands," Kaldeer said with a darkness in his voice that unnerved Jesse. "There was a darkness in his future that I tried to prevent."

"And did you?"

"That is none of your concern," Kaldeer said, before shrugging his way past Jesse to rejoin the Eldar commanders.

"No," Jesse said defiantly. "This whole sector is my concern! Let me help you. I can go into the city and find the cults."

"You are no less a wanted man than I am," Kaldeer said. "This Inquisitor has locked down the entire sector to find you. Anyone who is not in their homes past night fall is taken away, and the Deathwatch are making their way through every potential hide out in the city. They don't even know the cults exist."

"Then I give myself to the Inquisitor and tell him of the cults."

Jesse stood waiting for Kaldeer to call him a fool, but the Eldar just stared blankly at him. Jesse could see thoughts ticking behind the Harlequin's keen eyes. The whole mood in the room had changed, and Jesse could see the Eldar exchange quick glances so fast that he couldn't see them all.

A heavily decorated officer strode towards Jesse. He wore the same green and white mesh suit that many other officers wore, however he also wore a flowing white robe that was trimmed in gold.

"You think you can convince this inquisitor to raid the cults?"

"With enough evidence, yes," Jesse said. "Where are they?"

A feeling of unease swept through the room.

"All we know is that they're in the capital," the commander said. "With all the new laws being enforced by the inquisitor, we can't keep any of our people within the walls of Gran Valens, and we've got no functional Webway gate to infiltrate anyone inside. The inquisitor's arrival has been extremely convenient for the cultists."

"Looks like I've got a lot of work to do," Jesse said.

Before anyone could say anything else, an Eldar man franticly burst into the room.

"Autarch!" he cried out. "The green horde approaches!"

"Where?" the officer addressing Jesse asked.

"The eastern Gate," the man said. "Almost a thousand of them in the vanguard, moving as fast as a tidal wave!"

"Khaine help us," the Autarch swore. "Kaldeer, I want you to gather a team to accompany Trigger into the city."

The Autarch turned to Jesse.

"Head back to your quarters, you'll find some gear laid out for you. Meet Kaldeer in the court as soon as you can. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to deal with some Orks. Kaldeer will report any progress you might have. Dismissed!"

Jesse still had questions, but the urgency in the Autarch's voice and the outbreak of action in the command room compelled him to hurry back to his room.

It didn't take Jesse long to return to his room and gather some gear. The Eldar had laid out for him some flowing robes that somehow distorted his figure as he moved. He couldn't use the psychic pickups that the Eldar used to fire their weaponry, so he was armed with a simple yet elegant blade that the Eldar had gifted him as a token of good will. He was grateful for the gifts, and planned on making great use of his camo cloak.

Upon leaving his room, he was greeted but the same aspect she-warrior that he had sparred with earlier. However now she wore her ritual bone coloured battle plate instead of her flowing robes. An elegant sword and shuriken pistol hung from her waist, and she carried her scarlet haired helm under her arm.

So, she's a howling banshee, Jesse grimaced. He'd never fought a banshee before, but he had heard their blood curling war cry at a distance. He was glad they'd be fighting on the same side.

The she-warrior had lead him down to the base of the ravine where a small Eldar host was gathering. Jesse could mostly see Dire Avengers armed in their blue armour, but he also spied the group of Banshees his guide belonged to, and a squad of three Shining Spears preparing their jetbikes for combat.

The host were all listening to an emerald-robed Farseer telling them what was happening. Jesse couldn't understand their language, but he already knew what his mission was. A large webway gate was flickering to life behind the Farseer, and the Eldar warriors were preparing to enter the fray. With a final cry, the Farseer lifted his sword and pointed towards the swirling Webway Gate. In a heartbeat, the Shining Spears gunned their jetbikes forwards and disappeared into the gate faster than Jesse's eye could follow. The Eldar host surged forwards and began disappearing into the Gate.

"Wait," Jesse grabbed his Banshee guide's arm as she donned her helm. "What should I do?"

"Stay hidden amongst the Rangers," she said, pointing forwards. It took Jesse a second to spot the snipers even though they stood in the open. With a sly smile, the Banshee placed her helmet over her head and ran to the Gate. She flicked her power sword to life and disappeared into the Gate, her red hair following her like fire.

Not bloody likely, Jesse thought as he chased her through the Gate.

In the heartbeat it took him to arrive at the other gate, the lithe Banshee had already managed to disappear into the thick jungle. He stood alone in front of the webway gate for a moment, trying to gather his bearings. Eldar warriors darted past him, appearing and disappearing into the bush in the same second.

He could hear the familiar crack of lasgun fire, and heard an explosion somewhere nearby. He saw the trees in front of him light up and felt a powerful shockwave pass through him.

Guess I'll head over there, he though before charging into the forest. He wasn't expecting to find the Imperial Guard so deep into the forest, but he was excited to be reunited with his kin nevertheless.

He didn't need to run far before he found the skirmish. He saw a column of Chimeras with Imperial Guardsmen atop them, firing haphazardly into the assaulting Orks. The Chimera on the end was in a smoking ruin. Multilasers and Lasguns massacred the beasts, but it didn't stop them. He saw the Eldar outflanking the Orks on either side.

He saw Dire Avengers slicing up the brutes mere metres in front of them before darting away only to being slicing again. He saw Howling Banshees fly through the air at a group of Orks, and a moment later an ear-splitting scream reached his ears. The Banshees proceeded to effortly slice through the stunned Orks.

He saw the brave Guardsmen trying all they could to push back the main force of Orks, but they were exhausted. He saw a group of especially huge nobz charging through the Ork horde straight for the guardsmen, shoving their smaller kin to the side as they charged.

"Show these brutes the meaning of fear!" he heard a voice boom from one of the Chimera. "Hold the line for the Emperor! If any of you even think of breaking I will hunt him down and flay him myself!"

They'll shatter the line, Jesse realised when he saw the Guardsmen wavering at the sight of the huge monsters despite the commanding voice. He dashed towards the Chimeras to reorganise the Guardsmen. He climbed atop the Chimera at the centre.

"Guardsmen!" he shouted in the strongest voice he could muster. The men closest to him were startled. He must have looked to appear out of nowhere, thanks to his cloak. Their faces lit up with hope as they realised who was amongst them. "What kind of firing line do you call this?! I want two neat ranks on the double! Don't even think about lowering your guns."

The men hastily straightened themselves into two rows on top of each tank. The front row dropped to one knee.

"First rank!" Trigger called, and the first row raised their lasguns at the Nobz who had closed the gap by a few metres. "FIRE!"

With a resounding crack, dozens of lasrounds flew into the Orks, halting the front row for a second. He saw two Nobz drop the ground, burning holes through their faces. The Orks behind the first line smashed into their slowed brethren, causing chaos as the charge was slowed.

"Second rank!" Jesse called again. "FIRE!"

The second round hit the disordered Orks, felling even more Nobz. A whole row of Nobz tripped over their fallen comrades, and Jesse saw one especially dull looking Ork shoot himself and some Orks around him with his own gun as he fell.

Jesse continued commanding the troops, and with each volley the distance between the Orks and Imperial gunline widened. Jesse felt a glimmer of hope as he saw the Orks being massacred on all sides by the combined forces of the eldar and humans, but that was until he heard the roar of engines in the distance.

A splutter of gunfire hit the Guardsmen's ranks and he saw eight men fall from atop the Chimeras. Four Killa Kans were charging towards the gunline, crushing their way through the forest and other Orks as they fired loosely at the Guardsmen.

The Lasgun shots of the Guardsmen simply glanced off the walkers.

"Multilasers, fire at the Kans!" Jesse ordered. His command was obeyed without hesitation, and the Chimeras began firing at the walkers.

It took the combined might of all the Chimeras to fell two of the walkers, but it wasn't going to be enough. His heart dropped as the remaining Kans weathered the fire of the multi-lasers.

Emperor help us, he prayed. As if in answer to his prayer, a lone Shining Spear darted from the sky and thrust his lance at the Kan with a dazzling flash. The jetbike darted past the Kan and flew back towards the sky, leaving the ruined walker in its wake. The vehicle stood still for a second, before exploding and killing a dozen Orks around it.

The final Kan took a few more steps toward the gunline before having its spindly legs knocked out from underneath it. Jesse spotted a green-armoured warrior with a crackling weapon punching at the walker's knees, each lightning-fast blow distorting the walker's figure.

"Multi-lasers, hold!" Jesse called, not wanting to hurt the warrior. Orks closed in on the assailant, but out of nowhere five more green armour-clad warriors emerged and engaged the orks, effortlessly slicing through the beasts. Red gore spilled everywhere as powerful chainswords tore at the Orks. Jesse occasionally saw a flash of light emit from the warriors helms, and oftentimes an Ork died, its throat slashed by the lasers.

Scorpions.

The Exarch continued dismantling the walker while his entourage defended him from the raging Orks. With unnatural ease, the heavily armoured Scorpion climbed up the walker after destroying what was left of its legs. He punched at the walkers face plate three times, before grabbing the deformed corner of the metal plate with his claw and peeling it back, exposing the gretchin pilot inside. He lit up the pathetic creature with his mandiblasters, and that was the end of the Killa Kan squadron.

With that, the Orks were finally routed. The few remaining Orks turned around and retreated into the forest, but they didn't make it far before the fleet Eldar sliced them down. Most of the Eldar simply chased the Orks off before returning to the Imperial gunline. The Dire Avengers, however, continued to hound the Orks, pursuing every last beast so deep into the forest that no one could see them, only hear the death howls of the dying Orks.

Jesse was somewhat unnerved by the dark power that seemed to posess the Eldar Aspect Warriors as they fought, turning them from survivors into conquerors. As he began to learn more from their unconventional new allies, he began to value their alliance more and more. He'd much rather this fight with the Tau and Orks over a war with the Eldar, no matter how small their force was.

The Guardsmen cheered at the sight of the retreating Orks. A sigh of relief escaped Jesse's lungs, and he sat down. Guardsmen clambered out of the Chimeras and breathed the fresh air, even though it smelt of burnt Ork. Guardsmen armed with flamers quickly began burning the Ork's corpses to stop the infestation spreading, while medics tended to the wounded. He overheard guardsmen talking amongst themselves.

"I thought we were done for," he heard one say.

"Did you see the Eldar?"

"Thanks for pushing that Ork off me, mate."

"I killed an Ork with each shot of me gun," boasted one man. That earned him a host of friendly rebukes, making Jesse smile. He saw one Guardsman with a missing leg hobbling along on a stick.

This war has not been kind to us, Jesse mused. First we struggle to hold off the Tau, and now we've Orks and even Chaos to deal with. He sighed and looked around what remained of the campsite. Some men mourned the loss of the comrades they knew well, while most were happy to be alive. The men need more wins like this.

The Eldar emerged from the edge of the clearing and were welcomed by the surviving Guardsmen. Communication between the two races was difficult, but warm gestures like bowing and smiling were recognised by all. If only our kinds got along more often, the galaxy would be a different place.

The hatch of the Chimera next to Trigger opened and Samson Cutter climbed out.

"Jesse Koda," Cutter said when he saw Trigger sitting. "Of all the Emperor-forsaken firefights to be in, you choose to derail mine!"

"Ah, I knew it was you in there," Trigger said with a sly smile. "Someone had to come shut you up. Look, you made that man's ear bleed, ha!" he pointed at a wounded guardsman who did have bleeding ears and burnt skin. He must have been near the Chimera that exploded.

Cutter jumped over to Jesse's tank.

"Shush, you git," he said, giving Jesse a smack over the back of his head.

"I'd have you whipped for assaulting your officer, if you didn't hit like such a girl," he joked. Cutter sat next to him.

"Ha, it's good to see you mate," he said. "But what's this, good ol' Imperial wargear not good enough for you anymore?" he said, flicking at Jesse's new cloak.

"Mate, the sooner I get a nice weighty hellgun in my hands the better, I'm sick of this Eldar featherweight nonsense. How can I call myself Trigger if Eldar guns don't even have 'em?"

"What are you doing with the Eldar?"

"We've got a lot to talk about."