Disclaimer: See the Prologue
A/N: To SF Ghost: I've decided to take a darker approach to Jakob's personality. I hope you don't mind.
To everyone else that reviewed the previous chapter, thanks once again. Your opinions keep this story going.
Chapter 19 – Severed
Falco found himself hyperventilating as he tried to focus on looking into Katt's eyes and not where his left leg used to be, with his blood running out of his rapidly weakening body, where much it of decorated the side of his Arwing.
"Oh…God," he croaked, "It really had…to be me, eh Katt?"
Terrified, Krystal held him close to her and sobbed while stroking the back of his head, "Keep wisecracking, beaky. You'll live longer."
Jacques was amongst hundreds of other Imperial Guardsmen and Marines who aimed their guns at the burned Chaos Lord Ezekiel. The Alpha Legion commander was still smirking and aiming his smoking boltpistol as he stood in front of the remains of a ruined air control tower that had been caught in the cross fire during the last battle between the Emperor's Children and the forces of the Imperium. Whenever he heard Falco scream in agony from the bloody stump that used to be his left leg he gritted his teeth and felt his rage growing even hotter.
Fox however didn't feel vengeance the same way as Fox, only devastation, and the fear that he was going to lose one the closest people he had to a brother. Calgar briefly glanced over at Jacques, consternated as to how he could feel rage towards the Chaos Lord for crippling the xeno Falco, and surprised that Fox didn't look enraged at all, only that weak look of sadness.
"Heretic!" Cassius called out, raising his Crozius Arcanum towards him, "Madness has surely overtaken you now that you decide to stand alone against the Emperor's Chosen!"
Ezekiel lowered his plasma pistol and replied, "I do not stand alone against the False Emperor's lackeys, for the Gods themselves had blessed me tenfold; enough to spill all your blood on this hollow planet and make it holy."
Jacques didn't stand around while listening to his rants, instead running back towards Falco with Nemesis charged with his psychic power, shoving Guardsmen and Marine aside. He dropped to his knees and skidded across the ground towards him, grabbing his left knee and putting the flat end of his sword against the stump, causing Falco to cry out in pain.
"AH! FUCKIN' HELL! STILL LOSING BLOOD…HERE, Y'KNOW!"
Jacques looked at the avian sternly, "Falco?"
"WHAT?"
"Try to think of something pleasant."
Everyone present backed away as Nemesis brimmed with psychic power, causing Falco to grit his teeth in order to stop his loud cursing from causing himself laryngitis. Burning sensations ran up the remainder of his left leg and through his body as Nemesis cauterised his stump, stopping the blood from pouring out in torrents.
Falco smiled painfully, "Well…that takes care of…urk…"
The avian then passed out. Katt cried his name out and begun shaking him. The Grey Knight placed a gauntlet over his left hand.
"He will live," Jacques assured her, then turned around to face Ezekiel, eyes narrowed and right fist clenching, "You will regret that."
Ezekiel smirked, "Admirable concern for a mere xeno. You really are deserving of the term 'xeno-heretic', Mortensen."
He then scowled.
"How does it feel to be hated by your own species completely?" Ezekiel shouted, "For standing beside the alien? How do you know the False Emperor has not abandoned you?"
Jacques growled and stepped away from Falco, shouting back, "He would not…for he guides my bolter shells…"
He raised his storm bolter towards him.
"…to your head!"
He fired several rounds at Ezekiel, who stood his ground and glared. Next caused Jacques' to wince in surprise as he felt a massive, eldritch force to come form behind the Chaos Lord and stop the bolter rounds from hitting him. Instead he made the bolter rounds float right before his frowning face before he glared more intensely and they vaporised into metallic dust.
That was followed by the entire Imperial Guard and Ultramarines 1st Company opening up with their guns open Ezkiel, the laser streams and bolter shells dissipating as crimson energy seeped out of the joints of the Chaos Lord's armour.
"I believe I should let you all know that on my way to this hollow planet the Dark Gods themselves spoke to me," Ezekiel said, "They told me I would be the one to finally make the so-called Only Good Human realise he is no better or nobler than any of us."
Calgar clenched his gauntlets, "I figured the false gods would lie to you. You can never defeat Mortensen."
"Do you not have ears?" Ezekiel boomed out, "Not to defeat him, but to finally bring him back to reality."
He then smirked.
"Though…if I do kill him, then I will be absolved."
Fox shook himself out of his trance-like state of shock and slapped his own forehead, causing Jacques and Krystal to look at him. He frowned and held Eden tightly by both hands.
"There's no way another one is going to lose their life today," Fox cried, "You've got thousands of guns aimed at you."
He paused, as if allowing Ezekiel to reflect on that. Instead, the Chaos Lord still looked scowlingly at the vulpine.
"Why don't you give up?"
Fox swore he heard some Marines and Guardsmen chuckle around them. Sturnn glanced over at him and gave a suppressed smirk of amusement, while Calgar looked at him disdainfully. However, a surprised Jacques nearly exploded.
"There is no surrender, McCloud!" Jacques exclaimed, making Fox's hair stand on end, "The thousands of guns here will redeem that fallen lord once and for all."
"Oh yes, you are in a position to kill me now," Ezkiel agreed, the furrowed his brow, "And miss out on finding out the identity of your parents.
Jacques' frown disappeared, his eyes softening as he felt his grip on Nemesis relax. Fox and Krystal looked at him, alarmed.
"My…parents?"
Calgar grimaced, gritting his teeth tightly as he looked over at Jacques and clenching his fist and ready to open fire on Ezekiel. He stopped when he heard Jacques respond defiantly and with anger.
"Do not try to use what I lost against me. I knew the man and woman who raised me, and they are dead."
Ezekiel scowled, "Pathetic. You truly are."
He then smirked.
"What about the people who conceived and gave birth to you?"
"What?"
Fox gritted his teeth, as he feared the worst. He knew first hand how easily swayed Jacques could be, which was unlike a normally zealous Space Marine. After all, he did join the non-human Star Fox and believes in the preservation of Lylat. And since the topic of parentage is such a delicate issue for anyone it would probably do wonders for Jacques' psyche.
And Krystal knew that too, still looking at Jacques with much concern. Calgar, however, looked as if he was restraining himself from erupting into rage – he was gritting his teeth that hard.
"You really do not know?" Ezekiel asked, "It figures. Calgar must think so much of you to spare you that…particular piece of knowledge."
His eyes darted towards Calgar.
"Am I correct, Lord Macragge?"
From the look on the Chapter-Master's face, it could be told that he visibly panicked. Ezekiel looked down at Jacques, who long was out of his combat stance and instead just stood there as if attentive to whatever the Chaos Lord would have to say.
"Your mother…Chaos claim her soul," Ezekiel begun to declare, "Was murdered by the Inquisition the moment you were born."
"NO!" Calgar exclaimed as his indoctrination quelled his fear, "YOU DAMNED FOOL, HE MUST NOT KNOW!"
Jacques was visibly startled by Calgar's outburst, and felt his ears burn when Ezekiel continued with his taunts.
"Why not? Does he not deserve to know?"
----------
La'Jakob had climbed atop a Leman Russ and was watching the scene unfold from behind the scope of his Exitus rifle, curiosity playing on his face as he tried to make out their lips.
He frowned, 'What are you people talking about? Does it concern the fate of life itself?'
----------
Peppy gritted his teeth as he heard everything from the control room back on Venom, and felt the same amount of panic as Calgar. He scrunched up his hat nervously.
'God, James,' he thought, 'Andross and Abaddon tortured you for that long you couldn't stop yourself from spilling Projectum: Avalon.'
He then sighed.
'I guess that's how Wolf knows as well when Calgar sent him to kill us.'
----------
Jacques' eyes were darting towards both Calgar and Ezekiel, where Cassius and Tigerius watched with their fury beginning to boil, gripping their respective weapons tightly.
"What makes you think you know anything about the xeno-heretic, traitor?" Plymouth demanded out loud.
"Through the pained screams that came out of James McCloud muzzle!" Ezekiel replied, then addressed Fox, "That is right, your own father. He is definitely the one to crack under pressure."
'Damnation!' Cassius thought angrily, 'And damn you, elder McCloud! You swore, Lylatian's honour, to us you would never tell anyone of Avalon…even on pain of torture! Especially the kind you went through.'
Fox's eyes widened and his mouth was ajar with shock.
"My…dad?"
Ezekiel nodded, "We killed him."
Fox shook his head and cried, "Now you're just lying. You can't twist everything, not at the least the truth!"
Confused as he was, Sturnn found himself looking at both the Chaos Lord and the vulpine, trying to get his head around what they were talking about.
'Frak me!' Sturnn thought, 'This is like a damned drama.'
"You all know that Venom was affiliated with the Forces of Chaos, that they tried to create a clone Marine army with Mortensen as the template?" Ezekiel asked, "Of course you do. But it wasn't only Andrew Oikonny that was blessed by the Dark Gods, specifically Khorne."
Tigerius gritted his teeth as he listened on, sensing eldritch energy cascade within Ezekiel's frame, as if ready to tear him apart from inside.
"His uncle long served the Gods," the Chaos Lord continued, "For he discovered the Daemon Gate on Venom, contorting and twisting himself with it's power before graciously allowing the Despoiler, his retinue and me to lay foot within it's underground…"
'Underground?' Jacques thought, 'Does he mean the tunnel network beneath the planet's surface? Our headquarters?'
Krystal was alarmed, 'Another Daemon Gate?'
"…where we met face to face with three kemono pilots having being captured by our servant," Ezekiel said, eyes focusing on Fox, "Your predecessors!"
"Peppy, Pigma…and dad," Fox said softly, "But Pigma…?"
"Declared his allegiance most specifically to Slaanesh the moment he learnt of what he could give him in his lifetime," Ezekiel smirked, "In exchange he renounced his loyalty to that winged fox and watched as prepared the first of many Lylatian sacrifices. Not since the days of the Dark Cerinians and their blood cults."
Ezekiel could sense Jacques trying to pry into his mind and immediately brought forth a singular thought in his conscious, making sure the Grey Knight could see it for himself. Jacques did, and immediately felt Nemesis slip from his hands as the thoughts and images bombarded him, his pupils growing wide and his frame becoming still, as if experiencing shock like no other.
Krystal felt the migraines return full force as she also bared witness. Tigerius remained stoic as ever as he looked as well. Sturnn, Plymouth, Calgar and Cassius watched the expressions on them as they simultaneously entered a trance. Fox however ran to Krystal's side and grabbed her by her arms as she was about to fall over.
He laid her on the ground, seeing the pained expression on her face.
"Krystal!" Fox exclaimed, "What's wrong with you no…?"
As the vulpine gripped her tighter as saw for himself as he felt his mind meld with the Warp and Ezekiel's consciousness…
----------
The macabre was amongst them as they saw for themselves another of many truths. It was a large underground circular chamber made of stone, emblems of Chaso sewed on cloth strewn about on the walls. Standing against the wall were many Lords of Chaos Undivided, helmets off and each carrying a battle standard with their respective Legion symbol on it. A procession of robed, hood wearing priests had their palms flat against one another as if in prayer as they circled and chanted around the hapless vulpine tied by his hands and feet to the eight-pointed star suspended above the floor by chains from the ceiling.
The vulpine in question looked almost identical to Fox save for his lighter orange fur, the numerous bruises marring his face and exposed torso and the ruinous Mark of Chaos carved into his chests, the blood seeping from the wounds and dripping onto the ground. His eyes were closed shut and his teeth gritted together as he experienced the most excruciating agony there was.
Watching from the sidelines was an equally beaten Peppy Hare, held by the arms by two Venomian lizard soldiers, and a Chaos Chosen Marine holding a Black Legion battle standard in both his hands. Predictable there was a cruel smile on his pale face, revealing rotting blackened teeth. Distressed at his surroundings and his best friend's predicament, Peppy blinked away the blood seeping into his eyes from his head wounds and shot a glance over at the large figure standing on a elevated platform above the chamber.
No longer able to keep his teeth clenched from the pain, James moaned out loud, before blood seeped out the corner of his mouth.
"Awwwww…Fox…son…"
Laughter erupted around them, coming from the elevated platform and the power armoured behemoth of a top-knotted Warmaster.
"James McCloud," Abaddon said, "By the Warp, You have been chosen. Be glad, for your soul now belongs to your new masters. Zaraphiston?"
"Coming, my lord."
Zaraphiston stepped out of the shadows, accompanied by a figure clad in a red robe. The Sorcerer carried a small human skull-lined chest in his hands. James looked over at Peppy, and tried to call out to him, but feeling his throat parched as he tried to make his tongue work.
"James!" Peppy exclaimed.
"F…Fox…!" James manage to blurt out.
The rabbit fought back the tears as he responded chokingly, "Don't worry, we'll get outta this."
"Heh, don't be so sure, fellas."
Peppy gasped when he heard the familiar voice. That familiar, traitorous voice.
"Aww…Pigma?" James choked out.
Out stepped a pudgy pig in a pink bodysuit from the stone doorway leading into the chamber, happily chomping away on some ham on a bone.
"Hey," the pig called up to Abaddon, "Hate to break it to ya', but you're out of this so-called 'ham'. Got any more?"
Abaddon smiled, finding amusement out of him eating away at meat derived from his more beast-like cousins from the neighbouring galaxy, "As much as you want, Pigma. Just after you bear witness to the disposal of this worthy sacrifice."
"Ah, yeah…the ape told me about his little adventure in Ultima."
The figure in red robes looked up and responded in an aged tone of voice, "I did."
As Zeraphiston opened the chest to reveal a blackened dagger with a golden hilt, the figure in red pulled his hood away to reveal an aged, white haired and bearded ape. James eyes widened as he took the blade from the Sorcerer and held it steadily with both hands. Peppy tried to struggle out of the guards' grasp, the scene before him already familiar.
"No!" Peppy cried, "TAKE ME INSTEAD! I'VE GOT NOTHING!"
"Bull…shit, Hare," James gasped out loud.
"Enough!" Abaddon boomed out, "Andross!"
"Warmaster?"
"Repay the debt owed after Cerinia. Spill the blood of McCloud and make this planet holy!"
Andross smirked and tightened his hold on the blade. He brought it down towards James, aiming for his heart.
The screams from the vulpine were terrifying to hear as Andross sliced his chest open. James' eyes practically bulged out of his head as the ape continued to smile as he reached in to pluck out his beating heart…
----------
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!"
Fox's piercing scream of disbelief and anguish shattered the vision, bringing him, Krystal, Jacques and Tigerius back to reality. Both psychically potent Space Marine appeared worn out from the experience, while Krystal was close to bursting into tears. Fox eyes closed tightly as he fought back the tears, and didn't open them again until he felt Krystal' soft palm on his face. He brought himself to look into Krystal's sad, worn eyes.
"Fox," she said softly, "I'm so sorry."
Fox stared at her for a few moments, forgetting everything around them and the Chaos Lord still watching them with glee. He looked over at Jacques, who was on one knee as he tried to recover himself. He gave a fleeting glance to the vulpine, his face emotionless but his eyes betraying his stoic demeanour. They revealed regret, and sorrow for this revelation.
To Fox, that was the breaking point.
He leapt to his feet, gripping Eden in his left hand. Almost like lightning he sped toward Jacques and recovered Nemesis in his right. Brandishing both swords in his hands he sped towards Ezekiel, blood (metaphorically) in his eyes and vengeance in his heart. Ezekiel smiled as he stretched his arms outwards.
"Yes!" Ezekiel shouted, "COME TO ME!"
Possessed by the dark power of the Warp Ezekiel bellowed in dark laughter when suddenly daemonic wings spurted out where his shoulder blades should be.
Alarmed, Tigerius thought, 'He's a Possessed! The failed Lord of Chaos is a Possessed! The False Gods personally, and truly, have designs in store for us now!'
"OPEN FIRE!"
As Fox leapt into the air, swords poised in a scissor motion, Sturnn gave the word to attack. Numerous las-blasts struck Ezekiel's daemonic shield and barely missed Fox as he came down upon the Chaos Lord. Ezekiel moved his body to the left and raised his daemonically charged power sword and blocked Fox's attack, before manoeuvring his left wing to swat Fox out of the air, Nemesis flying out of his hand.
Jacques got up and charged, catching Nemesis in his hand before psychically bringing Fox down onto the ground gently. He looked to see Ezekiel flex his wings as the burns on his face glowed crimson. With his rapidly elongating hands, rapidly becoming claws, he tore pieces of his armour away revealing rippling flesh and muscles. With a loud shriek and cracking of his wing bones he stretched his wings and flew towards the Imperial army, sharp claws poised to near the nearest human in half.
And it was General Sturnn. He braced himself for the daemon-possessed Chaos Lord…
"MY LORD GENERAL!"
Sturnn gasped when out of nowhere a Guardsman jumped in between him and the descending Lord of Chaos Undivided. Ezekiel unceremoniously tore the Guardsman in half as Sturnn ducked to the side, falling onto the cold soil, storm bolter blazing at Ezekiel. The Lord kicked and smashed the bolter off of the General's lightning claw. Numerous Guardsmen backed away from the Chaos Lord, lasguns blazing but being repelled by his psychic shield, desperate to save their general but fearing the proximity to the Chaos Lord.
Commissar Plymouth was the next to charge, sabre raised…
"FEAR ME, FALLEN LORD! I BRING HIS WRATH UPON YOUR HEATHEN HEAD!"
Ezekiel spun around and parried Plymouth's sabre. He pulled his power sword back, spinning him around and delivering a devastating kick to his back, sending him falling face down into the ground. He then noticed out the corner of his eye Krystal, having picked herself up from the ground and was running to Fox's aid.
'She is now facially scarred,' Ezekiel thought, 'It shows she's a warrior, and a worthy sacrifice.'
Forgetting about his Imperial Guard targets, he took off after the vixen. Fox recuperated enough to notice a mutated Chaos Lord hurtling towards her.
"K…KRYSTAL! BEHIND YOU"
She spun around to see Ezekiel gunning for her and she cried out in shock. He gripped her staff and prepared to use it. But didn't, seeing as how Jacques tackled him from midair, impaling Nemesis through his left shoulder into the ground.
"Fight me!" Jacques exclaimed out loud, "You wish for a sacrifice? Try and take me!"
Ezekiel smiled painfully, "Gladly."
He thrust his right claw forward and pierce through his right arm, causing him to wince slightly. He then kicked Jacques off him, then reached for the hilt of Nemesis and pulled it out of his shoulder. He then hurled Nemesis at Jacques, who stretched his right hand forward and the blade pierced through his right hand.
----------
La'Jakob, can't you shoot the mont'au from where you are?
La'Jakob gripped the Exitus Rifle tightly and responded into his com, "He's moving too fast. I would risk hitting either McCloud or Krystal."
And the Grey Knight?
Jakob rolled his eyes, "He is not my concern, Tash. Stand by…"
----------
Jacques gritted his teeth, groaning through them as he pulled the sword out of his gauntlet with his left hand then transferring Nemesis to his right hand. The small amount of pain he felt kept his mind sharp, but Krystal once again was distressed at the sight of the blood and exposed flesh appearing on his right arm and hand.
"You will not hurt any more of my comrades today, Chaos!" Jacques exclaimed, "Only one more person shall die this day."
"Perhaps on this world," Ezekiel said, "But not everywhere else in Lylat, or in the universe. And on this world, the one more that shall die will be the vixen!"
Jacques shook his head in disbelief, passing a momentarily glance at Krystal trying to help Fox onto his feet. Before he could respond, however…
"Why are you so obsessed with the last of the Cerinians?" Calgar boomed out as he and the Ultramarine charged forward ahead of the Guardsmen.
Ezekiel spun around to face them, eyes blazing with crimson, "Her blood spilled by a Chaos blade will make Lylat as unholy as our own galaxy! That is a guarantee from the Dark Gods themselves."
"We shall not let you," Calgar responded with fury, "Anywhere in the universe where Chaos sit, we will dethrone!"
And at that Jacques charged and swung Nemesis, Ezekiel blocking his attacking and swinging his power sword, making the Grey Knight swerve his head. Ezekiel then raised his plasma pistol and fired into Jacques' knee caps, piercing the armour and bringing him onto his knees, incapacitating him. Calgar was the next to strike, his gauntlets striking Ezkiel's rapidly daemonic form. Instead of being sent flying, Ezekiel just stood there still and swung his claw, slashing Calgar across the face, his nails digging into his flesh. The Lord Macragge recoiled and closed his eyes tightly as he felt pain, before a psychic blast sent him flying.
He hurtled towards his Marine, including Cassius, knocking them all done and crushing any unfortunate Guardsmen nearby. Tigerius roared and unleashed a psychic attack, only to have it sent back at him and knocking him flat onto his back. Clearly, the daemonic influence emanating from Ezekiel was overwhelming the Emperor's Chosen.
Jacques recovered and lunged at him, their swords making contact. Jacques gritted his teeth as Ezekiel continued to smile…
"STOP SMILING!" Jacques roared, "CHAOS DOES NOT BRING JOY!"
"Of course, but only to you," Ezekiel respond, "Especially not now…"
Ezekiel eyed Krystal brandishing her staff, and with a look of ferocious anger common to the Cerinian woman warrior charged at her. He raised his plasma pistol and fired at her. Krystal swung her staff to unsuccessfully deflect the plasma, the stream that wasn't cut away struck her in the left shoulder
"ARGHHH!"
She screamed in agony as the plasma tore away at her clothes and burning the fur away from her exposed shoulder. Jacques' gasp caught in his mouth as she tripped and fell forward onto the ground, causing Jacques to break his parry with Ezekiel and instinctively spun around.
That was the opportunity Ezekiel waited for as Jacques spun around to watch in horror as Krystal got thrown from the blast and landed roughly on her left arm, the sound of bone snapping as she broke it. The Chaos Lord swung his power sword and severed the Grey Knight's right arm below his elbow.
His pain reducers stopped him from freezing and bellowing in pain, where he spun around and grabbing Ezekiel by the throat, surprising him as well as beginning to strangle him and in a surprise show of strength lifted him off his feet.
----------
"Damn it! Still no shot! I would shoot right through Mortensen, and Krystal…would not prefer that."
----------
"You…will pay for that, heretic!" he forced out breathlessly, anger evident in his voice.
Ezekiel growled and reached with his right hand to grasp the emerald necklace around Jacques' neck. He tore it from his neck and tossed it away, alarming Jacques as he turned his head to see it land on the ground nearby. That distraction provided enough time for Ezekiel to land a right hook at Jacques and sending him sprawling onto the ground, letting the Chaos Lord go.
Immediately upon lying on the ground he reached out desperately with his left arm to try and grab his…Krystal's…necklace. Ezekiel spat some blood before he scowled over at Jacques and stepped over to him, kicking his left arm away from the necklace. Jacques gritted his teeth
"Your devotion to the xeno makes you weak!" Ezekiel exclaimed, "You disgust even the Dark Gods for everything they hate that is the Imperium, xeno-heretic!"
Jacques angrily spat at the Chaos Lord, "You will pay with your life!"
"Not very likely, especially after I sacrifice her for the glory of Chaos Undivided. DIE!"
Ezekiel gripped his power sword and prepared to drive it through his chest when he felt a heavy book made impact with his face courtesy of Fox McCloud and a flying jump kick. He knocked the Chaos Lord away and allowed Jacques to get up and recover Nemesis. Fox tensed up at the sight of Jacques' severed limb, but once again managing to keep the bile down, already feeling enough stress from seeing Falco nearly die behind him.
Ezekiel shook his head and roared, "Do you still think I was lying about the Despoiler personally terminating your father's life?"
Fox growled, "When it comes to my father I don't know what truth is any more."
He then thought, which Jacques managed to overhear.
'And Peppy was holding out on me after all.'
----------
"Stand still, damn you…let me pick off a part of you which matters the most."
----------
"I am going to kill the both of you right now," Ezekiel vowed, "And afterwards I am going to make the vixen bless the Gods just before I slice her across the chest and reach for her heart. And there is not a damned thing you can do about it."
Krystal coughed out loud as she tried to get up, instinctively moving her right hand to cover her plasma-burned left shoulder. Ezekiel smiled and flexed he wings, deciding to go for her first. Before Jacques and Fox could respond he darted for her.
"NO!" Jacques and Fox shouted out loud.
----------
"I pull the trigger…and shall defend…"
----------
The loud crack of the Exitus Rifle tore through the air, and Jacques felt something skim the side of his face before hitting Ezekiel, taking off his left wing. The daemon inside him screamed in agony and he was sent falling right before Krystal, who dove to the side to avoid him.
Jacques felt his left cheek, and a fresh bloody cut there. He spun around to face the Imperial Guard standing behind them all this time, their guns not silent and electing to watch the battle unfold before them. He then turned back to see the Chaos Lord get back up.
----------
La'Jakob frowned and fired again, blowing Ezekiel's right leg off and sending him onto the ground.
----------
Jacques rushed over and put his foot down on the Chaos Lord, keeping him pinned down. Fox stepped over and kicked his plasma pistol out of his hand. The threat of the daemonic Chaos Lord now pacified, Krystal took the time to recover herself, her broken right arm hanging limply, and gasped when she noticed Jacques' severed arm on the ground. She immediately rushed over to him, right hand immediately over his stump in an effort to comfort him, much to his surprise. And to her surprise as well, seeing how his enhanced blood had sealed the wound.
"J…Jacques?"
"I am alright," Jacques smiled reassuringly, then looked down and narrowed his eyes at Ezekiel, "Whatever this abomination inflicted on me, it was minimal at best."
'Minimal?' Krystal thought wondrously, 'A severed arm and he calls it 'minimal'?"
"Are you alright?"
Krystal moved her right hand over her left arm where she sense the bone cracked and groaned loudly.
"I'll live."
Both Fox and Jacques looked at Krystal worriedly, before exchanging glances towards each other, each glad the other was still alive, thought not in one piece.
Ezekiel saw a dozen boltguns trained on him as the Space Marines crowded around them, with Calgar, Cassius and Tigerius pushing through to join Fox, Jacques and Krystal. Sturnn and Plymouth stood nearby, deciding to bear silent witness. The Commissar turned around and raised his magnoculars to see La'Jakob standing some distance away on top of a Leman Russ, wondering if it's commander planned to shoot him for putting his heretical hands on a sacred machine of the Emperor.
"You have lost, fallen one," Calgar boomed out, eyeing Jacques and making him take his foot off Ezekiel's chest, practically daring him to get up, "Ask our Chaplain for Confession and your soul may be spared as it is released from it's mortal shackles."
Ezekiel growled and spat, his acidic saliva hitting the left wing of the Aquila on his Artificer Armour and burning it. Angered, Calgar put his massive foot down on his legs, crushing them. Ezekiel only winced and frowned more intensely.
"McCloud."
"Yeah?"
"This cretin has attempted to kill your best friend and your lover," Calgar said, then narrowed his eyes, "And your 'brother' to a lesser extent."
Fox gritted his teeth.
"Do you know now the extent of Chaos unholy presence in this universe?"
"All to well," Fox responded.
"Mortensen?"
"Aye?"
"Despite your apparent allegiance to the xeno, do you at least believe that Chaos is the Enemy?"
"Chaos is the Great Enemy, "Lord Macragge."
"Then kindly dispose of this heretic."
Jacques nodded and with his remaining arm he held Nemesis as he stepped back towards Ezekiel. The Chaos Lord saw all around him the thousands of Imperials that encircled him and immediately resigned to his fate, but not without letting off a burst of wild laughter, and if one could look closely there were tears of joys streaming down his face.
With fury and rare zealotry Jacques demanded, "Why do you laugh, heretic?"
"Heh…you do not understand. You just do not understand," Ezekiel smiled, "YOU are Chaos itself."
Jacques eyebrows arched themselves as he stood before the Chaos Lord's body. Fox and Krystal looked down at him questioningly, then at Jacques with even more confusion.
"What do you mean?" the Grey Knight asked, placing the tip of Nemesis on Ezekiel's chest plate and dangling the hilt in his hand in a threatening manner, "Answer me. Do you speak rhetoric of the false gods?"
Ezekiel laughed, "Oh, you will wish it is rhetoric Jacques."
Tigerius growled, "Explain yourself, heretic. And we will ease your soul's damning passage back to your masters!"
Still smiling, Ezekiel droned out, "You, Jacques Mortensen, you stand for everything we fight for: For Chaos, to throw reality out of it's downgrading, repetitive loop. You…you subject yourself to things that no Astartes can bring himself to do – human emotion…not to mention weakness."
His smile faded when he suddenly coughed out blood. Jacques got down on one knee, driving Nemesis into the ground next to Ezekiel. Fox stood by, Eden in hand and watching out for anything and everything that could happen. Krystal stood by, eyes switching back and forth between Jacques and Ezekiel, ever concerned for what is to happen next.
Ezekiel groaned, before continuing, "You are different…different to all the loyalist scum I have slaughtered for thousands of years, each one loyal to only one thing – That stuffed corpse on the Golden Throne, the False Emperor."
Tigerius growled again, "Stay your tongue, heretic, or face our vengeance…"
Jacques frowned waved his hand, silencing a surprised Tigerius. He looked back down at Ezekiel, his eyes telling him to continue."
Ezekiel continued, "But you…when you stood against me, it was not for Him, but for Him…"
The Chaos Lord indicated Fox with a point of his finger with his raised left hand.
"…and Her…"
Then he indicated Krystal.
"You threw yourself between me and them. You saved them from me. At that moment, I knew you were not thinking of the False Emperor when you did that. You were not even thinking of yourself. Only them."
He closed his eyes and shook his head, almost sadly.
"No Space Marine would ever do that. Never would he be willing to sacrifice himself to save others that did not matter to humanity or the Imperium," Ezekiel grimaced, "For a second, your loyalty and compassion for the furs sickened me, but I realise as I lay here dying…"
He began smiling again.
"…you embody change. A Space Marine, an Ultramarine, a Grey Knight who fights for something other than the Emperor's Cause. That is completely unheard of."
He coughed up some more blood, much of which ended up on Jacques' face. Krystal was shocked at the sight, and watched him calmly wipe it off his face.
"Sorry…" Ezekiel groaned, "As I was saying…you are different, and are Chaos in itself – The herald of the coming of the Realm of Chaos."
Jacques shook his head and growled, "I am not Chaos. I do not pledge my allegiance to Chaos, I do not worship Chaos..."
"Oh of course not," Ezekiel agreed, but continued hauntingly, "But you are different. From everything I have read of you as according to the Despoiler you are completely different. The true god of Chaos Tzeentch must be behind you, for how else can you be unlike any other loyalist scum encountered."
The Ultramarines around them became disturbed over Ezekiel's words. The Grey Knight's eyes widened, and for a second he felt fear in that revelation. He narrowed his eyes in anger, "That is not true."
"You can deny it all you want," Ezekiel continued, "You even told me you were unique. Tell me, why are you still alive? How come the Ultramarines have not killed you yet and salvaged your Gene Seed?"
Calgar stepped forward and boomed out, "Because he is a servant of humanity and, despite his torn loyalties, he serves the Emperor by killing his enemies."
Now Ezekiel was laughing out loud, "Just how long can you go protecting him from all the other nine-hundred and ninety-nine Chapters that serve the False Emperor? And the Inquisition? They are going to want to have their traitor Grey Knight back."
"So long as he fights against the enemies of humanity, Calgar continued aggressively, "You, on the other hand…."
He turned to Jacques, frowning.
"Brother Mortensen, you may kill him now."
Jacques turned towards Calgar, his eyes still wide. He then resumed using his emotionless mask and nodded. He grabbed Nemesis and pulled the blade out of the ground and positioned it just above Ezekiel's heart.
"One day soon you have to make a choice," Ezekiel droned on, "Who are you more loyal to? The Ultramarines and the Imperium of Man, or…"
He looked over and smiled at Krystal, who was starting to feel fearful for Jacques.
"…your vixen. You think that love and compassion for living things are strength? Things do not work that way in this universe of ours. How do you think I severed your arm?
Jacques grimaced when he looked at his left stump. Krystal was desperate to reach out and comfort him because of it, but common sense told her to stay back.
"Either you make the right choices, or you will fall."
He looked up at Jacques.
"Here's the first of many choices: Keep me alive for twenty more seconds and I will tell you who your real mother and father are. You will go against your Chapter-Master's wishes, who for some reason seeks to keep your parents identities disclosed, and you will face punishment, but you will have lifted a heavy weight off your shoulders."
Fox looked at him and could see him begin to sweat in anticipation of the answer to that question. Calgar, however, he saw as about to blow to top as was clinching his gauntlets that hard.
The vulpine was startled when Calgar shouted, "I gave you a command. Kill the heretic!"
"Jacques!" Fox exclaimed.
Krystal's eyes were filled with emotion once again, "Please….no."
Jacques found himself frozen in place, sword in his hand still dangling above Ezekiel, all the while Calgar was getting both frustrated and angry at Ezekiel for complicating Jacques once again. Ten seconds past without movement, and the Space Marines around them were gripping their weapons and advancing towards Jacques, with blood in their eyes.
"Ten seconds…your mother's name is Lucille Mortensen," Ezekiel chimed, "Violated by the Ordo Xeno to conceive you, then killed by the Ordo Xeno after giving birth to you. Five more seconds and your father's name…"
Five seconds past and Jacques noticed several boltguns trained on him. Fox and Krystal were about to act in defence of him.
Calgar was ablaze at Jacques' hesitation and stopped thinking straight, "KILL HIM, DAVID!"
"…your father's name is…"
He was cut short when Calgar fired his storm bolter into Ezekiel's face, shocking Jacques out of his trance and instinctively driving Nemesis into the Chaos Lord's chest. Fox and Krystal were startled at the sights of Calgar silencing Ezekiel before he could reveal who his father was, and was even more startled at the look of horror and bewilderment on his face.
Calgar spat to the side and kicked Ezekiel body away. He then turned to Jacques, as if ready to attack him. Jacques did not move his body to face him, but rather turned his head, allowing him to see his shocked reaction.
The Lord Macragge shook his head, "He was right about just one thing. As a servant of the Immortal Emperor there are choices in life you have to make. This time I made it for you."
He then peered in close to Jacques, appearing sinister. The Space Marines lowered their weapons as Jacques turned his whole body to face him.
"Disobey me again and I will no longer be lenient towards you," he rolled his eyes towards Fox and Krystal, "Or your friends."
Krystal noticed Cassius smirking in the background and frowned.
----------
Praises, cheers and cries of jubilation went around the crews of the Imperial/Cornerian fleet in orbit upon hearing news from the surface that the Chaos forces had been completely routed and the lures of Slaanesh having been taken down a notch in Lylat. Nero couldn't hold back a smile as he stood before glass windows overlooking MacBeth, studying the planet from the Pacifier, short for Sanguinius Pacificus.
"Lord Admiral!" an ecstatic naval officer rushed to him, giving the sign of the Aquila as Nero turned to face him, "We have won another victory in the name of the God-Emperor, defeating the lewd scourge of Slaanesh. Surely we have brought our redemption over allying with the beast xeno."
Nero shook his head, causing the officer to lower his raised arms slowly and in disbelief, "We will be redeemed once we die killing the Despoiler and smashing this Black Crusade, without the help of either those traitor Ultramarines or damn furs."
He then twisted his heels and made for the door out of the bridge.
"If you will excuse me, I must make a start on our battle report. Send a bottle of Tanith Gin up to my quarters in an hour."
----------
"Congratulations, sir," Colonel Mick the mastiff saluted the hare smilingly as he got up from his seat, "Another victory chalked for the Cornerian army. If General Peppy were here…"
Peppy crossed his arms, "I trust there are still attempts to locate Pepper."
Mick's grin disappeared as he resumed being professional, "Yes, sir. We are still attempting to track him, but so far out of five planets still not under Chaos control we've found nothing."
"Keep looking, then," Peppy frowned, "Besides information on Cornerian stratagem and R & D he holds we can't even think of letting him get ensnared by those damned cults or Marine legions."
"I understand, sir," Mick replied, "We'll start searching on worlds still holding out, then."
"Communications on MacBeth?"
"Still up and running, sir. The resonance previously blocking all coms has faded…"
----------
…that has to be a good sign.
Sitting by the holo-projector operated by Earth Caste technicians and surrounded by Water Caste diplomats Aun'shi rubbed his chin, paying attention to the exchange between Peppy and Mick. The Water Caste all looked at one another, smiling and nodding decisively towards each other as they took this as good news.
"Honourable Ethereal," one of the Por'la said, "No doubt this is very good news."
"Very good news," the Ethereal agreed.
Aun'shi, the state room's communication system buzzed, Report from MacBeth. The Chaos forces have been destroyed. The Fire Caste and it's allies are victorious.
"I am aware," Aun'shi replied, "Thank you."
What are your orders, Honoured Ethereal?
"Attempt communication with O'Shovah immediately," Aun'shi said as he begun to pace in front of the projector, "I want him back on Venom immediately for personal assessment of the situation at hand."
He then thought, embittered with himself.
"We really should not have let him run off by himself in the first place. I am becoming such a fool in my old age.'
----------
An hour after the death of Ezekiel, the 2nd Battalion and the Ultramarines returned back to the rail complex and immediately joined them in celebration as the wounded were squared away for the treatment and the dead separated from the living to await rites and burial . Lasguns and blasters blazed away into the air as the Cornerian and Imperials celebrated together, before the Imperial quickly separated themselves to be led by Cassius in a procession through the pathways of the rail complex. They raised flags and Aquilas on every corner as the priests shouted litanies and sang songs in praise to the Emperor. The Cornerian kept as far away from them as possible during these proceedings.
After making sure that Falco was with the Cornerian medics along with his severed leg with Katt in tow and Krystal's broken arm was put in a sling, she and Fox hugged each other warmly and shared a long kiss. Afterwards when Jacques had come to give salutations to Fox regarding another victory for Team Star Fox, Krystal had walked up to him and surprised him once again by giving him a rather affectionate hug and a nuzzle. This drew a frown from the vulpine and some snickers from some passing Cornerian soldiers, especially with Jacques' wide, surprised eyes, where it would appeared he bordered on being embarrassed.
The Tau Pathfinders and a couple of returned XV88 Crisis Suits celebrated by themselves by the fountain, giving praise to the Ethereal Caste for their parting of their knowledge to the Fire Warriors which were used to defeat their enemy. La'Jakob had taken off his coat and armour to reveal the tattoos on his arms as he recited some wise words from Commander Shadowson…
"To follow any path other than the Tau'va is to doom us all. Only together and with courage and discipline shall we stand victorious. Fight with fire and courage and nothing can stand against us."
La'Tash patted him on the back and smiled, "And nothing did stand against us."
"I believe a promotion is in order for you, La'Jakob," another Pathfinder beamed, "Or should that be…Ui'Jakob?"
Jakob shrugged, "I would not be so sure. That depends if Aun'shi deems it necessary for me to obtain a promotion and…where is Shas'O Shovah?"
All heads jerked upwards at that sudden question.
"I do not know," Tash said, "We haven't seen him since we took the rail complex."
"Then we should be trying to contact him right away," La'Jakob said.
Tash appeared sceptical, "You do no think…he plans to betray us, do you?"
Jakob's eyes widened at that revelation.
"I…I am unsure…"
----------
"Commander," Shas'vre'Law spoke into the com unit built into the interior of his Crisis Suit's helmet, "Enemy presence has been routed. The base of Mount Twirlenkiller is under our control."
The Tau suit pilot finished what he was saying by firing his plasma rifle into the gullet of a human cultist, tearing him in half and letting his blood spill all over the ground of the abandoned Chaos fort at the base of Mount Twirlenkiller. T'au and Farsight Battle Suits scanned the entire base for anything irregular, with O'Shovah hovering above midair, as if trying to find something specific.
It then came to him, in the form of a metal door built into the rock of the mountain. O'Shovah smiled and landed his suit on it's two mechanical feet, then disengaged the systems on his suit. The torso plating unlatched itself from the armour and swung open like a door, as did his helm, revealing O'Shovah inside. He pulled his arms out of the suit and leapt out and onto the ground.
Stretching his arms to his sides and straightening his back, feeling his bones creak, he walked up to the door and produced some sort of portable rectangular handheld device which he immediately applied to the keypad next to the door. The red and blue lights on the device flashed and the sounds of decrypting were like music to O'Shovah's ears.
Seconds later the lights on the device faded and the door opened, revealing a staircase leading downwards into darkness. O'Shovah smiled to himself as he begun to step downwards, unafraid of whatever is down there and full of confidence that he would find what he was looking for.
Shas'O? O'Shovah's wrist computer blurted, the light shining off the monitor illuminating the staircase before him, Where are you? We've lost sight of you?
"I am fine, Vre'Law," O'Shovah replied, "I am just seeing for myself if the Marquis' rambling about what secrets the hollow world hide are true?"
Cornerian produced nuclear weapons, sir?
"The very same."
----------
After the jubilee and celebrations of their victory died down, the Imperial Guard begun to reorganise themselves, preparing to be shipped off to the next warzone. Sturnn, Plymouth and Colonel Haunterszlot watched as their troops and machinery marched and rolled respectively into the heavy transport ships designed to take them back into orbit and to the Imperial cruisers in orbit.
Embittered, Plymouth turned to Haunterzlot, "You personally executed a Guardsman, Colonel."
"I did."
"Why did you?" Sturnn asked.
"Lord General, for he was about to shatter the truce we currently have with the xeno," Haunterzlot justified mildly, "It is bad enough we must ally with them but to have them turn on us…between the fell legions and the daemon we would not survive and onslaught, even with the Space Marines by our side."
Sturnn nodded, "I understand, but next time leave it to the Commissars."
"I understand, Lord General. I will now take my leave."
Haunterzlot saluted and left to rejoin the rest of the officers awaiting transport off world, watched as he went by the General and the Regimental Commissar, the later shaking his head tiredly.
"He sees furs as true allies, Lord General," Plymouth said, frowning, "And the good servant of the Emperor learns to detest his enemies."
"In time, Commissar, in time," Sturnn replied, sounding equally tired, "I promise you that much. Now, the number of casualties and wounded…"
"I have the numbers here, General."
----------
Krystal bit her lip as she tried to keep her broken left arm still in it's sling, the cast already irritating the skin underneath her fur and making her want to scratch it, much to her annoyance. Fox had his vest and shirt off as the wounds and scars on his chest were re-examined by the Space Marine Apothecary with the aid of a servi-scar, who were insistent as he had been wounded by a Chaos blade and wanted to double check in case of daemon related infestation.
Luckily…
"You appear to be fine, McCloud," the Apothecary said, "Though your scars will remain with you for the rest of your life."
Fox downcast his eyes and nodded, "Thanks."
"Think of them as badge of honour, vulpine," the Apothecary added, "They will stand as a testament to your survival against the Ruinous Powers…"
He then turned to Krystal, who was standing with Jacques as they watched on. She looked back.
"…and you, Cerinian Princess. Surely if by chance the souls of your fallen species still live they see your scar and consider you a warrior worthy of those hacked down on the battlefields besides many of our brothers."
Krystal touched the scar on her face and nose and winced, before appearing solemn as she realised they would be there for the rest of her life, and being reminded of her people. Jacques nodded solemnly; remembering the majority the 2nd Company that fell on Cerinia. Only his Captain Sicarius, Commander of the Watch, and a handful of others managed to escape and keep the company alive.
A/N: Yes I realise it would have been the end of the Ultramarines if the 2nd Company had been wiped out completely. I'll retcon this when I get the chance…
'Curious,' Jacques thought, 'I never did ask the Lord Macragge how Sicarius took my judgement by the Inquisition. He looked as if he was about to kill the Ordo Xeno Inquisitor who arrested me when they came for me.'
"And Mortensen," the Apothecary turned to him now, "We will be able to reattach your right arm, but your hand has sustained to much damage to the tendons and nerves, and henceforth you will require a bionic."
Jacques appeared to shrug, "So be it."
He smiled over at Fox and Krystal and walked off. Fox was awestruck at how he calmly he reacted to the loss of his limb, but reasoned it was because it can easily replaced. He could see that Krystal was still worrying about him and patted her shoulder.
"Don't worry about him, Krys," Fox smiled, "Honestly, you're starting to act more like his big sister every day."
Krystal smiled lightly and kissed his hand, "I can't help it, Fox. I'll always be his sister."
Fox's smiled faded as he looked away from him. He thought, 'Let's keep it that way.'
----------
From the fountain La'Jakob rubbed the back of his bandaged head as he watched with disdain at the exchange between Jacques and the two foxes. He heard his communicator beep and he looked away towards the flowing water below him, tapping his earpiece to answer it.
"La'Jakob of T'au."
Gue'vesa'shas'la.
La'Jakob recognised the voice, "Shas'O? Where are you and the XV88 pilots?"
I apologise if we have worried you and the Pathfinders, but we have stumbled across something that may help us to put an end to this conflict sooner than we had hoped. Is the Star Fox team accounted?
"Yes, but not in one piece unfortunately," Jakob grimaced.
Inform Commander McCloud that we may need their assistance in moving the payload from the bunker to the Great Fox and prep for transport to either Venom or the next closest warzone.
"Payload, Shas'O?"
Remember Titania, and how it is a desert?
La'Jakob breath caught in his throat with shock, "A…atomics?"
You are shocked? Don't be. We will discuss this with the Cornerian authorities once we are off world. O'Shovah signing off.
"B…b…but…!"
La'Jakob stuttered in shock with the thoughts of radiation and mushroom clouds passing through his mind. He had never seen an atomic up close, but from the Tau vid disks on the subject of Imperial testing on abandoned or lightly populated worlds he saw first hand the devastation they inflicted and how they can kill a planet slower than a badly-focused Exterminatus ever could. And the shocking images of radiation sickness upon human and non-human bodies had quickly burnt themselves into his mind.
"Jakob?"
Krystal interrupted his thoughts as he looked up to face her. The scars on her face once again disturbed him, but he kept a straight face thought he couldn't stop his eyes from wavering.
"Krystal?"
"You brought down Lord Ezekiel," Krystal said, then smiled, "Thank you."
La'Jakob returned the smile as he sat down on the edge of the fountain, "Did we not promise to look out for each other?"
Krystal squeezed his left shoulder affectionately, before her smile slowly faded and she sat down next to him. La'Jakob stopped smiling as well, and appeared intrigued.
"What troubles you?"
"Listen," Krystal said softly, hand clasped on her lap and looking over at him, "I know we haven't known very long, but I have something I need you to do for me."
La'Jakob appeared more intrigued, "What is it?"
"I…" Krystal appeared unsure of herself, "I…I don't…really know how to put this."
"Just say whatever you have to say," La'Jakob said, "If it is to contribute to our survival, then by all means I will accomplish it to the best of my ability?"
Krystal mind clicked suddenly after hearing Jakob speak.
'He's very well mannered and cultured. Almost, if not exactly, like Jacques. Though…does he act like this in front of everyone friendly to him, or just to me?'
She rubbed the back of her neck.
"I need you to talk to Jacques Mortensen."
La'Jakob looked as if he was about to scowl, "Your Space Marine comrade?"
"If the both of you are going to be able to fight alongside one another without any sort of reservation then I believe the best way would be for the both of you two see what the other really is," Krystal explained.
"I already know what he is," La'Jakob said, "And I know what he thinks of me: A traitor to the 'God'-Emperor."
Krystal didn't miss the vehemence in his voice. She sounded sincere when she continued, "If you just sit down and make conversation with him for only one minute you will see the noble, caring yet complicated person he is. And I think in the long run…"
"Please," Jakob raised his hand before her, "I know what you are trying to do. If you even knew one ounce of my history you will understand why I am not eager to make any new friends, especially if they are Imperial."
Krystal downcast her eyes, with the planet he mentioned Geewing immediately springing to mind. It was apparent that something terrible had happened to him there, and she was too full of respect to peer into his mind and find out for himself what made him tick on the subject of Imperials, possibly even humans in general.
Jakob saw how despondent Krystal had now become and sighed heavily, standing up and rubbing his forehead. He checked his watch, seeing that he now had an hour and a half before he had to inject himself with hus accursed medicine.
He turned to face her. She looked up at him when he spoke again.
"Alright," La'Jakob nodded, "I will speak to him."
Krystal smiled, "Thank you."
"Krystal?"
"Hmmm?"
La'Jakob cringed slightly when O'Shovah orders came back to him, "I have also have something important to ask of you, actually, of Team Star Fox. It concerns Commander Farsight and the Tau."
Krystal stared at him, curiously, "What is it?"
La'Jakob was now his gritting his teeth behind his closed lips, immediately trying to figure out how to ask her to allow O'Shovah to transport dormant atomic weapons on board the Great Fox II to the next warzone. Immediately they would begin to slowly destroy the planet they would be fighting to save next.
He decided to put it off for the moment.
"Oh, for the moment it is nothing," La'Jakob smiled, "It can wait after I see Mortensen."
"Please," Krystal pleaded for the last time, "Just talk to him."
At that she walked away to join Fox, leaving a now unsmiling La'Jakob standing there alone and silent, as if dumbstruck by her desperate pleas. It took some time before he shook himself out of his confused trance and composed himself. He looked over to see Jacques talking with a pair of Scouts. Afterwards Jacques walked away, stepping towards the broken wall of the rail complex begun looking out towards the empty grey plains, pensive.
Jakob noticed the tiredness evident on his face. With the next Chaos attack pending against Lylat, it was quite understandable for him to be feeling the stress beginning to take hold of him. He decided to act on Krystal's advice and strike up a conversation with Jacques, and decide for himself once and for all if he is truly one of the monsters of the Inquisition.
He got up and walked over towards him. Sensing him, Jakob raised his head, but still looking out across the ranges outside the base.
"Jacques."
Jacques turned to him, still gripping Eden, "Yes."
La'Jakob decided, for now, to be blunt, "How do you live with it?"
"Pardon?"
Jakob frowned slightly, "How can you live with yourself? How can you keep going? How can you stand...?"
He sighed exasperatedly.
"...being what you are?"
Jacques looked down at his feet, carving a line into the ground with Eden, "I have no choice, La'Jakob."
La'Jakob appeared to scowl, "No choice?"
He crossed his arms.
"When the priests and acolytes of the Chapter came to your Orphanrium, did they not promise a life of duty, honor and fulfillment in serving the Emperor of Mankind? Could you not have just walked away and refuse?"
Jacques studied him for a moment, eyes slightly wide with surprise after looking into his mind and seeing the reasoning and logic behind his questioningly, "I had no choice, because if I refused I would have served far worst aspects of humanity than the Adeptus Astartes."
La'Jakob decided to by coy, "You could have chosen to die. Release your soul from your mortal shackles and fade away into memory as someone who chose an alternative than to serve bigotry and oppression that is the Imperium."
"You speak of the Imperium as if it is the entirety of humanity," Jacques sounded annoyed, "And that all of humanity seeks to subjugate and take the universe for everything it has. That is not true. I mean…"
He smiled.
"…take a look at yourself, and if you ask any of Star Fox, they will say I am their friend, whom fought with them against their own enemies, that I brought Venom to it's knees, that I pursued their leader onto a daemon world to put him down for good, and to save my most precious person."
"You?" La'Jakob said, almost sounding like he scoffed at the thought of Jacques not being a 'worse aspect of humanity.'
Jacques frowned, hearing his tone of voice, "I am declared 'Excommuicatus Traitoris' by the Inquisition, that same group that has cast a dark shadow over the Emperor's realm. Surely that would tell you that the Imperium wants me dead and my gene-seed harvested."
"Yet you are part of their Chamber-Militant," Jakob pointed out, waving his finger at the iconography on his pauldrons and chest-plate, "How could you say that, knowing you fly their colors as you rush headfirst into battle? Your enemies see you and believe you fight for them…"
He then raised an eyebrow as he continued…
"And have had their propaganda burned into the back of your brain."
Jacques stared at him emptily, before down casting his eyes in deep thought. It was half a minute later when he opened his mouth to respond.
"I…I have no answer to that," Jacques replied somberly, "Nor knowledge has to how I became part of Order 666, the same Chapter that has never had a single one of their numbers turn to Chaos. And to be honest with myself, I do not wish to know how."
He then glared, causing Jakob to stop scowling at him.
"As for the 'propaganda' they ostensibly burned into my brain as you say, I keep it towards the back of my consciousness and never let it affect my judgement. They tell me that humanity is superior and everyone and everything else is either inferior or cannon-fodder, but I never believed it."
The Gue'vesa felt his eyes grow wide as saucers in astonishment, especially now that Jacques openly glaring at him…the same kind of glare he always gave his enemy before he stuck his blades into him.
"And I do not believe in Imperialism. So I suggest you not be so quick to judge all of humanity, especially when not all of humanity is within the boundaries of the Imperium of Man."
Jacques then gripped Nemesis and held it firmly and straight in his hand.
"Thought I cannot blame you for thinking that way towards humanity, knowing what happened to the colony on Vorus, and what the priests and neophytes did to you on both Calth and Geewing."
La'Jakob shook slightly where he stood as if in fright.
"You…you are reading my mind again?" La'Jakob gasped, then was quick to anger, "Stop it!"
"I did not need to read your mind in order to know that," Jacques stated as he walked away to join Krystal and Fox, "Your birth planet was within your personal records, and that your name is not amongst the Chapter's dead and missing recruits following the Geewing Trials."
Jacques shook his head.
"Those trails were a mistake. Geewing was an inhospitable planet, and everyone had agreed that not even the strongest neophyte would have survived. But since you are standing here before him, that says otherwise."
The Grey Knight stared into Jakob's still embittered eyes, "You still resent my presence? I will only say this once…"
La'Jakob eyebrows raised slightly as Jacques sounded intense.
"In spite of everything I have said in regards to my standing in this universe and you do not think differently of me, be warned: You will not be rid of me so easy; as long as Krystal still walks in the material realm, I will be there. I have noticed how you two interacted back on the bridge of the Great Fox and I can assume you see her as someone upstanding."
Jakob lowered his eyebrows back into a frown, "I do. I still yet to understand completely as to why she continues to trust you with her life, now that the rest of you have decided to come here."
He then stepped before Jacques, still frowning up at Jacques, who likewise looked down at him.
"No matter what kind of person you are, no matter what you stand for in life," La'Jakob said, "I will still think of you and the Astartes as monsters. And if you are what Krystal says than you will be content with that."
Jacques looked away from him as he responded, "I am. I do not know what it will take for you to change your opinion on humanity."
La'Jakob lowered his head, eyes downcast and said softly, "Best you do not find out. Goodbye, Jacques Mortensen."
With that La'Jakob walked away, rejoining his Tau compatriots and already discussing with them O'Shovah's orders, to which they immediately felt intrigue and discomfort towards. Jacques shook his head and tried to move his right arm, realizing that it wasn't there. He sighed and tried to think of something other than the Gue'vesa whom he can't find a connection with.
His parents, and more specifically his mother, and why Calgar and possibly the whole of the Chapter, seemed eager to cover it up. It was the first time he had seen the Lord Macragge look or act nervous, and quite frankly it was really unsettling. But not as unsettled as Jacques already was after hearing about his mother's fate from none other than a Chaos Lord.
'The Inquisition killed her,' Jacques thought.
----------
'They killed Jacques' mother,' Fox thought, staring angrily over at Calgar, his Honor Guard, Cassius and Tigerius as they boarded the Thunderhawk and took off from the surface of the planet and up towards the atmosphere, where the rest of the 1st Company would follow soon after.
'Knowing humanity, they probably killed his dad as well,' the vulpine was becoming more embittered as he sat on the ground outside the Cornerian bunker, Eden in his hands and the point sticking into the ground as he sat contemplative. 'Then they had to kill his foster family, blow up his home world and indoctrinate him.'
He then clinched his right fist to his face in anger.
'Andross killed my father, and it was a show for that topknotted mass-murderer himself, and that ape was a Chaos worshipper. Goddamn you, Peppy…'
He heard the bunker door open and O'Reilly step out to see him, so he finished his mental ranting.
'…anything else you're hiding from me? Probably something to do with why both our lives were messed up from day one.'
"McCloud," the Cornerian dog colonel greeted with a smile and a cigarette in his mouth. He looked up at the sky to see the sun shining through the gray clouds, "Tcch….funny…"
Fox looked over his shoulder at him as O'Reilly exhaled smoke out of his mouth.
"…weird how Solar finally decides to shine now that we've kicked those cult freaks' power armored asses."
Fox shrugged, "Yeah, weird."
O'Reilly saw how hunched over and uncomfortable he was.
"Don't worry your head about Lombardi," O'Reilly changed his tune, "The docs are taking a look at him. They saw they might be able to reattach his leg…"
"Might?"
"Well…if not," O'Reilly stood beside the sitting vulpine, looking out over the Imperial Guard formation setting themselves up for transport, "His new leg will come with factory warranty."
"Prosthetics?" Fox grimaced, "Wouldn't it take a month of rehabilitation to just stand on it?"
"Nah, only of he's lucky," O'Reilly explained, "Depending on how well the war is going, he's got about a week until we need him. Military protocol regarding human incursion demands all available hands, even the wounded and the incarcerated."
Fox nodded and said bitterly, "Yeah…I know. So what now?"
"Now? No word from General Hare yet, but I imagine he'd want all Cornerian forces on MacBeth to hold their stations and protect it from any attempted counterattack," O'Reilly explained further, "Guess you and the Imperium's gonna have all the fun."
Fox frowned, "Yeah….fun."
O'Reilly obviously sensed that Fox didn't want to talk to him at the moment. He decided to leave him to his own devices.
"I'll just get outta here, now. Take care of yourself and your team, mercenary."
O'Reilly then disappeared back into the bunker, just in time for Krystal to step into Fox's point of view. He looked up to see that she had a look of disappointment upon her face.
"Krystal?"
The vixen looked at him and nodded, acknowledging his presence.
"What's up?"
She shook her head and shrugged, "Nothing."
She then looked back at him wryly, noticing something was amidst with him now, "Something's wrong, isn't there?"
"Mind if I lie to you?"
"No."
"Damn it."
He shook his head and stared at his feet. Genuinely concerned, Krystal caressed his left cheek, expressions playing on her face that let Fox know that she was willing to listen to whatever he had to say, and to support him and in any and every way possible.
"I'm was just thinking," they both sat down, hand clasped around each other, "About that vision…about my dad…and Peppy…"
Krystal swallowed and shuddered, "It…may have been false, Fox. It could have been Ezekiel just trying to throw it off."
Fox shook his head, "No…he was killed by Chaos, I'm sure. With the human's history in Lylat and everything about those Daemon Gates scattered around Lylat…it just might be true. Krystal…"
Krystal noticed tears in the corner of his eyes.
"…if anything happened to you."
Krystal was quick to throw herself into his arm and give him the most passionate kiss she could manage. That completely blew Fox's mind and he fought against the urge to push her off himself and continue talking, but he delayed for at least half-a-minute, sharing himself with Krystal in that time. When they pulled back, Krystal's head was against his chest, hearing his heart beat.
"You won't lose me, Fox," Krystal vowed softly, eyes closed, "Don't even start thinking about that. You'll never lose me."
Fox rested his chin on the back of her head, tears still falling from his eyes. He shook his head again.
"No."
Krystal's eyes shot open.
"I…I can't…I mean, I love you so much…I can't let it go on anymore."
Krystal pulled back so that they can stared at each other, and Fox was becoming more of a wreck by each passing second. Krystal's eyes widened as she felt her heart beat hard against her chest in fear and anticipation.
"Fox…wha…what are you saying?"
What the vulpine said next would ultimately set the stage for all future events in the War against Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade, and how it's fighters would see each other for what the other was worth. And with Fox in regards to Krystal, to him she was fragile.
"I want you to stand down from the team."