17
Twocaste and Cuixtli emerged from the doorway, the vessel they were now on appeared to be Diasporan vessel. Twocaste turned around the doorway behind them now led to elsewhere in the Diasporan vessel. The vessel appeared to be a large warp capable ship.
Twocaste turned toward the sound of fighting. Twocaste and Cuixtli emerged into a large area where the stood on top of a series of double backed stairs overlooking a large causeway. Below them a group of mixed races, mostly human and Aeldari, were engaged in a running battle with forces of the Imperium.
Twocaste noticed a human man and an Aeldari woman fighting back to back. The Aeldari gracefully wheeled an elegant spear slicing and stabbing the force of Tempestus Scions she faced. The man fought with a power sword and a needle gun.
A group of death cult assassins rushed the man and the Aeldari woman. They wore black and red armour like Syra's, Twocaste got a sinking feeling as she realized they were from the same order as Syra had been trained by. The "Order of the Carrion Wing" assassins quickly surrounded the man and Aeldari.
Cuixtli nodded pointing a padded finger at the Aeldari and human "Help them" he said. Twocaste couldn't get a clear shot at the assassins without risking the potential allies below. Twocaste sent La'Vesa down to use his marker light to guide her shot. Just as one of the Assassins was about to leap at the man, La'Vesa got in range with its marker light. Twocaste shot down the assassin as he was in mid air. The pair looked up at Twocaste and Cuixtli "Run!" Twocaste shouted at them as she began clearing them a path for them to retreat.
Twocaste began running down the stairs pausing every once and a while to shoot one of the assassins or Scions. She met up with the mixed alien group as they ran from the Imperium's warriors.
Twocaste, Cuixtli, and the group made their way to a large set of doors and sealed the door behind them. The group took a moment to catch their breath. The human who they had just rescued began absent-mindedly tapping a familiar rhythm with his fingers. Twocaste recognized the rhythm before she could ask Cuixtli answered her question. "This man is known as "The Cheshire" in our timeline. Here the winds of fate have prevented him from becoming the monster you know. The events that gave him the name "The Cheshire" did not happen to him."
"The Cheshire" approached them "Who are you? Why did you help us?" Twocaste made a note to ask "The Cheshire" his name so she could stop thinking of him as "The Cheshire." Cuixtli answered "The Cheshire" before Twocaste could "We are brought here by the winds of fate, helping you is something we must do." The Aeldari woman knit her brow at Twocaste and Cuixtli. The Aeldari woman then pulled a number of runes made of Aeldari Wraithbone from a pouch. The woman psychically levitated the runes around her.
The woman became lost in a trance. After a moment her eyes widened. There was what seemed to be a burst of energy and the woman fell to her knees. "The Cheshire," helped her up, when the Aeldari woman found her feet she told him, "I am fine." She looked at Cuixtli "The Slann and the Tau are from an alternate timeline. They want us to help them get back."
The Aeldari woman's height was typical of her race she towered over the man a full head taller. She looked down at him caressing "The Cheshire's" face. "In their timeline, I was never captured by you, and Lord Inquisitor Danton. They want us to help them get back to their version of the galaxy."
"The Cheshire" quietly asked The Aeldari woman, "Should we help them? The Aeldari woman woman seemed to hesitate unsure of what to say. Cuixtli continued for her, "What she is not saying, is that in our timeline after escaping from Danton's clutches she was contacted by a Harlequin Shadowseer. With the Shadowseer's help she was able to prevent the unlocking of the limiters on the "Dochas mu Dheireadh." Without the breaching of the "Dochas mu Dheireadh" the "Cicatrix Maledictum" is not as large. The Imperium, the Tau Empire, and many Craftworlds still stand. Our Galaxy is not completely engulfed in the flames of Chaos as your galaxy is."
"The Cheshire" looked into the eyes of the Aeldari woman, quietly he asked "There is something more isn't there?" She could not meet his gaze but answered his question "In their version of the galaxy, I was never there to save you. In their galaxy Danton and the horrors you witnessed twisted you into a monster. You are called "The Cheshire" and you throw away the lives of billions of innocents without a second thought."
"The Cheshire" pulled the Aeldari's mouth down to meet his. When they broke, "The Cheshire" turned to Cuixtli "What do we need to do to help you?" The Aeldari woman interrupted him "Are you sure? You know what you will become if we restore their timeline." "The Cheshire" looked up at the Aeldari "If I wasn't willing to sacrifice as much as I can to spare the galaxy this nightmare, I wouldn't be worthy of your love."
The Aeldari woman nodded a sad agreement. "The Cheshire" and the Aeldari turned to Twocaste and Cuixtli. "What can we do?" "The Cheshire" asked. Cuixtli pointed to a doorway the same size as the one that led them to this reality. "The warp shall form a door to our version of the galaxy here. I should warn you it will take some time for the portal to form. I must also warn you that you who are from this galaxy will not be able to follow us."
"The Cheshire" nodded he turned to the rabble he led "I cannot ask you to do this, but if any of you would stand with us, we have a chance to make a better galaxy." Some of "The Cheshire's" group ran off probably looking for some way to escape, most however stayed.
The group took up positions guarding the large door leading to the area they had just escaped from. Cuixtli and Twocaste took up positions with "The Cheshire's" group close to the door where their escape would form. As they waited for Twocaste asked Cuixtli "If this whole galaxy is infested by Daemons why is the Imperium wasting its resources wiping out groups like this one?" Twocaste had no reason to believe the frog like alien knew the answer to her question. However Cuixtli always seemed to know more than he should.
Cuixtli looked at Twocaste with his bulbous eyes, impossible to read as always. "In this version of the galaxy the Imperium is hopelessly shattered into many small shards. Lord Inquisitor Danton is the lord and master of this shard. Danton's attempts at clinical objectivity have ironically led her deeper into subjective impulsivity. Emotions are a part of all intelligent beings, there is no true way to not be somewhat motivated by them.
The cerebral augmetics she has had implanted into her are meant to eliminate her emotions. The only thing these augmetics do is push her emotions below the surface of her mind. Her emotions still form the undercurrent of her perceptions. Her unwillingness to come to terms with her emotions as a part of her self ironically leads her to be ruled by them.
Being truly logical would drive Danton to make common cause with the refugees in her space of other races. However despite her insistence that objectivity is her highest priority she does not make peace with other races. This is because her true highest priority is the feeling of power. This feeling even overrules her need for actual power.
The forces of Chaos are in complete control of this galaxy. Danton has completely lost the core of her power base. She does not have the resources to crush the hordes of Chaos. She cannot accept this. So, instead she crushes what she can, the pockets of xenos refugees, something, anything, she can exert power over."
Twocaste, unable to think of any response, simply stared at Cuixtli. She was distracted from this by the sound of a plasma cutter breaching the door. Twocaste readied herself as the plasma cutter began cutting an opening for the Imperium's forces to come through. They could do little as an opening was traced in the door. With a loud clang, the Imperium's forces opened the entryway.
What came through was a blur of blindingly fast power swords that cut a swathe towards the Farseer, and "The Cheshire." The Farseer called a warning to her group "It is Falchion!"
Twocaste's heart stopped a little, she tried to watch the shape that was moving so fast it was hard to follow. It seemed as if this Falchion's fighting style, was reminiscent of Syra's fighting style. However it could be that it was just that this Falchion was just from the same order. Cuixtli interrupted her thinking "That is Syra, in this world without your influence he has embraced the hate of the Imperium. He has risen to the rank of Archbishop of "The Order of the Carrion Wing." This version of him is the equal of "The Cheshire" in our galaxy.
Through the opening poured more "Order of the Carrion Wing" assassins alongside Tempestus Scions. The Farseer leapt into battle with Falchion. The Aeldari's grace met the brutality of the Death Cult assassin. Even with the Farseer's grace and speed she was no match for Falchion. "The Cheshire" fired needles and slashed with his sword to try to hold back the tide, so that his lover had only Falchion to deal with.
Twocaste sent La'Vesa into the thick of things, La'Vesa targeted some Scions who were moving towards "The Cheshire" and the Farseer as La'Vesa drew near the group. With La'Vesa's guidance, Twocaste shot all three down.
Some Carrion Wing assassins saw Twocaste covering "The Cheshire" and moved to attack her. The assassins were not enhanced but were still fast. As the three assassins rushed at her Twocaste cut two down with pulse rifle shots. Twocaste cursed as the third moved out of the range of La'Vesa's Marker Light. She tried to shoot the last assassin but the assassin moved too fast for her to hit without her Marker Light. As the assassin leapt over the crates Twocaste was taking cover behind, a psychic blast sent the assassin backward. Cuixtli nodded at Twocaste, Twocaste nodded back in thanks.
Behind them the atmosphere of the doorway shifted. The sound of wind in grass and birds could be heard from the door. Cuixtli tugged the sleeve of Twocaste's coat signalling them to leave. "The Cheshire" caught this exchange "Go!" he shouted at Twocaste.
Twocaste was about to turn when she thought of something. She had been thinking of him as "The Cheshire" this whole time. That wasn't truly his name, she wanted to know the name real name of the man. The man who believed in hope.
Before she could ask Cuixtli moved his hand from gripping her sleeve to wrapped around her wrist. Twocaste turned to Cuixtli, Cuixtli shook his head. "In our galaxy the people who knew and loved this version of him would prefer he not be connected to "The Cheshire."" Twocaste closed her eyes for a moment and then followed Cuixtli through the doorway.
On the other side of the door they found themselves on top of a small grassy cliffside. They were in the middle of some Aeldari ruins. Twocaste turned around, they had emerged from a door that led back into one of the ruined building. The door no longer led back to the ship. Now only the darkness of the ruin was behind her.
Twocaste was getting annoyed at Cuixtli's mysterious ways. She was about to voice this when Cuixtli interrupted her thoughts. "I apologize for being so enigmatic, it is just..." Cuixtli stopped and looked down for a moment, composing his thoughts. "I have peered to long into swirling mass of futures that are and could be. Seeing the now is sometimes hard for me."
Now it was Twocaste's turn to be embarrassed. She spoke finally "I think I forgive you, it's just… You may need to forgive me, I do not fully know if I can trust you." Cuixtli nodded acceptance and picked up a small stone and walked towards the edge of the cliff. Twocaste joined him and looked over the cliff. A small distance below them there was a small garden. Sitting near a small pool was an Aeldari Farseer meditating.
The Farseer was surrounded by floating runes. With everything that had happened in her life since the Blackstone, Twocaste knew it was the same Farseer they had just encountered. Cuixtli lightly tossed the stone, Cuixtli then moved away from the edge pulling Twocaste with him. Twocaste and Cuixtli were close enough to the pond that they heard a doop sound as the stone fell into the pond.
Twocaste gave Cuixtli a quizzical look. Cuixtli answered her questions unprompted, "Her Craftworld has sent her on a mission to retrieve something called the "Codex of Hope. This codex has instructions on how to remove some of the wards holding back the full effect of the "Dochas mu Dheireadh." She is looking into the future to make sure it is safe to retrieve the Codex. However her visions are being skewed by the Chaos Gods. My stone hitting the water has distracted her from what is being fed into her by the dark gods. Just enough to see what they are hiding from her."
Twocaste walked back towards the ruin, she wrapped her arms around herself. The things she had seen in the alternate timeline had been hard to see. "There are rumours that "The Cheshire" was the one to order the Exterminatus on Adrand's Citadel. Are those rumours true?" Cuixtli nodded slowly affirming her question "The humans who were part of the Interex civilization had a saying,
Only by the merest breath on the winds of fate
are we separated from all we hate.
I know it may be hard to see Syra as cold murderer in service to a callous regime. While the man who cost you your second father in this timeline, a kind man. You must see, but for the casting of a single stone, Syra and "The Cheshire's" roles are reversed.
There is a madness at the foundation of this galaxy. That madness seeps into the structure of every being within the galaxy." Twocaste thought of her father figure from the Kroot she had lived amongst. She had not been there when Tach died, she only found him after. She thought of Syra, Fred, and the whole command team.
Twocaste turned back to Cuixtli "We may be founded on madness, but there is also a little light of hope inside all of us as well. Even if it means confronting the fact that the madness I see in the galaxy is a part of me, believing compassion is worth feeling is something I still hold onto. Even if I don't have the strength to make the whole galaxy a better place, I do have the strength to make a small part of it better. That will always be enough for me.
I look at beings like "The Cheshire" who believe that power is all that defines the galaxy. Beings who believe compassion is only something that exists only when and if it is convenient. These beings are always surrounded by anarchy and brutality. The masters of this galaxy will call me naive, but if the choices are believing and feeling compassion is worth it even when it means sacrifice, or their madness, I would rather be naive."
Cuixtli gave a warm nod to Twocaste's statement "I have seen how you carve out your small sanctuary of hope. In seeing this, I now choose to believe like you. It has to be enough.
The man who will become "The Cheshire" is currently waiting to ambush the Farseer under the orders of Lord Inquisitor Danton. If the Farseer tries to get the Codex now, Danton will seize the Codex and capture the Farseer. That will lead to the galaxy being in the state we just witnessed."
Twocaste gave a puzzled look to Cuixtli "Danton will give the Codex to the traitors? For all her faults I didn't think Danton was corrupted by Chaos." Cuixtli shook his head "Danton wants to seize the Codex to keep it from the forces of Chaos. However she underestimates her ability to keep it from their hands. If Danton seizes the Codex now she will eventually lose the Codex to the minions of Chaos. If Danton doesn't acquire it, the Aeldari will acquire it, and hand it over to the Black Library. There, it will be safer than in Danton's hands."
The door they had come through shifted again, as the warp again found them. The sounds of battle and distant artillery strikes could be heard on the other side of the door. Cuixtli walked to the door and then beckoned Twocaste to follow. Twocaste took a deep breath and then followed Cuixtli through the door.
On the other side they found they were on a world in the midst of a war. They stood in the shadow of a great hive city. The city looked familiar to Twocaste. She was stunned as she recognized the Hive. Twocaste searched the sky looking for proof to confirm her suspicions. There she found it a small blip in the sky, hard to see but recognizable. The blip confirmed what she suspected. She now knew where she was. She was on Adrand's Citadel, the blip in the sky was an Inquisitorial fleet about to bring Exterminatus to the world.