Minds that matter
"Lady Kay."
Ricardo fought not to sigh as Georgia tried yet again to get Kay's attention. Kay ignored her again. At least this time, the Hospitallar did not try to approach. Not after being body blocked by one of the sisters when she approached too close the last time. She hadn't expected to be slammed to the floor by one of the militant sisters and to look up into the muzzle of the sister's flamer. The sheer hurt on her face would have been heartbreaking if the Inquisitor let himself feel such. Kay on the other hand, could have been carved from stone. She hadn't reacted to Georgia's increasingly impassioned pleas at all.
The shuttle they were in was large, but felt very small and cramped with Kay simmering softly at one end and Ricardo sitting as far from her as he could. That wasn't fear. That was simply common sense.
"Sister Georgia." Ricardo said softly as Georgia looked like she was going to take a step that way. "You need to strap in and put your helmet on. We will be arriving at the air field in a few minutes and there are attacks even that far back."
"I..." Georgia swallowed whatever else she was going to say and sat, strapping herself in carefully. Her helmet went back on fro where she had taken it off to plead with Kay. "Yes, sir." She bowed her head, soft prayers falling from her lips.
Kay had refused to speak to Georgia since the just after the sister had returned from Mary's tender care. The other sisters had closed up around Kay, but whether that was to protect her or to protect everyone else from her, it was hard to say. Whatever she was, she was dangerous when she got angry, Whatever powers she had were enhanced by her rage. The only good thing was that she was a true servant of the Emperor. The bad? When, not if, she decided someone needed to die? He would. Inquisitor or no, if she decided that one Ricardo Illusmar had outlived his usefulness? He was done. Ricardo Illusmar did not like that feeling one little bit.
"Sergeant? What is the current status of the base?" Ricardo called.
"Current front lines are holding for the moment, sir." Lisa's voice was taut from the cockpit. She much preferred a space capable Valkyrie for such jaunts. These kinds of shuttles were slow and almost completely unarmed. "Our escorts are less than enthused about being down here in the muck, but they are doing their job and no enemy birds are showing."
"That won't last." Ricardo said sourly. "As soon as the 743rd takes off, all hell will break loose."
"Are we going to tell Imperial High Command about this?" Georgia asked a bit plaintively. She was still hurting from Kay cutting her off so completely.
"I notified them that I am redeploying the 743rd to cover a potential flashpoint behind the lines." Ricardo shrugged when Georgia looked at him. "They didn't ask any more than that. Smart people."
"Terrified of you, more like." Kay snapped.
"Whatever gets the job done." Ricardo replied calmly. "Are you mission capable?"
"Try me." The fires of hell sang in her voice again. "Please."
"Kay..." Karne's voice was resigned. She seemed to be relegated to playing peacemaker between Kay and Ricardo now. A role she was ill suited for. "We need him to coordinate the forces and deal with the Mechanicus. If they see you, you know what they will do."
"I know what she will try." Kay growled. Georgia jerked but Kay was praying again.
"'She'?" Georgia asked softly. Kay ignored her yet again.
"The leader of the Mechanicus on planet is a Magos named Rebekah." Ricardo said softly, eyeing Kay. "Do I want to know how Kay knows that one?"
"She dissected me last time." Kay snapped. Georgia gagged and Ricardo nodded. "So yes, if I get a shot at her with no repercussions, I will take it. I packed Kraken rounds just for her."
Armor piercing bolter round would tear through most common and many uncommon Adeptus Mechanicus defenses like a hot knife through butter. Kay wore armor that was identical to the other sisters. Somehow, Ricardo hadn't been surprised at all that the sisters had brought a suit sized for her, with a sarissa equipped boltgun and other wargear no less. The blade she had threatened him with now hung down beside the power pack of her armor. It had apparently been carried for her by another sister and he still had no clue how she had pulled it to herself or made it vanish so quickly.
"We will take it." Karne's voice held no emotion at all now.
Ricardo actually put a hand to his face as Mace and Lornan both looked at him. Mace wore his usual heavy armor with suppression shield and shock rod, Lornan wore Imperial Guard armor with Inquisition insignia and carried a lasgun with the ease of long familiarity. He wasn't a true combat specialist, but he was no slouch at it either. They made a good team, Mace taking the fire and Lornan taking out the enemies while their attention was on Mace. With Georgia added to the mix, they would be able to fight harder. Mary was not combat personnel and Ricardo had clapped her in stasis to await his return. He didn't trust her around the crew unsupervised.
"Let's try talking first." Ricardo said with a sigh. "Both my superiors and the Imperial Guard on the planet would appreciate us not starting a war with the tech-priests in the middle of one with Chaos."
"No promises." Kay retorted and returned to her prayers. None of the other sisters bothered to comment.
"Orders, sir?" Georgia asked quietly.
"Stay behind me." Ricardo said with a nod to the Hospitallar. "You are part of my retinue now, so I expect you to do what you do to keep myself, Mace and Lornan standing. You are not armed, but you are an extra pair of eyes. Keep your head on a swivel. Try to stay quiet if you can, but if you see a threat, call it out. There are always those with grudges against the Inquisition. It is highly unlikely that such will act in the middle of an Imperial Guard base as the regiment it houses is gearing up for combat, but such has happened. If something does happen? Take cover behind Mace and let us handle it. You are here to heal, not to fight."
"Yes, sir." Georgia said with a nod, checking her armor pouches by touch. She still wore her Sororitas gear, there hadn't even been time to adorn any of it with Inquisition markings. Then again, that might be a deterrent in and of itself. Only a fool angered the Sororitas after all.
"Twenty to dirt." Lisa's calm voice came from the cockpit. "Valkyries and Vultures all over the place. A squadron of Thunderbolts are prepping." She made a noise of almost lust. A very rare thing for her. "They have a pair of Avengers loading up with stand off missiles too."
"Good." Ricardo smiled grimly. "They took my warning seriously."
The Avenger Strike Fighter was the Imperial Navy's premier ground support aircraft. Capable of both space and atmospheric flight, its main cannon was a threat to anything ground based up to and including some Titan war machines. That didn't even begin to include the other ordnance it could carry. Tanks were almost always an Avenger's primary targets. Superheavy tanks in particular. If they spotted a target? It would die. Period.
The shuttle lurched and settled as Lisa set it down gently. Ricardo was out of his seat and at the hatch before the engines started to wind down. Mace was at his side, Lornana mere moments behind the other two. Georgia fumbled with her straps and finally rose, face flaming to stand with them. Lornan smiled reassurance at her and she relaxed as Ricardo eyed Kay who hadn't moved.
"Will you stay in here or must I have guards put around you?" The Inquisitor asked coldly.
"Like you won't have guards anyway?" Kay replied just as coldly. "And as if they could hold us."
"Starting a fight in the middle of this base serves no purpose." Ricardo said flatly. "If you are ruled by your bloodlust..." He broke off as she glared at him.
"If I was ruled by bloodlust, you would be in three pieces." No bravado. Simple fact. "Go. Talk to the cog for all the good it will do. She won't let you anywhere near it until she has what she wants. Of course, when she gets what she wants, half of this continent may vanish in a titanic fireball, but hey, who cares?" She mocked. "They want the Emperor's tech? They will get it. In about a billion scattered atoms."
"Stay here." Ricardo fought hard not to sigh again as he opened the hatch and stepped out of the shuttle. His retinue followed him and he had to smile just a little as Georgia gave a small 'eep' of astonishment at the sight that greeted them.
Imperial Guard regiments were as varied as the planets they came from. The best known had always been the Cadian regiments. With the loss of Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade of Abbadon the Despoiler, the galaxy had lost a huge bastion against the forces of Chaos but they had also created many legends. The Despoiler had devastated the planet and the resulting warp rifts from the collapse had dimmed the Astronomicon and essentially split the Imperium in two, true. It had cost him far more than any previous Black Crusade ever had. The loss of Cadia would echo for millennia across the Imperium, but if anything? The Guard fought harder, knowing that there was hope for beating the foul enemy and knowing the cost better than any. Cadia had always been the example, the iconic Imperial Guard.
Elysian regiments were not Cadian.
Where the Cadian standard was a tide of infantry supported by heavy armor and artillery, Elysian troops were far more specialized. Where the Cadians ground their enemies to dust under their boot heels and the treads of their tanks, Elysians simply bypassed them, dropping into the heart of enemy territory to lay waste to specific targets with surgical precision. Oh, they could and did take and hold ground like any Guard, but their main job was always to strike hard and fast. To hit targets and withdraw as quickly as they appeared. They were no Astartes, but their mobility and precision was second to few within the Guard.
They were the Drop Troops. In ancient times, they would have been called 'paratroopers' and they were justifiably feared.
This entire side of the airfield was packed from one end of the tarmac to the other with Valkyrie transports. Each was loading troops. The Valkyrie was a very common Imperial Guard aircraft, but the Drop Troops used them as both transport and close support vehicles. Instead of heavy armor, the Drop Troops relied on air support to deal with heavy enemy forces that their regular weapons could not touch. Few enemies could withstand repeated air strikes by the Imperial Navy.
Georgia stared as a pair of highly modified Sentinels were slowly backed into specialized carriers. They too could be dropped from the air. Ricardo ignored her as a squad of Drop Troopers trotted up. He nodded to their sergeant as they began to deploy around the shuttle.
"No one gets in, sergeant." Ricardo said flatly. The sergeant nodded. "If any tries, if they are lucky, they will die. If you need it moved, my pilot is aboard and up on channel sixteen."
"Yes sir!" The woman snapped him a salute, but he was moving already and the sergeant dropped the salute as Ricardo swept across the field, heading for a metal structure off to one side marked 'HQ'.
"Why would they need it moved?" Georgia asked as she hurried to keep up with the striding man. Again, Ricardo ignored her, but Lornan spoke up.
"Only so many landing spots for shuttles this big." The agent was unfazed by all this. Hardly the first Imperial Guard base they had been to. "Eyes up!" He warned as a pair of mechanical monstrosities appeared ahead, sweeping out of a large door and taking up position on either side. "Damn. They brought Skitarii."
"You would think they don't trust us." Georgia muttered. Lornan chuckled and Mace shook his head, the huge armored man's head never stopping its sweeps.
"Lots of distrust on all sides." Lornan said as a squad of Drop Troops exited the building. Half of them were armed with meltaguns and they made no attempt to hide that they were aiming at the Mechanicus. For their part the mechanical parodies of men held themselves silent and ready. Each had several things attached which had to be weapons. Georgia felt both revulsion and fascination looking at them. How human were they?
Ricardo ignored both groups, striding towards the door. Georgia followed, but came to a sudden halt as a metal tentacle swept out from one of the Mechanicus things to wrap around her closest wrist. She tried to shake it free, but it wasn't budging and her armor whined as something started to cut through it. Mace was at her side and slammed his shield into the tentacle to no effect. Lornan had his lasgun aimed for all the good that would do against a mass of metal.
"Release my agent." Ricardo said in a soft and dangerous voice. "Now."
++++Unknown variable. Investigating.++++ What kind of voice was that?
"This is your only warning, Mechanicus." Ricardo didn't have a weapon in hand. "You interfere with my work at your peril."
The Drop Troops were eyeing him, but he ignored them as well to focus on the Skitarii thing. Georgia gave another small 'eep' as the mechanical monstrosity tried to pull her closer to itself. Mace was having none of that though and took firm hold of her. She was being pulled apart by two irresistible forces. Her arm was on fire and she was getting close to her edge of pain tolerance. She was-
Bang
The tentacle around her arm suddenly went limp and Georgia could only stare at the Skitarii as it fell, half of its cranium gone. She looked at the Inquisitor as he holstered his bolt pistol. His plasma pistol was aimed at the other Skitarii who hadn't moved.
"She is with me." Ricardo said in a mild voice to the other machine thing.
+++Unknown variable is unknown.++++ The other thing said.
"Relay this to your boss: She. Is. With. Me." Ricardo's tone turned frosty and despite the warmth of the day, Georgia shivered at the cold malice in her superior's voice. "If you Mechanicus want a war with the Inquisition, feel free to start one again. It won't be close to the first time and it rarely ends well for you."
"Impetuous as always, Inquisitor Illusmar. Our records do not do you justice." A soft, almost cultured voice preceded a red robed woman into view. "There was no need for such crude violence."
"Yes, Magos." Ricardo did not lower his pistol. "Violence should always be refined. Cultured. Clean." He scoffed. "Or at least not where delicate non-human egos can see it."
"That one is odd." The tech priest was eyeing Georgia who tried hard not to cower behind Mace. Lornan flanked her, lasgun up and ready. She checked her arm, but whatever had been cutting into her armor hadn't breached it.
"That one is not your concern." Ricardo said with a grunt. "Your concern is that the facility you are unearthing contains something extremely volatile, both politically and radioactively ."
"What do you know of that place?" The tech–priest demanded.
"I know this is not a conversation we should he having outside." Ricardo did not move. "And I know that if you threaten my agent, I will kill you."
"That one is familiar." The tech-priest said slowly. "But the Machine God demands and we obey."
She turned and went back into the building. To Georgia's horror, the Skitarii Ricardo had shot rose up and stood away from her, its skull still hanging open and dripping vile fluids. She gagged. At least it did not reach for her again. If it did? Despite her training and the Mindshackle, she might flee.
"Deep breaths. Don't puke in your helmet." Lornan warned her as Ricardo started after the tech-priest.
Georgia took three deep breaths and followed the Inquisitor, Mace and Lornan flanking her as they passed the Skitarii whose heads whirred as sensors tracked them. No, her!
Ricardo's mind was whirling as Georgia followed him. Did the tech-priests know who Georgia was? Did they have any idea Kay was here? Would that be good or bad?
He staked into the command center and all the hushed conversation stopped as if cut off with a sword. He strode to the main holo table where the general was standing with a Lord Commissar.
"General Sentars. Lord Commissar Samms." He nodded to the pair who nodded back. "Status?"
"Loading is proceeding." The general reported. "90% now. The rest will be up inside twenty minutes. If they do that, we will beat our best record by a whole ten minutes." The Commissar smiled at that and Ricardo had to admit, that was pretty good for an hour's notice from a stand down state. Elysian troops were no lightweights and knew full well the value of speed.
"Good." The Inquisitor turned to the tech-priest who stood to the side, several servitors and data savants clustered around her. "I am not even going to bother asking if you were going to tell us about the tank. You were not. But you will not try to access it."
All of the guard looked confused as the tech-priest froze in place. But her gaze was on Georgia!
"It is here?" Was that fear in the tech-priest's voice?
"Clarify." Ricardo could be just as unemotional as a cog when he chose to be. It had an unquestioned effect on others when he wished speedy results.
"It is here, isn't it?" The tech-priest's visible face was paling. "The abomination."
"The one you dissected?" Ricardo asked quietly. "The one who blew up the last of those tanks that you stole?"
The tech-priest seemed to stiffen and then to wilt. Then she did something very odd. She looked Georgia full in the face and spoke softly.
"I am sorry, child."
Georgia gave a short scream that cut off as energy enveloped her. Then she and all of the tech-priests were gone!