Amor
Ricardo could see how worried Georgia was about Kay. Kay was walking fine, but her face was strained. The first few steps to the elevator had been hard on Kay, but she had flatly refused any help at all, even when Celestine had muttered something in High Gothic about 'silly and stupid'.
It was a very odd procession. Bjorn led the way, his searchlight sweeping from side to side in the dark man made cavern that the elevator had dropped them into. Hulking forms lined the walls and Ricardo had assumed Kay would go to one of those. Each was a superheavy tank, at least a half dozen of them that he could see. There were probably more. If this was a standard Imperial hangar, it would have smaller vehicles arrayed behind the largest. He had picked out a Baneblade and a Shadowsword but the others he did not know. His team had caught up and they surrounded him, wary of all of the others and doubly wary of the Dark Angels or whatever the beings who followed Cypher were. Lisa was almost in heaven as she stared from one ancient Imperial weapon of war to the next, but she held her tongue.
Kay strode by the tanks without a word and everyone else just followed. The Dark Angels had hauled Magos Rebekah to her feet, bound her and now prodded her along at gunpoint, ignoring her cries and pleas. Georgia walked beside Kay, clad in an ill-fitting Elysian jumpsuit that one of the troops had provided for her. The boots really didn't fit, but she ignored that. Her eyes rarely left Kay. The Elysians remained in their perimeter. General Sentars had detailed a squad to accompany them, more as a guard of honor than needed with such raw power arrayed around Kay. An Elysian medic accompanied them whose eyes also never left Kay.
Celestine walked beside Greyfax whose sword was in hand. Gornal was right beside her and his face was a study. Rage mixed with shock and more than a bit of fear. Ricardo fought hard to ignore his erstwhile superior. It was highly unlikely that Gornal would survive this, but then again, the man was a snake and had shown considerable survival skill in the past when thwarted.
The Dark Angels were a silent green tide that surrounded the bound Magos even as she too stared from side to side in utter shock. They had not been gentle in searching and binding her. Kay had left her with no upper limbs, but that did not make her safe to be around. Something told Ricardo that the Dark Angels would hold her or die trying.
Ricardo's thoughts came to a sudden stop as Kay fell to one knee. Georgia was at her side in an instant, the Elysian medic mere seconds behind her.
"Kay?" Georgia begged as the medic scanned Kay, his face frozen. "Mom?" The word fell oddly from Georgia's lips but Kay smiled at her as she struggled to her feet.
"Lady..." The medic said softly. Kay glared at him and he bowed his head.
"I know." Kay said firmly. "But I have to do this. I have time." He did something to her arm where she had been wounded and she gasped, but did not react otherwise. Georgia stared at the bandaged wound and then she blanched.
"The bolt." Inquisitor Illusmar felt a sudden rage slam through him and he spun to glare at Gornal. "What the hell did you do?"
"She has time." Greyfax said quietly enough that Ricardo stared at her. The woman was ice and stone. Ricardo's rage faded when she shook her head. "Not a lot."
"Mom?" Georgia begged, hugging Kay tight as the medic did something more to Kay's arm.
"I know this feeling very, very well, Georgia." Kay sighed and rubbed Georgia's shaven skull. "I am dying again. The bolt he hit me with was poisoned." Georgia gasped and Gornal spoke.
"It was to disable-" He broke off with a gasp as Celestine slugged him.
"Shut up, you fool or I will brand you heretic." Celestine's tone could have shattered rock. Not being a complete moron, Gornal shut up. "Whatever the hell you thought you were doing, you assaulted the Emperor's daughter. There is only one punishment for such. Greyfax wants it public and messy to serve as an example. Me? I just want you dead for your insults to the Emperor." Greyfax looked at her and Celestine shrugged. "Every Sororitas is going to feel the same. Even that dumb political wench Lily."
Kay chuckled a little, and then moved to rise. The medic stared at her, eyes bleak, but then he held out a hand that she took. Georgia took Kay's other hand and both helped her to her feet.
"I thought you were taking a tank." Georgia said as she steadied her mom. The medic retreated a step, his hands on his healing gear.
"So did I." Kay admitted. "Until the countersign was given, a part of my memory was locked." She glared at the dreadnought who ignored her. "I know why I was made and I know why I slept. Georgia, you will see and hear things you will never be able to speak of again in here. Can you do that?"
"I must." Georgia said sadly. "Karne and the others believed in me even when my own faith was lacking." She had cried for a good minute when Ricardo and Kay had explained about the other sisters. Celestine had been a rock throughout that.
"The Emperor never wanted to be considered a god, Georgia." Kay said gently. "He wanted people to find their own way. He wouldn't mind them finding solace in his light, but he wanted them to do things for themselves. Our faith is not false, Georgia. It never was. He wouldn't consider himself a god, but I sort of do. He is my father. Like any father, he is a source of both hope and discipline. He made me, Georgia. How can I not revere him?"
"Will he talk to me?" Georgia pleaded.
"I don't know." Kay hugged her daughter gently. "He is incredibly busy, especially now. But he knows you and loves you. He knows you through me. So how can he not love you?" Georgia stared at her mom, eyes wide and Kay smiled. "You better mind you new boss, okay? Protect the Imperium, do your best. That is all he ever asked of me. Others..." She looked at Bjorn and the Dark Angels. "He tried to make the tasks suit the ones he detailed them too. But some tasks are not possible."
"The battle does not go well." Bjorn said firmly. "If the traitor reaches the depot, those Imperial Guard on the surface have no chance."
"Yes." Kay said softly. Then she straightened and her voice became stronger. "Inquisition! Attend!" Ricardo and Greyfax both stiffened and nodded. Gornal scowled at her, but subsided when Celestine raised her fist again. "The armor that is in here is to be delegated to the armories of the Space Marine chapters or guard regiments who need it the most. There are two Glaives, two Fellblades, two Baneblades and two Shadowswords as well as numerous smaller vehicles, most suited to the Astra Militarum but a number of others that you will find useful. I hereby delegate the Inquisitor Ricardo Illusmar to be the designated contact person for such. He will speak with my voice for the purpose of distributing these assets."
Ricardo staggered as his armor was suddenly deluged with information. Even with his training and implants, he couldn't keep up with it. Then he jerked as his armor saw everything in the bay. And beyond. This facility was huge. Far larger than anyone had guessed. It had tanks, APCs, aircraft and… One area was blacked out of his sensors. A large area.
"Lady… I..." Ricardo stammered, utterly undone by her command. Her gift. "I am unworthy." Greyfax looked at him, but did not comment.
"I am giving you a very hard job." Kay said with a nod. "Many will demand access. For many reasons. But you will have control of the defenses. You are a good man and you will serve the Imperium well."
"I..." Ricardo slowly knelt and bowed his head. "What do I say?"
"Say 'Yes', you fool!" Gornal snapped, only to double over as Celestine slugged him again, this time in the gut.
"Understand this, Inquisitor Illusmar." Kay said firmly. "These vehicles were built and hidden here at the Emperor's orders. They are all relics and many will fight to steal them. They are better built and better maintained even now after so long entombed than many others across the Imperium. There will be wars fought over these. You must be ready. The Imperium needs these relics in action now more than ever."
"No!" Magos Rebekah pleaded from where she stood. She took a step, but three Dark Angels grabbed hold of her and she was going nowhere. "You cannot! These relics are irreplaceable!"
"These relics are the Emperor's!" Kay interrupted her savagely. "Not yours!" She shook her head and her tone moderated. "I speak for him here and now. Such tools are meant to be used. Not hoarded in hidden places by fools who cannot even figure out how to turn a wrench without muttering prayers to your 'god'." The derision in her tone could have cut steel.
"You cannot..." The Magos was shaken, her voice breaking. "You must not..."
"I am going to give you something wonderful, Magos. Something besides the death that you have so earned." Kay said softly. "The pain you gave me, the pain you gave others. The horror you would have visited on my daughter… These demand your death, but I am going to show you something that you will take to your pyre. You will never be able to speak of what you are about to see." She paused and hugged Georgia again. "No matter what happens, I love you Georgia."
Georgia was at a loss for words as Kay strode quickly to where Bjorn stood near one wall. She tapped the wall and a console appeared on it, swinging out of a hidden alcove.
"Code: Filae." [Daughter] Kay said to the console and it beeped. "Countersign: Dilectae." [Beloved]
Everyone, even Bjorn, took a step back as the at least one hundred meter tall wall slowly creaked and then opened. It wasn't a wall! It was a door! Then a voice sounded. A gasp came from many as Bjorn bowed to the voice. Cypher and his men all knelt, two of them still holding the Magos!
"I both hoped for and feared this moment, Daughter." The voice was far more than any human could have even managed. Kay was crying as she stepped into the dark space beyond the now open door. "I wanted you to be a beacon of hope, of peace and joy. Instead, I bequeath to you a galaxy in ruins. Mine own hubris brought this folly upon us. Mine own son destroyed everything I had worked for."
Ricardo gasped he realized who was speaking. The Emperor! Some kind of recording! He fought past his shock as the recording continued.
"I know not what will become of you, Kay." The Emperor from so long ago said heavily. "But know this, you are my daughter in every way. You are everything I hoped for and then some. I hope you can do better than I did. I can hope you find love and the fighting will eventually end. I fear for you and all of my children. Humanity, the Astartes, so many others who looked to me for guidance and protection who I failed. You were my greatest experiment and my most colossal failure. I lost you and could not reclaim you before my errant son drove me back to Terra. I am sorry, Kay."
"It was not your fault, Father." Kay was crying as she staggered forward. Ricardo was hardly the only one to cry out in shock as huge lights suddenly glared into being and showed what Kay was staggering towards. Magos Rebekah was crying now. The Inquisitor's armor sensors were pinging for his attention, showing data from hidden sensors all over the area. He gasped in shock again as he saw the full mass of what Kay was walking towards and recognized it for what it was.
"No, no, no, no, no..." The Magos had also recognized it. "No! It cannot be! It cannot be." No one paid her any mind as Kay weaved towards a ramp that was lowering from the rear of the machine. She fell to one knee and Georgia started forward, only to hiss as Ricardo caught hold of her arm.
"She needs help!" Georgia pleaded.
"She needs to do this herself." Celestine said sadly as she took hold of Georgia's other arm. Kay rose to her feet and turned to smile at the group before vanishing into the darkness of the machine. The ramp closed up and Georgia stared at it for moment before crumpling. Celestine caught the now crying girl in a hug and held her gently as the Hospitallar sobbed.
"She must not!" Magos Rebekah screamed and tried to rise. "She cannot! The rites must be done properly and that-" She broke off as Cypher hit her and threw her back to the ground where the two Dark Angels gripping her held her immobile again. "She will destroy it!"
"Better that you cogs do it?" Cypher asked in a tone that promised pain. "You Mechanicus have underestimated her at every turn. I only hope that the Inquisition turns you over to the Chapter. You will live a long, long time in that case in the care of the Interrogator-Chaplains as they wring every ounce of data out of your filthy head."
Ricardo fought a wince. Not a nice fate in any way, but it was either that or the Inquisition's interrogators and Ricardo didn't know if he trusted any of them with such a secret. Especially now with Gornal scowling at him.
"We just might." Greyfax said with a nod. "If any can keep the secret of what they did to her, you Dark Angels can." She knew who and what Cypher was. She had been there with Guilliman, so why wasn't she bothered by him or trying to execute him? Illusmar decided he really didn't want to know. Greyfax continued. "If the truth gets out, there will be hell to pay."
"There is enough chaos already across the Imperium." Ricardo found himself saying. "She must pay for what she did, but the truth must never be known to any but those here."
He started as loud hum was heard building from the machine and then music sounded from nearby. It wasn't any tune Ricardo had ever heard before. Why was his display scrolling the words 'Main theme from Patton'? What did that mean?
"That is impossible." Magos Rebekah was sobbing. "It cannot be powering up! It cannot! Such things take dozens of priests and the activation rites must be performed exactly. They take days! This cannot be happening!" She crumpled, keening. The Dark Angels dropped her and then held her down, not that she seemed capable of resisting at the moment.
"What is it?" Georgia took a step forward and shook her head, confused. The view from the back wasn't clear.
"Your mother's vehicle." Celestine moved to stand by Georgia's side, her face proud. "I had no idea, but this… This is worthy of her."
Ricardo nodded to the Sororitas as the machine ahead of them moved. There were no treads, no visible means of locomotion. It just moved. Then a thunderous 'clang' sounded, followed by another. And another. Steps. Georgia's eyes went huge as a slit appeared in the darkness far ahead.
"What?" Georgia begged, but Celestine laid a hand on her shoulder and gave a squeeze. She pulled Georgia close as the doors ahead of whatever was moving opened further and further, rocks the sizes of Imperial Guard Leman Russ tanks falling from the dirt to clang off metal and roll away. The massive walking thing ignored them as inconsequential.
"Sing with me, sister." Celestine started a hymn of praise to the Emperor and Georgia joined in, almost automatically. The music worked with the hymn they were singing.
Then it changed as the vehicle, no, the Titan, reached the end of the hall and exited the bay. Ricardo's readout said 'Main theme from Star Wars?' Who the hell came up with this stuff? It turned and everyone saw the profile. Everyone's breath caught.
The Warlord Class Titan was glorious. It looked new, shiny even. The dying light of the day shone golden brilliance off massive weapon mounts and holy insignia that would not have been amiss on any Sororitas vehicle. One arm was a massive cannon, the other a huge fist with some kind of cannon inside. Racks of missiles that looked larger than anything the Imperial Guard could boast hung over each shoulder. And, impossibly, another weapon hung over the main hull. That wasn't right, was it? Ricardo was no expert on Titans, but he had seen picto records of them. Warlord Titans had two arm mounted weapons and two shoulder mounted weapons. So what was the other long barreled thing doing there?
"This is impossible!" Magos Rebekah was shaking hard and seemed to be in a great deal of distress. Not that anyone cared. "Omnissiah save us from this abomination!"
"Someone shut the cog up!" Greyfax snapped. Her patience was finally gone.
Ricardo was first to act. He stepped forward, grabbed the Magos' sputtering vocabulator in a firm grip, put his bolt pistol to the mass that let her speak and pulled the trigger. The resulting spray of components and pieces of housing heralded a mass of static and then silence as he dropped the Magos to lie still. The Dark Angels were taking no chances, two held her down even as the others aimed at her.
"Thank you." Greyfax was eyeing the Titan and then she slowly shook her head. "Non-standard configuration. A mix of anti-armor, anti-titan and that weapon on top looks like a conversion beamer. Odd armaments."
"And the rest of this isn't odd?" Georgia asked in a subdued voice. She quailed as Greyfax looked at her. But then, the indomitable and very scary female Inquisitor smiled at Georgia.
"Yes, it is odd, child." Greyfax stepped up to Georgia and took her jaw in oddly gentle fingers. Georgia did not bother resisting as the Inquisitor looked deep into her eyes. "You are a very brave girl and unless I am very much mistaken, you will be a very brave woman. A credit to the Sororitas as your mother was and is. Your faith in the Emperor and your mother is strong. I find no taint in you. That is refreshing."
"Thank you, Inquisitor Greyfax." Georgia said meekly as Greyfax released her and all of them turned to look at the Titan which was moving away now. Everyone jerked as the doors started closing! "What?"
"Your mother wants you protected from what is about to happen." Bjorn said quietly for a dreadnought. "It will likely be impressive."
"Will we know what is happening?" Georgia begged. "Or will we just wait?"
"We will know." Ricardo stepped up to her and took her right hand in his left as Celestine took the other. He nodded to the wall as a screen responded to his armor's commands and came alive on it. It showed a map of the surrounding area. On the map, a huge red icon marked 'Facta Impia' was moving towards several gray wolf heads. Other wolf heads were marked black or red for damaged or destroyed. A golden icon was moving to intercept the red one.
The golden icon was marked 'Filae Gloriosa.' [Glorious Daughter]
A couple of people asked about the music. Never let it be said that the Emperor didn't have a very odd sense of humor at times. Kay shares that trait.