A/N: Merry Christmas my readers. This chapter comes early as a christmas update.
Erda and Isha rode on one of the private shuttles of the Imperial Palace that ran on suspended rails beneath the various aqueduct like bridges. It was a small craft, not much larger than an automobile, but it moved at near supersonic speeds on its electromagnetic rails. Lady Callidus was seated in her disguise behind them.
"There is much innocent blood spilled where we are going." Isha said as her ears twitched.
"Of course there is." Erda replied. "We travel to one of the assassin temple training grounds."
"The Vindicare Temple." Isha muttered as she reviewed Neoth's memories.
"Their attrition rates for initiates is far higher than the others." Erda spoke sadly. "Some of the trainees are enrolled despite being unfit to survive the training."
"And what do you want me to do about it?" Isha asked. "Your Emperor and Imperial Regent approved this project, and all its methods."
A Vindicare assassin is constructed from a human. The term 'constructed' is accurate, for when a Vindicare assassin finishes his or her training, they are a biological machine that simply carries out its orders.
Move. Aim. Fire. Move. Aim. Fire.
Love. Anger. Fear. All of it is cut out and replaced with muscle memory and tactical scenarios to assassinate as many targets with as little energy necessary. They are all marksmen of impeccable skill, and even greater patience.
"Part of the training process involves the dulling of their empathy." Erda sighed. "They enroll children to fail on purpose, to deaden the emotions of their more valuable candidates without excessive physical harm."
"That was what was decided to be necessary by your son." Isha's voice was terse. "Do you think I can unilaterally interfere just because I am your guest?"
"No, but I think I have an alternative to the current state of affairs. Your kind enjoys deception, doesn't it?" Erda flashed her a sly smile.
The bits and pieces of information Isha had clicked together, and her eyes narrowed as a predatory grin stretched across her lips.
"So, you want to save those lives while ensuring the trauma your son wants is still instilled."
"I can tolerate their deaths, but that doesn't mean I want to." Erda shrugged. "But, like yourself, I am also limited in what I can do for my children. That is why I need your help."
"You shouldn't need my help." Isha snorted. "Dead as you are, you are still their home planet."
"The state I am in is only partially responsible for my inability to help them. I could work through proxies, but that does not solve the core issue that makes any act I try to do meaningless." Erda looked out of the window, looking down at the people walking to and fro over the various aqueduct-like bridges crisscrossing below.
"For time immemorial, the problem with the majority of humanity's struggles is a matter of distribution. Drought, famine, a lack of fuel, or even people. All of these are not caused by a total lack of resources, but an uneven distribution between different parties." There was no emotion on her face as she looked down from the window. "Humanity had the ability to solve all of its problems, but it never did." She closed her eyes and her brow furrowed. At the same time, her right hand came to her throat, as if she was having trouble breathing. "It is easy to blame the avarice of powerful men and women in high places…" She finally said after a while. "But, at its core, the issue is based on the behavior of humanity as a species." Erda's brow smoothed out and her hand dropped into her lap. "Humanity as a whole does not do things without a purpose. The purpose may be horrible or meaningless, but it still exists. Likewise, I cannot save someone without ensuring there is a purpose for it."
Isha stared off into the distance. Erda was a goddess living with her own choices, just as Isha lived with hers. Isha could not dictate how her children were to live their lives. Similarly, Erda also struggled with the result of a decision she had made.
"Is the lessening of their pain not a good enough purpose?" Isha said quietly as the shuttle descended into the darker parts of the Imperial Palace.
"It would be, if it lasted." Erda replied. "The initiates of each temple are taken from the orphans of the Imperium. It is due to this mass acceptance of any and all children who cannot be cared for by their parents that the level of crime and economic hardship is lesser in Imperial controlled regions than in others." Her hands clasped together in her lap. "If I were to save the children, it would also have to be in a way that gave them a purpose. It would be irresponsible for me to throw them out of the temples and onto the streets. More suffering would come from that than letting things progress on their own. Better for them to die in the temples than become prey for criminals, or become criminals themselves. At least their deaths have a positive effect there for the future of humanity, creating the weapons necessary to end conflict before it begins."
"I guess that is doubly true with the state you are in." Isha said as she looked at Erda, inspecting her from head to toe.
"Correct." Erda smiled sadly. "Terra cannot sustain human life without the technology from before Old Night. Likewise, I cannot sustain any human life on my own. If I simply took the children with me, they would eventually feel as if they were exposed to the raw environment of Terra."
"Is that why Leetu has his helmet on around you all the time?"
Erda gave a slight nod.
"If he didn't, even his Space Marine physiology would eventually give out in my presence."
Terra was a dead world. The very air was mildly radioactive, and if it wasn't for the gene-tech used by almost every techno-barbarian tribe and their serfs, humanity would have died out a long time ago. Erda was synonymous with Terra, and expressed the effects of its environment on all humans in her immediate presence. She managed to keep the worst of it to skin-contact, but only the enhanced could survive being near her for extended periods of time without adequate protection. Children, with their smaller bodies and lack of enhancements, would be riddled with cancers and radiation sickness if they stayed near her for too long.
"And so, you ask me for a favor." Isha sighed. "Fine, but what do I receive in return? If possible, I would like to prevent myself from loving your children."
If she did, the decision that made her activate Asuryan's edict would extend to them as well, and she would be unable to take direct action with humanity.
"Hope for the future, the feelings of those children, and something to keep you occupied while you stay with us." Erda answered.
Isha let out a short laugh. The mother of humanity was craftier than her children gave her credit.
"Alright. I'll play along." She said as she turned towards Erda. "But, what about the other children? The children who do not fail?"
Erda wished to save the children from the assassin temple without jeopardizing Neoth's plans. That meant that the children who would become the killing machines for the Imperium would be left in the temples.
"I can only save all of those I can." Erda said quietly. "Someday, I hope they can be free as well." Her voice trembled slightly, and it sounded higher pitched and younger than it should have been for a woman of her age. "At the very least, they will have the survival skills to have a chance to live through whatever this galaxy can throw at them."
The shuttle began to slow as it reached its destination. The assassin temple appeared to be a simple administratum building darkened by shadows like many other buildings at this level outside the Sanctum Imperialis but still within the Imperial Palace. The shuttle detached itself from its electromagnetic rails and unfurled several propellers. Its rotors took it half-way up the building to a VIP entrance balcony.
"Assassin, contact the Director Primus of the Vindicare temple." Erda said before the shuttle docked and its doors opened. "Inform him that there will be a new way of disposal for the dropout."
The disguised Lady Callidus nodded and exited the shuttle first. Left alone, Erda turned to Isha.
"Here, take this." She said as a single raindrop formed and suspended itself above her palm. "I may not have much, but humanity still lives upon me. I have means of recuperating myself. You do not."
Isha touched the droplet of water, and it was absorbed into her as if it had hit desert sands.
"I guess this will do." She said as she drew back her hand.
That was a small portion of psychic power that was exchanged between them. It was miniscule, but it would be enough to assist Erda's little charade.
—-
There was a dull thud as a child's body hit the stone floor. Hundreds of others were on the ground with them; either completely limp or huddled in the fetal position. Bruises varying from red to dark purple covered almost every surface of their skin.
"Exitus Acta Probat." A bald muscular man said. His body was covered in a skintight black bodysuit which fit over his ergonomic physique. "The outcome justifies the deed." He spoke, referencing the motto carved under the stone relief hanging above the dark underground sparring arena. The only illumination came from harsh spotlights pointed downward on the children from above, following their every movement while blinding them to everything outside the small circle of light around them.
"Today you learned what it means to survive. Feel no shame in doing that." The man walked over to one of the collapsed children on the ground. "A weapon's worth is in its function." His hand closed around the throat of a fallen girl, dragging her up as she gagged. Her limbs were in too much pain to struggle or fight him. "To cease function is to cease being useful." His forearm bulged as his fingers began to tighten around the child's windpipe. "Those of you still standing are still functional. You have survived using whatever means you had at your disposal."
Several of the standing children looked down at their hands. Their knuckles were red and bloodied, and they sported broken bleeding noses or back eyes on their faces. A few had pebbles or rocks they had grabbed from the ground while fighting their sparring partners that dripped with blood.
"Now, this is the outcome of your deeds." There was a crack as the child's neck broke in the man's grip, and he tossed the limp body to the ground like a used rag.
"You have saved your own life, and taken your opponents. This is the purpose of a weapon; to preserve life through the elimination of another." The bald man walked over to the next fallen child. This one was less badly wounded, and had the strength to squirm on the ground like a worm trying to wriggle away from a bird. "Exitus Acta Probat." The bald man repeated as he turned to the sparring partner of the child who lay before him. "Your opponent is still functional." He said calmly. "A weapon's worth is in its function." The child before him trembled under his gaze. "Do you want to survive, or not?" The question was asked as casually, as if asking for the number of sugar cubes one would like in their tea.
The child's fists trembled, then he stepped forward. He looked down at the child on the ground, face swollen and lips bleeding. His hands reached down, grabbed the child's head, then slammed it into the stone floor. Again and again, he smashed his opponent's skull into the stones, destroying the brain inside the bone while saving his knuckles from further abuse.
There was a crunch, and the small body spasmed once before lying still.
"Exitus Acta Probat." The bald man said as he walked away from the child, frozen with his opponent's head still in his hands. "This is what it means to survive."
Suddenly, the man stopped mid-step. He tilted his head slightly, then nodded.
"You have another lesson in survival today." He said calmly. "In the wild, the strong eat the weak. Now, you will witness what this means."
There was the rumble of the cargo elevator that led to this underground section of the assassin temple, hidden in the darkness created by the spotlights. Pneumatic pistons hissed loudly as the doors to the elevator opened, then heavy footsteps sounded throughout the arena. Several new spotlights turned on, and focussed on the source of the sound.
A beast with a red face and six eyes stared at the children. It was the height of three men and had the girth of five more. Vicious raptor talons sprouted from each of its fingers and toes. Thick hair covered its back and chest, yet the corded muscles could be clearly seen moving underneath its fur. It walked forwards quickly to the body of the girl with the broken neck, then swallowed the body in a single mouthful.
"This is what it means to be weak." The bald man continued, standing to the side to ensure he was out of the beast's way. "Exitus Acta Probat."
The clawed creature swallowed the boy with the broken skull next. He was sucked into its maw feet first, pulling his head from his opponent's limp hands. One by one, the collapsed children were swallowed by the creature, leaving only a few stains of blood from nose bleeds or cuts on the floor.
After swallowing the last fallen child whole, the beast turned towards the bald man. Its lips quivered, as if suppressing a growl. The bald man merely stared back at it, unemotional, but his suit seemed to bulge as his muscles prepared themself to move.
A single second passed, and the beast turned away, lumbering into the darkness as the spotlights turned off. Finally, the pneumatics of the doors to the cargo elevator hissed as they closed, and the elevator rumbled again as it lifted the creature away from the sparring arena.
"You are nameless." The bald man spoke again, walking in front of the children who remained. "You do not exist. When you cease to function, nothing will remain."
A few of the children stared at the blood stains where their peers had been a few moments ago, breathing erratic and afraid.
"Exitus Acta Probat." The bald man repeated again. "You are here because there is a deed that must be done. You are here because the Imperium requires your future service."
He clasped his hands behind his back and spread his feet shoulder width apart. "30km run, starting now. All who fail will be taken to be fed to the animal you just saw."
—-
The Clawed Fiend sat in the cargo elevator, ears flicking irritably. Its chest and stomach bulged in and out awkwardly, rearranging the individuals inside as their broken bones and organs were repaired within the oversized crop that was not part of its original physiology.
Finally, the elevator reached its destination and the door opened revealing Erda and the Callidus assassin in her maid disguise waiting beside a number of boxes filled with pillows and air tanks.
"I sensed two on the verge of death." Erda spoke as the Clawed Fiend stepped off of the elevator. "Were you able to save them?"
The beast nodded, then wretched. Its fanged mouth opened wider with each attempt at regurgitation. Finally, several children were vomited out; unconscious but completely unharmed with unblemished skin.
"Place them in the boxes." Erda ordered the assassin. Her hands wavered for a moment, stretching out towards them before pulling themselves back.
After spitting out the last unconscious child, the Clawed Fiend began to shrink and morph back into the Aeldari form of Isha.
"Your son's Imperium is brutal." She said bitterly, picking up one of the unconscious children and placing them in a cushioned box to be smuggled out of the assassin temple.
"They are a necessary evil, according to Neoth and Malcador." Erda sighed irritably. "Admittedly, an assassination incurs less casualties than war, but the training process is unkind to say the least."
"And so the lives of the many are saved by the sacrifice of the few." Isha spat as she attached a breathing mask to another child's face before closing the lid on the box.
"That is the ideal for any utilitarian society." Erda said sadly as she stepped away from the children. 'Assassin, have the preparations been made for their rooms in the Sanctum Imperialis?' She asked with sign language, sending an angry glare at the current leader of the Callidus Temple.
'They have, Lady Erda.' Callidus replied in sign language. 'These children will be smuggled into the Sanctum Imperialis officially as part of the candidates for Astarte's Space Marine project. After that, they will be redirected to the rooms assigned for Lady Isha's usage.'
"Good." Erda breathed a sigh of relief, then switched to telepathy to communicate with Isha. 'Now, we only have to repeat this performance at the Callidus, Adamus, and Eversor Temples.'
'What about the Venenum, Vanus, and Culexus Temples?' Isha asked.
'The temples of the poisoners and information gatherers do not use the same methods to traumatize their initiates into obedience. They can wait.' Erda said tiredly. 'As for the Culexus, I doubt we can pull off the same trick there. Their null-fields will begin to erode your disguise.'
Isha frowned. The Culexus Temple specialized in converting the strongest Blanks into anti-psyker assassins. Their mere presence would block out the Warp, and revert the immaterial to nothingness. Her disguise was based on shifting her immaterial essence into the shape she wished. Hence, she too would feel their effects.
'I can hold their effects back, if I had more power.' She offered. Isha was a goddess. Even the strongest Blanks could not resist her, if she had enough psychic energy to punch through their field.
'I have no more to give.' Erda shook her head. 'Omega level Blanks are rare, and the Culexus Temple's efforts are currently focussed on research and development for their wargear at the moment. That means the children are looked after well in comparison to the other temples. They cannot afford for them to die, at the very least.'
Her shoulders visibly slumped at the admission. She too would feel the effects of the Blanks' null-fields, and in her state it would feel like being dipped in a vat of acid. Yet, she worried about them all the same.
Isha sighed as the last child was sealed into a cushioned box with a canister of breathable air.
'So, we move on to the next step of your ploy.' She communicated mentally as she turned towards Erda.
'We do.' Erda nodded. 'If an alliance with your children and mine is going to be seriously entertained, diplomats who are used to you and your culture will be necessary.'
'And since there are no other Aeldari here, you wish for me to educate them.'
That was the hope Erda spoke of earlier. The children who had their deaths feigned in front of their peers would not be remembered nor recorded anywhere. Hence, there was a great degree of freedom away from official oversight. Therefore, educating them in something as unimaginable as the mannerisms of Xenos for the purpose of peace was well within the realm of possibility.
'I cannot nurture them. I cannot even touch them.' Erda said as she stared at her hand. 'I cannot simply free them with nowhere else to go either. Neoth will simply round them up and send them back to where I took them from.' Her hand balled into a fist, nails digging into her palm. 'But, if they are with you, they will have a purpose.' She said as she turned towards Isha. 'Neoth and Malcador will have their assassins. You will have a future hope for cooperation with your kin.'
'And you?' Isha asked, raising an eyebrow.
'I will not have to listen to them weep and die in the darkness.' Erda replied with a sad smile.
The mother of humanity was not deaf to her children's cries. She merely could not act either due to the cruelty being necessary for the Imperium, or being conducted by the Imperium. Even if she could act, her very touch would spread radiation and pollution into their bodies.
Thus, she sat in the dark laboratories of the Himalazia mountains, feeding the last sons she could raise with what remained of her divine blood.
"Then let us move on to the next temple." Isha said the words out loud. "We will need many to have any hope of bridging the gap between our species."
"Indeed." Erda nodded as the first sealed boxes containing the smuggled children were picked up by mechanical arms and loaded onto a barge destined for the Sanctum Imperialis.