Hey there, fellas! The 3rd chapter is finally here. I took some time with this piece, and technically speaking, it came out to be great, and I hope you all enjoy it. Before I begin the 4th chapter, I'm going to fix the previous ones for any mistakes that my eye can see and make them more tolerable for reading. Thanks to "The Fan" for his suggestion of LanguageTool, the job will be a lot easier. Starting from this chapter, there will be the "Review Responses" section at the end of each chapter, where you will see my replies to your reviews. You may also contact me through private messaging if you desire to ask something. Thanks for the support, dear readers, and I wish you all a happy new year! And, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Enjoy this big piece for the upcoming year, and keep your eyes on the Update Record.
Peace!
Recap of the previous chapter #2: The Chain of Sudden Events
The chapter starts off as a return to the first chapter, but from Niko's perspective. Niko awakens from one of his nightmares as usual and notices something weird outside his window. There is something bizarre going on outside, in the shape of an ongoing battle. He gets confused, and decides to go and check on the commotion after arming himself properly.
He does a little scouting, and finds out that there is an open battle going on in the woods - The Craftworld Aeldari and Drukhari are mauling each other. The confusion grips his soul, and he has no other choice but to continue the scouting in the darkness of the woods.
He watches the battle unfold by keeping himself in the distance, and sees the battle events that occurred in the 1st chapter of "Precarious Moments" unfold right in front of his eyes. He sees the ambush of the Howling Banshees, the Drukharis, then their landing zone.
Not knowing what the xenos have forgotten on the world he calls his new home, his curiosity grows to a high extent, and, seeing how one of the banshees manages to escape after saving her teammates from a Drukhari sniper, he decides to go, and chase her, while doing everything he can to avoid being seen.
He ends up seeing her at the same river as in the first chapter while he is busy hiding in the bushes, and he is about to make his shot with his crossbow, the "Pilum Imperialis".
But as soon as she removes her helmet, he falters. He falters against all the odds. His xenophobia, his hatred, his zealotry, all his Imperial teachings, they all get replaced by the sudden curiosity that strikes him like lightning. He tries to force himself to pull the trigger, but refuses to do it.
In the next moment, Liriel is under attack by two Drukhari members, as was seen in the first chapter, and they manage to paralyze her limbs. So he makes a choice, to retreat, or save her. He decides to go with the latter, and, it seems, that he does not regret it. He manages to rescue her after killing the two Drukhari members.
In the next scene, Liriel sees a dream, where she has a little chat with her uncle, Farseer Elidyr. She wants to return home, but Elidyr reminds her, that she was rescued by the young human and, she has to get to know him. Liriel in exchange, reacts by ignoring his words about Niko. At the end of the dream, Elidyr warns her not to kill the human, but to understand him, for her salvation lies in him alone. At that moment, seeing Elidyr's figure vanish in front of her, she awakens.
She observes her surroundings just as she wakes up from the dream. She notices that she's in Niko's house, tied up completely by feet and hands, and depraved of her power sword, helmet, pouches and whatever contents were within them. The sun shines through and it looks like many hours have passed since she was rescued at the river.
The situation for her is more than humiliating, because she expected the worst from Niko Armanen, who returned from his scouting party, and decided to have a little chat with his new xeno guest. To make the first contact, so to speak.
Things do not really go very well for the young man, because Liriel shows a deep amount of distrust, xenophobia, and a careful demeanor. She is suspicious of Niko, while he, in exchange, shows her his personality through his acts.
He makes sure to set up some boundaries in their communication, since none of them speak each other's languages. Instead, he uses gestures to do it. While she's tied up and acting hostile for not trusting Niko, he decides to just let out his caring side and slowly push away his xenophobic beliefs, taking a deep notice of her charming, elegant beauty, and just making sure she understands that there are no bad intentions within him.
It barely works out, but they exchange a few words in their own languages in the process. He lets her rest for a little bit, despite her acting like a wild cat on the loose. His fatigue is showing, and he allows her to sleep on his bed, while he sleeps at the door, right on the floor, leaving Liriel totally baffled by his behavior.
In the next scene, The Warhost returns, and a lot of fingers are pointed at Autarch Nuvian for the loss of so many Eldar souls during the battle in Merlorian. Elidyr realizes that his niece is not among those that have returned, and despite showing tremendous amounts of pain on his face, he instead focuses on his main tasks, only hoping that she has survived, although the chances are slim. The most important part, however, is completed - The retrieval of the artefacts they were looking for. Elidyr stays in his chambers, despite Farseer Eloen's best efforts to comfort him.
Afterward, the Inquisition gets suspicious. Kaidan Oleos, newly appointed Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos gets notified by his Magos Quintus about a xenos signal and anomaly that appeared and disappeared in the star system that Merlorian belongs to. His acolyte, Adrian, supports the idea of his Inquisitor investigating the planet. And so, they decide to depart for the system.
In the meantime, Niko awakens from his slumber, and tries to resume his endeavor about building up healthy relations with the xenos guest, but it is not as easy as he realizes. Liriel refuses to trust him, but nevertheless, as he feeds her and shares "Kalevan Tea" with her which is his homeworld's treasure. She cannot help but be fascinated by his weird behavior.
Still, she does not trust him.. Fully. After Niko decides to free her from the ties. Then, she tries to intimidate him, just so he can show his true colors, but he does not budge and defeats her with his soft, young and caring voice alone. She is obviously shocked by this, but Niko just gives it a little laugh while she tries to understand him further.
After inviting her for a meal, they both go outside, and Niko cannot take his eyes off of her beauty. The elegance on her face just attracts him, and he does not know how to express himself, and so he, decides to just say words she won't understand, but maybe feel.
Within her own mind, she realizes that this young human is suffering from loneliness, and that his past is definitely dark. She does not understand why he refuses to return to his homeworld, but she sees that there must be a bigger reason, as she keeps talking with her own mind. She also realizes, that, without him, she will get lost. So, for her, it is best to use him, or even manipulate him into guiding her to the capital, where she could contact her craftworld, in order to return home. She believes this plan, will be the best, once she has his trust tightly gripped in her hands.
She decides to annoy him a little bit until he ends up dueling her, which, to her surprise, goes very well for both, since she respects his ability to be a hunter, just as much as he respects her ability to be a huntress. The duel ends when they both hear some wiggling bushes at their side... Apparently, it's just two animals mating. They cringe, look at each other, and let out a laugh, before Niko takes her to her basement.
There, she receives her items back after Niko shows off his personal belongings, such as the regimental banner, the flak armor, and the lasgun. After she gets her power sword and helmet back, she immediately runs out to the backyard in order to train, with Niko following her. She trains, and Niko challenges her for a second duel, but now, with blades.
Liriel accepts it, but throws her power sword away because, to her, using her bigger sword against his smaller blade is an insult. This angers Niko and he goes all in, but at the end, he loses after admitting his defeat on the ground. Some despairing thoughts begin to form in her head after she sees Niko going back to the house, and she decides to look at the horizon. The temptation, to just run in all directions, in order to reach home as quickly as possible, grows with every second. She is about to do it, until Niko stops her by calling her name, walking to her, and giving her more of his Kalevan tea.
After inviting her back into his house, knowing that she misses her home, he explains to her via drawings and gestures that the only way for her to ever have any chance to return home, is through the capital, which is far away. She swiftly wants to go there, but he refuses to aid her because of it being dangerous. He says they need a proper planning, and this leaves Liriel slightly bitter, but she starts to understand.
He sees that she's contemplating a lot of things, and so, he heads towards his basement, where he pulls out a musical instrument resembling a Terran guitar. Something he bought from a local merchant. He decides to play it and show Liriel that humans also enjoy music just as much as they probably do. She asks for his instrument, and he obliges by giving it to her. Next.. Niko, is mesmerized by her ability to sing. She sings a perfect lullaby-like song that charms Niko and only forces the seeds of attraction to go deeper into his soul.
A single tear leaves his eye, and Liriel starts to understand that there is no point in trying to force him to show his true colors at that point. How many times he had to surprise her, and prove her wrong, forced her to slowly let go of this idea, but the main plan of reaching the capital with his help, is still active.
They have dinner where Niko teases her, and she reacts by jumping on him. It does not end up very well, as they end up in an awkward, and intimate position. Both are definitely flustered, but they know that it was an accident. Liriel goes into his bedroom, but not before punching him in the face for touching her rear in an awkward position. He accepts it, even if it was not his fault.
She tries to rest, but the coldness of Merlorian just sticks to her body. That is, before Niko brings her some firewood to warm her up in his own bedroom. Liriel tells him to sleep on the bed, and he tries to protest, but it's all in vain as he is forced to lie down and rest. She gestures for him to go to sleep and he cannot do much but oblige because she knows how tired he is. He lies down, and instantly falls into a deep sleep, while Liriel watches the fire on her knees.
She contemplates further. She remembers the words of her uncle, and how many times she tried to provoke the young man into showing his true colors throughout the entire day. He did not even hurt her with a little slap while she was tied. Much to her surprise, he did not do anything she expected him to do. It seemed, to her, that he was just one in a trillion. Especially seeing how he experiences nightmares, but gets relaxed once she helps him turn to his side.
At that moment, she sees his back covered in flogging scars, indicating some sort of punishment. At that moment, she had absolutely no doubt that he was a guardsman of the Imperial Guard. But she decides not to get too intimate after lifting his shirt to see his back. She allows him to rest, while falling asleep herself.
Suddenly, some noise is heard coming from his shack after 1 hour of resting. Liriel wakes up to it, but Niko does not. He is too deeply asleep. Confused, Liriel decides to check up after putting her armor on, and what she finds does not appease her. It is some kind of blood of animal blood. What exactly, she cannot tell. But she follows its trails, and ends up in Niko's bedroom, where she sees the source standing on top of Niko.
She sees the Merlorian wolf. A wild predator who inhabits the planet.
Liriel gets disturbed after seeing that its leg is wounded, and how quickly it turns its gaze towards her. Those fiery amber eyes, white fur, and a vertical red line going from head to nose. It stares and growls at Liriel. But she, not wanting the human to be harmed, decides to stop it from doing anything to him.
A fight breaks out between the wild and swift animal and the Eldar warrior. The balance changes from one to another, until Niko is forced to wake up and halt the fight entirely. Much to the banshee's shock, she finds out that the Merlorian wolf is in fact Niko's old friend, named "Akila". He gets worried about him since he's bleeding, but he patches him up, and finds out that his pack was slaughtered by the remaining Drukhari.
This alerts him, and Liriel does not need an explanation, because Niko shows her a piece of a Drukhari splinter he retrieved from Akila's leg. They get ready for a possible encounter while staying at the window and occasionally peek to take a look.
The unexpected hits them when Akila wakes up, and starts to growl. Niko tries to calm him down, but Liriel quickly takes him down just as shots pass by them through the window. The Drukhari have arrived.
About 3 Drukhari warriors that were scattered around and scavenging for anything useful have followed the wolf's bloody trace. The human and the Eldar take cover with their slightly limping wolf friend, and Niko exchanges some heated discussions with the Drukhari squad leader. The entire den is under constant fire, and the human, the Eldar and the wolf, decide to come up with a plan.
They all run out and hide at the backside of Niko's house. None of them can do much since their squad leader is wielding a sniper rifle, and will shoot them as soon as they even dare to peek. He orders two of his warriors to check the house and they turn the entire den upside down, crushing, messing and throwing things around.
Akila, being an intelligent creature, retreats to the forest, while Liriel thinks he ran away from fear. Surprisingly, Niko does not show any concern, and instead, smirks, which Liriel takes as weird. That is until she hears a scream from the squad leader. Akila has made a sudden attack from running around the woods. The perfect opportunity cannot be missed, and she jumps into action.
Niko shoots the one in his house with his crossbow. Liriel subdues the second one and ends him, while Akila subdues the squad leader, who presumably ordered the slaughter of his pack. Something happens to Niko as he sees the Drukhari leader lying on the ground.
He feels extreme amounts of fury, and decides to maul him on the ground after removing his helmet. Liriel sees how unnerving he has become at this moment, since he did not act like this during the entire time they were together. It makes her surprised, and she is forced to pull him off of the Drukhari leader, and slap him back into his senses.
She tries interrogating the wounded and badly beaten Drukhari, but ends up with only the maddened laughs and threats that Commorragh awaits them all. Even after slicing the Drukhari ears, he does not budge. At that point, she executes the bastard, and realizes that staying here will be extremely dangerous.
With both of them coming to a grim realization, Niko packs up all the stuff that he needs into his backpack, puts his flak armor and helmet on, grabs his lasgun, and joins up with Liriel and Akila, who are slowly building up trust.
With sadness in his eyes at being forced to abandon his home that kept him safe for so long, he starts the journey towards the capital with Liriel and Akila, as they have no other choice left. He uses the compass during the full moon night to navigate his path and not get lost, while all of them stay together.
But unbeknownst to them, the Inquisitorial cruiser "Shadowy Mist" comes out of the warp and is heading straight towards Merlorian. Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos of the Ordo Xenos and his retinue have arrived to the system, and they are planning to investigate the world completely.
For Liriel and Niko, however? Their relationship takes off as a calamity, and now hangs on an edge in the face of danger, because Liriel now swears to protect him, since she needs him to achieve her goals. Niko, in the meantime has taken an oath to aid her as he promised, without anyone judging him, except probably the Emperor, as he thought. Akila decides to follow them both, and remain a loyal furry friend. But.. What shall await these two?
How will they be able to face the lurking threats when their beliefs are still hanging on their minds and hearts alike? This is not going to be an easy endeavor, and it is only a matter of time before fate reveals itself once again, and decides to test both of their destinies.
How they will succeed is only for them to find out. One thing is clear for them both - They need to rely on each other, trust each other, and never separate while they are walking on Merlorain soil from now on.
For they already know, that they will be hunted.
Chapter 3: The Hunting Begins.
Segmentum: [REDACTED]
Star system: [REDACTED]
Destination planet: Merlorian.
Inquisitorial cruiser "Shadowy Mist" approaching the orbit.
The chambers of Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos.
The blade that never leaves the flesh of the Imperium of Man, ready to cut out the rotting plague that appears on its body no matter where it's found. The necessary evil of the human race in the face of an ever lasting war. The fire that burns the heretic, the xenos and the daemon alike. The steely authority that can doom entire worlds to oblivion and repeat the process as much as it can take, without blinking once during the entire endeavor. The hunters of all threats to mankind behind the frontlines. The judges of a galactic scale in the God-Emperor's name. Such is the Holy Imperial Inquisition. - from the memoirs of acolyte Kaidan Oleos before his appointment as an inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos.
Inquisitor Oleos was busy within his quarters, reading his memoir from his younger days when he was just an acolyte, remembering his good old days when he was only gaining the much-needed knowledge from his Ordo. He sat firmly at his table, without any disturbance except the ambient white noises that gave him as much of peace as he required. In the meantime, he poured himself a glass of vintage Terran wine, which was quite a luxury and a rarity amongst even the inquisitors.
Taking a sip from his fancy glass, he contemplated the mission ahead of him. He took his quill and proceeded to write. "So many mysteries have overtaken me ever since I became an Inquisitor, but that will not stop me from completing my tasks. The alien threat needs to be eradicated, no doubt. But we must study it. Instead of falling into puritan circles much like that imbecile Julius, Emperor damn him... Instead of allowing the Necron technology to be studied and understood by the Adeptus Mechanicus, he destroyed the entire library of knowledge. Those like him are a liability to our Ordo, and our cause in general. I only hope that his fanaticism takes him sooner or later. Absolute moron... He only knows the power of brutality, not the knowledge of studying. Instead of killing your enemy, study them, gain the knowledge about them, and then get rid of them. Calculation. Inspection. Examination... All, when combined, can be a great asset for our holy cause, just as my Inquisitor Zalen taught me." he wrote while dipping the quill in a bottle of ink, taking another sip until hearing a knock on the door before it opened up automatically.
"My lord?" said Adrian. The acolyte under Oleos. He simply looked at him and gave him a light nod. "Ah, Adrian. Please come in." he told him, and he obliged by approaching him with his hands behind his back, before standing in an attention pose. "My lord. We are approaching the orbit of the world, Merlorian. We require your presence on the deck. The usual procedure as always." he informed his Inquisitor and continued to talk while Oleos kept writing his memoir. "I do not know what we will find here, my inquisitor. But-"
Suddenly, as Oleos grabbed the bottle of ink and tapped it on the table two times, from the second door, came out an orange-furred creature, resembling ancient Terran primates. A xeno race of technology lovers also known as "Jokaero". "Abomination!" Adrian yelled, and saw it standing still with its augmetics, especially the goggles, before he pulled out his laspistol and pointed it towards the creature. However, Oleos quickly lifted his hand towards Adrian. "Stand down, Adrian. It is not an enemy..." he said, before Adrian exchanged the looks with his inquisitor. He looked confused, frowning and somewhat mad, but he had to oblige his inquisitor, and so, he lowered his weapon.
"Inquisitor. You have a xenos abomination on board of our cruiser?" he judgingly asked Oleos, before the Inquisitor let out a soft laugh and grinned at him. "That is exactly what I have to remind you about, Adrian. It is not going to cause you nor me any harm. It is a Jokaero. Intelligent xenos race who favor technology. To master it, create it from scratch, study it and present it. They do not have any ill intent towards humanity. In fact, many of our armies rely on their technologies."
He explained, before the inquisitor whistled and shook the ink bottle, to which the Jokaero walked to him, while Adrian held his hand tightly on the grip of his laspistol at his holster as it approached, before it took the bottle, and grabbed something from its belt, resembling a canteen, and poured the ink within the bottle, before giving it back to the Inquisitor. "Good. You can leave now." The Jokaero nodded, and retreated through the door, before it closed, and Oleos resumed his writing.
"For example, the ring that I wear. It is capable of shooting a laser with the same equivalent power as a lasgun. The miniature fly-spy bots, capable of giving information at a distance of 20 kilometers in diameter. And much more that our factions use. All were made by these wonderful xenos creatures, who willingly communicate and deal with the Imperium of Man." He explained, looking at him. "You now understand when I tell you to do a research first, before acting." he finished writing and stood up, placing his hand on his acolyte's shoulder, who still looked at his inquisitor suspiciously.
"I wish you to inherit all my teachings when the Emperor takes my soul into his grasp one day, Adrian. Do not, and I repeat, do NOT, under any circumstances, allow your blind fury to overpower your rational thinking. Do not become a Puritan. You need to be better than that. Do you understand?" he explained.
Adrian was left contemplating as he looked into the eyes of his Inquisitor. Oleos saw the fanaticism starting to burn within Adrian's eyes, but Adrian was collected and knew when to push back this feeling. And so, he closed his eyes, and opened them again, before nodding softly, the fires in his eyes dissipating. "Understood, my lord. Forgive me for my assumptions. It revolts me to even look at a xenos to begin with." he said. "I understand, my acolyte. You will learn by time." explained Oleos, before walking past him, and Adrian followed behind his inquisitor as they both walked towards the main deck.
The main hall within the Inquisitorial cruiser "Shadowy Mist"
Kaidan took calm and collected steps towards his chair and sat down on it, with his acolyte Adrian standing next to him in full attention. One of the crew members brought him the briefings they managed to gather about this world while he was busy. He took them, and inspected them. "A feudal world that is soon to be turned into a pleasure world. Nobility.." he cringed, before continuing.
"Population, no more than one million. Lush, mountains, mostly covered in woods. How delightful." he said, and sighed deeply. "There have not been any historical cases in the past centuries about this world. The planetary defense forces are relatively small and not very reliable against any xenos or demonic incursions. Only capable of taking down rebellions if there are any." he whispered, before one of the crew members attracted his attention. "My lord. The governor of the world asks us to identify ourselves." he said.
Oleos merely nodded. "Get him on." he said before the member nodded in response. Oleos stood up and approached the information center, which was showing the world in a hologram. "He is on, my lord."
"I am the planetary governor of the Imperial world Merlorian, Harik Vivon. Identify yourselves immediately in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind." was heard from the communications device of the ship, and the governor's voice was quite rude and demanding. Oleos tapped the button, and began to talk.
"In the name of his holy majesty, the God-Emperor of Mankind. I represent his will against the malevolent threats across the galactic theater. My name, is Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos from the Ordo Xenos of the holy Imperial Inquisition." said Oleos, with all the might of his inquisitorial authority given to him by the inquisitorial seal. There was no response, but silence. And so, Kaidan continued. "In the name of the Emperor, Governor Vivon, we demand, that you lower your defenses, and allow our shuttles to make a safe landing at your capital. We did not come to this system without a reason. This is about the fate of your world. Therefore, meet us at the landing pad, for I have some serious talking to do with you." he explained.
The governor, was rather silent for over a minute. It was to be expected, as the governors were known to literally shit themselves if there was an Inquisitor that wanted to talk with them. "...Under..stood, my lord. We await your presence at the landing pad of the spaceport in about 5 hours, as we have to end our bureaucratic meddling and pull the populace together for celebration. You are an honored guest, my lord. Governor Vivon out." his voice, was anxious and full of nervousness, and tremendous amounts of fear. Kaidan stepped back, and looked at the world from the windows of the deck.
Adrian approached him and stood by his side. "That governor surely changed the tone of his voice when you introduced yourself, my lord." he said with a grin. "These nobilities are just a nuisance, in my honest opinion. The only good they do is keep the planets in check, but most of them are full of greed and selfish desires." he explained, before Oleos lit up his cigar and took few puffs. "You are not wrong there, Adrian. Just another necessity we can allow ourselves to have. Someone must have the authority to rule over the masses in the hierarchy of our race. Such are the things that hold the Imperium together. Now, follow me."
"By your side, my Inquisitor." Adrian said, and followed his senior, who went to the comm device and pressed the button again. "Captain Murat. Keep our ship in orbit and make sure the weapons are fully prepared in case of any incursions or invasions. I don't want to see her damaged. I've sent you more information." he explained. "Ay ay, my Inquisitor." the captain replied, and Oleos tapped the second button. "Stormtrooper Sergeant Tarn! I've sent you information on dataslate about our mission. Brief your men, and meet me at the docks in 5 hours." He stopped pressing the button, and then walked out of the main hall, going back to his chambers with his acolyte while puffing his cigar.
The docks of the Inquisitorial cruiser "Shadowy Mist"
Shuttles awaiting disengagement.
Sergeant Tarn of the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers was busy briefing his men about the mission ahead of them, making sure everyone heard him loud and clear. His explanation was calm, but had quite a vigor in the tone of his voice. He expected nothing more from his men than a steely demeanor and a stoic stance in the face of the threats. But more importantly, he expected a deep vigilance from them. It was a group of 10 people and their Sergeant. In total, there were 11 elite members of the Tempestus scions under Kaidan's authority, and they were loyal to their cause no matter what. Armed to the teeth with different exceptional weaponries from hellguns to plasma guns and etc. They were armored pretty well and were ready to be taken into battle by their Sarge.
"Men. You know the drill and the usual business. Stay near our Inquisitor and those that accompany him. We see any malevolence towards him? We get rid of it. We see a plague? we cut it. We see a shadow coming out of the darkness? we burn it. But most importantly, be vigilant and think thoroughly within your actions. Our Inquisitor believes that there might be a xenos taint present on this world. Therefore, be ready for anything, and keep in contact with each other. Got it?" the dark-skinned veteran sergeant asked after finishing his briefing. "Sir. Yes, sir!" they replied in unison, their voices like lightning.
"Good. Board the shuttles and wait for me." he said as he was still waiting for Kaidan to make his appearance, while putting his beret on his head, and his plasma pistol nicely holstered at his hip, with a thunder hammer he was wielding by his bionic, mechanical arm, also known as simply an augmetic arm, alongside a hellgun strapped on his back. It allowed him to easily wield the hammer without any issues, since it was quite heavy, but the augmetic arm allowed it to be carried at ease.
Oleos appeared out of the massive doors with his acolyte, wearing the Inquisitorial cloak, the Inquisitorial seal on his neck, and an ancient-looking handgun at his hip with a marvelous power sword as his melee. Alongside him, was his acolyte Adrian, armed with a laspistol, a chainsword, and, on the other side of his hip, a plasma pistol. He was supposedly preferring to use these for more mobility. They were both armored well enough under their clothing. They made a slow but sure approach to Sergeant Tarn, who saluted Kaidan and stood in an attention pose, before going at ease. "Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos. My lord, as you commanded, me and my men, are ready." he explained while looking very determined.
Kaidan lightly smiled and gave him a light nod. "Perfect, Sergeant. Now go and join your men. They require a leader like you next to them." he told him. "Yes, my lord." he replied, joining his men in the first shuttle, before Kaidan and Adrian, joined the second one with the rest of his crew. They boarded it, and Oleos pressed the button on the comm device. "Deck! Disengage shuttles 44 and 45." and immediately, the two shuttles shook slightly as the ship's crane let go of them, and they were free to turn their engines on and fly straight towards the Merlorian's atmosphere.
Sarge Tarn and his crew members were silent and praying to the God-Emperor behind their helmets. They were cold, and calculated individuals, who did not need any double explanation or waste their time chit-chatting like the guardsmen did. Kaidan and Adrian, meanwhile, were discussing the proper plans they'd have to make on the surface of the world.
"My lord. Are you certain this is a good idea?" asked Adrian, who was quite skeptical about this entire endeavor that Oleos was taking. "I am, my acolyte." he said, continuing his explanation. "While they do not like to leave any presence or traces behind them, those knife-eared bastards do not arrive in human populated areas of space without a very huge and a necessary reason. It is most likely that they were looking for something on this world, and they left in quite a haste. But these are xenos, Adrian. They are unpredictable for us. That is why we must study, examine, and investigate.. Before coming to a solid conclusion. I am planning to scout this entire planet if I have to, for that is the Inquisitor's job. Therefore.. We have a lot of work to do." he told his acolyte, while sitting down and waiting until they reached the spaceport.
"Outstanding methods and presumptions as always, my inquisitor. Nevertheless, we shall scourge out this taint, no matter what, or where it resides." Adrian said, and sat next to his Inquisitor, who looked at him with a proud smile. "Hm-hm. Yes, Adrian, we shall." and with that, the shuttles were sent towards the capital for the initial landing, where they would begin their first hunt.
Merlorian, North-Eastern region, near the snow covered northern mountains.
Deep in the woods, sunny day.
The initial march towards the capital was going to be arduous, and Niko knew it. Ever since he rescued the howling banshee from the jaws of doom, he did not expect the sudden events to happen so precisely and swiftly in just a single day. The saving of his furred friend Akila, then the arrival of the scattered Drukhari squad, after having spent an entire day of activity with the aspect warrior. All of this made him realize the amount of danger that loomed over him after he faltered to end the aspect warrior's life. No, he was not going to allow the zealotry to overtake him, and instead, he relied on his own judgment, with all the fundamental thinking he could muster from his heart. He refused to bow down to fate, and chose to make his own destined path, which he himself would forge. Little did Niko realize, that the seeds of attachment towards the elegant xeno lady he swore to help, were already sown, and deep down, he was feeling its aura, but did not dare or even think of admitting it due to his beliefs.
The fully armored and armed hunter, and the aspect warrior, along with their furred companion Akila, were on a long march across the thick woods. They've been marching ever since the night of Drukhari's raid on Niko's house, and realized that they had to act, and act quickly. Taking occasional rests, they marched on, and were already dozens of kilometers away from the place of their dwelling, which they were forced to abandon.
Akila was far ahead, looking around and sniffing the ground for anything suspicious before returning to Niko, assuring him that the path was safe. "Good boy, Aki. Here!" Niko said, with a smile, before throwing a piece of dry meat from his backpack straight at Akila. He jumped from his paws and snatched his treat, before chewing it and rubbing his snout against Niko's legs, which he was forced to pet his furry companion for, laughing in the process.
Liriel in the meantime, was acting more like a natural huntress, since she kept her gaze constantly turning to all sides. She stood tall, and was behind the mon'keigh who was leading this small expedition while he held the compass on his right hand, flipping his Leuku occasionally with his left one. "His childish attitude towards his pet is extremely bizarre. It must be an ordinary thing.. For humans, that is." she whispered and rolled her eyes behind her helmet, the light wind swinging her loincloth and her helmet's mane around.
"Hey, xeno- Liri." Niko said suddenly, which forced Liriel's gaze to fall upon him. She saw him without his helmet, and he was handing her his canteen to get some water. She stared at him for 3 seconds straight before removing her own helmet, her red hair in a ponytail as usual. Next, she looked at him, and saw him staring away, which she found to be slightly odd as he was keen on staring at her like she was a perfect sculpture. "Huh.. Is the mon'keigh showing signs of shyness?" she said in her mind before grabbing the canteen, and drinking it's content with her eyes closed.
Niko, in the meanwhile, slowly but surely, turned his gaze towards her and, as always, was astonished by her beauty, especially on such a perfect sunny day that brightened Liriel's features in a fancy manner. Those knife shaped ears, however.. still, pulled his curiosity over and over again. He found them to be cute, and was already in the state of having blood rush to his cheeks to brighten them up. "By the mighty spear. I still cannot imagine this.. Do all Aeldari look as elegant and beautiful as her? They are aliens, surely.. But-" suddenly, as Niko eyed her features, her right eye opened up, and it was directly staring down at him. He widened his eye and swiftly turned his gaze away, gulping his saliva down while clearing his throat, with his fist at his lips, before he lowered it.
Liriel did not pay it any heed, however, as she already knew of this weird behavior of her human companion, but did not understand what he was trying to mean by it. She thought of it as a plain human curiosity, nothing more. She was already informed by Elidyr that mon'keigh are curious creatures, and sometimes it can let them achieve greatness, or total failure, before their imminent death. Curiosity killed the cat, as the human saying goes. "Human." she told him, in her own language.
"Your constant staring is not helping me cope with the fact that I am stuck here with you.. mon'keigh." she said with a light frown, handing him the canteen back, before putting her helmet back on, and forcing his gaze to fall upon her once again after retrieving his canteen. "Uhm. Yeah! the weather is good today, I agree.." he said with a light chuckle as the heat from his cheeks already dissipated. Akila let out a soft howl of teasing and mocking before Niko's face got nervous, and he had to warn his companion. "Hey, don't tease me like that, Akila. I'm not a xeno lover.." he told him in all seriousness.
But the Merlorian wolf was a cheeky creature and he knew Niko very well. He simply tilted his head before Niko spoke. "What? Are you seriously going to tell me that I have been charmed by-" and then, all of a sudden, the wolf headbutted Niko's groin before letting out a howl of laughter. Niko widened his eye, opened his mouth wide, twitched his eye and clenched his thighs so much that he simply froze and then fell on his knees while holding his groin. "...AAaaaaaaaaooogghh!"
He let out a painful grunt with a hint of annoyance and anger, and he felt the pain starting within his gut before it spread all over and only intensified. "Oh, by Isha!" said Liriel who literally broke her seriousness and began to chuckle alongside the furry companion. Not only were Niko's two "future children" chambers hurt, but he had both his furry and his alien companion laughing from the front and the rear. Liriel literally could not hide her amusement as it was heard in that alien vox caster-like device from her helmet.
The ex-guardsman gritted his teeth and stared at his white furred friend in front of him, who was wagging his tail and laughing. ".. Oh you.. LITTLE.. BASTARD!" he yelled before dropping his lasgun, his backpack and his crossbow on the ground. Next, he was so pissed off about his "precious orbs" being hurt, that he decided to chase the wolf as Akila ran around in multiple circles, and Niko chased him while throwing insults in the dialect of Kaleva.
This was a comical golden moment. Liriel watched this scene unfold, and couldn't help but smile, but not without a proper grin on her face behind that helmet of hers. She stood there, with her arms crossed, and shook her head. "I would be deemed a fool by the Harlequins if I did not say that this scene was worthy for Cegorach. The mon'keigh's furry friend surely would be deemed as a great guest in the shows of the laughing god." she said before leaning against the tree, sliding down against it, and checking out her power sword, checking that sweet sharpness, the quality entirely as well.
"C'mere! you little shite! You never do a man dirty like that!" Niko yelled and kept chasing after Akila, but Akila was quick to grin and dodge him as Niko constantly tried to jump on him and try his best to grip his fluffy white tail, with the tip being black. He, however, did not manage. Akila ran to the left side, and ran past the sitting Liriel, who was cross-legged and rubbing her loincloth on her sword to clean it from any dirt and dust. Niko in the meanwhile, was still determined to catch him. He ran after his furry friend, nevertheless after it ran past the sitting xenos woman, Niko's belongings next to her.
As Niko ran closer to Liriel, she swiftly leaned her right leg forward, and Niko, being blinded by frustration, tripped down and rolled over the grassy ground. "What the FRA-" he grunted after making a few rolls on the ground, standing up and staring at Liriel with a mad frown. "Xe- Liriel! What in the Emperor was that for?!" he asked while slowly standing up, much to his annoyance, while Akila stood 10 meters away, and was already laughing again. Niko approached her, his hands clenched into fists.
"What was that, I asked you? Striking a man in his groin is unacceptable even by Kalevan standards!" he detested and held his hand on his gut, since the pain was not quick to dissipate. "Foolish human. So childish and yet, you show anger, and not the solution?" she told him in her lexicon before swiftly standing up in a blink of an eye in front of Niko, which forced him to step back and shudder slightly, and gulp from the towering xenos lady in front, who looked down at him. "Niko. Calm. You calm." she said in all seriousness in low Gothic.
Niko, only sighed in response. He nodded, and picked up his gear. Liriel had her moment of laughter and was now concentrated on the task at hand. She waited for the human companion to do the same, but he did not. And so, she had to do it for him. "Yeah, yeah, i get it, no need to intimidate me." he said and finished picking up his stuff, before Akila walked next to him, and they exchanged the looks. The human, was still frowning, and the wolf, was grinning.
"You're lucky that she decided to spare your ass from me catching you pal. Don't you do that ever again.." he told the wolf while picking up his compass and the rest of his belongings, but the wolf, merely continued to grin and let out a soft howl before Niko stepped forward, put his helmet back on, and continued the journey towards the capital. Liriel was behind him, and Akila was in front, sniffing the ground while Niko's "jingle bells" stopped "ringing", as in, stopped causing him the excruciating pain in his gut.
They continued to march while crossing the bushes and trees in their paths, and they also met some of the animals of the local fauna, who were more afraid of Akila's presence than they were of the two figures on two legs behind the wolf himself. Akila's instincts told him to go and take down at least one of them, as the evolutionary code stated. Niko knew this from his growls. "Akila. No. We have enough food right now.. I'm not wasting my time to skin those sods while you can merely bite a chunk off of them and call it a day." he said, to which Akila nudged against Niko's foot as a sign of displeasure, and obliged him nevertheless. "You're alright, boy." he told him, continuing the journey.
The aspect warrior, however, was busy catching the true beauty of the fauna and flora of this world. She was already informed that this world once belonged to her exodite kin, and that they truly lived in harmony and peace. They built, hunted, celebrated, and so on and on. To her, this world truly looked like it was virgin and had never been touched by war, but she already knew that it was not true. "By Ulthwe's tears.. How long did it take for this world to be forgotten and for nature to remake it? I only hope that at least some of our ancient kin survived, and their souls found peace.." she told herself, while following Niko from behind, nevertheless still looking around the beautiful landscape.
As the journey continued, Niko couldn't help but to constantly hum and whistle around, singing some songs as he walked while holding his backpack straps. "Farewell, snowy plains and hills - Welcome constant orders and drills. My time in guard, will not be long - So let me, sing you a song.." He began to tap his fingers against his backpack straps while smiling along the way, and continue his singing, while Liriel watched him in curiosity.
"It was by the commissar's strict hand - That I was condemned to be! - He stood upon his chimera, and a deadly gaze he gave me: Pray to the Emperor, and fear my roar! But follow my orders! I shall guide you - and push you through, to make you Silver Spears!" he sang his words while Liriel tilted her head slightly. "He.. Is singing? It seems that for the mon'keigh, boredom is one major issue that forces them to do something out of the ordinary. It almost feels pitiful to think about what'll happen when we'll have to part ways." she said after seeing how he behaves, but she couldn't help but be amazed by the fact that his voice was quite smooth.
Akila in the meanwhile, stopped his walk in front of a hill going upwards a little bit, then downwards all the way. He then looked behind at Niko. "Hm?" And there he was forced to stop his singing session. "What's the matter, boy?" he asked his furry companion, before Liriel stopped behind Niko, and already had her hand tightly gripping the hilt of her power sword. Niko got serious, and pulled his lasgun with its strap from his back, before tapping the battery cell magazine with the palm of his hand, and slowly taking a few steps forward. "Boy.. Get back here. Now. As my father said, hills can be your savior, or your death..." he ordered, and Akila obliged immediately.
The young man was taking his precious time by being cautious. He stepped forward towards the hill, hiding behind the trees as Liriel watched him, taking into account his tactical knowledge. "He lacks the speed of our warriors, and relies on cover most of the time. Rarity for a mon'keigh, seeing how they use their numbers to overwhelm their enemies.. but he is all alone and doesn't shy off away from using his skills, even in such a peaceful environment. I admire his dedication." said Liriel while observing her human companion. "Still.. he is inferior to us, like all of his race. But their iron will allows them to survive this cruel galaxy. Are we right to truly judge them?" she asked, being quite judging of Niko, but nevertheless, she brushed these questions aside and concentrated on whatever disturbed their furry companion.
Within an instant, Niko climbed the hill, aimed his rifle downward, and was quickly changing his aiming directions left and right, before he lowered his weapon slowly after freezing on the spot. He took off his helmet and stood there at the top of the hill, staying silent, fascinated and truly mesmerized. ".. What is he doing..?" asked Liriel, before approaching him, and then, her eyes widened at the view that presented itself in front of her. "By.. Ulthwe's tears.." and even she was now mesmerized by the view in front of her.
The black armor clad howling banshee took her helmet off, and watched the view in front of her much like Niko did, before both were joined by Akila, who sat in the middle of them on his paws. The view, was truly astonishing. The flat landscapes below, were lush green, accompanied by a couple of rivers in front and the right side of their view, with the icy, and snow covered mountains on their left side, which stretched out as far as the eye could see. Far ahead on their right side, there were 3 waterfalls they could see in the distance. It was truly a world of paradise.
"By the Emperor.. This world is so pure, that I still phantom to think if it ever had any major wars." Niko said in a whisper, before Liriel wiped her forehead. "This is what they meant when they spoke about our ancient maiden worlds. I do not blame our kin of Biel-Tan for being so aggressive to anyone who has taken these worlds for themselves. And even this one, is taken by the Mon'Keigh. They're lucky.." she contemplated, before she, and Niko, alongside Akila, walked down the hill, looking around at the beauty of the world while touching the tall flowers and grasses in their path, the insects ever so eager to take that sweet nectar.
Niko noticed something that caught his attention the most - a huge paved path behind the third river in front of them. "Look! A path!" he pointed directly towards it, which caught Liriel's attention. "A path that might lead us somewhere. At last." she sighed in relief before putting her helmet back on. They reached the flat surface in a short amount of time. "I would have loved to admire the view, but I'm afraid that we cannot waste the necessary time that we have. Therefore, I suggest we cross the river, and get on that path." Niko explained while putting his helmet back on, before strapping his lasgun over his neck and putting it behind his back.
Next, Liriel simply gripped Niko's shoulder, and he was forced to stare right up at her tall stature. "Wha?" he asked before the banshee shook her head. "Mon'Keigh. It is not the best course of action to walk on that path without being sure where it leads. We do not know what awaits us there.." she told him in her language. It forced Niko to shrug and rub his head. Liriel merely sighed and then pointed at his compass. "Uh, excuse me, my compass? do you need-" She snapped it out of his hands quickly as he opened up his palm. "...it..?" Niko said, before the banshee pointed at him, and then used her thumb to indicate that he should follow her from this moment on.
Niko raised an eyebrow before speaking out. "You want to be the leading figure? You don't even know how to use the compa-" she leaned her hand forward towards his face, telling him to simply shut up, and pointed at the compass. "You.. You show. Show way." she said in quite an accent and in such a way that Niko had to spend five seconds frozen like a statue to understand her point. That path on the compass's direction, unfortunately, was directly leading to the paved path they found.
The young hunter understood her intentions, and then explained to her the function of the compass. "Okay, in this case, you can lead the expedition as you desire.. as to how to use this? It's pretty simple. This arrow, here, points to the north, but it's actually the.. never mind. We must go.. That way." He pointed directly where the south-east should be, which was, in fact, leading and facing directly towards the paved path that the banshee was too skeptical about. She simply sighed in slight annoyance, then frowned behind her helmet and said something that took Niko by surprise. ".. Ok-keeh." she said before Niko stood there for a second as she walked past him, staring at her. "Primitive ways of the mon'keigh never cease to amaze-" she stopped, before she heard, a chuckle. She heard it loud and clear as her knife-ear twitched once. It was Niko.
She turned around to face the chuckling young man with such uncanny speed, that Niko had to blink once, and she was already in front of him. He simply continued to chuckle, and Liriel stood firmly, with that emotionless banshee helmet not even forcing the shivers to be sent down his spine. "What's so funny, human?! Mocking me for not knowing your barbaric tongue?" she asked, before Niko simply shrugged. "Ohh by holy Terra, hahah! Did you hear that, Akila?" he asked his furry friend, who simply nodded and howled softly before Niko looked back towards her. "Oooo-khhh-keeeeh. Hah, my good xeno- Eldar companion. Its simply said as okay. Hear me? Like, ohh-kay." he explained. "Hmph. Ok-yay" she said as Akila was forced to let out a soft howling laughter. Liriel felt that annoyance gripping her as Niko was now laughing himself.
Niko kept his laugh going and going, but Liriel didn't feel like being mocked at the moment by someone she considered a lesser being by her xenophobic, zealous standards, but Niko didn't really care. She grabbed a very fluffy looking bush from the ground while the human kept giggling and laughing. "Thah, I don't think I've had this much laughter for a long whi- hhghhr!" and suddenly, she shoved the fluffy bush directly against his face with such force that Niko had to step back once, before Liriel frowned and lowered her hand before turning around and walking towards the paved path, with that frown still behind her helmet.
The young man, meanwhile, simply removed the pieces of fluffy bush from his face and even from his tongue. "Yuck! This stuff is bitter.. it seems you don't understand the human sense of humor, Liriel. I think you really need to learn how to have fun. You rarely show positivity- hey, are you listening?" he detested, but she continued to ignore him and walk towards the path. "My furred friend." he said, looking at Akila. "Is it me, or she acts like this because she wants to be too serious?" Akila tilted his head, then shook it. "Yeah, I guess you're right. She is a born warrior.. And probably knows nothing else but fighting. I admire her. She has pure control over herself. Something even I would be willing to have. But eh, not a big deal, ay?" he smiled and then gave Akila a few pettings on his head that the Merlorian wolf enjoyed, before sprinting a lil bit to catch on to his alien companion and stay next to her while holding the straps of his backpack, concentrating on the path ahead, with Akila following them both by their sides.
That path itself looked rather ancient. It was covered with flat blocks of stone, and it was definitely leading somewhere. Where, exactly, was a mystery. But perhaps to a town, they both thought. "I am starting to understand the xenos concerns about this path. After seeing what she and her group did with those Drukhari bastards and their convoy, I really do not blame her for being too cautious." he whispered to himself, while looking around for any signs of anything unexpected. Liriel in the meanwhile, was not so worried, at least it did not look like so to the young man. "Even if we find a town, there is absolutely no frakking way we'll be able to access it. Well.. Not we. Her. Even if I notice that she is a master of stealth, one wrong error, and the entire world will be alerted of hostile presence. Rather not risk it." he thought to himself, while following Liriel from behind.
As much as he hated to admit it, he did enjoy following her.. For his own type of reasons, as to be said. Akila, in the meanwhile, nudged Niko's leg with his muzzle, and he could see that he was smirking. "Huh, you cheeky bastard, what are you implying?" he told his white furred friend, who just silently chuckled since he was starting to be fond of his human friend, who clearly was eyeing Liriel's beauty no matter how much he tried to detest and deny it. "Hey.. don't, look at me like that, okay?" he told him, but got another chuckle in response from the wolf. Niko started to feel irritated as he gave a scowl, and looked away. "Im not gonna discuss this.. With... y..yo.." and there and then, his only eye went looking straight ahead, which caused him to slightly shudder since he saw Liriel's fit, perfectly heart shaped hips swaying left and right. He felt how his cheeks were becoming all pinkish red from being too flushed as he widened his eye, and quickly diverted his gaze away, before coughing a few times against the fist at his lips.
"Huh?" Liriel, while inspecting the horizon, was forced to look behind and saw the ex-guardsman staring at the ground and following her, with that flushed look still being visible on his innocent looking face, that even the scars on the left side of his face were not denied the heat. She kept walking, but it clearly confused her. "What is wrong with this human.. By the spirits, it is impossible to understand humans if someone like him exists." she merely said, shrugging it off before looking back at the compass and continuing the journey. Oh how lucky Niko was that she didn't know too much about this type of human behavior.
Niko was not saying a damn word as the march continued for over an hour in silence. Akila was mocking and teasing Niko about his thoughts with the single expression on his face, which forced Niko to pout at his furry friend. "S..Shut it, you didn't see anything- we don't talk about such things." he told him before looking away once more, trying his best to deny the fact that she, despite being a xeno, was quite a pretty lady. It clung onto him, and he continued to try and detest that thought as much as he could, since to him, it felt unusual. "Loneliness can do too much.. for even a lonely man- Uffh!" he suddenly bumped into Liriel's back, who stood still and looked around, before looking back with her head turning towards the mon'keigh in annoyance.
"Human. Concentrate on your task and stop daydreaming or talking with yourself, as you are always keen on doing.. Or you will certainly be caught by death faster than you can imagine." she told him in her language, before Niko shrugged it off. "Yeah, yeah, sorry not sorry. Just tell me why you stopped." he replied in a cheeky manner, which forced Liriel to sigh even more deeply with the irritation being felt. She pointed directly ahead, and Niko was forced to pull out his binoculars to get a better view. "What in the name of the great spear.." he confusingly asked himself this one and simple question.
Because it did not take him long enough to fix his vision within his eye as he zoomed in, and saw a small town in the far distance. "A little town? Nothing unusual in a world like this, but.." he said, looking from all angles, from right to left. "Where the hell are all the people?" he whispered and continued the examination. "Not a single living soul. Not even any stoves or furnaces, let alone fireplaces, emit any smoke.. I do not like this." he said as Liriel crouched and watched the town herself, sharpening her own eyesight like an eagle.
"Primitive to be called a settlement.. Yet, where are the mon'keigh?" she asked herself, and then forced Niko to look at her by shaking his shoulder as he indeed looked at her while holding his binoculars. "There. No mon'keigh. Where.. Did go?" she said, and was quite frankly catching up with low gothic as Niko blinked two times, and shrugged. "I do not know. And for the Emperor's sakes, I am a human, not that monkai or whatever it is supposed to mean." he said with a slight annoyance in his tone as Liriel rolled her eyes behind her helmet and pointed to the town. "Go there. Me, you." said the black armor clad warrior, but not before Niko shook his head and stared towards her.
"Now now now. Wait just a minute. You're staying here." he said as he pointed towards her, then at the ground. Next, he pointed at himself, then towards the town, but not before Liriel detested him by shaking her head. Niko was forced to facepalm pretty hard at this exact moment. "Emperor almighty.. Listen, knife ears. If there are any humans out there, seeing a xeno is going to cause them to go batshit crazy and I'm not even joking. Stay here. Me and Akila will investigate it." he explained, even though remembering that she can barely grasp his language. She let out a deep sigh behind her helmet and then gave a light nod. "Good!" he smiled and whistled. "Akila. After me." he said, and within an instant, he proceeded to walk towards the town, with Akila by his side.
Liriel patiently waited while seeing the human take his time to reach the town and investigate it. "If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that the mon'keigh are extremely stubborn creatures. He's not acting any different from that quality alone." she whispered, while keeping her eyes on him and their furry friend. "I must keep my eyes on him on all directions possible. Least he ends up getting in trouble.. it will be a total doom if he is lost. I must heed him, even if I don't like it. My plan is unchanged." she proclaimed, and then climbed up a tree that was the tallest of those near her, to allow herself a better view on her human companion. She fixed her gaze on him through her helmet's visors, and watched him from afar.
Niko, in the meantime, was whistling with Akila by his side, approaching the town that was right ahead of them. It was relatively feudal and looked like it had never seen any industrialization. The town wasn't even protected by any walls either, as it was obvious that they clearly did not feel threatened by any invaders, and it was built mainly from wood and stone structures. He stopped whistling and instead focused on the task ahead. "I still do not really like this. Is there an ambush? The population literally looked like it had vanished from existence alone... Hmm. I guess we'll find out only when we reach it, shall we, Akila?" he cheekily said, before Akila howled once while looking at him, then look straight ahead. "Yeah, I know. Cautiousness is always a much-needed asset. Still.. This is extremely bizarre." he said, and then checked his lasgun. "Locked and loaded for any hostile confrontation. Remember, Niko: We strike like lightning."
The paved path was at its end as Niko reached the entrance of the abandoned-looking town. He stopped right at its doorstep, without any gates but a simple way in and out. However, what truly made Niko uncomfortable was the eerie silence. Only the noise of the light wind and the local birds chirping in the air and wherever they landed, but nothing else. There was no sound of human activity. "Okay, this is pretty fraggin creepy.. But I should not get loose with my weapon." He pulled out his Leuku, checked its sharpness, and sheathed it back, before checking his laspistol, and holstering it afterward. Akila in the meanwhile, was checking every angle with his visage, while Niko held his lasgun at ready.
He entered the town, while Liriel jumped to another tree to keep an eye on him as he looked left and right while aiming his lasgun. He did not wish to be taken by surprise, in case there were any unknown hostiles hiding somewhere. Still, he was determined to finish this simple but unnerving task. He was on the street, where he saw many buildings made from stone and wood, with some having clear written signs of different places to visit. There was a forgery, where blacksmiths would craft whatever was requested. There was an Inn, a place for visitors to stay and dine.
There was also a local Adeptus Arbites building, which was clearly built to keep the Imperial law in order and to prevent any anarchy and chaos, so to speak. And of course, how can there be any town without a pub? Niko was clearly taken aback by this, as this town alone caused him that deep nostalgic feeling of his village back on his homeworld. "Just like the towns back on Kaleva. Ah.. Brings back so many memories." he whispered while standing still in the street, and checking out every building. "A pub? Hah, wouldn't be bad if I decided to have a little drink after a long while." He chuckled at that thought, and decided to check it out. Liriel in the meanwhile, frowned from the distance as he vanished from her view. "By the great mother, mon'keigh. You better be quick to get out of that building.."
Niko was quite flabbergasted. The pub literally looked like it was alive during this recent time. His single eye took notice of the interior of the pub, which was obviously looking old. There were empty tables, with mugs of ale, spirits and especially Amasec, the popular Imperial liquor across the galaxy. "Woah! Do you see this, Akila?" he asked him, and in response, the wolf just stared at him with his head tilted.
"Yeah, well, you don't know much about human society, I suppose, much like the xe.. Much like Liriel. Ahem. Anyway. See if you can sniff something out." he told him immediately, as he howled in response, while receiving some petting from his human friend. Niko walked towards the counter and grabbed one mug of ale that was left on the counter itself. "This beverage, looks.." he sniffed it, then raised his eyebrow. "It's not even stale in any way, I would say.. What happened in this cursed place?" he contemplated a lot on this. Population was literally gone, and he did not know why, how or when exactly. Nevertheless, he sighed and allowed himself to have a little break. "Well.. this one won't be needed."
In one instance, he raised the mug high above his head. "Kippis!" and immediately chugged it down, closing his eye and enjoying that satisfying taste of bitter-sweetness and barley, alongside the alcohol in the substance. He chugged it all down in one go, and quickly put his fist against his lips as he belched loud enough. "Ooooffh, this truly feels like home.." he put the mug down, and then grabbed another one from nearby, and chugged down half of it, satisfying his thirst for good old ale. The mug was put down on the table, before Niko in an instance, saw an unopened bottle of Amasec on the shelf. "This might look like thievery, but since this entire place is literally abandoned, who would really need it?" And instantly, he grabbed the bottle, and forced it right into his backpack, smiling all the way in the process.
"I call this a success indeed. This one will be needed for good stress relief, hah." he was quite cheerful, as it has been an eternity for him to even have his hands on any alcohol. He strapped his backpack straight at his back, holding the straps, and looked around by taking few steps. As he examined the interior of the pub, he did not dare to approach the foods that were not looking too appetizing to begin with, so he ignored the bowls and plates. "Nope. No way I'm touching those.." he told himself, before feeling a weird nudge at his ankles from behind. "Hmm?" the feeling forced him to turn around, and see Akila holding some kind of letter between his teeth. Niko smiled and responded. "My boy, what did you find?" He knelt down, and grabbed the letter. "Huh.. what is this?" he cleared the letter from Akila's saliva, got up, and began to read it.
- From the capital of Merlorian, Xaroi. Bureau of information.
- To the town of Nello. The pub owner of "Tipsy & Crispy", Heruz Sivinar.
Respectful Imperial subject.
You are invited to attend the capital for governor's celebration.
Important guests have been invited by our governor, and he demands every subject to be present and enjoy the warm treatment he has prepared for those under his governance.
You are to depart immediately for Xaroi, and you are not permitted to carry any luggage with you.
Every piece of unneeded material will be quickly disposed by the guards. Every individual will be thoroughly checked. Refusing to arrive before sunset will carry severe consequences. Ranging from a massive fine to long imprisonment, depending on the weight of the disobedience.
You are also not permitted to carry anything in terms of harmful materials, such as illegal substances,
sharp objects, firearms, explosives and anything else that may harm the population. Finding these materials will result in a capital punishment of the highest order by the Arbites - Execution.
This message applies to every citizen on the planet. Be in a great haste.
- Bureau of Information.
Frankly speaking, Niko was thoroughly confused by what he just managed to read. He had to read it again, and only then did he allow himself to lean against a wall in contemplation, while his furry friend was sitting and watching him. "What in the Kalevan devil's name is going on here.. Important guests? The slob of a governor coming out of his hole? Celebration?" he asked, as the confusion was too great to be ignored. "So these letters have been massively produced and sent to every inhabitant? Quite weird.. Xaroi is the capital's name, it seems. Hmm.. And this town, is Nello.. There's a lot to questio here. Who exactly are these guests? Oh, well. This is better for us, since we don't have to face any problems with the inhabitants"
He shrugged and threw the letter away, before cracking his knuckles, stretching his body, and exhaling. "Ahhh. Anyway. Akila?" The wolf tilted his head again. "It looks like everybody just went to the capital to attend this quote on quote celebration. This explains why the entire town looks abandoned. Seems like no one wants to be punished for refusing to be in capital. Lucky for me, I do not live in society. Let's go, buddy, and thank you. You really helped us out here." he whistled and turned around, exiting the pub with his furry friend following him after a light howl of satisfaction.
Liriel in the meantime, was not blinking behind her helmet. Not even once. She thoroughly continued to wonder if her human companion was fine while she watched the town, but she felt annoyed. Ignored, to be precise. "He has quite the audacity to leave me hanging here like a fruit on a tree. I still do not see him.." She scowled and then sighed deeply. "I should go down and see if he is okay.. Why am I even worried about him? All I require is his help to achieve my goals. Still, I must not take my eyes off of him, nevertheless." she whispered to herself, and decided to go down from the tree, and carefully walk towards the town without attracting any attention. She picked up the pace, and decided to sprint towards it in that alien, fluid motion. And hell, she was quite fast and agile while at it.
Niko in the meantime, checked out the other buildings without too much fuss or haste. He had all the time he needed after finding out that every citizen had departed for the capital. And definitely by transports, if there were any to begin with. He saw many tracks of what seemed to be trucks and other vehicles, and some landing aircraft as well. "No one will dismiss the message like it's a waste of space. I am sure of it. In the meantime, its best if we could see what we can find here. Lucky for me, I live away from society where I don't have to follow the Imperial bureaucracy.. A letter, are you kidding me?"
He walked into the forgery and saw that the crafting has been halted completely. It was relatively calm within the interior, but the dreadful silence was making Niko feel slightly uncomfortable. "Man.. So many beautifully crafted pieces in here. Had I been a thief, I'd sell them instantly." he told himself, before finding a sharpening grindstone in the crafting hall. "Oh, just what I needed! Akila, come on." he said and walked towards it with the wolf by his side, before pulling out his Leuku, sitting down, and running the grindstone from the pedal.
He began to sharpen his blade, whistling in the process as fiery sparks occasionally flew to all sides. After a short while, he was already satisfied as he stood up and rubbed his thumb across the blade's edge as its sharpness was shining in the dim darkness, and then, out of the blue, he wanted to test it out sooner or later. "Beautiful! Just the way I like it! There will be time to check out the results, but for now, let's not keep our xeno friend waiting. Shall we?" he asked as Akila howled once more, and both headed straight to the door. Niko was smiling and was about to move the covers of the crafting hall aside. He did so obviously, but then...
*BUMP*
He literally, face planted, straight onto the chestplate of Liriel, who stood there frozen like a statue, with her helmet lowered, and looking down at the mon'keigh. Niko in exchange, twitched his eye with a smile on his face, becoming extremely nervous as he slowly lifted his head while his face was literally in between the bosoms of her chestplate. His cheeks once again reddened, and nevertheless, Niko would swear that he would see the same reaction behind the aspect warrior's helmet. She was also flustered and shocked, just as much as he was. They stood there for over 10 seconds staring at each other in this awkward position, with the towering aspect warrior and the Kalevan guardsman having a staring contest, but it was long overdue as they both, in a swift speed, pushed each other away.
"By the EMPEROR!" he loudly said.
"By ISHA!" she said in response.
Both individuals were not relatively happy with the sudden situation. Niko told her to stay where he told her to. Liriel however, made him realize that she needed to keep her eyes on him in case anything happens. But both of them were not too keen on understanding the mutual concern that gripped them both in this awkward situation. Liriel had her hands clenched into fists, and Niko had his arms crossed, frowning at her. "Liriel. Did I NOT, tell you to stay where you are, until I investigate the town with Akila?!" he raised his voice a bit. "Mon'keigh. How am I supposed to cover you when you disappear from my view and take too long in these structures?! If something happens to you, I'm not going to be able to get out of this world!" she said in her lexicon, detesting.
"Bla bla bla I don't understand you, nor do you understand me. But I made gestures so we can come to a mutual conclusion, tall lady." he said, rolling his eye as Liriel crossed her arms and approached him. "Fool. You fool mon'keigh, Niko Armanen.. No good." she surprised Niko once more with how she was managing to remember some low Gothic words whenever she was irritated. It looks like it helped her, as Niko raised his eyebrow, and replied. "Oh yeah? As if you're any better in our situation. I offered to aid you. Therefore let's not take that for granted, shall we? You listen, to what I say.. Or should I finally test out my sharpened blade, knife ears?" he frowned deeply and asked as Liriel took her helmet off and lowered her head, leaning her face against his, while he leaned his face back at her, both of them growling, teeth clenching and trying to intimidate one another by keeping eye contact. The spirit of a human warrior and an Aeldari warrior.
In the meantime, however, their intimidating process was broken by the laughter of the wolf, who was howl-laughing while wagging his tail and clearly enjoying this moment. "Eh?" they both said in unison, before their faces went looking straight at Akila. "Shut it, Akila!" they said in unison in their own languages, as the wolf stood with his eyes widened for 3 seconds straight, and then resumed his laugh, much to the irritation of the two who realized they're not acting properly as even an animal was laughing at their behavior. Both of them dusted each other off, and locked their gazes once more as Akila slowed down his laughing.
"Anyway. I have to explain the situation as to what in the Emperor's name has been happening here." he said and pulled out his notebook from his pocket, drawing the town they were in right now as Liriel approached him closer, and he showed her the drawing, tapping his coal pen against it. "This is where we are." he pointed at her, and then at himself, before explaining further as she nodded. "Now.. These are the people." he drew many figures around the town, and then drew a long line that went straight to the edge of the notebook. "Gone." he said, and then waited for her to react. But to his disappointment, she simply looked at him, and shrugged. With a long sigh, he tried another approach.
Niko shoved his pen against the town, then at the long line stretching all the way to the edge of the paper, and then he drew the capital. "Everyone. Gone. They.. They go here." he tapped the capital and, only then, was she able to grasp his assumption. "This nuisance of not having proper communication has become a total nightmare.. It seems he is telling me that the mon'keigh left to their main city. Capital, to be precise." she told herself while examining his drawing, before leaning back a little bit, and think for a while. "This may as well be problematic.. the mon'keigh are flocking their capital for some unknown reasons it seems, which means it will be overly crowded and make it hard to do infiltration to the spaceport. Question is.. How exactly did he find that out?" she curiously asked this one simple question to herself, which was already taking a long bite of cautiousness within her. She knew there will be mistakes in this journey, but to what extent? Only the time would tell.
Within a sudden haste, Niko forced the helmet back on his head, and looked at her while reaching for the forgery's exit. "Are you coming?" his words echoed, and it took Liriel off of her daydreaming while she shook her head, turned towards him, and gave him a light nod, putting her helmet back on and walk out of the forgery completely with her human and furred companions. "How much more mysteries do we have to suffer from.. Isha. I feel totally lost." she told herself while staring at the ground, but resumed her gaze right up front, not willing to allow the thoughts to get ahead of her. "But then again. A warrior finds the way. Or builds it."
The human, Aeldari and the wolf resumed their walk outside the forgery, and crossed a few street paths of the town while looking around as Niko whistled to himself, assured that there was nobody in this town which was already pretty much empty. The aspect warrior held the compass in her hand and was trying to determine where exactly they should take the lead from here. The wolf, as usual, was simply following and keeping himself close to Niko. He still had to develop the same fondness he had with Niko, with the xeno to begin with. He was not foolish, but just an intelligent creature after all. "Hey. Akila." said Niko, as the wolf raised his head to look at him. "Catch!" he threw a piece of jerky at him from his backpack, as he managed to catch it between his teeth and chew it out, howling in happiness. "Gooood boooyy. You need to grow bigger and stronger after all, am I right?" he laughed softly and gave some petting to his furred friend while walking. Liriel was surely baffled.
"Another sign of how he adores his pet. This is an extreme rarity for my eyes, to see a literal member of a barbaric species acting so fondly towards what the nature has created. Usually, mon'keigh destroy everything in their path.. but no. Not him." she contemplated on this scenario, but nevertheless continued the marching, resuming her stare at the compass. ".. How did this thing work again?" and, it looks like she totally forgot the function of a simple little tool in her hands. "Come on, Liri, remember how it worked.. I can't ask him to show me again. This only makes me look like a complete and utter fool." she whispered and spent about 20 minutes walking from one street to another, before it eventually became a repetitive session, and Niko, noticing this, slowly looked at Liriel in a judgmental way.
"Seriously, Liriel? Is it so hard to ask me for help?" he frowned and asked, while crossing his arms and tapping his boot on the ground. Liriel, was definitely having a stubborn facial expression behind her helmet, before looking down at him and shaking her head. "Me know. Know where go.." she said, turning to her right, and then stepping in that exact direction. "Ahem, AAHHEEM." the sudden throat clearing from Niko forced her to stop and swiftly turn her head in annoyance, much to his own one. "We've been walking down that path for like 4 times. Let me show you how it works, for Kaleva's sakes." he rolled his eye and sighed deeply before facepalming and shaking his head, leaning his hand forward and literally asking her to give it to him.
Liriel detested him by smacking his hand away, and that was the last droplet. He raised his head and then tried to snap the compass out of her hands. "You're wasting time! Give it to me already!" she simply raised it higher as he tried to jump and snap it, but no success. Despite him being over 6 feet tall, the howling banshee, was still taller, with her being over 7 feet tall. And for a brief moment, this brought her a little bit of fun as she went from a frown to a deeper smirk behind the helmet.
Niko, being stubborn, clung onto her arm and still tried to snatch it from her, while the wolf merely sat on his paws and howl-laughed at this scene. "You truly do not know the word give up, do you, mon'keigh?" she asked him in her own language, before Niko was starting to fume. After few minutes, he stopped jumping, panted a little bit, and raised his head to look at her once more. "Enough taunting and mocking me, cheeky bitch.." he said, rubbing his forehead while taking his canteen and taking a few sips of water. As soon as he lowered his head, she already presented the compass to him, and he finally sighed out deeply, calmed down, and took it from her. "Thank you very much. Such a simple thing to do, and yet you-" but to no avail did his talking be able to be finished. Liriel already turned her back on him while he was trying to explain her behavior.
He literally watched in silence, twitched his eye and instead of wasting his nerves, decided to calm down instead. "Oh, by the Kalevan devils.. Ugh.." he said, and moved right next to her, again explaining the function of a compass while she watched. He did not sound too irritated and instead, explained it calmly. But nevertheless, she felt that he was quite triggered. "That's it, literally. Plain and simple." he said, and gave the compass back to her as she took it without saying much of anything, just being neutral. "The word strange does not fit for this human. How he acts is not something any human would be doing.. but I admit. I like seeing him annoyed and irritated." she admitted and grinned, before following the correct path by concentrating on the way of the compass.
The little group crossed a few streets of the town while still looking around and observing the structures and whatever else caught their attention. Niko was already feeling uneasy as he slowly picked up his walking pace, and by the looks of it, he wanted to get out of this Emperor forsaken place as quick as possible. After all, who could blame him? the sheer seriousness of this sudden "event" as he thought, was certainly strange, as his mind was clouded with the thoughts of whom these "guests" were supposed to be, let alone represent.
He was not too well-informed, but he understood that this was a very serious situation. "I swear by the god-Emperor, I do not know what in the bloody hell is going on out there in Xaroi. But surely it must be of dire importance if that slob of a governor is pulling everyone towards the capital. It must be crowded.. doesn't matter. Those thugs, will not leave these empty places in peace. Like ripe fruits ready for picking. It's best to cautiously move onward while everybody is distracted." he told himself and continued to walk, Liriel leading the way.
There was much to be questioned at the moment, as they all decided to depart the town and reach another paved path from the other side of the town. Liriel made hasty steps towards it, while Niko and Akila followed her. The question, however, still grew within Niko's mind wider and wider. "Nobility perhaps? They tend to travel around their systems to establish connections between their houses if it is in any way possible.. Kaleva taught me enough of what I had to know about this type of system. But surely, it must come with some insatiable purpose, seeing how often they make these visits. Pft, nobility.. what am I even saying." he huffed as he realized that talking about the nobility was pointless, as there would never be any equality between an ordinary citizen and that of a noble blood. Hierarchy would deny such things. But right now, it did not matter.
The path on the other side of the town was open and led them onward to the next section of the woods. Liriel threw the compass towards Niko, who managed to catch it, and hide it in his pocket for the time being. "Thanks, I guess? I am not sure if we should directly go through this path." he suggested, due to the fact that he saw the tracks of many vehicles and carriage animals on the pathway they were walking on, indicating that the inhabitants that were forced to go on foot, used this path to head towards the capital.
Liriel slowly turned her head around, and looked at him with a questioning shrug. "If you mean to tell me to be careful, mon'keigh, then your words are taken into the account. This is the only way we can continue our journey.." she told him in her language, leaving Niko slightly curious. "Uhhh.. I guess that was meant to be a sign of detesting? In that case, I won't say much.. Knife ears." he chuckled at the last word and continued to move onward.
The aspect warrior looked around her surroundings as they left the town, and entered the depths of the forests once more, with the path paved within them, which, as her human companion thought, was leading towards the capital. Niko in the meanwhile, got busy sinking his thoughts into his mind, whistling occasionally in the process. But he got bored by that and instead decided to draw something in his notebook, with Akila following by his side, and Liriel up front. "Hmmm. These landscapes are stuck in my mind, with those waterfalls especially, and with all the marvelous beauty they have.. This world is truly a gem in the void of the galaxy. I hope it never tastes war, if it has not tasted it already.." he said, and decided to draw in peace while walking on the path.
But as he placed his pen directly at the blank piece of paper, something caught him off guard. Akila was not near him as the corner of his eye realized it. "Huh?" he halted. "Liriel. Wait." she immediately turned around and saw him frozen on the spot, before she stopped, and turned around completely. In silence. "Why has he.." she said to herself, before immediately pointing behind him. He turned around instantly, and saw Akila staring directly up front. "Aki..? what is it, boy?" he raised an eyebrow and approached him, kneeling down to pet him. He did not react, and that caused him to be slightly disturbed. "Aki, what's the matter? What are you looking at?" Immediately after Niko said that, the pupils within Akila's eyes dilated, and he began to growl. Showing his sharp canine teeth.
Niko, immediately pulled his lasgun from his back and turned towards Liriel, who was already standing on the stance of readiness, with her sword unsheathed and firmly in her right hand. "Frak.. this is not a good sign. Liriel! He must have detected someth-" the young man said, breaking his talking as he looked at what the aspect warrior was doing at the moment. Within a sudden display of prowess, Liriel stabbed her sword's tip directly at the ground, bounced on the hilt of the sword with her boot, and leaped herself against the nearby tree with the uncanny speed of a fluid wind, hanging on the tree by holding onto its branch.
The word speechless was not something Niko would use to describe the athletic and flexible movements of the howling banshee. He was truly grasping the entire meaning of how the Aeldari were truly and utterly alien, but he had to admire her abilities. "... Holy Emperor, this xenos woman.." His jaw might have been wide open, but he shook his head quickly and concentrated on his surroundings, aiming his lasgun in all directions possible, while Liriel looked at the horizon up front. "The sun shines bright and it is hard to see the horizon.. Wait.. By the spirits, what is that?" she asked as there were some shiny things floating above the ground, approaching them from the far distance, and reflecting the sunlight like mirrors in the air.
Liriel immediately jumped down, grabbed her sword from the ground, and quickly ran towards Niko, who immediately lowered his lasgun and looked at her. "What- what did you see?" she gripped his arm tightly and pointed her sword towards the woods on their left, before she ran off immediately into it, followed by Akila while Liriel held Niko's arm and ran to the woods "Oh, by the Kalevan devils!" he cursed under his breath while sprinting away from the pathway.
They all ran for about a minute and laid low behind a rotting fallen tree, which was a great place to take cover. Niko placed his lasgun on top of it, and aimed it at all possible directions, especially the path up front, which was still visible to them. "What in the God-Emperor did you see, Liri?" he asked his alien companion, who merely ignored him and instead, concentrated on watching the paved path from their cover, with Akila staring from the side of the tree log. ".. Of course, she won't say a thing. What the frak is going on in here.." he scowled slightly and wanted to be informed. But he understood, that whatever the alien woman was doing, it was for their best interests. And she was Right.
After waiting for about two minutes, Niko, Akila and Liriel finally saw the "things" that she detected while hanging by the branch of a tree. They witnessed the arrival of a squad of servo-skulls of different types that were heading towards the town of Nello, the one they just departed from. They floated neatly above the ground, and by the looks of it, there were about 12 of them. "What are those things.. Some kind of machines with searching and exploring purposes?" Liriel did not know or understand what these things were, and she was forced to look at her human companion for any ideas of what they were supposed to be.
But Niko had a very serious and nervous stare on his face. She inspected him, and then shook him by the shoulder to get him out of that trance. "O-oh uh, sorry, sorry." he said and rubbed his eye before staring at her. "Servo-Skulls.. I do not know much about them except that they are some kind of probe devices used for many purposes. They seem to be heading to the town. Searching perhaps? I do not know, but.. It is best to not get caught by them. They might be armed or have lenses transmitting images to whoever controls them." he explained, taking a sip from his canteen while petting Akila for the good work of feeling their approach with his animalistic instincts.
"I.. I have absolutely no clue what he just said, but by the tone of his voice and length of his explanation, it is best to not let these, things.. Notice us." she whispered to herself, and kept staring at the path they just had to get off of. The servo-skulls floated smoothly forward, and all Liriel and Niko, and their furred companion had to do, was to let them pass without any disturbance. What could possibly go wrong?
Many things.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, from the backs of the entire group, came a sudden noise of something clicking rapidly, and all 3 immediately turned around. It was another servo-skull with a camera-like device called "Pict-Recorder" attached to its mouth, and Niko immediately felt his heart drop after it made a few clicking noises.
However, it was immediately sliced in half by the speedy and swift action of Liriel's sword, which cut it like butter into two, and the two pieces fell onto the ground instantly. "Oh good Emperor's grace, thank you.. How the frak did this bastard sneak up on us?" he angrily uttered out of his lips, frowning at his misfortune while kneeling down to inspect the destroyed servo-skull. "Lenses of transmission.. I pray that it did not manage to send any images back to whoever is in control of these things." he said and then immediately turned towards Liriel. "We really have to speed up. That path is not safe anymore." he said in all seriousness.
Liriel in the meanwhile, cleaned her sword with her loincloth from all that oily substance and then looked at him thoroughly, tilting her head and pointing at the servo-skull that was cut in half. "You do not understand, and so I will explain. We are in DEEP trouble if we stay here. Is that enough?" he said and pointed directly to the path, shaking his head, before pointing right up front in the woods, and nodding afterwards. "Is he speculating that we may have been exposed and that it's not safe to stay on that path..? if that is the case, staying in the woods is our best option for the time being." she nodded towards him, which earned a light smile on his face.
He immediately began to walk in a speedy fashion straight onward, with the woods acting as a perfect way of sealing themselves from open eyes. Liriel followed him by his side, and so did Akila. "I have to thank your pet for saving us from trouble once more, mon'keigh. Truly a wonderful creature of the nature. But try to hurry up." she said while speeding up herself, and then just running past him as Niko was about to reply, but yet again, even his pet was faster than him and was staying next to Liriel.
Niko realized that despite the annoyance burning within him, he had to run, and run as much as his strength could allow him to, while strapping his lasgun on his back. Liriel knew, and so did Akila, that they were faster than the clumsy human, but it surely made them both grin at the thought of having to make him run with all the items he was carrying. Already sweating on his forehead, he growled and kept running after adjusting his eye patch.
"Can you two not see the amount of stuff I am carrying?!"
Two hours earlier...
Xaroi, the capital of Merlorian.
Spaceport, landing pad.
Xaroi. The most important city of Merlorian, and its capital. The spot that is the most active on the entire planet. Under the stage of industrialization, it was the only place on the entire world that looked relatively modernized, so to speak, although still under development. The landing pads were visible to the pilots of the shuttles carrying Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos and his crew members, alongside the squad of Inquisitorial stormtroopers led by Sergeant Tarn.
"This is Inquisitorial Shuttles on the Comms. Requesting an immediate landing permit on the spaceport. I repeat, requesting an immediate landing permit." said the pilot of the first shuttle, meddling with a few buttons and carefully controlling his bird.
"Inquisitorial shuttles. You are authorized to land over the pad numbers 1551 and 1552. The governor is waiting for you at the bridge. The Emperor protects." the command center replied, and the pilot gave a little briefing to the passengers. "To all on board, we are landing. Inquisitor, should we carry cautiousness with us, my lord?" asked the pilot. "Negative, captain. Keep your flight guard systems turned on in case there are any hostilities." he replied while approaching the shuttle's cargo door and holding onto the hull. "Understood, my lord."
The two shuttles were slightly shaking while making a safe landing. Adrian, his ever so loyal acolyte, was near him all the time, and this was not an exception. "My lord. I assume you are going to use every method available to us to complete our goals?" asked Adrian, who checked his laspistol and plasma pistol, locking and loading them properly before holstering. "Your presumptions do not fail you, I see. Indeed, I am. That is the authority given to us. We pull the rotten roots from the fertile grounds of the Imperium so that they do not contaminate it." he told him calmly, before the engines shut off completely, and Oleos pushed the button on his ear. "Sergeant Tarn, report."
"My lord, we are ready and steady as always and awaiting your orders." he replied in the comms, before the cargo door unleashed a loud hiss and was slowly opening up, with the sunlight striking the faces of the crew members. "Join us, Sarge, and keep an eye on your surroundings in case we are to expect treachery." he told him, in a serious tone. "As you will it, my lord." replied Tarn, and they all waited for the shuttle's cargo door to open up.
Both doors dropped, with a heavy blow, and the Inquisitor was met with an image of the governor standing 20 meters away from the landing pad of the Inquisitor's shuttle, with the second shuttle on the other side of the platform. He stood with his cane, surrounded by office members and bureaucrats, planetary defense force officers, and personal bodyguards. Governor Harik Vivon, had a bionic eye, and a white wig with a luxurious robe to represent his authority over the subjects of Merlorian. Oleos was the first to walk down, followed by acolyte Adrian, the rest of the acolytes, tech priests and the crew members of his ship. On the other side of the platform, was Sergeant Tarn with 10 elite members of the Tempestus Scions, which were led by Tarn himself and making a steady march to join their inquisitor.
Inquisitor walked forward on the platform to meet the governor himself. He eyed the governor thoroughly, who stood still and reassured of his safety, with how many bodyguards he needed to keep his sorry ass protected.
"Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos. It is an honor to meet you, my lord." he said, striking the ground with his cane, keeping his eyes on Oleos. On his right, was a man in his 40s with his hands behind him, standing tall and firmly in an attention pose. Governor Vivon introduced him next. "This is General Luka Urslov of our planetary defense forces." he explained. "At your service, my inquisitor." The general said with a light nod, which Oleos returned before looking around thoroughly and inspecting everyone that was in front of him, taking into account the high level of security that Vivon had under his belt.
"I am inquisitor Kaidan Oleos of the Ordo Xenos. And this is my acolyte, Adrian. I have come here with a purpose that I would like to be kept anonymous and private. Governor Vivon.. By the power given to me by the Inquisitorial Seal, I have something to discuss with you. And it is best to do it in private. Lead us somewhere where only we can talk." he explained and ordered him with a serious tone of voice and facial expression, frowning lightly due to the fact that he saw through this governor at how incompetent he in fact is looking right now. Nothing new for Kaidan, for he has seen many like him.
"As you wish, my lord, however.." he detested and showed signs of protest while frowning back towards him the same way he did. "As I hope you understand, I want my General to be present with me at all times. And at least one bodyguard. Again, I hope you understand my precautions." said the governor, while awaiting the response from the Inquisitor, who merely sighed softly and gave a nod of approval. "You may take such action. Now, do not waste our precious time and lead us somewhere private. Me, my acolyte and my troopers will accompany me." He told him in a serious manner.
Vivon turned around and gestured them to follow him. The wide gates opened up, and they all entered an enormous elevator, which slowly but surely went down within the tap of a button by the governor's bodyguard. Sergeant Tarn and his elites had their trigger fingers steadily at their right spots, and looked around for anything suspicious. The bodyguards of the governor, did the same until they eventually faced each other in a staring contest of mistrust, while the governor and his closest members, were staring forward, alongside Inquisitor Oleos and acolyte Adrian.
A loud hiss and a slight shake was felt when the elevator reached its descent. The gates slowly opened up, and the sunlight shined straight at all their faces as everybody turned forward. "Welcome to Merlorian, Inquisitor." said Vivon, before walking out with his staff and bodyguards, followed by the Inquisitor and his members.
Inquisitor Oleos looked at his surroundings, and saw the masses, or the common folk, celebrating his arrival. The merchants flooded the city, and welcomed the Inquisitor and his retinue with a warm welcome of cheers. He frowned deeply and was about to say something, before the Governor Vivon cut him off. "They think you are a royalty, my Inquisitor. They do not know who you truly are. Do not be alarmed, please." he explained, before Oleos gave out the initial answer. "Hm. In that case, you are well-prepared for sudden guests, I see. Smart.. And well calculated." he said, and Adrian saw the governor smirk as his lips widened slightly, thinking that he was able to fool the Inquisitor so easily. Foolish scum indeed, Adrian thought.
"My lord.." Adrian got close and whispered to him. "Should i commence the plan "Axtramus"?" Oleos immediately nodded without saying a word, before Adrian pressed the button on his comms. "Tech-Priest Garan. Unleash the squadron of servo-skulls in all directions under surveillance. Keep the signals in check, and report to me of any problems or anomalies." he silently explained, before the reply came right into his ear. "By the will of the Omnissiah, acolyte Adrian. Releasing the scouts of the machine god. Await for any reports, Tech-Priest Garan out." and with that, Adrian stuck close to his Inquisitor while the masses threw flowers and other celebratory stuff into the air and at the ground they walked through. The city was intensively alive today, and it was exactly what Oleos expected, and needed.
The entire retinue walked down the main street of Xaroi, and Vivon led them through one street to another, being coated in flower petals and flowers being thrown by the cheering masses, while Vivon continued to lead them to a huge building, which looked to be the governor's palace. Oleos, ever so full of attention, caught the glimpses of the planetary defense forces. They were literally thugs, and nothing more. "General Urslov. Do you mind explaining the efficiency of your planetary militia? they look like normal people who felt too much power after you gave them weapons. Where is the discipline with these thugs?" he asked, while scowling at the sight, especially since he saw many of them drunk as hell and walking at what seemed to be brothel streets. "They might be scum to your eyes, my lord, but I control them. My word is what they obey, and my wrath is what they fear. Plus, it is a celebration of your arrival. Even they find themselves indulging in what the civilians do." he told him with a slight laugh.
Oleos was unsatisfied and scoffed at such a thought, frowning nevertheless and sighing deeply. "As long as they know how to shoot at the enemy and not act foolishly." came out of his lips. "Oh worry not, my lord. I have everything under control." said General Luka Urslov, while taking puffs from his smoking pipe.
After a short while, they reached the palace-like building, which was the place of dwelling for the slob of a governor, his staff, and the rest of the main figures. Governor Vivon appeared right at the gates, and then, a servitor arrived at the gates, demanding authorization. "Securityyy. Servitooor. X-5-A-0-2-X. Of. The. Governor's protectiooooon. Service. Identifyyy. Yourseeelf." the "thing" said in a robotic, yet human male voice while its arms were replaced with autoguns. "Governor Harik Vivon of the world Merlorian. Code 5256. Protocol - ZX411" he replied, while the servitor then began to scan him as an extra measure, and then stepped back, opening the gates to him immediately. "Welcome. Baaack. Governoooor." it said and Vivon entered the gates, and walked up the stairs made from marble.
The entire retinue followed him, before the guards who guarded the main doors, saluted the governor, and opened the doors for him and the group behind him. "Welcome to our main office building, Inquisitor. Feel yourself at home, you, and your members. But now.. Follow me to my office, please." he gestured, then headed straight towards the stairs right in front of him. Oleos and his group took the notice of the halls. They had enormous pillars made from white marble and obsidian, and had the Imperial markings carved onto them. Long, black carpets covered the floor and it looked like the Governor lived in quite excess no matter what. Oleos stared at the ceiling and saw multiple chandeliers hanging from it. Crafted from silver crystals.
"What a lavish lifestyle this bastard lives in.." Oleos said, in his thoughts, while observing every detail of the governor's habitat. He already realized that Vivon was a greedy bastard and that his attempt to fool him with the fake smiles and the manipulation of his people was just an attempt to reassure him that things were going okay. Little did they know, that Oleos did not buy any of it. He was just making sure that the governor trusted him enough, and he would play a fool just to achieve his Inquisitorial goals.
"My lord. This entire structure is heavily guarded, and none of these militia members look like they have any discipline or follow the rules of the PDF." whispered Adrian, before Oleos nodded. "The governor's greed has already defeated the purpose of the militia, my acolyte. It's easy to spend fewer funds and resources when you take a peasant and give him a weapon, after telling him to serve you. He will be your loyal dog and swim in the pools of power, until it eventually kills him. These are scum, nothing more." he replied back, while General Urslov took a few puffs of his pipe and frowned unhappily. It seems like he heard their conversation, but did not dare to protest the Inquisitorial authority.
They went to the second floor, and turned right, walking in the second hall with the guards standing at the doors far ahead. The windows were colorful, and depicted some historical events from the Imperial history. Be it the Adeptus Astartes, the Imperial Guard, or even the Ecclesiarchy itself. All fighting against the enemies of mankind. Oleos still did not react to the governor's attempts at flattering him, as he saw multiple individuals carrying different sorts of foods into the dining hall somewhere in the building. The looks on the faces of the servants, clearly indicated fatigue and some way of abuse. Oleos ignored it and kept going. Adrian however, disliked such sightings.
The wide doors opened up, and Vivon turned around in front of his office. "Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos." he said before putting both his hands on his cane. "Me and my General are ready to answer your questions. You, and your assistant, are the only ones allowed to be present. Your troopers will have to wait here." Vivon said, and Sergeant Tarn got next to his Inquisitor with a scowl. "That is unacceptable." he detested, while the bodyguards on the other side of the entire group, had their fingers at their triggers. Oleos was next to reply. "Tarn. Stand down. Stay behind these doors. No one is allowed to enter." he proclaimed, and Tarn nodded in hesitation, before Oleos turned around and entered the governor's office. "Come with me, Adrian."
"Yes, my lord." Both Inquisitor, and his acolyte, walked into his office, and the guards shut the door completely. Vivon walked to his seat at a long table, and sat down, before putting his arms on the table, while General Urslov stood at his left. The entire room was tightly sealed and soundproof, so no one but them were aware of the conversation that was about to happen. Kaidan sat down opposite of the governor, and lit up a cigar that he took from his pocket, staring straight into the soul of the governor without a single blink, with Adrian standing next to him without a single movement.
"What truly brought you here, my lord? I am in all ears." he asked, and waited for his response. Oleos took a puff, and leaned a bit forward while putting his elbow at the table, staring at him thoroughly. "Are you that incompetent, governor?" he asked him instead, while seeing how nervous and anxious he felt in front of the Inquisitor. Vivon frowned and leaned forward himself. "What is this accusation you are bestowing upon me, Kaidan Oleos?"
"Inquisitor Oleos, filth." came from the lips of Adrian who was already feeling annoyed with the governor's bullshit acting. The governor's eyes flashed with fear. Oleos did not detest his acolyte, because such disrespect was not taken lightly within the Ordo. "I will ask you again. Are you so incompetent that you are not in control of what happens on your world, Governor Vivon?" he asked while taking another puff, which left the confused governor's jaw slightly open as he did not know what he was talking about, or what he was accusing him of.
"My apologies... Inquisitor Oleos. I do not understand what you are accusing me of." he replied as Oleos inspected his behavior. He realized that he truly does not know how to watch over the planet that he governs. Oleos took another puff and frowned once more. "We have detected a xenos presence in this sector. All the signals were being emitted from your planet alone before it disappeared in a swift motion." Within an instant, the facial expression of General Urslov changed into a deep scowl. Vivon's eye widened as he started to stutter slightly, while his bionic eye clearly got brighter.
"X..Xeno p-presence- but that- that is not p-possible, my lord!" the governor was clearly showing signs of confusion, but also the signs of fear. Oleos looked into his eyes and realized that he truly did not know anything about this phenomenon either. "The Emperor is my judge if you think of me as a liar, Inquisitor. But I have not been informed of anything of that sort, I swear to you! I have no reason to lie.." For Oleos, it seemed like his incompetence was brighter than ever at this exact moment. With an accusing finger, he pointed at him.
"You." and then, he tapped the table with his finger. "You are utterly incompetent and a useless slob. A sad excuse for an Imperial official. You shame your people with your stench alone! How exactly do you expect to have an efficiently running guard and a watch over your world, when I can clearly see how you treat your subjects in a state of frozen, undeveloped state, and fear? Turning common citizens into scum by allowing the greed to grip their rotten hearts.. Feed them power, and they will follow.. Is that how the words go? That is your policy?" His tone of voice was clearly in the state of frustration. After all, who could truly blame Kaidan for scolding the greedy bastard?
As Vivon was on the verge of shitting his pants, Oleos continued the scolding, while Adrian was slowly smirking. "You allowed your greed to get ahead of you, governor. Instead of developing a system of properly trained planetary defense forces and the internal structures of this Imperial world, you, instead.. Decided to spend all that potential to your own selfish and lavish desires. Your act of faking the satisfaction of your citizens instead of admitting your mistakes is truly an act of shame and a clear sign of incompetence." he said while Vivon rubbed his forehead from the accumulating sweat. "My lord.. I don't-" and instantly, Oleos slammed his fist on the table, forcing General Urslov to grip the hilt of his sidearm, while Adrian did the same.
"Do, NOT, Interrupt me, ever again, governor." growled Oleos, while Vivon, literally, felt his soul escaping from his rear as he turned white and began to slightly shake. "Your luck is running thin, Harik Vivon" he said while taking another calm puff, before continuing. "The xenos were present on this world, governor. And you allowed them to slip in and walk in your territory. On top of that, you allowed them to disappear. You should be ashamed of yourself. Tell me this, however. Did you make the deal with the devil?" And instantly, Vivon exploded as he tried to find excuses and cower further.
"I will NOT accept such accusation from anybody! You are on MY world, accusing me of dealing with the vile xenos?! Outrageous, and unacceptable!" He said this while he stood up and slammed his palms against the table. As he held his hands on the table, however, General Urslov spoke out. "Milord. Contain yourself immediately if you do not want to lose your position and power." General said, while his face was clearly showing disturbance from the words of Oleos that there were xenos on the planet. He really hated this news. "Wise advice from your general, governor. I suggest you take it." Oleos replied before taking another puff. This time, he spoke calmly after scolding him and forcing him into the corner.
Vivon sat down and looked at him, with a nervous and frustrated expression. "I am not that low, Inquisitor.. and you have absolutely no proof to back up your claim." he said, frowning madly at Oleos, who just calmly stared at him before finally closing his eyes, and opening them after two seconds. He diverted his eyes towards the senior officer. "General Urslov. Do you have anything to say about this?"
General Urslov continued to show dissatisfaction about these news. He began to talk after a minute of silence. "My inquisitor. I can understand that the governor failed your expectations, but he is the only one capable of holding the masses intact.. there is no need, to remove him from his position at the moment. You can, however, ease his punishment as you see fit. As for these news.. It is humiliating, and devastating." Urslov said while holding his smoking pipe. Oleos raised his eyebrow, and looked down at Vivon who was clearly thankful for his advisor. "So be it, then."
Oleos stood up and then looked down at the governor once more. "By the authority given to me by the Inquisitorial Seal, I order you to stay in this town and not to leave its parameters. Keep your thugs in tact and guard every important piece that exists here. We will root out this alien threat, no matter where its hiding. One good piece of advice to you, governor Vivon. Do not stand in our path, and you might live and serve your pitiful purpose.. Make one mistake, and you will be given to the Mechanicus for the servitor's program" The governor was bitter and angry, but the warning truly instilled an everlasting fear in him. His teeth clenched as his vein on the forehead looked like it was going to pop at any given minute, but he had no other choice but to accept his proposal out of pure fear alone.
"As... you... wish... my, lord, inquisitor Oleos." he said, feeling how humiliation was dripping off of him. He reeked of it, and they all felt it. "This talk, is over. Keep your city and its masses under control, while we investigate this world thoroughly." he turned around and was ready to depart. "Inquisitor, wait!" the voice of General Urslov was heard as he made few steps towards him.
"Inquisitor.. I would like to join your entourage, even if temporarily. I am a General of the planetary militia. Furthermore, I should not be sitting idle while the filthy xenos walk on my turf that I should be protecting." he explained to him as Oleos turned his head towards him. He smirked with a slight cackle and gave a light nod of approval. "It looks like you are tired of rusting under the sun, General. Very well. You have access to the resources we may require. You are welcome to join our cause." he replied, and General Urslov grinned with pride. "We serve the God-Emperor, my lord!" he saluted, and Oleos nodded once. "As do we, General, as do we."
"What- you snake! Vermin! Traitor! You are supposed to serve me! I pay and provide for you with everything you desire!" Vivon was yelling. The Inquisitor did not even require any methods of torture to humiliate and break him. He already took from the governor what he obviously needed to be deemed a ruler - control over Merlorian.
Now, he was just the governor of the city of Xaroi, not of the whole world. It was obvious why he was angry right now. "I never swore or pledged loyalty to you, worm." said the General, who snapped and got tired of tolerating him for so long. "We swore and pledged loyalty to the God-Emperor and the Imperium. Inquisitor Oleos speaks the Emperor's word. You speak the word of corruption. Sit down before I execute you for incompetence, and be thankful that I spoke on your behalf, filth." he spoke more seriously now, as his voice continued to be calm, but it was cold and calculated.
Vivon quickly widened his eye and sat back down, staring at the floor. Defeated, completely. "Happy governing, Vivon." said Oleos, before the General opened the doors, and stayed there, waiting for the Inquisitor as the bodyguards, office staff and the stormtroopers were confused. Oleos walked out, followed by many whispers from the staff members of the governor. Now, he was being followed not only by Adrian, but also by the General of the planetary militia. Sergeant Tarn, did not show confusion himself, and ordered his men to stand firm. "Atteeeention!" he yelled, and the stormtroopers stood at an attention pose in front of their Inquisitor, who approached them, while the bodyguards and the staff members were going after their governor.
"My lord. Nothing exceptional happened while you were busy. However, if i may ask.. Why is the General.." Tarn was clearly suspicious while eyeing him. He raised his eyebrow, and Oleos merely laughed at his assumptions. "General Urslov has joined us and will help us with our endeavor. It's that simple when you are charismatic, Daniel." he explained, before Tarn blinked a few times and shook his head quickly after processing what he just had to hear from Oleos. "As long as he aids us, my lord. We are ready for your orders." he said. "Good, very good.. Let us return to the space port!"
"Yes, my lord. Men! Follow the Inquisitor." he ordered, and they all got into a proper line and followed Oleos as he was going downstairs and straight towards the door. He turned his eye, and saw the fading image of the governor sobbing at the table, being comforted by his office members and bodyguards, before comically pushing them aside and weeping further.
Oleos turned his head forward and then spoke. "General Urslov. What do you have in your reserves to spare me?" General took a few puffs of his pipe, and looked at him from behind. "My lord. I truly waited for someone to put the governor in his place under the authority of the Imperial High Command, but you got here and did it in less than an hour, hah. Either way, my lord, while he refused to aid me in turning the militia into a formidable force, I have been able to train about a few thousand men and women so far. We have 10 chimeras, 3 Leman Russ battle tanks, 2 Hellhounds and.. About 15 sentinels armed with diverse weapon systems. Then, obviously, a few Valkyries for transportation." he explained.
The Inquisitor was rather amused. He clearly expected the General to be slacking and showing hidden incompetence, but he was in fact doing his job decently enough, and Kaidan pretty much respected that. He valued individuals who knew how to do their jobs. He did not, under any circumstances, tolerate incompetence. "You do not lack the knowledge of being a proper officer, I see. Very good. Your assets will be needed." he finished and continued his calm walk, while feeling the success of his first steps being completed with full efficiency and without any errors. Adrian stepped in and wanted to have a little chat.
"My lord.. this is pretty unexpected. You basically charmed the general. On top of that, he broke the slobby governor into pieces. And yet you are only a newly appointed Inquisitor. How is this possible?" Oleos laughed in amusement at his flattering. "Surrounding me with compliments, are you, my acolyte?" he smiled lightly while looking at him. "I teach you how to use the power of the tongue to the full extent, rather than the power of my sidearm.. it is best to use our talents, to deal with our enemies and lower their guard for a strike. If that does not work? Use the necessary tools to complete your task. That is my policy." he told him with pride, and grinned.
Adrian couldn't help but feel proud of his Inquisitor's abilities. "By the God-Emperor, Inquisitor.. You are truly a gifted individual." he told him, before Oleos laughed once more and stayed silent, leading the entire retinue towards the space port after pretty much owning the one who ruled the world.
"Agent Adrian, come in, quickly!" the buzzing was heard right into Adrian's ear as he immediately held his comm button, and began to hear the voice of Garan, who was their tech-priest. "What is it, Garan? Teport.." he waited for the initial reply, before it came immediately.
"I lost the signal with the 8th servo-skull somewhere at the north-eastern part of the world. I am currently accumulating the coordinates from the holo map to determine the exact location. Our ship is running the initial scanning of the entire biosphere and ecosystem of the planet in the meantime. Just a bit more time is needed. However, the servo skull managed to transfer a very blurred image into our data systems before initially being destroyed.. by the Omnissiah, agent Adrian, this is not a good sign. Our machinery is trying to sharpen and visualize the image as accurately as possible. I need you and the Inquisitor back at the landing pad immediately. There is no time to discuss anything else. Return to the space pad right now. Garan out."
And with those words, Adrian got incredibly alarmed, and then whispered something to his Inquisitor, before the calm and charming expression of Oleos, turned into a rather frowny unsatisfaction, and he was forced to halt his walk, with the entire group following his example. "Are you very certain about this, Adrian?" he asked him.
"My lord, I trust Garan.. he is not a fool. The uninvited guests may still be showing their presence in the world where we do not see them." he said, and Oleos immediately picked up the pace of his walk, hastily going towards the elevator while avoiding the masses that were crowding the city itself. "Everybody, quick!" he said, and the entire group got into the elevator before it began its ascent, going straight to the top floor as everybody kept their silence without saying a single word. The reason being? the charismatic Inquisitor Oleos, was looking rather distressed and serious at the moment. They all knew that he was a strict, but fair Inquisitor. However, in a situation like this, they all knew there was something serious going on. Adrian, Tarn, his men and other crew members. All of them were on high alert. The general unfortunately, did not pay it any heed.
Xaroi, Space port. Landing pad of the Inquisitorial expedition.
The elevator hissed as soon as they reached the top. Inquisitor Oleos walked out first and foremost, before the group followed in a perfect line as he saw the equipment placed into action at the landing pad, personally led by Tech-Priest Garan himself. "Garan. What's the commotion?" the tech priest stood up from his kneeling position and looked at him, with his robe fully covering him, and mechadendrites coming out from his shoulders. "Inquisitor, blessed be the Omnissiah. The 8th servo skull was destroyed, in the north-west near the mountains." he said, and Oleos nodded lightly before holding his chin.
"Any ideas of who might have done this? What about the image? Adrian says you are processing it." Garan looked at one of his cogitators and tapped a few buttons in a swift motion, before the monitor showed an image in which pixels were slowly being loaded into a clear picture. "This image is our only source of the answer you are seeking, Inquisitor. Let the Omnissiah bless the circuits of this machine to fasten the process." he said, and looked at him once again.
"The rest of the squadrons are completely in tact and have not noticed anything suspicious or interesting in particular, but they still have a job to do. This world is closer to being a paradise due to its nature, I have to say. However, we all know that looks can be deceiving. Omnissiah, preserve us for making any errors." As he talked to the Inquisitor, Adrian was the next to talk.
"Aeldari. I am very certain about it. This world is lush and looks too pure to be true. In the context of the xenos history, they used to call worlds like these "Maiden worlds". So I would not be surprised if the invader was nobody else than the Aeldari." he explained while staring at the holo map, as it loaded the coordinates. "That is a huge possibility. Magos did say that there were signals of Eldar activity here, specifically of their craftworld. What did they forget here?" Oleos spoke, while Garan shrugged and didn't know the answer.
Suddenly, the cogitator began to beep. All three individuals had their stares directed straight at the monitor. "Thank the Omnissiah for this blessing! The image is.." As he stood still, something silenced him. As his back was facing both individuals who looked at each other, Garan wasn't speaking much. He just stood still. "Garan?" asked Adrian. "Garan, the image is what-"
Garan was quick to interrupt him. ".. The image is ready. However, it is better if you take a look at it yourselves." he said in a slight sinister tone, and stepped aside for Oleos and Adrian to get closer and take a look, which they did. Oleos leaned forward, grabbing the monitor by leaning against the cogitator with his hands, and stood there, leaning down for over a minute straight, while Adrian loyally watched his Inquisitor's back. The image, itself, had static waves running across it. However, it looked like, when it was destroyed, it tried its best to take the last, single image after it was taken down. By miracle alone, it somehow managed to send one back to Garan.
Oleos noticed that the picture had a figure on it. Particularly, two figures. One's upper torso was visible, but not the head. It was covered in the static wave. However, next to him, was a figure who was definitely tall. Oleos recognized the helmet, and immediately frowned at the sight. "Inquisitor. What do you see, my lord? I cannot determine the image itself from here." Adrian asked. "You were not wrong, my acolyte.. Correct observation. That is a Howling Banshee. One of the aspect warriors from the Aeldari Craftworlds." he explained, stepping back until Adrian immediately leaned forward to take a look. He gritted his teeth before slapping the cogitator and staring at the horizon. "Accursed XENOS!"
Kaidan held his arms folded, and immediately looked at Garan while Adrian held his head. He was frustrated for the fact that so many human worlds were lacking so much protection and defenses. "Tech-Priest Garan. The coordinates. Give me the dataslate." he ordered, and Garan nodded while getting busy with his task. Oleos approached Adrian next, and looked at the horizon next to him. The charming autumn sky of blue and its clouds were truly beautiful. "Do not fall into despair, Adrian. It never ends well." he said. "My lord. Why did you not allow me to shoot that piece of shite governor right in his rotten head?" he asked while staring at him in a slight frown.
Oleos continued to look forward and, just as the time had it, was not showing any reactions whatsoever. "Depriving ourselves of useful assets, no matter how bad they may be, is an error we cannot afford, Adrian. Sooner or later, the Emperor's justice will be delivered. Right now, focus, and find calmness within your heart." he told him in a calm, but a strict manner. Adrian always looked up to his mentor, and this time was no exception. He took a deep breath, and looked at him, turning his head right. "As you command, my Inquisitor." Oleos nodded once. "Excellent. Now, we have a great task at hand."
The Inquisitor turned to Garan who was busy with his cogitators while the mechadendrites were fixing something. "Garan. Report of anything you may find through the servo-skulls. I do not give a damn what it might be. Report it to me or Adrian." he ordered him with full authority. "As you wish, my lord. May the Omnissiah watch over us all." he replied, turning his head back to the monitor. "Adrian, follow me."
General Luka Urslov, who was leaning against a small pillar block, didn't really show any concern. "Inquisitors.. they operate the way they see fit. If there is something I learned before finding all these scoundrels over here.. Is that no matter what authority you may have, there will always be someone or something whose authority is higher than yours. There were, or are, filthy xenos intruders on this world. My world. My duty is to protect it from any threats. And that governor's incompetence allowed them to slip in." he told himself, while scowling in disgust at the level of violation done by the intruders. And he was right to keep his talk in private.
"The messy situation will never come off as easy, but we are lucky that this Inquisitor Oleos reacted fast, and accordingly. He has shown himself to be a charismatic and an exceptional investigator, interrogator and the agent of the God-Emperor. We are true to following him and his path, no matter the differences." he said in his mind, while taking another puff of his pipe and stare at the ground.
"General Urslov." Oleos said while approaching him. He hid his pipe and stood in full attention. "Yes, my lord?"
"Come with me to the holo map. I have an important task to assign you for." he explained, and Urslov nodded as Oleos turned around, and the General followed him. Adrian was about to follow, but the Inquisitor cut him off while staring forward. "Only me and Urslov, Adrian. Stay here and relax for the time being." Adrian's jaw was slightly open, but he closed it fully afterwards. "Understood, my Inquisitor." he replied, and obeyed. Adrian sighed once again and leaned against the pillar block. "From the dangers of the abyss, Emperor, deliver us.." he prayed silently while distracting his mind from the current situation they were facing. It did indeed help him.
In the meantime, Inquisitor Oleos, and General Urslov, were busy discussing the planning. Urslov stared at the holo map that Garan has stacked up, and, as always, was smoking his pipe while Oleos explained the planning entirely. "General. I want you to take your best men and women that you have under your command, your most experienced warriors, and put them in squads to each road around this sector over here." he explained while pointing at the holo map of the world as a globe.
"Hm. That is not a problem, my lord. However.." Urslov took a puff of his pipe. "I still want to ask. What do you think they are trying to do?" Oleos looked at him and saw that his rank was well-earned. A lazy and incompetent officer would have not been asking good questions. "It is good that you ask that, general. If my observations are correct, the xenos individual here is rather deadly. According to our Ordo, they have swords that can slice the power armor of an Astartes." he explained, then continued.
"They are devilishly fast, precise, and swift.. And very deadly when they get close to you. That is not the worst, general. They have specifically designed amplifiers in their helmets. Right where the mouth is supposed to be, looking like a vox-cast device.. But these amplifiers unleash a scream so malevolent and heinous, that it ruptures your eardrums and sends your body into a shocking pain. They are not going to be stuck in the woods of this world, general. I believe they are trying to reach this city, and find a way to get in touch with their kinsmen in order to escape. It makes sense, because this is the only place that we can call developed and industrialized. This, we cannot allow." Oleos explained, while Urslov frowned upon hearing such words.
"Disgusting xenos.. It is best to know who your enemy is. I still do not understand. How is it possible that there is only one individual? Where are the rest?" he asked in all seriousness, while Oleos shook his head. "I have absolutely no knowledge of that. Yet. But that is why my first job is to scout and search, if I'm being generous. On top of that, we are facing a xenos elite by all possibilities. But we have greater numbers and a mightier force. With our combined efforts, if one group finds this xenos vermin, everyone will be alerted and directed to that exact location." Oleos finished, and Urslov replied. "I promise you, my Inquisitor, with all my honor and valor. This scum will not escape, nor will anybody else in this world. We will find them." he said, in a short and precise manner.
Oleos was quite impressed with the stoicism the General was showing. Quick and efficient way, but a bit too naive. "You are a well deserving General, Luka Urslov. But do not forget one thing. I want this individual alive. At all costs. Wound it, and capture it. Do not kill it, for I want to find out the truth. I am not a puritan, and I do my tasks believing that they are for the greater benefit of us all. In this case, we cannot sit and just question the unknown. It is a blind effort whatsoever." Oleos explained to him, to which the General nodded, hid his pipe and stood in full attention with his hands behind him.
"I understood you loud and clear, my lord. I ask permission to leave and rally my warriors for their task, as well as apply vehicles to accompany them. As for the militia, I shall concentrate their efforts within this single city alone, so that the populace doesn't panic and end up in a total mess. Would you agree?" he asked Oleos who just merely nodded. "You have permission to do your job as you see fit, General Urslov. Your main task, is to not allow this xenos to pass you by. We cannot allow them to reach this city, at all costs."
General Urslov was about to leave after nodding towards him. He made about 4 steps, but then stopped and turned around to face the Inquisitor with a curious question. "Inquisitor. Why are you not saying "It", but "Them"? is there something you're not telling me?" Oleos slowly turned his calm gaze towards the general, who, indeed, was not stupid or foolish. Oleos sighed deeply, closed his eyes, and then opened them, gazing straight into the General's soul.
"The xenos is not alone.. I still cannot imagine it. There is a second individual accompanying the xenos. I only managed to notice the feet and torso of that person. The static covered the face. However, I can tell you this, General... that individual, does not look like a xeno." he said in a grim tone while frowning deeply and staring at the marble floor. General was confused even further, not understanding what he meant by saying that there is another individual, who was not a xeno. "..In..Inquisitor. What are you implying?"
"I am not implying anything, General. I am simply saying that the xenos is not alone. There are two of them. I just do not know who the second one is. It does not matter. Get rid of whoever is accompanying the xenos, but deliver it to me, as I only need one member alive. Do I make myself clear?" he asked, and the general saluted. "Yes, my lord."
"Go now. Do your job, General. We cannot afford unfortunate events." Oleos told him. The general quickly ran to the elevator to do his most important task of his lifetime. "Inquisitor?" Adrian asked, who already approached his Inquisitor from behind. "Ah, my acolyte. There is-"
"Inquisitor!" came the voice of Garan suddenly from the Inquisitor's side as he swiftly turned towards him. "What's the rush, tech-priest?" he asked and Garan was simply busy staring at his cogitators. "Come here and take a look. Servo-skulls have made some.. Unappealing, discoveries." he explained as Oleos approached him from behind, and Garan stepped aside. Inquisitor leaned forward, and looked at the multiple images that were constantly appearing on the screens. He observed, and examined each of them, and his face, said it all. He was really unhappy. "My lord? what is bothering you?" asked Adrian, who, no matter what, stood beside his Inquisitor. His teacher, his mentor, and personally, a father figure.
Oleos shook his head and slammed the palm of his hand at the cogitator, before turning around and facing his acolyte in a relatively frowny expression. "There was a battle here. A battle, Adrian. Under our noses!" he raised his voice. Adrian raised his eyebrow. Confused like never before. "A.. Battle? Who- what battle?" Oleos stepped aside and allowed his acolyte to take a look. Adrian widened his eyes at the gory images that the servo-skulls managed to take and send back.
"What in the God-Emperor's name has happened here, my lord?! Deceased Drukhari and Aeldari forces scattered around? How is this possible.. why are these vile xenos on an Imperial world?" he asked while gritting his teeth in fury. Adrian was close to fuming. He hated the xenos. Oh how he hated them. Yet, seeing them just do whatever they like on a human world, infuriated him even further.
Oleos crossed his arms and began to think for a proper answer to give. "I do not truly know.. This is strange. Drukhari take everyone. Even their own on that matter. And even then.." he leaned closer to see one image, and saw that it contained the symbol of Ulthwe. "These are the Eldar from the craftworld of Ulthwe. What in the Emperor's golden throne have they forgotten in this system? They always stay near the eye of terror. This is beyond my understanding, but I am planning to find that out." he said and turned to Garan immediately.
"Tech-Priest. Hand me the dataslates with the coordinates, both where the skull was lost, and where the dead xenos are located at. Do it fast. We cannot allow ourselves to lose more of our precious time." Garan nodded and quickly began uploading the data into two empty dataslates, while Oleos turned around. "Sergeant Tarn! Over here, now!" and instantly, Tarn ran to his Inquisitor, and threw a salute. "At your service, my lord!" he proclaimed. Oleos approached him and began to brief him of the discoveries. "Listen to me, Sarge. We just discovered something grim. Dead Drukhari and Eldar forces are scattered somewhere on this world. There was a battle here.." he explained while frowning. Sergeant Tarn remained calm and determined, but Oleos looked into his eyes. He saw the hidden wrath and fury behind the Sergeant's orbs, and he was correct to have that feeling.
Oleos continued. "I do not like this discovery. Before these images, we lost one servo-skull somewhere in the north-western side of this world, near the mountainous region. One member is a howling banshee. But that's not the mystery here.. there is a second figure with the xenos. I cannot determine who it is. But that does not matter. I have a very important mission for you." Oleos finished while Tarn listened carefully. He tightened the grip on his thunder hammer as soon as he realized who he'd have to deal with. Oleos kept going. "We will fly to the coordinates, and make our discovery clear. Investigation must be made to find out what in the God-Emperor's name has happened here. The roads and each path will be blocked by the General's forces. You, in the meanwhile.. Will follow this xenos menace from the rear." he explained just as Garan handed him two dataslates, with each indicating the two locations that he requested.
Kaidan checked the dataslates thoroughly, without missing any information that it was showcasing to his eyes. After finishing the inspection, he handed the second dataslate to Tarn, who neatly took it in his hands to take a look himself. "Inquisitor. With all due respect, are you certain that you will remain safe out there without our support?" Tarn asked him, showing concern, because, after all, he was very loyal to Oleos, much like the rest of his men. Oleos nodded to him.
"I am, Tarn. Do not be worried. Only the Emperor shall take my life when he deems my duty to be at its end. This is a very unusual case we are dealing with right now, none of which we have ever allowed ourselves to be in. The xenos is either trying to run from something we have not found yet, or simply trying to get out of this world. We have to pin our enemy from two sides as effectively as possible. This world is at danger as long as the threatening presence remains on its soil" Oleos told him with concern in his voice. Tarn listened without interrupting him, while staring at the dataslate to digest all the information he may require.
"That is my initial plan. We know the xenos is on the run. They will have nowhere to go.. Except to their certain deaths in those deadly mountains on their one flank or the endless wandering in the woods on their other if we manage to pin them from the front and the rear. Remember this, after you and your men are dropped exactly where the servo-skull was destroyed. Find the tracks and trails, and take the xenos alive. If there are more xenos than one? Kill them, but bring me one. Specifically the howling banshee. You are already well informed about the xenos and their units. Keep in touch with me by reporting anything you find. Anything, no matter what. Everything is crucial in this endeavor, and I am not going to allow the mistakes to slow us down. This is all I can tell you, Tarn. Do you understand?" Tarn was silent for 10 more seconds as he was busy staring at the dataslate. Then, he took a crucial gaze at Oleos, and saluted.
"Yes, sir, Inquisitor. As you wish. I will drop at this location and find this filth. I shall bring it to your feet to deliver the Emperor's judgment." he said while standing tall, with his men following his example while staying behind him in two horizontal rows of 5 men each. Oleos tapped Tarn on his shoulder, before slowly nodding once. "I trust in you and your men, Daniel Tarn. We are moving out immediately. Go, and make the Emperor proud through your valiant service to our Ordo." he said and departed from him. Tarn turned to his men and briefed them of their mission, while they stood at attention with their weaponries at their feet while they held the barrels. He looked at each of them right in the face, and proclaimed.
"Men. The Inquisitor has trusted us with a mission to track down a lonely xenos of the Aeldari. Mission is simple. We drop at a given location of their last whereabouts, and hunt them all down.. Except for one individual. Mind you, the xenos is accompanied by a second, unknown figure that we cannot determine what or who it truly is. But bear in mind. We have to take this one xeno alive, and get rid of the rest if there will be more. That is our main priority and the will of the Inquisitor. Under any circumstances, do, not, kill, the xenos filth. Take it alive. I repeat, take it alive. Every road to the west of here will be blocked by the General's well-trained forces, while the planetary militia has this city under strict security, so we won't have to deal with any civilians getting in our way. Do you understand?!" he raised his voice louder at the last sentence.
"Sir, yes sir!" the stormtroopers all said in unison and lifted their weapons to their chests, before saluting to their battle hardened Sergeant, who saluted back to them. "Your spirits are high, brethren. Let us go and do our task with the Emperor's blessing upon us. For we are not only doing our duty to the holy Inquisition, but to mankind as a whole. You saw the people greet us, the children throwing flowers at our feet, and cheering with their innocent voices. That is the trust that they have for us, men. To protect them from the malevolent threats, and to assure their safety. Let us make the Emperor proud of our deeds and show the determination that we have. No failures can be afforded, and no victories to be avoided. For even in death, we still serve!"
"Tempesta, Aeterna!"
They roared through their voices, and even the majority of the Inquisitor's crew members, and the planetary militia guarding the landing pads, were in full awe of the discipline and motivation of these tough warriors. Tarn had a proud smile on his lips, and fixed his beret, before pointing his thunder hammer directly to the shuttle. "Let's go, men. Board the shuttle, for we have a hunting to do." he said, and moved out while the men followed him from behind in a perfect marching line. After boarding, the shuttle took off and flew towards its destination.
In the meantime, Oleos was already on board of his shuttle alongside Adrian and some of the crew members of the "Shadowy Mist". The engines roared, and the shuttle took off in a very smooth fashion. Oleos already informed the pilots of the coordinates at which the servo-skulls made the discoveries about the battle that occurred not so long ago. On top of that, the Inquisitor had to be sharp, and show proper authority to those under his command. Adrian looked at his mentor, and decided to ask a simple question. "My lord. Are you nervous?"
Oleos took a serious gaze at Adrian, raised his eyebrow, and laughed afterwards. "Hah, nervous? I am excited. Even in the histories of our Ordo, not a single historitor-investigatus has made a remark about such an event as this. I personally have never heard of such a thing. Two of the same looking races bashing each other on a relatively peaceful Imperial world? Don't make me laugh in vain, Adrian. These ain't no Orks, but Drukhari and Eldar mauling each other, and the clan of Ulthwe on top of that.. you already know how eager I was to do this investigation, ever since Magos Quintus made the observation himself."
Adrian listened carefully, but he still felt skeptical about this entire mission alone. "I see. Yet again, forgive me if I say this, but you have not informed our high command of any results yet. Shouldn't the other Inquisitors be aware of this?" he asked, while Oleos took his flask, and gave it to Adrian, who took it peacefully and sat down on the seat, facing Oleos while at it as he stared at him, and was slowly opening up the flask itself.
Oleos in the meanwhile, shook his head, and waited for him to take a sip, which he did, before returning his flask, which he generously took, and hid in his pockets. "No. Not at all, Adrian. Not at all.. I am more worried about the imbeciles that occupy our Ordo. And, their stupid levels of hotheadedness. It is for the best possible results, that we commit to this operation all alone. Look at the situation at hand. Can't you see it?" he said, forcing Adrian to seriously think of what is bothering his mind.
"In terms of precaution, my ship, and my crew, are enough right now to handle this situation. We shouldn't bother anyone else from our Ordo to take this action. I am the one who runs this operation, and I don't need other Inquisitors meddling in my business, Adrian. Unless it is of a great necessity and the situation becomes dire, then, and only then, will I be forced to call in the Deathwatch and other Inquisitors. These assets have their own pros and cons. We have a stable situation on our hands. Let's not fuel the fire when it is lit enough, and it is not fading away." he explained to him with all his wisdom, before looking down at the floor of the shuttle.
"The xenos aspect is all mysterious. It is essentially like trying to find a buried chest in the desert, filled with dangers from all sides. I understand that so many mysteries across this galaxy can be quite arduous for your mind, but be stoic, Adrian. Do not allow your assumptions to blind your personal judgment if you have committed to your goal." he told him in full seriousness.
"My lord. Everything you say to me is a lesson. As your acolyte, I swear to follow your ways and then teach them to my own acolytes when the Emperor blesses me with the title of an Inquisitor. Know that you can rely on me." he said, trying to show much more loyalty than he has. Oleos looked at him, raised his eyebrow in a cheeky way, and let out a soft laugh.
"You are seriously learning my charisma, Adrian. Feels good to sometimes share what follows my mind, no matter where I am, or what I do. But it matters not. Let's focus on the mission at hand. There is much to learn. Be patient and gain knowledge while you still can. You will need it."
Adrian allowed himself to smile as he understood, that Oleos trusted him. Trusted him enough to make sure to never miss a lesson to teach him. It was what Adrian strived for when Oleos took him under his wing. "I swear by the Emperor, my lord, that I will not let you down."
Oleos gave him a light nod, and they both closed their eyes to distract their minds and focus on the upcoming operation that they were undertaking. Both the Inquisitor and his acolyte felt the same determination on this mission, and they were going to complete their mutual task no matter what it takes. Because the hunting, was just beginning.
Merlorian, North-Eastern region, near the snow covered northern mountains.
Deep in the woods and near the pathway that leads to the town of Nello.
Breathing. The one thing that Niko truly needed at the moment. He, the banshee and their Merlorian wolf companion Akila have been running for over an hour, after one of the servo-skulls found them. Liriel was well aware of what those clicking noises meant before she managed to destroy it. There was a high chance that they were exposed. After all, they had to be stealthy and not attract any unneeded attention. They ran, and ran without a stop. Liriel made it look like a piece of cake, same with Akila, but Niko was struggling since he carried his heavy stuff.
"Mon'Keigh Niko, hurry up!" Liriel yelled from the front, since she was ahead. Niko remained silent, and nevertheless, continued to sprint, although with difficulty. "The weakness of the Mon'Keigh bodies is getting on my nerves.." she said and halted her running, before Akila did the same.
Niko, while breathing heavily, finally halted his running as well, and bowed down with his hands on his knees, catching his breath that he so much longed for. "Hhhhaa..haaaaa...hhaaa... Kalevan..haah.. Devils.." he whispered while swallowing the last droplets of saliva in his dry mouth, before drinking from his canteen in a massive chug. Liriel approached him just as he finished drinking as he continued to breathe, and looked at him with a frowning expression. Niko looked back at her after he removed his own helmet, and lifted his head. "What? I cannot freaking run like a feather that you are.." he told her, and immediately, she was forced to roll her eyes and sigh out deeply.
"Mon'Keigh." she said and pointed at his backpack, to which Niko turned his head to look at his backpack, and then stare back at her and shook his head, with a serious facial expression. "No need, Liriel. I can handle it, and I will not appear weak in front of a xeno.." he told her and hid his canteen before holding the helmet with one hand, and the strap of his backpack with another. Liriel however, was standing still, and yet again, pointed at his backpack twice. Niko shook his head once more and pointed his finger back at her. "I. Said. No. Need. Don't assume that I am weak.." he said as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and went on to lean against a tree to grab a snack, with Akila's tail wagging in excitement.
Liriel now felt truly annoyed. "The.. Stubbornness of this mon'keigh! Does it have any limits?! I swear by Isha, his clumsiness and slow speed might become our doom.." she said as she tried to offer him some aid, but he was obviously a serious individual and pushed himself through any obstacles ahead of him. The aspect warrior tried to aid him, but he refused. This she would totally not forget. She sheathed her power sword back into its sheath, and looked around at her surroundings in case of anything suspicious.
Niko, in the meanwhile, gathered some wood sticks from his position, with Akila helping him by carrying some sticks between his teeth. He gave him some petting and smiled. "Good boy, Akila! With a great helper like you, we are sure to beat any obstacle in front of us." he said, and Akila merely got onto his leg paws. Niko understood his gesture while Liriel watched them with the corner of her eye, and literally, both Niko, and Akila, headbutted each other. "Ooo-rah! Kalevan spirit shines through you, my dear friend. Get me some more wood if you may." he told him with a little laugh, and Akila obliged to his command, while Liriel was quite astonished.
"Does this mon'keigh have some kind of ability.. To talk with animals? Or do my eyes deceive me? Isha.. Help me understand this mon'keigh. How he communicates with his beast is something even many of us cannot determine." she said while walking towards him, curious to know what he was doing. Even though she couldn't stand him due to his clumsiness and stubborn foolishness as she thought, he was the only one she could remove her boredom through. Niko noticed her approach as she stood still, and looked down at him with a neutral look. "Hm? What is it?" he asked as he held his head high. The aspect warrior pointed at the sticks he gathered together, and forced him to laugh slightly, much to her annoyance. "Hah, I am making fire, Liri!" he said, but obviously she did not understand what he meant.
Niko knew that the communication was still an issue between him and Liriel. Still, it did not stop him or her from trying to communicate by gestures and examples. "I assume you did not get what I said, as always.. Let me just show you in a simple way." he told her just as Akila returned with a bunch of sticks. "Alright Aki, that's enough for now." and Akila obliged as always, sitting next to him. Liriel sat down in front of him, and watched how Niko took his sweet Kalevan knife, the "Leuku", and sliced some wood chips from the sticks, before grabbing two stones from the ground, and smash them together for over a minute. There were some sparks, but not enough.
"Trying to.. Make a fire out of nowhere? Truly smart for a mon'keigh.." Liriel whispered in her mind, before the sticks and chips finally lit up with fire, and Niko grinned with pride. "Yes! My father's lessons as a kid did not go in vain after all, hah." he said as Liriel saw the fire lit up, much to her astonishment. "Quite a primitive way to make fire, but effective in a way. I've heard from Elidyr that humans can be creative if they use that ability for greater purposes. He was not wrong on this occasion.." she began to daydream and sink in her thoughts while staring at the fire, before Niko woke her up by snapping his fingers in front of her face and forcing her to shake her head quickly. "Waky waky, knife eared Liri." said Niko with a cheeky smile as he already pulled out a pot and was filling it with water from his second canteen.
The banshee raised her eyebrow and realized that he was about to cook something. It did cause her a sense of relief, as the running did deplete some of her own energy, but she was an Eldar. They were resilient enough to run far more than humans, but she allowed herself to have a break from running endlessly. She stood up, and once again, looked around her surroundings. She was a cautious individual, and she knew that someone might come after them if they allow themselves to be exposed, but the woods gave good enough protection from the unknown. At the same time, they were near the pathway that led to the town of Nello, the one they left from.
"Liri. Give it a break for Emperor's sakes. It is only us and our white furred companion here." Niko's distraction caused her to turn around and face him once again. He was adding some contents from one of his MRE packs into the pot, and took a wooden spoon, which he used to stir the contents as the water was already boiling. "He's lucky that the night has not approached yet. Otherwise, we'd be a very east target." said Liriel, sitting down and trying to meditate for the time being. Niko took out the salted meat, fed few to Akila, and threw the rest into the pot with the putrid looking MRE pack, which unfortunately was not pleasant. All because Liriel could literally feel her nose being burned by the smell that did not even reach Niko's own nostrils yet.
Eldar had more sensitivity than humans, and this was truly not a surprise for Liriel. It was, however, a surprise to Niko, who noticed her frustrated facial expression with her eyes closed, and the twitching of her nose. It made him feel quite awkward, but nevertheless, this was food, that gave them both fuel. "Look. It is not my fault that we are given such shite rations here..." he explained to her, while she stood up, left her helmet on the ground, and took ten steps away from Niko and Akila.
Liriel stood in the center, surrounded by bushes and trees alike, and stood perfectly still. "Huh, Aki.. Is our xeno friend about to train once more?" he asked, while Akila merely tilted his head. Liriel swiftly unsheathed her sword in such a swift fashion, that it took Niko one blink of his eye to see her hold her power sword in her hand. She began to concentrate by closing her eyes, and feel the wind blowing against her face, before she used just one hand to tie her hair into a ponytail, and grip the hilt of her power sword with both hands, before beginning the little warm up and exercise.
She swung her sword horizontally against the bushes in the front, cutting it entirely into two, before the leaves from the bushes themselves flew into the air. Liriel sliced each leaf with the precise swings of her power sword, while Niko and Akila watched. Totally in awe of how accurate her swordsmanship was. "Woah, what in the Emperor's name did I just witness?" Niko asked himself. Afterward, she leaped forward and sliced a thick tree at her right, before switching to the left, and then to 3 more in front of her.
She made about 5 swings in less than 2 seconds, and sent a strong high kick against the tree on the right, forcing it to fall down against the second tree, then again and again until the fifth fell down. Niko couldn't believe at what he just witnessed. His jaw was open in shock, and his eye widened up, because for a single young man such as him, that was his only way to show the response to something so shocking. It is not everyday you see a tall, knife eared xenos woman manage to be so fast, agile, swift and precise with her movements.
Niko remained silent, and decided to watch her next movements. She made a high jump on top of the first tree, and sliced a huge chunk off from it. The piece was rather thin, but she had other intentions. The thin piece of the tree got stabbed into the ground with her own hands, and she simply jumped on top of it, standing on one foot, while her second one was bent from her knee. And, much to Niko's shock, she did not move at all.
It looked like she was frozen like a statue as he saw her eyes closed, and stand on the thin piece of tree with utmost accuracy. After about one minute of concentration, her eyes sprung open, and she made a huge backflip on top of the second tree, using her boots to slide backwards as she stabbed the sword into the second tree as soon as she landed on it. She stopped right at the end of the tree, pulling out her sword and jumping off from it. She kicked the tree's end and forced it to open up into two slices.
There were no words for Niko to describe the amount of shock that was growing within his heart. Nevertheless, he continued to watch and already halted his stirring of the pot. Liriel in the meantime, ran around in circles in an incredible, but uncanny speeds, making slices and stabs in the process. The entire area before her training was covered in trees and bushes. Now it was just a cleared land with nothing but stones and grass, and the roots of the trees sticking out of the mud.
"I swear on my mama's soul.. I am LUCKY to be on her side. Don't even want to imagine what she is capable of doing if I'd piss her off." Niko whispered, and then realized that she was nowhere to be seen. "Huh? Where the- WOAH!" but little did he expect Liriel to literally jump from the sky about a few meters away from him, kneeling down before lifting her head to look at him, as if showing him her capabilities in order to strike some cautiousness, or fear, or both. Niko held his chest and wiped his forehead from the sweat. "Holy smokes, you're going give me a heart attack like that!" he said, and Liriel grinned with amusement at how easily she managed to spook the young hunter.
Liriel stood up and sheathed her sword back, while putting her arm on her side and looking down at him while he pouted at her. "Yeah yeah! I am sooo impressed, alright? Enough showing off and-" she pointed directly at his pot, and only now Niko realized his mistake. The pot, was already beyond boiling, and he felt the little boiling water droplets going on all sides. A mistake of his curiosity taking over. ".. God-Emperor just KILL me.." he said as he already noticed that some of the contents were overcooked, but nevertheless he quickly began to stir the contents of the pot and calm down the boiling process. "Mon'Keigh. The curiosity of your species essentially ruins you completely. Did you miss your second eye, you stubborn fool?" she asked him in her lexicon while leaning against a tree that was not so far away from the opposite of Niko, and slid down against it, sitting and leaning on it just like Niko was.
Both of them now faced each other, but Niko remained with his pouting expression and rolled his eye. "Uh huh. Of course. Whatever you said, I will totally agree or disagree. If you're going for the mockery again, try better, because I already developed the resistance from it." he grinned before continuing while stirring the pot. "I know perfectly well that you think of my race as weaklings and yours superior in all ways.
Essentially that might be true... for YOU, but not for me. Every species have pluses and minuses. So let's not pretend that you are the bellybutton of the universe, Liriel. You race has flaws just as much as humans do." he explained and then tried to peel off the sticking substance from the walls of the pot while Liriel groomed the mane of her helmet, ignoring his blabber. "The more I try to intimidate him, the longer my goal of forcing him to shut up fades away. Talkative mon'keigh and his beast.. By Khaine almighty did I never imagine myself having anything like this." Liriel whispered to herself and continued to meddle with her helmet.
Akila simply sat and watched how two members of two different races were communicating and operating with each other. Had he been able to talk, he would have a lot of things to say, so to speak, but he, being a loyal friend to Niko, just stood by his side and saw how Niko struggled to peel off the burnt pieces of the MRE pack. It amused him, and he howled slightly with laughter, much to Niko's frustration. "Oi! Don't even dare to laugh at this, Aki! This shite is something that we are given, and burning it is a real hell for any guardsman out there.. I hate my luck." Niko said, and finally managed to peel off the burnt pieces before wiping his forehead. "Phew, finally.."
The aspect warrior did not pay him attention. Instead, she chose to stare at her helmet for over a minute or so, trying not to sink in her thoughts in order to not think too much of their current situation that looked to be quite troubling. "I have no choice left on this world, neither does he. I still do not understand.. What forced him to falter to pull the trigger?" she asked herself, as these thoughts, no matter what, were constant. She desired answers.
"He dug himself into trouble, and already became an enemy to his own people. Humans.. Their vast, rotting empire.. It is just him, against that giant beast, and even my own people would kill him in an instant.. He risks everything, even his own life, just to aid me. But why, just why? I just cannot believe this is possible. Is this my destiny? My fate was sealed, yet he broke the seal, and pulled me out of its jaws. Great mother Isha.. I do not know.. I do not understand.. my fate, is to fight and die alongside my brothers and sisters. My path.. It was me, who chose it. If i could've given my life to save our fallen sisters at that ambush or to make sure that Arleina does not get hurt, I would have not faltered, but accepted it within an instant." she kept on talking with her own mind, over and over. These thoughts were overwhelming her and she really had to keep going with it.
"And yet, after the mission, after all the sacrifices, not even being able to restore the soul stones from our fallen brothers and sisters.. It had to be me. To be saved by a mon'keigh, who I cannot understand.. Yet, I refuse to know how he feels. What's on his mind? what is his past like? Ah.. This is... Too much, sometimes." she silently whispered under her lips, and continued the daydreaming, asking herself many questions, to which, there were no answers.
Niko diverted his gaze upon her, and noticed that something was bothering his xeno companion. "What's up with our lass? Probably thinking about her home?" he said as he took the pot off from the fire and the platform he made to hang it, from wooden sticks, obviously. He pulled out a second pot, and began to brew some Kalevan tea with the leaves that he still had in reserve. "Of course that might not be the case, can it now, Aki?"
Akila listened, and kept his own eyes on Niko. "She still finds it hard to probably believe, that a member of the species they deem as mere unworthy pests, saved her. Well.. Had I been in her shoes, I'd probably feel the same way. She does feel more human when she acts just like us. She is a xeno. I do not understand how they work, but so far, our communication worked perfectly." he looked at the second pot after filling it with water, and allowed the tea leaves to do their work.
"I had to abandon my home after those Drukhari bastards found us. It was something I feared might happen, but things like these are decided by fate. It is up to us as individuals to push it away from dooming us by paving our own destiny. I chose mine, she chose hers. If I am to help her return home? Then I might have done something successful.. I might have shown the good side of humanity. That we are not the tools of this galaxy. That we do matter, and that we are capable of doing good things.. Maybe something the Emperor in reality wanted us to be? If we succeed in this journey, and if my destiny is to fall, just so that her beauty is kept shining for another day, then who am I to deny it? I became a loner in this universe the moment I left that world.. That world, that still haunts me. For how long do I endure it, I do not know.. But, after meeting her? It feels like the skies cleaned up, and the sunshine blew onto my body for the first time after so long. Tsss.. Heretical" Niko contemplated himself.
Just like the howling banshee, the ex-guardsman had his own thoughts that filled his mind. Both of them had this effect, but they made sure not to show it. "Heresy.. that word, for me, is already lost. It feels so twisted that you are accused of it even when you do something right and you know it won't bring harm to your own people. Whatever I maybe called by my kinsmen, It does not matter to me anymore. I made this decision to help Liriel.. And no matter what it takes, I will fulfill it. I always thought that her race looked exactly the same as those Drukhari bastards. How wrong was I when she removed her helmet.. Hah, again I am talking with myself. Let's not allow the thoughts to cloud our personal judgement here." Niko said, and then quickly took some bites of the messy food in the pot, making sure to take the most putrid looking pieces to leave the best and fresh ones for her.
"Mmm.. euugh, Emperor almighty, if you hear me.. If even you wouldn't eat this, believe me, your children surely are. Frakking disgusting!" he thought while cringing and almost gagging from how bad the taste was. Even Akila slightly grinned, enjoying Niko's annoyed face. "Yeah, you want to taste this? That's what I thought". The taste of burnt meal and some metal was something that even Akila wouldn't dare to try, since it took him just one sniff to retreat backwards and rub his nose with his frontal paws. Lucky for Niko however? The Kalevan tea that he took few sips from, made sure to remove that disgusting taste from his mouth, and actually refreshed his taste buds all over before he sighed in relief. "Ahh.. Much, better. Now." he looked at Liriel next, who remained motionless while staring at her helmet. ".. She hasn't even moved an inch from that daydreaming of hers.. let's change that."
The aspect warrior continued to battle with her thoughts. The amount of questions that grew in her mind were surely taking a toll on her proper thinking. She saw the images of her past, the tastes her tongue had, and the sounds her knife ears heard. The noise inside her head grew and grew, and it looked like she was in some sort of trance. But yet again out of nowhere? Niko intervened and waved his hand in front of her, silencing the noise and forcing her to return to herself as she lifted her head and looked at him.
"Waky waky, Liriel. I do not know what is going on in your mind, but here you go.." Liriel raised her eyebrow and saw him hand her a metal cup filled with the steamy, beautifully smelling liquid that instantly overwhelmed her brain by forcing it to long for that tasty substance. She blinked few times, shook her head and took it from him, with a little nod of appreciation. And just as she was always right about him? His face lit up with a smile. "Kalevan tea is surely the best medicine against the troubled mind." he told her, and handed her the pot where her meal was. The spoon already in that exact pot.
Liriel took it, and looked down at it. It still smelled like a vile disgusting mess, but she noticed that the parts that remained, were in decent to better quality, and the burnt pieces were gone. "He.. Left me the edible pieces after eating the most disgusting ones?" she looked at him as if asking him that question, although it was inside her own head. "My father raised me as a gentleman. Treating you with better options is something that is within my blood, Heh.." he said before he retreated back to his tree, looking down at his knees as his back slid down against it. He held the cup and remained lightly smiling.
There was a slight confusion in Liriel. One of the things that she knew about him is that he treats her better than he treats himself. He slept on the floor after literally tying her to his bed, shared the Kalevan tea even though she knew it was something very precious to him, did not defile her belongings, and even now, he gives her better food instead of just eating the best parts himself. She just did not understand why. Why he treats her with care and respect. "Why does he do these things.. Is this mon'keigh's brain intact? I cannot find any answers for his behavior. But sooner or later, I might find the answers that I seek.." she said and began to eat from the pot, while obviously cringing at the inedible substance that tasted like crap, but it was still better to have these than those that Niko ate. Then, she washed it all down with the delicious and aroma filled Kalevan tea, which forced her body to warm up, and to experience a sense of peace.
"Mmmnf.. This hot substance is incredible. Mon'Keigh might feed themselves with putrid mess like this, but the drinks they can make.. Not bad." she whispered and allowed herself to smile while staring down at her lap, before she lifted her head, and stared at Niko, who had Akila laying on his lap with his eyes closed. He was petting him on his head with soft rubs, the light smile still in tact. "He looks troubled himself, although I do not know what he is thinking about. Still.. As much as I hate.. to admit it, he is, a good mon'k.. A good, human." Liriel at last, admitted at least that good side of Niko.
His kindness, the well treatment, and care. "A member of the barbarian species known for destruction and brutality? Sure. But he is different, and he proved it to me not once. But he is still a human... A human. By the great mother, he is a human. Not an Aeldari, but a human.. A young human. Who looks like a lost child, but who also shows signs of honor and courage. He is going against his Imperium all alone, and he accepts that? Madness.. Just madness. It is hard to believe." Liriel claimed. She was not wrong in this matter.
"His past.. If he refuses to return to where he is from, what exactly happened to him? Does he have someone back on his homeworld waiting for him? Isha.. Help me understand him. Help me understand what he feels. His goals, what is in his heart, give me a sign, lead me to it.." Liriel prayed while staring at the surface of the cup, with the steam fading into the air. "Help me, great mother.. to understand his motives, and why he does not see me as an abomination as his race is thought about ever since they are children. Guide the spirits to my direction, for I, Liriel Valdan, the Howling Banshee, an aspect warrior of Ulthwe, I am pleading you to grant me the keys to his heart, so I can understand him. May the Asuryan aid me in this endeavor through your blessing." she finished up her prayer and continued to stare towards his direction.
She examined him, and understood that it is best to allow him to daydream in order to fight with his own thoughts, because she had her own ones to battle with. For her, it was never easy, but for someone who is possibly the most lonely person in the entire universe like him? She couldn't imagine how he manages. She just knew he has the will and strength to do it while just being himself, not allowing the zealotry and his indoctrinated beliefs to blind him from making his own open-minded decisions. As much as she hated to admit it? she was trying to do exactly the same thing - make her own judgement and push aside her own zealotry.
What really mattered to Liriel right now, was that he had developed even a tiny amount of trust towards her, if not fully. She didn't know to what extent he trusts her, but she knew that he did. The real question in Liriel's mind was still blooming. "I still wonder. Did any of the farseers, including Elidyr, know that the events will ever go like this? If that's the case.. then I do not want to push myself deeper into a pit of despair that I am at right now. These assumptions and questions only disturb me from my task. What would my uncle, one of the greatest farseers in the galaxy, say about this matter? Would Arleina ever believe that I was saved by a human? let alone my aspect sisters? It would be one interesting debate." Liriel said and allowed herself to have a light smile on her face, taking another sip of the tasty Kalevan tea.
Liriel hated to admit it, but she was starting to appreciate the fact that he saved her. She was glad, and had to leave it at that. For the time being, at least. Afterwards, she decided to communicate with him in a more friendly manner, since he was the one who'd always bring up any talking whatsoever. With how lonely he was on this world, she thought it would help him to feel at least somewhat better, despite thinking him as being dumb or foolish at times, if not always. Still, she already knew that he deemed her not as an abomination, but a living being with dreams, hopes, heart, and soul. As to how did he lose his faith? it did not matter to her. All she knew right now was that he was sincere, as his behavior and attitude showed his genuine feelings.
Without further or do, she attempted a little discussion with her human companion. "Ehm. Mon- Niko. Hey." she said, before whispering the next words. ".. I know nothing about how to talk with humans except through battle. This won't be easy.." after Niko's name was mentioned, he simply raised his head and looked at her, his head tilted slightly. "Hmm? Uh, yes, Liriel?" he had her full attention at the moment. This was her chance to at least act more accordingly to human custom.
"This.. what, what this?" she asked him, while his smile widened. "She's getting talkative.. Perfect!" said Niko before standing up and walking to where she sat, before he sat down and faced her, sitting cross-legged. Liriel did have an urge to not be this close, but she remained calm, even tho he was literally 1 meter away from her. "Tea." he said and pointed at the liquid within the cup. "This is Kalevan tea. A little treasure of my homeworld, Kaleva!" he explained and shrugged while his smile remained. Liriel came to a conclusion, that despite not fully understanding him, she felt his words like a wind blowing against her skin. "So this drink is called "Tea" in his language. I never knew that a hot drink would be this delicious. But he keeps mentioning that word "Kaleva". His homeworld's name?" she then decided to be more specific with her knowledge of the low Gothic.
"Kaleva.. Kaleva. What this Kaleva?" she asked him. And immediately, Niko's smile disappeared as it was replaced with nothing more than a grimace of sadness as he lowered his head and stared at the ground, before looking away by moving his head slightly. Liriel felt a slight amount of regret for asking him that question, as it was obvious what she meant. She had her speculations that the word was his homeworld, but for him to confirm it not by words, but by the feelings he was expressing, was a completely new thing for the howling banshee. "I.. Think I may have asked him something way too personal." Liriel said, looking away with a slight frown at her own mistake of doing so. She only allowed herself to turn her head back to the sounds of the dirt on the ground being scrubbed around.
Niko was simply making a circle, with different lines in the center of the circle itself. He pointed at it, and looked at her. "Kaleva." afterwards he pointed at himself. "Home. My world." he stared back down at the circle before pointing at the far left corner of the drawn continent. "I was born here in this village next to the town of Mer'Yen. Grew up there with an ordinary life, hunted with my father, helped my mother on the fields, traveled from early ages, officially joined the guard, so on and on. Hah, so many memories, be it both good and bad, I truly do miss my home." he smiled lightly while staring at the circle and Liriel surely noticed this.
"Your home? What, it.." even here, Liriel clenched her hands into fists since she struggled with the low gothic. "What it like?" she finally uttered it out. Niko yet again was surprised to see his xeno companion being interested on this specific topic. He was delighted and began the basic explanation about his homeworld - Kaleva. "You may not understand what I'll say, but since you asked? I'll give it a go. My homeworld is mostly snowy, although there are some warmer parts there and here, but I am in the middle of the two." he took another sip of the tea and continued, with Liriel taking a sip as well from her cup. "It's beautiful and we have a lot of polar lights that cover the sky at nights. They're more frequent when you go a bit further up the north." he let out a soft laugh and kept on his blabber.
Liriel tried to grasp his words, even though she did not understand what he was saying. At all. To her, it felt better to see him in a more cheerful manner, rather than all silent and gloomy. She also couldn't help but notice that Akila was shoving his head into his backpack near the tree, possibly trying to dig in for some treats. She wanted to tell him, but decided not to. And since she had no need to hide her own emotions after finding out that phenomenon about her soul stone being depraved of the pull of she-who-thirsts? She allowed herself to slightly resist the urge to laugh since Niko was over here, explaining to her about his homeworld, and the cheeky wolf was just using this opportunity to get more of that salted meat that Akila was quite fond of, and enjoyed having.
"We have some mountains that stretch for God-Emperor knows how long, and you can encounter some beautiful wildlife while at it. From snow felines to canines like Akila, birds with the most majestic one being the Kalevan eagle, which is in our banners as you saw in the basement. We do not have problems like starvation since we produce the most foods for our star system thanks to our southern lands which are highly fertile, surprisingly. My homeworld is proud of its roots and the loyalty to the Emperor is clean of any doubts. Personally speaking, I was... What are you giggling there like a wild horse?" Niko stopped the explanation and asked the last sentence to Liriel, who already was giggling while looking behind Niko.
The young man raised his eyebrow and turned his head around, gasping slightly at the sight as his eyebrow only widened up. "Oi, you little thief! Paws off of the rations! I feed you well enough! And you can hunt down an animal and eat it raw on the spot that it fell at. Are you listening to me? Hey!" Niko grumbled while Liriel allowed herself to laugh a little bit before Niko turned his head towards her as well. "That's not funny, Liri! That little thieving bastard- wait, you saw him messing in my belongings?! For Emperor's sakes!" she grinned at him before Niko stood up with his cup of Kalevan tea, and walked towards Akila before seeing him pull his head out of his backpack with a huge chunk of the salted meat in his jaw. He let out a muffled howl and swallowed the piece after chewing it up in less than three seconds, just before Niko was about to reach for his snout.
Niko, was really annoyed as he was a man of pure logistics. He wanted to keep everything he owned in check, as he was the one to split the rations fairly. Akila here really loved to tease and annoy him. "You little greedy bastard! You're lucky that I love you.." Niko said and facepalmed as Akila only howled in laughter, wagging his tail before he sat down to take a little rest with his eyes closed. Niko rolled his eye, and sighed deeply. But just as he turned around to face Liriel, she was already standing in front of him and towering over him as usual. "Oh frak!" Niko reacted accordingly to his human instincts and took two steps back, before looking at the silent aspect warrior, who held the metal cup of Kalevan tea in her hand, and something in the other, which she was handing to him. "Huh? Uhm." He looked at what she was offering him, and couldn't really believe it.
It was the same piece of bread that resembled a biscuit, which she was munching on at the river when he first saw her during that night. He blinked few times, before leaning his hand forward slowly, until Liriel in a lightning speed gripped his wrist, and placed it on his palm, before closing his fingers into a fist, and then let go of it. He was speechless as he opened his fingers and looked at the biscuit itself. Furthermore, he lifted his head slowly, and looked at her in the eye. She noticed that glee on his face as it was shining with joy. "Liriel... This.. This is for me?" he asked her as she felt the shake in his voice. She couldn't help but remain calm and simply point at her mouth, but Niko was just flabbergasted at such a gesture from her. He thought that she couldn't stand him, but he saw that the more time they spent together, the more they started to understand each other.
"Mon'Keigh. Eat, it is healthy and filling. My craftworld issues these to every warrior who is going for an expedition. You maybe a fool, or dumb for a human.. but I wouldn't be breathing right now had it not been for you. At least I can share something from my world with you, as you shared with yours." Liriel said in her own lexicon, while Niko was overtaken by joyful emotions. He laughed, and looked straight at her amber eyes. "Thank you, Liriel. Thank you very much.. I don't know what else to say. Even though I don't understand what you said, this is more than enough.. Let's give it a go."
Niko bit the first bite and lowered his head. The aspect warrior noticed his cheeks brightening up as he chewed his piece second by second, and realized that he was enjoying it as he swallowed it in satisfaction. "This is one of the best quality biscuits I've tasted so far, the texture is amazing and doesn't have any problems. Wow.." he then thought of a bright idea as he noticed that she dug into her pouch and unwrapped another biscuit from a piece of cloth. He stopped her right in the middle, forcing her to quickly divert her gaze at him.
Afterwards, as she looked at him in a questioning manner, he pointed at his own cup, then she looked at it next. He slowly dipped the biscuit into the tea, making it a bit softer, while Liriel appeared to be curious. She did the same as him while their teas remained hot, and simultaneously bit their biscuits at the same time, and now, even Liriel was not resistant to having her cheeks brighten up at how heavenly the biscuit itself tasted with the tea soaking its insides. "This is.. Insanely delicious. This hot drink with this treat makes an incredible combination." she softly said in a whisper before repeating the process once again, just the same way as Niko was doing. He dipped it into the tea, and finished his last piece.
Niko leaned his cup forward with a smile, and gestured her to do the same, which she did while still holding her own biscuit. He clanked his cup against hers. "Cheers! This is our human gesture when sharing a drink." he said cheekily before drinking the tea in one go. Liriel was visibly curious to this strange human gesture. "They clank their cups before drinking? Elidyr was truly wise.. the mon'keigh are very strange creatures. Particularly, this "Niko" fits that category perfectly. But I did not expect him to react so deeply after giving him something that is so common in our craftworld. He values even the smallest of things. How I wish that more of his race was as open minded as he was.." Liriel told herself while Niko stared at her after lowering his cup. She noticed something new at this very moment. He was looking at her face, without shying away from it, and was surprised to realize it, but did not detest it.
The young man stared at her, in silence. She stared back at him while obviously towering over him, so he had his head lifted. But the way he looked at her, was more of a curiosity, rather than any signs of disgust, as Liriel noticed. He was examining her after gaining enough confidence and trust, and she did the same. Niko wanted to know what the symbol on her forehead meant, as to Liriel, she wanted to know how he lost his left eye, and where he got those scars from which remained on the left side of his face. The aspect warrior still remembered the scars on his back, specifically from flogging, and was slowly becoming interested to know more about this strange human's life, especially of his past.
Her neutral and calm look remained, which to Niko looked to be emotionless, but she was strictly following her warrior's spirit here and nothing else personal. Niko eyed her looks, and just couldn't help but be fascinated. They were merely a meter away from each other, and the attraction like a magnet was being constructed between them both, no matter how much they both would deny it. Not only they relied on each other in this dire situation, but both of them were free to express themselves. Niko for being a lonely human, and Liriel for having lost the awareness of she-who-thirsts upon this world, since she felt nothing within her soul stone that resided on her chestplate.
"Liriel. I.." he broke the silence and forced the banshee's attention to remain on him completely. "I do not know if you often hear any of this. But I just wanted to say, that.. You are.. Astonishingly beautiful." he said as he cleared his throat and looked away for a second. Niko finally spilled it out. He already knew that the more they progressed, the higher the chance of death was becoming obvious, so he allowed himself this opportunity to be straightforward. Liriel raised her eyebrow and noticed him slightly blushing, which forced her to be confused and try to understand what he just meant as he was once again acting on his own way as always. "What did he say..?" she asked and he just looked back at her once again while rubbing his neck. "You may be a xeno, and not understand me.. but I hope when you hopefully return home, I will not be forgotten. I am already forgotten by those that knew me, but since I've heard you live way longer than us, I hope you will remember me, at least." he said and patted her on the shoulder.
Liriel had an urge to smack him for being that close, but for some reason, she did not. It was just the way he softly spoke to her that forced her curiosity to grow as she kept looking at him while he went back to his tree. "His voice had a hint of sadness in it.. I cannot determine, is it of regret, or something personal?" she asked while staring at an empty cup's bottom. "The loneliness has clearly left him with an open scar within his soul, I can feel it.. Perhaps I appear to be harsh sometimes to judge him, but he is a mon'keigh. They are unpredictable. I only know them through battles, not through personal experience.. How much treachery and brutality they pack. Oh, Isha, how I wish that I was able to understand what he is saying.. There is only one way to do that.." she said as the temptation to feel his feelings only grew on the howling banshee.
She looked at her hand, and remembered few lessons from Elidyr. The lessons of interrogating the mon'keigh by looking into their hearts and minds to find out the truth, since all Eldar were psychic beings. It was an extremely risky move and if not properly controlled, it would result in the human's mind shattering and killing them, and she-who-thirsts swallowing the soul of the one performing this dangerous act, but she was confident of her abilities, as the pulling signs of Slaanesh were not felt on this mysterious, lush world.
Her heart was racing at the anticipation of such action. She trusted him, but the cautiousness was still in tact within Liriel. She still had doubts and was not sure if he was just acting professionally to force her to lower her guard, or he was genuinely just being himself. To this day, she was hiding these thoughts, but the more he talked like he did a minute ago, the more she wanted to know what his feelings were speaking. She heard her own heartbeat in her knife-ears, and slowly.. But surely.. Made an approach towards Niko, whose back was facing her, while Akila was napping deeply. This was the perfect opportunity to see what he was truly thinking and feeling. The banshee stood behind Niko who was putting his belongings back into his bag, including the cup, and he did not hear her uncanny sneaking. This, was truly it. She leaned her hand towards his head, about to place it on his forehead and hold him still...
*Stomp... stomp... STOMP... STOMP-STOMP-STOMP*
Except the moment had to be halted immediately after the mysterious stomping noises were heard approaching them both. Niko immediately looked around himself, and Liriel quickly diverted her hand back to herself and gripped the hilt of her sword, looking around herself after putting her helmet back on her and stepping away from Niko to not cause him any concern or suspicion. Akila woke up immediately to the stomping noises as well, and stood on his paws, while looking around and growling slightly as the noise irritated him. Niko had his helmet back on his head and his backpack on his bag, ignoring the pot and Liriel's cup on the ground since he had no time to put them back into the bag as he aimed his lasgun in all directions. "What is... Wait.. A minute." Liriel looked at him as he looked to be concerned, and rightfully so.
"I know those noises.. Oh.. No.. No!" he looked at the pathway on their flank and proclaimed. "Shite! Scout Sentinels!" Niko yelled and immediately pulled Liriel by her arm right down to a fallen tree that she herself fell, with Akila jumping to their location and proning as well. Liriel did not even have time to react as Niko put a finger on his lips, indicating her to be silent, which she obliged. "Shhhh. Don't. Move. They have inbuilt Auspex scanners.." Niko whispered, and allowed himself to peak from the fallen tree. "Frak.. Imperial vehicles, Scout Sentinels with missile systems, plasma and a heavy flamer. How.. The servo-skull was destroyed, don't tell me it managed to send anything back to its controller, for frak-sakes..!" he whispered and cursed under his breath, while staring at the pathway filled with 3 sentinels.
Liriel also peaked, and recognized these tin cans immediately. "Imperial light combat walkers.. I hate these things. They can adapt to any terrain and be operated on every possible spot. Where did they even come from?" she asked herself, while Niko tried to think of a proper plan. Because in all seriousness, as long as these sentinels were there? They were stuck. He did not know the range of their scanners, but if they dared to run, they'd be detected. They could not even prone and crawl far away because the ground was filled with sticks and different bushes that the sentinels would be quick to dismiss. "We go. We run.. there. We fast." Liriel offered to run by gesturing towards Niko and speaking his language, but he refused strictly by shaking his head. "No. You have to understand, they have auspexes and will detect us at ease.."
The aspect warrior scoffed behind her helmet and did not understand why is he refusing to use this perfect opportunity to just run while they were on the move. And the example, came out of nowhere as all 3 sentinels stopped, and aimed almost close to their position, and the plasma gun wielding sentinel fired a single shot near them, oblitirating the deer-like creature that came out of the bushes. All its blood and guts splurted towards Liriel, Niko and Akila, and they heard the pilots laugh behind their cockpits while the small group wiped themselves off very slowly from the remainings of the poor unfortunate animal. "Do you understand why we cannot run now? They detect any movement and immediately take an aim and oblitirate their targets. We have to wait.." he said, and Liriel wiped off her visors from the blood, before nodding lightly at him.
Akila in the meantime, munched on few meat pieces of the oblitirated animal by using his tongue to pull the pieces to his jaw to not make any motions for the sentinel auspexes, and was quite satisfied for the free meal he received, but Niko rolled his eye and sighed deeply, silently speaking. "You really are a hungry animal, Aki.." he said and peaked once more, concentrating on their new threat. "This situation looks rather dire.. fraggin hell, we need a plan- wha?"
He immediately looked straight at the sky from the noises in it, and noticed two Imperial shuttle-like aircraft passing by them, going into the great distance towards the town of Nello and possibly beyond. Niko cursed once again. "Emperor damn it all..! Imperial forces.. They may have sniffed our trails." Niko said, and realized that they really had to hurry up right now. "If they find out what lies beyond that town, they will get extremely serious and call someone who knows what they're doing. We cannot waste time anymore.. We cannot." he said and immediately began to think of a plan to escape the sentinels who remained still. Those shuttles sooner or later will find out what happened here and then they might call in reinforcements and seal the entire world and fill it with their forces. Something Niko truly did not wish for.
A pilot from one of the sentinels opened his hatch and got out of his vehicle, inspecting his engine that looked to me smoking a bit more than usual. "Captain! It looks like we got a problem here. The plasma gun forced the engine to overwork and requires a cool down." he said loud enough for Liriel and Niko to hear them, as they were literally only ten meters away from each other. "Turn off the machine then you dumbass." the Captain in the flamer wielding one said as his hatch was opened up, while he stared at his controls and especially the radar which was enhanced with an advanced auspex multi-scanner system. The pilot of the plasma wielding one turned the sentinel off, and now it was practically out of use as the engine needed to cool off.
"What an idiot." Niko whispered and continued to observe all 3 machines. The one with the missile system was observing her surroundings from all 3 directions. She turned her machine on all 360 degrees and was just simply waiting, without any fuss. "Cap. No detection yet." she said and the captain responded. "Affirmative, Corporal Helia. Keep the eye on the radar. The blockades are almost finished. General Urslov was very serious about this and did not give us any other orders rather than scout the area. We should hurry up. Now we just have to wait thanks to this dumbass over here.." he said, and the pilot of the plasma scowled. "Oi! Sarge, that still stings you know?" he replied. "I don't care about your feelings, you scoundrel. Get into your vehicle and ignite as soon as the engine is cooled down." he rolled his eyes and obeyed his captain's command.
"Blockade.. Wait. They can't be serious. They blocked every path? this is.. Troubling.." Niko finally realized that the situation was even darker than he thought. The paths were blocked and they had to be very careful not to end up in a dead end. "We have to find an alternative route, frakking perfect. Just as I was hoping for the situation to get better, it only gets worse. How do we evade those tin cans now is the question?" he thought and couldn't find the proper answer. They were in deep trouble, but it was Akila's turn to act as he nudged onto Niko's foot. "Huh? Aki, what are you implying?" Aki looked at the pilots, then back at him. "No. You can't be serious. It's too dangerous.." Aki shook his head and leaned his head to their direction, as if telling him to look.
Niko and Liriel observed him, and then both simultaneously looked towards the directions of the sentinels. They saw that the idiot, who was the one operating the plasma wielding sentinel, forced the Corporal and the Captain to get out of their cockpits to help him with few repairs as the oil was leaking from its rear. Akila slowly began to sneak towards them since they were that distracted, and Niko wanted to pull him back. "Wait.. Aki..! Don't- what are you doing?!" he tried to reach out for him, but Liriel gripped his shoulder and pulled him back, shaking her head. "Mon'Keigh. No." she whispered in his language, to which Niko blinked few times and gave up. Liriel understood his reaction. After all, these two were inseparable, but Liriel's action reassured Niko and told him to trust his pet friend. "May the Emperor protect you.." he whispered. Niko and Liriel only had to watch from now on.
Akila made a slow and steady approach towards them all. He had a thought in mind, and that was to distract these pilots. Niko wanted to use his lasgun, but he knew that causing any unnecessary lasgun noises would undoubtedly attract unneeded attention, and cause them even more trouble than they were in right now. His crossbow "Pilum Imperialis" however, was just what he needed. And so, Niko decided to unsheathe his Leuku and put an arrow onto his crossbow, while Liriel slowly unsheathed her power sword.
"Cap I s-swear, how could I have known about the leakage?!" said the first pilot. "Shut up and stop whining! Get the spare oil canisters.." he ordered, and first pilot felt scolded before he decided to turn his gaze around, and then freeze on the spot as he saw Akila in front of him, about five meters away, sitting on his paws and acting like a curious animal of the Merlorian wilderness. "Cap! L-Look!" he said. "Huh? what in the corpse starch.." all 3 now were facing Akila who stood harmlessly staring at them all and looked to be quite innocent.
"What's this? a doggy!" Corporal Helia said, having the urge to pet him as she made a slow approach with a smile. "Hey there, little boy!" she said. "Do not. I don't like this." the Cap warned her, being cautious and looking around as Helia scoffed. "Cap, it's just a doggy or a wolf from the wilderness. He is just curious to see us!" the first pilot was just silent and confusingly staring at the wolf. "Helia you shouldn't do that. I don't uh.. I also don't like it. This does not seem right. A wild animal cannot act like this." Helia rolled her eyes and waved her hand as if telling him to "piss off" before she knelt down, and was about to pet Akila on the head with a smile. "Hey little guy, there's no need to-"
*CRUNNCCHH*
Her arm. It flew straight into the air as Akila bit it off in one bite. Her face still smiled, but it was slowly being overtaken by her reaction which was dreadful, as she allowed herself the moment to yell out in agonizing pain while holding her bitten arm. "Helia!" Cap and the Private, who was the first pilot, yelled at the same time. "You little bastard!" Cap held her, while Private pulled out his laspistol and was about to shoot at Akila, but his pistol dropped the minute he tried to pull the trigger, as a sharp steely arrow penetrated right through his chest and pierced his heart through. Akila stood in predatory position, and the private fell down instantly while gurgling his blood in his throat, before Akila ripped off his face and silenced him.
"Arhon! NO!" Captain yelled and was about to shoot his plasma pistol at Akila who was acting on his predatory instincts and busy with the first pilot, but his sidearm got kicked away with a fierce high kick from Liriel who came out of the bushes like a naked wind in the air, literally like a ghost. The Captain had no time to even process what just happened after his sidearm got kicked away, because Liriel kneecapped his cheek so hard that his jaw dislocated, and he fell down on the floor, before the screaming voice of Corporal Helia was silenced by the howling banshee that the captain saw in blurred vision. He desperately looked at how the banshee sliced the Corporals throat, and her unending screams finally halted, with her lifeless body spilling the blood from her sliced throat.
Liriel slowly turned her head towards the Captain, while Akila stood on watch, growling towards him. The Cap was barely conscious, as he was too disoriented to speak, only cough and hold his damaged jaw which appeared to be badly hurt. He tried to reach for his sidearm, but Liriel kicked it away and stepped on his fingers, breaking them in an instant as the Captain grunted, but did not scream. "Tough mon'keigh.. Too bad you won't be needing that anymore." she said in her lexicon, and the Cap merely spat blood at her feet as he leaned against the feet of his sentinel, panting, bleeding from his mouth and nose, and holding his jaw, showing the human resilience in the face of danger. "..Filttfhy.. Xennosh.. Sscumh.. Thatss what de Gheneralf mfweant, a xhenos incurssionnh" he spoke low Gothic with his jaw dislocated.
"Immf.. Nottt.. Twellingh you annffthingg.. Vvhermin.." he said as Liriel simply stood still and listened to him, before Niko appeared from behind, having a frowning facial expression towards the Captain, as the Cap, reacted by his eyes widening up at the sheer disbelief at what he was witnessing. Niko. A human. With one eye, and claw scars on his left side of the face. A human, for Emperor's sakes, was standing next to the xeno. He thought he was hallucinating, but he knew it was not true. "Wwhafftt... Hummannn.. With.. xxenoss?!"
Niko looked at the body of the dead pilots, especially the one he personally shot right through his heart, and then straight at the Captain. He was experiencing it. The regret. For the first time in his life, he willingly, shot, another human soldier, and killed him. He had to stay focused and collect himself, which he did after eyeing the Private for a while, and then looked at the Captain before kneeling in front of him. The Captain couldn't believe his eyes that a human would ever think about consorting with a xeno against his own people. He shook his head. He just did not want to believe this. "Nnoh.. Emperor.. I amhh halluchinating." the adrenaline he experienced right now forced him to clench his jaw and snap it back to its place, before he began to speak in a proper and coherent way.
"No... It.. Cannot... Be possible..." he blinked few times, before Liriel noticed that Niko opened a canteen and was offering the captain some water. It made her jaw drop as to how he was treating his potential enemy, but she understood that it was not easy for Niko here. She saw that expression on his face and it spoke of everything, as If he was having a flashback of some sort, but she did not know what was behind his grimace of hidden pain and regret. All she could do was watch his back at the moment as he tried to offer some water to the wounded Captain. He leaned the canteen to his lips, and the Captain merely smacked it away from his face. "Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Heretic! You betrayed your own people! Consorting with a xenos against your fellow human beings?! Where is your humanity?! Why are you with a xenos filth?! You killed your own, traitor!" The captain was screaming to Niko at the top of his lungs.
Niko merely remained with a neutral facial expression, frowning and retrieving his dropped canteen before closing the lid as Liriel and Akila watched. She waited him to interrogate the Captain, but he was obviously feeling uncomfortable from his words, and she knew and felt it. Liriel's instincts immediately kicked in as she saw her human companion was being hurt, and so, even without her own acknowledgement, she punched the Captain straight in the face and forced him to gasp and shut up. "Silence, you worm.." Liriel said, and Niko slowly lifted his head towards him. "Who are you and where are the rest, how many of you are there, and why are you wandering here?"
"Like I'm going.. To answer a traitor anything he asks, go to hell and burn in the depths of the immaterium you traitorous piece of shite!" he spat at his face before Niko wiped it away, and Liriel was feeling the frustration and fury kicking in. She did not know why. This human captain was really pissing her off the more he talked to Niko with his rough tone of voice, possibly she realized that he was throwing insults at him, and her aura was chilling and scary that it forced the Captain to ignore looking at her and instead remain his gaze upon Niko, who did not have his facial expression emit any changes.
"I am not going to talk.. Grant me the Emperor's mercy. This way, you will at least be able to redeem yourself from your smallest sins.. But remember this, scum. The Emperor and the Imperium will NEVER forgive you for this outrageous act of betraying your own people. These xenos are known for manipulation.. How can you fall so low.. Fall so easily to them.. How. You are young, son. What are you doing?" the Captain's tone went from anger to more of a disappointed sadness as he stared at him with bitter hatred, but also with the same vibes of "I feel bad for you".
Niko did not know what to say. He was feeling that he had nothing in his arsenal to counter this Captain's arguments, except only one that he unleashed by lifting his head and looking in his eyes.
"Who are you or the Emperor to judge me? I was born with a human heart. With a human mind. To use both for my own judgement, not to be overtaken by the darkness that is found in every corner of this galaxy. I was already betrayed once. My loyalty to the Emperor was doubted, but it was not he, who would ever judge me, or punish me. It was you. The people like you who only see and think what you are shown and taught, with your humanity locked in a cage of eternal suffering without the ability to use it for the better improvement of the human spirit. Yes.. I regret killing another of my kinsmen willingly. But people like you have no alternatives. Only the eternal damnation of war and suffering that never ends. You do not think with your gifted mind. You only do. Do what you are told to do while not even being sure if it's right or wrong. In this life, it is kill, or be killed. I chose to not be the latter. But I never betrayed the God-Emperor." Niko explained to him before he stood up, and the Captain merely laughed at him.
"You do not.. Understand. There are no alternatives for anyone, not even for you, young man.. no alternatives for anyone, for anything. We survive through unity and by keeping our lines clean of heretics and traitors alike. That structure alone is the backbone of the Imper-" Niko stopped him right there.
"There are always alternatives. You just refuse to seek them out.. Blaming everything as being heretical. When we need the unity the most, you throw it away like it's nothing. I will grant you what you wish for." he said with his face still frowning. He pulled out his Leuku from its sheath, and knelt down again as the Captain was finally allowing himself to smile.
The captain was mocking him with that smile. Niko leaned the edge of the blade against his throat, but he faltered to slice it. He never imagined that he was going to do this. Had he been a heretic, he would have no problem.. but this Captain. He was just an Imperial soldier, who went through the same indoctrination as Niko did, but he did not experience what Niko did in order to become open minded, and escape the clutches and chains of the brainwashing system of the Imperial system. And yet, Niko knew that he was just a loyal soldier of the Imperium. No matter how much Niko tried to ignore or deny it, he grew up amongst the ones like the captain. He ate, he laughed, he shared sorrow with the likes of him, and many more different things. Niko's hand was shaking. Being this close, about to cut the throat of an Imperial soldier, when he possibly developed a bond with the comrades like this Captain during his past battles. He clenched his teeth, and he frowned even deeper.
"Faltering.. No matter how much you try to escape the reality of this war ravaged galaxy, you will only delay the inevitable. You are not going to be a free man. There is no such thing. For anybody.. Not for you, not for me." the captain said softly, his head lifted for his throat to be exposed as his eyes fell upon Niko, whose hand was shaking. Captain looked at his torso, and only now, he realized, as to why he was faltering and his smile turned into an angry grimace after noticing a tiny detail about his armor. "You.. you were one of us! You were a guardsman.. Your armor- this- you! The brotherhood meant nothing to you!? How would your fallen brothers and sisters feel at what you have done?! Betrayal and consorting with a filthy xenos scum.. You truly are doomed to eternal suffering. I pray to thee, Emperor! Curse this traitor eter-"
As Liriel was watching all of this unfold, she just could not bear to look at Niko being in this state anymore. She understood that he was about to kill his own kinsman, but he was obviously faltering. Aeldari killing each other in her eyes was deeply frowned upon, no matter the circumstances, and so, she saw that Niko, no matter what, shared the same views as her about his own people. At the moment, he did what was necessary for their survival as she knew that people like this Captain and his crew are unchangeable, and they're ignorant and stubborn creatures that are not as open minded as Niko is. And so, she pushed Niko aside, grabbed his Leuku and sliced the Captain's throat herself, before he gurgled on his own blood and his life slowly left his body, and his head fell onto his right shoulder, after he took his last breath.
Niko watched the scene unfold with his eye full of confusion, as it was widened, and he saw the captain's blood splurting right onto his hands from his throat. He stared at them, and just looked to be even more disoriented. He was experiencing the PTSD. Liriel cleaned his Leuku with her loincloth, and then knelt down in front of him. "Niko?" she asked, but he did not react. Akila got closer and was also concerned as he nuzzled his maw against his face. Liriel for the first time, felt genuinely worried about him. "Niko..? Niko!" she shook him as it seemed that he had a thousand yard stare, and she was forced to slap him harshly enough to leave her hand mark on his cheek before she shook him again. He blinked few times, looking at her as she removed her helmet. She had the look of a genuine worry, and confusion.
Niko stared at her, right in her eyes, and it appeared that the slap returned him to his normal state. That was of course, until she saw a single tear leave his green, emerald-like eye. She did not expect this kind of reaction. However, as she looked into his eye, there was no doubt that he was experiencing his past traumas, and the projection was visible. "Li..Liriel..?" Niko said in his softer voice as he did not even blink after his tear ran down his cheek. "What is wrong with him.. Is he hur- huh?!" and immediately, he leaped to her for a tight hug, resting his cheek against her chestplate while his arms gripped her back. Liriel raised her arms and leaned back with her eyes widened at his reaction. She was ready to smash his face just for him being this intimate, but the way he clenched onto her for comfort, made her feel no ill intent from him. She did, however, develop some redness on her cheeks for obvious reasons.
Liriel was astonished. She heard his weeping, and the emotions that took over him after what he just had to witness. The way he expressed his emotions, made her feel very sorry for him, and with her own caring way, she slowly wrapped her own arms around him, and allowed his soul to calm down. She stared at the ground while keeping him hugged, and now, she was even more tempted to pull her curious plan of placing her hand on his forehead. But not right now. "Isha.. Our great mother. I do not know what he experiences, but I beg thee.. Allow his heart to find comfort. I cannot believe I am hugging a mon'keigh.. but, he does not, deserve to suffer like this, and all because of me.." she whispered while Niko took his time to calm down in her embrace. He really had nobody else to help him, and Liriel knew it, so she took it under her responsibility to not let him lose himself in his traumatic experiences.
Niko finally stopped his weeping after few minutes, and Liriel, gently unwrapped him from her, before looking down at his face. He realized what he just did and had an urge to apologize. "I'm sorry, its.. Just.. Past. Thank you for understanding, Liriel. I appreciate that." he said as he finally sobered up, and Liriel took it upon herself to wipe his drying tears with her loincloth, which surprised Niko. He was seeing her being caring even more than in that house of his, but he was not smiling, as he definitely had no reason to do that right now.
The aspect warrior only saw a glimpse of a light smile appearing then disappearing instantly after she wiped his tears away, but Liriel understood him perfectly well. He sheathed his blade just as they both stood up. Liriel picked up her helmet to put it back on her head, before Akila felt relieved that his human friend has finally recovered. He couldn't resist the urge to rub himself against him before Niko petted him. "It's okay Aki, I'm alright, do not worry." he said, as Akila howled a bit. Liriel pointed to the woods, before Niko nodded. "We go. We hurry, Niko. They.. They find you. You, me.." she said in low Gothic, and Niko, understood her words perfectly well and grabbed his helmet. "You're right, lassie. Let's go now. Aki! After us." and just as they both turned around, they entered the woods and ran far up north to where the sentinels essentially came from on the path they just left from.
As they departed, the Captain's sentinel buzzed up as he had an external vox caster device within the cockpit. "Captain. Come in. Captain! Your machines are turned off. Is anybody there? Hello!" the response did not come. The sentinels were turned off, therefor the in-built vox caster did not work, but the external vox caster device still had the signal.
"Captain!" no response.
"Captain, for the last time. This is General Urslov speaking. Come in!" and yet again, no response. "That's it.. Lieutenant. Get the Inquisitor on the line... We got a problem."
Merlorian, North-Western mountainous region.
The valley between the mountains. 1 kilometer away from where the shuttle landed.
Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos, and his acolyte Adrian were staring at the sheer sight of the carnage that occurred few days ago in the valley of Merlorian mountains. Many dead Craftworld Aeldari and Drukhari were covering the entire landscape of the valley with their deceased bodies. Some of his crew members were busy scouting the entire area and reporting to him of any sights that they would discover. He held his chin and stood in silence for few minutes, before spilling out few words. "By the God-Emperor. Never in my life have I seen such carnage between these knife-eared xenos.." he finally said and crossed his arms. Adrian covered his visage with the palm of his hand to protect his sight against the sun in the sky. "To me, this is more than acceptable matters, my lord. Xenos fighting each other gives up the upper hand. But what were they truly doing here is the question that I cannot find an answer to." Adrian added to his words.
Oleos turned his head towards him. "A wise question there, Adrian." he turned his gaze back upon the valley as the servo-skulls were doing some scanning work instead of scouting the rest of the planet. This discovery, was enough for the Inquisitor, and there was no need to continue the observation of the entire world. "I feel like they were fighting over something that is obviously mysterious. The Eldar are a random force in this galaxy, and what they do is too alien. We cannot come to understand them no matter what we do. We know the purpose of the Drukhari, but not the purpose of these craftworld ones." as he said that, Adrian pulled out his book about xenos and their factions.
He knelt down in front of a fallen Howling Banshee, who's soul stone has already altered the color from violet to red, indicating that her soul was within the soulstone itself. Adrian observed the symbol on her loincloth, and quickly switched few pages on his book. "Inquisitor." he said while staring at his book. "These are-"
"Ulthwe. The ones with the most powerful seers, both in strength and in numbers.. The prophecies of this specific faction pack a lot of mysteries. Ever since the fall of Cadia, and the revival of the Lord-Commander of the Imperium, the Primarch of the Ultramarines, Roboute Guilliman.. They are said to be traveling and preventing chaos rebellions by eliminating the important elements of the heretics, then disappear into the shadow like ghosts. What in the God-Emperor's name have they forgotten here?" Kaidan asked and inspected few bodies of Drukhari and Dire Avengers.
"My lord, with all due respect.." he stood up and looked at him after closing his book and holding it under his armpit. "This world. Look at it." he said and pointed around the horizon. "As you know, many worlds that are lush like these, who look like they never felt any claws of war, are said to be former "Maiden worlds" in the Aeldari lexicon. Most of their activities on such worlds indicate the importance of recovering something.. I am afraid that, this is exactly what they might have done." Adrian gave his observation, and now? Oleos was deeply impressed by it.
"Emperor preserve us.." he scoffed and then crossed his arms again. "I'm afraid you are not wrong to indicate this, Adrian. I had a feeling that this might be a world that has been a part of their history. But if they managed to snatch whatever they came after? I am afraid it is too late. What can we determine? A battle like this is fresh, which means that it happened no longer than a day or two ago. And on top of that, we have a lonely xeno running around in these woods with another member that I cannot determine." he explained, before Adrian nodded in agreement. "Agreed."
Adrian looked back at the ground, frowned, and spat at the deceased aspect warrior before kicking her deceased body and letting it roll down a small hill. "Vile xenos vermin. This is a transgression of the highest order. While I understand, my lord, that we have a fragile alliance with these scum, but you know very well they did not come here to aid us." he said.
"That is true. However, they did not attack any human settlements or cause unnecessary deaths amongst the populace. My theory is, that they and Drukhari arrived to retrieve the same thing, but got into a headbutting fight. Magos Quintus did remind us that the presence of the xenos disappeared. They may have gotten what they needed if they had to bring the entire craftworld with them to this system. I will collect all the data that we have here, but until we catch that xeno, I am not going to make any reports. We will gather what we find here, and go after that lone xenos filth." he proclaimed, and then snatched his dataslate, writing something in it while Adrian examined few more bodies.
As Oleos turned around to examine some of the bodies with Adrian after putting his dataslate away, he heard a beeping in his ear-vox device, and halted his action as he tapped the button on the device, awaiting the signal from the other side.
Merlorian, North-Eastern region, near the snow covered northern mountains.
The spot of the 8th destroyed servo-skull.
"Inquisitor. Sergeant Tarn on the line." suddenly the vox device in the ear of Oleos buzzed, and he tapped the button. "Daniel? Glad to hear your voice." said Oleos. "Likewise, my lord. We have landed exactly where the servo-skull was destroyed."
Sergeant Tarn was kneeling down in front of the destroyed servo-skull while wielding his thunder hammer, and the recovery left much to be desired. "Aha. Anything specific in particular?" Oleos asked and Tarn replied. "Negative my lord. Except.. Hm. Hold on, Inquisitor." he said and Oleos waited. "Men. Report!" Tarn stood up and expected some results.
"Sarge. We searched the entire area. You may wanna take a look at this.." one of the stormtroopers said, and led his Sergeant about ten meters away from the point of the destroyed servo-skull. He pointed at the ground and Tarn took a closer look. "The footprints. The xenos is definitely not alone.." Tarn said as he stood up, and pressed his comms again. Akila's footprints, however, were not noticeable by them as he was a sneaky animal. "Inquisitor."
"Yes, Daniel?" Oleos replied. "We have discovered the footprints. You were right in your observations. The xenos is accompanied by another individual. They are going far up north. Your specific orders?"
"Immediately give chase! They could have not ran away too far.. Teport to me of anything you see, but catch them before they manage to force you to lose their tracks. They are probably already aware by now that there might be a chase on their tails. Proce.. wait, Daniel, General Urslov wants to speak with me, but I'll include you. Patching him through." he said, and both Tarn and Oleos waited as the buzzing was heard before the contact was established.
"Inquisitor, come in!" he said. "I am here, General Urslov. We discovered some serious leftovers of a recent battle here. The xenos of the Drukhari and Craftworld Eldar have battered each other here. For what purpose, I do not know. But keep this between us. I patched my stormtrooper Sergeant Tarn to the same channel, since we are working together now. What do you have?"
"I see.. So the xenos did fight here. Sergeant Tarn, Inquisitor Oleos. We lost contact with a small scouting squad of sentinels just 10 minutes ago. Something happened with the machines as they were all turned off, but Captain had an external vox caster with him for emergency events. He would always make sure to reply. I do not know what happened to him and his squad, but there is no answer and their sentinels are still turned off. I'm afraid that this might be the doings of those you are trying to find, Inquisitor." Tarn and his stormtroopers got serious, and quite honestly infuriated. "This is impossible. Three sentinels in one go.."
"I swear by the God-Emperor, gentlemen." Oleos really had to think what to do at the moment. The answer did not force itself to wait for long. "Inquisitor." Tarn said. "This can give us great advantage of their whereabouts. General Urslov, give me the coordinates." he told him, and the General gave him the exact location of where the sentinels were shut down. "Affirmative. Inquisitor, with your permission, we can get to this point by stepping on the pathway."
Oleos took a moment to think, and understood that there was no other way to make sure to sniff out this lonely xenos menace and whoever accompanied it. "Permission granted. Proceed!" and with that, Tarn stood up immediately. "Understood, my lord." he turned to his men. "Warriors! To the pathway immediately. There are 3 sentinels we must find as we go up north. Be careful of your surroundings, for the treacherous Eldar are known to be skilled in ambushes and hit and run tactics. Let's go!" and as he ordered, all ten stormtroopers got into 2 perfect lines and Tarn got to lead them from the front.
Merlorian, North-Western mountainous region.
Back at the expedition of Inquisitor Oleos in the valley, after the connection with Sergeant Tarn ended.
As soon as Inquisitor gave permission for Sergeant Tarn to proceed, he quickly abandoned his searching of the deceased xenos bodies, and turned to Adrian. "Adrian, after me"
"Yes, my lord." said Adrian before closing his book and standing near his Inquisitor. He decided to sprint back towards the landing zone, which was 1 kilometer away from the valley itself, and Adrian followed him. Tech-Priest Garan had all his gear and machinery set up in the perimeter while he meddled with few servo-skulls as he was sitting on a small stool. Inquisitor wiped his forehead while making his approach. "Ah, by the Omnissiah's will, you are here, Inquisitor." Garan said as his back was facing the Inquisitor, and Oleos really had to think as to how did he know he was behind him, but the Mechanicus were not to be underestimated for how eerie their members would be with all the uncanny valley vibes.
"Tech-Priest. Enough meddling with your toys.. I need every data that was retrieved." Oleos asked with a hint of frustration in his voice. The results were needed, no matter their scale. Garan simply turned around on his chair and handed him a spare dataslate, which he took and began to examine it.
"In all this mess caused by the vile xenos, there is not much we have been able to retrieve, unfortunately. But by the blessings of the holy Omnissiah, the time is of great essence, my lord. My servo-skulls have scanned the entire valley and the outside perimeter. We found out two spots near each other a mile or two away from the valley itself, that indicate landing crafts. My assumption is, that the xenos retreated from this planet, before disappearing completely from the system in a great haste. My claim can be supported by the fallen trees and the scars of their weaponries at that spot. It means they were being pushed back and truly had to get out in despair. Disgusting xenos.." Garan explained while Oleos held his own chin.
"Anything else?" he asked while eyeing the tech-priest in all the elegant looking red robes. "Negative, except one thing. Read the last parts of the dataslate." he told him with a grunt in his voice, showing his hatred for the "Weak flesh", since the Mechanicus members could read anything in a relatively fast pace due to their fused machines and abandonment of the flesh, while with non-mechanicus members, they took longer with their weaker minds. Oleos ignored his signs and simply switched his gaze to the last part of the dataslate.
Oleos's eyes went from calm demeanor to more of a frowny one, before he took a sharp gaze at Garan. "The picts from the pict-recorder. Show them to me immediately." he ordered, and Garan obliged by not speaking a word, but meddling with few buttons at his cogitators, before the holographic pictures of one of the pict-recording servo-skull appeared right in front of them all. Adrian was visibly confused, and had to intervene.
"A simple wooden house resembling a hunter's dwelling..? What is this supposed to tell us, Garan?" he asked, and Garan simply used his remote controller to switch few pictures with the time limit of 15 seconds each so that he, and Oleos, could make their own assumptions. Adrian and Oleos got closer and took in every possible details. "This might have been an abandoned shack for someone, judging by how its all interior is turned upside down. But what are 3 deceased Drukhari members doing there? Does this mean-"
"Our lone xeno used it as a hideout." Oleos decided to cut Adrian's assumptions before making it loud and clear. "We all need to understand that a howling banshee is capable of taking down a full-grown astartes with the battle experience that lasts centuries. Three Drukhari warriors are nothing compared to this menace." he said while holding his chin and observing the pictures even further.
"My lord." Adrian stepped up. "While this may be true, doesn't it add up to the confusion of the fact, that the xenos is not truly alone? I heard your comms with Sergeant Tarn saying he found footprints. I saw the picts of the xeno being accompanied by another individual back at the spaceport. This clearly means that the xeno is truly.. Not alone." Adrian gave his own observation, before Oleos took the heed of his words. "Acolyte Adrian. You are learning fast, I see." he said with a light smile, before frowning once more. "Garan. Where is this house located at?"
"In the southern part from here by little distance, my lord. Beyond that, there is nothing of interest. Just woods and the wildlife." Garan answered precisely. Oleos walked few meters away from the spot, and looked down at the ground with his hands behind his back. The wind elegantly sending his cloak and jacket swooping in the air. Adrian realized he was busy deeply thinking, and thinking, he was.
"This shack with fresh interior... the pictures at the space port.. with the feet of that person.. they, resembled our footwear. The structure of this individual's body that had no static covering some of it, was in no way a xeno, this can only mean one thing.."
Only one possible answer to who was accompanying this xenos came into the Inquisitor's mind. He really wished he did not even think about it, neither had any desires to believe it, but it was the only and the biggest possibility as the facts were already set upon the table, the pieces slowly being solved. After a deep irritated sigh that left his mouth, he said only one thing that made Adrian, and even Garan, generally speaking, feel disturbed as Inquisitor immediately turned around, and proclaimed in all seriousness.
"Quickly board the shuttles and get Sergeant Tarn on the line!"
Merlorian, North-Eastern region, near the snow covered northern mountains.
The spot of the 3 sentinels on the pathway, close to evening.
Sergeant Tarn and his men stood facing the 3 deceased pilots of the 3 sentinels that went offline. One pilot was shot through the chest with what seemed to be an arrow, the second one had her arm completely torn off and her throat sliced, as for their leader, the Captain, he simply laid his back against the feet of his sentinel, and his head against his shoulder, covered in his own blood from his throat that was visibly cut clean. Tarn shook his head at this sight, and no matter if these men and women were scoundrels and lacked the discipline of many regiments Tarn had fought and bled with, in his eyes, they were still the soldiers of the Imperium, who gave their lives for their mutual cause, for only in death does the duty end.
He knelt down and closed the eyes of all 3 deceased members, before remembering that there was an external vox-caster in the cockpit of the Captain's sentinel. Tarn looked at it, climbed into the cockpit, and found it laying next to the seat. He grabbed it and established clear contact with General Urslov. "General, this is Sergeant Tarn on the line speaking. Do you hear me? Over." he said, and awaited for the response from the buzzing vox caster.
"Sergeant Tarn! Thank the Emperor.. what's your situation, my captain and the crew, are they-" he was interrupted instantly.
"Dead." Tarn said. "All 3 of them murdered in cold blood." Tarn declared with his calm tone of voice, before General Urslov sighed.
"May the Emperor accept their martyrdom..." General said, as he was disappointed for obvious reasons, as the Captain was specifically one of the people that General trained when the idiotic governor Vivon was busy swimming in luxury. "Their deaths will not be in vain. The more we waste our time, the more this xenos filth is slipping away from us, Sergeant. We must act, and act quick. It should have not gone too far. I want this xenos parasite's head on a pike!" General punched something behind the vox caster, but Tarn paid it no heed.
"The justice will be delivered accordingly, General. Calm yourself and focus. Hear me out, loud and clear. The xenos is supposedly-" out of a sudden, he received a beeping signal from his comm device. It was the Inquisitor making contact.
"Wait, General. Inquisitor is calling. Hold." he told him, before tapping the button. The signal was established and connected before Tarn spoke. "My lord, I'm glad you called, we found the sentinels and the Captain and his crew-"
"I know what happened to them, Daniel. I had to guess they are dead, but that's not of the importance right now. Connect the General to the channel. Just tell him to be in private." Oleos gave out the order. "Yes, my lord, one minute."
The Sergeant quickly pulled up the vox-caster and spoke right into the radio. "General, Oleos wants you to join our channel. But find some place private first." he ordered, and the General obliged. "Understood."
After the General got into a more private spot, he made a connection to their mutual channel, and now both Oleos and Sergeant could hear him. "Sergeant, Inquisitor, I am listening loud and clear." he said. "Good. We have a bigger problem than we expected to find, gentlemen. There is a very huge possibility, that a human, is accompanying the xenos." Tarn's and Urslov's faces went grim immediately after what they have just heard from Oleos.
"What... My lord, are you saying that there is a traitor among us?!" General asked in disbelief, while Tarn was busy trying to focus and understand why in the God-Emperor's forsaken heavens the Inquisitor would dare to even think about such a thing. "Not among us, Urslov. It is just my assumption, but there can be no doubt. We do not know who this person is, but I can assure you, gentlemen. With all the facts placed on the table, there can be no doubt that this person is a human male. It matters not, for if it truly is a man, he has conspired against humanity by consorting with the filthy, disgusting xenos scum, and so, I prepared a new order for you. Dissipate the previous order to kill this second individual. Now I want you to capture them both and deliver them to me. Wound them if you must, but do not kill under any circumstances. I am in a shuttle flying to your direction, Daniel. Quickly follow their trail and do not let them escape.. I will be joining you with my crew." Oleos was unhappy, and rightfully so.
This entire endeavor was a once in a lifetime experience and he was not willing to accept failures within it. He realized how confusing and puzzling everything got as of now. A human helping a xeno, a traitor, a heretic, a lost person? it mattered not to Oleos. He wanted to interrogate them both and make sure they spill everything out, for his thirst for knowledge was the only thing keeping him sane. One could think as to how Tzeentch has not swallowed his mind, but Oleos had a steely mind and knew when not to cross the line. Right now, he was packed with questions, but no answers. And he, really, needed some answers right now.
"Understood, my lord. We see their footprints. They're always making sure to use the woods to their advantage and as cover. They won't go far away, i assure you." he said, and Inquisitor replied pretty fast. "Great thinking, Daniel. Proceed immediately. For I want you, General Urslov, to tighten the blockade at the pathway, and expand it horizontally to a few miles in the woods if possible. Bring many more of your units you may need, for we have to make sure they do not slip away once again. We will use "Hammer and Anvil" to cripple them, and capture, without giving them a chance of escape. Commence immediately, for we cannot allow this to get out of control. I will join you soon" he made sure his orders were heard loud and clear, and as accurately as possible. There were many things at stake and Oleos was not willing to risk it.
"Good luck, men. Oleos out." Inquisitor said. "Yes, my lord. Urslov out." replied the General. "Daniel out." Tarn was the last one to say, before he addressed his men. "Tempestus warriors.. Get to the tracks on a sprinting march. They're in the woods and are clearly trying to keep close to this pathway. Reasons? Unknown, but the Inquisitor made the orders clear. We get them from the rear, while the General's forces will get them from the front. Move, hurry!" he ordered and ran straight into the woods while following the footprints on the ground. These men had the necessary experience to track their prey. Tarn ran, and he was followed by his men in a stretched line of an arrow, with Tarn being the tip of it. They had to watch all of their directions, and watch them, they would.
"Emperor damn you, traitor.." Tarn's only thought that raced in his mind right now, were exactly those words.
Merlorian, North-Eastern region, approaching closer to the snow covered northern mountains.
Near the pathway, in the woods.
The evening was settling in, and it looked like the stormy, gray clouds were approaching from the side of the snow covered mountains. It was going to get dirty real quickly, and that would cause some serious issues for Niko, Liriel and their white furred companion. But no matter what, they continued to run in great haste while staying next to each other. Liriel was confident, and with high spirits, but Niko, unfortunately, had a gut feeling that told him to just turn to any side whatsoever, and to not stick to the one they kept heading towards to at all costs.
He had no choice as the long pathway made out of stone told him that the roads are definitely connected to the one and only major city of Merlorian - Xaroi. The compass was not needed as they had no way to take their time at a peaceful pace and choose the right direction with it, due to the fear of being chased and tracked. He knew, and he felt that they would come. He already has spilled the blood of the Imperial soldiers, and so, the die was cast for Niko.
Niko did not speak, or say anything during the running. The only thing that was heard from him was his breathing which he tried to maintain while sprinting, occasionally fixing his eye patch from the dripping sweat which forced his eye patch to get slippery with how much his forehead was producing it. Same with his hands, because he had to hold onto the straps of his backpack from constantly adding that weight on his back. "Bloody frakkin hell.. I forgot my gloves at my home. Matters not, I am not slowing down." Niko's mind wandered as these words were coming from his mind, but he still kept himself silent and felt slight shivers due to how the temperature was slowly dropping the more they kept themselves near the pathway, which was stretching north.
Liriel in the meanwhile, felt no sense of fatigue or slowness. Her each step was precise, fluid and as fast as a blowing wind. She had to match her speed with the clumsy human that followed her. It did cause her annoyance, but it was not important at the moment. "The Imperials are known to dig deep until they either find what they want, or they end up dying in the process.. Before repeating the same thing over and over again, until they finally get what they desire. Those machines are not going to be kept idle. By Khaine's bloody hand.. Can he be any slower?" she scoffed with a sigh and made sure not to run past Niko as he needed to take more air with the sprinting.
Akila also had no issues running this fast and with such great swiftness. His paws were flexible and his body, despite being young, and quite tough, felt light as he made sure to dodge every tree, bush or boulder in their way. His fiery amber eyes ever so keeping their momentum, and that vertical line going from his forehead to his nose, he looked very healthy and was just being himself.
They continued to run in the woods for a long while, until they saw a long, horizontally stretching hill, which had the pathway connecting to it. This was the end of these woods before an open flatland since there were no trees visible to them both behind the hill itself. Niko immediately halted his run, same with Akila. "Liriel, halt!" she immediately froze just as she was about to climb up the small and short hill, staring back at Niko while he took some breathing while panting heavily, already dripped in sweat.
"Don't... my father taught me one important lesson. When you climb a hill, you will either see life, or death itself. With our current situation, the latter option is what may await us. Let us have a break" he said quite silently, putting finger on his lips and removing his helmet to rub his short military styled hair from all the wetness of his sweat, taking few gulps from his water canteen, before giving Akila the last amount of water which he made sure to drink. "Ah shite, water's gone. Perfect.."
The aspect warrior still stood like a frozen statue at the hill, not understanding his words. But she did understand that he was strictly warning her to be careful with where she was going. She sighed, and came down from the hill while Niko was giving some water to Akila. "Mon'Keigh. You know very well that we have to keep moving. We cannot stay here.. you saw those aircraft swooping past us. And those machines coming from ahead of this pathway." she said and gestured him with her hand signs. Niko lifted his head to look at her, and frankly speaking, he immediately realized that she was telling him to be in a great haste.
He shook his head and continued to take some breathing time, before punching himself in the chest to exhale deeply. "Hhhuuf.. Anyway, No. I do not like hills, and for a good reason. Let me go see what's behind it." he said. As he strapped the helmet back on his head, he dropped to a proning position at the hill, right on his stomach, before crawling up the hill itself, while Liriel, feeling utterly annoyed, looked at him with slight ridiculousness. "He has so many good and bad qualities that I have to pity him. By Khaine, he was in a state of total confusion just an hour ago when he couldn't kill that mon'keigh that yelled at him. What made him stop.. and weep against me?" she wondered in the meanwhile, staring at him climbing the hill bit by bit while he left his lasgun, and backpack at the ground. Only carrying his Leuku, and his crossbow with the quiver on his belt.
Niko had his head completely lowered just as he reached the top of the hill. He kept his eye open without blinking, and decided to take a small peek by lifting his head...
*Wwww..WW..WWWRRREEWW- TIINNKK*
Niko's vision went blurry as an autogun bullet ricocheted off of his helmet and sent it flying backwards into the air, before the blunt force of the impact caused his only eye, the left one, to be soaked in the blood coming from the top of his head, while he was sent rolling down the hill with his crossbow, while the alarm began sounding off from behind the hill. "They are behind the hill! Artillery, mountains, barrage them!" was heard as a salvo of lasguns, autoguns and plasma gun projectiles were being sent over the hill as it seems that the orders to take them alive has not yet been able to reach them due to how the General had to pull his well-trained forces from other blockades and block this specific path. There was an entire army behind that hill.
Liriel, seeing what just happened to Niko, quickly experienced a sudden burst of emotions before gasping and widening her eyes behind her helmet in fear and shocking despair. "NIKO!" she yelled, and immediately rushed to stop him from rolling any further, while Akila's eyes were also filled with concern and fear for his human friend. Liriel dropped to her knees and turned him on his back, while his light brown hair was covered in his own blood. Niko could not hear anything else than the buzzing noises in his ears and the sound of shock so to speak.
She was relieved to see that the projectile did not pierce his head and he only suffered from an extremely blunt force. "Ohhh thank Isha.." she sighed in pure relief before focusing on him, before putting his arm around her neck to carry him against the hill, while the whistling sounds of the artillery and mortar barrages commenced.
Akila made sure to stay next to Niko no matter what as he looked extremely worried for him, and couldn't do anything else than hope that he was okay. Liriel covered Niko with her body from all the possible shrapnel while the wolf snuggled himself behind Niko's knees. It also helped the fact that Liriel was taller and had better armor than Niko, specifically built from wraithbone. The shrapnel pieces ricocheted against her armor, and luckily, not a single one pierced her exposed parts. The young man was weakened and could barely process what was happening at the moment, as his brain was in the process of restarting itself.
The barrage lasted for about five minutes straight, and the officers behind the hill, issued another order. "Soldiers, move up! Go!" and the first batch of fighters ran towards the hill like crazed fanatics. Liriel, realizing that the bombardment has stopped, gently laid Niko against the hill while unsheathing her power sword and preparing to take down anybody that tries to take them by surprise since she heard the chanting and dozens of footsteps approaching them, ever so getting closer and closer, louder and louder.
Niko's vision was slowly returning to him, as he had blood once again on his arms. He blinked few times, and then looked at Liriel who's back was facing him. He was in absolute loss of words. Liriel did not abandon him when the situation got dire. She had every chance to just leave Niko to be captured and then escape with her superior speed and fluid movements, but she did not. She stood by his side, and was putting her life at risk, just for him.
Few images flashed in his eye, and he forcefully wiped the blood off of his face. Next, he looked at his lasgun near his feet, and quickly grabbed it before Liriel saw the Merlorian planetary militia appear from the hill one by one, about to take her down. "Isha and Khaine, heed me. If this is my last battle, let my blood be fueled by you, oh Khaine. Let my soul be taken to your gardens, oh Isha.. Do not let them take me or him alive.. If i shall take my last breath, forgive me, Arleina.. For breaking the promise." Liriel prayed silently while gripping the hilt of her sword as tight as possible.
She was ready for her possible last stand. For if she was to die, she would die with honor of her word to watch over Niko, and without betraying him, the one who saved her from the worst fate possible, and allowing her to forge her own destiny. As she was about to charge at them, loud flashes of lasgun projectiles flew past her and struck 8 members of the freshly trained Merlorian soldiers, who fell and rolled down the hill from the front and behind. "What in Ynnead's name?!" she turned her head around, and saw Niko on his knee, aiming his lasgun at the hill while panting heavily, his left side of his face covered in blood, while he kept aiming his gun at the hill. These rookies, were no match for Niko, who was a veteran of the Imperial Guard and quite a marksman, even under stressful situations.
The aspect warrior was beyond speechless. He looked like a dead man just a second ago, and now, he was still standing up and cheating death itself by showing his human stubbornness. Liriel respected that quality within him, and then saw him signaling her to come down, which she did. "By the Aeldari gods, his spirit shines resilience.." she thought while seeing him grip his backpack onto his back, and his crossbow behind him, while holding his lasgun tightly in his hands while Akila growled and was ready for close combat action.
They both hid behind a fallen tree that was sent to bits by the barrage, just as the rain began to pour down from the gray clouds who managed to reach them, with a loud storm being heard approaching them from the distance itself. The rain started to pour down from the sky, and wash the blood away from Niko's face who tightly held his lasgun in his hands, and Liriel stood on her feet against the tree. "Too many enemies.. we are overwhelmed. I'm afraid they are trying to surround us. In that case.. I got an idea." Liriel said while the noises of more Imperials were approaching the hill, alongside the roaring engines of the vehicles. She had to act, and act, she would.
Kneeling down in front of Niko, she gestured him and Akila to close their ears by shutting her own ones with her hands, then point at her helmet's mouth part, where the howling device was attached to. "What.. Liriel where are you going?" she heard him ask with a slight grunt in his voice due to how the ricocheted bullet caused him a serious headache. She shook her hand and gestured him to stay here, before running towards the hill as fast as possible. "Liriel! Emperor damn it!" Niko cursed while spitting some of the blood that reached his lips from his head, immediately shutting his ears, with Akila doing the same with his paws.
Liriel immediately ran like a bullet straight towards the hill, climbed it up via sprinting, and made an enormous jump towards the sky. She saw the approaching Imperials. Hundreds of them. Behind them, were chimeras, sentinels and at least two Leman Russes alike, while far behind the vehicles stood the blockade itself, with a thousand or more men and women of the Merlorian militia firing their shots. "All fear the voice of death calling to them!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, took a swift deep breath, and immediately sounded off her howl from the xenos device on her helmet's mouth part.
All the militia members in the entire vicinity behind the hill, fell onto their knees, right onto the ground, and dropped their weaponries while holding their ears and squirming from the overwhelming soundwave of Liriel's "Banshee's call", also known as the howl. It was extremely effective, as it halted those who were up close, and ruptured their eardrums since majority were already bleeding from their ears, while those far away were not affected as severely as the first wave. The vehicles were the only ones who kept firing towards Liriel while she was landing from the air, using her sword to decapitate 3 militia members with a single slice of her power sword that were too close to reaching the hill while on their knees. Their bodies just rolled down the hill in an instant, until she was forced to instantly retreat back towards Niko.
The young man saw Liriel running towards him. He removed his hands from his ears, and stood up to his feet. "Liriel what did you just do- how many of them are-" he did not even have a chance to finish his question, because she grabbed his arm so quickly that he did not even have a chance to finish his blinking. She ran back to where they escaped from, and she could only speak in her own mind at such given moment. "I crippled their waves but only for a short amount of time. These Mon'keigh are so predictable, but we are outnumbered two to thousands.. I need.. I need to think!" she frowned deeply behind her helmet and looked at every direction, while Niko was heavily breathing but keeping up with her pace due to pure rush of adrenaline.
As they left the hill and retreated, the second, fresh waves of militia members, reached the hill and Niko could hear their loud commands while few shots landed near his feet, but they missed, and both members with their pet companion disappeared from their vicinities. "Curses be upon you, frakking bastards! After them!" one of the officers yelled before an exhausted member of the recon unit arrived and informed him about something very important. "HALT! HALT! HALT! Major! General Urslov has declared a new order - At all costs, capture the intruders alive, no matter what it takes! Non-lethal wounding is allowed, but he orders to capture them alive. He received the orders from the Holy Inquisition itself!" he said while deeply breathing as he collapsed on his knees, while the Major took a confused look then grumbled with his teeth clenched. "Haaaaalt! Soldiers, halt!" and they all obeyed, stopping their chase and turning their gazes to their leading officer.
The Major of the militia grabbed a vox-caster and spoke. "Soldiers! New order from the General - Capture the intruders alive, no matter what it takes.. Cavalry of the 2nd company, move out and go after them with net guns. Capture them at all costs! May the Emperor aid you!" he declared as the answer came quickly in the channel. "Affirmative, Major. Mounting the steeds and moving through the blockade, await us in 30 minutes!" one of the riders announced, and then, all the Major had to do, was watch the horizon of their long stretched blockade as the dust was visible flowing into the air from the long distance behind the lines.
The Merlorian horse riders, about 8 people in total including their Sergeant, came out of the blockade after half an hour. The soldiers stretched their line to allow them to pass on the pathway itself. In just one minute alone, they reached the hill itself while lookin at the crippled and dead Merlorian militia members, who died from bleeding of their eardrums, rupture of their hearts and minds, while some were receiving help from their comrades as they couldn't hear anything and were deaf from the dreadful howl of Liriel. The one who led the cavalry unit, a Sergeant, had a lot of questions to ask the Major once he reached the top of the hill where the Major stood.
"Sir. Sergeant Lork awaiting your orders with seven steeds. If I may ask, Major, what caused this?" he humbly asked while frowning and having a face of grim, since for many of the Merlorians who were in the military, this was first. They have never seen a proper action before, and this, was not what they expected. The Major facepalmed himself and pointed at the pathway. He was pissed off. "A xenos and a frakking traitor! THAT'S what caused this, specifically the xenos WITCH! I managed to cover my ears before her howl literally crippled the first wave of our soldiers to nothingness. Therefor, stop asking questions and go after them immediately! Inquisitor demands them alive.." he yelled at him so far that even the horses began to neigh.
"Yes sir! Riders, after me!" is all he had to say before flicking the reins and forcing the horse to run, and squeezing its sides for it so speed up, which the horse obliged, neighed and the entire unit followed their sergeant, with the net guns strapped on their backs. They had one thing that they had to do - Capture the xenos, and the traitor, at all costs.
In the meantime, Niko and Liriel already stepped out of the pathway and rather entered the woods for cover once again. There was no time to stop, no matter the desire to do it. They couldn't stop, and had a rightful reason to be cautious since they have been detected by the Merlorian militia and made their presence now officially clear. "Frrraakkk my legs are killing me.. But I cannot stop, I.. I cannot stop!" Niko continued to repeat in his mind while his bleeding stopped, but his head still ached. "The Emperor protects.. Emperor protects.. Emperor protects.." the only words going through his mind right now were exactly the short prayers.
Liriel in the meantime only focused on finding a place for them to hide, but she knew that there was no hiding in these woods. "The Mon'keigh will burn this beautiful paradise to the ground just to lure us out.. I cannot hide. Not for them to destroy this ancestral world. I know what they're capable off..!" the disturbing thought gripped her heart, but she continued to push it aside while holding Niko by his wrist and running in full speeds, almost as if helping him get that adrenaline rush within his blood. "Uncle Elidyr, how I wished you were here for guidance.. But it is up to me now to take the lead. Nobody else will do it for me. Only I." those words did motivate her, and she began to make a quick plan to evade their pursuers.
She stopped and allowed Niko to have a sense of breathing as he heavily panted and leaned against a tree, coughing few times as Akila was forced to pant as well, collapsing on the ground while Niko looked at his lasgun, checking the ammo. "Half a cell. Two more batteries left.." he said while panting, and looked at the aspect warrior who also allowed herself to have a small break, but not until she knelt down in front of her human companion, and without saying a word, ripped a piece of her loincloth, and wrapped it around his head like bandage, forcing a light smile on Niko's face as he really felt.. Good, when she was showing her caring side. "O..Oh.. t..thank you, Liri..." he told her, to which Liriel lightly nodded and tapped his shoulder, allowing him to catch a breathing.
Liriel sat down and thought of a plan while holding her sword on her lap. She had to be quick at this endeavor, as neither she, nor Niko, knew what awaited them if they retreated back. "Going back will not work. If we get lost in the woods, we'll venture through them until they bring reinforcements and envelop us easily.. what will they do with me is obvious, but what will they do with him..?" she thought, but then made a promise to him. "Do not worry, human Niko. I will force your last breath before they take you alive. I swear by my craftworld and my honor." she swore to fulfil this promise and took a gaze at Niko, who lifted his one knee against his chest and left his second leg on the ground, staring at the ground while breathing. Liriel did not want to imagine what awaited him, as she knew how humans treat those they deem as "Traitors" so to speak. She removed her gaze from him, and stared at the ground instead.
Niko in the meanwhile, lifted his head, and looked at her. Even with her helmet on, he knew that her expression was that of a dire and desperate situation, and he did not want to imagine what awaited her if she gets captured. "I promise.. you, Liriel. I will end you before they get their hands on you, I swear by the Emperor and by the great Silver spear.. I will not let them have you. Not as long as I breathe." Niko also made a promise. It seemed that the first seeds that were sown, were beginning to grow already, as their reliance on each other became stronger and stronger, the bond ever closer, since none of them could survive without one another.
He stood up to his feet while slightly feeling the weakness digging into his young human body, and gripped his lasgun tightly. "It does not matter who they are. We kill each other every passing second. My fate is not determined, and so, I shall not falter. For I am not alone. Not anymore.." he proclaimed, and looked down at Liriel, who then stood up to her feet before they exchanged their looks. Niko nodded once, as if asking her "Are you with me?" and she returned a nod of her own, assuring him that she truly is with him. "Then let us stick together in this endeavor, Liri. You watch my back, I watch yours." he told her, which she pointed at him, then at herself, then tightened up her fist, indicating to stick together no matter what. He nodded, and was about to run, before Akila's growling stopped him.
They both immediately felt anxious, as this indicated something bad. "Aki? what's the matter?" the young man asked, before the growls got louder. Liriel quickly looked around herself, and then, straight at their rear, she saw the bushes wiggling very unusually. Something flashed behind the bushes, a reddish-orange light. "What on Ulthwe's tears.." she said. "Lass? what is there-" a sudden snap. "Get down!" Liriel yelled as a sudden projectile of lasfire struck the tree next to Niko as soon as Liriel pushed him and herself against the ground, proning completely.
"Targets spotted! Twelve o'clock, wound them! Aim for the legs!"
Sergeant Tarn and his stormtroopers suddenly appeared from their rear, surprising them in an instant. He ordered his command just as his arrow formation tightened up into a crescent of advancing stormtroopers that came out of the bushes and the trees which they were hiding in. Liriel quickly crawled behind a tree, and Niko did the same, while Akila stayed at his feet. The rain got severe and it began to pour down even more heavily.
They unleashed some volleys of fire from their weaponries, specifically aiming low in order to strike their legs so they can capture them without fatally wounding or killing them in the process. Niko returned the fire from his lasgun as the stormtroopers were forced to take cover and crouch as few accurate shots managed to land on the stormtroopers, but with their better equipped armor, it merely bruised them and did not do much damage at all. But 3 members had to be dragged from getting blunt traumas on their chests and limbs, yet they stood with a grunt of pain, ignoring it completely.
Nevertheless, the Stormtroopers continued to advance. Their crescent formation, was slowly tightening up, indicating a quick pincer movement and encirclement. Akila could not do anything but hide beneath Niko's feet, and so decided to remain out of the fight, for the time being at least. Niko felt the reality of the situation. They were taken by surprise and the death was imminent. "Liriel! Run! I'll hold them off!" he yelled at her, gesturing her to escape by pointing at their rear while waving his hand constantly.
She understood what he was telling her, but she, in return, shook her head. "Is he mad? How can I, the daughter of Ulthwe, abandon the one who took me out of the jaws of death.. No!" she spat back and refused to oblige. Niko cursed few times while the stormtroopers unleashed their salvos at their position behind the trees that they decide to hide at. "Frak.. does she not understand me?!" Niko fumed. He really did not wish her to be taken alive, but he had no way to convince her at this dire situation.
He decided to resist. Resist and bite, bite hard, for he was all in sight. He took his arms, and fought. Fought hard, resist and do what's right. His lasgun's barrel was already scorching red from how many shots he unleashed at the approaching enemies, but he was not going to go down without a fight. "We are frakked.. Emperor, protect her. Protect her for even if she's not human, she does not deserve the fate that awaits her, if she gets in their hands.. Take me instead, but not her. Heed my words, oh God-Emperor.." he whispered in his mind, while he remained stoic and defiant in the face of severe danger.
Liriel in the meanwhile, quickly had to think of a plan. She immediately began to analyze the stormtroopers, and came to a realization that these soldiers were well trained and armed. Basically elite units. It made the situation quite worse, but she knew what to do. "Khaine.. Fuel my blade!"
Since Niko was shooting his lasgun and holding them back, this was the PERFECT moment to unleash her plan into motion. She placed her power sword against the tree, and then, used one of her legs to kick the edge of her blade, resulting in the tree getting sliced through like butter before she quickly jumped to Niko's position, grabbed his hand, and literally sprinted the hell away from their positions "Wha-!" the young man did not even have time to react as he got snatched away from his hiding position, now forced to run with the banshee, while Akila, followed their example.
Tarn and his men slowly got up to return their fire, but the Sergeant heard no noises of las weaponry being unleashed. He did, however, hear wooden cracks that were getting louder every second, and his heart sank as he stared directly upwards. It was the falling tree. It slowly began to descend and fall at the Stormtroopers, and Tarn noticed this instantly while spreading away.
"Its falling down! Spread out, men! Spread out! Matias, get out!" Tarn issued an order and a warning as the giant tree fell down like a little meteorite, shaking the ground with tremors and loud noises, and also, sending air dust, particles and mud everywhere as if a grenade just exploded near their position. The crescent line broke down, and one Stormtrooper yelled out in pain as his legs got crushed with the fallen tree. "Shite! Pull him out of there!" he ordered while coughing from the amount of air dust and mud that covered him and his men entirely from the impact of the tree against the ground.
The Sergeant noticed no firing noises coming from the front, and just as the view was clearing off from his vicinity, he only saw the backs of his enemies fading away in the distance. They were escaping, and he would not allow this to happen, for he was very irritated, but kept himself under control. "Five men with me, the rest of the four, help out Matias and rendezvous with General's forces at the blockade! Make sure he gets medical help!" Tarn ordered as 5 men joined him, and 4 others got to pull their efforts together and lift the tree for the wounded Scion to get out of the trapped position with his legs crushed completely. The Sergeant ran after them immediately. "You will not escape the Emperor's judgement.. Traitor." Tarn said, and gave in to chasing him and his xeno companion.
Niko and Liriel in the meanwhile, were just running away with Akila at their side. They knew that they only had at best half a minute to slow down their chase, but nevertheless, Niko was impressed with Liriel's plan as he panted heavily and kept running while holding her hand. "She is very smart and creative when it comes to battle.. I am lucky that she uses it against them, and not me." he admitted while trying to concentrate on the task at hand.
"We must run. We must run without a stop.. they are not going to give up on hunting us down. But no matter how much they try, a howling banshee, the warrior of Khaine, will never become the hunted.. But.. Him?" Liriel's mind raced this exact thought within her head. It was something she would never allow herself to be in. To become, the hunted. She was a natural huntress, and would not allow herself to be taken down like cattle. But she was not alone in this situation. She had to watch over the human that accompanied her, for even at the face of death, he refused to yield. Refused to falter, and protected her from the imminent dangers that were slowly surrounding her, just like at the hill. She admired Niko's spirit, for he was proving himself to be unbreakable in her eyes, but she knew that he was just stubborn and held onto his beliefs, despite being so young.
She simply looked behind at Niko, meeting up with his gaze while he was trying to catch a breathing. Their eyes met, and Liriel saw that resilience in his single, emerald-like green eye. "May Khaine steady your blade, and Isha bless your heart, Niko Armanen.." she whispered to herself, before Niko merely grinned at her, showing her that despite this current situation, he was defiant no matter what, while he looked to be extremely fatigued due to his head trauma and all the constant running and energy depletion. Liriel nodded to him, and he returned it, before sweeping her gaze to her front, while Akila sped up and ran next to Liriel, making sure that his predatory vision keeps a good track at anything that might surprise them. Be it an ambush, or a trap.
Something, however, caught the entire group off guard. There was a weird looking dust going up into the air, and it looked to be extremely bizarre because it looked like it was coming straight towards them. "What on Isha's name is that.." Liriel asked. "Kalevan devils! What in me mam's name?!" Niko also asked this question of curiosity. They were forced to run directly forward, and not turn behind to the chasing Stormtroopers, which they knew would not leave them alone. Then, just as the dust in the air approached, the loud noises of clopping were heard in the distance, right behind the trees, bushes and tall grasses with many different plants. Liriel moved her hand from Niko's wrist straight to his palm and tightened it, surprising the young man at how she was reacting. He did not detest it, and in exchange, he tightened his hand on hers.
Akila, with his animalistic instincts, began to howl rapidly. Just as his amber eyes were becoming fiery, Niko and Liriel literally saw the wild wolf run past them both, and leap at the thick bush, flying straight through it in the distance of 8 meters. And it was then, that a loud neigh of a horse was heard, accompanied by a gasp and a scream of the one who rode the steed. Because within a span of 3 seconds, from the bushes, came flying an entire steed whose head Akila was biting clean, with the rider on top, who got thrown directly towards Niko and Liriel. "Watch out!" Liriel strafed leftwards and pulled Niko by tugging his hand towards her, avoiding the impact of the Merlorian rider before he fell and rolled on the ground.
Niko's head quickly turned around and he could not believe his sight. "C..Cavalry?! Oh come on!" he cursed under his lips while Liriel did not react at all. She only kept looking forward, and pulled her companion closer to her to keep him safe from danger. Akila ran next to his human and Aeldari friend with his muzzle covered in the horse's blood, and he looked to be in a state of a full predator of the wild, making sure to truly be the "man's best friend". Liriel already realized that the mon'keigh were now chasing them on their steeds, and that, made things truly difficult, because now, they were being chased by the Stormtroopers from the rear, and the Merlorian riders from the front, not even taking into an account the blockade that awaited them behind the hill.
The young human, and the howling banshee, with their furred friend, continued to run without a stop. The adrenaline was just too much for them to halt, especially for Niko, who already developed a "Second Wind". But they were not far away from danger itself. Oh no, they were only about to face the second one. Because as they passed through a small river in the woods, the sudden, and a loud noise of a whistle was heard from their left flank.
"Chaaaaaaaargee! Onward, Merlorian riders!"
Sergeant Lork of the Merlorian 2nd company yelled out as 7 horse riders came from the left flank and from the front in the shape of an upside down "L". They charged directly towards Niko and Liriel, and they were not in any appealing state. They carried net guns under their arms and were determined to catch their targets no matter what. "Cavalry!" Niko yelled and was forced to separate himself from Liriel's hand, releasing it instantly before crouching to take his aim. As the riders approached them, Akila and Liriel jumped into action as quickly as possible, while Niko provided cover.
He took a proper crouching position and unleashed few dozen shots of his lasgun at the charging horsemen, but they were swift to dodge them. The distance was closing in. "Frakking shitebags have quick reactions!" Niko cursed while Liriel remained silent as she needed to concentrate on the battle. This was certainly the difference between how they fought their fights.
As Niko missed few shots and retreated backwards, it gave Liriel and Akila enough time to jump into action as they leaped forward with great haste, meeting up with the charging horsemen from the front, face to face, while the 4th ones from the flank still had to reach them. 3 of the frontal ones unleashed their nets from their netguns simultaneously. Liriel made a high, flexible frontal flip to avoid it, while Akila merely used his swift animalistic speed to dodge them.
Afterwards, she landed behind on the horse, and literally sliced the rider's face clean with her power sword. The rest of the 2 riders equipped their sidearms in the shape of 1 plasma pistol and 2 basic laspistols, and tried to wound her by shooting at her non-fatal parts of her body, but she dodged them precisely in an uncanny way like a wiggling feather, before making a swift kick to the face of the 2nd rider after jumping past him, whilst the 3rd rider, who believed that he had his chance to take her down, quickly aimed at her from the rear. "Begone xenos sc-"
A sudden snap was heard, and the 3rd rider missed his shot by mere inch from Liriel's legs as Akila's jaws bit him straight through his thigh, biting off a huge chunk of flesh, meat and bone. His painful scream echoed in the woods, but they were silenced by two shots from Niko's lasgun as he had his eye at the sights. Akila satisfied his hunger by devouring the rider's flesh, and turned to the rest of the 4 members, who were way too closer than expected. Liriel did the same after finishing off the 2nd rider who fell from his horse in a state of disarray due to the fact that Liriel knocked a piece of his skull clean off his scalp through her kick, but she was a warrior of honor, and rather than let the mon'keigh suffer, she finished him off quickly with a stab in the heart, before fully concentrating on the rest.
Liriel saw her human companion drop his lasgun with a loud word of "This shite depletes so quickly for fraksakes!" in a frustration of his own unluckiness. He pulled his crossbow from his back, alongside his laspistol, and tried to go full haste on the approaching horsemen. But before he could react, the 5th rider shot the net directly at his body from the far distance, and under that heavy weight, he was forced down against the ground. "Niko! Hang on!" said Liriel who saw this while the 2 horsemen tried to distract her. She got kicked pretty roughly with the hoof of a horse right at her chest, and was pushed back by sliding her feet on the muddy ground, dodging the netguns while Akila kept dodging.
Niko grunted while he couldn't get out of the net's clutches. "I will not be caged by you dirty bastards!" he yelled. "Silence, traitor! Feel the consequences of your actions!" the 6th rider cursed at him before aiming his pistol at his arms, while the 5th one got off from his steed and gripped the net of the trapped Niko. The young man, now fueled with annoyance and thirst for fight, pushed the trigger of his crossbow directly at the shoulder of the 6th rider, whose shot was missed on Niko's arms by mere inches.
The rider screamed in agony as the sharp steely arrow pierced his shoulder, and the one holding the net, did not even have time to react as the angered Niko literally stabbed the 5th rider straight through his jaw with his Kalevan blade Leuku, and twisted it harshly before the rider dropped dead, and Niko began to cut the net in a rush of pure adrenaline, while occasionally staring at Liriel and Akila, who were not in a good situation due to Akila being trapped and Liriel being circled by two riders. "Akila! I'm coming!" he yelled while picking up his pace of cutting the net. "A little bit more.. Little bit mo- Budge you piece of shite!"
The Merlorian wolf wiggled and tried to bite through the nets, but he could not chew through them precisely due to how firm and square the net was. Liriel in the meantime, stood still with her power sword in her both hands, and was busy dodging the shots of the rider's sidearms. She couldn't balance herself while she was busy dodging them to make an attack. It was very important for her not to get wounded, otherwise she'd lose all her mobility and it would be game over. But she was a well calculated individual, and decided to use a couple of tricks up her sleeve.
Within a sudden haste, she threw her power sword against the 7th member's horse, and sliced the steed's legs clean. As a result, the rider got thrown off against the tree, and his neck broke by loud snapping before his head twisted sideways and he fell upside down onto the tree, sliding down against it. Liriel was now without any weaponry, except her hands and feet. The last member that was alive, was Sergeant Lork himself. He was angry, and very bitter at what just happened. His eyes ran around while the aspect warrior stood at anticipating position, but the rider, took a gaze upon her after throwing his empty sidearm away. "You vile xenos parasite.." he spat at the wet ground.
"You wish not to run, but to save your traitorous friend and his beast?" he asked as his horse was unstable, but he held onto his steed firmly. Liriel remained silent and didn't budge, or say anything. She only used her finger to signal him for an attack, but he merely frowned in response, and retreated, much to Liriel's confusion. The rider just turned around and fled the scene, allowing Liriel to quickly go and retrieve her power sword before cutting Akila loose from the nets, before he shook himself from the mud on his fur. Unfortunately, they both heard it. They heard him, while simultaneously turning their heads to their human companion in all dread and disturbance.
"Liri! Aki!"
Niko was in fact being taken away by the last rider. Liriel cursed after realizing that she has been played a fool by this mon'keigh steed rider, and quickly ran with Akila to chase the cavalryman while Niko was still in the clutches of the net, only small portions cut, while he held his Leuku tightly on his hand, but he couldn't use neither his hanging crossbow, or do much anything, because the friction from the ground and the stones hitting his body was seriously bruising him up as his grunts of pain was heard while the rider carried him entangled, far, and far away into the depths of the woods, presumably, back to the hill where the Merlorian forced were waiting. Akila and Liriel ran after him, but unbeknownst to her, there was a deeper trouble awaiting her than it was to be seen.
*Ssss...PPHHEUUW*
About two explosions occurred from two grenade launchers from her rear, and she was blown away from the sudden force. Akila avoided the explosion radius, but Liriel flew off about 6 meters away and rolled on the ground, dropping her power sword in front of her while her vision blurred slightly, but she quickly regained herself via grabbing her power sword, and standing back up like nothing, except some minor pains. "By Khaine that stings.. They have finally reached us it seems, but by my craftworld's name alone will they feel the banshee's wave." she swore silently while staying mute and concentrating on facing the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers, while allowing Akila to continue to run after the escaping horseman right into the darkness of the woods due to grayish-dark clouds raining down upon Merlorian, making the environment a bit darker and grimmer.
"May the Asuryani brighten my soul, for Khaine watches upon me." she clenched her teeth and prepared, for she had to give all of herself into this possible last fight. Every fight felt like it was last, but it was just a fact. She had to push her worries aside and concentrate on the fighting, without reacting to her emotions too much that she was free to express upon this bizarre world. "I do not know if you survived, Niko Armanen.. but fight. Fight to the last droplet of your human blood." she whispered and prepared, seeing the shadows come out of the bushes as she turned to her rear.
"Target spotted! Surround the xenos! Non-lethal shots!" Sergeant Tarn ordered as he came out of the bushes while unleashing an entire salvo of his hellgun at Liriel's non-vital parts, joined up by his 5 brethren with different weaponries. Liriel jumped onto a tree, then jumped onto another, then again and again while forcing the stormtroopers to feel disoriented as they kept looking up and try to spot her, but she was a swift, flexible and agile creature, and would use the environment to a good use.
"Where is it?! Men, group up!" Tarn ordered, as he, and even his Stormtroopers, did not see her anywhere. It was as if she vanished out of the blue, and the group of 6 people including Tarn had to regroup and make a circle formation. They all had their weapons looking everywhere, some crouching, some standing. "It's trying to fool us.. Concentrate, Scions!" he ordered, and they obliged. The bushes whistled and wiggled in different directions, and this continued to go on for about 2 minutes straight, before one stormtrooper unleashed a plasma shot at one of the bushes, irritating Tarn. "Kalen! You fool! Steel your nerves!" he said while the scion nodded. "Sarge, this xenos insect might be escaping!"
"There is nowhere where it can run, Kal.. Focus." he ordered and held his hellgun tightly in his hands, with his thunder hammer at his hip. The rain was quite severe and their visors were wet, dripping with water, but nevertheless, they were ready for anything at the moment.
"Keep focusing, don't let it-"
"LEFT!" one of the members said, and all turned their weaponries towards their left flank, but there was nothing there, just a quick wiggle of a bush. "What the- RIGHT!" then the bushes shook loudly on their right flank, while 3 members held their gunsights at their right flank. It was now that Tarn realized something suspicious. "It's trying to force us into a distraction. Do not lose your sights, men!" he ordered and used his eyes to visualize the surrounding environment, looking around suspiciously.
"Foolish mon'keigh.. Your doom is upon you. For Ulthwe!" these words echoed from above the entire group as Liriel was apparently sitting on top of a tree branch before making a frontal flip and descending on top of the stormtroopers, with Tarn staring directly at the sky as he heard her words. "Above us!" he yelled and every member looked above themselves, and saw the howling banshee jumping towards them. Their reflexes were swift, and they already had her in their sights, but she unleashed her famous banshee's howl from her helmet, stunning the stormtroopers severely to the point of their ears bleeding out, even Tarn, who was a hardened man, knelt down while holding his ears and dropping his hellgun like the rest who dropped their weaponries, with disoriented state kicking into them all.
Liriel fueled herself up with all of her craft, and began to use her potential at full capacity. While the stormtroopers remained stunned, she swung her sword at the first trooper, whose armor got pierced straight through his center of the chest, and Liriel felt the blood gush out of him from his aorta getting pierced, before she switched her gaze to the second trooper who weakly aimed his plasma pistol at her, and she was forced to quickly strafe leftwards, in order to avoid the shot as she realized that they regained their stability rather quickly.
"Sturdy mon'keigh.. you resist, but all of you will fall this day." Liriel whispered while running in circles, in a rather uncanny speed that was truly alien. "Aaaaghh.. Men! Form up! Free fire!" Tarn ordered, while one stormtrooper intervened. "The Inquisitor ordered us to take it alive, Sarge!" Tarn yelled back at him rather severely. "I do not care! We are facing a very deadly xenos who has every advantage! Ask Marlo what he thinks if you believe he is breathing.." the trooper scoffed and diverted his gaze away from the Sergeant, before he knelt down and removed the fallen Scion's dog tags. "May the Emperor accept your sacrifice.." he said and then looked around himself, and yet again, the xenos disappeared out of sight.
Tarn immediately dropped his hellgun, and switched to his thunder hammer and his plasma pistol. "Switch to your sidearms and melees, men.. we cannot fight this horrendous menace with our mobility depraved." the Troopers immediately obeyed their Sergeant, as there was now only 5 of them left, including their Sergeant. And all of them simultaneously removed their helmets, exposing their faces for clearer vision, and their ears bleeding from suffering the banshee's howl that almost made them deaf, but they were resilient, but not immortal. They were still human, while fighting against someone in the same equivalence as a full grown Astartes.
Liriel watched them from the shadows while she sneaked from their right flank, and took in their gazes. They were furious and would be more focused now. "They shrugged off my howl way too fast.. What these mon'keigh go through in their trainings deserves a tiny amount of admiration." she admitted, quite fascinated by the fact that, despite bleeding from their ears, they were focused on hunting her down no matter what it takes them. "I never wanted this. But you have gotten in my path, and for that, you will pay greatly.. Asuryani is my witness." she said, before putting her fingers on her helmet's mouth part, then at her soulstone, and then leap into action.
Every stormtrooper and especially Tarn understood that if they decided to split, they'd be hunt down by this xenos who was a master hunter itself. There was no way to get out of this situation, due to the fact that the weather and environment made their position very vulnerable, so they had to stick together. Tarn stood in the center, and the 4 troopers surrounded his every corner, in a form of X shape. This way, they all could see anything in their vicinity on all sides, and would not be taken by surprise.
The aspect warrior, however, was not going to give them any breaks. She came out of the front, and then decided to circle around the entire group as they all unleashed their sidearms to her direction, including Tarn himself. "Shoot! Shoot it!" he yelled while they quickly ran out of ammunition. "Reloading!" as soon as the shooting stopped, Liriel turned her gaze to the vulnerable group, and strafed towards it.
The first trooper, who had to abandon his plasma pistol, got face to face with Liriel in a blink of an eye before her elbow went straight at his face, knocking him down and forcing his teeth out, before the second trooper leaped in with his combat knife, wanting to slice her. "No! Do not get close to it!" Tarn ordered because the 2nd trooper broke off from the X shaped line and really wanted to avenge the fallen Scion, but he merely got his head sliced into two from Liriel's powerful thrust of her sword from above, until she ran back into the woods once more, disappearing completely as the reloaded sidearms began to shoot at her disappearing figure.
"Emperor damn you, xenos filth!" Tarn yelled and removed the second fallen warrior's dog tags while getting his brain matter on his hands. The two troopers were helping the 3rd one, and one of them gazed down at their Sarge. "Sarge, this is madness! We MUST retreat!" he said, before getting uppercut by Tarn, who merely frowned deeply at such suggestion. "And to leave our brethren's deaths unavenged?! You are a Scion! Act like it!" he said before their morale was slowly depleting. The knocked out scion had blood all over his mouth, but he held himself steady as much as possible. "You are fine, warrior of the Emperor.." the Stormtroopers got back into their formation, while Tarn kept looking around, his heart beating fast with every second passing.
The aspect warrior was nowhere to be seen, no matter how much they looked around. This caused the 3 troopers to feel disturbance as the image of black wraithbone armor clad xenos was shoved into their minds, but they pushed their anxiety and fear aside, and slowly regained their morale. But not for long. "Look, ten o clock!" one of the troopers declared, and they all turned their gazes towards Liriel, who slowly began to approach them in a steady, eerie, and disturbing walk. They all aimed their sidearms at them, but Tarn intervened. "Halt.." he ordered calmly, not even lifting his sidearm at the approaching sight of the tall aspect warrior, who held her power sword in her hand, and just stood still, staring at the entire group.
"Sarge..? your orders?" the Stormtroopers asked, standing in a defensive position with their knifes. Tarn stared at how his men were going to be mindlessly slaughtered, and he really did not want to experience more of his men getting that treatment. And so, he changed his mind completely, and gave out a possible final order, because even he, had humanity within him, especially seeing how the elbowed trooper had his knees trembling from weakness. "Zaeed.. Garro. Take Taras, and retreat."
The Stormtroopers immediately turned their gazes at their Sarge, and were in quite a shock. "Sarge we- we will not abandon you! We are Scions and brotherhood is our greatest value!" Liriel watched them argue in the distance. "Typical mon'keigh. Not knowing how to act in dire situations.." Liriel took two steps, and then pointed at Tarn with her finger, speaking in low gothic. "You"
Their gazes just turned to her completely in shock and surprise, even Tarn was disturbed as he saw the xenos just pointing at him. "You. Me. Fight." she said, and then pointed at the 3 stormtroopers, seeing as to how they were weak in spirit, but Tarn was not. She knew he was their leader by his aura alone. She pointed, and waved her hand to the side. "Go. Out." she finished, and gripped her sword's hilt tighter, warning them to listen to this reason. She wanted to end their chase quickly to go after Niko, and now, she waited for their response.
"Men. My orders are clear. Go and regroup back with the rest.. I will take care of this xenos myself." he said, but the men tried to detest once again before he was forced to raise his voice. "GO I said! Get out!" he ordered again, and this time, the stormtroopers lowered their heads, clenched their teeth, and just said one thing simultaneously. ".. Yes.. Sir." and then, two of them carried the weakened trooper, and retreated to the south, while Tarn stayed, and turned his head to look at them disappear. "Walk with Emperor's blessings, brethren." and now, he turned his calm gaze back at the standing xenos, and frowned up with steady and steely demeanor.
"You have knowledge of our language, xenos. Your hit-and-run tactics are efficient. But It is now just you, and me. Only one shall prevail from this fight, and I am not planning to be the loser. You will pay for every droplet of my men's blood.." he said, and then threw his sidearm away, before gripping his thunder hammer with both hands, staring directly at the black armor clad xenos, with his gaze sharpening up.
"Stupid human.. you should have not gotten into the way of Ulthwe's howling banshee. But your pride only led your men to their deaths. Whatever you said will not matter, for you are their leader, and without a leader, every unit falls down. Prepare to face your corpse Emperor.." Liriel said in her own language, before raising her sword and keep the eye contact with her opponent.
They both began to circle each other, before Tarn charged with his hammer, and Liriel charged with her power sword.
"For the Emperor!"
"For Ulthwe's honor!"
And their melees clashed together into a giant sound of clinking and some sparks, just as the lightning struck from the sky, with both eyeing each other from up close. Liriel anticipated Tarn's right kick, but she did not expect him to swing his left elbow at her cheek that struck her, and she was forced to quickly jump backwards as Tarn struck his thunder hammer directly at the ground, trying to smash her in the head with it. "The Emperor is with me! You will not prevail, xenos!" Tarn yelled, and Liriel noticed how much fury was filling his body into the thirst for a fight, and possible vengeance.
"Human resilience is nothing in the face of an aspect warrior's discipline!" she yelled back and dodged his swing as he was indeed packing his strength while wielding his thunder hammer, his dark skin wet from rain, and clothes soaked in his sweat and water. He was not willing to stop it. He only wanted to keep going. Liriel saw how swift he was with his melee, and she tried to slice his abdomen from the right side after sliding on the ground, but his fast reflexes grabbed her sword, and she, being surprised by this, looked up at him. "WHA-"
A loud kick flew right against her head as Tarn swung his left foot straight at her chin, sending her feather-like body about two meters into the air, before he dropped her sword behind him, and approached her with his thunder hammer, his fury showing in his eyes. Liriel felt slightly dizzy, but regained herself as Tarn raised his hammer above himself. "DIE! You FOUL FILTH!" Tarn did not even care about Inquisitor's order anymore. He saw this xenos as a severe menace, and he had to get rid of her, and so, Liriel, now very nervous, quickly rolled over to her right side just as the hammer struck down onto the ground, sending large chunks of soil and grassy mud away, before making another strike at Liriel, as she was forced to dodge once again, before he lifted his hammer for the third time, and was ready to make another tireless strike, but Liriel struck him in his kneecap and forced him to retreat as he grunted in pain.
This gave her enough time to get up from the ground with a roll, and retrieve her sword from the ground by sliding past Tarn who made another strike of his hammer, merely missing Liriel's head by an inch, and now, Liriel felt her heart beating fast at how fiercely he was fighting. "By Khaine does he know no restraint?!" she asked herself before Tarn charged at her like a wild bull, and she merely made a high jump by making a split, and hit the rear of his head with her foot, irritating him further as Liriel now retreated from his another charge, as he turned around rather quickly, and was now even more angered.
She had to rely on her mobility to defeat this man. For Tarn was determined to kill her or cripple by luck. Liriel lifted her leg high up and swung it in a 180-degree angle towards his face just as she strafed leftwards, but Tarn raised his arm and blocked her kick before counting her move by sending his kneecap flying towards her chest, which pushed her backwards, sliding against the muddy, slippery ground as she held her chest and got up by the weight of her sword. "Your feeble attempts will not break down this Scion!" Tarn yelled, and charged once again, appearing to be tireless under adrenaline and thirst for vengeance.
Liriel noticed that his reflexes were unusually fast, but she was not going to let him have the upper hand. "Resilient mon'keigh. What a rarity.." she said, and pointed her sword at his charging figure. "You will not win this battle!" and immediately, she charged straight at him, but this time, she was more clever. She ran towards him, and made a frontal flip over his head, grabbing his head and forcing him to go down, before she turned around to stab her sword onto the ground he was laying at.
Tarn immediately rolled over and tried to trip her with his feet, but she merely jumped to avoid it, and crushed his ankle with a stomp of her own foot, forcing him to grunt in pain, and feel a loud crack within his foot, whilst his grip loosened on his thunder hammer. Liriel aimed her sword directly at his throat, just as Tarn's eyes opened up. He felt the stinging pain pulsating within his ankle as Liriel held her boot on it. He was trapped and helpless while panting heavily, hearing his own heartbeat as he diverted his eyes from the sword, to the visors of Liriel's helmet, spitting at her sword while gritting his teeth. "You cannot defeat the warrior of Khaine, Mon'Keigh. You fought bravely, with all your strength, defiance and resilience. You spared your kinsmen the fate of my blade, and for that, I shall grant you the mercy that your corpse Emperor could never reward you with." Liriel said, and raised her sword in order to decapitate him, painlessly and swiftly.
Tarn in return, only grinned as Liriel prepared to swing her sword to the scion's throat, and finish him off once and for all. "Too early.. to celebrate." He said calmly and ignored the pain in his ankle, because his next move, took Liriel completely by surprise. "Not so FAST, XENOS!" Tarn with all his willpower, leaped directly at Liriel who widened her eyes behind her helmet as the Scion came crashing down onto the aspect warrior, forcing them both rolling onto the ground as Tarn's adrenaline began to pump within his veins, sending him into a slight frenzy.
Liriel tried to get him off of her as her power sword got dropped few meters away, but Tarn had the upper hand as he sat on her chest and decided to use his augmetic arm's fist to maul the howling banshees tough helmet. He struck her just once, and she felt it genuinely hurting her like hitting her head against the wall, but Tarn did not stop. Liriel thought that she managed to tire him out and kick him into fatigue, but Tarn still had energy left within him. She underestimated him and was paying quite the price, for the bulky Sergeant held her by her helmet's mane and mauled her with his metallic fist. It made her dizzy, but she showed resilience by attempting to block her face with her arms multiple times, but to no avail.
"How you like that, huh?!" Tarn in all his frustration increased the speed of his punching. Liriel already felt the blunt force causing her nose to bleed behind her helmet, until she tried to unleash her howl once again. Tarn anticipated this from the slightly panicked Eldar xenos, but he made sure to punch her continuously and not allow her to build up the momentum to unleash her howl. "Gaargh! I cannot move.. I cannot.. Move!" she thought in her mind while receiving the beating to the point of her helmet developing some worn marks and cracks, until the buffy man gripped her mane, slowly got up with severe pain in his ankle, and body slammed Liriel in a suplex, forcing her to grunt in pain loud enough for Tarn to hear. "The pain is only gonna get worse for you, scum!" Tarn swore.
He saw Liriel trying to get out of his clutches while her helmet had some blood leaking from the tiny gaps, but with all his furious state, he was only beginning as he decided to stay silent, and finis his business more properly. He allowed the xenos to get out of his clutches and get to her sword which she quickly did, but as soon as she gripped her sword's hilt and turned around, the powerful blow of his thunder hammer against her chest depraved her lungs of an entire supply of oxygen, and she was thrown against a tree with a loud gasp, her sword dropping from his grip, before she fell, and Tarn made his slow approach.
"Khaine.. agh.. fuel me. Khaine.. fuel me!" she repeated while slowly standing up, trying to catch her breath, before gripping her sword once more. "No, you do not." Tarn coldly said with a growl, and stepped right on her hand, before she looked up, and came in contact with his fist flying directly at her face, crashed against the tree once again, then another 8 punches came flying at her face, until Tarn gripped her by the helmet's mane and threw her in the distance by pushing her to himself and slamming his hammer against her back, her sword yet again lost in the distance as she coughed blood against her helmet's interior and fell on the ground with rough impact, laying on her stomach and just bleeding severely.
Another lightning struck in the sky, while Tarn made his limping approach, holding his thunder hammer in both of his hands. Liriel felt the weakness settling in. She lost all her mobility that she relied on, and had to endure the blows from Tarn, who was like the angel of death himself, his thunder hammer being his scythe. "Is...ha.. My strength is depleting.." Liriel said, blood leaking out of her helmet gap as she crawled towards her sword, clinging onto her last sense of any strength from this weakened state, but her hope was denied by the Scion, who kicked the sword away, and Liriel's despair kicked into her at the realization of her situation while she was panting heavily.
"No one will help you.. not that beast, neither the traitor, xenos." Tarn said coldly, staring down at Liriel who turned on her back, placing her hand on her soulstone, whilst Tarn took his time to torment her further, staring in mockery. "You believed you were the hunter, when all this time you were a prey who fell for my trap.." he mumbled, while Liriel stared into his eyes, seeing nothing but pure, firey hatred in his eyes and bloodlust for anything non-human.
"Is this.. How my end is determined, does fate have no limits to control my life without me.. Forging.. My destiny.." she coughed some blood which leaked from her lips while talking within her mind. "Arleina.. Elidyr, why am I here.. I am.. Sorry.. Niko.. that foolish idiot and his goofy, never ending smile.." she said and allowed herself to smile lightly, seeing the images of her human companion and his smile, the cheerfulness of Arleina, and the wisdom of Elidyr and his kindness. Her smile slowly faded away, and a single, crystal-like tear leaked down her blood coated cheek, while closing her eyes, and accepting her fate. "Forgive me.. But do not mourn me, for my soulstone shall be my protector. Isha.. take me into your embrace.." Liriel prayed, and awaited her fate.
The frowning Sergeant of the Scions, slowly lifted his thunder hammer above his own head, about to finish her off even against the Inquisitor's orders. "Rot in the grasps of Slaanesh, vermin.." he muttered, and prepared to make a final blow. But then... out of a sudden!
"LIRIEL!"
A sudden, loud thunder struck the sky, and Tarn quickly diverted his gaze to his left flank from where the loud yelling came from, and he, could not believe his own eyes. Niko Armanen returned with his white furred friend!
Niko was all bloodied up, covered in cuts and bruises, and some piece of his flak armor lost, but his backpack was still in tact, alongside his crossbow but without his sidearm. The Leuke remained and he was in fact riding the horse of the raider that tried to snatch him away. The Sergeant could not even have a chance to process what was happening as Niko charged his horse against him, and the horse got up on its legs and kicked Tarn away with its hooves. "Get off her, you frakking bastard!" Niko yelled while droppin off from the horse and running towards Liriel.
In the meantime, the disoriented Tarn shook his head and cursed under his breath. "YOU- You again?! Traitorous scum!" Tarn growled and gripped his thunder hammer, before deciding to charge against him. But Akila, who stood right next to Niko, quickly charged at him as he swung his hammer and tried to smash the Merlorian wolf away, but to no avail. Akila, jumped straight at his face and bit off his eye, forcing him to scream in pain and fall down before Akila decided to bite Tarn's arm, penetrating his bone and meat before biting off a large chunk. "AAAaaaghh!" he yelled and tried to punch the beast with his augmetic arm, but the clever wolfy dodged his attack.
Akila in a precise movement bit another chunk away, and Tarn's arm was barely hanging by the remaining tissue. That was until he stepped away, and Niko, under severe fury, sat on Tarn's chest, and began to violently maul his face into oblivion and pulp. "Do NOT!" *punch* "Dare!" *punch* "To hurt!" *punch* "Her!" *punch* and it kept going as Niko's fists became bloody as Tarn could barely make any movement under tremendous amounts of pain, but he endured it. He could not believe the fact that this young man, who's facial figures he saw, was overtaken by rage, and for some reason, he was very protective of this xenos, as he thought.
His only remaining eye caught the glimpse of his face. Young, pale, a scar on his left side of the face, with an eye patch on the left eye, and a green, emerald-like eye. But there was the young man's hidden resilience and it was showing itself as Tarn endured himself getting punched while bleeding from his face, his eye socket and his arm, twitching from cold air and bumping up and down from Niko's punches. He finished punching the shite out of him, and returned to Liriel, the blood of Tarn washing away from his hands, thanks to the rain.
Liriel's eyes were plunged open, but she was weakened. Akila nuzzled her helmet, and Niko knelt down to remove it slowly, and his heart immediately sank with his eye widened up. She was hurt, and hurt badly. The blood leaked from her helmet, and Niko left it upside down, to allow the rain to accumulate and clean it up, before he ran to a barely breathing Tarn, snatched his canteen, and came back to kneel in front of Liriel, who's face he saw, and it pained him severely right in his heart. She was bruised, and cut from the blunt force that she suffered from. Nevertheless, Niko pulled himself together, no matter how much his heart was aching at this sight. "Liri.. Kalevan devils, hang on.." his voice was saddened and under tremendous pain, and Liriel twitched her knife-ears and heard him, with her eyes slightly open.
"Nn...Ni..ko..?" she whispered as her hair was all wet, still in a ponytail, and the blood dripping down to her eyesight before Niko slowly lifted her head, and put it on his lap, moving her hair gently away from her eyes before using the canteen to wash her face. Liriel, nevertheless, had a glimpse of resistance due to her pride and the fact that a human was this close and intimate with her, but.. that feelng, just, disappeared instantly, for yet again, the fate has been denied the chance to take Liriel's soul, all thanks to the tremendous efforts and stubborness of this young human who was just not willing to give up on his oath. He was cleaning her face just like back at the first time they met after the Drukhari almost violated her.
"Shhh.. don't speak." he gestured a shush, by putting a finger on her lips and yet again, she saw that even his face was covered in blood. His or the riders, it mattered not, for Niko's smile returned to him and even at such situation, Liriel couldn't help but feel warmth overfilling her soul. "Emperor almighty, he mauled you pretty badly.. He will not hurt you anymore, I promise you that." he shook his head while checking her status. She merely looked to be under tremendous fatigue, mixed up with stinging pain throughout her entire body. She saw Niko's face just as her eyes opened up wider, and couldn't help but lit up with a light smile, and then, Liriel spoke "... Fool, such a stubborn fool.." she thought while being extremely glad to see his familiar face once more, and it truly looked like the sown seeds were growing further and further between them two.
Niko did not mind this kind of treatment from such an elegant creature like her, but he couldn't help but smile wider at how unlucky they both felt at the moment. "You are alright, I see.. Do not accept your fate so quickly, Liriel. As me mam told me, destiny is what determines our life, fate is what intervenes in it.." he said as he pulled his backpack off his back, and take out two pieces of dried meat, feeding her up. "Eat, you need your strength.." she chewed up slowly in her weakened state, and just kept her gaze at his. Next, he gave her few sips from the canteen, quenching her thirst before taking one sip himself, and giving the rest to Akila, before throwing the canteen away.
Then, he lifted her helmet from the ground, spilling the water and blood mixture from it before drying it up with his sleeve, and then put it back on her head. He sheathed her power sword to her waist belt, and lifted her up in his arms with a slight grunt because only God-Emperor himself knew how he got out of the rider's net clutches and came back. He carefully placed her on the steed, before mounting the horse himself, until Liriel slowly wrapped her hands around his stomach, and laid her head on his back. She was depraved of all her energy from Tarn's beating that took her by surprise.
"Hang on.. We are not out of danger yet.. Akila! After me!" he gripped the reins of the horse, and slashed it, before squeezing the horse's sides. "Trot! Cluck-Cluck!" he said as the horse began to trot away, while Niko added more pressure and yelled it to speed up, which it did, and they left the zone entirely, with Akila running fast at the horse's pace.
Tarn in the meanwhile, barely was able to see anything else, than the horse and the beast going off in the far distance. He coughed blood out of him, and grunted heavily just as the storm was passing, and the rain slowed down. He was severely weakened, hurt and just wounded. His arm was barely holding on itself, but he did not care about it. He only had one thought in his mind - vengeance. "GGgggrrrrrgghh... This.. Will not.. Be the end of me.." a heavy grunt came from him as he slowly, with his shaking augmetic arm, tore off a piece of his clothing, making a bandage out of it to stop his bitten and torn eye from bleeding by shoving the cloth into his eyesocket. Then, he tore off the tendons from his arm and it came right off with a heavy moan of pain.
In an instance, he took out his lighter, and scorched his flesh while biting onto his beret, shaking and wiggling his legs, but holding onto the last drops of his life. As he finished up his process, he removed his belt from his pants, and tightened it up at his torn arm as tight as possible, before rolling onto his stomach, and standing up on his one healthy foot, while the second one's ankle was badly hurt. He limped back towards the rest of his group after retrieving his thunder hammer, and just held his arm while limping and walking in the woods, occasionally falling onto his knees from weakness and pain overtaking him, but he clung onto his life, and continued to move onward, his nose broken, his lips busted, and his chin covered in his leaking blood, same as his head. He did not wish to speak or think about anything else than survival at this moment.
"What happened? What do you mean he told you to retreat?!" Oleos demanded an explanation from the 3 returned members of the Stormtroopers. "My lord, we tried, but he insisted.." they all said with their heads lowered. They felt regretful for having to abandon their Sergeant by his order alone, and did not know if he was alive or dead. Oleos walked in circles while the rest of the stormtroopers got reinforced by Merlorian relief forces from the blockade, and already had the one who's legs got crushed wielded onto a stretcher, carrying him away.
"This cannot be a reality.. my orders were clear. What happened to the one who accompanied the xenos?" he asked them. "My lord, the cavalry.. The last.. Rider, took him entangled in the net far away, possibly he may have reached the blockade by now." the trooper reported. "That was not all, my lord.. They had this, canine beast with them. It resembled the canid species of Fenrisian wolves, but it was smaller, and it seems that it was tamed by the traitor. We saw it go after the rider, the rest.. is unknown."
Oleos appeared to be confused and raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about, what beast, what wolf?" he thought they were hallucinating and just fooling him, and themselves. "My lord we know exactly what we saw. They had a tamed canid beast. "Affirmitive. I can confirm this, inquisitor." Adrian intervened while reading a data pad. "Tech-Priest Garan gave me analysis of this world's fauna.. the "Merlorian wolf" is one of them. They roam in packs, but this one was alone. The Scions have not been fooling themselves, or fooling you, my lord. They are right." Adrian said, and Oleos looked at him with a deep sigh, shaking his head. "We arrived way too late, it seems. I do not know the fate of Daniel. Facing an elite xenos with the equivalent of an experienced Astartes, all alone.. Has he gone mad?!" he said and punched a tree, looking down at the ground, frustrated and quite annoyed at their lack of luck.
Adrian made his approach and tried to reassure him. "My lord, I believe in Tarn's abilities. He has proven himself to you, and not just once. You know exactly how he lost his arm. I know it is not in any of my position to advise something.. but, we need to not lose hope in his strength. Perhaps he has made the xenos run away." he explained and stood calmly at his side. "I appreciate your attempts, Adrian. But I know Daniel way too well.. this is nothing like him. Leaving him all alone, was a mistake." he said. "Perhaps, perhaps.. but again. He has experience in these things." Adrian detested, but Oleos just turned around and took out his data pad to write down all he has heard so far.
Tarn, whilst slowly losing his consciousness, kept on pushing himself to the edge, his vision slowly blurring out as he kept himself awake as much as possible. He already saw them all in the far distance, and just tried to speed up, but fell onto his chest on the muddy ground with a heavy grunt.
One of the sentries who stood at the perimeter had his autogun aimed at him. "Contact!" and everyone's heads turned to the sentry's direction, including Oleos and Adrian. "What is the commotion, soldier?" the Inquisitor asked just as he ran towards him, with the stormtroopers by his side. "My lord, over there, up front, contact!" he reported and they all watched the dropped figure slowly trying to get up.
Tarn's entire body was trembling. It shook severely, but he made one last attempt as he got up to his feet, and lifted his head to gaze upon the members far ahead of him. Oleos gasped within his mind, and immediately ran towards him. "It's Tarn! Medicaes, quickly!" he ordered and Adrian jumped into action to call the medical help, whilst the Scions, and Oleos ran towards Tarn, who had lost his eye, and his arm, and was bleeding from all over his head. He slowly fell on his knees before Oleos caught his falling body. "Daniel! Do not dare to die on me yet, you steely fool!" he ordered him, whilst Tarn was barely able to respond. "Carry him, quick!" the Scions obliged and picked up their sergeant, who despite everything he had suffered, he still clung onto all his life's droplets.
Oleos walked by him, and turned his head towards him just as he was about to completely lose his consciousness and turn off whilst being carried by his Tempestus brethren. "Hang in there, my old friend.." Oleos reassured him, and Tarn completely blacked out, the Inquisitor's worried expression being the last thing that he sees.
Merlorian, North-Eastern region, approaching the hills with the blockade ahead of it.
The stretched hills on the left side of the woods, snow covered mountains visible on the same side.
The escape. It was not an easy for anyone to endure whilst surviving severe dangers and having to flee from everything at the tail. Niko knew this, but he was willing to take this risk as he rode on the horse straight towards the hill, knowing full well that the blockade is well alerted of their presence. Liriel continued to hold onto him while sitting behind, and was slowly regaining her energy and strength. Akila just ran without a stop after the steed, due to his obedience to Niko.
They were approaching the stretched hill in the woods, while seeing few marching columns on the pathway part of the hill. "Hang on Liri.. they will easily hear us, but we have no choice, hang on tight!" he ordered and she tightened her arm wrap around his waist, much to his hidden flustered expression while she rested her head on his backpack, and prepared for whatever awaited them as soon as they would climb up the hill.
"Alert! Contact on the left! Stun rockets, unleash! The rest, shoot the steed with all you've got, orders are to take them alive!" the command was heard from the pathway after few members noticed the steed occupied by two unknown members passing up in the woods, and with them, a quickly running canid beast. Dozens of men and women got on their knees and fired the stunning rocket and grenade launchers at the steed, but they were all for naught as Niko squeezed the steed's rib cage further and harder, slashing the reins harsher on the animal.
It let out a wild neigh and sped up to its full potential, while Niko controlled it. The lasgun shots came in huge salvos, mostly hitting the trees and boulders in the way, but managing to strike the horse on its rear with a lasgun shot and scorching it, before it lifted its legs and unleashed a wild neigh of pain. "Whoa! Trot, TROT you bastard, Cluck-cluck! Trot!" he ordered and the horse just ran with all of its energy, climbing up the hill, and being met with the blockade that began to target Niko and his companions.
"Left!" Niko said and turned the horse's direction to the left, in the direction of the snow covered mountains, but he realized they had no choice. Liriel squeezed his waist as if asking him what he's doing as he charged his horse to the left side after going down the hill. "We have to circle them, and those mountains are our only available way to do it! We have no choice!" he said roughly and Liriel, not knowing what he's saying, just clung onto him, putting all her hope, and her destiny, in his hands at this very moment, just as she took his destiny and hope in her hands while pulling him away from the barrage that happened at the hill earlier.
The Leman Russes that were present at the blockade, slowly turned their turrets to the running horse's location, and unleashed their explosive shells, sending the muddy ground flying everywhere as Niko used different controls in order to make sure that their steed avoids being shredded and them being blown off to the ground and captured without an ability to escape. They'd be wounded quickly, because not only the Leman Russes were in action, but so were the rest of the vehicles in the vicinity. Chimeras rushed forward alongside the thousands of Merlorian soldiers, but they were way too slow to do anything else as Niko knew exactly how they operate since he was a Veteran of the guard himself, he was literally escaping out of their possibly the best chance to catch him, and his xenos woman companion.
"Major! Our weapons are ineffective! They're escaping!" one of the men reported to Major, who used his binoculars to see Niko avoiding and maneuvering the steed relatively very well, with Akila doing the same thing. He gritted his teeth and gave out his command. "None of you imbeciles will catch them! Call in the basilisks once they reach high altitude and immediately send in the sentinels to pursue them! They're trying to hide in the mountains.. Move!" he ordered and yelled other commands into the radio, possibly talking to General Urslov himself.
"Thank the Emperor for this smart steed!" Niko said and already had his hopes high up, turning his head and seeing the pursuing soldiers slowing down their chase, with the vehicles doing the same. He was gladly reassured of this situation, but he felt his gut feeling telling him that something was wrong. He needed the hope at the moment. Just something that would assure them of safe haven, no more worries about being chased, and some quiet place where they could hide or take shelter at, but the gut feeling was still clinging onto him, and he turned his head forward, seeing the mountain's steep ahead of him, with the cold temperature slowly settling in as some snowflakes were already striking his face while he rode his horse.
The tiny layer of snow formed beneath the horse's feet, but it only grew to be thicker the more they climbed up the steep and made their escape possible. "Frakking snow, not even Kaleva has it this annoying.." he muttered out while staring at the blockade far away below the mountain that he climbed. Akila however, made it look quite easy to climb up just by using his paws alone, but the horse was heavier and had to watch its every step. "I did not say slow down.. Trot!" he squeezed its ribs, but it refused to go any faster, much to Niko's annoyance. He immediately noticed his crossbow lacked an arrow, and so, just in any case, loaded it up with one from his quiver, frustrated that he lost 70% of the arrow stock from being carried in the entangled net and trying to wiggle himself out. "That bastard was hard to kill, but I escaped.." he said and pulled his crossbow on his back.
"Thank you Emperor for allowing me to reach her on time.. that is all I care about right now. Brrhh.. It's cold- Eh?" Niko slightly gasped, and felt Liriel clinging onto him, tightening her arm wrap as he relaxed, and felt no cold on his back. They were exchanging warmth and Niko couldn't help but brighten his cheeks up and swallow his saliva, slashing the horse's reins and just staying silent, allowing Liriel to hold him. "She feels cold, poor thing.. However, this feels.. Nice.." he whispered and smiled lightly, climbing up the steep further and further.
The intimate moment was unexpected for Niko. He just watched her go from being a sassy and bitchy individual into a more understanding and caring one. She and him, they both knew that they had to rely on each other to survive this ordeal. Even if Liriel went all alone, Niko would already be a dead man, either by Drukhari, or by the Inquisition's minions and everyone under its command on the planet. This was what their fate determined, but they prevailed by paving paths to their destinies and avoid the games of fate. Surviving against all the odds so far... but not everything was even close to being over, it was just the tip of the iceberg.
Akila began to growl once again while his direction was diverted towards the blockade that was seen below the mountain which steep they were climbing on. Liriel, and especially Niko, checked out the commotion that took over the wild wolf. "What.. the.." Niko whispered after seeing some big, fast moving objects, presumably vehicles, heading towards the beginning of the steep they themselves took. Niko tried to calculate this, and immediately, he let out a quick gasp, his eye widened at the realization.
"Trot, TROT! Go!" he squeezed the horse's ribcage and slashed the reins while obviously in a slight panicking status. Liriel, confused, tapped his back. "What. Niko, what is..?" she said in his language, before continuing to force the horse to run away from the open area of the mountain's steep. "We are like ducks in an open field!" he yelled and then, he heard the loud thundering noises in the distance, followed by slowly approaching whistles.
"... SHHHITE!"
Loud thunder. It arrived. The whistling noises ended with an enormous explosion above them, which caused an avalanche to fall down and descend onto them entirely. This disturbed the horse, which got fueled by its own adrenaline, before running against its own will in the thick layer of snow as more shells began to strike their position. "By Khaine how loud are their primitive artilleries!" Liriel thought while staring at their flanks, already seeing the smokes from the sentinel engines drifting into the air not too far away from them. She tapped her finger on Niko, who turned around, and saw her pointing at their rear. He understood her instantly. "Frakking hell!" he yelled and just smacked the horse on its sides to force it to go faster than it can, but it was doing all it could.
The layer got only thicker the more they climbed up the steep, and it made the steed's walks difficult with the cold air settling in and depraving the animal, and the little group, from all possible fresh oxygen. They had to hurry up. Plus, the horse's scorched wound on its rear has still not recovered, but the steed tried to be as obedient as possible, and Niko patted him on its head. "Come on, boy! You got this!" he said and the horse neighed, before speeding up his run, and evading the first avalanche of snow, ice and stones within its path.
They climbed up the steep and appeared at the top levels of the snowy mountains. The land was relatively flat, but the artillery shells failed to snatch them by surprise. However, the sentinels were following them, and they had to be swift to know where to go. "Frak.. where do we go here, too many paths that can be just dead ends or the ends themselves.. Huh? Akila?" he quickly stared down at his furry friend, who howled and ran 20 meters behind a pile of snow. Niko and Liriel appeared to be confused as usual, but they knew that the wolf was a wise animal, and they were right.
Just as Niko ordered his steed to go around the pile of snow, Akila found a cave where they could hide. It was relatively tiny, but enough for standard human or Aeldari to enter, but not the steed or any vehicles whatsoever. Niko smiled in high hopes, since this was like finding treasure. "Thank you Emperor! Good job, Aki!" he said and got off his steed, before grabbing Liriel who managed to stand on her feet. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" he gestured her a thumbs up, before she nodded, assuring him that she was fine.
Niko turned to the horse, kissed its muzzle and grabbed its reins. "You are a loyal animal. Thank you, brave one.. We cannot have any use of you anymore. Walk and trot in peace. Go now." he finished whispering these words and smacked its rear, before seeing the horse bow to him, perhaps happy that he is free and not under any clutches anymore. Niko waved, and saw the horse just run away to an open path in the front. Even Liriel felt grateful to this steed, and waved at it once, while Akila bowed in return, since animals could understand each other.
But just as it was going far away in peace and freedom, Niko did not even have time to blink once as a sudden whistle was heard from the sky that was relatively close to them. They all diverted their gaze at the sky, and the dread kicked in. "Get down!" and immediately, both him and Liriel took a proning position immediately, face planting onto the snow as the explosion happened not so far away from there. Niko slowly lifted his head, and saw that the steed was nowhere to be seen anymore. It got blown into pieces, as the only thing that resembled its remains were the burnt saddle and scorched chunks of meat. "No! Frak!"
More explosions occurred at the spot where Niko, Liriel and Akila were. The basilisks were truly doing their job accurately. Artillery shells fell further from their zone, but still shelled their whereabouts, until the heavy stomping noises that Niko knew very well, came out of the blue. One sentinel armed with rocket las weaponry came from one of the paths, and it was feeling quite stompy as to say. "Target spotted!" the pilot yelled. "Affirmative, take them alive." the pilot frowned and grit his teeth. "Negative! They murdered the Captain! And for that.. they will pay severely." he swore. "Corporal! Disobey the orders and you-" the inner vox caster got turned off by the pilot, before his sentinel stomped once, facing the hiding position that Niko, Liriel and Akila took behind the pile of snow, unable to enter the cave without getting shredded by the sentinel.
The pilot opened fire at the snowy pile that was half frozen in ice, but the multi-laser just melted it through. Liriel, despite being weakened, noticed that Niko neither Akila could do anything at the moment. And so, she regained her strength to as much as it was needed, and decided to act. "Khaine.. fuel me with your fire!" she yelled and unsheathed her sword, before getting out of the cover, and charging straight at the sentinel. "Xenos scum, die!" he unleashed the salvo of his multi-laser cannon, and Liriel was forced to dodge and use maneuvering to her advantage.
She leaped off the ground by making a high jump, and saw that the pilot could not raise his armament higher, and this time, the pilot began to panic at the sight of the flying banshee that was descending upon him. "Get back, get back!" he tried to pull himself away, but it was obvious that he was inexperienced with his machine.
Liriel landed directly at the cockpit, and the terrified pilot decided to use his sidearm to shoot through the glass. Unfortunately for the pilot, Liriel shoved her power sword straight through the cockpit, and stabbed him right in his chest, killing him instantly before destroying its engine, and jumping backwards while keeping her eye on the sentinel, that just exploded with the deceased pilot inside. Niko saw this by peeking from his hiding position, and could not help but be fascinated and satisfied by her taking care of the problem.
"Excellent! Let's go now, we can hide in this cave!" he said, and smiled at her with success before she nodded and returned to him. They all prepared to enter the cave, but then.. from the corner of his single eye, Niko noticed the smoke drifting in the air, and a sudden flash of firey light coming from the pathway. He immediately recognized the noises that it unleashed, and gasped in shocking realization. "Missiles!" he yelled out, before Akila howled and tried to slip inside the cave, but it was too late for anyone to do anything.
The missiles landed right next to every member of the group, and sent Liriel flying against the top of the cave's entrance, smashing and falling down, whilst Niko got blown off and he lost some pieces of his flak armor, some parts of his clothes scorched, while Akila laid on the other side, the fur on his back slightly burnt.
"Gotcha!" the pilot of the Missile sentinel said, while grinning and checking out the damage that he has managed to do. He stomped his sentinel, and noticed the hurt guardsmen unconscious on the ground, and the wolf on the other side, same treatment, and the only one that showed any signs of life, was Liriel herself, whose vision was blurry once more, and she had difficulties getting back up on her feet since the blunt trauma of having herself thrown against the hard rock, made her entire body ache the more it moved.
"You must be the xenos that caused our world so much harm.. and you believe you have a chance?" the pilot asked while his machine's loud footsteps were heard approaching her as it switched to its lascannon, and then aimed it directly at Liriel, who was still busy trying to get her consciousness stable, and her vision back in tract. She laid on the snow covered ground, and tried to get up, but to no avail. The energy left her, and it needed to be recharged. It made the pilot laugh at how pitiful she looked, and she was completely under his mercy. "Any last words before you become a dead cockroach in the field?!" the pilot said, and prepared to fire his lascannon, the shiny red light growing and glowing against Liriel as she stared at the eyes of death in frozen fear, since her consciousness returned to her.
But then, much to the pilot's, and even Liriel's shock, the badly hurt Niko, jumped straight at the sentinel's cockpit, and the lascannon shot missed Liriel by merely few inches, missing the top of her head and just slightly taking a piece of her helmet's mane into oblivion. She slowly got up to one knee, and shockingly noticed the sentinel moving around as Niko, in all his resilience and toughness, smashed the cockpit with his fist alone, and pulled the pilot out of his sentinel, throwing him onto the ground after punching him 3 times in the face. "Don't... Touch... Her..."" he said with pauses in his voice because of how much pain he was enduring at the moment.
After Niko pushed the pilot out of his cockpit and mauled him to oblivion, the pilot did not even have time to react in the next move, because he looked at the ground while his mouth was bleeding, and saw a shadow enveloping his figure, widening constantly. He turned around instantly and saw Niko using his strength to push the sentinel forward, and right there and then, the pilot merely screamed out his entire stock of oxygen, before a loud crunch was heard, and the sentinel fell down, crushing the unfortunate pilot into a puddle of meat and bone, with Niko's hands trembling, his serious gaze falling upon the sentinel and the pilot he punished, who dared to threaten Liriel. It seemed like one thing he did not tolerate was any signs of danger towards the aspect warrior. Liriel did not understand this, and only had to speculate what was pushing him.
"By.. Khaine.. Almighty. Did he just push that thing with his bare hands alone? Niko Armanen.. what is motivating you for resistance..?" she asked this question to herself, as she slowly got up to her feet, and looked towards Niko, with curiosity more than anything while her own body was in pain, but little did she know that she had it easy than him. He slowly closed his eye, then opened it up, looking exhausted, before he fell on his knees and coughed up blood.
"Niko!" Liriel slowly sprinted towards him with slight limping as he stared at the snow that was covered in his own blood. He pushed himself to the limit just to keep her safe, and, unfortunately, this dried his life juices a lot, as the blood pressure went up, and it obviously caused him to vomit blood, until he felt the weakness of the fatigue taking over him as he just could not hold himself together anymore, and just crumbled up, falling into Liriel's arms while all he wanted to do, was sleep, and sleep very deeply.
She knelt down while putting her sword into its sheath, and noticed that he was slightly shaking, while literally boiling in fever after putting her hand on his temple. "Can't... Hold.. Too much.. Strength.. Gone.." he whispered to her as his voice lacked any sense of being healthy. She shook her head, and pulled his arm around her neck, before taking Akila under her armpit and then, carry his unconscious body, and weakened Niko deep into the cave ahead of them, while the blizzard intensified and the wind increased. "Blizzard.. No way the mon'keigh will bother to check this area.. I have to help him.." she told herself, whilst entering the cave, and using her helmet's visor to see in the night.
One hour later..
The entire cave, looked more like a maze itself. The entrance to the cave was already overtaken by the pile of snow and provided them with more protection from outside threats, but Liriel had to enter deeper into the cave. She noticed that the cave was sparkling from inside. And the deeper she entered, blue or white sparkles formed on the ceiling, before few shiny crystals provided enough luminosity. There were also geysers in the cave, which kept it warm, but nevertheless, it was still cold, but not as bad as outside.
Liriel heard Niko's heavy breathing. He needed rest due to him experiencing fever and loss of strength. His flak armor had torn parts, same with his clothing, and he was just showing that despite all of what happened, at the end of the day, he was just a human being, who could not ever match with Liriel or her people. However, she would curse herself at the moment, if she did not admire him and his resilience. "Against all.. Odds, he kept pushing himself, over, and over again.. Saved me.. Again, and again.. Why.. just, why.." the temptation reached its limit and she halted her walk, staying near a nature bath pool, which was quite warm to Liriel's surprise.
The crystals surrounded her, and she gently laid Niko's head on the floor, before laying Akila near him. She removed Niko's crossbow, quiver, and his helmet, only leaving his beloved Leuku by his side. She knew how important that blade was to him, and would not dare to deprave him of it. Next, she messed around with his backpack, and pulled out a towel, wrapping Akila in it, before tearing a piece of her loincloth, wet it in the warm nature bath pool, and place it on his forehead. "Loyal animal like you are such a rarity in our society.."
And then, it was Niko's turn. She looked at him, and still, he was only breathing heavily, and nothing more. The pity that she felt for this human made her feel extremely bizarre. "He's a human.. Why do I pity him..?" she whispered, as temptation grew, and grew. She placed his head gently on her lap as Liriel leaned against the wall, and then, she pulled out blankets and covered Niko in them, whose shaking slowed down, but he was far away from being healthy.
"I must see the reason. I must.. I cannot just swim in curiosity any longer.. Elidyr taught me enough, and this day, I shall heed one of his greatest teachings.." Liriel said, removing her helmet, and preparing for this procedure that awaited her.
The blizzard outside got more severe and it was heard loud and clear due to how the sound still echoed within the cave itself, even though she may have traveled 1 or 2 kilometers into this cave. "I am sorry, Niko.. for doing this, but I have to see what your heart is hiding." she told him, and he merely grunted.
Liriel's temptation was enormous, and she tried to place her hand on his temple, although, the difficulties of doing so, was obvious within Liriel's expression who freed her hair from her usual ponytail, allowing it to drop against her shoulders and behind her back. There was a strict refusal as she thought about the consequences. Without proper control, Niko would die, and she would never forgive herself for it. However, she needed, and wanted, to understand his motives, and why is he always throwing himself in danger just for her to escape death. It was bizarre that he did not value his life much more than hers, usually it would be the opposite if roles were switched.
The aspect warrior, inhaled and exhaled, before finally having courage to do what she wanted to do in the woods - See what is hiding behind Niko's heart.
Her hand, slowly, and gently, placed itself on top of his forehead, and Liriel began to close her eyes and recite some words within her language in the shape of a whisper. Niko felt slightly bizarre and as if his mind was hallucinating as he began to hear his own heartbeat, while Liriel lifted his head against her chest and held him close in order for him not to panic, and feel himself under safe hands.
The process was about to begin, and it was just the matter of time, until the aspect warrior, would finally be able to see, what are her human companion's motives, feelings, his past and his possible future. The seeds were indeed sown, but the connection between the two appeared to be getting stronger day by day. There was only one chance for Liriel to find out who he truly was, and what he thinks of her, what is his past, his purpose. She, was not going to miss it.. and the process, began.
Craftworld of Ulthwe.
Elidyr's chambers.
The great seer of Ulthwe was busy meditating in peace and silence, while meddling with his wraithbone runes. The silence in his mind was pure, nothing would be able to breach it, no matter what. He knew it, and continued to do his hard work in the benefit of his craftworld, still mourning the loss of his niece, who he did not want to even phantom to think that she was in the grasps of she-who-thirsts.
Suddenly..
Out of nowhere..
He felt it. A sudden burst of energy within his mind, the silence breaking, a sudden flash of light that forced his heart to increase its beating, with the runes changing their colors from green to purple, and constantly change their shapes, as he tried to decipher them. "What.. In the name of Isha, what do my eyes see?" he asked and leaned closer to his runes that hovered above his head. They kept changing their shapes, until uniting into a single formation, and just for one second, Elidyr's heart sunk deeply from one image within the runes before they disappeared, and he was forced to fall on his knees.
Eloen, who was passing by his chambers, suddenly heard him, and decided to check him. "Elidyr, oh Isha.. are you alright?" she asked him while kneeling and helping him to get up, before looking directly into Eloen's eyes.
"Liriel.." he whispered.
"What.. What about her..?" she asked in curiosity, swallowing her saliva, before seeing Elidyr lightly smiling for the first time ever since the return of Autarch Nuvian and his survivors.
"She.. is alive."
Update Record/Progress:
27.12.2023 - Fixing the previous chapters from any possible mistakes (In Progress)
Review Responses:
Knifeids - Indeed it is. I like having more words than usual.
slarkydsec - Thank you! Indeed I will keep writing :)
Argent345 - Thanks! I shall keep going. As for the story of "Sole Survivor", I have been able to read it long time ago. I will take different approach.
ConnectedBond222 - Thank you for your kind words, I just like to try and let the readers enjoy a greatly detailed pieces that my mind comes up with, while gaining some knowledge there and here about the 40k, as you may have noticed the Aeldari having their canonical height. As for the kinky scenes, all I can say is you won't be disappointed ;) As for posting it to Archive of Our Own, I'll do it once I stop being too lazy.
AngerCell6908 - Great in-depth analyzation right there. You caught the attention that the world of Merlorian is unusual as there is no attraction of Slaanesh. But there will be much to be seen here, dear reader.
Visitor2023 - Thank you! There will be a reason as to why he decided to retire, or should I say, "desert". Soon It will be shown. Now regarding the rape scenes. Technically I wouldn't say it's criticism, It is more of me being a realist. The 40k universe is Grim Dark and no amount of restraint will hold a war ravaged mind of some unfortunate human or let alone a depraved Drukhari for falling to their perverse desires. I just thought this would be fitting for the universe.
Guest - Indeed. The Inquisition has sniffed out some sussy stuff.
FreeWill2309 - Thank you for complimenting the cover I made for the story. As for your review, yes, he has left the guard, but the reason will be shown soon enough. Only thing that's left is speculate what has happened. As for him worried about being seen with Liriel, It's just him being cautious I would say. He is a man with opportunities, and we shall see how he handles them.
Guest1 - Oh yeah. They truly are lucky in that sense. Inquisition is a necessary evil for humanity and even these sods have their plusses and minuses when it comes to xenos races, I suppose. And nice theory about the artefacts. Who knows what it truly is.
Valtus - Thank you very much for notifying me about it. I appreciate it, as English isn't my native language so this was some good help.
Guest - And another appreciation for reminding me about keeping the Update Record at the latest chapter.
A Fan - You're welcome! And Thank you for your review. Soon enough, you all will see who might be the main antagonist. Perhaps the Inquisition, or perhaps someone else? Who knows ;)
Guest - Muchos gracias! I replied to you, Venezuelan fan, in the review sections. And thanks for reading it.
Wattpad User D - Well, regarding the Lemon scenes, I will say that you will have to wait and find out, my dear reader. But I assure you, there will not be disappointment regarding this interesting thing, heheh.
A Fan - The Recap really came as a great use.
Meteor - Yup, his suggestion was taken completely. Thanks!
The Jolly Sopwith - Thank you for your words! I do apologize for the grammar errors, but now since 3rd chapter is out? I'll concentrate on fixing the previous chapters as much as I can. Thanks again!
A Fan - Thank you!
Un Bot Ruso - Muchos Gracias! No estaras decepcionado, te aseguro.
HeroDeku - Thank you for noticing the xenology facts that I used in the chapter. It really just came to my mind at the best possible time. And yeah, the Recap definitely helps to keep the plot in check, much thanks to The Fan.
Nostalgic - Thank you! This scene, or the song itself, is actually called "Forest Elves - Lullaby from a Distant land" by the channel Forest Elves. Huge credits to her for the song, since I love it myself. Since Eldar are just, well, space elves, and they sing the songs in their craftworlds, I just thought this would be a great idea.
ReaderAeldariX - Yeah, you got that presumption right, dear reader. As for your second comment, your in-depth review is very interesting! There will be a lot of things that are swimming in my mind and I cannot wait to write them down. I assure you, you won't be disappointed.
A Fan - Well, this one was answered.
Guest - There is a hint of femdom there, I have to say. You'll have to wait and see the things unfold like a flower.
Bond123 - Thank you!
ReaderAeldariX - *Answered in the reviews*
The Fan - *Answered in the reviews*
Guest - No worries mate, it does not bother me at all.
DreamyButterfly - I thank you for wishing me good luck and I assure you I won't stop writing. And I apologize that this seemed to be a repetitive story for using the Ulthwe, since I like them myself. But Iyanden? Hm, I have to say.. You may have given me some good ideas for a second fanfic in the future. That, is surely assured.
A Fan - It's good, dear reader. I am sorry to hear that you have these disorders and anxiety, I wish you all the best and all happiness from this world and beyond. You really have helped me here, just know that. As for suggestion regarding the Recap? I may try these methods out, but I usually just write them on my own way. Still, I will look into this suggestion sooner or later. Thank you again, dear friend!
Footer - Hah, you are welcome to all discussions, pally. Thank you!