– The Arena –
– Present –
Elena set out to find Pasqal amongst the rubble of the lower city, but they were caught up in the end by the xenos dragging them back to the Arena.
Yrliet and Abelard were her only companions. She exchanged a glance at them. They both had been in what the xenos called the Arena before ; apparently, even she had, though she could not remember much of it.
" Be careful, elantach", murmured Yrliet at her side. The Aeldari compulsively checked her rifle. Her fingers betrayed her nervousness.
" We shouldn't have left the Pit without the others," sighed Abelard, his body stiff and straight. He showed no sign of fear or tiredness, despite the trials he'd been through. But both Yrliet and Elena knew the old man could not fight as well as he used to.
Elena attuned her ears to their voices. She could barely hear them through the cacophony of laughter and delighted thrills of the spectators.
In front of her eyes, hundreds of drukhari were seated in rows, enjoying the brutality of the spectacles unfolding under their eyes. Numerous platforms floated around, each one a scene of death and suffering.
Elena had difficulty trying to number her enemies. How big was the Dark City ? How many drukhari were there ?
How was she going to get them out of here ?
She closed her eyes for a second, thinking, breathing. She couldn't afford to lose trust in their survival. She had the responsibility to see this through.
In times like these, you did the work that was in front of you.
Elena opened her eyes again. All had gone to shit but she was still there. Abelard and Yrliet were still there. Heinrix and Argenta were waiting for their return. Somewhere, Pasqal and Idira were, too.
And because of that, she wouldn't fall. Oh, she would not fall. She took the fear inside her soul and burned it down, extinguishing every thread of its venomous poison, until her heart was laid bare and empty in her chest and her mind cold as ice once more.
In her mind, time slowed down. She paid attention to her surroundings, really did. Attuned her psychic senses until she could hear the finger pulling the trigger before it even knew it would. In a kaleidoscope of colors, she sharpened her mind as one would an arrow, rummaging through the possibilities to find the course to success.
It was a dance, a dance of time, and maybe because she was dancing she attracted the attention of the choreographer.
She turned her head to her left, her eyes staring directly into the Stranger's one. The Aeldari that had rescued her from death - that pulled her strings along.
She felt the connection of his alien mind echoing with her psychic nature. He had noticed her attention, and was surprised by it. He was hidden behind a holo-field, invisible - but her diviner senses revealed his presence to her.
Was he merely watching her ? Would he intervene if he thought his little puppet was in danger ?
The stranger made a graceful gesture of hand. Intrigued, Elena followed the location he was pointing to.
Her eyes fell over the shape of a gigantic man, redmaned and perfectly designed. She recognized him instantly. He was far above them, on another platform.
But she knew what she had to do.
" Yrliet, listen to me," said Elena, refraining from the sudden desire to hold the Aeldari's hand in hers. Where has that come from ?
" You need to do what I say, even if your anger tells you otherwise. You are the only one of us that can make it to this platform, up above. I need you to bring us this man. "
" As you wish, elantach."
Elena was barely surprised when the arena master made their contenders enter the platform from the other side. Marazai was amongst them. She smirked with delight when she noticed the sharp red line along his flayed skin, the stitching around his neck.
Yrliet tensed, her body growing rigid with anger and hate. " Kae'Moragh !" she spat a string of aeldari curses.
Marazai looked down at them scornfully. " And here we meet again. I will say this in your honor, monkeigh : I would not have thought you could survive the careful and profound attention you were subjected to. And I am astonished you could drag my sweet, broken cousin back into your fold. "
" You !" cried out Abelard, fuming. " I shall sweep this floor with your ass, xenos, to wash out all the affronts you put the dynasty through ! "
Marazai didn't look amused. " And I would put you through a thousand more", he purred, " if you had not completely lost my interest. What is even this ?" He pointed at them, pivoting towards the arena master. " Are you making me fight cripples now ? "
" A challenge of your level, Marazai", screamed someone in the crowd.
The drukhari hissed back, seething, and turned his glaring teal eyes at them. There was nothing but murder in his expression. Elena understood that they represented a stain on the drukhari's reputation, a thorn in his side more painful to him than the very twisting of his body.
" You killed my dog, Marazai, " said Elena, walking forward. The band of drukhari raised their weapons instinctively - though they didn't fear much about a one-armed cripple monkeigh.
" What are you talking about ? You have become raving mad. The drunkards drinking their own piss in the lowest city are saner than you," replied Marazai.
Alone amongst all his brethren, Marazai was the only one that looked uneasy. He reached for his blade and bounced, his feet incredibly swift.
In a graceful jump, he spinned in a display of agility that would end with his blade up her guts until -
at the very last second, Elena simply wasn't there. She dodged his attack like water.
Yrliet's rifle spat a first bullet at the drukhari. Marazai ducked. Their eyes locked.
The drukhari bended and slashed once more at her. His attacks were quick, precise, and Elena had no means to defend herself, especially not with only one arm left. But she was a psyker. She didn't need weapons when she had her mind at the ready. And she saw through him, every move, every slash, before he even knew he was going to bounce.
Every time Marazai struck, his prey simply wasn't there. Like a dance, she was moving around him, untouchable just like water.
There had been enemies around them as well, but every time Marazai leapt towards Elena, hoping to kill her, he found himself striking one of his kind instead.
And there she fucking was, the monkeigh with the burnt hair and the flayed skin. One step here, one step there. Like an enraged bull, Marazai felt his hate burned inside of him. She was nothing, barely even alive anymore. She had no weapons, no armor. She was a crippled plaything he had used through and threw away like garbage. She could not fight him back. How dared she resist still ?
And still, Elena danced.
" You killed my dog, Marazai Aezyrraesh. Say it ! "
Marazai laughed cruelly. " Maybe. Why would I remember ? All those that I killed with your name on their lips…they were so insignificant. "
His blade entered the back of one kabalite. He felt the sting of an ally turning his back on him. Furious, he tore their head off.
" You killed my dog, you killed my handmaidens, you killed my soldiers, my servants, the men and women under my protection. Say it ! "
" They were nothing. You are nothing, monkeigh ! You think yourself smart ? Using your powers to dodge the blow ? You need to be lucky at every turn. I only need to be lucky once ! "
Elena's laugh was ethereal in the wicked atmosphere.
A blow took Marazai by surprise, hitting him in the knees. A discharge of electricity ran through his knees and up his spine. He arched his back in delight and turned back -
the old monkeigh jumped back and the plaything was there instead, gliding inside the overture on his side, her flesh now so suddenly hot and warm it burnt.
He dropped his blade, now too long to reach the monkeigh, and slapped her in the face with his gauntlet. She didn't see that one coming and she fell on her knees.
Still, her crazy dark eyes were still upon him, unflinching.
Suddenly, Marazai was scared.
" You killed my dog. Say it," she repeated slowly.
" I will reap out your tongue myself," he growled, unamused. He extended his arm to grab her chin, the blades along his gauntlets tearing her flesh easily.
She grabbed his arm with both of her hands and his world turned into white-hot agony as the metal melted over his skin. Her fingers were the source of an unknown, unseen fire, now distorting his armor. Marazai felt the Empyrean enclosing them.
" Say it ", she repeated, as the drukhari screamed.
He tried to let go of her, stepping backward awkwardly, but now she was the one holding on to him. She grabbed his face, like a monster of some kind, and her only thumb entered his eyes, burning his skin.
Calm. Focused. Methodical.
No sanctioned psyker took the risk of letting emotions take the better of them. Methodically, Elena emptied herself of feelings, of thoughts. She applied a force to an object until it snapped and broke. That was all it was in the end.
" Marazai. You thought yourself a snake just because you slither around, but really you're just a worm", she said.
" Lord Captain…"
Abelard's voice grabbed Elena's attention. She took a step back from the drukhari, releasing her grip over his face. The flames of the Empyrean faded down smoothly as she closed any door inside her soul to the warp.
Calm. Focused. Methodical.
The melted skull looked back at her.
That is how you survived as a psyker.
She was a bit disappointed that Heinrix wasn't around to see that. She knew he would have loved it.
Elena crushed the remains of the skull with her boot and splashed the burnt out, fleshy content around.
Then, there was silence. The arena master looked completely astonished and searched for his words, eyeing her with pure fury. Humans were not supposed to win these fights. They were not supposed to humiliate drukhari.
Someone growled, a voice like a beast, resonating inside her very bones.
" Ah, the mad slip of a girl ", said the voice. Elena turned, unsurprised to see the prisoner with his redmane watching her. Yrliet leapt down from the platform gracefully. A cunning spark glimmered in the prisoner's eyes. " I once told you you were either completely mad or a hero. Seeing how you have survived after all, I am forced to admit you may very well be both. "
Elena lifted her chin up, as if she was a queen, a Rogue Trader, amongst the corpses of her fallen enemies - and not simply a prisoner.
" I have a knack for surviving ", she replied nonchalantly.
The man laughed gloomily.
" Then we will get along, Aett-Vatter, because so have I. "
– Streets of the lower city –
Present -
– Pasqal's point of view –
Memories are the most curious thing.
One of the first things this unit learnt was how to imprint knowledge on the sacred neuro-slates. The second thing they learnt was how to extract it.
However, they realized they had never learnt how to truly understand them.
Now that the memories were slipping out of them like water out of fingers, the unit wondered what they should have done differently.
The unit was gravely dismantled. They could not get a clear reading of their vital signs.
In this semi-state of consciousness, the unit's leaking brain wondered what Pasqal Haneuman meant.
Had Pasqal ever truly existed at all ? Was it truly a person ? Or an artifact of intelligence, a knot of grammar and syntax to hold the unit's existence in a way that could be comprehended ? The pieces of information about this identity had slowly faded back into nothingness as data-information was taken out of him, piece by piece, and replaced by parts that weren't him.
What was left was the hardware. The organs. The blood. The steel. The…things.
What was left was the memory of sacred Armanat. But its purity had been profaned. The lock had been forcefully opened and the data behind it laid in shambles. Abel, Dementz, Tarzus, Axiomantha, Nihel, Pasqal, those names echoed in their mangled mind. The unit repeated them in the privacy of his dying intellect, each name keeping the darkness of death at bay a little while longer.
This unit has heard it said that the last thought that crossed one's mind before dying was that of their children. Such was the love of a parent for a child that even as their very atoms were split apart into oblivion, their brain would inject them with thoughts of love. Which raised the question : were humans ultimately alive because of love ?
Pascal would have judged the question stupid, but now the unit wondered. Would sacred Armanat have thought of him before he died ? Could the ever logical Omnissiah love its children ?
The unit wanted to be loved by its creators at this moment. As the unit laid on the streets of an estranged and unknown city, dying, it thought about these useless questions aimlessly, like a broken cog.
" Sister Argenta ! I found him ! "
" By the God-Emperor…"
Familiar vocal ranges registered. Shuffled steps.
Faces came into view. The unit racked what was left of his data memories through and connected them to matching predicates. Master van Calox. Sister Argenta. Servitors of the God Emperor, faithful of the Imperium. Allies.
" An ordinary human would have bled out by now," said Heinrix, assessing the situation.
Argenta knelt by the unit's side. " Pasqal, can you hear me ?" she asked. Light reflected in her eyes in a pattern most currently associated with expression of compassion.
Was this unit worthy of compassion ? Was Sister Argenta's face, the daughter of the God Emperor of Mankind, an incarnation in the flesh of his thoughtful prayer about love ? Did the Omnissiah send her to answer him "yes, I am watching you and yes, you matter in my eyes" ?
Surely no such angelic face could exist if it was not crafted for this very purpose. In their delirium, the unit concluded that Argenta's compassionate eyes were a sign from the Motive Force.
" What happened to you ?" asked Heinrix.
" An act…of defilement. This unit was subjected to a profane invasion. " The unit forced themselves to remain calm. They were merely reporting on their status. " A xenos touched my Ferrum Sanctum. Removed parts of it. And…changed…other parts. Branded my True Flesh with ulcers of forbidden metal…then this unit…this unit…"
Stopped.
" All your augments are infected," noted Heinrix, his voice analytical.
" Can you heal him ?" asked Argenta.
" It is a violation of the Ninth Law. I cannot heal him until he is ridden free of these abominations. "
" This statement is true", agreed the unit. " But any attempt at retrieving the alien devices from this unit's True Flesh will result in the cessation of their vital functions. This unit has become one with the perverted mechanisms. "
" There must be a way", murmured Argenta. " We will find a solution together. "
Something changed in Heinrix's expression. The unit could not name the emotion. Not that it cared much.
" Haneuman, you can and you will survive this. You can disentangle yourself from the heretical augments. The process will be painful…but you must not fear pain. Pain means you're alive. "
" But this unit does not have boundaries of self anymore. Where does the unit begin ? Where does it end ? Has the corruption seeped through the whole of the unit ? The unit is stuck in a logical dilemna and can not render judgment as long as it is. If you take a flagship, and over the course of ten years, you replace each part of it by a new one - is the flagship still the same as the initial one, or is it a different flagship ? What is the correct logical inference to make ? "
Argenta bit her lips, completely lost at this point. She raised her eyes up to Heinrix, looking for guidance.
To her surprise, Heinrix did not lose his composure despite the priest's gibberish. Calm, focused, methodical, he replied emotionlessly :
" The correct logical inference, Haneuman, is that you are confused by the concept of sameness. You take for granted that being the same means being qualitatively identical and retaining equal properties through time. In that sense, the flagship is not the same as the initial one, for its properties have changed. Now take the concept of sameness in the sense of being numerically identical. In that sense, the flagship is still one and the same, and thus has not changed. For practical reasons, we tend to consider that the flagship remains the same, in order to keep our semantical system coherent. Hence I declare you semantically the same, though qualitatively different. "
The unit hummed for itself, computing the reasonment.
" Your statement," judged the unit, " is lacking and flawed. Its logical properties are insufficient to convince me. "
Heinrix did not seem disturbed by that. If anything, a small, sad smile tugged at his thin lips.
" But you did say 'me' ", pointed the Interrogator out with more gentleness than the unit had ever received from him.
" …This statement is…correct. But this unit…does not understand who it is anymore.."
Argenta leaned in, and held his mangled hands in hers. " You are a new man. Anewman. Haneuman ", she said.
The unit hummed once more, but soon tilted its head in agreement.
" This statement is…true. I accept to be Haneuman, a new man."
" Come," said Heinrix, shifting his arm under the unit's arms. A breeze of cold, typically correlated to the use of biomancy, freshened the unit's face. With supernatural strength, Heinrix lifted the unit and their mechadendrites up.
" Let's take care of your augments, but not here. This is too dangerous. We have a hiding place…of sorts."
" You don't sound too tantalized by the process", said Haneuman, who was terrified.
" Let's say that I have done this before and leave it at that," replied the Interrogator.
Argenta stepped up to them, her eyes and bolter scanning the area. Shadows hid away from them - what was once men, and had been turned into something else, just like Haneuman was.
" Haneuman, please, we have to know. Have you seen the Lord Captain ? Or Idira Tlass ? She was looking for you."
" I have seen the Lord Captain in the xenos's laboratory. She suffered…experiments. The xenos was trying to determine if the sanctioning runes held any kind of power. " Hanuman hummed, falling silence. " It was a while ago. The xenos grew tired of the Lord Captain and had Tlass threw her away in the corpse pit."
" Tlass was working for the xenos ?" Argenta's eyes widened immediately.
Heinrix grimaced at the words "corpse pit". " Do not be quick to judge, Sister Argenta. The Lord Captain has survived and maybe Idira played a part in this. The Lord Captain told me once that…Idira would one day save her life. When she justified not having her executed following the daemonic infiltration on the ship. " The Interrogator looked pensive, as he remembered a very old conversation.
" This explanation would be logically adequate, " said Haneuman. " The xenos used a heretek device to disconnect Tlass from her psychic abilities. "
Heinrix's chin lifted up at this and something cold passed over his sanguine mask.
" Unit Tlass was not the same after that. After what happened with the Lord Captain, the xenos scientist was…upset. He took Tlass away and said he….he…" Haneuman paused, to fade away any tremors of sensitivity from his voice, until all that remained was the analytical memory. " The xenos performed a new kind of experiment. He wanted to see if he could mimic the sanctioning process of Holy Terra on the psyker. Unit Tlass…probably should be granted the Emperor's Mercy. "
Argenta grabbed the aquila over her armor, glancing at Heinrix. " We must do something ! " she said, paling.
Heinrix had gone pale too. " Believe me, Sister, I wish nothing but to storm that xenos's laboratory and pass the Emperor's judgment onto him. But…Haneuman is wounded. The Lord Captain isn't there. It would be suicide to go right now. We have to wait for their return. "
" But Tlass needs us right now ! "
Heinrix's voice softened. Haneuman would not have believed the Sister to feel so agitated over Idira's condition. " Yes, she does, but she doesn't need us dead. I didn't say it was an easy decision - only that it is the right one to make. As a soldier, you know I am true. You have seen this xenos's shelter. You know the two of us won't be enough to save Idira. "
" I…." Argenta's eyes teared up a little, but she lifted her head up to the dark and sickly skies, her hand still resting on her aquila. " You are right, Master van Calox, as ever. "
Heinrix pressed a hand against her shoulders and Argenta smiled, with a hint of sadness. " May the God-Emperor grant us the strength to see this through," prayed Heinrix.
" May he give us mercy, for I shall show my enemies nones", finished Argenta.
– Commoragh –
– Heinrix's point of view –
Operating on Haneuman proved a challenge, but Heinrix didn't relent from it.
His persistent use of biomancy was taxing on him and he would pay a high price for it. However, now was not the time to be cautious about it. They needed him and his talents. Haneuman needed him.
Finally, Heinrix closed the last wound of the Tech Priest, all the xenos grafts having been torn apart by Haneuman's mechadendrites. Pasqal's sole blue eye had gained in clarity.
He was half surprised when the Tech Priest looked at him gravely, and said :
" Unit van Calox. You have my eternal gratitude. "
Heinrix did not know how to answer that. Usually, people didn't take time to thank him. Their first thought generally was to get away from him as quickly as possible.
Heinrix settled for : " Blessed be the Omnissiah, Enginseer".
Haneuman nodded. " The Omnnissiah knows all, comprehends all. " His visor flashed green. His face was unusually pensive.
Elena came back not long after that. Heinrix got up on his feet quickly, his heart beating in his chest at her sight. Now that his eyes were healed, he could see her truly, and not only through the lines of his hands.
There was no more beautiful sight in the world than her. It was sufficient for him that she entered a room, even in a sordid place such as this, for reality to feel more consistent. It was as if she brought with her a surplus of depth to the things around her. In her presence, he felt as if he was truly himself. His contradictions finally spiraled into something whole at the touch of her skin.
He wondered if they would survive Commorragh. According to the Inquisition's database, very few were the ones that fled the Dark City. And all of them had gone mad or corrupted.
He would kill everyone in the city and then himself if anything happened to Elena von Valancius.
Elena was followed by Abelard, the xenos, and a colossal looking man that could be the rogue Space Wolf that the others had been talking about. Argenta audibly gasped and bowed her head, welcoming the Angel of the Emperor amongst them.
Elena immediately threw herself at Haneuman, and, to Heinrix's surprise, tried to hug him with her only arm. The result was awkward, and Haneuman stayed oddly still, confused by the demonstration of affection.
" Unit von Valancius", said Haneuman, his voice holding a hint of disapproval. " You are gravely wounded. Please remain still while I run a medical scan on you. "
" No need for that, Pasqal. I am just happy to see you're alive. How could have I told it otherwise ? I thought…" her voice broke down.
'It' ? Heinrix frowned. What was Elena referring to ?
" Idira," snapped Elena, stepping back. " Oh, no. We have to find her. "
" Unit Argenta and van Calox shared your opinion and were waiting for your return. Having been healed from my wounds, I shall agree to sentencing to death any of your enemies."
" I had a vision", began Elena. " A vision that a choice had to be made…that Pasqal and Idira were in grave danger." She paused and pivoted towards the exit of the Pit. " We must go."
Argenta didn't hesitate and took her spot at Elena's side. " I'm right behind you ", said the Sister.
Heinrix immediately glided to Elena's left. Abelard took his place behind the Rogue Trader, and Yrliet fell in position just as easily.
It felt so normal. So expected. Despite his hatred for the xenos, Heinrix had to admit that the formation was comforting to him. He knew everyone else's quirks, their habits, their ways of fighting. He knew how to rely on Elena's sharp orders, how to dance around Argenta's shots, how to pin a victim for Yrliet to take out, and how to fall back behind Abelard when things were dire.
The Space Wolf they had taken with them laughed. " Eager to get back in the fight, Aett-Vatter ? " His eyes glimmered with anticipation, but Heinrix saw the cunning there as well. Someone he would have to keep an eye on.
" To live is to fight, Everlost," she replied.
The Space Wolf's face contorted itself with a grimace. Heinrix wondered what Elena had seen in his aura, what secrets she had poked at with her vision. From the look of it, something he didn't like.
" I never saw a Völva of Seidr being a packleader before," commented the big man with wariness. " But maybe it takes one of your kind to discern the path that will lead us out of this dark place. Let me come with you, Aett-Vater, and, if you are going back to the damned xenos's cursed cages, then help me find my armor back. I will follow and help you. "
" Fighting alongside an Angel of the Emperor is a great honor. I will help you find your armor. How shall we call you ?"
" To you, mortals, I will be known as Ulfar."
Argenta smiled and gestured for a spot at her side. " Welcome, Ulfar."
In tight formation, they left the Pit and, following Yrliet's guidance, climbed up towards the basement of the xenos called Tervantias. Heinrix readied his weapons, certain that he would rather kill the xenos right now that suffer him to live.
But, when they entered the basement, the xenos wasn't there anymore. Shelves, jars, and various instruments were laying on the ground. Traces of a pressed and hasty departure. There were still servitors of the xenos around, trying to put things into boxes for transportation.
Heinrix looked at Elena. In his mind it was clear that she was the source of this agitation. What had she done in the Arena ? What plot was she a part of ?
" Idira ! " shouted Abelard. The old man started searching for Tlass amongst the cages.
Many of the experiments had been left to rot. Argenta's voice quivered. " God-Emperor, have mercy on us," she prayed. " Lord Captain, please allow me to free these poor souls."
Elena turned towards her, her face gaunt. " Sister Argenta, not only am I allowing you but also ordering you to reunite this poor flock and save as many as possible. No one " - her eyes drifted to the cage and Heinrix could feel her heart beat faster - " No one should endure that. "
With a quick shot of her bolter, Argenta started opening the cages. Heinrix took a look at the people prostrated in there. He wondered if it would not be better to grant them the Emperor's mercy. He knew Elena and Argenta were going to want to take them in and protect them. But how could they ?
He heard the Seneschal cried out. Heinrix turned, his feet already lunging him forward.
Abelard was bashing a pitiful drukhari's head to the ground. " Where is she ! Where is Tlass ! " he barked.
The leftover drukhari was no match against the old man's fury and died quickly.
Heinrix sighed. Interrogation was a craft, one he would be too happy to demonstrate over this race of perverted xenos. But sadly, he doubted any of the servants left behind held any importance or knowledge to find their master back.
" Unit Tlass is found," said Haneuman from somewhere inside the rows of cages.
Stopping what she was doing, Argenta joined the retinue as they moved around the cages.
They found Haneuman standing in front of a cage. His mechadendrites were stiff, rigid. Wordlessly, he took a step back, allowing them to see what was inside.
The creature inside the cage lifted one of its heads towards them. Heinrix understood immediately.
" Idira…." the words escaped his lips, filled with sadness.
Abelard gasped.
" What…what…" stuttered Elena, who was not one woman to stutter at all.
" An experiment. The xenos conducted an experiment on unit Tlass. " Haneuman said nothing more.
" She…" Heinrix forced himself not to think of it as a "she" anymore. " This is a wrack ", he said. " An instrument of the Haemonculi, changed to better assist its master and display his surgical talent."
To his surprise, something made a sound inside the beast. Heinrix noticed pieces of skin cut into it, sanctioning runes encircling its neck. The very pale skin was Elena's, he knew instantly, and felt a sickness grew inside him.
The cavernous sound turned out to be laughter. The creature coughed painfully. It spoke, each word spat between ragging breathes :
" No…need…to describe what everyone can see, iceman. I…can do that…myself."
" This thing should be put down", growled Ulfar.
" This is not a thing !" snapped Abelard. " It is a companion of ours. Idira…are you…are you still sentient ?"
" …un..fortunately so. "
Elena ignored them. " Open the cage", she ordered.
No one obeyed her, many of them too shocked to react.
Heinrix stopped to consider this. Was the Rogue Trader's authority diminishing ?
Elena took hold of her unknown pistol with her only arm and shot at the lock. The door creaked.
" It is…too late for little old me, Lord Captain", said the beast. It had trouble speaking. Forming the words sounded exhausting. " I…never thought…I'd end up this way…"
" Because you were not supposed to !" cried Elena out. Her knees gave way and the woman fell on the ground in anguish.
Heinrix recognized the warning signs. Felt the cold pull of the Empyrean.
He knelt on the ground at her side and embraced her in his arms.
" This is not what I have foreseen ! This is not how it should have happened !" continued Elena, distressed.
" Sometimes…we simply…get it wrong, Lord Captain." The creature coughed again, its ragging breath heavy and loud.
" No," whispered Elena. " No. No, no. It cannot be."
The veil between the warp and realspace grew thinner around Elena.
" Elena, listen to me", said Heinrix quietly.
" It shouldn't have happened ! I did not foresee this ! "
" Elena…" Heinrix cupped her face into his hands, unfazed by the curious looks of the retinue. He kissed her tears trailing down her cheeks. They felt salty. He tried to infuse her with his calm, his focus. To anchor her. To prevent the breach he felt tearing itself inside her. To be the shield she needed in her turmoil.
Elena sniffed pathetically, but he felt the chaos around her subdued.. After a second of hesitation, she gave in to his embrace.
" I am so sorry, Idira…."
Abelard turned towards Ulfar and gestured for his knife. Wordlessly, the Space Wolf gave it to him. The Seneschal stopped on its way inside the cage to hold Elena's shoulder.
" We have to let her go, Lord Captain. I knew Idira the most amongst us. As your Seneschal, I feel I have to do this. "
" Yes," said Elena. " Please, Abelard."
The beast inside didn't try fighting back. Its eyes looked at Abelard.
" I'm glad…it's you…old man."
" You have time to say your goodbyes," said Abelard softly.
Argenta awkwardly stepped forward. " Tlass. I am so, so sorry…"
" Do not…be sorry…little sister. Just…be better. Argenta…hear my little voices for the last time…"
Argenta's eyes were just as teary as Elena, realized Heinrix. Idira added : " The One Star…is something that is found…inside. Not outside. The flame…is in you all along."
Argenta whimpered. Yrliet looked at the scene, her face hollow. She didn't seem to know what to say.
" Red…just…make it right for me, okay ?" said Idira to her.
" You have my promise I will, Idira Tlass," replied Yrliet. Heinrix didn't know if the xenos was sincere or a good actor, but she sounded broken.
Heinrix felt it was his turn to say something. He kept Elena inside his arms and looked at Idira : " Thank you," he said. " For saving her life. "
" Thank… you. For not taking mine… when you could have ", replied the wrack.
Heinrix closed his eyes, unable to suppress the urge of emotion inside him.
Haneuman hummed softly. " Unit Tlass. I have initiated audio and pict recording of the event."
The wrack tried to hide itself away from the mechadendrite observing it. " Tell Cassia…I am sorry…I cannot attend her wedding. Tell Jae…thank you…for treating me like a person. And tell Vigdis…tell Vigdis…I was stupid. I should have come back to her…a long time ago. As for you, cog man…don't try to servitorize me. "
" This request is accepted. Recorded. I shall ensure the transmission of your messages. " Haneuman stepped back.
" Idira, I am…I apologize. I can't…I don't understand…" mumbled Elena besides Heinrix.
" You won't get it wrong next time. Now…please…let us end this. I have waited…for this…for a long time."
Abelard inhaled sharply, his old bones shivering. Heinrix tensed despite himself.
" One last word…for you, old man. My friend. " Idira paused. " Take care of what you love."
" I will ", said Abelard. " Now, Mistress Tlass, do you remember the day we drunk that old bottle of Flamestar wine together ? When my fourth one was born, I believe. Vigdis and Theodora were there. "
" Vigdis…Yes, I remember. "
Abelard drove the knife inside the wrack's heart and held it still inside as it convulsed and spasmed, until it gave its last breath.
" Good. I remember too. Thank you for your service, Idira Tlass. "
Silence. The air was still for a second.
Without any warning, Argenta turned and raised her bolter. Heinrix tried to move but wasn't quick enough.
" You are the cause of this, filthy xenos. You deserve to die ! "
Five bolts, their casings etched with curses upon the Aeldari, punched holes into Yrliet Lanaevyss's body, turning her legs into bloody ribbons.
The only reason they didn't turn her head into mash was because Elena, in a swift movement, threw herself at the xenos and they both fell on the ground. Red mist followed her trail. Something almost invisible flickered in the air, but Heinrix could not say what - the intervention was deft and quick.
Elena and Yrliet felt entangled on the floor. Where they laid still. Blood pooling out of them.
" NO ! "
Heinrix was surprised when he recognized the sound of his own voice screaming.