– Meanwhile –
- von Valancius's flagship -
Jae Heydari has had an awful lot of problems to deal with lately.
One of them was the woman lying in the medbay. Emelina something something. Of the Inquisition. Of Lord Calcazar's Inquisition.
This woman could only mean trouble. Jae had no idea why the coordinates left behind by Elena von Valancius pointed them to her direction. She'd been lost and stranded on a planet attacked by drukharis ; Jae had barely made it in time to rescue her and the colony before things took an awry turn. Yet, Emelina hasn't spoken much. She'd been shaken by the experience, as Jae understood, mainly because the agent had been sent there to die alone. It was clear that the Lord Inquisitor had tried to get rid of her. Were it not for the strange coordinates, Emelina would probably have died there.
The woman lay sleeping in the medbay. Jane Valess, the Chief Medic, was screening her vitals with Jae.
" …probably a Sage", she was saying. " She wears an awful lot of neural augments. She suffered dehydration, lack of food, high level of stress, some broken ribs and internal injuries. She's all fixed up for now, but she will need a bit of time to recover. "
Jae eyed the woman. An agent of the Inquisition, on the ship. Emelina had recognized the von Valancius name and had inquired about Heinrix. How were the two of them related ?
And, not to put too much of a stress on it, but how was that gonna bite her in the ass at the end of the day?
Most importantly, why was this random woman so gorgeous ?
Long black hair. Fair skin. Green eyes. Smart and competent. Jae couldn't concentrate around someone like that.
Biting on her nail, Jae nodded along at Jane Valess's report.
"Tell me when she wakes up.", said Jae.
"Noted."
Jae then drifted away into the ship, towards the Navis Sanctum, where she knew she would find Cassia. She knocked on the door.
"Cassia ! It's me", she said.
As procedures went, it was not a very elegant way to announce oneself, but Jae could not care less.
After some various hushes, Uve opened the door and let her in. Jae was guided through a set of different rooms until she reached Cassia's workshop.
The Lady Navigator was standing besides Nomos. The servitor was holding a paintbrush and applying a spot of green in the middle of a blank canvas.
Jae stopped. " Are you teaching Nomos to paint ?" she asked, incredulous.
Jae had decided to reveal Elena's big secret to Cassia earlier on. It seemed ridiculous to keep such a thing for herself and, well, she needed help to deal with her whole new situation. Cassia looked like the kind of person who rose up in times of crisis and challenges.
" Nomos's lack of education is scandalous ! " Cassia sighed, shaking her head. " They didn't even read Saint Drusus's work. I am trying to make up for lost time."
'They', noticed Jae. The machine had rubbed off on Cassia.
Jae arched her eyebrow and watched as Nomos splashed the canvas enthusiastically with browns and blues.
" Are you…enjoying your painting lesson, Nomos ?" she asked cautiously, as she feared the machine would splash her next.
" Very much so, " confirmed the servitor with its strange, automated voice. " Paint is far more arduous to get than picts, because of the manual application, which lacks precision. Look, Mistress Heydari, here is a sight from Janus. This is a beach."
The servitor tore up the canvas to give Jae the piece of it it had just painted. Jae looked down on what was possibly either the most conceptual piece of art she'd seen, or just layers of colors randomly applied. A child would have done better.
" Errr…thank you, Nomos."
" Next time we will try a portrait of you."
" I cannot wait for it," replied Jae with a smile, trying to tug away the gift on a table.
Cassia joined her hands together. Her red eyes gleamed with a mischievous look. " It is a very good idea, Nomos ", she approved.
Jae glared.
" Nomos is not a child, Cassia. Don't -" Jae stopped, considering the servitor. Don't get attached to it, she wanted to say, but it felt wrong to say that out loud.
Why Cassia had grown so soft on Nomos was incomprehensible for Jae. But the Lady Navigator had never looked happier, especially since the majority of the retinue went missing in action. Maybe it was easier to break her sense of isolation with something as freaky as Nomos.
Nomos was xeno tech. Jae was sure of it. She had seen enough xenos machineries in her life to know. Nothing human-made worked so seamlessly, so organically. The Tech Priests, with their zealous and obsessed state of mind, could not come up with something as creative and impressive.
But Jae kept wondering : what xeno tech was it exactly ? To whom did it belong ? Aeldaris weren't keen on artificial intelligence. Then, who ? Who created Nomos in the first place ?
She had tried asking Nomos that, but had only managed to put the machine through a long and horrible existential crisis.
" I am aware of Nomos's nature," replied Cassia sharply. " I just think Elena would have wanted us to guide Nomos's education. Anyway, how is the agent of the Inquisition we rescued ? "
" Mistress Lichtenhart ? I suspect she is perfectly fine and just pretending to be in a coma in order to enjoy the full range of our infirmary's accommodations, " grumbled Jae sarcastically.
" Yes. I cannot wait for her to wake up and tell us more about her…situation. I wonder what Elena saw with her ? This is strange," mused Cassia, absentmindedly taking a brush and portraying Emelina in shades of blues. " I suspect you cannot wait either," added the Navigator sheepishly after a pause.
" Cassia, that was said in a suggestive tone, and you are as far as possible from a suggestive person as one can get," replied Jae with a hint of exasperation.
" Then you do not know me that well, Jae. I shall remind you that I am getting married soon, so I may know a little more on the topic of romance that you are comfortable with. "
When had Cassia grown so witty and full of come-back ? Jae, perplexed, was reduced to silence as the Navigator gave her a quick glance.
" I saw the way you looked at her. She is your type, isn't she ? "
" My type ? You mean dangerous, unpredictable, shady and attractive ? Nope. Not my type at all," replied Jae derisively.
Cassia smiled but left the subject alone.
" You are referring to Emelina Lichtenhart ?" inquired Nomos, still going on painting random spots of picts over the canvas. " According to my readings, she is a Sage belonging to the retinue of Lord Calcazar. " Nomos's voice grew slightly colder at this. " We do not like Xavier Calcazar", added the machine, picking the red paint again.
" He is a man that does not seek to understand but to control and possess," added Nomos, pressing the brush against the canvas in the same way a serial killer would press one's head against a blender.
" Augustinio, The Lark's Song, chapter 8. You see, you have a good way with words, Nomos," complimented Cassia gently.
" Yes, you make Nomos sound more human everyday, " muttered Jae. " Our guest must not know about Nomos, is that clear to you both ? "
" Obviously", replied Cassia.
" Why ? " asked Nomos in a whiny tone.
Jae raised her finger maternally. " Because she might just well reveal your existence to Calcazar, Nomos, and I do not want that at all. "
" If subject Emelina is deemed dangerous in your eyes, Mistress Heydari, I can ensure her elimination swiftly," replied Nomos in the same tone as a child trying to please their parents. " Disturbing the medbay's mechanisms falls into my reach. "
" NO !" said both women at once.
" Nomos, killing off faithful servants of the Imperium is wrong ! " snapped Cassia.
" Nomos, we don't eliminate every new thing we come across, else we find ourselves missing out on new opportunities ! " said Jae at the same time.
" Hmmm…Nomos understand. We think ?" The machine didn't sound sure of itself, but Jae had other things to worry about.
" Mistress Heydari ?" That was Vigdis's voice on the vox. " I am here to report that we have reached our new destination. Planet XT-202. The augurs are reporting proof of human activities on land. I should also inform you that our guest in the medbay has woken up and has asked to speak with you."
" Should you change your mind, I can also eliminate the subject at a more convenient time. We could sabotage her lift for instance," offered Nomos once more, just in case, since it didn't feel like it got it right on the first turn.
" You will do no such things ! "hissed Jae, covering her vox. Then : " Fine. Thank you, Vigdis. Send Mistress Lichetenart to me and try to report to me once you know what kind of human settlement we're dealing with."
" Understood. Voxmaster out. "
— Commoragh —
– Present –
Something intangible flickered in the air, deft and quick, just as Elena's body crashed into Yrliet. Something or someone pushed them out of the way - and they tumbled on the ground.
Both Yrliet and Elena perfectly understood whose miraculous intervention they owed their lives too, and it wasn't the God-Emperor's one.
The invisible Solitaire following them retreated back in the shadows, his holo-field hiding him away from them. Still, a very vigilant eye could spot the traces of blood as the figure stepped away from the main scene, having performed his role.
No one else would have been swift enough to deviate Yrliet and Elena from the trajectory of Argenta's bolter.
Still, a bullet had grazed Yrliet's shoulder sufficiently to break the bone and flesh. Elena was mostly unwounded, at least no more than she had been.
Nobody did notice the Solitaire, though, because no one had half the mind to be vigilant about that now.
To sum it up in a different ways, the scene unfolding right now was an absolute shit show.
" STAND DOWN !" was screaming Abelard, throwing himself at the Sister.
In his eyes, Idira and Elena's death were reflected like two doors leading him straight down the pit of hell.
The Seneschal wrestled with the Sister for a bit, but even Argenta was too shocked at the scene to muster much resistance.
Heinrix held Elena in his arms, checking her vitals.
" I'm fine," she said.
A look of disapproval passed through the biomancer's eyes. " That was close. Too close, Elena." He helped her back up, ignoring the xenos. Yrliet was left alone to get back up.
" Explain yourself ! What were you thinking ?" was barking Abelard at Argenta.
" I…" Argenta lost her words for a second. " She needs to die ! " she replied, pointing her righteous finger towards Yrliet. " We wouldn't be here if not for her ! All this…all of this…"
Elena caught Argenta's eyes drifting to Idira's corpse, then her. " It would not have happened", finished the Sister awkwardly.
Ulfar's voice rolled over them and over the scene like a wave crashing into their skulls. " Anger for the fallen. It is good, Sister of Battle, that you feel wrath and sadness at the sight of a slain brethren, and hatred towards the xenos. His Light is ablaze within you like the forges of Estgard themselves ! But sometimes, we are forced to wait before we can get justice done. " Ulfar turned his impressive head towards the wounded xenos.
Elena understood just how Commoragh had changed Yrliet when she spotted the once proud and stoic Aeldari unable to hold their gazes, pulling her head down like a broken doll. Battered and broken, unable to oppose any sort of resistance.
If the Rogue Trader wished for it, she could have ordered her to be killed and Yrliet would not have said anything.
She muttered something in her language that Elena couldn't get. A prayer to her gods, perhaps.
" Judgment will be handed down", confirmed Pasqal in his detached voice, " I shall see to it. But considering our diminishing numbers, perhaps now is not an optimized moment. "
" I will be the one to decide who judges who and on what terms," growled Elena. Her voice carried through like the deep sound of a dog ready to jump at an attacker. Ulfar smiled at that. " For now, Pasqal is right. United we stand, divided we fall. I will not have my retinue, Argenta, fall into mutiny ! Get a hold over yourself ! "
Heinrix passed a hand through his hair, eyeing the scene. Argenta inhaled and clasped her hands to pray.
" I apologize, Lord Captain. My emotions have taken the best out of me. I didn't wish for you to get hurt. "
But something was missing in the Sister's expression, as a shadow dimmed her inner light.
" We are all traumatized by the events that transpired here," said Heinrix slowly. His soft voice grabbed everyone's attention. Used to work in the shadows, Heinrix rarely took the lead. But when he did, everyone could see that this man had been a soldier and a leader during wars. " We have suffered humiliation, slavery, torture at the hands of the vile drukhari. None of us is unscathed. Still, we have survived where, in all rationality, we should have died. Again, may I add, considering our past encounters with enemies of Humanity. The Lord Captain reunited us…and we found each other. "
Heinrix glanced at Yrliet, his jaws clenched. " Though I hate to say it, this xenos is the only one to possess the knowledge of her kin and to help us escape. We have to trust that her remorse is not fake but sincere, and we have to stand strong together. We just lost a soldier. Let us pay our respect to her, and focus on staying alive together. "
" Spoken like a true Imperial Guard," Elena whispered with a tired and appreciative smile.
Heinrix nodded. It wasn't the first time he witnessed something like that.
He clasped his hands together and prayed. The prayer for the fallen.
" In His name we have committed our companion to the flames. By His light may she rest and find peace at last, there to rest until the God Emperor calls upon his fallen to rise once more."
Argenta replied : " Praise the Emperor, for in our resolve we only reflect His purpose of will."
" So shall it be", continued Abelard.
" So shall it be," chorused Elena and Pasqal.
Grumbling, Ulfar joined at the end, though his attention wasn't on Idira at all. His voice grew distant, with strange ghosts hiding inside : " Hail to the Allfather, hail to the fighters lost, hail to our blessed dead ; they shall stand with us, smile on us, drink with us. "
Finally, Yrliet, despite Argenta's scornful and threatening look, came to kneel by the corpse's side. She said things then, in her own tongue, that they didn't understand. There was no pride left on the Aeldari's face.
Heinrix's lips moved on their own as he deciphered the Aeldari's words.
" What is she saying ?" enquired Elena.
" ' As we pass from spirit to flesh, this is the first passing. As we pass from flesh to spirit, this is the second passing.' She is praying. "
Heinrix turned his back on Yrliet.
Abelard cleared his throat. " Let us go", he said. " We should find the Space Wolf's armor and our own weapons somewhere. It is not clear what happened there, but I suppose we will be dragged down to the Arena soon enough. "
" There is something else we should do," said Elena.
Heinrix sighed and began to massage his temples, perfectly knowing what Elena was about to do.
Rummaging through Tervantias's place, they found their equipment back. They exited towards the Pit once more.
Except that they were not alone.
Hundreds of people followed them. Badly injured, famished and filthy people. They hardly seemed to possess any sliver of humanity left within them. Were they men, those broken flesh vessels ?
They looked up at the Rogue Trader, hesitant.
And in her eyes, they knew.
They knew mankind was still alive within them.
" We have come to save you," said Elena von Valancius.
" Have we now ?" mumbled Abelard under his breath, looking desperately at the horde of useless cripples they were now hoarding. In the lowest city, their horde would be quickly spotted and attacked.
Heinrix believed he felt a headache surging. Once, he would have tried to put some sense into Elena's mind. Sadly, he had since learnt that her stubbornness was only matched by her idealism.
He had no idea how they were going to save any of those poor fellows, nor how they were going to save themselves. Heinrix could not discern the aristocrat from the peasant, the worker from the soldier, the one belonging to the von Valancius protectorate from the others. They all blurred together in a mass of wounds, desperate eyes, and empty stomachs.
Yrliet had mentioned a Gateway, but where could it be ? Surely such a thing would be guarded. How could they roam the place with so many people in tow ?
" I am not great at speeches," continued Elena, her calm and deep voice commanding the horde of the kidnapped men, women and children the drukhari had captured from realspace. " But I will say this : no one deserves the fate you were given, and this place will burn. Pray to Him, for His light has guided me here."
Heinrix's eyebrow shot up as he looked at Elena, her tall and wounded frame towering over them all. Her calm, her certainty.
He knew enough about religion to recognize the birth of an icon, and he wondered.
Had she gone mad ?
The following hours involved an exhausting task of moving the old prisoners down to the pit, counting on them to organize themselves with the few weapons and medical supplies left. Abelard took most of the workload for this, his experience precious.
For now, the inhabitants of the lowest city had been kept at bay. Ulfar's impressive stature surely was the reason for this. The Space Wolf had begun his watch, and whenever he spotted a drukhari in the streets, he lunged at them and hunted them until they either fled or died.
This would not last.
Yrliet, Elena, Heinrix and Haneuman were busy examining the portal that led to the Arena, and trying to decipher how to get it to work on their command.
It was then that something caught Elena's attention. She lifted her head up, a dark foreboding radiating cold in her bones.
" Take cover, now," she said sharply, while herself jumping out of the way and rolling beneath a pile of rock.
It was just as good, because a set of syringes lashed into the ground from above. A flying shape flew by then, directed at Elena.
The diviner guessed at the incoming attack and dodged out of cover.
" Elena ! "
That was Heinrix. He leapt in front of her, raising his sword, searching the sky for the attacker.
The creature dived down on them with a dry, wicked laugh. It had long wings, that could have been beautiful, was it not for his hideous head and augments. His sword met Heinrix's one in a clash, as Haneuman shot at it with his plasma rifle. Yrliet was getting into position to strike.
The creature smiled at them as one predator would when looking at its dinner.
He grabbed Heinrix in his arms and rose up in the air.
" Heinrix ! " screamed Elena. She clumsily got her gun, but, with only one arm, she had trouble aiming right.
Yrliet shot at the creature's wings. A clear and precise attack.
The winged assassin flew away, his wounded wing dragging him down.
" He is gonna fall. Pasqal, get back to the Pit !" ordered Elena. The Tech Priest just wasn't swift enough to follow around.
" Elantach, wait for me ! This is a trap laid out for you", said Yrliet, running alongside Elena now.
They left Pasqal behind, despite his protests, and ran into the Lowest City.
Soon they lost sight of the winged drukhari or Heinrix.
Elena switched to witch sight, scanning the area for him. She saw his aura, pulsating brightly in a place like this. There were so few psykers around that she could not get that wrong.
" He's over there", she said, beginning to pivot.
Because she was distracted, the winged predator dived down on her just as soon and grabbed her firmly, piercing claws penetrating her skin in a jolt of pain. Elena screamed, trying to get out of the deadly embrace, and suddenly felt her muscles relaxing and her vision spinning.
Yrliet screamed as well and jumped on the back of the creature, sliding her rifle under his neck to try to strangle it. The scene that followed was chaotic ; the creature took flight, holding Elena close, while trying to get Yrliet off him. He threw himself at a few buildings, and Elena could hear the Aeldari's delicate bone crack.
But Yrliet was persistent. Giving in, the creature dived down again at full speed, projecting the Aeldari away from him. Elena fell as well, her mind racing slowly because of the toxins, too slowly to call on her psychic powers now.
The winged creature rose above her, threatening and dangerous. Then stopped for a second, just as the top of his body, from his head to his plexus, was cut down in a geyser of gore and blood.
Elena backed away, blood getting in her eyes and hair.
" I can't believe I am falling this low", sighed Marazai as he ripped off one wing of the creature. " Mon-keigh. Here we meet again, unfortunately. "
" You again ! " hissed Elena, her anger flaring inside her. " But how…I just killed you in the Arena ! "
" Yes, yes. Very unfortunate and painful event. I do not intend to retaliate." Marazai caressed his jaw pensively. Now that she was paying attention, Elena noticed the red spots of burnt flesh forming uneven bumps around his face, as if it had been reconstructed.
" And I insist that I come here to speak ! " added Marazai, quickling jumping out of the way of Yrliet's rifle, aiming straight at him.
" You aberration", growled Yrliet. " Did the Haemonculi bring you back from the dead ?"
" You see, dear cousin, you can sometimes use your brain when you want to."
" Kae-Moragh ! … " Yrliet howled like a wounded beast, her rage shaking her hands. Elena got up on her feet, still feeling sluggish by the toxins. Where was Heinrix ? she thought, as she scanned the area.
" The Haemonculi repaired me," admitted Maraizai, putting his blade down. His annoyance at having to suffer the situation was plain on his face. Contrarily to Yrliet, he was still prideful, and Elena doubted that someone like him would ever be not prideful. But his arrogance had melted down somehow. " Most exactly, he created clones of me before sending me out to the Arena." Marazai grimaced. " I am not the original version of the drukhari you met. Merely one of his copies. The better one, of course. "
" Why are you here ? " asked Elena, her voice shaking.
Am I going mad again ? she wondered.
'Not at all, sister dear', replied Kunrad in the back of her mind.
Thank you.
" The Haemonculi you met, Tervantias, made me one of his obedient slaves. He wanted me to deliver you his message : now, all of Commoragh is going to be out to get you, monkeigh. But before they do, you might still stand a chance. Take a last dance in the Arena, and strike down Keykeross, the Arena Master."
" Why would I do that ?"
" As I understand, you are receiving help from an exterior. A Solitaire. This is the pact that he made with Tervantias. That you would crush his enemies one by one. I, for one, have also some sort of interest to…cooperate with you. I may be a mere clone of your tormentor, but I know enough of his mind to share one thing in common with him : his hatred for his sister, Yremeryss."
With a languid smile, Marazai turned towards Yrliet. " And I know where your kin truly is, dear cousin. Kill me now, and you shall never find them out. Kill me now, monkeigh " - he turned towards Elena - " and you shall never be able to flee from the Lowest City. But with me by your side - well, then…you did kill me, after all, Elena von Valancius."
That was the first time the drukhari ever said her name. It sounded strange to hear it in his cavernous and purring inflexions.
" I can only respect the strong. I will help you, just like I did right now - if you only lead me to Yremeryss. And you already took your revenge on me. It seems to me we are even. Now we have a common enemy."
Elena's lips quivered as she realized the situation she was in. She threw an anguished glance at Yrliet, whose face was contorted in a painful expression.
" How can I be sure you are not lying this time, worm ?" spat the Aeldari.
" Are we already learning how to be less naive ?" mocked Marazai, clearly having no sense of remorse or pity at all towards Yrliet. " I am not lying, Yrliet Lanevaeyss, because I captured them myself and gave them to the Haemonculi to play with. "
Marazai smiled like a cat. " Their cries and screams are so delightful I can still feel them echoing in the air. The survivors of your Craftworld…or what is left of them. "
Yrliet threw herself at Marazai and they stumbled on the ground as the once stoic Aeldari cried out her pain and anguish, hitting the drukhari in the face. To Elena's surprise, the clone didn't even react to it - he merely laughed all the way, as if each blow was procuring pleasure instead of pain.
Elena grabbed Yrliet after a few seconds of this, scared for her spirit stone.
" Yrliet !"
" I can't ! I cannot stand it, elantach ! " complained the Aeldari. Despite her words, Yrliet was already calming down, backing away from Marazai.
Elena looked down at the drukhari on the ground. His face had been hit numerous times and was oozing with blood and cracks. It didn't quite look natural. The structure underneath was more elastic than expected, the blood a bit too dark and thick.
This didn't stop him from smiling.
" A question, Marazai. Just how many clones did Tervantias create of yourself ? "
He looked at her strangely, but she saw the glimpse in his eyes.
" Kill him if you want to", said Elena to Yrliet. " We'll just get another one of these clones in the lab. I don't like this version much anyway. Too smug ", said Elena emotionlessly, turning her back on Marazai.
Yrliet's shot rang pure in the air.
— Later on —-
— The Pit —
Yrliet and Elena didn't meet Heinrix on their way back, but managed to procure themselves another clone of Marazai by searching through Tervantias's chambers. Elena would rather not think too much about what Tervantias was planning to do with these clones. Some were clearly experiments - spineless versions of the drukhari, or flawed ones. Some were intelligent enough to speak. All seemed to share a vague common memory and genetic resemblance to her once tormentor.
After a long and harsh conversion with one of these clones, to make sure this version was compliant enough to strike a deal with, they retreated back to the Pit.
Yrliet's face was completely closed.
" Did it make you feel better ?" asked Elena after a while, while they were walking down the lowest city.
" Killing the copy ? No", whispered Yrliet. " No. I should not have let myself fall to baseless emotions and rage." Yrliet's eyelids trembled. " This place…it perverts. It corrupts. I shall add this moment to the list of my regrets." Yrliet paused and considered Elena for a second. " What about you, elantach ? Did it make you feel better when you killed him in the Arena ? "
" …No", admitted Elena reluctantly. " No, it didn't."
" I thank you, for trying to protect me when the one you call Sister shot at me", said Yrliet, inclining her head. " And I am deeply sorry for what happened to Idira Tlass. She was…one of the rare monkeigh aboard your ship that did not spite me."
" She was not a monkeigh", corrected Elena, almost distracted. " None of us are."
Yrliet pressed her lips together, a guilty look in her eyes. " You are right."
They walked in silence a few minutes more, their copy of Marazai strangely silent and glassy-eyed. Elena wondered if the neural transfer over this clone had worked as intended. At least he was too dumb to protest much.
" And thank you, as well. You jumped on the back of that thing and you fought for me without any hesitation", added Elena softly after a while.
" It's only natural, elantach." Yrliet's lips tugged in a tired smile. " I wonder if a Farseer, somewhere, could have ever predicted the paths we are taking. A human and an Outcast walking together in the Dark City. Who would have thought ?"
Their arrival in the Pit didn't go unnoticed.
The rest of the retinue was here. Pasqal and Heinrix had managed to find their ways back. When they saw what looked like Marazai walking serenely besides Elena and Yrliet, something cracked in their composure.
The refugees they had tried to shelter were too busy recovering from their wounds to get in their way.
" A drukhari and an Aeldari are enforcing your security now, Aett-Vatter ?" Ulfar's question rolled like a thunderwave.
Abelard stepped forward, his wrinkles forming a deep frown of incomprehension.
" The elantach was attacked in the streets," replied Yrliet.
" And she returns with…him," continued Argenta.
Heinrix didn't say anything. He stayed at the back of the retinue, his dark eyes fixated on Elena. She saw the doubt in them. The unsaid. All of it.
He wanted to have faith in her, she understood that. He wanted that so badly. And yet everything she did…could he ever truly trust her ?
Did she trust him now ? With every fiber of her being, every part of her soul ?
" This is a clone of Marazai ", began Elena. " Made by the Haemonculi in punishment for his flaws. This clone will help us find the Gateway we need to reach realspace and espace."
" Will he ?" asked Heinrix doubtfully, focusing his attention on Marazai.
The drukhari stared back, with no glimmer of either emotion or intelligence in his eyes.
" Have you got a better proposal ?" scoffed Elena, beginning to feel the pressure weight on her shoulders. " Any of you ? "
" Yes. The proposal is to eliminate the xenos", replied Pasqal evenly.
" Why should we put up with…him ?" continued Heinrix. " I swore I would have his head for what he has done, and I am a man of my word. "
Yet something held Heinrix back, and he did not make a move towards the drukhari, eyeing the scene suspiciously.
" Once again, whether we like it or not, he is the one who knows the way to the Gateway", repeated Elena, feeling her grip over her self-control loosen at the adversity of her retinue.
She was tired. She'd just dodged death narrowly multiple times in the last hours. She had always been a resilient one, a tough mind.
The trouble was that everyone expected her to be tougher at them at every turn, when inside she felt like she was drowning.
" And we believe him ?" laughed Argenta. " Lord-Captain, I beg you ! Stop compromising yourself with these…filfthy xenos." The Sister stared hard at Yrliet. " Return to His light, Elena. Else you have gone mad ! "
" Sister ! " scoffed Abelard, scandalized. " This is not how you address a superior !"
" The only superior I report to is the God-Emperor, and by His Light, I see nothing here but heresy ! "
Abelard's eyes widened. Pasqal's mechadendrites slashed the air. Yrliet's fingers just slightly tipped towards her rifle.
The air froze.
Elena stared at Argenta firmly, her lips pressing into a hard line. Her black eyes, filled with void, narrowed and a light danced within them.
" Fine," Elena said calmly. She pivoted to Abelard and Heinrix, opening her arms up. " You know what ? You want that fucking xenos dead ? Then let's kill him. Do you think I hold any sympathy for him ? "
Elena suddenly hit the clone over his face as violently as she could in her condition. The clone didn't oppose any resistance and fell to the ground, where she kicked him in the face.
" Are you accusing me of consorting with a drukhari ? With my tormentor ?! Do you have any idea… " Elena's eyes flashed bright. " Do you think, Sister, that I derive any sort of satisfaction from my actual situation ? Do any of you think that and dare complain and whine to my face once more ? "
Argenta blanched. Heinrix's eyes drove into Elena's skull.
" I keep calm, because I have to get you out of here " she continued, her eyes blazing furiously at her retinue all the while. " I have to be calm and keep my self control. I have to think about how to get you out of here. But you - "
Her boot made a splashy sound.
" - you, you have all these feelings, all these principles, and you are always right, are you not, Sister Argenta ? " she barked.
Argenta looked back at her in shock. " Lord Captain - "
" Whereas I -" Elena raised her boot once more. " I don't get to tell you how I feel. I don't get to say how angry I am. I don't get to be sad. I don't get to say what I think or how I feel. I don't get to let my emotions control me, because if I do - "
Her feet went softly back on the ground as her voice came down. She extended her only arm up, gesturing a silent explosion.
"- then I might just blow your freaking heads off by accident. "
Pasqal didn't seem to know how to react. A look of horror had imprinted Argenta's face. Abelard himself looked shaken.
Yrliet stood by her, saying nothing, but Elena saw the sadness in her eyes.
As for Heinrix, he was watching. Thinking, surely. Wondering.
She hadn't been aware that her heart was rising, but she felt it sink painfully in her chest as she crossed his gaze.
Here she was, laid out bare in her flaws and wounds, away from her crown, her past. What did he see, she asked herself, when he looked at her like this ? She wished she could know.
" Lord-Captain, please", said Abelard. He looked at a loss for words, but she heard his disapproval seep into his tone.
I'll always be a psyker first and foremost.
Abelard's frown deepened. " How…how…well, sometimes the only way ahead is forward, Lord-Captain, so let me be straight. You haven't been completely yourself lately. Maybe it would be better to end it off now with the xenos while we still can. "
" This statement is met with approval", continued Pasqal, his mechadendrites holding on his plasma pistol as he aimed at Marazai's clone.
" We just don't know…if we can trust you", said Argenta.
Heinrix closed his eyes.
" I haven't been myself ?" gasped Elena, rage reddening her cheeks. But she needed to put a leash on it, to let it simmer down inside her soul, until the emotion was pressured down into a little ball inside her stomach. " No, I haven't been, because being oneself isn't sufficient to survive here. Now, have you been yourself lately, Abelard ?"
" Or yourself, Pasqal", she said, turning on herself, " with your broken psyches and your collective mind you have been hiding from us ? "
Pasqal's mechadendrites waggled in surprise.
" What about you, Argenta ? When were you planning to tell the Seneschal you were the one to kill Theodora ? " spat Elena.
The Sister was pale as a sheet.
" I would have !" Argenta gasped.
" You did - what !" claimed Abelard, turning towards the Sister in disbelief. " Is that true ? Is that true, Sister ?"
" Yes !"
" But she took you in !" Abelard raised his hand to the hilt of his hammer, confusion and anger in his eyes. " You are a devotee, one of His faithful. How - "
" Because Theodora was a heretic ! " spat Argenta. " When I found her during the mutiny - she was playing with a corrupted artifact, one of those lenses like the one we spotted in Rykad. The only thing I regret is that I had to kill Mort as well. For him, my soul weeps." She turned towards Elena. " I did what had to be done ! She didn't deserve to live ! "
" But she was the Rogue Trader at the time," intervened Pasqal, " and what can you know of her true motives ? We have examined the artifacts as well."
" You are ill-placed to judge me, Priest, considering the amount of heresy committed by your mentor - amongst which a schism in your own order !"
Abelard put a hand to his forehead. " You have been lying to us all this time. I cannot believe it," he sighed.
Heinrix stepped forward, looking Elena in the eyes. " And what about me, Lord Captain ?" he asked, his voice the only one stable and neutral amongst the bickering retinue. " Are you going to accuse me as well ? "
That shut Elena up. She just looked at him, her face finally contorting into a softer version of itself. " You have so many secrets, Heinrix, that I fear that even you don't measure their depths anymore ," she said. " Why did the experiments on Kiava Gamma know you ? Why did Uralon say you wore his mark ? "
Heinrix stopped, and suddenly all the familiarity between them withered for a second, as if a mask had fallen over his face.
Argenta, Pasqal and Abelard fell into silence, holding their breaths.
" Your talents for observation would have made you a good agent of the Inquisition, if fate hadn't decided otherwise, Elena", replied Heinrix after a few seconds. " But I am not at liberty to divulge these secrets."
She looked into his eyes and saw his longing. But duty came between them, now as always. He would not tell her the truth.
" The unit does remember strange behavior exhibited by van Calox during this mission," insisted Pasqal, eyeing the man with interest. " Explications are needed to make sense of the situation. "
" I would advise against inquiring further on this topic," hummed Heinrix gravely, his words sharp and crisp.
" I would rather know if we've been manipulated by the Inquisition from the start, young man !"
" I don't understand…" whispered Argenta, defeated.
Elena clenched her jaws. Her anger had died down and with it, she realized just how miserable they all were. Barely a retinue anymore, they huddled together without even truly knowing each other.
How was she going to make this mess right ? She had broken everything now.
That's when Ulfar laughed.
They had forgotten the presence of the Space Wolf, and so his hearty laugh came as a surprise. The Wolf looked at Elena with a cunning expression - and she spotted once more the flash of intelligence in his eyes.
Don't buy the Fenrisian bullshit. He is not what he pretends to be either.
" Do you really wonder if you have been toyed with by the Inquisition, mortals ? Does the cow shit in the yard and the cat in your shoes ? Does the sun rise in the morning and the moon at night ? Of course you have been manipulated by Calcazar and his paws. Just like we were, " growled the Space Wolf.
Heinrix did not flinch. Suddenly he had become unreadable once more, just like when they first met him.
What does he know ?
" But, mortals, it does seem to me that most of all, you have been fooled by your own Aett-Vatter." Ulfar smiled and looked at Elena. " Isn't that right, Völva ? Are you not a powerful seer and oracle ? I have observed you and I see you have survived impossible odds with just the good stroke of luck. Except that, when it comes to people like you, seers and witches, there is no such thing as luck, is there ? "
Elena fell silent.
Heinrix was the first to get it. He looked at her and widened his eyes in disbelief.
" Elena, please, tell me it's not true," he said.
" What do you mean !" snapped Argenta in confusion.
" I say this : your leader has predicted all that would happen. She knows your little secrets, she knows where to find you, where to find me. She knows things she isn't supposed to know. " Ulfar's laugh reverberated once more, almost threatening now. " There are only two possibilities. Either your leader is incompetent and does not know how to use her own powers - and she led you to this death trap by accident. But then she is weak and does not deserve your respect. Or - and that is the interesting part - your leader is perfectly competent and she brought all of you here on purpose. She knew what was going to happen and she dragged you there - because she wanted to. Now, I don't know if that makes a good leader or not, but I'm inclined to believe that a woman who will cut out her own arm to survive and endure what I saw her endure is the kind of mind to trick everyone like that. "
Ulfar's figure loomed over Elena. There was no outright hostility in his eyes, but then Elena knew. This man was not a friend, nor a real member of her retinue. If he looked into her and saw something he didn't like - then he would not hesitate to execute her on the spot. A Rogue Trader held no value in his eyes.
So she stopped lying and pretending. She lifted her face towards the Space Wolf, calm as water, deep as a dark lake, secretive and determined.
" Yes," she admitted openly, her voice turning perfectly sharp and still. " Yes, I knew what Marazai's plans were. I knew Yrliet would fall into his trap. That's why I said nothing that happened here is her fault. When I led you aboard the ship, I knew what was going to happen. I knew we were heading to Commoragh. And I chose you, specifically you. "
The tension was already so high at that point between the companions that they didn't even seem to know how to react. Heinrix hid his face inside his palms, a nervous laugh on his lips. Argenta just stared blankly ahead, praying.
Abelard sat down on the ground, as if all force had been taken away from him.
Pasqal was the first one to protest : " Everything this unit has gone through…could have been avoided by you. " He shook, his whole body trembled. " This unit…this unit…does not understand. Are you an enemy ? "
Then it was Yrliet. Her face broke down as the feeling of being betrayed tore her apart. What could the Aeldari think of her now ? But, to Elena's surprise, Yrliet lifted her chin up and took a step towards the others, positioning herself so as to defend Elena against the Space Wolf or their justified anger :
" You knew all that would happen, all you would suffer, and all we would suffer", said Yrliet. " I have not the strength to blame you, elantach. My own actions predestined us to take this path, and so I am still the one at fault. I know your heart well enough to guess that there is a reason why you did this."
" Your pet does speak after all ", commented Ulfar, staring down the Aeldari. " But I am inclined to agree. You are a survivor, woman. A warrior. You have demonstrated that. Now, I may not know much about you or your companions, but I know that when a warrior comes into a place, it is to conquer it. Am I wrong ? "
" You are not", confirmed Elena. " I came here for a reason. I chose to walk that thread of destiny because we have to go through here for what is following. We have to - this is our moral and sacred duty !" Her voice took a passionate and determined turn, her words now ablaze with either enlightenment or insanity.
" I have been named Rogue Trader by His grace, to protect those entrusted to me by destiny ! I have sworn to walk the road of thorns bravely, and to head first into darkness ! I have promised to make my protectorate a better place, and to save as many souls as I can - and this is what I'm doing ! This place is the hive of tormentors, of madmen - and we have a chance to strike at its heart. Is it not our duty, as brethren of humanity, to save as many captives as we can ? "
She gestured towards the refugees. " Should I have chosen to save you over saving them ? Should I have spared you any pain, while knowing innocents were tortured ? I do not think so. Should I have let the drukhari Marazai escape ? By playing along, we have murdered him, and now we are going to take down his Kabal, exacting our revenge and due over those xenos that believed they could plunder my protectorate with impunity. And we are going to save what remains of Yrliet's kin, because their fate are intertwined with us - because they have knowledge we need to save the Expanse. I plan to take down the head of it all, to hunt down the one who has conspired with traitors of mankind : the Archon herself. Is that not a worthy hunt ? Is that not what we were made to do ?"
She glanced at her retinue. Their expressions were difficult to read, oscillating between shock, doubt, but also fascination.
" All my life, I have been made to be a weapon and a shield of humanity. I have forced myself to live through my predictions for weeks - you endured this place once, but I made myself soak into its twisted paths for weeks. I overreached my limits, this is true - but I did it all to be sure, to be certain, that we would survive and succeed." Elena finally fell silent, her last words trembling in the air, as she eyed her companions with vulnerability.
Idira's death lay there, between the words, unsaid.
Sometimes, we get it wrong.
" The machine you were using for your dreams," said Abelard, shaking his head, " this is what it shows you ? This is what you dreamt about ? "
She nodded. Abelard groaned.
Heinrix massaged his temples, unsure of himself. " Why us ?" he asked.
" Because you were the only ones who could survive in this place. I knew…I knew you would survive. "
Heinrix gave her a haunted look.
" And because I needed you", added Elena sheepishly, eyeing her companions. " I need you. "
When she said that, her eyes flew over everyone's face - but perhaps were they lingering a little bit more on Heinrix.
In return, he nodded, imperceptible.
" I, for one, am no coward," growled Ulfar. He straightened with all his height, smiling. " I will hunt with you, Aett-Vatter. "
" I will hunt with you as well, elantach," said Yrliet, almost without hesitation. Her gaunt features tugged in a tired smile.
Abelard muttered something to himself, but stood up anyway. " A Seneschal never abandons his Lord Captain", he simply said, nodding towards her.
Pasqal and Argenta seemed more hesitant, but still, Argenta said : " I dare not pretend I can comprehend what your nature makes you see, Lord Captain…but I feel in your heart His flames. If truly you are here to do the Emperor's work - then I stand with you. "
Pasqal said nothing, simply inclining his head for brief seconds.
Then remained Heinrix.
" I have always told you you were too bold for your own good, Elena", he sighed. " But then, I have never met anyone braver than you. I will hunt with you…even if it means tolerating that xenos's presence with us", he said, looking down at Marazai.
Something softened in his eyes, and his hand touched her fingers for a second. A jolt of electricity ran inside Elena's blood.
" I need you too", he whispered, too low for anyone else to hear.