Rogue Eldar: Malcula

by WyrmWyrld

15,000 years of blissful ignorance comes to an end as the planet Malcula is rediscovered by the Imperium of Man. To Walter, a lost young man who struggles with understanding his forgotten past, these strangers and their God-Emperor may provide the answers he's been looking for or bring destruction to his entire world.

6. only war

*Message from the author: I copy and paste my stories from Google Docs. However, just a few weeks ago, I realized my method of marking when the narrative was switching perspectives did not carry over to fanfiction sites, so my apologies if that was confusing for earlier chapters. I've gone back and fixed that mistake. There should now be a line break on the page to signify when we're switching point-of-view characters.*

Chapter 6: ...only War

"Awake!"

Kara opened her eyes and saw she was sitting on a metal chair. In front of her was something all too similar to a police interview table, complete with restraint rings underneath it in case the cops thought you were dangerous. Abigail Hathorne was sitting on the other side of the table, fingers intertwined and staring through Kara. Kara opened her mouth to say something cheeky until she heard Corwin's booming footsteps behind her. As insane and creepy as Abigail was, Kara focused on her and tried to ignore the looming monster that could snap her neck with a flick of his pinky.

"Kara Hume. Why shouldn't I kill you now?" Abigail asked.

"What? Who asks that sort of question? I haven't done anything to you!"

"A person shows their true self when faced with death. So show me who you are, Kara Hume."

"I'm just a farm girl who saw Belvedere's ship land on my family's farm. I went to investigate with my friend, who I really thought was a human when he got shot, and we were taken up here."

Abigail smiled. "You're lying again, Ms. Hume. Your hands don't have calluses, barely any dirt under your fingernails, and your muscle mass is woefully underdeveloped. At best, you've started working for one year at a farm, but nothing laborious, and you certainly didn't grow up on a farm. If I had been a less curious inquisitor, I would have killed you for that lie alone. I should have killed you for interacting with that xeno."

"I wasn't lying, though," Kara muttered. "You're right that I've only started farming a little while ago, but that still makes me a farmer, right? And while the Alfredsons aren't my biological family, they've treated me like I was, so I consider them my family."

"Ah, so now I have a name. The Alfredsons. They're the ones who took in the eldar." Abigail stopped to laugh at what she had said before she continued. "An eldar, wanting to farm for humans for the rest of their lives. Oh, if only there were a way to replicate this phenomenon!"

Kara felt her heart sink and become enflamed all at once. She wanted to smack the smug look off Abigail's face, but she was at a loss as to how much she knew about their connection to Walter. Was Walter still alive? Did she torture him? What would she do to the Alfredsons now that she knew about them?

"How did you know they adopted Walter?" Kara asked.

Corwin marched past Kara, causing her to tighten in fear again. She watched as he reached the back of the room, bent down, and opened a hidden door. Kara expected Belvedere, a badly beaten Walter, or another inquisitor, but instead, it was Abigail's large red cat. The animal jumped on its master's lap and purred as Abigail rubbed its head.

"The eldar already told one of my agents. I suspected this was some trick or that you were all his slaves, but it's almost the reverse. Still, their connection poses a risk."

"Don't harm them. They didn't do anything other than give some poor kids a home. Walter and the Alfredsons are innocent."

"Innocence proves nothing," Abigail replied. "Not when the Imperium's grasp on the galaxy is at stake. Besides, it's your life you should be worried about right now." Abigail gently placed her pet on the ground and pulled out a black cube with a hole in it. She set it on the table and slid it to Kara. "Put your dominant hand into it."

Kara eyed the box. "Is this going to cut my hand off?"

"No. It won't harm you at all."

Kara considered asking more questions until Corwin marched back behind her. She didn't need to have eyes on the back of her head to sense he was leaning over her. She put her hand in the box but didn't feel anything, not even the sides of the box. Abigail then pulled out a pair of six-sided dice and set them down in front of Kara.

"Pick them up," Abigail ordered.

Kara did so but froze when she felt something metal press against her head and cover her right ear.

"Right now, Master Corwin has his boltgun pointed right at your head. Do you know what a boltgun is? No? Let me explain. It's a standard weapon among the Space Marines. It's rather trivial to them, but if you or I were to fire one, the recoil would rip off our arms! It fires a .75 caliber ballistic shell that detonates once it pierces its target. Very effective against armored foes, but it leaves behind quite a mess when used on humans, so to spare Belvedere the trouble of cleaning this room, do not remove your hand from the box until I say so. Any sooner, and Corwin will fire. I'm going to ask you a few more questions. Every time you finish a question, you will roll the dice. You want to get sevens, you have math education on your planet, yes?"

"I know how to count to seven. Why do I need to play this stupid game?"

"Clearly, your planet never taught you probability. With two dice, there are 36 possible outcomes. Six of those will result in a seven. Therefore, you have a one-in-six chance of succeeding. In fact, you have a better chance of getting a seven than any other number. Consider that in your average Imperial world, there is a 1 in 15,300 chance of being struck by lightning, and 90 percent of those 1 in 15,300 survive. Humanity is talented in defying the odds. You can handle one in six odds for a little interview."

"And then, will you let me go?"

"Just don't take your hand out of that box."

"And what if I don't roll a seven?"

"Roll nothing but sevens, and you won't have anything to worry about. Oh, and Kara. Don't lie, hide information, or twist the truth to me again."

Kara looked at the box and dice before sighing. Feeling sweat run down her face, Kara picked up the dice with her left hand. She tried to feel for any traps in the box one more time, but once again, there was nothing.

"When did you first meet the eldar known as Walter?" Abigail asked.

"We went to the same high school together. That was almost five years ago. I didn't know much about him until-"

"Focus on the initial question. Roll the dice."

Kara rolled a four and a one. She winced as she waited for the bolter to blast her head open, but nothing happened to her head. Her right hand, however, began to burn. It felt as though something was dripping boiling oil over her hand. Kara reeled back in her chair, fighting the urge to pull back her hand. All the while, Abigail and her pet remained motionless.

"Did you ever suspect something was unusual about Walter?" the Inquisitor asked.

"No, not at first," Kara sputtered. "Although, when I met him again, I noticed."

"Roll the dice."

Kara rolled—a one and a three. The burning sensation was replaced with a sharp pain that started at the tip of her fingers, worked down to her wrist, and then rolled back to where it started. It was as if someone was raking a razor blade across her hand, stripping away skin layer by layer. Kara had to hold onto her arm to stop herself from pulling it out. The pain grew steadily to the point Kara screamed, cried, and yelled expletives at Abigail, too blinded by pain to consider the ramifications.

"When did you first notice something was different about him?"

"Fuck you!" Kara cried.

"That wasn't an answer."

Kara wheezed as she struggled to breathe and answer. "I dropped out in my first year. When I saw Walter again years later, he hadn't changed. He was always really tall, never grew facial hair or acne, and was always so much faster than everyone else. I just thought he took good care of himself. I never thought anything about it until now. He also gets sad and hyper-fixated on things, but plenty of humans are like that!"

"Roll the dice," Abigail ordered.

"Please, I don't want to."

"Roll the dice."

Kara looked at the dice in her hand and squeezed them tightly. She took a few deep breaths and focused on rolling a seven. She wasn't sure she could keep whatever was left of her right hand in the box if she didn't. Kara closed her eyes and rolled. When she opened her eyes, she wept. She rolled a four and a three.

"How long has Walter lived with the Alfredsons?"

"How many more questions? Just let this end."

"How long has Walter lived with the Alfredsons?"

"About five years at the least."

"Roll the dice."

Kara concentrated on the dice, thinking of all the outcomes that could get her a seven. When she rolled, one dice landed on a six instantly, but the other took its sweet time. Kara looked at the dice intensely until it landed on one. Kara wanted to jump with joy but stopped herself from pulling out of the box.

"Have you seen anyone else like Walter?"

"No."

"Roll the dice."

Kara did so. She was thinking of nothing else but rolling sevens. The dice landed with a two and a five. The pain in her hand was subsiding, but that could have been because the box had destroyed all her nerves.

"Didn't the pointy ears clue you in that he wasn't human?"

"I thought it was just an odd mutation, or he had some surgery? I didn't even know aliens, or xenos, were real until today. Is Corwin even human? Humans don't get that big!"

"Roll the dice."

Kara did so again and got another five and a two.

"Strange. Do you know what the odds are for rolling the same number combination two times in a row?"

"Uh, one in thirty-six?"

"Very good. You're smarter than I gave you credit for. Now roll again."

"What? I thought that was just a casual question. That has nothing to do with anything!"

"I never ask casual questions. Now roll the dice."

Kara rolled another two and a five.

"Does Walter have any technology you find strange? Think very carefully about this."

"He's a farmer with human parents. He doesn't have anything."

To make a point to Abigail, Kara rolled the dice before she could give the order. It was a five and a one! Her nerves were still intact, and now it felt like wires were sawing the flesh between her fingers. Kara slammed her free hand down on the table and kicked the floor as she tried to stay seated and keep her hand in the box. Mid-screaming, Abigail asked another question.

"Would you consider yourself lucky?"

Lucky? How was any of this lucky? All Kara wanted to do was give Walter some answers. He didn't treat her like a pest to get rid of or a burden to ignore. It didn't matter if he was human or a xeno; he was the first person in her life willing to fight for her. Now, because she ignored Jerry's orders, they were trapped on a giant spaceship, both likely to die to cultists.

"FUCK NO!" Kara screamed.

"Roll the dice," Abigail answered, smiling.

It became too much for Kara, so she threw the dice at Abigail, who casually dodged them. Once they heard the dice stop rolling in the shadows, Abigail stood up, straightened her coat, and looked up at Corwin. "Master Corwin, I think we're almost done here. Kara has shown herself to be a determined but temperamental and undisciplined subject. Now, we just need to see if this subject has any use. I'm going to check the final results. If Kara didn't get a seven, I want you to execute her."

Kara tried thinking of her options. Should she try to run for the door? Maybe if she were fast enough, she could escape. No, that wouldn't work; even if she didn't get her head blown off, Kara knew the giant could catch her before she could even get past the table. Maybe she could beg for forgiveness? Absolutely not. If Abigail was horrible now, then Kara didn't want to know what it would be like to be indebted to her.

As Abigail looked down at where the dice had landed, the door to the integration room suddenly swung open, knocking the dice across the room and nearly smacking Abigail in the face. Prancing into view was a young woman with diamonds in her hair and a puffy dress with a high collar. Abigail stood dumbstruck while her cat hissed at the newcomer.

"Oh, Miss Inquisitor Hathorne, a pleasure to finally meet you," the woman said bubbly.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" Abigail yelled.

"I'm Lady Aphrodite Van Romulius, high factotum of this ship. I had the servitors open the door as you are having this interrogation on my family's ship. My father and I want this girl to represent us on her home planet, so I ask that you release her into my custody. Walter and her are friends with the Imperium. By the way, you have an adorable gyrinx; where did you get it?"

Aphrodite then turned and looked at Kara. "You must be Kara. Oh, you look dreadful. We can fix that. We'll start with-" Aphrodite paused as she realized a giant was pointing a handheld, semi-automatic cannon at Kara's head. "Master Corwin! Please lower your gun before you accidentally hurt her."

Kara felt the gun lower, but she could tell Corwin's action was more due to sheer bewilderment than respect for Aphrodite's authority. Even Kara felt dumbfounded, mainly at the idea that there were more airheaded Van Romuliuses bumbling across the galaxy.

"By the Emperor, your Belvedere's daughter. Why am I not surprised." Abigail's hand hovered over a gun holster on her belt but hesitated to draw it. "Get out."

"Not until I know Kara will be safe, and by the way, you are being extremely rude, lady inquisitor."

"Get out!" Abigail ordered again.

Aphrodite set her hands on her hips and pouted. "That's not very nice. Astartes, are all inquisitors like this?"

"Lady Aphrodite, you are interrupting an important process," Corwin answered. "It's best for you and Kara if you wait outside."

At this, Aphrodite grinned, gave a mocking wave to Abigail, and left the room. Kara wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or scream at this woman for her idiocy. She couldn't believe Aphrodite hadn't been enthralled by Abigail's voice or shot in the head by the space marine. Any lingering humor and joy left as Abigail closed the door behind Aphrodite and picked up the scattered dice. Kara felt the icy steel from Corwin's bolter press against her head again. Abigail placed the dice on the table, still covering them with her hand, before she revealed them: another five and a two.

"Remove your hand from the box," Abigail instructed. When Kara did so, she was amazed to see that despite all the pain, there wasn't a scratch on her right hand. "Normally, I would have executed you for attempting to assault an inquisitor, but it seems the Romulius family has taken an interest in you, so being subjected to their foolery seems punishment enough. You are no threat to the Imperium, and this eldar is the right balance of interesting and harmless for me to allow it the privilege of living for now."

"Then what were the dice for?" Kara asked.

"That was part of the assignment to gauge your potential as a psyker. I've had my suspicions since you resisted my powers."

Corwin pulled his bolter away from Kara, giving her mind some peace. She tried to think back to when she first heard the word psyker. She recalled Belvedere mentioning Abigail was supposed to be interviewing them. At the time, Kara thought they were another type of xeno, but apparently, they were humans. Suddenly, Kara's skill at games of chance didn't seem like blind luck anymore.

"Belvedere mentioned psykers earlier. Are they psychic, like they can read the future and people's minds? Are you a psyker?" Kara asked.

"It's a shame you're so temperamental and close to the Romuliuses. You're observant for someone from a lost, primitive, and ignorant world. You might have been a fun addition to my retinue. But yes, psykers do possess what you would call psychic powers, but it's much more than that. With proper training and luck, a psyker's power range is limitless. On many planets, psykers are viewed as witches serving ruinous powers and are killed on sight. You should be grateful I'm more open-minded."

"So am I a psyker, too?" Kara asked, wondering how many situations she could have gotten herself out of if she had known she could do magic.

"Only in the loosest definition of being a psyker, but it explains your luck with the dice. The psyker gene is a genetic mutation randomly appearing among the human population. We use a twenty-four-point scale to measure an individual's potential psychic powers. Most humans are at zero, but from what I witness, I'd rank you a three; even then, I might be generous; more thorough testing would be required to know for sure, but such a rigorous process is not worth the effort at such a low rank. Dice rolling is all your psychic powers will ever be good for."

"So Aphrodite must be at a twenty if you couldn't do a thing to her." Kara couldn't help but chuckle.

Abigail scoffed at that. "As if that spoiled wade of wasted years could even comprehend psychic powers without melting her own eyes out! No, Aphrodite is a rare fluke in human genetics that we would have to rank in the negative for psychic powers. She's so psionically dense that she weakens the psychic powers of those around her. She's a negative six. Any worse than that, and even normal humans could sense something wrong about her."

When Abigail finished, Corwin walked around the table and opened the door. Kara stayed seated until Abigail waved her off dismissively. As much as Kara wanted to run away from these sociopaths, Corwin's dominating presence made her too scared to move.

"Is Corwin a psyker or anti-psyker like Aphrodite?" Kara asked, practically whispering.

"Neither. What you're experiencing is called transhuman dread. It tends to happen to humans who have never seen a space marine before. Leave now."

Kara was so drained from the experience she didn't fight Abigail's control. That didn't make her any less scared of Corwin. He didn't even need that boltgun, Kara was sure he could crush her head like an egg with just one hand. The closer she was forced to walk towards him, the more her mind tore at itself with conflicting thoughts, many of which Kara couldn't tell if they were her own or Abigail's.

"Run. Stop. Freeze. Fight. Walk. Cry. Scream. Stay silent. Pray. Lay down. Stand tall. Faint. Stay awake!"

It was the longest walk of her life. The whole time, she felt like she was moving in a dream she couldn't control. Kara's body and mind alternated between feeling numb and sore when she gained control of her body again. Waiting nearby was Aphrodite, smiling like an idiot.

"Kara, I'm so glad to meet you!" Aphrodite chirped.

"Okay, nice to meet you too. Now take me to Walter."

"Oh. That's the eldar! I have so many questions about him. How is an eldar raised by humans? Did multiple generations look after him? Did-"

"Please," Kara interrupted, fighting back the urge to scream. "No more questions. I've done enough of that. Is Walter okay? Can I see him?"

"Walter is doing marvelously. Our doctor patched him a while ago. He's safe and playing with the other xenos in the ship's lowest deck. We can see him tomorrow when we make him an officially sanctioned xeno. But it's getting late, and you need a new change of clothes."

That last sentence confused Kara until she felt her pants dripping. The stress, fear, and Abigail's telepathy had proved too much. Kara wanted to shriek and cry but was too tired and relieved to care. She dragged behind Aphrodite as she led her further into the ship. Kara waited until they were far away from Abigail before speaking.

"Thanks for trying to help earlier, but I need you to deliver a message for me, Aphrodite. It's the only way I'll be able to rest."

"That shouldn't be too hard."

"Your father landed on the farm I live at. There's a couple there named the Alfredsons. Tell them that Walter and I are okay. Can you do that without the inquisitor finding out?"

Aphrodite tapped her chin with one of her ring-covered ringers. "I'll see what I can do. Shouldn't be too hard to send a servo-skull down discreetly."

"No servo-skulls. We don't have servo-skulls on Malcula. How do you not find those creepy? Please just send a letter or a person to deliver the message."

"Understood. I'll send someone down as soon as I can. It may have to wait until Father delivers his message to Malcula. It's supposed to be rather big."

Kara stopped walking. "Aphrodite…what is Belvedere planning?"

---

Walter had given up on finding a quiet place, as avoiding the inexplicable noises and mechanical hums was impossible. Finding the cat was also impossible, as its scent had become mudded by bizarre fumes that made Walter gag every other minute. This place, which Walter still wasn't sure where or what it was, was built like a maze. No matter how hard Walter paid attention to every minor scratch and detail on the walls, he was no closer to finding an exit. Jerry's watch was the only thing keeping Walter's mind together, but only just. Anytime Walter stopped focusing on the watch, he would start crying and screaming as his questions and fears overflowed. Where were Kara and Belvedere? When would they go home? Why did Belvedere even come here? What did Walter do to deserve getting shot?

Walker looked back at his watch and pressed his ears against it to hear the mechanisms better. He took several deep breaths and tried to think only of the ticking. As some stability returned, Walter tried recalling other relaxation techniques his doctors had told him, but it all seemed useless now. They were human doctors, studying human minds and working with human patients. Walter was not human, and all their efforts to help him were futile. While the thought alone made him sick, he had to think back to DokChoppa, hoping something he said could help.

Ya also got more lumps 'n yer brain. 'Dis doesn't make ya smart, but ya do sense fings betta dan anyone else kan. We all look slow ta ya. However, it also means ya kry about fings more dan 'umie gits.'

Nothing was wrong with his mind. True, he was sensitive, but so were all eldar. If all eldar were like this, then how could they live for hundreds of years without dying from stress? Walter cried from seeing bugs getting crushed, so how would he react to watching Jerry, Joanne, his friends, and Kara grow old and die while he still looked like a teenager? Picturing that made Walter break down again, and he once again pressed his ears and tried to focus on his watch's ticking, trying his best to block out everything else.

New noises were vying for his attention now. Something was scraping against the metallic floor, and close behind it was a continuous, high-pitched buzz. Around the corner came two strangers, not human, eldar, or ork. The first was a beaked, foggy green man with clawed feet and barbed quills at the back of his head. Flying next to him was a blue chitin armored being with three pairs of eyes and two wings beating fast, even by Walter's standards. Only the quilled creature wore clothes, but they were just brown rags and a necklace made from bones. As they approached Walter, he noticed the Imperium's two-headed eagle branded on top of their right hands.

"So there's the fresh new eldar. I thought I smelled a new arrival," the green creature said. The alien's voice sounded like he was simultaneously making clicks, whistles, and squawks as he talked. Despite how odd it sounded, Walter greatly preferred it to DokChoppa's yelling.

"Pleasure to meet you," Walter said nervously. "My name is…Walter. Who are you? And I don't mean to offend, but what are you two?"

"You don't know what we are?" the green creature asked before exchanging glances with the bug person. His milky white eyes widen in what Walter could only describe as excitement.

"I am Alrok, and my kindred is called the kroot. My friend here is a vespid, and you shall refer to him as Baron Bug Bastard."

"Bug…Bastard?" Walter repeated hesitantly.

"Baron! Baron Bug Bastard! He is royalty, and you must address him by his full title!"

Walter looked back at the vespid noble, who snapped its mandibles together and released a sweet scent. Not wanting to offend anyone, Walter bowed.

"An honor to meet you…um…Baron Bug Bastard," Walter said, trying to gauge any change in the vespid's expression.

Baron Bug Bastard made a series of rapid, high-pitched clicks, and his scent became pungent and sour. The quills on Alrok's head rattled in response, and he snapped his beak, making a noise similar to the vespid's clicks.

"What did he say?" Walter asked Alrok.

"He says he wishes to lay his eggs in your stomach and watch his progeny turn your insides into a nursery. You should be honored."

The Baron hummed and hovered closer to Walter, its two arms outstretched. Walter screamed and turned to run away, only to be knocked down when he ran into a third monster. Had Walter not been distracted by Alrok and the Baron, he might have heard this man's cloven hooves against the floor. He was vaguely human, but his muscular body was covered in patches of brown fur and bumpy pink skin, wrapped in poorly stitched clothes. Two uneven black horns grew from the top of his head.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," he told Walter. "What did Alrok do?"

"I-I," Walter pointed behind him to the monstrous duo. "Baron Bug Bastard wants to lay eggs in me!"

The horned man snorted and rolled his eyes. "So that's what he's calling the vespid now? Alrok! Leave the boy alone!"

"I have no regrets! When will I get to do that to an eldar again?" Alrok laughed and started clicking and moving his quills again. Once he finished, the vespid let out high-pitched chattering as it pointed at Walter, and its flying became unstable. Even in its alien language, Walter knew the vespid was mocking him.

"That's not a baron, is it?" Walter asked the horned man.

"Probably not. No one aside from Alrok can understand the Vespid's language. Even then, I think he makes up half the stuff the Vespid says. My name is Isidore. I'm in charge of the lowest decks. Don't mind these two; it's DokChoppa you have to worry about unless you're on death's door."

Isidore then lowered a hand to help Walter get back on his feet. After being shot, operated on, and pranked, Walter was hesitant to trust anyone here. Isidore, to his credit, didn't seem to mind Walter examining his hand for any booby traps. All he could see was that Isidore didn't have a brand mark.

"My name is Walter. What species are you?"

"Human," Isidore said sadly.

"Of the bovid variety," Alrok teased. "The fur takes some getting used to, but the meat does wonders for muscle growth."

Isidore glared at Alrok with more anger than Walter had ever seen in a person. The feeling was infectious, and Walter felt himself burning, hyperventilating, and shaking as he contemplated running away or plucking out Alrok's quills. Isidore noticed this, and his expression softened.

"Come with me. I know a place where we can sit down and talk."

"No, wait!" Walter said, still shaking. "You said you were in charge here? Take me to Kara. Tell Belvedere I forgive him and want to return home with my friend."

Isidore held up his hands until Walter stopped talking. "You're going to have to wait a while. Xenos aren't allowed to wander outside the lowest deck without permission from a senior staff member. I have no control over that."

"Useless!" Walter shouted. He couldn't remember the last time he had shouted, and his voice sounded so different. Walter, at first, wasn't sure if it came from his mouth. "I'm sorry. Nothing makes sense. I just wanted to ask Belvedere a few questions, but now I only want to go home."

I can tell that you're agitated. That's not good, no matter what race you are. Walk with me, and I'll fill you in as much as possible."

With nothing else to do, Walter did so as Isidore led Walter back into the labyrinth, leaving Alrok and the Vespid behind. He explained to Walter that he was on a massive ship called the Titanborn and that not all eldar were friendly to humanity, hence why Belvedere reacted the way he did. Shortly after, Isidore brought Walter into a vacant cafeteria with four long tables but no counters. Taking a much-needed seat, Walter told Isidore about his time on Malcula, meeting Kara, believing he was human, seeing Belvedere's spaceship, getting shot, and escaping from DokChoppa. Isidore silently listened to his story, only stopping occasionally to ask if Walter was okay. Talking to him had been the most pleasant thing since Walter befriended the red-furred cat.

"That's quite a story. Are you sure you don't remember anything before your crash?"

"I don't know. I've had dreams for years about things I can't explain, but doctors always said they were my mind making stuff up. I don't know what's real or not anymore. Am I really talking to you, Isidore, or am I having another mental breakdown?"

Isidore scratched his beard before gently laying a hand on Walter's shoulder. "Do you feel that? I'm real, Walter. You're safe. Belvedere won't let anything happen to Kara. He's…imprudent, but he is a good man. I think I know someone who can help you more than I ever could."

"It's not another xeno doctor, is it?" Walter asked, "I don't want another ork calling me a git."

Isidore laughed at this. "No, she's not an ork or a doctor. She's another eldar, and has been on this ship longer than any of us down here."

Instantly, excitement and wonder drowned out all his fear and sadness. This morning, eldar wasn't part of his vocabulary, and an hour ago, it made him feel like an animal wholly removed from humanity. Now he wanted to know what it meant to be an eldar. He's home, his biological family, the years of his missing life, the way he sees the world. It didn't matter if he was human or eldar; he was entitled to his past and history, and maybe this other eldar could help him with that. Walter flew out of his seat and could not stand still. Isidore was halfway up when an announcement came over the ship's intercom.

"Attention, passengers. The nova cannon will fire in one minute. Please find a secure location."

The message kept repeating, and Walter heard titanic mechanisms throughout the ship turn and grind against each other. Nearby, he could hear the distant voices of the other xenos he'd encountered earlier.

"Ere we go, ere we go, ere we go!" Dokchoppa and his grot servants chanted.

"It's been a while since we had a good show!" Alrok said to himself before clicking something to the Vespid.

The growing excitement infected Walter. Despite his misgivings towards the xenos, he chased after them when he heard them moving towards the same area. Isidore tried to stop Walter, but Walter had already left the room before he could get a word in. It wasn't just curiosity that lured in Walter, but the thought that if so many xenos were gathering in one place, maybe he could find the other eldar Isidore mentioned. He became so transfixed on finding where everyone was going he spaced out again. When he regained his thoughts, he was in front of a massive window with the xenos he had met earlier beside him. Outside was Malcula. Even when viewing the planet's dark side, Walter could see the flowing oceans, the inland sea, and the supercontinent sandwiched between two pearly ice caps. Across the land and various islands were beaming cities, golden deserts, and emerald forests.

Then there came a bang.

Walter's ears were left ringing as the Titanborn shook violently, causing DokChoppa's minions topple over each other. Outside the window, Walter watched the Titanborn's giant front cannon launch a bright ball of fire. It soared over the North Pole of Malcula before circling the planet vertically. The planet's gravity pulled the projectile closer with each passing until all Walter could see was a steak like a comet's tail growing dimmer as it reached the planet's south pole. Everything went still to Walter as he held his breath, eyes locked on the ice caps. Ripples spread across the South Pole as miles of ice and ocean boiled and evaporated from the heat of the nova cannon's explosion. A white plume erupted from the impact site, and the entire south pole cracked like a dining plate. The immensurable dread inside Walter left him feeling dead as his mind refused to comprehend anything going on around it. He wasn't sure how long he was left in this state, only that he was snapped out of it from the continuous screaming of DokChoppa.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Walter stumbled away from the screaming ork until Isidore arrived. The horned man was panting and out of breath from running after Walter.

"Did anyone live there?" Isidore asked. He had to repeat the question and shake Walter to get a response.

"I don't think so," Walter answered roboticly.

But Walter knew people would see that. Countries closer to the pole would have felt and heard it, too. Soon, word would spread. The missile might have landed in a remote area, but it would hit everyone. When would Jerry and Joanne hear about it? Tears started rolling down Walter's cheeks, and he thought about them. He should be there with them, having dinner, telling stories, listening to the radio, and wishing each other good night. Instead, they were worlds away as their planet crumbled.

"Come, Walter," Isidore said, and he gingerly grabbed one of Walter's arms. "You need to learn about your kind."

Half of Walter wanted to say, "My kind are down there," but the other half said, "You need to know who you are." He looked behind his shoulder as he felt something watching. "You need to know who she…She Who Thirsts is. You need to know her."

As Walter let Isidore lead him away from the onlookers, he heard DokChoppa scream one last time.

"Isidore, what does 'Waaagh' mean?" he asked.

"To the orks, many things, I suppose. However, it all boils down to their favorite thing: war. I pray to the God-Emperor that war does not come to your planet Walter."

Walter pressed a hand against his stitched-up wound. To him, his world was already at war. He held Jerry's watch to his ear and listened to its ticking.