"It is in the beginning of the end I find myself collecting my notes on matters that have led to a most vital decision. I have long wandered the stars, leaping between the forge worlds and learning all I can from each. In direct opposition to my master's wishes, I have forgone a specialization in my long life. Instead seeking all manner of truths. It is through this pursuit that I find myself faced with a disturbing but ultimately undeniable conclusion. We must not seek peace with the Xenos, yet they are integral to our understanding of the galaxy."
- From, De rebus machinis et xenaritis. Written by Archmagos Battista Albrecht Ghetaldi, 348.M36
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The last words of her Warlock rang loud in her mind. "Run", was the only thing her comrade was able to utter before a glowing blue bolt of searing radioactive metal ripped through their helmet. Red mist and viscera sprayed out, staining the plantlife underneath. Their body crumbled to the ground with a clang of wraithbone. In the distance, glowing blue circles lit up. First one, accompanied by the illuminated barrel of a primitive looking weapon. Then three, now five, now ten.
Lenses belonging to the strange Mon'keigh cult all glaring down at the Storm Guardian. Fiachyth Elial's mind snapped back to her leader's final order, and she ran. Deftly avoiding the deluge of Galvanic fire that tore up the ground she had just occupied. The clang of steel followed her, above the stars themselves were blotted out by the mass of invading ships. Their raid had come at the worst time, though she figured that was by design. Their farseers had been systematically wiped out over the course of months by black clad Mon'keigh wielding weapons stronger than that of even their corpse seer's chosen angels. That night, came the steel monsters that may have once been considered human. She had heard of such primitives, but had relegated them to the same category as those that charged her own with bayonet knives and simplistic laser weapons.
They had sneered at the Mon'keigh, so assured of their own superiority regardless of the numerous setbacks they faced due to their attacks. How they looked down upon their enemy, until their last farseer laid dead. That's when the panic began to set in. That's when the metal skittering began and stilt legged machine hybrids tore through the forest, picking off their reptilian beasts. That's when the hum of energy weapons preceded the eradication of her entire squad. Now, her planet burned, and the march of that cult rang behind her, ever closer and never stopping.
Long did the priesthood prepare for this day, a day of triumph over the vile aliens that would dare to stand between them and their quarry. Magos Dominus Quill Carneus Tahr'Kull stalked behind his ever encroaching battalions of Skitarii, a jagged metal spider-like limb piercing the skull of an injured Eldar Exodite as they passed. They cared little for the beings they crushed under their metal heels, they were but another obstacle to crush in their wake. He peered into the noosphere, enraptured as he always was by the glory of the fleet's hymnals and clouds of data.
"Lord Anaxagoras, we are making acceptable time against the Xenos. Time approximation to target, fifteen standard terran units. Requesting Cybernetica reinforcements". Their vox hummed with the holy chants and binharic psalms of glory, before a raspy voice answered, "Permitted, Magos. Ensure your forces maintain efficiency and bring us our lost heritage".
The vox caster cut off, and Quill's attention turned back to the rapidly growing datastreams before him. He mused to himself, as he was prone to do, on the beauty of it all. The datastreams, the blessed songs, on the purity of their joined binharic voices. As he mused, a lone Exodite lunged at the Magos from a nearby hiding spot. A lethal attack, were it not for a Cyberhound lunging from Quill's side, steel jaws clamping down with a sickening crunch. Shoulder mounted meltas incinerated the attacker in mere moments. There wasn't even enough time for a scream.
"Perfect timing, unit GR-37Δ". The hound could almost be mistaken for barking with joy, if the bark wasn't in reality an ear bleeding horrid shriek of grinding metal and binary. "I would almost assume you were growing sentiment for that machine beast, magos". From a landing transvector stepped his requested backup, Datasmith Pythagoras Xanryl. Servo arm twitching, dataspike extending towards the terminal on his side and simultaneously typing. Sending blurts of machine language out to join the other streams of data, "Such matters border on Heretek."
Quill was annoyed by the prodding Cybernetica Adept, they had gone back and forth about Quill's behavior towards the Servohound many times before. Never reaching anywhere close to an agreement.
"Such matters are my own to worry about. It is not heretical to grow fond of a machine spirit I was once maglocked to. You would do well to remember that as you tinker with your puppets". As if on cue, four building sized monoliths dropped to the ground, crushing an underfoot Aeldari settlement to dust beneath the immense weight.
The groaning and creaking of ancient metal signified they were slowly coming to life. The datasmith input a final directive, and the machines stomped forward, phosphor blasters reducing the treeline to smoldering ashes.
"Your dedication to ensuring that machine has no Serbyrus rider is alarming. But, we have greater concerns ahead. Have you calculated our trajectory?" With a mere thought and a quick burst of data, a hologram emerged from an emitter mounted to Quill's power pack and showed their path.
"We will drive the Xenos filth to the edge of the forest, then entrap them there. Once that is done, our way to the excavation site is unfettered. We will recover the target, and leave. Simple. Effective. As the Omnissiah wills all things to be"
Fiachyth sprinted on, a parcel gripped under her arm and an odd mix of fear and rage growing in her. Her lifetime on this planet had made her a deft runner, at least in the forest she was safe. Though the now circling smell of smoke combining with the previously present stench of ozone told her all she needed to know. These monsters were burning her home. Her childhood. Her family! Fury boiled in her blood as she stalked through the treeline to a clearing. The clanging army was closer now, but she had to get an idea of what was going on.
The fury faded in a mere instant, as she bore witness to a group of Exodite hostages thrown to the ground by the cult's members. Each one was mercilessly killed, gunned down despite the cries of the other hostages. Cries that were snuffed out with barely even a hint of sadism. It almost made Fiachyth's stomach churn, she could explain the cruelty of the Imperium, she could understand the profane evil of the warp, or the brutality of the Krorks. These concepts were more tangible to the Eldar, but these… Things… They twitched and moved like marionettes on twisted strings of unseen data.
One of these Mon'keigh, wearing an adorned coat, detailed helmet, and bearing a stave with an effigy to their god spun around and locked eyes with her. He raised the stave, and with a shrieking shout that made her ears ring the cult resumed its chase.
The lenses of the robed ones were getting closer and now she had to deal with these new ones. Something was wrong though, she felt a burn in the air. The smell burned her nostrils. She'd heard of this. Radiation, a human weapon. Panic rose as she sprinted, knowing the deadliness of what followed., only sparing a glance back to see the plants begin to wither and die, smoke rose on the horizon, all of which was accompanied by the sickening screams of her kinsmen.
Quill admired how well the trees burned, remarking internally about the efficacy of the Kastelan's incendiary weapons. Noting to his Servo-skull to requisition one for his own machine body. His reverie was interrupted and through several portals of Xenos origin opened and massive constructions of wraithbone stepped through. His datasmith ally wasted no time in sending noospheric commands to their Kastelans, as the giant machines charged forward with new levels of speed. The wraithknights responded fast, and rapidly one of the Kastelans laid dead, sliced in half leaking emergency code into the air in short bursts before ultimately falling silent. Their refractor fields sparked and shorted out in their death throes. Pythagoras cursed such Xenos trickery, but Quill couldn't help but marvel at their power. One unfortunate wraithknight had been all but flattened by the remaining Kastelan robots, but Quill was sure to note that it took three of their machines to do the job of one of these great Wraithbone creations.
"We need more Kastelans, datasmith," Quill demanded, turning sharply. "Or did you come unprepared?" The datasmith furiously worked his data panel, directing the Kastelans to dedicate more power to their shields. At least now it would be a fight. "You think so little of your brothers in the Omnissiah. Of course we are prepared, see for yourself." With a gesture, the datasmith motioned back to an entire legion of Dunecrawlers, smashing their way through what little of the landscape remained in their wake. Their massive lasers whirred with blessed power before unleashing condensed beams of pure destructive energy into the defending Wraithknights.
"Consider my fears averted. My cogitators whir with anticipation at their performance. Let us end these vile Xenos and their desperate bid at survival." Yet internally, Quill pondered his good fortune. The timing of their assault, the efficiency of their machines, it all seemed almost too perfect. Their assault cohort was strong, a mere four wraith knights would never be able to withstand their power, especially not with their battle servitors mowing down everything in their path. His machinations in convincing the Explorator Majoris to employ the Assassinorum had worked perfectly, now the enemy was scrambling to respond and failing terribly.
Crippling the defending craftworld during the preparation phase of their assault had certainly helped. Then attacking the weakest and opposite portion of the planet, he figured they'd be preparing an unbeatable defense now. In an area the fleet had no intention of attacking. His emotion vaults returned a sense of pride. He'd not only fooled the Eldar, but had also fooled the Explorator Majoris. While they shoved the Eldar to a point much further back than was necessary, Quill had time to plunder the temple for his real target. This plan was going to work wonderfully with none of the cohort the wiser.
"Magos Dominus," Quill's vox caster caught his attention as he was hailed, "Errant Xenos spotted, confirmed sighting of secondary objective. Item of interest is being taken to expected location of webway gate. Requesting new directive." Said Marshal β. Quill's response came almost immediately in a flood of binharic cant.
"Send in the Sicarians," Quill commanded. "Once you've retrieved the artifact, meet me at the rendezvous. Our fellow servants of the Omnissiah will maintain the frontline." The Skitarii Marshal nodded, his Servo Skull flashed and muttered pure machine language. This summoned forth unseen chittering hunters. Hiding in the trees, barely illuminated by their glowing green blades, or their beady illuminated eyes. A glint of golden trim shone off their blood red armor. With an exchange of mere looks the unseen predators stalked back into the darkness of the forest to clear Quill's path of resistance.
Quill disengaged from the larger battle to stalk into the forest. Once he was out of view he was joined by his cohort of personal Skitarii. Cloaked in martian red with a single black stripe running down their backs, much like his own robes. "Uploading coordinates now. Prepare for the arrival of our secondary objective. Do not fail me as the Ferric Sentries have in time past. Should you find any real danger, alert me immediately." The Skitarii saluted and hummed an odd static noise before they darted into the forest. The cover of night made their approach all the more shrouded.
Quill turned his attention towards the battlefield to ensure his plot hadn't been uncovered, he witnessed numerous irradiated bombs slam into the planet. Shaking the very ground they stood on, making large swathes of plant life mere craters or radioactive husks in seconds. Given he could still tell where his servants were, that meant they were both alive and at least a good thirty minutes ahead of the rest of the cohort. Excellent, he thought. This gives us time before the rest of the fleet moves to find the holy STC Fragment. Their metal march clanged onward, Kastelans stepping through the blast wreathed in flames and smoke. The broken corpses of their Wraith Knight enemies lay charred and unrecognizable, reduced to smoldering remains by the relentless fire of numerous eradication beamers.
The fleeing Eldar laid motionless high up in the trees. She prepared to eliminate these monstrous humans who dared to invade her planet. The ranger squad passed underneath, like predators stalking their prey. She sneered, taking satisfaction in their ignorance at how the tables had turned. Their leader stopped, putting a fist up and transmitting silent commands that made the rest of the group stop in perfect unison. The Skitarii Alpha knelt down to examine a footprint on the ground, it was deeper… Almost as if the Eldar they were following had jumped up into the trees. The soldier's suspicions were confirmed when Fiachyth's blade rammed through the faceplate of the Alpha as their gaze snapped up. Taser maul clattering to the ground a few feet away. In a blur she felled two more of the Rangers with her shuriken pistol, a spin of her blade rendered the head from another's shoulders.
She sprung off the barrel of the long gun that killed her leader earlier, and with a flip in the air she ran the Skitarius through. The last four circled her with the intent to kill, their long guns were useless at this close- wait. Were there not five remaining? One of the Skitarii slammed the dead Alpha's taser maul into her leg, causing her armor to crack, pain shooting through her leg as the impact merged with the swathe of electricity. She screamed, collapsing to the ground as pain shot through her leg. The parcel slipped from her grasp, clattering beside her. And revealing an ornate stone cube held within.
One surviving ranger grabbed it, and wordlessly marched off leaving Fiachyth to her demise. She closed her eyes, awaiting the end as the twisted machine thing raised the maul for one last strike. The sound of four bodies being sliced apart, accompanied by the shearing of metal and spray of viscera. Suppressed laughter filled her ears when she was only expecting the sound of a very brief impact. Followed by her own skull being caved in. But… no, she was alive.
The unexpected silence was broken by the sound of four bodies hitting the ground. It was quiet now, save for the marching and that awful scent of smoke, radiation, and ozone. She slowly opened her eyes, only to see something that was arguably significantly worse than death.
"Your day just can't get any worse, huh cousin?"
The Eldar were in full rout, Kastelan spotlights shone down on fleeing Xenos. Pounding Plasma fire snuffed out their lives. For too long, they had grown dependent on the word of the farseers and their craftworld for protection. Yet, their craftworld had been caught completely unprepared. Their farseers lie in the soulstones, all the exodites could do now was flee to their other cities on the other side of the planet. The cohort knew of their more fortified position and the reinforcements that would soon overrun their assault but it mattered little to them. The Cult had their own evacuation plan in mind, they'd recover the holy Archeotech from this world, and leave these vile creatures to their fate. Let them attempt to rebuild their irradiated hellscape.
These commoners offered no worthwhile resistance. This was the plan crafted by the Explorator Majoris, trick the Craftworld into drifting to the opposite side of the planet then attack the undefended far side. The side with their target, but unknown to Lord Anaxagoras, Quill had his own interests centering around an ancient Xenos temple the Cult Mechanicus sought to annihilate. Quill skittered off on spined legs towards the temple. He had to be quick, knowing every second counted. His access to a teleportarium bought him precious seconds he would need once underground. His form rippled and soon he vanished into a beam of light and geometric shapes, reappearing on the steps of a stone monolith. There, a lone Skitarii survivor waited at perfect attention. Holding out a box.
"I will see to it, you are promoted for your service to the Cohort and Omnissiah. Now you are to stay in my service, survivor. Defend this position." From behind, Sicarians rushed up the stairs and into the temple. A blur of motion, green and black mixing in the night. Marshal Epsilon approached and saluted.
"Hunter Cadre eliminated down to unit present. Infiltrators rounding up survivors, executions in progress. Planetary defenses reforming, counterattack inevitable in twenty standard units. Cohort bombardment incoming in thirty when the present situation becomes untenable for Mechanicum personnel. Excavation will take five standard units following bombardment." Quill nodded and started up the stairs, which should have been difficult given his lack of normal legs but he glided quite unnaturally. Accompanied by the sound of screeching metal scraping against stone.
"Those logic processor upgrades I gave you are working I see, excellent work Marshal. Bring the Sicarians into a tighter loop, see to it any interference is destroyed. Call in extra vanguard if you must… But remember to eliminate any who question us. Our task is greater than the lives of those who lack true vision of the Omnissiah's will. My Cyberhound will assist your defenders." Epsilon saluted again as unit GR-37Δ loped off into the forest to await in ambush for anyone who would interrupt. Machine language spilled from the Marshal's servo skull, directing their elites to take up defensive positions in anticipation of Xenos ambush.
"By your will, Magos."
Ahead of the cultists, Fiachyth and her abnormal savior descended into the same temple. Light shining off the Drukhari's sword like a torch. She pondered what one of the accursed ones was doing here… Let alone saving her life."Why would you save me? Or even show yourself here, traitor? Is this a prelude to an even worse fate?" Fiachyth's mind raced, trying to understand his motives. The Drukhari chuckled, "While your misery is wonderful entertainment, I do have an actual job here. Some very important people asked me to check up on your shrine down here." Fiachyth barely restrained herself from spitting on this heathen. She narrowed her eyes and drew her sword.
"How dare you speak of such things! I should end your life here and now". The Incubus paused, and turned. Instead of anger, or even disgust… He was smiling. She tried to keep her nerve, even if it cost her dearly she would protect this sacred site. The resting souls could prove a tempting target for fallen ones such as this. Yet her injuries were too great, she buckled, gripping her leg where the Mechanicus had struck her. Pain radiated through her body, sharp and relentless.
"And if you do that, all of your people will die horribly instead of a lot of them dying, but not all of them. So hey, if that's what you want then go ahead. But you'll only get one shot, cousin." Fiachyth paused, if this Drukhari had been intent on killing her… Or worse, she'd likely be in the dark city right now. Her people damned to their fate, so why was she still here? The Incubus shook his head.
"Look, I'm on a schedule here so let's get some pleasantries out of the way quickly. Call me Caenryx, I'll be in charge of saving your people today. If you're intent on not running back into the forest to get butchered by those weird Mon'keigh then come on and stop being so skittish." Caenryx turned and continued his descent without waiting for an answer. She followed quickly. "You… You were sent? Then you are of those gathered under the Whispering God." Caenryx shrugged.
"If that's how you want to think about it. Let's hurry it up, Limpy. Those metal freaks are getting closer." Fiachyth didn't argue, though she did huff at being called "Limpy", indignance on top of injury. Typical of a Dark Eldar in how atypical it was for Eldar. She had heard of the uniting of the Ynnari, a coalition formed under Ynnead's new champion. Even the fallen Drukhari were leaving the dark city to join with this resurgent group, it was a sign of great hope for their kind. Regardless, she was too busy being worried about the Shrine to dwell on the implications the Ynnari's interest presented. So for the time being she decided that a Dark Eldar wasn't the worst of company, especially compared to those metal monsters.
Quill entered the temple, flanked by soft metal clinks signifying the presence of his deadly guard. He ran a hand over the various carvings and glyphs. So similar to the Necron tombs he had explored yet… Rustic, less hostile in appearance, and less useful for salvage. This was no blackstone, it was normal rock crafted by Eldar hands. Those glorious craftsmen, placed carefully by the Omnissiah to serve as stewards of his holy machines. Protectors from the Nephilimech scourge. Now that the true chosen of the Machine God were here, it was time for those stewards to release their machinery to its rightful owners. If Quill had to rip their dead cold fingertips open to retrieve it, he would do so without a single tear shed. They were stewards, and they had forgotten that. Now it was time to remind them that even if the Omnissiah placed the blessed machine in their care, they were still inferior Xenos.
A stone stairwell went deeper into the temple, Quill stopped and simultaneously the careful clink of the escort did too. In his own vision, he saw warm spots. Footsteps on his thermal sensor, they were not alone. Two by his count, male and female by size. Yet the male was… Strange. What odd armor plating, none he had witnessed from the Exodites or Craftworlders before. A motion of his hand had the escort proceed forward. He switched to his flesh voice, avoiding Binarhic or Noospheric code to prevent interception by other cohort members.
"Be wary, Epsilon. We are not alone." The Marshal nodded and his Servo skull beeped like before. Outside, the Skitarii cohort they'd left began advancing towards the entrance of the temple. Prepared to spill in like a metal tide of irradiated death. Soon the Priest and Marshal entered the antechamber, a sprawling chasm of statues, sculptures, offerings to the dead, and reverence. Waterfalls spilled in the background, verdant glowing plant life sprung up around the altar in the center. Upon that altar hovered a massive blue gemstone, thrumming with energy. This was flanked by four medium crystals and surrounded by a ring of smaller crystal shards held in place by glimmering metal sconces. The network of crystals thrummed in and out like a heartbeat.
"The soul of a very planet, a potent machine spirit aching to return to our employ. This is our target…. Time remaining, Epsilon."
"Fifteen standard units magos. Skitarii advancing to retrieve target." The two approached but were interrupted by a booming voice echoing all around the chamber.
Retrieval? And here I thought you were vandals, not bandits." Caenryx dropped from his hiding place, standing between the Mechanicus and the Crystal. "I'm honestly a little disappointed. All this just to steal? That's far even by my standards." Quill hefted an Omnissian axe, one of his attached limbs held up a black and gold plasma weapon that hummed a green glow.
"Cease your resistance, this day is lost for you. Surrender the blessed elder spirit unto me or suffer the fate of all errant Xenos." Caenryx blinked, taken off guard by what he heard.
"You think… This is a… Well I guess it is a spirit but not your kind of spirit based on what I know about your type of Mon'keigh"
"You have outlasted your chance to surrender, vile Xenos." Quill's blaster erupted with a suspiciously non-plasma energy, Caenryx swiftly dodged, a statue behind him was reduced to all but atoms and slag. Epsilon swung at Caenryx with his control stave, Caenryx leapt over the Marshal and sprung off the lieutenant's back. Sending him to the ground with a metal clang.
"Well one of you is at least a threat. Alright then, if you're intent on dying. I'll make sure it's slow." Caenryx grinned and lunged at Quill. Much to the Incubi's shock though, Quill not only blocked the slash with his axe, but the axe didn't give to his Demiklaive. It instead crackled with electricity and started to course through Caenryx, sending burning pain through him. Caenryx realized, with a mix of frustration and grudging respect, that he was both weaker and shorter than this Mon'keigh.
As the two struggled against each other, the cog teeth of Quill's axe caught Caenryx's sword, the Tech Priest threw the sword aside, and hit Caenryx in the gut with a strong blow from the base of the axe. Quill reared up to his full size, standing well over seven feet tall. Eyes glowing a furious blue, Mechadendrites uncoiling and rearing back like a swarm of mechanical snakes. The priest's speech patterns became warped, and the chamber filled with awful shrieking static from unseen vox casters. Caenryx gripped his sword tighter as he recovered and regained his combat stance. An expert, practiced maneuver. If he was to defeat this monstrosity of a human, he'd need to take this a bit more seriously.
"Alright…. You're more of a problem than I anticipated. Let's do this then."
"The Noosphere sings of your demise, interloper," Quill intoned, his blaster charging ominously. Caenryx dodged swiftly, ready for the next attack.
"We'll work on your banter skills later."
Epsilon got to his feet and assessed the situation, as he was expected to do. His job was to, at all times, know where his Skitarii were. In this case, he knew of the Sicarians clinging to the wall, emitting their holy Neurostatic or preparing to make a lethal strike against the Xenos. Epsilon figured there were no enemy comms systems to jam, but accessing his database reminded him that Eldar had very good senses. In all enemies there was a weakness, the Omnissiah gave all his troops a tool to exploit it. Now was a perfect opportunity to exploit that weakness, he just needed to bash this Eldar in the head and crack his helmet. An inelegant method to reach an elegant solution. He advanced on the distracted enemy, but was once again thrown aside by his earlier prey.
Fiachyth stood, blade ready, but already wounded from earlier. Just as the Machine God willed, all things were delivered unto them. Including easy prey. Epsilon calculated his next move, his thoughts precise and devoid of emotion. His servo skull chittered, and the faint glow on the walls grew brighter. Revealing Ruststalkers bearing the colors and insignia of Stygies VIII. While meaningless to the Eldar in the room with them, Epsilon almost had a semblance of humor at the knowledge of what these things were capable of. A ruststalker dropped from the ceiling, Epsilon drew his Archeotech pistol and took a shot at Fiachyth. The timing was like a glorious cog, turning in perfect unison with the machines around it.
The shot caused her to dodge, the dodge kept her from blocking the Ruststalker, a slash landed on her arm. Sloppy, that one will require recalibration. Fiachyth, unexpectedly, grabbed the Ruststalker and held it closer. Foolish Xenos, that was not the proper way to- Fiachyth flipped the Ruststalker over her back, and into the path of a second Ruststalker, the first one was bisected and all but liquified at the cut. The chittering grew fast and pained, then fell silent. Epsilon noted the failure with clinical detachment. Epsilon was disappointed, but not much else. He was not permitted to feel surprise.
Quill's massive axe smashed into stone where Caenryx's head was mere moments ago. Caenryx inhaled sharply through his teeth, his heart racing from the close call.
"That one was way too close! Watch where you're swinging that thing." Caenryx spun and with a flurry of one blade becoming two, it slashed through one of Quill's mechadendrites. Oil spewed from the severed robotic limb, but when one was removed three more lashed out and slammed into Caenryx. An infestus mechadendrite pierced through, digging deep into Caenryx's flesh. He howled in pain, kicking Quill in what he hoped was his gut to create distance. He landed next to Fiachyth, who had also just disengaged from a Ruststalker.
"How are you holding up then Limpy?" Fiachyth snarled from annoyance. "Apparently, far better than you. I've already killed one and damaged another." Caenryx laughed, and then winced from the gaping hole in his arm where the Mechadendrite pierced. "See? You're getting the hang of this back and forth. Wanna trade targets?" Fiachyth looked over at the hulking barely illuminated mass of tentacles and machinery that was Quill. "Not even for a second." Fiachyth said.
Caneryx vaulted over Fiachyth's shoulder and slammed his blade down on a Ruststalker mere moments away from running a Transonic Razor through her back. "Try to be more careful, I'm starting to like you more than I like anyone else, which isn't a lot but it's a start, right?" Caenryx joked, though he winced from the pain, trying to mask it with bravado. The machine assassin spasmed and went limp.
Epsilon wasn't sure what was happening, this was not what was supposed to happen according to doctrines. These two should have been dead by now… It was time to initiate new protocols and activate their secret weapon. His servo skull sent another line of machine code to the Sicarians, now he just had to buy time. The remaining two ruststalkers froze very briefly then went for hit and run tactics. A brief slice, then disengage, tagging Caenryx more than once which he found to be too many. A slash at Fiachyth's leg then back into the shadows left her kneeling and clutching the still tender wound from her engagement in the forest. This wasn't going well for the two desperate Eldar. Well, one desperate and one now annoyed Eldar.
"This is becoming less fun." Caenryx growled under his breath. He calmed his breathing, and rammed his blade into the oncoming head of a Ruststalker going for a kill move. Given away by the suddenly faster steps of their odd animalistic stride. That left one, which Fiachyth managed to gun down with her Shuriken pistol. She'd kept it hidden so the Ruststalker assumed she had no range. Which was good, because when she hefted her blade, only half of it came up. The missing half laid on the floor, burned at the cut.
"Great… Got a spare?" Caenryx, in a very overexaggerated manner, handed her a Hekatarii Blade. She glared at him and motioned to the short dagger with an expression that said "Really?" though it was unreadable under her helmet. "Hey, it's what I got that you can use. If you'd rather punch these savages, be my guest."
Their argument was interrupted by the crackling electrical power of Quill's axe. Its backend slammed into Fiachyth, impaling her already damaged leg. Quill's swarm of Mechadendrites flew out to finish her off. They were blocked by Caenryx. Though this angle made further dismantling impossible, it did throw the Priest off balance, leaving him on the ground. Legs skittering like a spider thrown off its web.
Caneryx tried to use this opportunity to finish off Quill while he was recovering but he too was knocked aside with a metal whiplike weapon raking across his face. Leaping down from the ceiling was the final Ruststalker. This one was robed in black, with three blades all positioned in an offensive poise. An infestus mechadendrite coiled around ready to lash out at anything nearby. Caenryx recovered and laughed, though it was beginning to become difficult to laugh through the pain.
"I don't know what you guys' deal is, but replacing your hands with swords then adding an extra sword? Inspired," Caenryx taunted, despite the pain. Epsilon's servo skull sent another line of machine language to the Princeps.
"Unit KM.438-XOR, elimination protocols engage." One deft slash sent Caenryx to the ground, it was abnormally fast. His dodge attempt did make the blow a glance at worst, but it also broke open his helmet. Just enough for the Sicarian Infiltrator to advance. The uncanny thing got closer and closer, the intensity of the neurostatic finally reaching Caenryx's superior ears. He clenched the sides of his damaged helmet and screamed, screams like those back in commorragh. Quill approached slowly.
"Thus ends another of the wayward Xenos. Face oblivion." Quill slammed down his axe, the blade biting into Caenryx's leg. Trailing sticky blood, he swung again. But a shuriken shot knocked his axe aside, and it embedded into the ground. Fiachyth jumped onto the Infiltrator's back, and ripped at its wires with the Hekatarii Dagger. The static stopped, and the spasming Infiltrator skittered back, squealing panicked and furious lines of noospheric distress calls. Caenryx lashed out with his blade and severed one of Quill's mechanical spider legs. Quill retreated several feet, and charged his weapon with far more energy than before.
"This ends here and now filthy Xenos. May both of you rot in the warp!" Caenryx, with the Neurostatic gone, sent a telepathic signal to an unseen ally. As Quill's shot burst forward, Caenryx, Fiachyth, and the relay of Crystals were all gone. Vanished in an instant into the Webway, to relative Safety. Quill paused, he wasn't surprised, but he was hoping he'd get to kill them while their pride prevented their own retreat. Epsilon assisted the Infiltrator to its stilt like feet.
"We must evacuate magos, time to Mechanicum Bombardment of this position equals three standard units. Mission status is failure." Quill limped, given he was missing one of several legs, towards a dim glow in a corner. One of the smaller gems had been knocked free from its sconce, missed by the Eldar in their hurried teleportation.
"No. Only a delay in our plans. Move, get the Infiltrator unit to safety and send the reclaimers to salvage these bodies later. Should they survive the blast."
From the webway and into a Ynnari stronghold, Caenryx and Fiachyth dropped to their backs. They breathed heavily and quickly from their fight. A tall figure in armor similar to Caenryx's tapped his foot in annoyance. "I knew you'd find a way to make this mission far more of a problem than it needed to be. Next time lose the dead weight." Uroth said. Caenryx put up a hand, raising a single index finger. He didn't get up.
"If I had, I'd have never met Limpy here… And I'd be dead"
Quill, now on an evacuation ship, overlooked the mounting Mechanicus losses. He could have been there with his specialists to help prevent the Eldar counterattack from being so… effective. The thought stabbed at his mind more than he anticipated. The craftworlders sent their finest to rip through the cohort and the native Eldar rushed back into battle atop what remained of their great mounted beasts. Strong, fast, violent. Almost impressive for biologicals. Still, he got what he wanted. The fact that the Eldar took this as a victory for themselves didn't really matter. It also apparently didn't matter to Datasmith Pythagoras.
"Archeotech retrieved, Lord Explorator. Personnel all off planet. Request bombardment." A raspy voice simply said, "For the Omnissiah". Massive explosives dropped from the sky, leaving the beleaguered Eldar to warp away if they could… And watch their own death approach at high speeds if they couldn't. The temple was reduced to nothing but rubble, and Quill was left to plot his next move. He examined the box he retrieved earlier, and grinned internally at the ornate carved stone. This would be his ticket to hunting down his real prize.