Chapter 25

Deep within the Dark Eldar's flagship the Alpha Legion sat impatiently. They were sitting in a sullen silence, each one of them brooding in their own way upon the galling turn of events. The Alpha Legion were supposed to be the supreme infiltrators and deceivers in the galaxy and yet the Dark Eldar had comprehensively outmanoeuvred them.

Delta was squatting in a corner, obsessively sharpening his knives over and over. He had been caught sneaking into the Farseer'squarters and that was a terrible blow to his pride. Epsilon for his part had withdrawn into his work, idly poking around with his devices and speaking to no one. Beta however was sitting in a corner, holding the purloined data-crystal as if it were a totem. He flipped it around his fingers like a conjurer performing a trick, over and over as he contemplated its mysteries. Gamma was pacing back and forth in an angry march, kneading the haft of his axe. He was furious about his confrontation with the Incubus and wouldn't shut up about it.

Over and over he muttered, "I'm going to kill him, mark my words I will kill him. I have his measure now, next time it will be different. Ill see him bleeding out on the deck."

"Will you shut up?!" barked Delta, "So you got beaten, it happens. Quit whining about it."

Gamma was incensed by that, "You hardly did any better, you're supposed to be the infiltrator but you got caught red-handed. They should have put you down on the spot."

Delta looked up and hissed, "Are you threatening me?"

Gamma's lip curled and he growled, "Maybe I am, what are you going to do about it?"

From the corner Beta sighed, "Will you two relent, so we had a setback, it hardly matters. We got what we wanted in the end."

"Oh yes, the precious gene-tech" scoffed Delta, "What good is that?"

Beta looked up sharply and said, "It is the key to victory, the means to make the Alpha Legion supreme among the stars."

Delta snorted, "I seem to recall hearing that before we followed that egotist Vorshaan to invade the Storm Herald's homeworld. All that talk of a failsafe, but in the end it did absolutely nothing."

Anger flashed in Beta's eyes and Gamma felt a cold prickle on his neck as psychic power gathered. Beta looked stern and said, "The failsafe would have worked but we hadn't anticipated how much genetic drift had occurred among our enemies over ten millennia of gene-seed replication. We needed the undifferentiated source material to effectively tailor our work. But now we have it imagine the possibilities: tailored viruses that can wipe out the specific gene-strain of any bloodline. We could eradicate any Chapter we choose to at will. If that's not enough we also recovered the Ravendelve data on improved genic enhancements, we could make a generation of superior Chaos Marines. Better, faster and stronger than anything the loyalist have. The Alpha Legion will be made supreme among the stars."

Beta's tirade was interrupted by a beep from Epsilon's gear and he spoke up, "Oh… that's odd."

Everybody looked round in surprise and Gamma spat, "What is it?"

Epsilon said, "My data-thieves are still buried in the ship's Cogitators and have intercepted an alert. Sensors are picking up something very unusual out there."

"Let me see," said Beta and Epsilon flipped up a display to show the read-outs.

All Gamma saw was a mass of squiggly lines and he was baffled but Beta began to chuckle, softly at first but then louder and louder. Everybody looked at him as he guffawed and Gamma said, "Care to let us in on the joke?"

Beta wiped a tear from his eye and said, "That is a reactor's energy spike bleeding through the cover of a Reflex Shield. Somebody is trying to sneak up on us and making a hash job of it."

Gamma was alarmed and said, "The Raven Guard are here?"

"No," chuckled Beta, "They aren't nearly so ham-fisted, this is somebody who has no experience with moving under Masking Fields. They're drawing far too much power at once to hide their presence."

The penny dropped and Gamma exclaimed, "That odd Storm Herald ship… it has Reflex Shields?"

"Apparently," remarked Beta, "We did steal the secret off them after all. It only took them fifty years to figure out how to make it work, not bad for Throne-Worshipping lapdogs."

Delta reluctantly said, "I suppose we had better tell that cur Athra."

"I think not," remarked Beta, "In fact I think our stay with the Dark Eldar has come to an end. Epsilon can your data-thieves block this alert from reaching the bridge?"

Epsilon replied, "Of course,"

Beta commanded, "Then do so, Delta and Gamma, seal the door. I will make preparations for our immediate departure."

Instantly the Chaos Marines sprang into action, each focussing on their task. Epsilon bent over his devices while Beta took up position in the middle of the room and started chanting with his hands gripping his staff tightly. Meanwhile Delta and Gamma approached the door and drew tiny devices from their belts, small melta-charges that they fixed to the door. In a second they grew red-hot and then the door began to glow whitely as the charges welded the seams together. In few seconds a thumping noise began to beat upon the door but Beta's chanting was growing louder and louder. The Chaos Marines withdrew to stand next to the sorcerer and pointed their guns at the door as the ritual built-in power. The knocking ceased and there was the frantic cries of guards calling for a Dark Lance to break through but it was far too late.

With a cry Beta slammed his staff upon the deck and there was a bright flash of unlight as Warp energy surrounded the four of them. Gamma felt a terrible sense of dislocation, accompanied by the feeling of being crushed into a ball and simultaneously stretched on a rack. It was a horrible sensation, one Gamma profoundly hated but it was nothing compared the feeling of a million eyes upon his skin. The knowledge that hordes of ravenous Daemons were scouring his soul and looking for any ingress, any way to devour this morsel in their realm. Suddenly the light fell away and the Alpha Legionnaires found themselves in a different place. A large amphitheatre like space filled with cowering mutants who were working in various crew pits. The walls were clean of adornments or Icons of the Dark Gods, bearing only a single multi-headed serpent painted high above. It was a picture of efficiency and quiet control, for it was the bridge of the Shadow of the Emperor. Gamma took a moment to revel in the feeling of being back in this hub of power, this place where they could determine their own fate. He also smirked at the fact that the Dark Eldar had completely failed to notice its presence, the massive ship which had been laying in wait since long before they had arrived. All the recent humiliations and slights Gamma had suffered had been worth it, the knowledge of the Alpha Legion's secret superiority carrying him through every hardship. He only wished he could see the look on that Incubus' face when the Shadow revealed itself.

Beta leapt onto the Command dais, knocking aside the mutant standing there, the sorcerer would never have trusted another Chaos Marine with the Flagship while he was absent. He looked over the bridge and called, "Any signs of the intruder?"

Epsilon marched over to a sensor pit and called back, "None, but we're half-blind ourselves."

Beta nodded and said, "Well we will just have to let them take the first shot. Prepare weapons for when we do reveal ourselves."

The mutant crew hastened to obey and Gamma leaned back. All their hard work was about to pay off and he was determined to enjoy every second. Slowly the minutes slid past and they waited, knowing that they now held all the cards. Then at last a chime sounded and Epsilon called, "The Storm Herald ship is dropping its Reflex Shields. It's close, very close… they seemed to have picked the exact same spot we did."

"What are they doing?" called Beta.

Epsilon replied, "They're powering weapons… targeting the Dark Eldar. There they go, all weapons firing. They've struck two of the Cruisers, looks like they crippled them."

"What about Athra's ship?" asked Beta.

"That one they missed," Epsilon replied.

Beta drew in a breath and declared, "Tut, tut, then we shall have to show them how it's done. Drop Reflex Shields and power weapons."

The bridge came to life as the Shadow powered up, revealing itself to all. Gamma knew the sight of it would send the enemy into a panic, such a vast and mighty vessel appearing from nowhere would strike at their very hearts. Beta however sagged and let out a long sigh of relief, like a man dropping a heavy yoke from his shoulders.

Gamma looked over but the Sorcerer shook his head and said, "I am fine. The psychic effort of keeping that Farseer from scrying the Shadow's presence was considerable but there's no need for such pretences anymore."

The ship came to life around them and Delta reported from the weapon pits, "All ready."

"Polish off those cripples, let's thin their numbers," declared Beta, "Give Athra's ship a little volley too, as a token of our esteem."

The Shadow rumbled as her weapons discharged, ranks of stacked guns bellowing in fury. Every Battleship in the galaxy was a fearsome pugilist but the Shadow was Gloriana-class, nothing else could match her. Wave after wave of blasts shook the ship and it took long minutes for all the guns to fire in their allotted sequences.

Finally Epsilon reported, "Targets destroyed, there's nothing but atoms left of them. Athra's ship took a good hit too, it's struggling to move."

Beta sounded jubilant as he said, "Excellent work, now where are the Storm Heralds?"

Epsilon looked into a readout but sounded confused as he said, "They're moving fast, headed away but curving around… by the Maelstrom what are they playing at?"

Gamma looked over, seeing the intent instantly and declared, "Her Captain's trying to get behind Athra's ship, he's going to use her as an ablative shield."

Beta snorted in amusement and cried, "Ha, now that one's got a clever mind, shame he's on the wrong side of history. Oh, this is just too damned good, let's play along shall we. Let them get into shelter then give Athra and the lapdogs a taste of the lances."

The crew obeyed and they let the enemy run for shelter. Then the Shadow fired again, unleashing blast after blast from her prow and dorsal lances. Thick columns of ravening energy speared out into the dark, illuminating space like a solar flare. The bridge lit up with readings and Epsilon cried, "Targets hit: the Storm Heralds took a few good licks but the damage was light. Athra's ship took the brunt of it though, she's completely dead in the void."

"Well done," Beta replied, "We've done enough here, power up the main drives, let's go."

As the Shadow rumbled into life and swung away Epsilon spun about in shock and said, "Wait, we're leaving? What about the Storm Heralds?"

"Those nobodies don't matter," declared Beta dismissively, "We have what we want and our foes can't stop us. Let them finish each other off for us while we depart."

Epsilon was shocked and said, "But we could obliterate them all right now. This ship outguns them ten to one, it would be easy."

Delta interjected, "Exactly… it would be too easy. Besides this way they will know that we could have finished them off. It will gnaw at their lapdog-pride that we had them in the palm of our hands and chose to let them live."

Epsilon shook his head and said, "They will pursue us."

Gamma spat, "No they won't , they will follow the hidebound dogma of their dull Codex. Better to finish off a crippled foe that you can beat than engage another that you have no hope of defeating."

"He's right," said Delta peering at a readout, "They're already launching boarding torpedoes and Thunderhawks towards Athra's crippled ship."

As the Shadow slipped away into the stars Epsilon made one last plea to Gamma, "You are fine with this?"

Gamma cocked his head and remarked, "The Hydra has already won, besides watching our enemies tear each other to shreds will make this all worthwhile."