DODGE!

She threw herself to the side, watching with wide eyes as a trail of bullets passed over to where she was. The stubber did not stop firing, the strange creature laughing as it continued firing at her.

She raised a hand, a shield of energy manifesting itself before her stopping the bullets in their tracks. She gritted her teeth, pushing them back towards the thing that was attacking her.

To her horror the thing easily dodged the bullets with speed that was utterly inhuman, giving her an amused look before blitzing through the snow towards her, using her wings to propel herself forward. She slammed into the energy field with her blade arm extended, crackling energy screeching as lightning erupted from the point of impact.

She stumbled backwards as the thing pushed the barrel of its weapon against the energy shield, curiously tapping against it.

"Huh. Space wizards after all. Are you one of those… jedi or something?"

She muffled a curse as she raised a hand towards the thing, unleashing her powers onto it. A trail of lightning surged towards the creature whose digital eyes hollowed out, lunging backwards and out of reach of the psychic attack.

"...That's a new one." It said. "Why the hell do you want to kill this one anyways?" It asked, gesturing to the cowering child. "Did it steal a promotion at work or something?"

"...What?" She couldn't help but say at the absurd question. "N…no!" She glared. "Are you messing with me?!"

The thing shook her head. "No, I was being serious there. If I was going to mess with you, I'd point out my buddy about to sneak up on you."

Her eyes widened as she whirled around, lightning crackling at her fingertips…

It's a trick.

The shield behind her shattered with the sound of tinkling glass. She only barely had the time to throw herself to the ground as something wicked sharp passed right through where she'd been standing, the metallic being staring down at her as its stubber arm pointed directly at her face.

"Boo." It said with a grin as it opened fire, the human screaming in exertion as she held up a barrier from her lying position against the onslaught of bullets and blade strikes. "Your shield won't hold forever!" The creature taunted her. "Something will give eventually!"

She glanced around, desperately trying to find something that could help her.

You are a Psyker. The very world bends to your will.

Her eyes sharpened, extending a hand towards the being.

It was flung backwards as an invisible slammed into her, as if backhanded by a giant, being sent flying into a nearby building in a crash of debris and dust. She got up to her feet, panting and wheezing.

"Did… did I do that?"

You are stronger than you think Dorothy.

"D…Dorothy?" She asked, watching as the rubble where the thing had been buried started to shift.

…I apologise. It is… how I have been referring to you to myself.

"No." She said, clenching her hands as motes of snow began floating around her, psychic lightning crackling through her entire body. "I like it." She grinned. "Dorothy it is."

The thing emerged from the pile of debris with the speed of a damn missile, Dorothy barely managing to raise a shield at the last second before its foot caved her skull in. That glowing X on her face was bearing down on her ominously, teeth gnashing together as they stared at each other. There wasn't a trace of damage on the thing…

Its gun arm shifted into a barrel like one, which began glowing as it was pointed at her…

Pain surged through her as the barrier was shattered effortlessly by the laser that emerged from it, cutting through the flesh of her flank like a hot knife through butter.

She whimpered through clenched teeth but still found the strength to reach out, grasping onto the thing with her mind before slamming her hand down, sending it crashing into the ground. She pushed down harder and harder, the wound at her side thankfully cauterized by the high powered laser that had created it, the sound of metal creaking and groaning under the invisible pressure music to her ears. Finally something gave and she watched in triumph as the chassis of the thing caved into itself, oil spilling onto the ground. The pressure on her head was almost as strong as that on her enemy, the sheer amount of focus this was costing her immense…

The glass visor of her foe shattered, pieces of glass spreading all over the floor, that dreaded X finally gone from her view. And yet, she could feel her focus wavering, her strength waning… no damn it, she was so close!

The moment broke as her eyes began bleeding, trails of warm liquid running down her face.

Enough. You are going to kill yourself at this rate.

Dorothy gritted her teeth. "If I don't finish this thing off, then I'm going to die anyways!"

I will not allow that. This is my fault. I should have known better than to think you ready without any true training in combat.

The words sent a jolt of panic through her. "I… I can do this!"

No, you cannot. She is already regenerating.

Dorothy's attention was brought back to the thing, watching in horror as it was rapidly regaining the lost mass, pushing back against the pressure with its chest returning to normal and even its visor began reforming itself. "Wha… how…"

You need to flee. Do you remember the teleportation I used to bring you here?

She nodded weakly, taking a step back as the thing rose to a knee, glaring at her with a glowing yellow X. "Y…yes…" She whispered, her heart dropping as the thing managed to get back on her legs even as the invisible pressure continued exerting around her, creating a crater from the sheer force.

"I…am going… to kill you…" It said with a seething tone. "Rip you apart… and let V make balloon animals with your insides! I am going to break you so badly, you'll wish you were a damn intern!"

Dorothy squeaked, taking a step back as she began channeling her powers, trying to visualise herself somewhere else, anywhere else…

The spell broke.

The thing surged forward, the hastily cast barrier barely slowing it down.

And Dorothy vanished, teleporting away.

When she reappeared, she was in the middle of some sort of woods, still on Copper 9 if she had to guess from the snow. "I… I did it…" She whispered, falling to her knees in relief as a wave of exhaustion ran through her.

Then, the pain caught up with her.

Her eyes widened, looking to her side.

J glanced at the human arm in her claw hand.

"Damn. Only got a bit." She said as she threw it to the ground.

Dorothy screamed, her eyes wide as she took in the bleeding hole where her left arm had once been.

Calm down.

She whimpered. "It… it ripped my arm off!" She cried out, the pain almost unbearable. "I… I'm going to bleed out…"

No. You were injured in my service through no fault of your own. It is my own failure to predict the arrival of the disassembly drone that resulted in your loss. You tried your best. This complicates things, but the plan is still on track.

"I…I still lost…" She said, her vision filling with dark spots. "I think I'm passing out…"

Rest for now. I shall take care of you. This world will not be your tomb.

She didn't have the strength to answer, her eyes fluttering closed as she fell to the floor, bleeding out in the toxic snow.

J turned to face the human child, her peg-like legs leaving small imprints in the snow as she walked up to them.

"So." She stared at them with a neutral expression. "Care to explain what you're doing here? Even better, how?"

The child gulped, though their expression was hidden by the heavy environmental suit they wore as they scrambled back to their feet. "Um, yes! Yes of course! Thank you for saving me, miss…" They hesitated there, prompting J to roll her eyes.

"Serial designation J. Now start talking." She allowed her more advanced sensors to scan the cut off arm of the person she'd just been fighting. There was something… noxious about it. Similar to the sort of readings she'd gotten from the spire during N's temper tantrum. Different though, in a manner she couldn't quite put a finger on. What was it Cyn had called it?

Chaos. Right. She'd have to inform Cyn that they were interfering again…

She kept her guard up as she tuned back in to the child's babbling. She'd managed to cut off their arm, and that would usually be a fatal wound to a human without proper care, but given the sort of galaxy they were in… she was certain they were still alive.

And if they could teleport away, they could also teleport back.

The child nodded at her name. "Oh, I'm Tommy miss J! I was brought here as an emissary for the Imperium of Man, and…" He froze as J softly placed a blade at his throat.

"The Imperium, hm? Every time they've interacted with us it's been to try and kill us." She pushed her scanners to the limit as she scanned the child. There was nothing off according to them, but…

The child whimpered. "T…this is different, I swear!" He raised his hands in an appeasing posture. "The Imperium is absolutely massive! The local forces reacted to an unknown situation in whatever way they saw fit, but the Custodes represent the Emperor himself! Their word is law, and they have dictated they wish for a peaceful approach!" There was such nervousness in their posture and yet they stood their ground, not backing off from the blade at their throat. Brave.

Or… confident. That could mean dangerous.

"Right." J said, removing the blade and turning her hand back to a regular one. "And why N specifically?"

They took a second to answer. "You… you heard that?"

J snorted. "Yeah. I did."

"Well…" The child hesitated. "The… the reports and information we got from the system, whatever could be gathered, painted him as the most… open minded of your kind. We hoped to establish a dialogue and demonstrate our good faith to you… especially given how poorly previous imperial interactions have gone."

And of course, she was certain it had nothing to do with the fact N seemed the most pliable and manipulatable of them. Still, she let none of her doubt show on her face. "That makes some level of sense I suppose. A bit sneaky, but given the circumstances I can understand it." Like hell she did. This stank to all hell. "But I'm not letting you meet N until I'm sure you're not just planning on using the opportunity to do something stupid."

The child nodded. "I… of course. It is why they sent me. I'm harmless." The child said with a faint level of self-deprecation.

It was a convincing act to be sure. But J has been dealing with Cyn and her constant mental tortures, holograms and trickery for a long time now.

And even if she couldn't tell what, her instincts were telling her something was off about the child.

"So. Why send you here? Just to tell us 'by the way, we're not actually planning on fighting you anymore?'" She said with a snort. "Pretty sure that could have been an email."

The child seemed confused. "What's a… nevermind. The custodes communicated directly with the Emperor; And He has vision upon things that are unseen and out of sight of most. He has seen the alliance gathering here with the intent to strike out at the domain of the Plague God, and he wishes to offer his support. The Plague God is an old enemy, and one whose weakening benefits the Emperor greatly." The child shrugged. "Enemy of my enemy and all that."

J stared down. So the humans knew of the presence of the aliens and of their alliance. That was bad news, but if their first instinct was to approach peacefully and wish to join in… But damnit, she didn't trust it.

If N was here, he'd extend a hand she was sure. He'd want to believe the best of them, hope that perhaps the bloodshed could be moved past like he had with the eldar and the necrons. And whilst he's proven himself not as naive as J had suspected him to be, he was still too trusting for his own good. The idea of him being manipulated by the humans was… unpleasant.

More importantly, Cyn would absolutely flip if she discovered J had conspired behind her back to allow humans to get into N's head.

"Why not just stand back and watch then?" She suggested, because even if there was something off about the child straight up killing them would definitely upset N, and though she was good at lying she knew somehow he would find out. "We're going to deal with your problem for you, at no cost of your own. You could just wait and see what happens."

"Besides aiding ensure the success of the mission?" The child shuffled. "Your plan merely entails striking at the God's domain. The Emperor believes an opportunity exists to strike at the God himself. He needs his agents present to do so… there is nothing to do here but benefit."

"Right." J nodded. "I guess that makes sense." She sent a ping to Cyn. No way was she allowing that child near N without checking in with her first.

She quickly received a response, standing a little taller as nervousness filled her.

I am. Busy right now. What is it.

At least she was taking the time to answer for once. Perhaps all the times she'd been absent for things to go down on Copper 9 had made Cyn more cautious.

Sorry Boss. I have a human child sent by the 'Custodes' apparently, looking for N.

God. Fucking. Damnit.

That wasn't good. She was fairly distracted by the increased nervousness running through her circuits, not noticing how the child was shuffling nervously in front of her.

Soooo guessing I shouldn't let them do that? The Custodes are those golden bodyguards that the most recent information package was about right?

You are. Correct. Do not let the child. Near N. J. My favorite. Employee.

She hated how the praise made her stand straighter. Hated it with a passion. But J couldn't help her nature.

Of course Boss. Right on it.

"Hey J!" The voice that came from above her froze her. No. There was no way. She watched the child look up even as J slowly turned her head, feeling her core drop at the sight of the absolute dumbass of a drone she called a colleague, smiling down at her whilst still wearing his stupid pilot hat. "Sorry, you were taking a while and we were getting worried so I went looking, and then my sensors picked up on you firing your laser and stuff so I came as fast as I could! What's the sitch?" He asked as he softly landed, his eyes turning to the child. No, no, damnit no! "Oh, you found someone? Hi! I'm serial designation N!"

She saw the child perk up at that. "You are?! Amazing! I've been looking for you sir!"

Oh god.

Cyn was going to kill her.

Laasial glared at the thousands of Mon'keigh ships arrogantly floating in space that had belonged to the Asuryani for far longer than the damned primitives had existed. It was already bad enough that they had to deal with the outer dimensional abominations for the sake of getting their beloved Mother back, even worse having to succumb to the blackmail of the abominable necrontyr for the sake of the mission… and now the Mon'keigh themselves dared to interfere with their filthy, grubby hands?

But damn it all to Khaine, they had orders. Orders not to attack, orders not to start hostilities. The usually so belligerent war council of Biel-Tan was taking a step back for once, willing to compromise with the softer ways of their fellow kin for the sake of getting Isha back.

That didn't mean he couldn't make it clear to the primitives that this wasn't their territory. Not as long as the Asuryani remained here.

"Bring us closer and initiate scans." He called to the rest of the crew. "No hostile moves. We are on a scouting mission after all." He said with an amused grin.

There were soft chuckles on the bridge. At least he wasn't the only one annoyed at the passivity required of them.

Ah well. Merely annoying the Mon'Keigh would have to do for today.

Cannonness Maria was livid.

The presence of the xenos in the system proved all of her concerns were well founded. She'd been suspecting there was more to this strange infection spreading through the servitors, more to what was going on in the shadows of the Praxis system than what they were able to gather. And now she was proven right.

Three craftworlds. An entire necron warfleet. And somehow, they were not fighting.

This was a threat to all of mankind. A threat to His realm, beyond any in recent years. A single craftworld could lay waste to an entire sub-sector, three of them? It was horrific to think of. And inquisitor Jane wanted to just… stand back and wait?

The eldar would not gather in such numbers without a damn good reason. What was left of their fragile race was extremely protective over their dwindling numbers, they would not take such a risk. Whatever it was they were planning on was sure to spell disaster for them all. Even if there was no direct negative intent towards humanity, any increase in power of the eldar race would see them start pushing back against His glorious domain.

The situation was unacceptable. And Inquistor Jane's refusal to act was… bordering on heresy.

And still not a word from the adeptus custodes. Given their foe's mastery of machinery… even if they did hear from them, it could well be a trick. A manipulation, a fabrication.

Paranoia ran rampant within her mind as possibility after horrific possibility emerged to her. They had been guided here by the Emperor, given safe passage by his light. And now, Inquisitor Jane argued passivity. After denying the Emperor's blessing in the first place.

"Cannonness! We have an approaching eldar ship. Its weapons seem to be down, but it is getting uncomfortably close." The announcement from one of the bridge crew made her clench her hands. The arrogant bastards were taunting them. And besides, given the eldar's strange technology and mysterious ways, who was to say their weapons were not in fact preparing to fire and they were simply blind to it? "Orders?"

She felt her teeth grit together before a revelation came to her. Ah. Of course. It was all quite simple, wasn't it.

If the Inquisitor wouldn't act, then she would.

"Open fire upon it. All weapons." She stated clearly and strongly.

There was no back-talk, no hesitation from the crew. This was a ship of the Adeptus Sororitas, and here her word was the absolute law.

She had no use for crew that would hesitate at a crucial moment.

Within seconds the void flashed with numerous lights as dozens of heavy guns and hundreds of light ones fired upon the eldar ship. To its credit it managed to avoid the blisteringly sudden fire for a few seconds before a macro-cannon shell tore through its exterior, slowing it down just enough for the rest of the ship's weaponry to tear it asunder.

A smile came upon her face.

Yes.

That was better.

Cyn stood on the surface of the craftworld of Iyanden, staring out into the void of space. Far, far away, she could see as only someone with sensors as powerful as herself could the massive human fleet that had recently arrived. It was absolutely colossal in scale, far bigger than anything else she'd encountered so far within this galaxy.

"That is quite a few humans." Esariuan said softly next to her. "You must have given them quite the scare to have them gather in such numbers. I do not believe they were even aware of our presence until their arrival."

"I thought. The movement of so many. Of your own. Would have been. Big news to them."

Esariuan nodded. "It is, and I can assure you we have been noticed. But news travels slowly in the Imperium, even the most crucial… and the rest of our kin are hard at work keeping every other faction too busy to interfere." He gestured towards the distant human armada. "The fact this was unforeseen speaks of the hand of the Malignant Powers. One or more of them must have been involved in getting these humans here."

"Annoyed. Expression. I was supposed to have. Movie night later. With my. Big Brother." A few messages from J came through. "Oh. Well that. Is just. Great. Furious expression."

The harlequin gave her a cautious look. "Bad news?"

"Blank stare. Of a sort. The humans have. Overstepped." She rose to her feet. "I should have known. Better than to expect. Anything."

The eldar glanced back in the direction of the human ships. "...If you are about to start a fight, we may want to inform our… allies."

"Dismissive gesture. I am not. Going to start a fight. Just yet. I want to know more about. What brought these imperials. Here." Her sensors picked up something then. A large explosion, close to the human fleet. She paused. Surely not… they wouldn't be that stupid.

Esariuan's eyes sharply narrowed as a warp spider materialized next to him, quickly whispering something before vanishing back from where it came. He let out a sigh. "...I have bad news."

Cyn tilted her head. "It seems there is a lot. Of that. Today."

"One of Biel-Tan's scout ships got a bit bold, tried getting closer to the human fleet to try and get some information. They got fired upon without warning and blown up before they could properly react."

"Curious expression. Isn't Biel-Tan. The very violent. One?"

"It is."

As he said that, one of the massive craftworlds began moving forward from the other three, turning in the direction of the human fleet and moving forth, hundreds of smaller eldar ships forming a grand escort as it advanced as if some impossibly large void predator surrounded by smaller scavengers.

"Deep sigh. Looks like it's. Fighting time. After all." She rose to her feet. "Well. Given the Imperials fired. The first. Shot. Big Brother can't. Be too mad." Her smile twisted into one filled with sharp teeth. "Giggle. This should be. Fun."

Jana stared at the pale faced bridge crew as he stood at attention before her, looking as if he wished to be anywhere but here right now. It did not help that behind Jana was a massive display showing a member of the Adeptus Custodes who had just been in the middle of debriefing her on the situation within the system when the crewman had rushed towards her, eyes wide and fearful.

"...An eldar ship. You are telling me we blew up an eldar ship." She took a step forward. "Whilst in system with not just one, but three entire craftworlds. And it was done without passing the request through me?!" She was seething by the end, her expression contorted in rage but she hardly cared. This was the kind of mistake that could get all of them killed. "Which absolute braindead, moronic idiot gave the order to fire?!"

"I…it was cannonness Maria my Lady. She had the lead ship of the sororitas fleet unleash all weapons upon it."

Juna snarled. "Have her brought to my ship immediately. If she resists, she is to be executed on the spot and any others who abade her." She turned to the custodes. "My apologies, my Lord. It seems my subordinates jumped the gun."

The custodes' voice was grave as he answered. "As we discussed, your presence here was wholly unnecessary. This has only made things worse. We will establish contact with the xenos within the system, perhaps this can still be salvag…"

"MY LADY! BIEL-TAN IS MOVING TOWARDS US!" Jane almost fell to her knees as the bridge erupted into fervour at that proclamation.

"...ed. Nevermind that." The custodes' voice sharpened. "Inquisitor. Your primary duty is to hold the line. Defend yourself, but do not pursue further offensive actions against the xenos within the system. My colleagues and I will attempt to de-escalate the situation." With that the communication was dropped before Jane could give an answer, left to deal with the absolute shit show that was about to unfold.

"...My Lady?"

She glanced at the Acolyte who had spoken, letting none of what she was feeling show on her face. "You heard the Lord Custodes. Set the fleet to high alert. Muster battle stations. And for the love of the Emperor, get me cannonness Maria here before she does something stupid again!

"Yes my Lady!"

She turned back to the large holographic display before her as it began displaying the entire fleet and the approaching behemoth of a ship that was the craftworld Biel-Tan. She felt her heart sink as the other craftworlds began slowly turning, following in the trail of the other.

So much for only fighting one.

She prayed to the God-Emperor that the custodes were able to bring this madness to an end. Her fleet would not be able to hold against a single craftworld, let alone all three of them.

At least the necron were not yet moving… but who knew when that would change.

No matter. She had dealt with dire situations before.

Just perhaps not that dire.

N landed next to the child, giving them a confused look. "You were? Well I guess you found me!" He looked over to J. "What happened here?"

J sighed, resigning herself to the situation as she pointed to the child. "Brat here was sent by the Adeptus Custodes. Direct bodyguards of the emperor, supersoldiers, all that stuff. From Cyn's last data package?"

N laughed. "Yeah, Uzi insisted on scanning that to hell and back before she allowed me to have it. So big and golden right?"

"Yes sir!" The child took their opportunity to speak up. "We have heard of your great quest to the immaterium, to strike out at the Plague God's domain and free the eldar goddess of life. We wish to assist you in this quest, as the Plague God is our opponent as well!"

To her surprise, N didn't immediately jump at the opportunity for a new friend. "Really?" He said, surprised. "How did you hear about that? I thought information was having a hard time getting out of the system…"

The child's voice turned reverrant. "The Emperor sees all, sir N. It is He who saw the purpose of your quest, and he saw that you of all of your kind would be most receptive to his message." The child bowed shortly. "We shall provide you with soldiers and aid, along with His support. All for the sake of ensuring the Plague God is properly struck down."

N nodded softly. "Yeah, I guess it sounds pretty good." He bent down to face the child face to face, even if their own expression was hidden by the heavy suit. "Honestly, I really want to avoid any more fighting and death. This galaxy has had more than enough already."

J had to suppress a groan at that. Oh robo-god Cyn was going to flip…

"I am glad we agree sir N!" The child exclaimed, brimming with enthusiasm. "Then I shall contact my superiors…"

N raised a hand. "Wait. I didn't say I agreed." He tilted his head. "I mean… I'm really sorry, but I just don't think it's a good idea."

J blinked, almost gaping. Was he being serious?

The child seemed just as caught off guard as her. "Wh…what do you mean sir N?"

N sighed, clasping his hands behind himself as he rose to his full height, rocking on the ball of his metallic feet. "Look… for one, the biggest and most obvious reason to refuse is Cyn. Cyn hates humans. Like, really, really hates them. She can deal with the eldar, she can deal with the necrons… but humans? I don't think she has it in her. And the entire plan relies on Cyn. Without her, there's no point in it at all." His expression grew sympathetic. "And then there's the fact that… honestly I have a hard time trusting humans as well."

"But you trust the eldar and the necrons?!" The child exclaimed, sounding genuinely lost.

"I mean… not really." N admitted softly. "But they both have something existential to gain here. Isha and the biotransferrence… Those are both things worth more to them than the death of their enemies. On the other hand, I honestly don't know if there's a single thing that humans would value more than that. I can trust that the eldar and the necron will put their desire to kill each other aside and make sure the mission goes well. I might even trust humans. But the Imperium?" He shook his head. "Your only reason to join is to hurt an enemy. And you could easily declare the necron or the eldar an enemy during the mission if the opportunity to really, really hurt them arose." He sighed. "That's why I can't trust you guys. Not that I don't want to! I really, really want us all to get along." His expression darkened. "But this mission is the only way we're all making it home. I can't just think of myself here. I've got to think about Uzi, V, J… even Cyn. Everyone in the bunker, who just wants to live their lives. We all want to go back home." He slumped, as if some great weight had suddenly been placed upon him. "I… I've done enough bad stuff for a lifetime. I've let others do bad stuff because it was easier than trying to stop them. I refuse to do that again. We're going home." His expression grew confident as he looked over to J, a small smile on his face. "All of us." To her surprise, she found herself returning a smile of her own, quickly changing it to scowl which made him chuckle as he looked back at the stunned child. "For what it's worth, we're not here to fight. We just want to go home. All you have to do is stand aside and let us go." He grinned. "I'll even put in a good word to the eldar and the necron to give cooperation a try! I mean, I doubt they'll listen, but maybe we can make this galaxy just a little better on the way out right?"

The child was quiet for some time, J finding herself growing tenser as the silence stretched uncomfortably long. "I… I suppose I can appreciate your honesty, sir N." The child said dejectedly. "I'll inform my superiors, and they'll extract me before we leave. Would it be alright for you to stick around until they do? I'm scared of that awful psyker returning to finish the job…"

"Psyker?" N asked as he looked at J.

J nodded, trying to hide how pleased she was at N's choice. She wouldn't have to deal with a pissed off Cyn, N was showing some sense… the best outcome, really.

"I found the kid while they were being attacked. Some kind of spooky space wizard, weird abilities and all. Managed to injure and chase them off, but given how weird this galaxy is…"

"Right." N nodded, turning back to the child with a reassuring smile. "Of course we'll wait." He said kindly, even as his visor displayed a line of code that went by incredibly fast.

J of course simply screenshot it to read it.

Oh. N was calling for backup from the rest of his squad.

…A squad she wasn't a part of anymore. So she hadn't received the request.

That thought hurt more than she was used to.

Still, she really should update Cyn…

Hey Boss. N actually said no to the humans. Said he couldn't trust them and that you wouldn't like working with them.

The response was almost immediate.

Yipee! Happy smile. N is a. Good brother.

J snorted, even as she saw the child start tapping at some weird device on their wrist. Probably communicating with the custodes.

Still, she kept her targeting sensors locked in on them.

Never hurts to be careful.

Cyn could have laughed at the message J sent her. She'd been so worried that N would want to work with the humans. She'd been planning on killing them all just to prevent that possibility… but now that seemed unnecessary.

Not that she wouldn't. But she'd do it for fun rather than anything else.

…Well maybe she shouldn't. N would be quite upset with her. And Zorial would probably disapprove.

Still, they'd attacked first. That was legitimate self-defense.

But for now, she had some golden warriors to visit.

Teleporting into the custodes ship was surprisingly easy. She'd expected… some resistance of some form. Perhaps some kind of ward, or something else, but no. Just as easy as the first time.

The bridge had a few more custodes than last time. There were six now, each of them equipped in slightly different gear, along with a dozen of those strange women in heavy golden armor. She could feel a weird tingling whenever she looked at them and so chose to ignore them as she turned to the most familiar of the custodes.

"Cyn." He addressed her before she could speak. "We understand there has been an incident."

Cyn tilted her head, purposefully playing up the unnerving aspect of her persona. "I do not call. Blowing up a ship. Full of people. An incident. Then again. Humans have some. Funny definitions."

The custodes did not react, which still annoyed her to no end. She knew they were genetic superbeings, crafted by hand bla bla bla but would it kill them to at least react to her shenanigans? "We wish to express that the individual acted without consent from the rest of the fleet. They will be executed and the fleet is prepared to stand down if you are willing to do the same."

She let the silence stretch for a few more seconds. "Considering. Expression. I am afraid that is. To the eldar to decide. I am not. Some kind of. Dictator. After all." She took a step forward, looking curiously at the custodes. "You tried to reach out. To my. Big Brother. Without telling me."

The custodes nodded. "We did."

"Smug expression. He refused. You."

"He did." The custodes sounded unbothered. It annoyed her. "We were hoping for a final chance at convincing you."

Cyn had to stop herself from snorting. "Annoyed expression. No. For my. Big Brother's sake. I will not. Attack you. And your people can. Leave in peace. I will. Speak on your. Behalf to the. Eldar. Because that is. What he would want. I cannot. Guarantee they will. Agree. But they are. Focused on the task. At hand."

The custodes let out a deep sigh. "I see. I suppose we expected things to turn out poorly… but it would have been an unforgivable sin to not at least try." He loomed over her, hands clenched on his guardian spear. The ship suddenly lurched, manifesting itself above Copper 9. Cyn tilted her head, confused. Did they intend to bombard it? She hoped they didn't. It would be a pain to stop it. "I am afraid that the Emperor has given very strict orders should you prove unwilling to cooperate. A resurgent eldar and necron is not something we can afford to have running around."

Cyn's smile did not waver. She'd expected this on some level. The Imperium did not seem like the kind of entity that liked to be told 'no'. "Amused sigh. I suppose I can understand. That. I would do the. Same. I think. Roll of the eyes. Let me guess. Kill them all?"

"No." The custodes' declaration surprised her. Enough so that she almost failed to notice the way her teleportation suddenly felt entirely out of her reach as some malignant influence pressed down on her incorporeal self. She reached out quickly, still finding her ability to freeze the weapons of the ship available. She could feel the spirit of the ship, far more defiant than the ones she'd encountered until now, roaring at her in challenge. "Just the ones that matter."

Cyn's expression shifted to a toothy smile, eyes glitching into X's as the lights aboard the bridge began to flicker dangerously. "You cannot kill me with WHAT YOU HAVE HERE."

"I know." The custodes said, unfazed as she began slowly walking towards him, his spear coming down towards her in the blink of an eye. "But we can reduce the number of problems for those that come to finish the job."

Six pods dropped from the custodes ship, descending rapidly towards Copper 9.

Each carried a single occupant as they careened towards the beacon guiding them to their target.

And within each of the six drop pods, blue bionic eyes flickered to life on a skull-like helmet as the lethal package each held within them was thawed out, lethal rage burning in those bloodlusted eyes.