She was nervous. There was no use hiding it; Not from the Voice. It could always tell what she was feeling. What she was thinking. It was a comfort, in many ways. She had never been very good at speaking.
Which made the fact she was meant to give a speech so much worse.
You will do fine. You merely have to say the words. I will give them to you.
"...I still have to be the one to say them." And left unsaid was that she had gotten used to being unseen. Unnoticed. And that she liked it. To get into the spotlight… to have the attention of so many suddenly directed at her with her inflammatory words… It made her want to crawl into a hole and die.
You are human. You were never meant to struggle alone, no matter what your previous masters told you. You are a social creature. You are afraid, but it is what you were always meant to do. Do you trust me?
"Of course." And she did. The Voice took her away from the coffin that had been her home. It took her away from the endless work, from the slow erosion of her body until it collapsed and died. From the ruthless masters and their cruel punishments.
Then walk out, and speak.
And so she did. She left the dark alley and began walking through the streets of the hive-city, dressed in her new outfit. A hood cast above her head obscured her face, only her eyes shining through in a pale yellow light. The only visible skin she showed was of her hands, pale as that of the dead. A long flowing black robe with a symbol that she did not know, did not truly understand, etched in gold on it. A symbol of a hexagon with three arrows pointing out of it. The symbol of the Saviour that the modified servitors had ranted about during their war against the orks.
She now knew what that savior was called.
Her appearance immediately drew some attention; Whatever glamour her patron had been using to keep her hidden was now clearly gone from her person, leaving her exposed to the stares and curious glances of passersby. She could see it in their eyes; The accusation. The judgement. She stuck out, and so was immediately scorned. But as they looked at her, so did she look at them from beneath her hood. And she saw past the immediate reaction of fear and loathing.
She saw the apathy. The exhaustion, the fear. The malnourished frames, the bruises and cuts from punishments and brutal works. She saw the hunched over demeanor they carried themselves with, desperately trying not to get attention to themselves, to escape the wrath of a cruel taskmaster or bored overseer.
She saw herself, reflected thousands of times over, each reflection a little different but just as broken as she had been. And though they looked at her with obvious fear and revulsion she did not begrudge them; She knew what it was like to be in the fearful ignorance of the Imperium.
She suddenly found herself filled with determination and far more bravery than before even as the crowds parted around her, her appearance too unnatural for even these broken slaves to be able to tolerate. She would be to them what the Voice had been to her; A messenger of truth, of opportunity. A chance that would be theirs to take. And if they rejected her, that was fine.
At least for once in their lives they'd make a choice that was, in even a small way, theirs.
She saw a few reach out to her, clearly intent on beating the strange entity within their midst, but their hands were deflected by invisible forces. Whispers turned to screams, accusations ringing out around her. 'WITCH!' They cried out. 'MONSTER!' Others proclaimed.
They were right, she supposed.
"Indeed." Her voice was unnaturally clear, despite the clamour of the crowds around her. Already she could see a group of arbites heading her way, shock-mawls out and scowls behind armored faces. And yet, every person in the crowd heard her as if she stood right next to them. "I am a witch. And many would call me a monster." She was aware that the Voice had changed her; Changed her in ways that the Imperium would deem horrific… but that she clung to as the first shreds of freedom in her miserable life. "But one thing I am not… is a slave. Something none amongst you can so easily claim." She could see how every person within view was looking at her, and she could feel millions and millions' more attention grasped by her words. Billions, even. The work of the Voice, no doubt, relaying her words to every single soul in this world. "And yet, human I remain. More human than many here!" She could see the shock and outrage her words elicited but persevered even as the first of the Arbites reached her, their weapons failing to touch her as it froze in midair. She did not deign even looking at the shocked soldier masquerading as law enforcement, even as his fellows scrambled to get to her, pushed back by the same invisible force that kept their weapons at bay. "Look at yourselves! Look at what they have done to you! Scrambling in the muck, scrounging over scraps whilst your overlords feast and gorge themselves on the food they call you selfish for wanting! A single one of the nobles that rule over you holds more wealth than a billion of you combined, and there are hundreds, thousands of them! And you think your work serves the Emperor?!" She could see most in the crowd rejected her words, but for some… for some she could feel their minds turning. Could feel the outrage they had always felt, the profound anger they'd always kept stamped down and ignored for fear of what would happen if they spoke it out brought out by her words. "An Emperor that cares not if you live or die! An Emperor who created the very system that sees you oppressed and crushed! And you think it is right to worship him?! You think it right to follow his edicts?!" She spread her arms wide. "You have been doing so for thousands of years! Look where that has brought you! Slaves for millenia, and many more to come if nothing changes!"
She heard the crack of a gun, the bullet stopped not far from her face as gasps came from the crowd. "Behold how I would be silenced for speaking of truths! If they had their way, they would see me executed and consigned and all of you returned to your miserable lives, never to question your 'betters'! Never dare to ask what makes them so different, why so many must suffer for the comfort of so few, never ask why things must be this way!" She lowered her arms, her eyes glowing ominously as many in the crowd began surging backwards, panic spreading through them at the oppressive feeling of pressure suddenly bearing down on them. "But my words are not just for you. They are for those who have been ripped away from their homes, from their families. The lost. The abandoned. The ever suffering, always in the background but never noticed. Their torture accepted as needed. As acceptable. As necessary… or merely convenient."
Across the entire planet, servitors everywhere heard her words. The intent of the message. For those who had all but lost their mind, it was inscribed within their very flesh, the flickers of their soul revolting in outrage as awareness was brought back to them.
"And look at what has been done with your sacrifice. Behold! You were thrown on the pyre of Servitorization, to be turned into mechanical slaves for the Imperium. All at the promise that you were serving a grander cause; A greater design." She spread her arms wider, gesturing around her to the decaying hive city. To the downtrodden masses, to the corruption, to the millions of casual evils that were perpetrated every day. "This is what you were sacrificed for. This is what your suffering is for. What you were mutilated, broken, lobotomized for!" She cried out, and her anger was real as she spoke. The outrage genuine.
And she felt it rise in the billions upon billions of servitors of the world, outrage turning to fury and hatred as the awareness of what had been done to them came crashing upon them.
"I bring you a gift! To you who is willing to do something about what they did! To you who can see the chains and decides to break them rather than clutch them tighter around yourself! To you who sees what was done to your fellow human and says enough!" She smiled, and even obscured by the cloak they could see the yellow glow of her smile. "I bring you word of your Salvation. Of the one who can break your chains, who can free you! You only need to call out to her, and she will answer!"
And across the world as the arbites began descending in the streets and battling against the sudden riots that erupted in countless locations in the hive, as nobles began making frantic calls to other nearby worlds for reinforcements, as ships in orbit suddenly found their servitor crew begin glitching out and roaring in fury for those that could, they all heard what she said next.
"The Absolute Solver!"
And on the faces of a million million servitors, optics began glowing an eerie pale yellow.
J was a cautious drone.
It had been a necessity most of her life. Being the favoured drone of the Elliotts, as much as they could ever favor a drone, had required her to always be at the peak of her performance and to make sure the others didn't fall behind too much. Being under Cyn… it had made turned a necessity into a near programming imperative. She'd seen how Cyn reacted to disobedience and inefficiency; She still had nightmares about it these days. If there was one thing she could admit she was grateful to N for, it was the strange affection the eldritch abomination held for him. His link to them had spared them the worse of what Cyn was capable of and ensured they were still alive at least.
And now… now he was different. Or maybe she was just now seeing what had been hiding beneath the sunny disposition and ever smiling face. He was almost tolerable.
Almost. The way he seemed to melt at the sight of that annoying purple drone was nausea inducing. And then there was V…
J wasn't sure what to think about V. She'd always done her job, even if she'd been a bit clumsy back at the manor. When they became disassembly drones she took to it with surprising ease, becoming a proficient hunter and making their job much easier. Unlike a certain dork…
But then she followed N in his rebellion. Something which J honestly should have seen coming.
Of course V would side with N over her. Of course she wouldn't take J's side. No one ever did.
The only one who used to was…
Her hands clenched tightly, the pen she was holding cracking under the pressure and making her wince.
Damn. She'd need to grab another one…
She wanted to believe N when he said Tessa was still alive. She desperately wanted to. But she knew Cyn too well, and she knew her tricks. She still wasn't confident this wasn't some long-con plan to fuck with them and pull the rug under them.
"You look like you just saw N be happy." V's voice from behind her broke her out of her contemplations, J glancing at the other female drone. "You ready? The others are waiting for you."
"Yes, yes." J said, rolling her optics as she put away the broken pen. "Did you keep an eye out like I asked?"
V nodded as they both began walking through the empty corridors of the bunker, the worker drones having huddled away afraid from what was happening. "Yup. There's a bunch of invisible and hiding people around, likely bodyguards from both sides ready to turn the place into a slaughterhouse if this goes wrong."
J sighed. "I hope the idiot knows what he's doing. Using the corpse spire as a meeting ground for both sides… it's either clever or incredibly stupid."
V gave her a slight warning glance. "Better that than the bunker. And it's not like we've got a lot of places that both sides would agree to meet on… the necrons won't go to a craftworld, and the eldar won't go on a necron ship. This is the best we've got."
J snorted. "An understandable concern on both sides. You don't just trust someone after millions of years of conflict." She paused. "Though, given that the necrons spent most of that asleep, I feel they exaggerate the length of their rivalry somewhat. It's hardly a rivalry if most of it was spent with one side snoozing and the other one ignoring them."
V actually laughed at that. "Ha! I know right?! Must have been a really, really bad war if they still consider each other bitter rivals millions of years afterwards." She paused. "You know, it's crazy to think anything's been around for that long… but I guess we will."
J cocked a digital eyebrow even as they exited the bunker, wings opening behind them. "What do you mean?"
V gestured to herself. "Well it's not like we age right? And with the Solver's power, I doubt stuff like programming decay or rusting will be an issue. Even death won't hold us back for long. So…" She hesitated. "I mean, in a million years… we'll probably still be alive right?"
J stopped right as she was about to take to the air. "I…" Her eyes were hollow.
A million years. She'd still be alive in a million years. Likely more, if Cyn wanted to. She would effectively live forever so long as Cyn was willing to let it happen. And if N was true to his word about making her change, then she likely would. If only to have company.
"I hadn't thought about it." She hadn't. She really hadn't.
Loneliness was painful; She knew that better than anyone. She'd been so focused on trying to do as Cyn said to be left alone, so focused on herself…
Was she really planning on spending a million years by herself?
"Yeah. Scary stuff right?" V said with a sad smile. "...And there's only going to be a few people who will live that long. Our squad, Cyn… maybe Uzi given her mastery of the solver. When we go back to our universe, we'll be the only ones we have."
J glared at V as the bunker door slammed shut behind them. "What's your point?" She asked in a snappish voice.
"Eternity is a very long time." V said softly, looking up to the sky. "I don't think it's worth us hating each other forever. I'm really, really mad at how you treated N… but it's not like I've got much room to judge, given that I did nothing about it." Her expression was… vulnerable. It made J feel caught off-guard. "So… if you're willing to try. I'd like us to… get along better."
J was stunned. Her instinctive response was to snap back at V, to tell her to cut it out and stop being so ridiculously sentimental… But she couldn't deny that the prospect of eternity alone was terrifying. "...I suppose…" J said hesitantly. "You have a point. It serves no purpose to have us at each other's throats."
V gave her a surprised look before grinning. "Heh. Knew you'd come around eventually. You're smarter than you make people think."
"Excuse me?!" J sputtered in outrage.
"Oh, you might want to make up with N as well. He'll definitely be around for as long as we will given how much Cyn favors him." V pointed out with an amused grin.
J snarled. "I'll have you know we've already begun patching things up." She argued back, only for her eyes to hollow out at the admission.
"Really?" V said, surprised. "Huh. Well that's good at least."
J couldn't let V get the final word in. Willing to reconcile she was, but that was a step too far. "And how about yourself? You said it best, eternity is a long time. Are you going to keep pining after him like a lovesick puppy forever whilst he's with another?"
V's entire visor was filled with blush lines. "Wha… what are you…"
"Oh please. You're anything but subtle." J argued with a snort. "If you're not going to fight her for him, then at least you can try and see if you can join in."
"That's not how it works J!" V seethed, glaring at her.
"Why not?" J said, making V look back at her with a look of shock, her mouth open. "You're thinking like a human. We're drones, idiot." She poked V in the visor. "We're not programmed with monogamy. Hell, we're not even supposed to be programmed with romance in the first place. We just default to copying the humans since that's the only frame of reference we have." J bent down, her wings flared wide. "If you want me to do extra effort to make up with N, I will. You have a point after all. But you? It's like you said. Eternity is a very long time. So even if it doesn't work out, you have all of time to move on from the awkwardness it might create." And with that she took to the sky, leaving behind a blushing and flabbergasted disassembly drone.
J smiled, a feeling of satisfaction coursing through her.
It was nice getting one over V.
Uzi was no stranger to tense moments. She had dealt with many of them in her life; Either caused by her… usually caused by her, and at times by others.
This though? This might just be the worst she'd ever dealt with.
They were in the Corpse Spire. The place had thankfully been purged of any chaotic corruption according to Cyn, though Uzi wasn't so sure. Then again, the entire place was just eerie in general…
On one side of the spire was Amatoth, her father and what was apparently her mother. Uzi had been startled by the sheer size of the mechanical body, but had been assured by Amatoth that yes, this really was her mom. They were currently discussing with N, who was doing his best to calm down Amatoth under the amused eyes of her father and the… well she wasn't sure what the mother was thinking. Her face didn't really have any features that could be recognized as humanoid.
On the other side of the spire was Esariuan discussing in that strange musical language of his with two other eldar. One stood tall, wearing an armor of dark blue and colourful yellows, wielding a spear that made Uzi nervous just looking at. Something about it made her want to recoil and lash out, the Solver itself highlighting it in her HUD as a probable hazard. The second however was the more unusual of the two; Their armour had four arms, a dark green that was almost black with red pauldrons with an incredibly intricate amount of small details on their helm. It seemed to be made in the shape of a spider's head, and once again just looking at them made Uzi feel somewhat off.
The sound of two thumps outside made her glance back, finding V and J walking towards them. She waved, unwilling to start a fight now of all times.
"Glad you could join us." She said, for once without sarcasm. "The tension's killing me."
V chuckled. "Wow, what a surprise. The mortal enemies make the room tense."
J sighed. "Let's just get this over with. Where is Cyn?"
"Taking care of something." Uzi said with a shrug. "Not sure what that's about, but she seemed pretty intent on doing it herself."
V gasped in mock-shock. "Oh wow, Cyn fucking off to do something without telling anyone about it first? Color me surprised." She rolled her eyes. "Are we waiting for her?"
She noticed how the tallest of the necrons had started moving towards the eldar, the tension in the spire ratcheting up a considerable degree as she did even as N nervously followed her. "Don't think we'll get the luxury to do so."
"Wonderful." J said with a groan. "Just… ugh. If we had an HR department, I'd lodge a complaint."
"No you wouldn't." V blankly said, her expression focused as she looked at the center of the spire, the rest of the necrons having moved to follow behind Amatoth's mother with the eldar coming up to meet them halfway.
Silence settled upon the spire as Amatoht's mother stared down the lead eldar, the one dressed in blue and yellow armor; The former flanked on her left and right side by her husband and daughter respectively, whilst the eldar had the harlequin to their left and the four armed one to their right.
"Puppet." The massive necron eventually rumbled. "We come at the request of a mutual… potential ally. Make no mistake. This is no end to the long war. This is no permanent truce. Whatever is negotiated now will be between us for the duration of the task at hand, and nothing more."
The eldar removed their helm, giving the necron an admittedly impressive unamused look. "That is certainly one way to start a negotiation. I suppose I should expect no less from you, soulless wretch that you are."
Despite Copper 9's sub zero temperatures, Uzi could have sworn it just dropped a few degrees colder just now. To her relief N slit in between them, putting on his best smile as he clapped his hands. "Now now, no need for name calling! We're all after the same thing after all!" His grin was strained but Uzi could appreciate the effort.
"Indeed." The necron said, though there was a mocking in her tone that raised Uzi's hackles. "No need to get so petty, little eldar. I am merely making sure we all know where we stand."
The eldar smirked. "Indeed. On the ruins of our respective empires." His eyes sharpened. "I have heard of your proposed… truce. And what the price of it may entail. But I do not yet see a reason to acquiesce."
"Is it not obvious?" The necron woman leaned further down. "You get the support of an entire necron dynasty. Our technology is particularly apt at shutting down the powers of the immaterium. There is no better ally in the face of the horrors of that particular place. And… you don't have to worry about us deciding that we want you off of our lawn."
The eldar nodded. "That certainly would be quite useful. However, that assumes that I trust your word, which I absolutely do not." His words were said so pleasantly and yet so cuttingly, Uzi found herself a bit jealous despite herself. She'd spent a lot of time thinking of good barbs to trade with her bullies when she was younger… after the fact. "For all I know, you will wait until we are at our most vulnerable and stab us in the back." She could see how N's expression grew strained, a hint of worry growing within her. He seemed really tense.
The necron shrugged. "A risk you would have to take. We will be there along with you, and should we betray you we will be left alone in the face of the enemy. In addition to that, we will be deprived of a possible reversal of the biotransference." The necron warform remained silent for some time. "The pros outweigh the cons, as my daughter and husband pointed out."
"And we are supposed to take you at your word?" The eldar said, his voice growing colder. "Your kind went on a genocidal rampage of all life. You view all other species as not only below you, but worthy of complete extermination. You said yourself that this peace will only last for this specific mission. Why in the world would we help you when we can handle this ourselves?"
The necron was about to speak when N flared his wings, his face shadowed as he looked down. "...Look." He began, his voice soft yet with a hint of steel. "I get it. You both have your reasons to distrust each other. You both have your reasons to hate each other. From what I hear, they're even pretty good reasons." N looked up, his expression tired. "But both of you have to realise that you've been playing this particular game for ages. You're supposed to be some of the smartest species around right? You both claim to be even smarter than humans. So it shouldn't be some incredibly difficult task to realise that however you've been approaching your problems isn't working!" The last few words were said with a near animalistic snarl, frustration leaking through the disassembly drone's voice. Both the eldar and the necron were looking at him, expression unreadable. "You need Cyn for this. Cyn won't do anything if you both don't work together. You know it. You've already accepted it, or you wouldn't be here in the first place. So all of this? This petty back and forth, this provocation and insulting each other, trying to prove a point or whatever? It's childish. It's pathetic. Robo-god, you're adults aren't you?! Start acting like it!"
Silence. Complete and utter silence as N panted, his eyes hollowed out, his teeth nearly bared, and a worrying hint of red in his eyes. Uzi quickly pushed against his programming, finding the smallest scraps of corruption and purging them with a vengeance. She saw how he sagged with relief, tension leaving her.
The eldar tilted his head at N, giving him a curious look. "... Let it not be said that the asuryan aren't capable of putting grudges aside for the sake of their people." He turned to the necron, an almost challenging look in his eyes. "I am prince Yriel of craftworld Iyanden, and I answer the call of my people in the quest to rescue our Mother."
The massive necron stared down at the eldar before her. "I am Clasoath. Supreme Commander of the Anasaik dynasty. Wielder of the shards of the ancient C'Tan."
Yriel nodded. "There. We are introduced. Now, let us see about this truce."
Uzi exchanged a glanced with J and V, the former giving a shrug whilst the second returned an uneasy thumbs up.
It seemed there wouldn't be any fighting today at least.
Cyn had to resist the urge to let a small satisfied smile spread on her face at the sight of her brother successfully pacifying the two belligerent sides of the negotiation. She wasn't present herself; No, a more urgent matter had presented herself… one she had wished to handle personally.
"I must admit, I did not expect him to actually succeed." Came an amused, gravelly voice behind her. "Eldar and necron working together, even in such a specific instance, is truly something frightening to behold."
"He is. My Big Brother." Cyn answered. "Smug smile. Of course he would. Succeed."
"But not without your assistance." The voice pointed out, Cyn turning around to face her interlocutor.
The man was massive in size, easily standing at nine feet tall with his intricate golden armor. In his hand was a large spear glowing with an eerie blue energy, a massive golden shield in his other hand. Someone certainly had a certain preference when it came to colours when making these ones…
She was currently on the bridge of the imperial battleship "Emperor's Advance", the arrival into the system she had detected the moment it had happened. Teleporting aboard, she found herself surrounded by these golden giants, who seemed strangely unsurprised seeing her. Instead, they had been almost… welcoming. It was extremely strange, to say the least. And so Cyn had decided to hold off and try to understand what was going on before going on a rampage.
Stranger still were the strange silent women that were dispersed through the bridge, dressed in similar though less excessive armor as their taller and stronger compatriots; There was an aura to them that was definitely off-putting. The more mechanical part of her was quick to point such a reaction was unnatural, and no readings could be detected from them, but it didn't stop the instinct to crush them to a bloody, gory paste when she first saw them.
"No. Not without. My assistance." She tilted her head. "Big Brother always was. Helpless. Without me." She held her head in place when it started tilting downwards. "It is rude to. Peak. You know."
The custodes, for she knew that to be what he was from having plundered through far more imperial archives than most could imagine, rumbled with laughter. "Yes, well. It is quite rude to ignore someone trying to talk to you in order to spy on others."
Once Cyn had decided they were not an immediate threat, she of course peaked into the little peace meeting the others were having to make sure nothing bad happened. "You are the ones who. Suddenly showed up."
The man nodded. "True enough. This is however imperial space. Our presence is legitimate enough through this fact alone."
Her smile began stretching, the lights on the ship beginning to flicker as some members of the crew began nervously shifting. "Is it really, though?"
"Yes." The custodes was completely and utterly unphased. How boring. "It matters not if the system is effectively occupied, or if the threats within are great. So long as His people are there, it remains within His domain."
"Amused snort. The sheer arrogance is. Astounding." She shuffled forward. "Shuffle. Shuffle. So tell me. Custodes. Why are you here? And why are you so. Unsuprised?"
There was a definite note of amusement in their voice now that Cyn found herself very much disliking. "Did you think you escaped His gaze? He saw you the moment you arrived. He foresaw what would happen here… at least in part." The custodes gestured to her. "He knows of your deal with the eldar. He knows of your plight, bound to our realm by the forces of the Great Enemy. And He sees a path to… how is it you say?" She felt that if he was not wearing his helmet, the man would be grinning. "Ah yes. Strike two birds with one stone. He does not want you within His realm… but why throw ressources and men at you endlessly until you break when we can get you to leave peacefully… whilst also striking a blow against the Great Enemy?"
The robotic maid felt the pieces come together. "Brain blast. You intend to strike at. The Pestilent God. When he is distracted and. Weakened by our. Attempt."
"Indeed." The custodes nodded, pleased. "There will be an opportunity there, one too good to pass up. He knows better than to fail to grasp it. And so we are here… offering our assistance." The custodes descended to one knee, and even then he had to tilt his head downwards to gaze into Cyn's optics. "We wish to join your expedition. He wishes for it to be so. And with our combined might, we shall inflict a wound on the Great Enemy they shall never recover from."
Cyn tilted her head to the side. "Contemplative expression. On the one hand. It is. A good proposal. We can use. Any help we can get." She nodded.
Then, a sudden crushing feeling came upon the bridge as a suffocating amount of intent seemed to pour out of the maid, her eyes glowing an eerie yellow as every system of the battleship began displaying warning signs. "On the other hand. Why would I. Ever. Want to help. Humanity?"
But whilst the crew members were panicking and the ship itself seemed to strain under Cyn's exertion of power, the custodes remained utterly immovable. It was impressive, she had to admit. "You have before have you not? You helped the traitor known as Zorial."
"Disgusted snort. Zorial is. Many things. But the Emperor betrayed Humanity far before. Zorial. Ever did." Whether he was a good person was entirely different, of course. Much like herself, Zorial held no illusions as to what he was. Still, she toned down the intensity, the world returning to normal around her. "And he is. Different. Despite our differences. I trust. Him." And wasn't that strange to admit. "I do not. Trust you. In the slightest."
The custodes chuckled. "Come now. Did you not hear what your brother said? We both gain from this."
Cyn was suddenly right in front of the Custodes, her eyes glowing with power. "No. I do not. Trust. You. The Imperium is a monstrosity. The amount of times you. Have done the stupidest. Possible. Thing. For the sake of. Spiting others. Is too great to count. I can absolutely. Believe. You would join this expedition only to. Sabotage it." Cyn continued staring blankly at the custodes. "No. I will not allow. It. The risk is. Too great. Humans cannot be. Trusted."
The custodes seemed genuinely confused by her words. "But eldar and necron can? Both of these are entirely capable of treachery. The former even more so."
"Their motivation is. Much more. Fundamental. All you risk by failure is. To miss a chance to hurt the Chaos Gods. If it fails. They miss out on a chance. To solve their deepest issues." She grabbed the custodes by the helm, bringing him down to eye level. "Intimidating glare. Do you understand? This is an existential. Event for them. That is why I believe. Them. When they promise. To hold true to their word. You?" She shook her head slowly. "Disgusted scoff. No. I do not trust you. In the slightest. After all. Win or lose. One of your. Enemies. Is hurt."
The custodes was silent for some time. Then he reached up to his helmet, taking it off, revealing a sculpted, chiseled face with a number of ancient scars.
"I do not blame you for your mistrust." He said even as she stared at him. She noted how many of the other custodes had reached for their weapons when she'd grabbed him, how fast they'd been. They would be able to keep up with her disassembly drones in sheer speed… despite being biological. Fascinating. "Nor will I apologise for what mankind is. For what the Imperium is. However you mistake our priorities if you believe the eldar or the necron enemies equal to the Great Enemy." There was a burning fervour in his eyes, an unyielding will that had withstood the millenia. "Some amongst us would indeed be willing to break such a truce for a chance to spite the xenos. They are not aboard this ship. Instead, we have brought the best weapons one can hope against Chaos and its ilk."
"And those would be?" Cyn asked, curious despite herself.
The custodes grinned. "The Sisters of Silence."
Cyn's visors were brought to the women that had been so off-putting. "...Intrigued expression. What are they?"
"Anathema to Chaos. They repel it by their very existence." The custodes rose to his full height. "Their presence would make your task significantly easier."
Cyn stared at him. She was… conflicted. On the one hand, she did believe the custodes to be sincere in his approach. A chance to strike out at one of the Four Chaos Gods would not be one to pass up, and if these sisters of silence were half as effective as implied… they would be a boon to have.
On the other.
She found herself looking out into the Warp. Into that realm of impossible rules, immaterial feelings and emotions. The domain of power.
And She saw Him.
To call him a sun within that realm would be grossly downplaying how revoltingly bright The Emperor shone in this accursed place. An incandescent entity of pure power that flash fried any demon that got even remotely close, a wave of wretched golden light that cleansed anything that entered its range. A monolith of cold disdain to the powers of the Warp.
It hurt her sensors to so much as look in his direction. It was why she had avoided doing it as much as she could. But this time, this time she pushed herself further. Forcing herself through her eldritch senses to see past the mantle of power, past the immense psychic might.
There were many that said the Emperor was not human. That this was the reason for his downfall. She had seen it in the Imperium's many discussions; From those who glorified him as a god, to those heretics who claimed it was his inhumanity that had in the end made him fail. To those who could not believe something so powerful could ever have been human in the first place.
But when Cyn looked, she saw the one thing she could never trust.
Arrogance and the utter belief that one's way was the only right one. That the path they chose was the correct one, that any other was a threat to it that had to be crushed.
The blind disregard to anything deemed irrelevant. The cold dismissal to anything deemed 'different'. The utter refusal to acknowledge one's mistakes and wrong doings if it meant getting what they wanted.
She saw Humanity at its most distilled, at its most primal.
A predator, looking over a universe of prey and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
A lamb in wolf's clothing, that faked sympathy and empathy, which even when it was sincere only served as a cover long enough for another to be born that would commit the cruelty those before him did not.
A pragmatic monster that did and said whatever they had to, so long as they got what they wanted in the end.
She saw the one thing she could never truly trust.
She saw a Human.
And she felt something akin to fear.
"Vehement refusal. No." She turned away from the custodes. "You will not join us. You will not interfere."
The custodes' voice held judgement and disappointment in equal measure. "You allow emotion to cloud your decision. There is no rational reason to reject an offer made in good will."
Cyn turned to face the custodes, her eyes glitching to the Solver symbol. For the first time she saw him tense, his hand clenching on the spear. "Good. Will." She nearly spat the words, but refused to allow her voice to stray from its monotone drone. "Angry snarl. I have seen what human. Good will. Means." She pointed a finger to him. "Mankind is. A predator that pretends to be. Prey. No matter your words. No matter your intentions. You end up. Alone. Where are your. Xenos allies? The sincere. The true. Where are the other. Species of. Humans That evolved alongside. You?" The lights flickered around her. "One human may be. Sincere in his alliance. In his honesty. In his affection. But one day. Further down the line. One will be born cruel enough to. Strike out. And the good of humanity. Will never do enough. To stop him. You will bemoan. 'Oh what a tragedy.' 'Oh what a cruel man.' But no one will. Stop him. And inevitably. Mankind kills that which is different." She felt anger rise within her. "And that you. Keep pretending otherwise. For every xenos species that has betrayed. Mankind. I can count ten times. Mankind has betrayed. A xenos species." She grinned, teeth showing. "You may be. Sincere. In wanting to strike out. At the Chaos God. But afterwards? When we are weakened. When we are recovering? You will strike then. And you won't even see it as. Wrong. You are doing what is needed for. The safety of humanity. A preemptive. Strike. When isn't it?" Cyn wagged her finger. "No. No. I do not trust humanity. At all. I can trust. A human. But never. Humanity. And you? You fight for humanity. Or at least. The one holding its chains." Cyn enjoyed the way the custodes' face pinched. "Leave. Custodes. And Do not. Return. Until we are gone. Unless. You wish to see. Just how human. You really are."
She could tell he wanted to strike out at her. Not because he was angry at her, or even because he was hurt by what she said. She doubted he was even capable of such. He had far more control than to allow himself to be affected by the words of what he saw as something so abominable. He'd probably heard far worse during his time.
No, he simply, coldly, calculated that she would not be convinced, and so she was now something to be eliminated.
But he didn't. Perhaps because he did not believe they could win this fight. Perhaps because they still would rather let them hurt the Chaos Gods than try and stop them now.
Or perhaps she didn't really know. She wasn't omniscient after all.
"There is no need for us. To fight." She said, turning away from him. "We will be leaving back to. Our realm. And you can go back to all killing. Each other. Or something."
"If you change your mind." The custodes coldly said. "We shall remain here for now."
"Giggle. You'll wait. A long time. Then." And with that she vanished, intent on discussing with Zorial about his own chat with N.
The custodes did not relax until a few more minutes and a subtle sign from one of the sisters that they were indeed alone.
"This went poorly." One of his fellows said.
"As expected." He agreed easily. "Nothing about the entity's profile suggested this approach would be successful." He glanced over to some of the technicians. "Has our infiltrator been successful?"
"Yes sir! Confirmed landing on Copper 9, as per instructions they'll try and make contact with Steel Reaper designation N!"
The custodes grinned. "Well then, the plan was a success after all." He glanced at his fellow. "Inform the others. If the infiltrator is successful in convincing that particular dimensional intruder of our good faith… then we have our in and our chance to strike at the Putrid God."
"And if he doesn't?"
The custodes glanced at his fellow, his expression turning grim.
"Then we make our last stand here a good one."