"So… this is how they redeem themselves." Kasteen muttered morosely as she went over the information I'd briefed her on concerning Amberley's need for a fireteam and her suspicions.
"Risk genestealers, yes." I stated, equally solemn. I knew that Kasteen as well as the rest of the former members of what had been the 296th and 301st had been somewhat traumatized by their desperate fight to survive the Tyranids, and that the thought of facing any bioform again must be haunting to her. Still, we all had our duties to perform, including the fireteam in question. "One Voluntolding. That was the punishment, and then their debts to the Emperor's Justice are cleared."
Broklaw nodded grimly as he watched our five troublemakers being herded into a small briefing room, face troubled. "I… I hope that they all make it out alive." He said, forlorn hope in his voice. It was always hard, sending someone to certain death; a curse of the officer(1). Then he turned to be, an earnest look in his eyes as he regarded me and extended a hand. There were no power plays or tests of dominance this time when I shook his hand, just an honest show of respect. "You too, Commissar. I'll be praying for your safe return." I was honestly moved and touched by his show of concern, the fact that he didn't wish to be rid of me. Most officers see Commissars as a necessary evil at best. Next to him, I could see Kasteen nod her head in agreement, face set in a look demanding that I not die.
"I'll come back." I promised them, meaning it completely. Even if I was forced into the Warp, I vowed right then and there that I'd watch over the regiment. Even if I was forced into Slaanesh's grasp, I would always look out for them. I owed it to them. Even as I said the words and thought the silent vow, I could feel the Warp ripple and shimmer. It was only much later that I discovered what I had done. Subconsciously, I had willingly even if unwittingly bound myself to the 609th. All my power had been dedicated to ensuring that the regiment I had helped create would forevermore be protected; and I don't like to brag about it, but as a Daemon Prince I had a lot of power to throw around. My very essence and soul was now tied to the Valhallan 609th regiment, to its members and identity, for all time. Even if I'd known what I'd promised them or what that promise would result in, how I'd linked myself to them, I think I'd still have made it; I cherished them all too much not to have done so.
With a final nod to Kasteen and Broklaw I ducked into the briefing room, knowing Jurgen and my hangers-on would meet me there once they'd grabbed our gear. Tunnel fighting was not for the faint of heart and required the proper preparations after all. Personally, I was more than comfortable with the terrain; the tunnels reminded me of my Hive origins, and I'd learned as a child how to always be able to navigate those treacherous tunnels. A non-Hive's sewers would be like literal child's play to me, albeit playtime of a rather deadly sort. More concerning to me than where I was going was who I was going with; five would-be criminals who I'd personally sentenced. Of those five, I could maybe trust two of them. That was, obviously, not counting Jurgen, or Demara and Tamworth; those two were determined to go along with me as well. I trusted Jurgen with everything(2), and since the latter two worshiped me as a Saint, I felt reasonably confident in trusting them with my life. As for the Voluntold, or the Inquisitor directing our excursion, I was far less sanguine about them.
I strode into the room with a confidence I didn't feel, inspecting my five troublemakers closely. In a shadowed corner, I could sense Amberley laying in wait for a dramatic reveal; if I didn't have senses other than sight to rely on I'd have completely missed her lurking(3) there in her dark colored clothing. Well, far be it from me to ruin her theatrics, so I took no notice of her, concentrating on the condemned. They were all still in good shape, having been afforded good rations and plenty of chances to exercise and prepare for this moment. After a minute of staring at them, I spoke into the silence, voice and face solemn. "I offered you five a chance to redeem yourselves." I explained, their attention focused on me. "That time has come. Inquisitor Vail has need of you." Amberley stepped out of the shadowed corner behind me then, black robe flaring about her as she flashed her rosette to all of them. She seemed to be dramatic about it, with absolutely perfect timing and poise; evidently she was good at acting as well as singing(4). Tomas and Velade were shivering in their boots. Trebek stood silently at attention, though she did keep throwing glares at Kelp. Sorel looked bored with all of this, as if being told an Inquisitor was requisitioning you for a suicide mission was just another day. And as for Kelp…
I nearly reeled from the feelings of frustration, anger, and resentment coming off of Kelp. Not from the fact that he was being placed at the disposal of the Inquisition though. No, as a matter of fact when I'd mentioned an Inquisitor he'd radiated interest and an almost eagerness. It was only when Amberley stepped out of the shadows and revealed her shapely figure concealed by a form-fitting bodysuit underneath the cloak that I felt the burning of resentment from him. After months, the coin finally dropped, and I knew without doubt what the issue of one of the main perpetrators of the Messhall Riot was. Tobias Kelp was a full-blown aggressive misogynist. He had resented having women integrated into his unit and treated as equals. He had resented having women officers in a position of authority over himself. And now, he resented having the Inquisitor who would decide his fate being a woman, and resented me for placing him in this position. Wonderful, that was just grand. However it was too late to get another squad, so I'd just have to hope that the chance of getting his freedom and his own self interest would override his resentment. I was broken from my musings by one of the main focuses of Kelp's rage and resentment.
"What's she want from us?" Trebek asked, voice cool as she kept her eyes on Amberley. I motioned for her to speak, but she had turned away. Evidently she wanted me to fill them in, so I did so.
"The Inquisitor has discovered a trail that may lead to a Genestealer Cult." I explained bluntly. I figured being honest would help here. By the way all five of them stiffened, they were well aware of the implications of what I'd just said. "We're here to do recon, and follow up on the Inquisitor's previous investigation."
"I take it that the Inquisitor didn't get far." Sorel said flatly, staring ahead with his dead-looking eyes and bored expression still in place. Before I could respond, Amberley turned once more and answered him.
"Indeed. And they know I'm onto them now, so you'd best put your best effort in if you want to survive."
"One Voluntolding." Tomas whispered, face pale but eyes resolute. "I can do this. We can do this." His friend clutched his hand, the two taking comfort from each other. I'll admit, in other circumstances they'd make for an adorable couple.
"I hope those two survive this, at least." Amberley whispered to me as she passed me by. Evidently she also saw that they really shouldn't be here, that it was sheer bad luck and chance that those two had been put into a suicide squad. Silently, I agreed with her that if any of the convicted were to be spared, I hoped it would be Holenbi and Velade. With a wave of my hand, I then directed them to the armory, where they were shocked by the quality on display. Amberley had arranged for the sort of equipment that normally only Stormtroopers or Tempestus Scions would get to requisition; carapace armor, hotshot lasguns, STC enhanced combat knives and bayonets, frag and krak grenades, melta bombs, high-quality medical supplies, auspexes, and more. Sorel, however, just stared at what I'd left for him in the middle. With reverence, he picked up his long-las. His personal long-las. I'd gone through a bit of trouble to keep it ready for this eventuality; I knew that snipers had a close bond with the machine-spirit of their weapon, and would tune their guns to their own unique needs. Sorel nodded at me, a faint smile on his face; he knew that this would not have been an easy thing for me to do. I hoped that he would misinterpret my attempt to stack the odds of living in my favor as me caring about him. From the looks of it, I had succeeded.
"Grab a few rations bars." I instructed the group as they suited up. I might have grabbed a set of carapace armor for myself, but considering my feat of self-healing earlier, figured that the extra weight would be more trouble than it was worth for me. "You'll need the carbs and energy for this mission." I also ate a few of the barely edible survival rations; I didn't really need to, but I figured that filling my stomach would ground me a little for this mission. And what a mission it'd be. Kelp and Trebek (especially Kelp given what I'd just learned about the man) were hopefully going to be professional enough for this mission, but the way they wouldn't look at each other wasn't giving me much hope. Sorel was… Sorel. Hopefully the bribe I gave him would keep him loyal. Holenbi and Velade would undoubtedly be more concerned with each other's survival over my own, although that was understandable and I could afford them a small bit of trust. Jurgen, Demara, and Tamworth were the three I could trust the most; one was trusted with the knowledge of my true nature, and the other two had fully bought into my reputation as a Saint. As for Amberley? Much as I might be enamored with her, she was an Inquisitor. To her, all of us were expendable(5).
We left the compound in a somber mood; the word of our apparent suicide mission apparently getting out and causing many to look at us like we were already dead. Then those who had made up the 12th made the Sign of the Aquila for us as we got in our vehicle, especially as Jurgen stepped into the driver's seat(6). We were soon rattling around like peas in a can, as civvie traffic began to fly by us, mostly swerving out of the way. Actually… there was rather a lot of traffic. Too much traffic to be the normal everyday commute. My palms began to itch as I touched the commbead in my ear and voxed our driver. "Jurgen?"
"Refugee traffic." He replied, echoing my own thoughts.
"But… what would they be running from?" Tomas whispered.
"Nothing good." I growled lowly, palms itching away. Just then, the commbead began to crackle again.
"Am I speaking to Commissar Cain?" A familiar, non-human voice asked.
"O'Ran?!" I exclaimed, startling Amberley. "How… how did you get this frequency?"
"Trial and error." The T'au ambassador replied plainly. "My team has spent the last six hours trying to get to your combead. I wished to speak with you directly on this matter. Last night, a group of your PDF forces attempted to destroy our Enclave. This has left the honored Ethereal disquieted."
Oh dear Emperor no.
"The loyalists mutinied." I said to the rest of the group, who were all looking at me as I talked over the commbead. "They attacked the T'au." Amberley started cursing, and I turned my attention back to the Xeno I was starting to almost consider a friendly acquaintance. "I'm not alone; I'm with a fireteam, and an Inquisitor from the Ordos Xenos." I figured he'd want to know that, and maybe it would give him the clues to keep things from devolving into conflict between our forces.
"We're not the only ones on the planet, are we?" He asked, seeming to get my drift.
"Negative. We have confirmed Genestealer activity." I explained, which made Amberley look like she wanted to strangle me, before she put a hand to her chin in thought(7). Hopefully the T'au would know about the Tyranids, and how they operated.
"DAMN IT!" O'Ran roared over the vox. I vaguely heard him bark something out in his language, before he returned to me. "The warriors left the compound, and have already begun engaging the PDF attackers with the Ethereal's blessing. That has attracted more attention." I then got a call from Kasteen, who joined in on the line as I adjusted the commbead to handle multiple lines at once..
"Commissar. We all just got orders from the Governor to go to full combat readiness."
"Frak." I hissed, blood running cold as it seemed that our time was running out. "O'Ran?"
"That incompetent fucking…" The T'au let out a heaving sigh. "I'll order defensive positions taken. I'm not an Ethereal but they should listen to me well enough! Maybe I can convince our esteemed Ethereal to back that decision. I'll try to prevent bloodshed!" He disconnected, leaving only Kasteen and I on the line.
The Colonel's voice was quiet and hesitant as she asked the obvious question. "...Was that who I think it was?"
"Apparently he and a team have spent six standard hours trying to find my frequency." I said dryly.
That surprised a tiny giggle out of Kasteen, and even though he was back at the compound I could practically feel Illric glaring at me. "Friends in high places, Commissar?"
"You'd be surprised what saving someone's life can get you." I replied, shutting off the combead. Hopefully that would help to avoid a confrontation between the Guard and the T'au. And just in time too, as I saw a T'au Dreadnought, a Battlesuit as O'Ran had called it, sprint towards us. The weapons it carried were obviously charged, but at the very last second before I could order Jurgen to take evasive maneuvers, the weapons powered down and it went back the way it came from. Evidently our message had gotten through. Hopefully I'd bought us enough time to find out how deep the conspiracy went, and prevented a needless war for the planet.
We arrived at the same place that I'd almost revealed myself in healing Rakel, where I'd learned that the woman I'd been obsessing over was an Inquisitor. The building was still intact, though the scorch marks of the many Xenoists that I'd cooked alive and whose souls I'd eaten remained. Had they been members of the Cult? I hadn't noticed anything different when consuming their souls, just the 'taste' of corpse starch. Would Genestealer Hybrids 'taste' differently, or just like people did? I shook such disturbing thoughts out of my head as we got out and took positions, making sure that there weren't any other unwelcome surprises. Thankfully, the T'au seemed to either recognize that we weren't their enemy, or there weren't any nearby. As we disembarked, I noticed that Jurgen had apparently brought along a meltagun; one that was glowing slightly green(8).
"Is that melta good?" I asked in concern at the thought of faulty equipment. Usually meltas glowed orange, showing the machine-spirit's eagerness to slag anything standing against its wielder into a molten puddle.
"Felecia said Maggy had her give it a tune-up." Jurgen replied frankly, fiddling with the straps so that the weapon sat comfortably in his arms. I nodded in relief, before being reminded that we were amongst those unfamiliar with our Techpriestess' 'quirks'.
"Maggy?" Amberley asked, eyebrow arched and voice inquiring. Frak, couldn't have the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor digging into the case of our cog-girl who was sometimes possessed by a Xenos god who just so happened to also be the Omnissiah. If Amberley found out, then her wrists would REALLY begin to ache after all the reports she'd have to write; possibly after shooting Felecia and anyone associated with her. That would be bad.
"I've been around her for quite some time." I hastily said. "She's not possessed by a Daemon, nor is she a Heretek." I mean, she had the being that the Cogboys apparently actually worshiped giving her the thumbs up, so by definition she was the very opposite of a Heretek.
Jurgen helpfully piped in, holding his weapon out for inspection. "She said it should have a longer range, and that-"
Suddenly there was a crackling sound coming from the melta, and I nearly flung myself away fearing it would explode before a voice emanated from it. "TESTING, TESTING. ONE TWO, ONE TWO. CAI, DO YOU READ ME? SAY 'HI, FELECIA' IF YOU DO."
"Hi, Felecia." I said, trying to appear as if I hadn't been prepared to dive for cover.
"GOOD. SO I PUT A LINK TO MYSELF IN THAT MELTA, SO IF YOU WANT MY HELP, JUST YELL FOR IT. IT'S ALL MECHANICAL, SO JURGEN WON'T BLOCK IT OUT. YES I KNOW OF HIS GENES; I SEEDED YOUR MAMMALIAN ANCESTORS WITH THAT GENE IN QUESTION. YOU'RE WELCOME, BY THE WAY."
Oh. Great. It wasn't ACTUALLY Felecia talking right now. Hopefully Amberley had missed that bit about 'seeding genes into humanity's ancestors'(9). "What'd you do to the Melta?" I asked, trying to change the topic and get some information about this particular piece of equipment.
"HAVE YOU EVER COME ACROSS A GAUSS WEAPON?"
At the time, I was wonderfully ignorant about that particularly nasty piece of work that dear old Maggy had released into our frakked up galaxy. Though for some reason a pair of my fingers twinged when the weapon's name was mentioned. "No?"
I could almost see the happily smug look on Felecia's face whilst her eyes were blank. "WELL, WHEN HE FIRES THAT, YOU'LL SEE WHAT THAT IS. I TOOK THE BEST FROM YOUR MELTA AND A GAUSS WEAPON, AND PUSHED THEM TOGETHER. I'M QUITE PROUD OF MY WORK."
Damnit, stop saying things like that over an open vox while I was next to an Inquisitor! I suddenly understood how the C'tan were beaten and shattered; not a one of them had any sense, or at least this one didn't. "Thank you." I answered quickly in the hopes he would shut up. I wondered if I should ask Amberley what a 'Gauss weapon' was(10), but decided against it. After that little diversion, we moved to the entrance Amberley indicated. Since the building was still intact, it was easy to pry open. "Kelp? Take point." I ordered. He grumbled something, but did so even as I felt the resentment swirl about him.
And then, we were underground. It felt… reliving. As a Hive boy myself, I always knew how to navigate corridors like this. I let my senses extend, searching for souls. There was a slight shiver from the rest of the group as I focused. "We're clear." I said. I motioned for them all to move forwards. "You know where we're going, right?" I asked Amberley in a whisper as she passed, not wanting the question to spread to the rest of the team. Soldiers need to believe that their leaders have a halfway decent idea of what they're doing, especially when they don't. Unfortunately either Amberley missed that memo, or didn't consider my morale important to that equation.
"No clue." She cheerfully replied. "We came under fire and detoured." Frakking wonderful. We moved forwards, with me occasionally using what I was privately calling a soul radar. Nothing. Then, the combead cackled to life.
"Commissar! You need to move faster!" O'Ran shouted into the device.
"O'Ran?! What is it?!" I exclaimed, alarmed by the near panic I heard in the usually composed ambassador's voice.
"Your Governor just ordered the arrest of your commanding general for cowardice! It was broadcast over the entire city!"
I let out a string of swears, many of which would have seen my mouth washed out with industrial cleaners by the minders at the Schola. Everyone turned to look at me, with most of them looking alarmed while Demara appeared impressed and I could sense amusement from Amberley.
"What is it, Saint?" Tamworth asked.
"The Governor just ordered Zyvan's arrest." I answered, voice grim. "We're out of time."
Immediately Amberley's amusement faded, and she let out a curse herself. "Damn it!"
"Maybe you should have told him about this." I mildly criticized her.
"That would have caused a panic, and likely a purge." Amberley replied, frowning. I could taste the deceit in her words though as she began pondering. Evidently she was thinking about something she didn't want to share yet(11).
"WHAT?! Damn it, move in and protect them! I don't care if they're sympathizing with us or not!" O'Ran shouted over the vox again, obviously speaking to someone off to the side. His words fanned the flames of my alarm even higher.
"What's going on over there?!" I shouted, dialing the commbead to broadcast to Amberley's as well so she could be appraised of whatever was happening.
"The PDF is going wild! They've started shooting everyone!" Amberley stared at my combead with sheer horror as I could feel her putting the puzzle pieces she'd previously held together..
"It's not first gen." She realized with a whisper only I caught before tuning her commbead to transmit through mine and speaking firmly. "Xeno, this is Inquisitor Amberley Vail. As much as it pains me to say this…" Her fists clenched in frustration as she closed her eyes, then said something I wouldn't have expected from the Inquisition. "Keep the civilians safe."
O'Ran's voice was sober and resolute as he replied to the woman whose organization was meant to fight against his kind. "I will do so, Inquisitor." The combead went dead, leaving us in silence. Amberley leaned against the tunnel wall, gathering her strength as the rest of us kept watch. I could feel her fear, her horror at what was happening. It took a while, but after a few deep breaths, she recovered and looked around, eyes calculating.
"I remember this area." She said, waving at us to follow as she strode to the front of our formation. "Come on." As we marched forwards, we suddenly heard something crackling in the distance.
"What is that?" Demara asked, holding the hellgun she'd grabbed; it felt odd seeing her without her autocannon, but it would be impractical to bring with in this environment. I strained my ears for a bit, subtly tapping into the Warp to enhance my hearing and using my ingrained tunnel rat senses to their fullest.
"Las-fire." I realized. "Half a klom, that way." I pointed towards where the gunfire was sounding from. Kelp took off running towards the action, and we hurriedly followed him. After only five minutes, he stopped by what had obviously been some sort of pallet, pushed over to provide cover.
"Bodies." he said, looking around with the flashlight attached to his hellgun. Sure enough, there were a bunch of corpses there, at least a day old if I had to guess. I counted six (Because of course), and saw a discarded light globe.
"This was where we stopped." Amberley explained. "We caught them by surprise, but then retreated. Rakel had a seizure of some sort, and then caught the slug in the chest."
"Like with Jurgen?" Aside from my aide and those like him, as far as I was concerned nothing that caused a Psyker to have a conniption fit was a good thing.
"No… not like with him." She mused, as we walked forwards. One of the bodies was different; she had the hairstyle of the Xenoists, but she was torn open. The five 'volunteers' in the fireteam froze in horror, obviously recognizing the wounds.
"What did this?" I asked Tomas, even if I had a really karkking good idea.
"T-tyranids." He stammered, knuckles white as he clenched his hellgun. "T-that's what killed her."
"Genestealers, then." Jurgen stated blandly, as if he were commenting on the weather. "We should be close then, yeah?" I pulsed my soul-sense, and froze.
"Tunnel to the right. A full squad." I said, drawing my laspistol. It was then that my combead cackled to life again.
"Is this Commissar Cain?" A gravelly voice asked, squawking over the vox channel.
"Speaking," I said. I couldn't place the voice. "Who is this?"
"I am Gorok of the Kroot." The speaker said, explaining the odd tonal inflection since it was coming from a non-human. "I obtained this line from the Ambassador."
"It's the T'au." I said, surprised at the relief I felt. "Lower your weapons."
Amberley let out a sigh of relief. At least I wasn't the only one to be harboring troublesomely positive thoughts towards our Xenos counterparts.
The Kroot continued, explaining their presence as I felt the T'au squad move forward. "The Ambassador ordered us down here; the Governor apparently said that there were pro-Imperial extremists down here. Needless to say, we saw through it, but wanted to investigate regardless."
"He wanted us to meet." I realized, horror filling me as I realized just how high the Cult's corruption went. They didn't have to sneak an agent into the party to try and assassinate O'Ran; the entire party had been thrown for exactly that purpose.
"Sir?" Jurgen asked, blinking in befuddlement.
My eyes met his, then swept over everyone else, explaining the situation. "The Governor sent them down here, saying there were loyalist fanatics down here. We're all wearing Imperial garb. Think about what would have happened."
Amberley swore loudly in several languages(12). "He's in on it!" She shouted. "Damn it all!"
"You really think…" I began, starting to voice the thoughts which I was certain mirrored her own.
Amberley cut me off with a sharp nod, punching a wall in frustration then swearing as she shook her hand out. Purely on instinct, I drew the pain away from her though it wasn't much; she must have been subtly augmented in some way "He has to be one of them." She hissed bitterly, voice full of venom. "We were fools. He's played us all for fools."
Damnit, even I'd bought into his act. I paled as I realized that what I'd sensed off of Grice, rather than noble inbreeding, could very well have been my first encounter since becoming a Daemon Prince with a Genestealer Hybrid. "Do you have contact with the surface?" I asked the Kroot on the other side of the vox.
"Yes, Cain."
"Tell all of your forces that Governor Grice should be considered a member of the Tyranid Hive-Mind, and an enemy of both the T'au Empire and the Imperium of Man." I said. "Get that information to the Imperial forces. Treachery shrivels in the light." I paused, and heard a few clicking noises.
"The message has been sent. I think we see you. We shall arrive shortly." With that, the connection cut. Sure enough, a squad of T'au forces were there, half Kroot and half Fire Warriors. The latter however, seemed to be as drunk as the ones I saw earlier at their enclave. Something was up; nobody went into potential combat intoxicated if they had any shred of responsibility or soldierly pride.
"Do the T'au drink on duty?" I asked the Kroot who was holding a communicator (deducing he'd been the one I'd been talking with), who looked at me oddly before turning to his companions. He asked the T'au something in their language, and they gained confused looks before responding in the same tongue. I didn't need to speak T'au in order to sense their negative responses, but I knew that something was affecting them. I dipped into the Warp, and saw it. From that hole in the center of their heads, there seemed to be… something. Something that was dulling their senses.
"Tell them not to fear." I said, approaching one of the Fire Warriors. I lifted the Aquila, and laid a hand on him. He gave me a look of confusion. "God-Emperor, hear my prayer. This Xeno needs Your Aid. Something is blinding it. By Your Will, free him. Break his chains." With that, I let my curse flow through the Xeno, rooting out whatever was making him drunk. It was difficult forcing the Warp into him, far more difficult than it was for a human, but I had power to spare. As soon as I felt the influence fade, I let my powers retreat and he collapsed to the floor. His fellows immediately turned to me, beginning to raise their weapons, before he screamed loudly in a wailing cry of some sort. Amberley recoiled as if struck, eyes wide as she obviously gleaned some meaning from the Fire Warrior's cry.
"What did I just do?" I asked her, hoping I hadn't just made a serious faux pas. No good will from O'Ran would keep these warriors from filling me with holes if I'd just inadvertently harmed their comrade, who now that I looked at him had markings which seemed to denote command. Possibly their version of a Sergeant.
"He… he's saying… He's saying that the Etherals clouded his mind…" She whispered, voice full of disbelief. The T'au then surged to his feet and grabbed me, dragging me to another of his comrades and frantically started to speak to him. The other rolled his eyes, but played along, holding a hand out for me to grasp. Guessing at the insistent T'au's wishes, I repeated the process on this new subject and I saw his eyes widen as I finished. Now it was his turn to let out a wail, echoed by the first one who embraced his comrade. Both seemed to be sobbing.
"What are you doing?" Amberley whispered in shock.
Wasn't she the Inquisitor specializing in Xenos?! Why was she asking me what was going on?! I just hadn't wanted someone whose judgment was impaired near me with weapons! Stammering, I tried to explain my reasoning. "I… I don't know. They… they were all acting drunk. I just removed that." The two who I'd touched were moving much more gracefully to my eyes, and dragged a third of their fellows to me. By this time, a mere brush of my hands was enough to remove the influence as I became familiar with it; they were all hurting from the same area, so it was easy to remove it with a touch. One after the other, they collapsed, weeping. Several grasped onto me, tears in their eyes, chattering in their language in what could only be described as reverence.
"Vel'na Vesa! Vel'na Vesa(13)!" They chanted, tears pouring from their eyes and looking up at me like I was the God-Emperor Himself.
"What… What just happened?" I whispered in shock, unknowing of what I'd just done or how it would further complicate my life.
Excerpt from 'By the Saint's Hand: The Forging of the Valhallan 609th Regiment' by Lady General Jenit Sulla
"Shock filled our ranks at the Governor's announcement that Lord General Zyvan was to be arrested, followed by immediate outrage. How dare he! How dare this soft, pampered nobody besmirch the honor of the Guard and the Lord General by suggesting cowardice! Before we could give voice to our fury, Colonel Kasteen called us all to attention. There she explained that Saint-Commissar Cain had discovered evidence during his mission that the Governor was a traitor. And with the Lord General's permission, we were going to bring him to justice. I couldn't wait."
From the Freed T'au propaganda pamphlet 'M'yen'kesh'(14), by Shas'Ui Me'lek Al'var
"When the Vel'na Vesa laid hands upon me, I felt doubt. Then he opened my eyes, and for the first time in my existence I saw. I saw the truth that had been denied us. The shackles that had bound us. We had thought the Ethereals had given us unity and purpose, but in reality they had made us all slaves. Our entire race, dedicated to their so-called 'Greater Good'. A Good only they truly benefited from, a Good they controlled with a tight grip. But the Vel'na Vesa released their grip, pulling their fingers from my mind. And as jarring as it was, as much as I wept, for the first time, I was free."
1: Were it so hard, then perhaps the Imperium would not be sending men to die by the trillions in human wave assaults.
2: The fact that Jurgen trusted the Commissar enough to not report him for being, you know, a Daemon Prince, speaks a lot about Jurgen's sense of loyalty.
3: As a distinguished member of His Divine Majesty's Most Holy Inquisition, I must protest this unfair characterization. We Inquisitors do not "lurk"; we wait, albeit menacingly.
4: I am an Inquisitor of many talents, something Ciaphas has had ample cause to learn.
5: I am appalled that he had such a low opinion of my motivations and character. Jurgen was definitely not expendable to me as Blanks are quite rare.
6: As someone who has experienced Jurgen's driving… such a call for protection is entirely warranted.
7: I admit that I was about to shoot him for divulging classified information to an enemy.
8: This was when I wondered if the regiment had Xenotech; I would later learn that it was made by Imperial hands… and TECHNICALLY by the Omnissiah's guidance.
9: I did, actually. If it hadn't been for more important things taking my attention, I'd have had some pointed questions for Miss Tayber after our expedition. Though as it was, things would develop that would make her relatively untouchable by the time I turned my attention to her.
10: He's on our side he's on our side he's on our side he's on our side he's on our side he's on our side he's on our side he's on our side he's on our side…
11: By that point, I was beginning to wonder where the Governor's loyalties truly lay.
12: Tau, Eldar, and Kroot. In that order.
13: This means 'Venerated Helper' and serves as Ciaphas' official title amongst the T'au he's freed from the Etherals' influence on their minds. Add that to the title of 'Slavhreenur'.
14: Literally 'The Unforeseen Blade'. This is commonly used to denote a battle tactic, namely a boarding action of an enemy ship. In this case, it denotes a fight from within, suggesting both the fight with the freed T'au's mind and the struggle within the T'au Empire to free it from the Etherals' control.