For several long minutes, the T'au just kept on babbling and weeping as they embraced each other and myself, much to the confusion of us and the apparent horror of Amberley(1). Eventually they were done with whatever they were doing, composing themselves as they formed back up and took the lead, much to my surprise. I would not have anticipated the Fire Warriors insisting on taking the position of greatest danger, but they seemed determined. The Kroot followed right behind them, apparently as confused as everyone else save Amberley was. While some of the team, specifically Kelp, were aghast at having to work with the T'au, most of us just shrugged and decided to use it. I mean, we were working with the Eldar now, who had done far more damage to the Imperium in the last ten thousand years than the T'au Empire could even dream of. The Emperor obviously wasn't too opposed to working with the Xenos if it was out of mutual interest. Actually, I'd have to ask Him about that. The T'au didn't have flashlights, but seemed to be doing just fine as they strode ahead with the confidence and poise of great hunting felinds. I assumed that their combat gear, such as the helmets many had redonned or the visors and eyepieces others had, enabled a way for them to see in the dark. Finally, one of them, the apparent Sergeant, held up a hand in the universal signal to halt. Some things transcend language and species barriers, especially amongst soldiers. He said something in their language, making further gestures towards the tunnel we were advancing through.
"Hostiles up ahead." Amberley translated. The Kroot around the T'au nodded, and seemed to melt into the shadows. Then, I flinched as I suddenly tasted corpse starch, but different. I knew that flavor from my childhood. It tasted like when the starch had been cut with ground up insects and other things, altering it in order to pad out the meal and add a touch more protein. We'd called them 'buggers' back in the Underhive, and everyone knew that when you got to fixing up the corpse starch that times were particularly hard, as it was all too easy to accidentally grind up a poisonous critter into your meal; sometimes people would go to great risks to keep something in their bellies. It seemed like I had an answer to my earlier question about what Genestealer Hybrids would 'taste' like; like humans, but with something wrong added into the mix. Jurgen noticed my shock as I experienced a new sort of soul being consumed, but no one else seemed to be paying attention to me. We moved up at the Fire Warriors' urging, and came upon three corpses that the Kroot had laid out in a line. Considering their dietary habits, they seemed entirely uninterested in the bodies, perhaps sensing that there was something tainted about them. We all took a look at the slain enemy combatants, and sure enough there were signs of Tyrannid modifications, though not too much to keep them from passing for base humans with the correct garments. Amberley went deathly pale as she observed them, which is never a good sign.
"Primacii." She whispered in muted, controlled horror.
"Pardon?" I asked, unfamiliar with the term. Kelp and the others apart from Jurgen didn't hear her, as they were busy keeping an eye on our surroundings and current allies.
"Fourth-generation genestealers." Amberley explained, again bringing to my mind the image of her in a Schola instructor's uniform. "The generation afterwards are the Purestrains. If we're seeing them here, and they're adults…"
The thought chilled me; four entire generations of heresy and treachery, undermining Gravalax's place as an Imperial world more effectively than the T'au ever could. "Then the Cult has been here for at least a century."
"Probably seeded from Behemoth." She agreed with a grim nod. "Purestrains can take apart Astartes. Let us hope that this is where it ends." The poor woman obviously didn't know me well enough yet to realize that my luck was NEVER that good. We kept following the T'au squad, going through the tunnel until we exited into an open area. We were on a platform with low walls acting as guardrails, and judging by the looks of it, this structure was older than The Imperium itself(2). The walkway went to another area, and below us was what was undoubtedly the purification station for the capital. I'm no Cogboy to start worshiping the Clockwork Emperor, but I admit to being impressed. As if summoned by my thoughts, said deity decided to chime in.
"THE MARK 3. BEAUTIFUL, ISN'T IT? COMPLETELY AUTONOMOUS. TOTALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT. BUILT TO LAST UNTIL THE STAR ABOVE THE PLANET IT'S INSTALLED ON DIES. PITY THAT YOU HAVEN'T TRIED TO REVERSE-ENGINEER IT. THEN AGAIN, IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S A MARK 10 'OCEAN SCRUBBER'." Maggy helpfully said through my combead, though I could tell that his words weren't picked up by anyone else.
"One moment." I requested quietly, holding up a finger to bring the others to a halt as I whispered into the combead. "How'd you contact us?" I was honestly confused, as at this depth into the underbelly of the city even the T'au's techno-sorcery could no longer contact the surface.
"YOUR COMBEAD IS A MACHINE. REMEMBER WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO. I CAN STILL FEEL IT IF I CONCENTRATE ON THE MELTA I HAD FELECIA MAKE. SORRY, GOT NOSTALGIC ABOUT THE MARK 3. I LOVED THAT MACHINE. SO USEFUL."
"It would be…" I admitted, well aware how precious a source of clean, filtered water was in any city. Of course I was coming to realize there were reasons we couldn't seem to have anything nice in this blighted galaxy of ours. "But if the Mechanicus find out about this, then they'll try to take it by force."
Maggy made a hum of consideration over the vox. "AH. I'LL GET TO THAT… CONSIDER THIS ONE A FREEBIE." The line went dead for a moment, Amberley staring at me oddly before the surprisingly helpful eldritch machine god spoke once more. "BING! DONE! ONE STC OF IT CREATED OUT OF SCRAP METAL."(3)
I slid to the floor, stunned. An Emperor blessed STC? Just like that? For the first time, it truly occurred to me just WHAT exactly it meant, having a direct line to the Omnissiah though Felecia. The Cogboys were going to go spare and were likely to oil themselves in joy.
"What's wrong, Ciaphas?" Amberley whispered.
"The regiment's cog-girl is… blessed by the Omnissiah." I explained, struggling for the words to explain the miracle that had just occurred. "Really, really blessed."
"Okay…" Amberley said slowly, giving me an odd look. Then one of the T'au said something to her, voice low, and her attention snapped to him. "Frak. Be quiet!" She hissed, pointing down as she crouched below the sightline of the parapet. The team all obeyed, ducking down like her and the T'au forces were. But then, like lemmings, we all decided to go take a look as we inched over to the low wall and took a peek below. And we beheld the purification plant in all it's glory, as well as the danger it held. The water purifier was already a chapel, but not to the very friendly star-eater the Cog-boys worshiped. All around were twisted and ridged spirals, vile icons that were totally alien despite being made by once-human hands. The Cultists were gathered thick as fleas on a canid, but they weren't what caught our terrified attention. Amongst and around them, with some Cultists bowing and praying before them, were scuttling four-armed shapes covered in carapace. We could see and hear the Purestrain Genestealers moving about like ants, confirming the worst; the Genestealer infection was as deeply embedded on Gravalax as it possibly could be, and we were right at the heart of it.
"Emperor's Bowels!" I whispered in fear, staggering back from the edge so I didn't have to look at the sight of the Xenos horrors and their partially human dupes. There were hundreds of them all, thousands even. All of them moving in tandem, guided by their Hivemind.
If only the unity of purpose our enemies showed applied to ourselves, what happened next might not have occurred. "You knew." Kelp hissed angrily at Amberley, enraged eyes glaring at her. I could feel anger and resentment overcoming even his fear, although they were also fed by it.
"I assure you, I had no knowledge-" Amberley began, before he raised his hellgun right at her, finger tense on the trigger.
"I'm done." Kelp spat, backing off slowly. "And if you try to stop me, I'll shoot her." For someone with a gun barrel pointed at her, Amberley seemed reasonably unconcerned; I suppose they didn't make you an Inquisitor unless you had nerves of adamantium. He then unclipped a grenade from his belt, thumbing the pin out and holding the lever down with it in a classic deadman's hand tactic. "And as insurance, if I die, this goes off, and it kills everyone." Possibly not, as it was a frag and we were all (except for me) in high quality armor, but it would certainly wound us and slow us down even as the noise drew the Cult's attention. So Kelp's actions were no idle threat. He slowly began taking a few steps back towards the tunnels, keeping his eyes darting on us and hellgun on Amberley.
"Inquisitor?" Trebek asked, her own weapon pointed right at the traitor's face and voice begging for permission.
"Let him go." Amberley spat in contempt, eyes steady on Kelp's own. "He'll be tried for desertion later."
For a moment, Kelp wavered, and I thought he might change his mind and beg for forgiveness lest he incur the wrath of the Inquisition and Guard both. Then he looked again at Amberley's lovely face, and I could feel his resentment flare as did his murderous determination. "None of you are going to survive this." He growled lowly, reveling in the power he held over us in that moment. My palms started to itch, and then I saw the safety lever fall to the floor as Kelp tossed the grenade over the edge. My eyes widened in horrified realization as Kelp turned and raced off, followed mere seconds later by the explosion down below. It didn't kill any of the 'stealers. That wasn't the point. The point was to alert them to our presence. Sure enough, they began to look around. After just a heartbeat, too quickly for us to react, they looked up, right at us. There was no howl of rage or any sounds, which just made it all the more terrifying when as one the Genestealers and their Cultists began racing towards us and climbing the walls.
"Damn it, run!" Amberley shouted, turning to follow her own command. I didn't need to be told twice. The T'au opened fire as one, taking defensive positions, and we fell back into the tunnel. Kelp was nowhere to be seen already; he'd obviously taken a side tunnel. We raced away in a random direction; we'd regroup after we'd put distance between us and the Cult. The T'au formed a rear guard, firing with reckless abandon and screaming in defiance; something I hadn't ever heard of them doing(4). Their arms nearly blurred with how fast they tracked target after target, sending pulses of blue energy flying unerringly into our pursuers. For their part, the Kroot engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand and were giving a good accounting of themselves, but we all knew they would still be quickly overwhelmed.
"COME ON!" I shouted, waving an arm. The T'au seemed to get the message, and followed our retreat, finally giving ground. However, the distance was too much. I could tell that the swarm was about to overtake us; there was no way we could all escape as one. "Tell them to split off!" I ordered Amberley, panic overriding any common sense about not giving orders to a frakking Inquisitor. She nodded, and barked out something in their language. The T'au nodded resolutely, and sped into a different tunnel, firing their advanced weapons. This would draw much of the swarm, while we sprinted through another tunnel. I turned around to view our pursuers, seeing there were only a few now as the Fire Warriors had drawn the majority off. I held up my hand, and dragged a portion of Warp energy into myself, firing off a wall of flame. Sure enough, that taste of cut starch was filling my mouth. I turned, already beginning to try to pull an excuse out of my ass considering I hadn't uttered a prayer first in order to pass my witchcraft off as holy power, when I realized my mistake. I had done this right as the tunnels had branched in half a dozen different directions, and the others had left me behind with no idea of where they'd gone. I sent out a ping on my soul map, trying to find them. I could feel a soul nearby. Perhaps Jurgen had remained behind? It would've been just like him to stay stubbornly put once he'd realized I was no longer with the group. I jogged towards the soul I'd sensed, not saying anything for fear of bringing the Cult down onto my position. I decided to try to reach out for help from a higher power, not my patron or the God-Emperor this time around.
"Maggy? Can you hear me?" I whispered into my combead.
"LOUD AND CLEAR. WHATCHA NEED?"
Thank the God-Emperor, I was still able to get in touch with the helpful Xenos deity even though I was apart from Jurgen and his modified melta. "I got separated from the rest of the squad. Can you boost my combead's signal?"
I could practically FEEL the eagerness of the one Illric called the 'Void Dragon'; the Emperor was correct, in some ways it really was like a young canid. "SAY NO MORE."
Almost instantly, I started receiving signals again. "Commissar! Do you read!" Amberley was saying, calling over my frequency.
"This is Cain, I read you." I replied. "We got separated when I called upon the Emperor's Blessing to hold back the Genestealers."
"Hang tight. We're retracing our steps; Jurgen says he knows where you are." Obviously Maggy was leading him in the right direction through his melta.
"Roger. I'll remain here." I changed the frequency back to my previous one in order to offer my gratitude. "Thanks, Maggy."
"YOU'RE WELCOME." Mag'Ladroth replied happily before his voice (well Felecia's but anyone who's heard each one speak can easily tell the difference) became alaramed. "SHIT, YOU'VE GOT INCOMING-" He couldn't finish his statement as the butt of a hellgun slammed into my skull; not enough to fracture, but enough to daze even me. Were I still a normal man, it might have been far more serious. Still, it left me vulnerable as a rough hand grabbed me by the throat.
"Hello again, Commissar." Kelp hissed, hand at my throat and the other holding his hellgun to my head. Frak, I did not feel like losing my corporeal form and being flung to the Warp.
"I see you're adding assaulting a Commissar to your list of crimes." I mused dazedly, feeling my body regenerate from the blow. Before I could recover further, I was hauled close to him, back against his chest as I saw several lights reaching me. The rest of the team had found us.
"Stop!" Kelp snarled, the hellgun still pointing at my head while he used me as a human shield. "One more move and I blow him apart!" Demara and Tamworth snarled and raised their weapons. "Ah, ah ah~" He sang, a vicious satisfaction rolling off of him. "Don't try anything." I rolled my eyes, and contemplated my possibilities. I could try to yank out his soul, but an Inquisitor would have certainly caught onto the usage of the Ruinous Powers. That alone made such an action ill-advised.
"Sir?" I felt relief as I saw Jurgen stumble into the light. Seeing my aide gave me the confidence for my next command.
"Kill him, Jurgen." I ordered, as calm as a sunny day on a Pleasure World. Kelp snarled and I could sense him preparing to pull the trigger, and then… he exploded. Blood and viscera went everywhere, mostly on me.
"What… what was that?" I whispered, eyes wide as I stared at Jurgen's still glowing melta.
"Popcorn setting." Jurgen replied, idly readjusting the sights on the weapon. I could sense his growing fondness for it.
"Popcorn setting?" I asked, incredulous.
"Yes, sir. There's bacon, s'more, egg, chocolate, fork-in-microwave…" He listed off more and more options, which made me realize that the Star God had a sense of humor(5). Amberley just gave it another glance, murmuring something. "Yes, Miss Vail?" Jurgen inquired politely.
"Where did you get that?" She demanded, staring at the melta suspiciously.
"Oh, it was a gift." He said nonchalantly, as if that settled things. Amberley certainly didn't seem to think so as she continued to pry.
"A gift from?"
"Miss Felecia, the tech-priestess of the regiment." Jurgen explained helpfully, looking at the Inquisitor as if it should be obvious.
Amberley looked like she was swallowing a lemon. "I'll talk to your tech-priestess later." She declared with a commanding look towards me. "We'd best be going. The T'au attracted most of them, probably to save your life, Commissar."
Part of me scoffed that they were Xenos and no great loss, but Illric and the Oathsworn had shown the Imperium that Xenos could see His light and we valuable allies, even friends. Guilt flooded me at the thought that they had sacrificed themselves for a wretched existence such as mine. But it didn't make sense, all I'd done was remove their 'drunken' state before they started heaping praise on me. "Well, I appreciate it, but why?"
"Because you proved a hypothesis that the Ordo Xenos have been wondering about for the last century; how the Ethereals controlled the other T'au. Whatever you did freed those T'au from the Ethereal influence. Undoubtedly they're hoping that you can free more of them." She chuckled, giving me a wry grin as Jurgen helpfully cleaned off some of the gore with his canteen and a rag he'd pulled out from one of his countless pockets. "I guess that your survival is integral to their new Greater Good."
"The Saint freed the Eldar. Why should he not free the T'au?" Demara asked, her faith in me shining through her words.
"Well said." Amberley replied approvingly as we began our march forwards once more. As we marched, I thought more about the Genestealers and their Tyranid masters. I tried to remember what I could about the things. Desolatia had been a while ago, but it was my best memory concerning what to expect; it likely wasn't even nearly enough.
"Trebek, what can you tell me about Genestealers?" I asked. She'd fought the frakkers for nearly a year, after all. She thought carefully about my question, before she froze, eyes wide.
"They'd likely be reinforcing all positions, encircling us. And with their hive mind, they'd know exactly where we were if one of them went dark."
Amberley cursed, seeing as I did that we were in a trap with no way out unless we found a new way to go. Fortunately as I felt determination well in her, it seemed like she had a plan. "I need one of you to hit me." She said firmly.
…Well, that wasn't what I was expecting. "What?" I asked, staring at her along with the others. Smack someone who could order the death of billions, let alone the torture and execution of a lowly Guardsman? No thank you!
She sighed, seeking to alleviate our confusion. "I have a displacer field on my person. It automatically teleports me out of danger. Maybe there's a hidden tunnel."
Oh. Well that did seem a far more reasonable plan then. "What's the range?" I inquired. A shrug was my answer.
"Decent enough."
"Jurgen?" He was the one who was most likely to actually be willing to hit someone who could order a planet to die. Also he was far more valuable as a Blank than any of us, and less likely to be shot for petty reasons. Sure enough, he landed a punch almost as soon as the last syllable of his name had left my lips, following my orders without question. I heard the shattering of bone, and Amberley teleported away before she contacted us over the combeads.
"Ouch ouch ouch… Three meters back from where you are…" Amberley mumbled. Jurgen nodded, and aimed at the position that Amberley had suggested. He flipped the setting from 'popcorn' to 'ice cream on Tallarn', and hit the tunnel wall with a blistering wave of heat that ate away at the rockcrete. A large explosion of steam forced the wall apart, revealing Amberley on the other side, clutching her bloodied and broken nose. As we passed by I laid a hand on her, sending a little trickle of Warp energy into her nose, fixing it up to its previous adorable shape(6). Demara and Tamworth offered a quick prayer of thanks for my apparent miracle, and we moved on. I had no idea what we would encounter beyond that bend, or what it would drive me to do. If I had, I may have insisted we take our chances with the Genestealers in the tunnels.
"All I can say is thank frak you decided to tell the Lord General about your theory." I said, as we walked through the rubble that had once been a wall.
"It was against standard procedure, but I figured it would be safer, in the event things went pear-shaped." Amberley admitted. "Thank goodness this place is a backwater, otherwise the Genestealer taint would've been spread across the sector." I gulped at the thought of THAT particular nightmare. In order to distract myself from such thoughts, I sent out a quick soul-ping to see what was there, and I froze.
"Saint?" Demara asked, noticing how I'd stiffened.
"Cultists. Hundreds of them." I whispered in disguised horror. "Less than a quarter klom ahead. And… something big. Really, really big."
"The Patriarch." Amberley whispered in shocked realization. "The heart of the taint."
"So we're likely trapped between two swarms." Sorrel surmised. Trebek nodded, weariness in her eyes. "What do we do, Commissar?" The sniper asked me, obediently waiting for direction. I suppose that getting him his long-las really had won me his loyalty, but how was I supposed to know what to do? I breathed in, steadying myself, then turned to Amberley.
"In times like this, you have to choose between two equally bad options. Certain death, or an astronomical chance at survival. If we take the Patriarch out, what happens?"
"Disorder." Amberley replied promptly, seeing where I was going with this and immediately trying to dissuade me. "But it takes Deathwatch or other Astartes to…"
"Then we'll have to try it." I decided, resolute enough that even Amberley ceased her objections, swayed by my decision. I clutched my Aquila; Father Anthony's voice rang through me once more. "Emperor guide us." I whispered in fervent prayer, leading the mortals onwards.
Onwards to our fate.
Sure enough, as we marched forwards, we could begin to hear voices, including one I had heard before much to my displeasure.
"The Governor?" Sorel asked at seeing my reaction. I nodded once. "Well then… That confirms it." Indeed, it confirmed that the highest Imperial authority on this world was the spawn of a damned Xeno infiltrator. We crept forwards cautiously, soon coming across an opening. It opened up into another chamber, and there it was surrounded by its adoring followers.
The Patriarch.
"By The Emperor…" I whispered, as we slid into position, Jurgen in particular lining up a shot and dialing in the 's'mores' setting. However, before we could do anything, by sheer misfortune Trebek stepped on the wrong tile.
Click.
And then, the bio-mine concealed under the loose tile exploded, vaporizing her leg in an instant. And then again, the Cult was alerted and instantly upon us. This time, there wouldn't be an escape. The Governor was laughing madly at our plight as his fellows charged us, showing off a bolt pistol in a third arm.
Well, that answered who tried to assassinate the ambassador, and how. Sorel fired a shot at him, but another Cultist had noticed and jumped to take the shot. Grice tsked, aimed, and fired as the corpse fell. Sorel never stood a chance even with his carapace helmet, his head imploding before the bolt detonated, sending viscera everywhere and his soul to me. Tomas stumbled out of position down to the floor, and Velade tried to catch him. I saw a Purestrain stab at them with its tail; I knew enough to know what had happened, that they'd been implanted with Genestealer organoids which would turn them into carriers of the Xenos taint. I should be able to clear that up once I got the chance(7). They were out of the fight, but they'd live at least. Jurgen was firing the melta on some setting that caused the cultists to burst into flame(8), his Blankness the only thing that kept him alive. Trebek was ignored, but she kept fighting, until the blood loss was too much for her and corpse starch filled my mouth. Now there were two confused voices in my head; I'd imprisoned Kelp in the… other part of me. I held my chainsword in one hand, slicing into a Purestrain. But, in its last act, it sliced the blade in half and I watched in disbelief as my trusted weapon's machine spirit fled it. Then, I heard the barking of the bolt pistol again and tasted another bit of starch, before hearing Demara's scream of anguish. The Governor had taken her husband's life. She screamed in rage, emptying her hellgun at the Governor, vaporizing him. But even as his bloated corpse fell, a Purestrain pounced on her. I hoped she'd be infested, so I could save her.
Two souls, not one, entered me at the same time, one of them small and not fully formed yet.
I let out a heaving gasp, as I fired my laspistol in a desperate attempt to pull the swarm away from her corpse, the sheer horror of what must've happened filling my brain. It wasn't enough. My mere mortal efforts weren't nearly enough; I had led these people who trusted me down here to die. Then, I heard it; Amberley let out a cry of pain, and I could see that a Purestrain had her pinned. The broodmind was keeping her alive, and ready to break her. Her eyes met mine, terrified at the knowledge of what they'd do to her in order to turn her into an agent of the Cults. I looked down at my Aquila, and back at her.
No. No.
NO!
I wouldn't allow this! I wouldn't let him win! Damn my own soul, this planet belonged to The Emperor! With tears streaking down my face, I yanked the Aquila away as hard as I could before I could have second thoughts. As it turned out there was a connection at the back of the chain, and it slid off, the chain separating as it hit flesh. Still, I could feel His light. Even as I held it, the Aquila was getting warmer. As if He on Terra was straining to keep me pure. I stared at Jurgen, face resolute.
"JURGEN! CATCH!" I roared, tossing the Amulet. He saw it flying, and realized what I was doing, face determined to follow my order and trusting me to do what was needed. A hybrid tackled him, but he just managed to wrap his hands around the Aquila's chain, nullifying its effect.
And then… Damnation.
Excerpt from 'By the Saint's Hand: The Forging of the Valhallan 609th Regiment' by Lady General Jenit Sulla
"The Governor wasn't the only traitor to the Throne it seemed as not only his personal guard but also both members of the PDF and the Xenoist faction stood between us and the palace. But they were no match for us as we pressed forward, especially with the T'au at our side rather than fighting against us. Apparently their ambassador, whom the Saint-Commissar had saved, wished to repay his debt.
We were almost to the palace grounds when we all felt it. Felt him. His power. His fury.
The Saint's.
Cain's.
I had seen and experienced the Saint-Commissar's kindness, his wisdom, and I had thought I'd felt his anger. I was wrong; what he turned on me and those who also disappointed him was nothing but the annoyance of a parent that still loves you despite your misdeeds. This... This was a wrath most righteous, that burned in our hearts, driving us to charge the traitors to give them the Emperor's Judgment at the point of a bayonet. Even as holy rage suffused us and strengthened our limbs, our enemies mewled and cried for their blasphemous god as the Saint's wrath overtook them.
Even the T'au were affected, many surrendering to us, asking for sanctuary as the nefarious means of control their unworthy leaders had used upon them was burned away, showing them the Emperor's Light through His Saint and his deeds.
It was obvious now that the Saint-Commissar kept a tight leash upon the holy powers granted to him by the God-Emperor, for who could touch such divine might and remain mortal? Even as I marveled, I admit that I also worried. What could have driven the Saint-Commissar to such lengths?"
1: I could literally FEEL my carpal tunnel returning at the paperwork I'd have to do.
2: The Ancients were more concerned about accidents than us, so they tended to have guardrails. Additionally, the water purification station was autonomous and built to last.
3: With this 'rediscovered' STC, and Cainwater, Ciaphas' actions have more than doubled the standard Imperial water ration across the galaxy, no matter the planet.
4: They had been freed by Cain, and they were willing to lay down their lives for him.
5: Thank The Emperor for that.
6: As I had never experienced The Emperor's Light, I assumed that the feeling of pleasant relief I felt was from His influence, not Slaaneshi Warp magic.
7: Not only Cain's direct healing power but also Cainwater has become a standard application for infested individuals, giving them options beyond the Emperor's Mercy.
8: S'more setting, as he'd previously mentioned.