Chapter Text
Recap of the previous chapter #3: The Hunting Begins
The chapter's beginning is shadowed by the introduction of the Imperial Inquisition, who found an anomaly in the Merlorian's system, and decided to investigate it. Kaidan Oleos, Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, gathers his entire retinue, in order to embark on the journey towards the world of Merlorian. Mainly, Oleos, his acolyte Adrian, and the squad of Inquisitorial stormtroopers led by Sergeant Daniel Tarn, a dark-skinned veteran and a loyal companion and friend of Oleos, embark on the Merlorian surface after Oleos forces the Planetary governor to piss his pants through a transmission to allow him to land without any fuss.
In the meanwhile, Liriel and Niko are continuing their journey towards the Merlorian capital, unaware that the Inquisition has arrived to find out the truth, or any ounce of it. They both act independently, having moments of joy, frustration, and anger, but nevertheless, they stay together and united during the entire journey.
They find beautiful landscapes of Merlorian, but then, notice something strange. They find a town, but it is completely empty. Niko and Akila, his white furred Merlorian pet, decide to investigate after Niko asks Liriel to stay in the hiding place. She reluctantly agrees and tries her best to keep her eyes on him as he moves from building to building.
Niko finds out that, for some mysterious reason, the entire town is empty, and it looks like they were on a great haste. Without knowing what to do, his pet friend, Akila, jumps into action by bringing him a piece of paper, which was intended for the owner of the town's pub, which Niko found himself in as he looted a full, small bottle of Amasec.
After reading the letter, which ordered every Merlorian citizen to depart for the capital immediately, Niko realizes that something is not right, but he has no time to sit there and just sink in his thoughts. He leaves, while Liriel tries to keep her eyes on him from the top of a tree in the woods. She loses sight, and decides that she has had enough, and then, runs in his direction.
In the meanwhile, Niko gets busy sharpening his Leuku in the local blacksmith shop. He gets ready to go off, before Liriel and him bump into each other out of nowhere. This causes a little arguing, but they shrug it away and decide to continue their journey.
They find a pathway using a compass, and decide to follow it. After passing through, Akila alerts them through his roar, that something, far up ahead, is approaching. Liriel jumps on a tree, and then sees many shiny things coming their way. They quickly hide, and to their eyes, they see these shiny things, being nothing else than Imperial servo-skulls, tiny probes the Imperium uses for many tasks of their own.
They are utterly confused and do not know why these things are running through the pathway in the middle of nowhere, but unfortunately for them, at least one of them, someway or another, manages to snap a few pictures, just as Niko hears one behind himself. Liriel reacts quickly by slicing it into two, and they quickly run away from their spot, since they realize the dire situation they got themselves into.
In the meanwhile, Inquisitor Oleos and his retinue land on the spaceport of the Merlorian capital. They are met by the planetary governor, who starts to act all nice and stuff, as if thinking that the Inquisitor is a fool, but Oleos allows him to think like this. After they meet, Oleos asks to talk in private. The governor takes them through the capital, where huge crowds of people are greeting the Inquisitor as some sort of noble. This is all just a showcasing scenario that the governor made, since he wants to make sure to let him know, that things on Merlorian, are prospering. They are joined up by General Luka Urslov, the competent officer of the Merlorian militia. Adrian asks Oleos to commence a little surveillance operation to scout the world for any clues, and he accepts this proposal.
Inquisitor and his retinue play along, until they reach the palace, and Oleos, along with his acolyte, get into the governor's office, alongside General Urslov. There, they have a chat, where Oleos accuses the governor of negligence and failure of his position, and for thinking, that he could play the holy Inquisiton for a bunch of imbeciles. Oleos humiliates him, and takes all the power from him under his own command, and leaves the Governor to handle the capital. Urslov, tired of the governor's stupidity and refusing him the much needed resources to train the militia, decides to join Oleos and become his loyal companion. Oleos accepts this, and they all leave the palace, much to the sobbing governor.
After leaving the palace, Adrian gets a message from Tech-Priest Garan, that they lost a signal with one of the scouting servo-skulls, and that they should return to the spaceport. They do just as told, and return to the spaceport. There, Garan is busy handling cogitators, and there, they get a bad quality pictures that the servo-skull managed to send back, and find out, that the one that they are chasing, is a Howling banshee, and an unknown figure is accompanying her.
Not only that, other servo-skulls find a zone of a battle that occurred in the world's northern region, in a valley between the mountains, and near it. They discover deceased Drukhari and Aeldari warriors alike.
Intrigued by this discovery, he orders Sergeant Tarn to dispatch at the coordinates of the lots servo-skull, while he, his crew, and Adrian, go off to scout the entirety of the northern region that the other servo-skulls managed to scout. They depart immediately.
Niko, and Liriel, however, stop their running after Niko depletes his energy. Liriel is reluctant to stop, but she can do nothing against Niko's stubbornness and human weakness. They decide to take a small break, where Niko cooks, and Liriel, starts to train. In these moments, both of them get busy with their thoughts, but nevertheless, Niko's attraction towards Liriel, becomes more obvious as he shares details with her about his homeworld, and a bit about his life.
Liriel's curiosity starts to seriously irritate her. She tries to fight this one urge to look into his memories, and once his back is facing her, she, against all the possibilities, decides to give it a try by slowly sneaking towards him from behind.
However, the entire scenario is disrupted by heavy stomping, which only gets louder every second. Niko, Liriel and Akila quickly dash behind a fallen tree. Niko is the first one to react, since he realizes, that these, are - Sentinels. Robotic walkers of the Imperium.
There are about 3 of these scout Sentinels, and they are deadly. After hearing the rustling of the Merlorian deer-like creature, one of them swiftly shoots the plasma at it, and tears it to shreds, indicating that these tin cans are serious about their intentions. But Akila has an idea.
After the squad stops for a little maintenance, Akila approaches the 3 Merlorian soldiers, one of whom is a Captain. They notice him, but Akila acts like an innocent looking canine, which forces one of the soldiers to approach and try to pet him. The Captain advises caution and not even try to approach the animal, but the 3rd soldier shrugs off his warning. It does not end well.
Akila literally bites the arm off of the third soldier, and just as the other two are about to retaliate, Liriel and Niko arrive at the scene and kill the second one, while wounding the captain. Niko decides to end him, but the Captain starts to act on Niko's nerves while showing a serious amount of shock that, a human is working with a xeno. Niko's hands tremble as he refuses to bring himself to slicing the Captain's throat.
But then, Liriel does it for him, slicing the Captain's throat, and killing him in an instant. She notices that Niko has a thousand yard stare, and tries to see what's wrong with him. He ends up staring into her eyes, and then hugging her after a PTSD attack. She gets confused, but nevertheless comforts him as he weeps. After that, she encourages him to continue the journey, which he does, and Akila is relieved that his human friend is okay.
In the meanwhile, the manual vox caster in one of the sentinels, is beeping with constant messages from General Urslov trying to get in contact. After a few failures, he decides to contact the Inquisitor.
In the meantime, Inquisitor Oleos and his acolyte Adrian, investigate the battle zone, and realize, that the Drukhari, and the Aeldari from Ulthwe, were fighting here not so long ago. During their investigation, Oleos hears an incoming signal from Urslov, and he awaits his signal to reach his comms.
Sergeant Tarn and his men find the site of the destroyed servo-skull, and report back to Oleos, that they also discovered the footprints. One of those footprints does not look alien at all. This gets the Inquisitor intrigued, but General Urslov intervenes in their communications. He informs Tarn and Oleos, that he lost the signal with one of the sentinels. Tarn asks him for coordinates, and he gives them immediately, and heads out to the location.
Back at the battle zone, Oleos and Adrian go back to their shuttle, where Tech-Priest Garan is busy doing his work. He gives Oleos a new dataslate with many pictures taken from a close location. Specifically, of a house with a few dead Drukharis. Oleos realizes that the xenos used that house as a hideout. But looking at all the facts of the reports that he received, he starts to get seriously nervous about the one individual, who is accompanying Liriel. And then, he starts to get back in contact with Tarn, after quickly boarding the shuttles.
Tarn is already well aware of what happened at the location of the sentinels that Urslov told him about. They find 3 deceased Merlorian soldiers, and he reports this to Urslov, who feels upset, but nevertheless stoic, and, just as Tarn is thinking about his next step, Oleos contacts him and Urslov, and then, Oleos tells them both, that there is a possibility, that the xeno is accompanied by a human. This sounds too ridiculous for all of them, but Oleos assures them that this is just a theory.
Nevertheless, Oleos orders Tarn to chase after them, and all 3 individuals end the comms, after Oleos informs Tarn, that he will join him soon. Tarn informs his men that they need to continue the chase from the woods, since that's where their footprints are.
In the meantime, Niko and Liriel are trying their best to not get caught by any unneeded surprises. They find a strange looking pathway, which leads up to a terrain of medium-sized hills, with the pathway paved straight onto it. Liriel, not willing to admire the view, decides to climb it, but Niko stops her, warning her that behind every hill, can be either death, or salvation.
Detesting this, she gives up and just allows him to take the lead. As Niko slowly climbs up the hill, a sudden round from an autogun strikes him in the helmet, and sends his helmet flying off from his head as he rolls down against the hill. Liriel quickly rushes to him in order to take him out of there, just as the artillery barrage commences at their positions. Apparently, a huge chunk of the Merlorian militia is behind those hills, blocking the pathway completely.
As Niko is disoriented, Liriel shields him from any possible shrapnel, and many Merlorian soldiers charge against the hill, before climbing it, noticing Liriel and Niko, and unleashing their weaponries at them both. As Liriel hides, she prays to Khaine and Isha, before deciding to charge against her enemies. However, she gets surprised by Niko, who unleashes a salvo of his lasgun against the Merlorians, and kills them through his marksmanship. Liriel admires his stubborn resilience, and then, she gets an idea.
Warning Niko and terrified Akila to close their ears, she decides to climb up the hill as quickly as possible, just as more and more of the Merlorian soldiers charge against it. By making a very high jump, she unleashes her "Banshee's call" and the charging Merlorians halt their assault, falling onto their knees while their eardrums rupture. She kills off a few, climbs back down to the confused Niko and Akila, and then, by grabbing his arm, she rushes back into the woods, with Akila following them.
As the Merlorian command gets an immediate order to halt their assault and capture them alive, one of the high ranked officers sends out a Cavalry squad to intercept them and capture them with netguns. As the cavalrymen understand their assignment, they quickly climb the hill, and get straight into the woods.
After believing that they escaped the grasps of death, Liriel bandages Niko's head, and they take their time to get their energy back. However, even that is denied to them by the sudden appearance of Tarn and his men. Under heavy fire, they dug to cover, just as Tarn and his men approached them in a crescent like formation. Liriel, however, decides to be clever, and slices a huge tree, before running away from their spot.
Tarn notices that there are no shots from Niko's lasgun, but what he hears, are loud wooden cracks - The tree is falling! And just as he warns his men to spread out, one of his men gets crushed by it. Bitter from this death, he orders an immediate chase.
As Liriel and Niko try to get away from being completely surrounded, they stumble upon a weird amount of noises coming from the bushes, which sound like hooves. Akila, in his animalistic instinct, charges through the bushes, and after a few seconds, a loud neigh is heard. Immediately, a Merlorian cavalryman on his horse flies out of the bushes, just as Akila is biting the horse's head, and just smashes against the tree, breaking his neck completely.
More Cavalries arrive, and now, they feel surrounded as they circle around. But at the end of the day, they defeat them through unity. Niko is busy trying to cut himself from the net that caught him, and Liriel is preparing to kill off the leader on his horse. The leader is clever, however. He sees that Niko is caught in a net, then swiftly goes to him, grabs him, and disappears into the woods, while Akila gives chase. Liriel, much to her shock, tries to run after him, but then.. Tarn, and his men arrive, and disorient her by blowing a grenade near her, sending her flying off.
She realizes the dire situation that she is in right now. She trusts that Niko will find a solution to get out of his situation, and that, right now, she must focus on the elite units of Inquisitorial stormtroopers. She decides to act like a huntress, using the environment of the woods as a good way to defeat Tarn.
She becomes a ghost, literally coming out of nowhere, using her banshee's call, using her swift speed and mobility to try and take them all down one by one, and do it quickly. After killing two members, and wounding the third, she tries to end this quickly rather than waste time.
She challenges Tarn to a dueling fight, and he accepts it, ordering his men to retreat. Fueled by thirst for vengeance and guilt from losing his brothers in arms, he pulls his thunder hammer, and decides to disobey Oleos's orders. After they circle around each other, their duel starts. Liriel is obviously superior, even though she gets quite hurt from some of his succesful blows. But nevertheless, she wounds him on the foot, and forces him to drop.
Just as she is about to execute him, he fools her by swinging his hammer and dropping her away, until he gets up through the sheer amount of adrenaline, and human determination. His rage and hatred pushes his own limits, to the point that Liriel cannot understand how he is able to do that. As the wounded Tarn overwhelms the howling banshee, she prepares for her death, thinking that this is it. While apologizing to her loved ones inside her mind, she closes her eyes, just as Tarn lifts his hammer.
But then, out of nowhere, Niko returns on a horse, with Akila next to him, and he immediately stops Tarn from ending Liriel's life as he jumps to his arm and bites it off clean, before biting off his eyeball as well, dropping him completely. Niko, enraged by Tarn hurting the only person he cares about, mauls Tarn until he can barely breathe, then heads out to Liriel, and comforts her, before putting her up on the horse, and getting back to the hill through all the risks since they cannot return to where they originally came from.
Tarn manages to get up despite the damages done to his body, and through an arduous, hard walk, he reaches the position of Oleos, who landed not so far away from them all. Luckily for him, he gets rescued by the Inquisitor's crew members, and Oleos reassures him that he will be okay.
Back at the hills, Niko is on a horse, with Liriel behind him, holding him weakly, as Akila runs by his side. The pathway cannot be taken, as the Merlorian soldiers are patrolling it completely. They do, however, notice Niko's horse that he took from the leader of the Cavalryman, and then, try to intercept him through stun guns. They fail.
He climbs up the hill, and immediately rides off to the left side, heading straight towards the snow covered, cold mountains. A Leman Russ tries to stop him by trying to scare the horse through an explosion, but even that is for naught. Niko immediately heads up to the first mountain that he sees, climbing up the slope and riding through the mountain pass. Liriel feels cold, and clings onto him, which he enjoys.
Unbeknownst to them, the artillery fires upon his position, and he is quickly forced to climb the mountain further and further. He manages to avoid it, and then, ends up on an even ground as the blizzard is slowly approaching.
While looking for a place to hide, Akila finds a perfectly looking cave behind a little pile of snow that is growing bigger and bigger. As he unmounts his steed, he gives his respect, and tells him to go, and that is free. But unfortunately.. Just as the steed is going away, whistling noises appear once more, and the steed gets shred to pieces from an artillery barrage that forces both individuals, and the Merlorian wolf, to fall to the ground for cover.
As Akila, Liriel and Niko try to get back onto their feet, a sentinel appears from one of the pathways, and stops them from entering the cave while shooting its multi-laser cannon, ignoring the higher command's orders to take them alive, all due to them killing their Captain of the sentinels. Liriel decides to use the last amounts of her strength to deal with it, and she manages it perfectly. As Niko, Liriel and Akila are running towards the cave, another sentinel decides to stop them by unleashing a salvo of its missiles.
Liriel flies against the top of the cave's entrance, and Niko flies off with his flak armor broken, and some of his clothes scorched, both of the individuals disoriented completely. Akila, is just unconscious from the blast, with some of his fur scarred and scorched.
The proud sentinel, mocks Liriel, and switches to a lascannon. Just as Liriel wakes up, she notices a red flash, which is the lascannon about to tear her into shreds. But Niko comes to her rescue, again. He completely pushes his strength to the limit, alongside his energy, and just simply pushes himself to the limit. In a swift motion, Niko climbs up to the co*ckpit of the Sentinel, beats the sh*te out of the pilot, and throws him out of there, before, through some unimaginable strength, he pushes the sentinel forward from its legs, and it falls on the screaming pilot, crushing him completely.
Liriel is at a loss for words. She cannot believe at what just happened, but after seeing Niko coughing out blood and falling to his knees, she immediately goes off to aid him, and then, goes inside the cave, after taking Akila as well, while carrying Niko very carefully.
After about an hour, she finds herself in a cave full of cyan particles on its walls, making it appear as shiny and luminous enough, and through some amount of luck, she finds the natura's baths in there, which she would need to use later on. After her weakened body forces her to get on the ground, she lies unconscious Niko on her lap, and places her hand on his forehead, in order to connect to his memories, and embark on the vision of Niko's past.
In the meantime, back on Ulthwe, Farseer Elidyr is busy with his visions and psychic meditation. Out of the blue, a strange amount of energy forces him to realize one thing. Just as his eyes open up, Farseer Eloen enters his room to see if he is doing alright. Right there, and then, Elidyr tells her, that Liriel, is alive.
The two individuals have escaped from so many grasps of death through their sheer unity, and their oaths towards each other. However, what will Liriel see in Niko's mind? What will she unveil? Will her curiosity get the better of her? Will she finally be able to see his past, and understand the reason of why he refuses to betray her, abandon her, or even hurt her? Will Niko even survive his grave condition? What will the Inquisition do about these two? Too many questions, yet few answers.
The only thing that remains between them is to understand each other completely.. And Liriel, will do her best, to complete this important task, without too many risks.
Chapter 4: Of His Own Accord.
Many years ago..
World: Kaleva
Star system and sector: Kalevan system, sector Sciras
Segmentum: Pacificus
Capital city. Near the town of Mer'Yen.
Kaleva. The world of diverse beauty. It was a peaceful world that was not classified into any categories known to the Imperium Of Man. Covered in snow most of the time, yet the summer was blooming with lush green. The capital was busy congratulating the graduated individuals of the "Kalevan Silver Spears" regiment of the Imperial Guard. The families and friends were all crowding the capital itself, where the governor was about to give his speech at the podium. Proud Kalevan men and women were standing in full attention pose, wearing their white-colored-berets, and light blue uniforms. And all of their faces, were blooming with enormous pride.
"Greetings, Silver Spears!" The governor raised his voice, and proclaimed.
"Greetings, Sir Governor!" The fresh soldiers all yelled in unison, as the crowd all went silent in order to prevent themselves from being a nuisance. "At ease, warriors!" he ordered, and all of them stood at ease, with their hands at their sides.
"Brave men, and women of Kaleva. Today, is the best day of your life. You have proved your merit through the obstacles in front of you, and it is a great honor, for me to bestow upon you the title of the Kalevan Silver Spears. Be proud! You deserve to be! Upon thee, I declare a reward for your graduation. Officers, if you may." And in the next scene, as the entire group of graduates stood in a perfect horizontal, long line, two officers from both sides began to give out the emblems, attaching the pins to the lapels on their uniforms.
Afterward, as everybody received their emblems in the shape of two silver spears with a civic crown wearing eagle, the officers retreated, and the governor continued. "Our Kalevan symbol represents you in front of the God-Emperor and his domain of the Imperium Of Man. Wear it with pride and honor, warriors of Kaleva. Your lives are dedicated to the Emperor alone. From him, we once came, to him, we shall return through battles ahead of us. Let nothing stop you from fulfilling your duty to the end. For only in death, does the duty end! Attention!" And with that, every warrior stood in attention.
"Berets. Off!" And they all took off their berets, holding them in their right hand. The Governor stood aside, and the Marshal of the Kalevan Silver Spears took the podium, and spoke to his new and fresh soldiers. "Kalevans! It is time, that you pledge your loyalty to the Imperial Guard, to the Emperor alone, and to your homeland of Kaleva. Oath! Give!" The soldiers raised two fingers to their chests, while holding their berets at their right sides, and began to recite the Kalevan oath.
Everyone recited it in unison, and just as they finished, the Marshal spoke out once again. He gave his long speech, which lasted for about 15 minutes, and at the end, he said his last words. "I declare. Today, you have officially become the Kalevan Silver Spears. Even after you die, you remain one of us! Congratulations, sons and daughters of Kaleva. Join your family and friends and bid them farewell. Board the ships in an hour at the port. Guard high, Kalevans!"
"Guard high, Sir Marshal!" They replied, before putting their berets back on, and saluting just as their Marshal. Then, they all got dismissed, and the guards opened the gates for the family members and friends to come and embrace their loved ones. Everyone was busy at the moment, talking with their family members or walking along the boulevard of the capital city, with others going to the pubs and restaurants to have their possible last moments with their loved ones. One of the graduates, was a young man, who barely turned 18 years of age. Surrounded by his parents, and friends, he stood at a side, chatting with those that were dear to him on the beautiful sunny day of Kalevan skies. That young man, wasNiko Armanen.
"I am so proud of you, Niko.." Said the woman in her early 40s, who was wiping away her tears with a cloth. The young man, with green eyes and light brown hair, smiled and gave her a hug. "It's okay, Ma, it's okay.. Shh." He hugged his mother, and then turned his attention to a man, who was also in his 40s. "Son, I gave you all my knowledge. Your mother and I gave you all the life lessons you will need in your life. There are no words to express how proud we are of you following our tradition and becoming the warrior I aspired you to be. Hunt with courage and bravery. For the God-Emperor is blessing you this day." He placed his hand on the young man's shoulder, before giving him a hug as well.
"I will not abandon your and mother's lessons, father.. I will carry them with me to the end. I promise you." Niko replied. He was young and energetic, feeling sense of accomplishment. He, and his parents, went off to the boulevard and had their possible last walk together, for almost an hour until the bells of the towers rang, signaling them to boarding the ships.
Niko and his parents were at the port, where the ships were waiting for them. They were going to take him and the rest of the fresh graduates to the military island and depart to the stars after receiving such orders. Niko and his parents stood at the port, surrounded by many of his brothers and sisters in arms, who he would bleed and fight with. He knew it, and he, was determined, and ready for the challenges that awaited him. Or so, he thought, so to speak. His mother was smiling, but it was obvious she was saddened to see him about to leave. Niko had to reassure her, and he did.
With a tight hug, he wiped away her tears with his pinkie finger. "Ma, I know this causes your heart to ache, and I do not blame you. But I will survive, I promise.." He said, reassuring her and giving her another hug with a tight embrace. After all, all the kindness that he had, came from this one woman alone. Next, he stared at his father, who had the essence of pride blooming on his face for his son. He was a tall man with a beard and short hair. He was wearing his older Kalevan uniform, with medals from his service attached to his chest.
Truly a decorated Silver Spear. He stared into his son's eyes and saw clear determination, without any hint of doubt. He believed in him. "My son. We will never forget this day. No matter what happens, always remember what I taught you in order to survive. Courage is not an easy quality to achieve, therefore, do not falter on the battlefield against the enemies of mankind.. You will see horrors, feel sorrow, pain, joy, laughter, everything else we have. But do not ever falter. If you have chosen a goal, or given an oath? Follow it to the end. No matter what obstacle lies ahead." He explained to Niko, who smiled at him.
"Da, know that I understood you loud and clear. In the grace of the God-Emperor, every soul of our race, who give their lives to the Imperium, is sacred. If I am to fall in battle, then I will fall with honor and bravery. If I am to survive.. I will return home, one way or another. Just like you, as a decorated Silver Spear. You, and Ma, raised me with all the necessary qualities. I will honor them until my last breath. But falter? I shall not." He replied to his father, who smirked with pride on his face, and both he, and Niko's mother, gave him a tight hug, which he returned, closing his eyes. "We believe in you, Niko.." said his mother, who clung onto him. She held back her maternal instincts, as they told her to keep him safe, but he was already an adult, and a new Kalevan Silver Spear, who had a great, sacred duty ahead of him - To fight in the Emperor's name against the enemies of mankind.
The ships unleashed a loud horn, indicating the new recruits to board the ships as the bridge platforms were established, and the doors were wide open. Niko looked at them, then looked back at his parents. "This is it. Ma and Da, stay safe, please. It is time for me to join my brothers and sisters in arms." He said, and he saw both his parents smiling. They were proud of him, and his mother, despite tearing up, still smiled through all that pain and worry. But she knew this was what Niko wanted. "Son, here you go." His father pulled out a notebook, which forced Niko to widen his eyes, and for his father to laugh slightly. "My notebook! Da, you're the best! I thought I had it in my pocket.." Niko said, taking it and putting it directly into his pocket. "You'd probably die of boredom without it. Ever since you were a kid, you loved writing and drawing after all. Carry these memories with you to the stars, young lad." His father said, and they all, including the mother, laughed in unison.
Niko embraced them for a possible last time, and departed for the ship through the bridge platform, turning around and waving at his parents, who waved back at him, just like the massive crowd around and behind them. This was the last time he saw his parents with his own eyes. He waved at them, and smiled, with a slight, tiny little tear running down his cheek. "Thank you, Ma and Da.. For your teachings, and for raising me for this moment. I will prevail and return to you one day.." He said, as the ships began to depart from the port. The sight, was becoming thinner and thinner as the ships sailed away.
The young man, turned his attention to the other side, where the horizon lies ahead. There, he saw the grim realization of war. There were few ships that passed by, and they had hundreds, if not thousands, of wounded Kalevan Silver Spears. Some had their limbs amputated, some were wounded even more severely, and all of them looked extremely weakened, while the Hospitaller members, the medical staff of the Adepta Sororitas, were aiding the wounded guardsmen. Niko swallowed his saliva as he, and many more of his new brothers and sisters in arms, saw these ships pass by. It was not an easy sight to witness, but Niko knew this was what awaited him and the rest in the battles ahead, if the fate was going to take a tight grip on them. Many of the recruits were vomiting into the ocean waters at such sights.
Many fresh recruits on Niko's ship, felt the grip of depression at that moment. All their faces were bright, proud and lit with determination. However, all of those disappeared in an instant, as soon as they saw those ships passing by them. Niko frowned at the sight himself, but he was already well aware of these kind of things, thanks to his father's tales, before Niko even joined the Imperial Guard. His father told him about every type of horror he himself had to witness on the battlefield, in order to prepare him for the mentality and grim realization of wars. "Emperor almighty.. Da, thank you for your stories. They were really useful.. Frakking hell, I really hope that I do not become one of these poor sods." He told himself, staring at the individuals on the ships. They all had grim faces, as if asking these fresh recruits "Why are you doing this? Is our sight not enough?" But this was the reality. They were going for the endless meat grinder, but sooner or later, they would get used to it. Niko, at least, believed this to be the truth.
The ships disappeared into the horizon, and now, the fresh Silver Spears were cheering each other up and trying to cheer each other up, but not Niko. He was watching the horizon and the ocean at the edge of the ship, all alone, contemplating, thinking, sinking in the thoughts, just preparing to witness what awaited ahead of him. "Emperor, preserve me.. All those brave men and women. I am glad they are alive, but none of them looked like they were happy to get back home. I can only fathom why.." He said and looked down at the ocean itself, feeling the motion sickness kicking in before completely vomiting at the ocean, spitting the contents from his mouth. "Nnnnggghh.. I don't feel too g.. Huh?"
As soon as he turned his head to the right side, he saw a young woman clad in the same uniform as him, offering him a piece of clean, white cloth. She was a young woman with ginger hair, fiery amber eyes, and a dimple on her cheek, with a fabulous and soothing smile that bloomed on her face. Niko blinked a few times, and accepted the cloth, although blushing in slight embarrassment and being quite flustered.
"O-Oh.. Thank you, Miss." He said and took the cloth, wiping his mouth and nostrils and putting the cloth into his pocket. "You are welcome! Let me introduce myself. My name is Alexis Kauno. I am from Mer'Yen. And you?" She sounded truly like an angel that just came to his aid at that very moment. The grim realization that gripped him, instantly disappeared after meeting Alexis, the young woman who approached him. He took his beret off and placed his fist on his chest. "Niko Armanen. I am from the village of Karsan, in the countryside. Son of a decorated Silver Spear, and-" Alexis instantly gripped his hand that he held the beret with and shook it playfully. "Karsan! My mother is from there!" She said, giggling and showing full cheerfulness, that it surprised Niko to the core.
"Huh, well, ain't that a surprise." He laughed gently before shaking her hand, and rubbing the back of his head. "Frankly speaking, I didn't expect to meet someone like you in here.. I am not trying to sound rude or anything." Niko awkwardly said, since this felt like a surprised meeting of some sort to him. "You don't have to feel awkward, Niko. I am just trying to get along with everybody. After all, we are here for the same purpose. To serve the Emperor in the Imperial Guard. But having to know those whom you must serve with, is not a bad idea for any of us." She said, smiling and giggling, which forced Niko to look away while rubbing his head and let out a soft laugh as well. "Hah. Yeah.. I guess you're right, Alexis. I am sure every one of us saw those ships pass by.." He said, and looked around himself at the poor bastards, who just had grim faces.
Alexis, being the cute and cheeky girl, decided to help out Niko by distracting his mind from these images in front of him. "Niko hey, that is just the reality of war.. We will see a lot more on the battlefield, if not worse. Do not think about it too much, for it only causes us to lose ourselves in desperation. I have applied to become a Medic, and I have some experience. This is going to be a usual thing for me, no matter what.. To treat everyone's wounds, no matter how horrific." She told Niko, who, in exchange, looked down at her. "A Medic? Well now. I cannot argue with your point.. We must stay steely and Stoic. We are Kalevan Silver Spears, after all. But let's go to some more peaceful place where we can talk.. Please." Alexis nodded to him, and they both went away from the deck.
The ship at this point held its course towards an island, which was a militarized island out of many. From there, they would begin their first steps as Silver Spears. None of them knew what awaited them, but they felt that one thing would surely try to follow them throughout their journey -Death.
Present day...
Merlorian. Northern mountains, deep in one of the caves.
Panting. A very heavy panting was coming out of Liriel's mouth as she removed her hand from Niko's forehead, who peacefully slept on her lap. She was able to see his graduation day, something he held very dearly to himself. Her task of looking through his memories was not an easy thing to bear, since she felt that it was a very weakening procedure to follow. She held her head while breathing heavily, and she could only access the memories that Niko deemed important, dear and most unforgiving to him. "Isha.. Oh mother Isha.. This is so arduous.. I still have to see the rest, I must.. It seems those were his parents, and that girl that gave him the cloth, I could have sworn that it was her, who I saw on the butt of his knife.." She told herself, but not before feeling Niko's temple being hotter than usual. Liriel blinked a few times, and realized that this is not a normal state for a human to experience, and thought of it as a sign of illness kicking in.
With a nervous state that gripped her soul, she decided to treat Niko with the utmost care. Akila was still unconscious, but nevertheless, he was alive. Right now, however, Liriel looked around and saw the nature's bath near her, which had quite warm water in it. "I would prefer not to do this, but the mon'keigh are fragile creatures and require treatment for their illnesses, something the Aeldari do not have. I barely know anything about the biology of the mon'keigh, but if a bath brings us relaxation, perhaps it would help him out as well.. I have to try." And with that, she lied Niko down on the floor, very gently.
Next, she began to do something, that made her falter multiple times. She was undressing him, bit by bit. First, was the remaining flak armor that he had. Afterward, was his long-sleeve sweater underneath, and the shirt afterwards. Liriel tried not to look, and used only her fingertips to touch his clothing, but she would not help herself to the realization that, despite being young, his body was built nicely with a hint of abs and some muscles that he had, probably thanks to the arduous jobs in the Guard. Liriel felt the heat spreading to her cheeks as she stared at his exposed body, and blinked a few times before shaking her head and concentrating on the task at hand. He had bruises and tiny cuts in some places, especially on his stomach.
"Physically, he is.. Very well-built for a young human male. Let's.. Let's proceed to the next course of action. I have to treat his wounds and bruises if I can.." She told herself, and began to use her psychic abilities to heal his cuts, gasping as soon as she placed her hand on Niko's stomach, feeling the sturdiness on the surface, and his warmth. She needed her psychic energy and only healed the most troublesome cuts, then proceeded to undress him further. "Okay, now that is over with.." She turned him on the side, and saw that his back was alright, although with some bruises and non-fatal cuts, whose tissue was already healing up. But nevertheless, she rubbed her hand in curiosity across his scars. "Flogging. Definitely flogging, just like in his house, where I saw these scars for the first time.. They are old. I will try to know what drives you, Niko Armanen.."
Liriel turned him, and made sure he lied on his back, completely still. Next, she unbuckled his belt, pulled his zipper down with all the hesitations that gripped her shaking hands, and pulled his pants off after removing his boots and stuffing them with his socks. His legs were in a healthy state, which reassured Liriel that he retained his mobility without any other issues. Right now, however, she had the final obstacle in front of her... Niko's boxers.
The howling banshee did not want to find out what lay behind his underwear. She shook her head completely, and refused to even touch them, since she saw a bit of his nether region bulging and she was feeling very uncomfortable with invading his privacy. "Not even in a thousand years, Cegorach.. Do not even think I'll fall that low!" She spat and then dragged Niko's sleeping body into the bath. Then, she gently laid him into the bath, and placed his head at the edge, while letting the water cover Niko's entire body except his head. Then, Liriel slightly washed his hair and face with the water itself, being as caring as she could allow herself to be. Despite what happened, this human, this young human male, saved her multiple times from the jaws of doom. The least she could do, was treat him during his possibly weakest point. And this, seemed to be it.
"You will breathe, Niko Armanen.. This cave will not be your tomb. I swear this by Ulthwe's tear." She said, while washing his face and head as carefully as possible. She had her gloves removed, and smoothly ran her fingers on his ears, and his lips, while he was peacefully sleeping. The cave was quite silent, and only the sound of the water splashing was heard from Liriel washing Niko's head and facial parts. "What.. Did he just..?" She surprisingly asked herself after seeing Niko smiling in his sleep, and even having a blush on his cheeks. Liriel developed a nervous stare after she stopped rubbing his head, and looked away with a little pout. "Silly Mon'Keigh must be dreaming about something positive. Khaine, even in his slumber, he smiles.. I'm not going to remove his eye patch. It's a fact that he would not like that." She said, and resumed the treatment of Niko's head and face.
However, as soon as she resumed washing him, Liriel slightly gasped as soon as she felt Niko's tight grip on her right wrist, which forced her to freeze on the spot and look down at him. Niko had his single, green eye slightly opened. He was looking straight into Liriel's amber eyes, but it was obvious that he was dizzy, disoriented and in between a state of sleeping and being awake. Liriel was nervous for obvious reasons, but to her surprise, Niko removed his grip from her wrist, and instead, gently took her soft, silky hand, and gripped it while slowly breathing and smiling at her. "L..i...Ri.. It..It's.. Y..Yo.." And in an instant, his eye closed, and his head was back at the edge, due to the extreme fatigue pushing him back to the fortress of dreams.
The howling banshee at this very moment felt very flustered. Niko was holding her hand, and she was blushing even more than usual at this point, before deciding to concentrate on her task, and shake her head quickly. "I am not.. Going to talk about this. He is barely able to comprehend what he is feeling at the moment." She told herself, and gently let go of his hand, resuming her task of washing his face and head, before finally stopping. She was kneeling behind his head on her knees all this time, and she looked at her hands, which were covered in water itself. "Isha, preserve me and this.. This human, for I have to find out what is truly driving him to being like this.." Afterward, she decided to concentrate her mind through meditation, and placed her hands on Niko's temple.
Liriel's own mind went completely black as she traveled into his mind, and embarked on the journey of his past, for the second time, to satisfy her thirst for curiosity. This was not going to be an easy task, but she knew what she was doing. The exact time to stop, where not to look, and when the psychic essence was too overwhelming for her. She was prepared, and went deeper into his memories, step by step, while staying careful, in order to not hurt him, or herself.
Merlorian. The capital city of Xaroi. The medical quarters of the military base.
"I will kill it! I will kill him! I will kill them BOTH!" The constant yelling was refusing to stop in one of the rooms in the medical quarters of the military base belonging to the Merlorian militia. Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos sat at a table with a bottle of Amasec and a glass half-filled with the alcoholic beverage. Next to him, was his acolyte, Adrian himself, who stood still with his hands behind his back. "Inquisitor.. Tarn has been repeating that same sentence for over two hours now, by constantly waking up from his weakened state. Do we-" Oleos interrupted him in an instant. "No." He said, chugging down his 8th glass, without ever showing any signs of tipsiness. Adrian was quite surprised, but nevertheless followed his Inquisitor's words.
"He lost a few of the men he bled and fought with. And he failed to do his objective thoroughly, and the icing on top? He disobeyed my orders.. I knew him for so long, and this is the thanks I get, Adrian?" Oleos scoffed and just grumbled while pouring himself another glass of Amasec. "My Lord. I understand that Tarn may have lost his... Temper, but can we really blame him? One xenos and one traitor escaped from our grasps, and not even the Merlorian militia was able to stop them with all their numerical advantage and armored vehicles. Plus, he lost himself after seeing some of his men, whom he considered as his brothers, fall under the predations of the xenos scum.. We have to at least understand him."
Oleos waved him off. "Temper this, temper that.. Adrian." He turned around while holding the glass, and frowned at him. "Do you not understand? I expect loyalty and a complete trust from those under my wing and command. Incompetence is not something I can tolerate. Tarn has to come to his senses, for we have to capture those two alive. What good will a dead traitor and a dead lonely xenos give me? This is beyond ridiculous." Oleos said, then continued.
"Why is this human consorting with the xenos? There is always a reason for that. And this one xenos warrior is definitely packing knowledge about what has happened here.. They were definitely after something valuable. And I want to know what it was. We have to make sacrifices in order to achieve our objectives. Plus, I do not want the high command to find out what we are doing here, and what kind of humiliation we suffered through. I can sense your hatred from miles away, Adrian. But do not falter in the face of the dangers. We must capture it before it's too late." Oleos explained, to which Adrian had a counter argument.
"My lord, with all due respect, we require every asset we can afford. Sending Tarn away leaves us without our most specialized units to endeavor in this operation alone. I am not questioning your wisdom, but I want to-" Oleos, however, said his next words for him.
"Want to know if this is the right path to choose? Perhaps.. Or perhaps not. Sergeant Daniel Tarn.. His loyalty? I do not doubt that it is still there. But I have known him since I was an acolyte like you, Adrian. Despite what he has been through, this was the biggest shot that he has taken, and I want to make sure he understands that if I do decide to send him away, I am doing it for his own well-being, and for his own sake. Plus, he is severely wounded.. He will have to go through some psychological tests after his wounds are healed. Then, and only then, will I be able to get him back on duty." Oleos drank his last shot, and stood up.
Adrian nodded to him in exchange. "Your wisdom is unquestionable, my Lord. That, I believe, is a very good thing we can offer him right now." He said, to which Oleos tapped his shoulder. "You are my acolyte, Adrian. Take my lessons as you see fit, but follow them with precision." And with that, Adrian proudly saluted him, and followed him to the medical quarters, where Oleos was heading right now.
He entered the room where the wounded Sergeant Tarn was resting in. Lying on a stretcher with a few syringes attached to him, especially to his now bandaged, torn arm, he was very unhappy, and had his right eye socket bandaged as it was bitten off. He was tied down with leather belts, and his hands were cuffed to the stretcher itself. It was specifically an order from Oleos himself, because he knew Tarn better than anybody else, and he was easily able to predict the outcome of his reaction. "Tarn. How are you feeling?" Oleos asked while standing near him, with Adrian beside him as well.
Tarn was looking straight at the ceiling, and was panting heavily from the sheer anger that was overtaking him. "How do you think I am feeling, Kaidan..? Like sh*te is what." He said while clenching his teeth, trying to remain calm and disciplined in front of his superior. Oleos sighed and shook his head. "Daniel. Seriously. What you have done is enough for me to court-martial you for insubordination.. You had a complete mental breakdown. Something of which I am definitely not proud of." He explained, but Tarn was not bothered by his words.
In reality, he was as disappointed in himself as Oleos was. "Kaidan. While I am not in any way to counter your judgement.. You were not there, when that, that filth.. I took few of my brothers in arms away. You do not know what it is like, none of you do.. I was about to deliver the Emperor's judgment upon that Eldar whor*, before the traitor and his beast arrived and stopped me in the process.. But no. For another time, I suppose.. I am ready to take any punishment that awaits me. We severely underestimated them all, and more of my men would have died, if I had not ordered the retreat. Therefore, to me, that is all that matters. Not all of them are dead." Tarn said. Adrian felt uncanny. Here was the dark-skinned veteran of many battles talking about how he cares about the unity and well-being of his brothers in arms, all while accepting any punishment that is coming his way.
Even Oleos was quite surprised. "I always respected you, Tarn. So be it, then.. I will give you one more chance.. Perhaps as a little redemption. You will receive an augmetic arm, get through a few psychological tests, and if things are looking good? You will report to me immediately, with your men gathered. But do not take this for granted, Tarn. I want, them both, alive. Do not pull this kind of trick ever again.. Is that clear?" Tarn slowly moved his gaze toward Oleos, who looked at him with full seriousness. The veteran Sergeant stared back at the ceiling afterward, and nodded once, without saying anything. "Good. I cannot protect you more than that.." And with that, Oleos and Kaidan left Tarn to contemplate the choices he had made. He looked aside, and saw a window. Through it, he saw his men busy training and exercising, something that made him smile lightly, due to the fact that they did not die from the xenos hands.
"Emperor.. Protect them, for they are brave men, and brave soldiers in your service." He said, before looking back at the ceiling with a deep frown. "You will not get away from me, xeno scum.. And you, traitor. I will send your soul to the oblivion the moment I get my hands on you, that I swear by the Emperor himself.." Tarn said with a grim tone, the anger being heard in his voice as he clenched his hands into fists.
"None of you will find protection from us. We will hunt you down, no matter where you hide.. First, I must get to Kaidan.. The Emperor.. Protects."
The military headquarters of Merlorian's capital, Xaroi.
Briefing room.
The silence was a clear sign of hopelessness, and yet, it was blooming more than ever at this very moment. Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos, his acolyte Adrian, And General Urslov were present in the room with many other high-ranking officials of the Merlorian militia. None of them dared to speak a word, when the Inquisitor slowly tapped his finger on the table, while sitting like a depressed individual. No one dared to say anything, because of how badly they messed up on this simple task. Oleos contemplated, Adrian wasn't too satisfied either, and Urslov was the only one who clearly was not showing any lack of concern, all while smoking his pipe in the briefing room, with the other high-ranking officers standing in the room and only silently whispering between each other.
They were clearly waiting for something. Something that Oleos, by the looks on his face, was really not something he himself wanted to witness, but he knew he had no choice. "Gentlemen." Everyone's gazes went straight in the Inquisitor's direction, and they all stood in full attention. "We, have been defeated, and humiliated, by not an army of the xenos filth. Not an army of heretics. But by one, ONE, xeno, ONE, traitor, and ONE canine beast of this world's local fauna. Now, do enlighten me about one thing.. How, is this possible, I ask you?" Oleos frowned, unhappily. He was most definitely pissed off, and everyone, including Urslov, knew it. All the officers swallowed their saliva, except for General Urslov, who felt no amount of dread by any chance.
One of the Officers was brave enough to speak. "My Lord. According to our reports, they slipped past us thanks to their mobility and speed. They used their environment to their advantage. We tried to surround them, but they got lucky.. It is not possible to move a huge army of troops and armored vehicles through such terrain and surroundings.." The officer made his own report. Oleos raised his eyebrow, and did not really judge the officer, for he knew that his report did make sense. The whole planet was in a feudal state, and the charming, lush woods surrounded the entire lands. However, the fact that they lost sight of their prey, was not something to be so easily tolerated, and Oleos knew it. "I would be foolish not to ask this specific question, Captain. Where is the infrastructure?"
The Captain looked rather grim for a moment, but nevertheless, as much as he thought his next words might sound ridiculous to the Inquisitor, the Captain allowed himself to say the next words... Or so, he thought. Because as soon as he was about to speak, General Urslov jumped in by taking a few steps forward. "Traditions, My Lord. We, Merlorians, do not intend to destroy nature. We keep minimal, single roads in all directions. There are no shortcuts whatsoever. It might sound ridiculous to you, but to us, this is sacred. And this world, is our home. And forgive me if I sound harsh, my Lord, but we do not intend to harm nature I will repeat. Every Merlorian citizen follows this notion.. If you catch my drift." General explained to him.
Oleos was listening carefully with his eyebrow raised up. General Urslov looked into the Inquisitor's eyes, and saw that he thought of him as sounding too ridiculous, but Oleos was a smart man. He was not arrogant, and he was not going to use his authority for unnecessary actions. He simply lit up a cigar, and started to smoke at an easy pace. "You may have guessed that this sounds way too ridiculous even by my standards.. But I understood your point, General."
Oleos stood up and walked to the window, his back facing the General and the officers behind him. "I am not here to defile your home, Merlorian officers. I am here to pluck out the overgrown weeds from your soil. Nothing less.. Nothing more. But let us not forget one thing. You have an enemy walking in your soil. Not just an enemy, but a traitor, accompanying the enemy." He said, turning around and taking another puff with a serious stare. "In all seriousness, I want us to do this quickly, and without any inconvenience. So." Oleos took a few steps towards the table, just as Adrian laid out a regional map on the table itself.
The Inquisitor pointed at the northern mountains. "Their last whereabouts were here, gentlemen. I have received the initial report on the destroyed sentinels. The blizzard ruined the pursuit completely. We completely lost them. Now that reminds me.. Lieutenant." Oleos turned to his left, and saw the Lieutenant of the Militia's air force standing in full attention. "My Lord?" And then, Oleos signaled him with his finger to come closer, which he instantly did. "You reported that you scouted the entire mountains, twice. Is that correct?" He asked, to which the Lieutenant nodded. "Yes, my Lord. I took my aces, and scouted the mountains twice in the last few hours. Not a single sight or any trails of the enemy.." The young officer pointed at the map and made a circle around the entire area that he managed to scout. Oleos nodded, and the Lieutenant retreated. "Thank you, Lieutenant."
Then, the Inquisitor took another puff, and stared at the map, while holding his chin. "They disappeared from sight.. Has anyone of you managed to come up with any conclusions about where these bastards may have gone?" He asked, but there was no answer from the Merlorian officers. Oleos was patient, and he waited while thinking with them about any clues. General Urslov stepped up to share his own idea out of the blue. "Caves." He simply said, and Oleos raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "Caves, you say, General? You believe they might be hiding deep in the mountains?" The question was obvious, and Urslov simply nodded, much to the disappointment of Oleos, who took a quick puff and sat back down on his chair, with a deep sigh. "Emperor almighty.. If this is the true speculation, then we are in deeper trouble than we expected, Gentlemen. In any case, this is the only thing we can come up with. So, I have decided.."
*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*
Suddenly, just as Oleos was ready to give out his orders, one of the cogitators broke the room's calm silence. All the individuals got curious to find out what was happening as they looked at each other, and Oleos quickly asked a simple question. "What is the matter?"
"My Lord! We have received an urgent message from the spaceport's command center. An Imperial vessel has arrived in the system, and one of their shuttles has landed in the spaceport. And.. And they are asking for your presence." One of the operators on the cogitators spoke out, and Oleos got incredibly confused with this kind of message. "Huh? Did they clarify further who they are?" He asked. "Negative, my Lord. Only that they only want to speak to, and I repeat them, "Inquisitor from the Ordo Xenos, Kaidan Oleos." And that this is, quite urgent.. My Lord. They have arrived at the spaceport and are waiting at the landing pad. They said that, this is an anonymous meeting. You and your acolyte are the only ones who need to be present.."
The Inquisitor was frankly taken aback by this kind of surprise. Nevertheless, he agreed to attend this so-called meeting with unknown guests, who apparently requested his presence. Frankly speaking, this made him feel rather bizarre. Adrian had to intervene. "My Inquisitor.. Who do you think this might be?" He asked. "No idea, Adrian.. I only sent a report to the high command under the name of "Resupplying/Docking" to make sure they did not sniff out what Magos Quintus discovered in this system. This was a strictly anonymous operation, only we were aware of it. Either way, let's go investigate."
He said, and then looked at General Urslov. "General. My orders are pretty obvious.. Immediately block every available path in this mountainous region, and send squads to investigate every cave, every pit, and every spot where we might speculate they may have taken the shelter. They cannot get out of those mountains in any other way, except by freezing to death. Commence this order immediately. We need to distract the uninvited guests." The General nodded and put his smoking pipe away. "By the Emperor's will, it shall be done, my Lord." Oleos nodded, and went out of the building with his acolyte.
"Men!" Urslov raised his voice, and every officer stood in full attention pose. "You heard the Inquisitor. Immediately establish a blockade at each path leading in and out of the northern mountainous region. Make sure that not a single living soul, who is not from our militia, gets in, or out. Double the guards, pull up patrolling squads, and scout the entire region from the sky as well. I will join you soon. Any questions?" There were none to ask. Everybody understood their orders, plain and simple. "Good. Now go." He said, and every officer left the building. General Urslov sighed out deeply, pulled out his pipe, and lit it up to take a few puffs while staring out of the window into the capital city's outskirts.
"Emperor preserve us.. These two individuals have caused us enough trouble as it is." He said, and took another puff. "So many losses, from just two enemies..I do not like this."
Two years ago...
The world of Traxon Primus.
The headquarters of the local Astra Militarum forces, consisting of Mordian Iron Guard, Tallarn Desert Raiders and Maccabian Janissaries.
Heresy. The most overused word in the entire Imperium. Because of this one title alone, a billion human souls were obliterated into nothingness, way too many times to be counted. This time, however, it was no exception. The pure paranoia of every Imperial subject was fueled by constant warning of heresy and xenos threats from beyond the human imagination. It was a necessary task to be taken, in order for the humanity to survive the cruelty of a galactic scale.
"You worthless scum!" One of the Commissars yelled in the presence of the high command, while gripping the hilt of his sword. "Where is your dignity and willingness to give your life for the Emperor, Kalevan?!" He was fuming, much to the surprise of the young man who stood in shackles in front of the Commissar and the 3 Generals of the 3 respectable regiments. The Kalevan in question, was no one else butNiko Armanen himself.
He had slightly torn clothes. From his Munitorum issued shirt, pants and military boots, while having a cloth wrapped around his left eye. He was looking down at the ground, and he looked to be severely depressed, bitter and angry. Yet, he remained with a deep frowny look, while not even blinking once with his only remaining right eye. He looked to be broken, but in reality, he was not. His Kalevan spirit forbade this, and he kept taking all the insults from the surrounding officers, their laughter, their mockery, and all the possible humiliating words that were directed at him and his regiment. He felt the seeds of their betrayal growing in his soul, and felt no sense of unity in this hall. Only a dagger in the back.
The 3 generals, however, remained silent, firm and stoic, with neutral facial expressions and only whispered amongst each other, while the Lord Commissar was interrogating the seemingly messed up Kalevan Silver Spear. "You shame your regiment and your homeworld, guardsman.. What kind of deeds are you trying to bestow upon the Hammer of the Emperor?!" The Commissar slammed his fist on the table and really wanted to just punish him, all while fuming. "Lord Commissar, please, let us question him." The Mordian general intervened, and the Commissar merely nodded, and remained silent with a deadly gaze upon Niko, like a wild eagle waiting to snap its prey's neck. "Kalevan. Do you have anything to say for yourself in this hall?" The General asked, while holding his pen in his hand.
Niko slowly lifted his head, and took a sharp gaze into the General's eyes. "My explanation was not enough for any of you? Emperor preserve.. I will explain, once again. The world of Traxon III was under attack by the Drukhari scum. Two of our regiments, the 64th Line Infantry regiment and the 122nd Artillery regiment of the Kalevan Silver Spears, were holding them back. Many things happened in that world.. At the end, the population was evacuated, the Manticore missiles were unleashed, yet, only I remained.. And here, I am, today, in front of you."
He said, and then gritted his teeth while looking down at the ground. "What has happened in that world, will only remain inside my head, and I will not describe anything to you. You have the audacity to cover me with your negativity, and yet, when we called for your help, you abandoned us. You abandoned all of us. Our regiments are decimated entirely, not because of the Drukhari and their perverted, brutal nature. But because of YOU!" He spat out, literally right at their ground, something that enraged the Commissar and the officers in the hall. "You worm!" The Lord Commissar pointed his bolt pistol, but the Maccabian General stopped him.
He was the next one to speak. "Kalevan soldier. Do you know what you are saying is considered heretical by all standards?" He said, while wearing the famed Maccabian mask, which all Janissaries had. Niko lifted his head and looked into those empty, dark eye sockets of the masked General. "Do not talk to me about heresy, Maccabian General. We were requesting your support for over a week after the anomalies at the edge of this system were reported." He said, and continued.
"Even you, with all your zealous fanatical devotion for the Emperor, did not aid us. We barely scratched the wild beast, but through our Kalevan courage, merit and bravery, we did the Emperor proud. Your spite and jealousy is clearly visible. But those who knew who was holding the line on Traxon III, shall forever know, that it was us. The Kalevan Silver Spears, that saved them that day, and allowed them to live and tell our tale. I am the sole survivor, and the only proof of our deeds. I shall carry them with me no matter what happens. We are decimated only because of your refusal to aid us." Niko finished, but the Maccabian General only gave out a light nod, and then, it was the Tallarn General's turn to speak.
"Silver Spear." He said, and Niko felt a little bit relieved. The aged man of the Tallarn Desert Raiders was the only one to call him with the deserved title of the Kalevan Silver Spear, and it seemed like he was the only reasonable one in this entire hall. "We were too late.. Our forces were stretched thin, and we arrived at Traxon III only when the battle was finished and the evacuation was completed. The xenos were nowhere to be seen, only their dead bodies." The aged man explained.
"I take full responsibility for the failure of my regiments to assist your regiments, and joining you to defeat the enemies of mankind. May the Emperor accept the martyrdom of your brave brothers and sisters in arms, and give them the eternal peace. The Tallarn Desert Raiders will honor their memory and speak highly of your people, young man." He said, much to Niko's surprise, especially seeing him in his turban and putting his fist to the chest, swearing by all the words he just spoke. "Tallarn General.. My gratitude. You are an honorable man, thank you for your words.." Niko said, and lowered his head with a light smile that quickly disappeared. He was glad that there was at least someone who did not spit at the sacrifice of his regiments.
The Tallarn General received a lot of backlash and booing from the rest of the Non-Tallarn officers, especially that of the Lord Commissar. "You are siding with this heretic, General Al-Sarin?" He asked, standing up and putting his hands on the table. "I am not here to take sides. There is no heresy in this man. He is the last survivor, and his refusal to talk about what happened, is not something we have to pressure him to do. Only thing that matters, is that his regiments gave their lives to save the Imperial people from the predations of the xenos. That is all that matters to me.. In that sense, I propose to let him go and allow him to return to his homeworld. Be wise, people. Do not judge this brave young man so harshly.." He said, crossing his arms and waiting for the verdict of his 2 colleagues. At least one, only one, had to agree with him, and Niko was hoping for it. He hoped, and did not lose that hope.
The Mordian general, who felt insulted, strictly shook his head. "Negative. I propose, a public humiliation for insubordination and for failing to obey our orders. Walk him through the crowd, while Lord Commissar flogs him in the process. Then to the prison cell, and off to the mining world colony.." He said his proposal, something that forced Niko to swallow his saliva in nervousness. However, as much as his heart began to beat faster, he was preparing to accept his fate, if the General in the middle, would propose something else, or would agree with his Mordian colleague.
The Maccabian General, did not say a word for over a minute, as the entire hall was silent. No one spoke, only the silent breathing was heard. The General approached the young man, who only had one single eye remaining, and looked to be quite physically damaged, but he was intact and holding on his feet. He leaned his face to his, and Niko, did not even move his head for once. He simply stared into his eye sockets, and in there, the Maccabian saw two things that Niko held in high regard - Determination and Hope. The General retreated afterward, and sat back down on his chair, before lifting his hand, and proclaiming the verdict."Guilty!"
Niko closed his eye after hearing that proposal, much to the officers starting to mumble and whisper amongst each other, and much to the sadness of the aged Tallarn General, who held his right hand at his face, while shaking his head. The Mordian General was grinning, but Niko did not want to show any weakness. He opened his eye, and stared straight forward, with a frowny expression. "Lord Commissar. Flog him while taking him through the public. Let the populations see the face of a heretic who disobeys the Imperial high command. To disobey the master is to disobey the Emperor. Break him. Severely." The Lord Commissar stood up, and took out his whip while smirking. "Gladly.. Guards!" He yelled, and two guards came up to Niko, took him by the shoulder, tore his shirt into pieces, and he gritted his teeth immediately. Because the Commissar struck his back with the whip so harshly, that a piece of his flesh just ripped off of his back, and attached itself to the whip.
The young man grunted in stinging, burning pain, and the guards picked him up from the ground after he fell down onto his knees. They started to push him through the gates that opened up in front of him. The sunlight struck his weakened eye, and the crowd was already making loud, negative noises directed towards him. All of them were nothing but insults, curses and damnation.
The guards used chains to pull his shackles forward, and just as he finished walking down the marble stairs, they began to throw rotten vegetables and other nasty things at him, while the Lord Commissar flogged him severely every 10 seconds. His entire back was getting covered in bloody scars, while his body was being covered in foods and other nasty things. He endured, but it was obvious that he was severely hurt. Not by the damage that he took in the battle, but by the fact that, despite all his efforts and those of his regiment, the stuck up, stubborn sh*tes did not show him any gratitude, respect or even honor the fallen, except the Tallarn General. They deemed him a traitor for the most unnecessary thing, but it was truly, the insult, that made him so resilient and resistant in front of them all.
That, and only that alone, is why he refused to describe in great details the events that occurred on Traxon III. They deemed him as weak, pathetic, worthless, honorless and none of them cared for him, or his men, but did Niko turn his back against the Emperor? Did he betray the Imperium, and fall for the great archenemy named Chaos? Did he bring any harm to those who deemed him as nothing than a dust in the air?
Never.
He still prayed to the Emperor despite what was being done to him, and did not wish these blinded people any harm. He was an honorable young man, and was not going to fall as low as these vultures. "Emperor.. If you hear me.." He said while grunting, his back bleeding and covered in deep scars from the whip that tore his flesh clean off his body, and already had tears running down his only remaining eye. "You see what is happening.. To your loyal servant. Deliver us, Emperor.. Do not allow them to break me.. Have pity on your servant.. Please.." He whispered, falling onto his knees from getting flogged once again, but nevertheless standing up and continuing to walk, despite all the weakness that overtook him, and the unimaginable, burning pain that covered him. He was ready to endure this for more than any other man of his age could, but what happened next..Was not something he was going to tolerate.
Niko, much to his shock, saw the banner of his regiment. The 64th. His eye widened at the sight of the Mordians, literally humiliating the banner by stabbing it, spitting on it, stomping on it, rubbing dirt from their boots and using it like a carpet. His heart began to beat fast, and the adrenaline was literally spreading throughout his body at that sight. And just as the Lord Commissar sent his whip flying towards him, he shoved his shackled hands towards him, and the tip of the whip wrapped itself around the shackles. Much to the surprised shock of the Commissar, he pulled him towards himself by tugging the leash, and then, he headbutted the Lord Commissar so hard, that he went unconscious instantly.
The crowd was also in total shock at this sight. The two guards, who turned around, were too late to react. Because Niko, managed to take the commissars power sword, and proceeded to disembowel the guards with two slices, forcing them to fall down while screaming in pain. Just as the bastards who vandalized the symbol of his homeland, the memory of his regiment, everything that was dear to him, was being spat on, he was not going to allow it to continue further. When charging towards the stunned bastards, many images flashed in his mind. The smiling faces of those he considered brothers and sisters in arms, the people he loved, and respected. He did not care what happens to him right now. Only that he preserves the honor and the bravery of his regiment.
"What the frak?!" One of the female Mordian Iron Guardswoman yelled, before getting her throat sliced with one swing of the power sword. She went down while holding her throat, and dropped dead. Niko proclaimed right there and then his next words. "The 64th Regiment lives! The 122nd Regiment lives! The Kalevan Silver Spears live as long as their banner flies high! I will not allow you to tarnish our name and our sacrifice, you worthless scum!" He yelled while holding the sword with two hands, before two Maccabians tried to disarm him. They received a strike from Niko, and a big chunk of their flesh on their arms flew off to random directions. He stood in the center of his banner, and every time they tried to get closer, he would swing his sword and protect his banner no matter what.
He took the banner and wrapped it around his entire arm, and the shoulder, before standing in the center, with the crowd now entirely silent from what this young man managed to do. The Maccabian, Tallarn and Mordian generals quickly came to the entire scene, and they were all shocked.. Except the Tallarn General. He stood firmly and watched what Niko was doing. "Do not shoot! Take that bastard alive!" The Mordian General ordered, and the surrounding soldiers, who arrived at the scene, lowered their lasguns and tried to take him one by one, but Niko showed clear Kalevan resistance while the blood covered his banner.
He swung the sword every time someone tried to make a move, and the Tallarn General watched his every move with precision. He slowly approached him, and looked at his banner, with the part of the eagle in the center wiggling from Niko's every movement, and every swing of the sword. He slowly lowered the cloth which covered his mouth, and sharpened his eyesight at him.He was not willing to give up.
After about five minutes of constant swinging and blocking everyone from approaching him, they waited for him to tire out completely, and he did. Niko was panting heavily, and he ran out of breath, while the adrenaline rush in his body stopped, and he dropped on his back, while breathing and staring at the sky. One individual, a Mordian guardsman approached Niko to apprehend him, but then.. Niko gripped the hilt of the power sword, and stabbed him straight in the trachea, before dropping the sword, and angering the Mordian General, who took out his own knife and wanted to kill him in an instant.
"Enough!" The Tallarn General yelled, and the Mordian General, much to his shock, turned his head towards him. The Tallarn General slowly approached the heavily breathing young man, and their gazes met. "General Al-Sarin! Let me execute this heretic!" He yelled, but Al-Sarin detested. "Negative, Karlos.. He does not resist anymore." The Tallarn General said. "I will take him to prison. And I will not deprave him of his banner." He proclaimed, with all the honor his words could muster.
The Mordian General, was displeased completely, and he was obviously the most fuming individual in this entire scene. "General Al-Sarin! I demand an explanation immediately!" He yelled, before the aged Tallarn General has had enough. In a quick instance, he bitchslapped the young General right on his face, and took him towards himself by gripping his tie. Even the Maccabian General was surprised, much to the shocked Mordian one. "Karlos. You pathetic piece of grox sh*te. You have no pride, nor courage, nor honor in your noble blood. You shame the Mordians, and the Imperial Guard as a whole! With your arrogance and stupidity, you are the reason this was all caused. You tried to break a man who has sacrificed everything that was dear to him. Don't you realize?! That through his regiment's sacrifice, it allowed your OWN soldiers to live another day!" The Lion of the desert raised his voice, while he saw the signs of fear in the Mordian General's eyes.
"You allowed the people, and your own soldiers, to spit on the honor and the sacrifice of his regiment! He did not care what happens to him.. He did not care about anything, but the symbol of his regiment - His banner. He was ready to give his life for that banner, something which your soldiers should not lack! And yet, how wrong was I, to even rely on you with anything, if you cannot deal with the simplest thing such as this, through Emperor's justice.. You cannot be trusted. You shame the Emperor.. You shame your regiment, and you shame the name of your homeworld!" He yelled, and the Mordian General, now wide-eyed, trembling and in the verge of pissing himself, dropped down to his knees, staring at the ground. "I was n-not alone who made the judge.. judgemen-"
"Do not pull me into the web that you found yourself trapped in, Karlos.. The Tallarn General is right. Did you honestly think that I was choosing your side? I agreed with your verdict simply because I trusted your judgement. But now, seeing all this mess? I am ashamed to be even associated in the service by having you next to me. This is what you get. You reap, what you sow." The Maccabian General said, crushing the already broken pride of the Mordian General into pieces. "All that has happened today, is only your own fault.. You were chosen as the leading figure of this operation. You were given a chance to prove your worth, and yet, you failed miserably." He said, and simply turned around, about to leave. However, not before turning his head towards the aged General. "General Al-Sarin. You choose what to do with the young man. His sacrifice, is much.. Appreciated." He said, and left the scene with his soldiers, while the crowd, slowly dissipated.
The Tallarn General sighed deeply, and then knelt down in front of Niko, who already had his eye almost closing itself as he was going unconscious. "Hush, son. Your time has not come.. You will have to forge your own destiny, young man." He whispered, while being picked up in his arms. Niko saw nothing but the sunny blue sky, and right there and then, his entire image went blank and darkened up completely. However, he remained unbroken, and protected the honor of his regiment, even at the possibility of it costing his own life. Just as the old Kalevan saying goes:"As long as the Kalevan eagle flies high, our Silver spears remain unbroken."
Present day...
Back in the cave of the Northern Merlorian mountains.
Liriel opened her eyes, and held her chest while trying to catch some breath.. The moment that she had to endure was definitely harder than her first attempt. She managed to access his mind, but not his heart.. Yet. Even then, she managed to dig deeper into his memories, and the scenes were flashing in front of her eyes for almost a minute long as she was staring at the ground, on her knees, while holding her chest and breathing heavily. "Hhh..Haah...Haaaah...Hhhaaah... Isha... Haa..." She kept breathing and breathing, because the longer she looked, the more she began to feel pity for this young human. "His.. Life.. It has not been too soft on him, I can still see his bloody, torn back.. But the rest..? By Isha.." She told herself. Because no matter what, she saw many more images from his past, which were even more distressing than she could have imagined. The banshee tried to clear the rest of the quick images out of her mind, which she only saw a glimpse of.
The first image was of him being forced to execute the families of the rebels, especially the two child siblings who held each other. Their father was a heretic. She saw Niko's hands trembling, but at the end, he had to press the trigger and close his eyes.. Then everything went dark.
The second image consisted of him battling against the Orks as the horde charged at the hills which Niko and his regiment took positions upon. He was battling against the wild greenskin with his lasgun alone, in full melee against the big green beast's choppa. He looked terrified, with tears running down his eyes, but nevertheless, Liriel saw the courage and determination that he held, before unleashing an entire salvo into the greenskin's chin and chest, then stab him through the temple with his bayonet.. Then, everything went dark.
The third image was him observing the sheer brutality in a hive city of an unknown Imperial world that had a gene-stealer cult. The Imperial forces failed to repel the cultists and had to retreat from the world - It was already doomed. But he wanted to save those people, and yet, a bald man, that looked to be his Sergeant, pulled him back, alongside the girl that Liriel saw in the first vision. They boarded the valkyries, and lifted off, while Niko pushed his hand forward and saw the ordinary citizens, who took weapons to repel the cultists, get gunned down, while the cultists were spreading their gene-seeds through sexual assaults and other means of horrific things unimaginable to any sapient being.. These were monsters. And again, everything went dark, and more wilder images that are so well known to an ordinary guardsman began to flash in front of her, until she regained herself to some extent.
Liriel literally felt the bile come up to her throat, and then, she quickly stood up with Niko still unconscious in the nature's bath. Next, these images she witnessed were so nauseating that she barely was able to stand on her feet, and ended up vomiting on the rocky ground. "Khaine almighty.. Do all of them live with such memories?! And he is just one out of many.." She said, indicating to the fact that, while Aeldari had warmasks that protected their minds from being overwhelmed with guilt or nightmarish moments, the ordinary humans, like Niko, just lived their short lives with it. Aeldari were strictly disciplined and never allowed their emotions to get ahead of them, ever since their fall. However, this was the exact moment where she realized that Niko's spirit was stronger than she ever thought.
"How.. Just how can he smile so vividly, while living with these horrific memories.." She told herself while holding her chest, and crawl back towards him. "His deepest memory.. I.. I cannot access it.. The web.. The light.. They block me.. I.. D..Don't..." She felt the weakness suddenly gripping her entire body as she reached for his temple once again. She wanted to do this. To understand why, and how, he continues to live. She desired to know what was pushing him, what was holding his determination high, and what his heart was hiding. With her soft, silky gloveless fingers now touching his forehead, she collapsed next to Niko, with both of their heads now facing each other. The cave was shining in cyan colored particles and acted as lanterns, but the brighter luminosity, happened right at Niko's temple, where Liriel was touching him, with the softness of her fingertips.
The white light appeared on her fingertips, and quickly went from her fingers to her arm, and right to her own head, establishing the connections of vision once again. Despite the fact.. That Niko began to tremble for a short period of time, starting to groan, while occasionally waking up and ending up unconscious many times as Liriel's desire to understand him completely, was a bit overwhelming. Liriel did not wish to bring him harm, but her curiosity was slowly killing her from the inside out. It was burning her soul into nothingness, and she could not bear it. This did not make her selfish, she just wanted to understand him, and heal him. After about a minute, the convulsion stopped, and Niko's weakened, ill body, now aching from the pain in all of his muscle spasms, began to get hotter with fever, while his breathing got deeper. He opened his eye, and stared at the ceiling of the luminous ceiling of the cave.
"HHh.C..Coolllddd.. W.. .. Hap..ppened.. I c..cannot move. Where.. Am.. I.. Li..Liriel..?" He turned his head to his left, and saw Liriel unconscious herself, and widened his eye completely, with his heart racing so rapidly that it was unimaginable for him to bear. He tried to speak louder, but couldn't. "L..Liriel! Liriel! N..No! Ar.r..e. You okay.. Liri..?" He felt himself completely wet and stripped of his clothing while his body was going numb, with only his underwear remaining as he was able to determine it with his eye's movement. He literally did not care about how weakened he was. All he cared about, was checking on Liriel's well-being. That was the only thing that mattered to him.
He tried to move, but could not do so no matter how hard he tried. He looked at her, and could only watch as his vision was slowly going blurry and darkening in a fast pace. There was nothing he could do, and that is when he tried one last time to lift his arm to just touch her, but even that, was denied to him in an instant. His eye was slowly forcing itself to close as the numbness took over his body, and deprive him of all the energy that his limbs could generate. "L..Liri..." He softly whispered, before going unconscious one more time.. And then, after few seconds..A single, bloody tear, slowly began to leak down from under his eye patch, before dropping into the waters he was bathing in.
The rain. It was severe. It began to heavily leak down on top of Liriel, who was lying down on a wet grass while the thunderstorm was booming in the darkened sky. The confusion that Liriel found herself at, was rather strange. She looked at herself, and she was wearing her gloves, and her wraithbone armor of black color as usual, with a sword and its sheath at her waist. Then, she observed the surroundings while looking around, and trying to find a quick cover from the pouring rain. "By Isha's holy grace, where am I..?" She asked. This was bizarre, and she really did not know what this place was. It was a plain flat ground with lots of trees, and a steep valley right ahead of Liriel.
"A valley..?" She confusingly asked herself, and proceeded to walk forward, while the rain continued to pour down on her. There, as soon as she stepped into the steep valley, she hesitated for a second. "It's too dark.. Easy to get lost, if only- Huh?" Out of a sudden, a weird orb of green light appeared from the sky, and floated just next to Liriel herself. "What in Isha's name is that?" She asked, and reached out to it with her hand. However, it quickly floated backwards, before she could even get her hand near it. "What is this.. I don't get it." She was getting slightly irritated, and did not want to take any unnecessary chances. To her luck, however, the orb circled around with its particles floating, and the particles themselves, made a gesture for her to follow it, and it began to slowly, but surely, go straight ahead the pathway forged in the steep valley ahead of her.
Liriel had no choice, but to follow it, despite her suspicion. "Khaine protect me if this is some kind of trickery of the archenemy.." She let out a deep sigh, but nevertheless followed the orb while taking her calm walk.
She did not contemplate or start to dig deep into her thoughts, as she needed to concentrate on her surroundings, and most importantly, the weird green orb that was taking her somewhere. Where? She did not know. But this was rather unusual on itself. She realized quickly that she's probably having a bizarre dream of some sort, but that was not the case, because all of this felt way too real. "No idea where I am going, but it's better than just standing around and doing nothing. I must not falter in the face of the unknown.." She whispered to herself, and continued to walk.
The howling banshee walked for almost an hour, as the orb oozed the illuminating light, which helped her not to get lost in this darkness. She reached the end of the steep valley, and the rain stopped pouring down on her, and instead, the snowfall began, with the ground getting more and more snowy with each minute passing by. Liriel felt shivers down her spine from the biting cold, but her tight synthetic suit underneath her wraithbone armor acted as a great insulation, and she shrugged the cold off at ease after just a minute of feeling the low temperature. Nevertheless, the orb continued to lighten up her pat in this darkness. The sky was covered in dark clouds, and there was no light of the moon. The only way how Liriel managed to even get up and check her surroundings, was thanks to the lightnings that brightened up the sky for merely a second or two. Now she was forced to follow this bizarre orb.
And she surely did. The orb proceeded to make different turns on its path, and Liriel followed it, until she reached a weird hole in the ground. A pit of some sort, so to speak. Liriel observed the pit as the orb began to float above it, without making any sudden movements, and then, confusingly, looked around herself. "A pit..? What is this?" She asked herself, then looked at the orb, trying not to act too silly by talking to it, but she had no other choice. "Where are you leading me, mysterious orb?" She asked the orb itself, and in exchange, the orb made a slight floating up and down, gesturing Liriel to jump into it. She widened her eyes in such ridiculous idea and shook her head. "No way I am going to jump down that pit!" She proclaimed, and just wanted to turn around, in order to retreat. However, as soon as she turned around, she bumped into a huge vertical wall, which stretched around her in a huge circle as she noticed it, due to the fact that she looked around herself, and saw that all the walls in a 360-degree angle began to close up.
"What in Isha's name is going on here?!" She frustratingly asked and tried to find an empty path, but the walls were slowly closing in from all sides. She was literally trapped, and had nowhere else to go than to the pit. With a slight panic kicking in, she cursed in so many ways known to the Aeldari race, and quickly retreated back to the orb itself, before staring down at the dark pit. "Do I really have to do this.." She said and looked at the orb with frustration. "Khaine curse the force bearer that controls your essence if this is my ruination!" And right there and then, the orb simply vanished into nothingness, before Liriel clenched her teeth, and finally gained enough confidence to jump down, which she did immediately.
Liriel went down the pit as if falling from the sky, and there was no way for her to even observe her surroundings, because there was nothing solid for her to hold onto with her power sword if she had doubts and would've just used her sword to hang on the walls. Unfortunately, she kept going down into the darkness that was so overwhelming and arduous to tolerate. Nevertheless, she closed her eyes, and waiting for anything that awaited her, one of the biggest possibility being the inevitable doom of being crushed into pieces. That, however, did not happen. Not at all, in fact.
Instead, after about a few minutes of falling, she opened her eyes, and saw a bright light that was pulling her down onto it. Realizing that she was literally about to collapse with the unknown, she closed her eyes, and prepared for whatever awaited her in all this mystery she found herself at. The light flickered a few times, and then, she found herself on a soft grassy ground, with the sun shining bright, and with her body lying on the ground. She opened her eyes after she felt a very soft landing, and the first thing that was bestowed upon her eyes, was a single cyan flower resembling a rose, but with a more exotic feeling to it. Her confusion only increased when she slowly stood up, and touched her arms to see if she was intact, and she was. "Thank Isha I am still intact, but.." She looked around, very, very carefully. "Where... Am.. I?" Those were the only words she could muster when she saw an entire plain full of flowers, and a beautiful tree of cherry blossom.
She had her jaw open, and could not believe the sight that she was witnessing. It was not even a paradise world in her own eyes. It was literally the paradise itself, with how much the flowers stretched as far as the eye could see. "In the.. Name of the great mother, am I in her gardens?" She asked, thinking that this was Isha's garden, due to how beautiful, and eye catching it was. She took a few steps onward, and decided to concentrate, instead of distracting herself with the inner beauty. She really had to be careful due to her being stoic. "Nevertheless, a mask of joy may hide a malicious intent. I shouldn't be quick to fall for any charms.." She told herself, and went straight ahead towards the huge blossoming tree with pink leaves.
The tree was located on a hill, and Liriel had to climb in order to reach the tree that pulled her curiosity ever stronger. When she reached the tree, she looked straight above, blinking few times with the wind blowing against the leaves and making sure to bring a strong relaxing feeling for Liriel. She looked at the tree, and reached out to it with her hand. But then, out of a sudden...
*HLLNNCCHHH*
In a lightning speed, and with a blink of an eye, Liriel had her power sword in her hand, and was facing the opposite side of herself, all due to her senses of the huntress. In front of her, was a human figure of a young woman, exactly resembling the one that Liriel saw in the visions about Niko's past time. She was the one that approached Niko and gave him the cloth. It wasAlexis Kauno, or an entity resembling her.
The young woman wore a beautiful and an elegant black dress, and she was barefooted. Pale skin, ginger hair, amber eyes and a very fabulous smile. She wore a silver necklace, and had the same cyan colored flower on her chest pocket, the same exact one that Liriel felt when she fell onto the beautiful flower plain.
"Greetings, warrior of the Aeldari." She lightly bowed, and looked at her in the eyes. Liriel was more than confused, but nevertheless kept herself prepared for any tricks. Surprisingly, Liriel realized that the young woman's words were not strange for her - She understood what she said perfectly. With this sudden situation which she found herself in, she continued to hold her sword's hilt, and did not lower it for even a second. She had a lot to ask of this young woman.. Or whatever it might be.
"You.. You can understand me?" Liriel asked, and the young woman simply nodded. "You are.. You are the one I saw in Niko's vision. Who, or what are you, a spirit?" She asked, to which the young woman simply shook her head, and then spoke out. "Is that what you truly desire? To know who, or "What" I am, Liriel Valdan, the daughter of Estel and Luthien?" She asked with a smile, to which Liriel's eyes widened at her words that struck her like a thunderbolt. "How.. How do you know me or my parents..?!" She asked with a hint of frustration in her voice as she tightened the grip on her sword. The young human woman turned to her side, knelt and gently caressed a flower on the ground.
"All our souls are bound to the warp, where the knowledge is so vast and available, but the predations overwhelm the souls that move even an inch. Then there are those who reside in the human hearts and act as guardians of the host's memories. You do not know anything about me, while I know everything about you. Life can be so unfair, unjust, painful.. But we move by the strings of fate, when those who are weak by their spirit, deny the only chance for their destinies to be forged with their own efforts. Such a pity for you living creatures to be so.. Feeble, and deprived of every way to make your dreams be reality." She stood up next, and looked at Liriel with a cheeky smile, while holding the flower in her hand.
"I am the spirit of Niko Armanen. Guardian of his heart and his strongest memories."
Liriel's confusion did not leave her. Oh no, it only got worse as it increased to such extent that she has never felt this anxious in her centuries of living. "What are you.. Talking about, what spirit? Do not play these word games with me. In the name of Khaine, if you are the malevolence of the warp.." The spirit simply sighed and looked rather saddened by her words. "I am no threat to you, Liriel Valdan of Ulthwe. Some human hearts have a guardian. I am not the woman named Alexis which you are well aware about. I simply appear as I see fit, and I am no daemon. There is a tiny space in the warp that is pure and not affected by the horrors of the galaxy. It is exceptionally tiny, and only few humans, have the likes of me. Ask yourself.. Whenever you tried to reach for the brightest part of my master's memories, why do you think you could not breach the blockade?" The spirit asked while raising her eyebrow.
The howling banshee's eyes widened once again, and she resumed her stoic and serious stance. "So.. It was you who blocked me from the access? What stops me from-" She got interrupted. "I am not going to stop you from swinging your sword at me, but if you wish for my master to die by your hand, be my guest." She said in a very calm manner, while Liriel gasped silently, and she was forced to take two steps back. The spirit simply stood with the flower and continued to stare at her, until Liriel heard her talking from her left side. Liriel reacted by quickly turning her head to her left, then straight back ahead, and she saw the spirit has literally teleported to her side like some sort of warp spider. She quickly stepped back once again, and did not speak.
The spirit looked at Liriel, and Liriel looked back. Their staring contest began until Liriel eventually cursed, looked away, and sheathed her sword while gripping her hands into fists. The spirit smiled, and simply leaned against the tree while sliding down against it. She was staring straight forward, cross-legged. "Good. Sit down, miss Liriel.. I know how your curiosity has been torturing you, and how much questions you have. I will try to answer them all.. Or maybe only a few, although you won't like them. And perhaps bring you to realization that my master is not a fool as you think he is." The spirit explained, and Liriel's head turned to her direction in an instant. "How am I fair to judge the Mon'Keigh that has saved me from the jaws of doom, and not once?"
The spirit replied. "You really do not know anything about him, do you?" She told her with a light frown, much to Liriel detesting it. "I want to know him. That is obvious even without explanation." Liriel replied. The spirit, however, was not too impressed. "You really do not know. Maybe it is best for you to have it that way after all.." The spirit said and stood up, wanting to leave Liriel alone for her to contemplate.
She, however, quickly gripped the spirit by the arm, and spoke. "If I did not care as you think I don't, I doubt I would have been so persistent in trying to find out the truth! You obviously know more about him than I do, in that case, heed me in this endeavor, spirit.. I ask you to show, and tell me, the truth.. Why. Why is he like this, why is he not abhorring me the way-" The spirit simply turned around and placed her index finger on Liriel's lips, much to her getting flustered by it as she stared down onto the spirit's amber eyes. "Shush. You are convincing enough when you get so.. Serious, hm-hm." The spirit giggled and removed her finger from Liriel's lips, before flying off the ground, and sitting on a tree's bench while staring down at Liriel, who stared back at her in awe.
"I am a spirit. I can fly, do not be alarmed.. Ask your questions, but remember, you might not like my answers, and I might refuse to answer some questions, but that is the deal. You have no choice, but to accept it. Are we good?" Liriel could not believe it. The spirit was literally dictating the rules, and Liriel, despite her deep frown, and having her gaze staring somewhere away, had to simply nod, which she did immediately by nodding two times, and looking back at her. The spirit smiled. "Excellent. Now, your first question." She asked, and Liriel replied. "Why is he like this?" She asked. "Like what, elaborate your question, Eldar lady." She cheekily said. "Why doesn't he see me as an enemy, and is so willing to help me in my journey of returning home from Merlorian?" Liriel asked, to which the spirit held her chin and rubbed it.
"Is it not obvious to you, Liriel Valdan? He literally has acrushon you." The spirit simply replied, to which Liriel, against everything known to her in the universe, just looked at the spirit as if she just said the most ridiculous statement that she has ever heard in her lifetime. She blinked a few times, and then frowned deeply, feeling insulted. "I told you, you might not like my answers. But you are in the midst of his soul and heart. Those do not lie. And neither, do I. You heard me exactly right." She said.
Liriel was extremely surprised, as she was taken back with this very serious statement that she heard from the spirit. She felt insulted and mocked, and did not wish to tolerate it, but she had to be careful with her words and keep her fury back. "I do not think I've heard anything more ridiculous than that.. What do you mean "Crush" on me? Abhorrent!" She demanded a proper answer while trying not to blush from such statement. She simply thought of it as abhorrent, but the spirit grinned, because she saw in Liriel's eyes, that she was lying to herself. "I have the capabilities to know what the hearts are hiding, Liriel.. Do not make false statements. You know exactly what I meant, and you know exactly where this is going."
The spirit jumped down with a soft landing while staying straight with her hands behind herself, and tilted her head a bit with a soft, cheerful smile. "My master is in love, it seems. You must understand. To me, you, and my master's race, is like this pink flower over here with few thorns, and this cyan flower here with none. You look too much alike, and even your great seer himself has said that the fates of your races are intertwined. I know you will ask that why is he not confessing or open his feelings straight away? You see, humans, are strange creatures. Even I do not completely understand how they work, but thanks to my master.. I know just something which is necessary for understanding." She explained. Liriel still was in pure disbelief, and her face, proved it. She was just shocked and simply circled around while shaking her head.
The spirit continued. "Don't act like you have lost your entire mind, Eldar. You must understand, that even in this horrid galaxy,the love can bloom."She said, and Liriel quickly looked straight at her direction. "That is not true.. I am an Eldar. He is a human, an inferior, feeble, weak race who live shortest lives and cannot even comprehend what it is like to be us. This is disgusting to hear.." The spirit shook her head at her words. "Your race is known to be full of arrogance and pride. While it is just the matter of fact, that, humanity is weaker than you, you cannot deny that whenever they strive to achieve something great, they do it with all they have in stock, even if it leads to a bigger loss and failure afterward. Do you not see the same thing with my master?" She raised her eyebrow, and Liriel was silent immediately.
The spirit, despite being strange, was making a lot more sense than she thought. She was right, since Niko was the perfect example of her words. He was a human, an Imperial subject, who strives to achieve his goal, despite the risks, which were definitely going to lead to his downfall through execution or a simple loss of his life. Still, he was striving against all odds to achieve something he thought was greater than anything. But.. Love? "I guess you might be correct on that part.. But are you literally saying, that he loves me?" She cringed at her last words, something that the spirit did not like. The spirit frowned with a serious accusing look, and walked up to her immediately.
"You really might be the typical example of your prideful race, Liriel Valdan of Ulthwe. Despite getting the truth right away, you are still in denial. Do you really think there can be no relations between a human, and an Aeldari? Do I have to tell you a little story from ancient books? Once upon a time, there was a Librarian of the Ultramarines, the famous Space marine chapter of humanity.. Guess who was this librarian? half eldar, half human." This statement forced Liriel to widen her eyes and feel extremely disturbed. "That.. That is not possible. Both parties look at each other as if they are beasts to be slaughtered, and you are here telling me that there existed such exception of horrid statement like that?" Liriel was stubborn, but for a good reason. It was her beliefs she was taught, which took over her rational thinking. This was what she was taught her entire life, and now her beliefs, were being challenged by some figure of the Immaterium.
The spirit was patient, but she did not like the way that Liriel spoke so lowly of her master's attraction towards her. Without answering her questions, she continued. "This librarian had a human mother, and an Aeldari ranger. Those who live away from craftworlds and are adventurers. They found love for each other, and the result was a son. I have told you earlier.. You look too much alike. There are a lot of things in common your two races share. This is not the question of something being labeled as strange. This is only facts. You have been told all your life the exact beliefs you are battling with right now.. Sorry to bust your bubble, Liriel Valdan, but as I told you earlier, I do not lie. I only speak, the truth." The spirit told her without a single doubt in her voice and in her eyes.
Liriel was looking away while sitting cross-legged on the ground, and looked straight at it while contemplating on what was happening at the moment. The spirit sat next to her as Liriel looked at the ground with a serious look on her beautiful and elegant face. "I know this is a very hard thing to grasp, but the sole reason why my master has done the things he has done, is solely for one reason alone.He loves you, and will go to the greatest extent to keep you alive, and for you to return home."
The banshee was silent for a minute, and so was the spirit. She allowed her to process all this sudden information to her first question, which was definitely hard to grasp to begin with. "What.. A fool.. I thought he was just showing good will. Wait- You said, to return to my home. Then- What will happen to him? You cannot possibly tell me that I will be forced to take his life?" The spirit remained silent and did not answer her question. "All you should know, is that whatever happens, is not for me to determine. The fate pulls its strings as it sees fit. You can only prevent it by making your own destinies to achieve the most desirable option. As for Niko, he made the decisionOf his own Accord."
She looked at the spirit, then looked back at the ground while still processing the information. But fortunately, her fire cooled down. "I.. Do not understand. How can a human, a mon'keigh, love a member of my race?" She asked with distress in her tone. The spirit replied afterward. "Just as two birds from different species can find love. Unfortunately, both of your races are too brainwashed to even be able to unite against the far greater danger. What is there to speak about unity, when none of you forge your own destinies, and instead, allow the ever lasting fate control your lives through its chains that are so strongly attached to you? You both are stubborn.. But Niko, does not follow that anymore."
She kept on explaining. "Niko saw you at the river.. He had his crossbow pointed straight at your head, but as soon as you removed your headwear? He felt a genuine charm, and his heart defeated his mind by refusing to pull the trigger. Not only that, should I even keep going at how he treated you like any of you loyal Aeldari would treat your great mother goddess, Isha? He saved you from the perversions of your darker cousins, took you in, despite your stubborn and stinking attitude, he treated you with respect and even slept on the floor." The spirit said, before continuing.
"And do not think that I blame you. You have seen the destruction his race can cause, by battling with the members of his species.. But he slowly got attached to you by the following days. Understand, Liriel Valdan of Ulthwe. He does not see you as anything negative. He has lost everything that was dear to him. Sure, he cares for his beast Akila, but you are the only one who makes him push forward. He has done things he still regrets.. And at first, he believed, that by helping out an unfortunate soul like you, he will die with a smile on his face, finally having done something positive that his heart keeps reminding him about. But even I was surprised to learn the fact that he slowly but surely fell inlove with you."
Liriel listened without any interruption, and processed her words through her mind. "She is not, wrong.. He did treat me greatly, and I thought he was simply playing tricks with me, but he proved himself to be a completely different individual than the rest of his species, that is true, but.. Love? Crush? Someone his race considers a vermin.. Has.. He lost his mind?" She really could not accept that this was the truth behind all of his actions. Liriel never had a mate of her own. So many Eldar males wanted her attention on Ulthwe, but she always preferred to give her time for her training and battles, rather than trying to look for any potential mates.
And here, on a former maiden world, she found out that a young man of the human race, is in love with her. Something that took her completely by surprise, so to speak. Nevertheless, she found it hard to believe. All humans were practically vermin in her eyes, because in their eyes, she and her race, was the vermin. So an eye for an eye as they say, but this realization was completely destroyed with the spirit's explanation. The spirit continued her explanation. "Love is a strong emotion that can make the humans do things you might consider crazy. But that is how powerful it is, and frankly speaking, I admire his dedication.. How much he pushes through, with his body and soul, to help you, and to keep you safe. To you, this is anathema. To him, it's something personal. Haven't you noticed how he looks at your exposed face, and I can feel his heart beat faster and have literal butterflies? That's one aspect of love. He feels happiness, warmth and joy, so to speak." She explained.
The aspect warrior slowly but surely took a deep stare at the spirit. "I still cannot wrap my head around your words. You say these... Personal things with so much ease, as if they are your usual topic to talk about. Do you spirits have no sense of dignity? How can you say that a human, can fall in love, with an Eldar, something that human considers as a beast, who is good enough only for a target practice and a plain extermination?" She asked, showing that despite everything the spirit told her, she knew that the spirit wasn't lying.
However, for Liriel, this was absurd, way beyond absurd and way beyond tolerable. "Naive child.." The spirit said with a sigh, looking at the horizon afterward while pulling the flower petals one by one. "I can see that your heart desires to understand him. But your mind is clouding your judgement. Like being shrouded in darkness, where you cannot see the light and reach for it. I pity you, Liriel Valdan of Ulthwe. Your destiny is only forged by you, but if you follow the whispers of your mind, the fate, will chain you at last. Then, it will be too late.." She said.
Liriel tried to grasp the meaning of her words, as much as she could allow herself. "Too late..? What are you talking about?" The spirit waited a few seconds, then replied. "You may not know this, but even you have your own spirit.. Let me guess, you saw a dream some time ago. You saw someone you considered a loved one, yes?" Liriel, hearing this, did not reply. Instead, she froze with an alarming look. The spirit gently giggled, and continued. "As I thought.. Did that spirit tell you, that Niko is your savior, or make remarks for the same context?" The spirit turned her head, and saw Liriel staring away, frowning, and then staring at the ground while gripping her hands into fists. The spirit, simply smirked. "You can definitely see some parts of our nature, Liriel. You were a confused soul, but everything I am telling you right now, should be enough to convince you with the fact, that you are one lucky Eldar."
"Lucky... Lucky?!" Liriel snapped for a few seconds, but eased up her fury, frowning and staring back at the spirit. "How can I be lucky, spirit? While I follow my warrior's path and I won't go down without a fight, the situation is dire. We are surrounded by the mon'keigh armies. My kinsmen do not know of my situation, and Niko... he..." She refused to continue, and began to battle with her beliefs as her hands were trembling. The spirit turned herself around completely, and approached Liriel. "He is risking his life to aid you, because you cannot comprehend, or understand human love?" She asked. Liriel did not answer, but the spirit knew that it meant - Yes.
"It is understandable. You never had a mate. You were always busy trying to become the best with your skills of an Aeldari warrior. Every test, for you, felt like your life depended on it. Although, you have a soul.. And every soul, seeks its counterpart, even in this forsaken galaxy alone." The spirit said.
"Both of your species can be arrogant, always trying to best each other through bitter rivalries. However, this should not stop you from making your own rational decisions that will benefit your well-being, and establish a brighter future. Future, where you are not some rotting corpses on battlefields. To us, the spirits, you are faulty creatures, but it is our duty to remind you of what you are capable of. Even you, Liriel, are not forbidden, from feeling this emotion, that feels to be forgotten in the empyrean seas. Push aside your pride. Niko has already pushed his one away, and allowed his heart to take itself as his main role. If a human, a fragile, weak creature in your eyes, is capable of such feats.. Then who are you, and your race, to judge him?" The spirit was very serious here.
Liriel did not know what to say. She stood there, and looked at the spirit's eyes. Everything she said, was logical, and made sense, no matter how hard she tried to refute her words. "I.. I cannot, love. Let alone, a human.. Just, answer me this question. I already ran out of many, but just this one question, spirit. Why do you say, that he loves me? How can he fall so low, to love a member of another species, something that is repulsive to his kin as much as to mine.. How? Why?" Liriel asked, while looking bewildered. She had every reason to be. She could not grasp the concept of love, let alone the fact, that a human, A HUMAN, out of many Aeldari, was the one who had genuine feelings for her. She couldn't process this thought.
The spirit placed her thumb on Liriel's chin, and stared at her straight in the eyes. "First.. Niko understands what it is like to be all alone. When he saw you for the first time at the river? The seeds, were sown. He is a human.. You are an Aeldari. Your species have a lot more in common, like I said. Plus, this world, is a spirit world on its own. Your ancient kin made sure, that the grasps of the warp evil, do not reach this place. It is the reason, why your soulstone, refused to react.. And you ended up having more rational thinking, and started to trust Niko, because your soul felt the fresh taste of freedom. Do not lie to yourself. You went from wanting to murder him, into trying to take care of him in your own ways, even if it's for some beneficial cause." The spirit explained, and Liriel did not dare to deny her words. She simply stood, and listened.
"Second, Niko sees you as a beautiful woman, despite you not being human. Heh, even I had to giggle when his cheeks went red every time he looked at your helmetless face." The spirit chuckled, but Liriel looked away with a slight, flustered, blushy expression, before looking back at her. "He is a battle hardened young man, but his kindness remains in his heart, despite the choices he made, and keeps making.. You are the sole reason why he continues to push forward. Eventually, he would have found his lonely death here, but ever since you came? These flowers, this beauty you see.. This is the result of him falling in love with you." Spirit stepped back a few steps, and Liriel, was in pure disbelief.
Niko's source of joy, was nothing, or no one else than Liriel herself. She leaned back a little, and walked in circles, while the spirit kept explaining. "It is hard for you to grasp, which is something I can understand. You think differently than he does, but he is genuine. You two do not know the languages, but can already lead by gestures as I see it. Even then.. Nothing else should matter to you, except one fact. Remember this, Liriel Valdan of Ulthwe. Niko is willing to sacrifice his life for you. He pushed himself to the limit, and you already saw the results yourself. This will not stop him, but it may eventually kill him.." Liriel quickly stopped, and looked at the spirit's direction.
"Kill.. Him? What- What do you mean?" She came closer to the spirit. "His body is not built as efficiently as yours. The adrenaline that his heart produced when he was pushing himself to the limit, allowed him to survive the imminent deaths. But once that stopped, his body reacted, and you know better than me how exactly. This will not push him away from his goal, no matter how many times he has to do it. Do you not see how he is literally killing himself just to protect you? Understand. This is the power ofLove."
The banshee, now, looked at her hands, and said. "He is.. Such, a fool.. I do not know why I did not kill him when I had the chance.." The spirit gave her the answer rather quickly. "Your heart and soul are the judges in this world, not your mind. You became free, Liriel Valdan. And no matter how much you try to deny it, you care about him. You took it upon yourself to kill his kinsmen when he was faltering.. You protected him when he was wounded, you are taking care of his weakened, damaged body, but yet you are blind to the facts." The spirit was surely getting serious.
"You cannot bring yourself to harm him, because of how he has treated you, and how he pushed himself to his possible limit, to protect you, and aid you in returning home. Even if you stabbed him in the back, or stabbed him face to face, he would still smile at you, and thank you for giving him the chance to do the right thing by helping you.. Such is my master. A strange young man, yes, but one who pursues his goal no matter what it takes, and whose dedication never falters in the face of death. His love towards you, is what keeps him on the float." The spirit finished her talk, and allowed Liriel to sit down cross-legged, and simply stare at the ground.
She was processing the words of the spirit while the spirit, herself, did not dare to interrupt her. Instead, she sat next to Liriel, and caressed the flowers on the ground. About ten minutes passed by, with none of them talking, and Liriel, stood up, and stared at the horizon. "He has short life.. He already has put so much on stake, that, even I fail to understand him completely. To understand what truly drives him, but now.. All this time, I learn that he has feelings towards me, and that he loves me? How, just how, what am I supposed to make of this? I am an Aeldari. I am not human. My kinsmen need me in the battlefield, and none would tolerate the fact that I even stayed next to a mon'keigh to begin with. What am I supposed to, make of this.. What.. Am I supposed to do.." She was lost, totally. The spirit saw her about to break down, but the spirit was the embodiment of Niko and his nature. It was her duty to make sure, that she digests what she tells her, but also, does not feel any despair.
"He does not wish you to grieve.. You don't even realize how much it would hurt him to see you crying. Allow me, with all my strength and power within my shell, to show you what hides in his heart. Then, what hides in his mind.. Are you ready?" The spirit asked, and Liriel, quickly stood up without breaking down, and held the spirit by her shoulders. "Please. Show me the truth in Isha's name." Liriel answered. The spirit, gave out a light nod, and brought her to the tree.
"Place your hand on the tree, and close your eyes.. For the tree, is his heart, and his mind, and this whole world, is his soul. Do not open them until I tell you to." Next, Liriel gently placed her hand on the tree, and closed her eyes very slowly. She heard strange wind and water noises, that began as a slow echo, but then grew to the speed of sound. It made Liriel very anxious, but nevertheless, she kept her eyes closed, as ordered by the spirit. After about 3 minutes or so, the spirit spoke, but now, she spoke as if the goddess from the sky as her voice was loud and thunderous. "Open your eyes."
Liriel obliged, opened her eyes, and saw a portal-like entrance with a white luminous light. "Enter." The spirit said next, and Liriel, entered the portal. After entering the portal itself, Liriel, appeared in a strange area, which was completely covered in galactic skies. It felt like she was swimming in the oceans of the galaxy, but the ground beneath her, was solid. About 10 meters away, she saw a floating red orb, which caught her curiosity as she was in a full state of awe at such beauty. "Touch it with your hand, and you shall see, and you shall hear.. What he thinks, and what he feels."
In the next moment, Liriel, whilst not speaking a single word, approached the red orb, and softly touched it with her fingertips. Immediately afterward, the orb disintegrated into many parts that began to float and orbit above and around Liriel, and they started to take shapes of different life-like, animation-like images, that described what Niko felt, and what he thought. The images, really forced her head to spin slightly, dizziness increasing, but nevertheless she stood concentrated.
There was a single orb with pure light, which suddenly began to show a clearer picture, sort of animated one, as if these were some kind of memories that never existed, but were just a vision of the future, so to speak. Liriel got curious and swallowed her saliva, until she approached it. "Isha's tears, what do I see here?" She asked herself, and touched the orb as soon as she got close, with her index finger. The orb slowly began to widen up, and Liriel, was forced to take few steps back. The picture presented itself to her eyes, and she, was forced to gasp, and widen her eyes.
The picture showed her, in a long, elegant dress of her craftworld of Ulthwe. She was holding something... Or someone, wrapped up in a blanket of some sort. "Gods.. W..Wha.. What is... This..?" Liriel did not expect to see herself here. However, the much bigger shock, came to her as soon as the picture started to zoom in, while Liriel's image-figure, was slowly lowering the hood of what she was holding in her arms..It was a child.
Liriel's heart sank and literally stopped beating for a split second, as she literally froze on the spot, and stared at what she was seeing. She took a few footsteps forward, and saw what looked to be her own child in its infancy. She could not believe that any of this was ever a possibility to begin with. Not even in a parallel universe, if any of it existed. The face of that child, however, was human. It made her knees weak as her heart began to beat so fast, that she was able to hear it with her own ears. "No... No, no, no, no!" She yelled and stepped back after witnessing the child's face. It was very pretty, so to speak. The baby was a girl, with green eyes, red hair and sharp-ears. But what shocked Liriel to the core, was the fact that the baby's face, was human. "No.. How.. Is that.. my..?"
"You feel disgusted?" The voice of Niko's spirit spoke from above in an echoing voice. Serious, but soothing. Liriel looked around, then back at the frame, as she held her mouth and tried her best not to get overwhelmed. "How can you even have the audacity to say that?!" She yelled back, frustrated at such question. "She.. Would be an outsider, and my people would not tolerate such.. An outcome." She said. At the beginning, she felt slightly repulsed, but it instantly disappeared when she took a better look at the infant's face. She felt warmth, but then an intense fear. Why? The Aeldari would not accept any of this. Member of their species, having an offspring from a human. A Mon'Keigh. To them, humans were beasts. They would have perfect reason to be disgusted. And as the girl would grow, her life would be hellish with constant spite and disgust from the Aeldari, and even humans alike.
That is what she felt. Fear for the well-being of her possible daughter. And she would grow to see her father pass away way earlier, since humans were short-living beings. Many thoughts were circling inside her head, and they were slowly overwhelming her. Liriel switched her sight to the picture, and there, she saw Niko, standing by the side of her image-figure, shorter than her obviously, but aged at least 25 years. He was near her at the side, wearing his Kalevan uniform, and was staring into his daughter's face with his ever so fabulous smile. Even when he looked to be older, he retained his kindness no matter what. Liriel gasped once more, and simply could not believe that Niko could express something like this to begin with.
The howling banshee was in a pure state of shock, and quite frightened to begin with. She had a perfect reason for it. With few footsteps, and holding her mouth, she approached the image and tried to take a closer look. "Is that really my..." She wanted to proceed with her words, but the spirit decided to be her guidance on this. "Your daughter. Yes." The spirit said from above, and Liriel fell to her knees since they were trembling from way too many mixtures of emotions that were running through her mind and body alike, like a constant lightning pulse, which felt like it was never going to stop. She was an alien being, and tried to react according to her own self-being. Had she been a human, she would have probably ended up breaking down immediately, but right now, her warrior spirit was resisting the urge to appear as "Weak", which is something that the spirit noticed, as it saw how Liriel was struggling to hold back her emotions.
"Even the warriors feel emotions. Do not be fooled with such silly beliefs that you are to be like iron. For even the iron cries.. And when it does, it rusts. You wanted to know what my master hides in his heart, and now you have witnessed it yourself. This is what he thinks about.. But to him, this is only a dream that has a very low chance of ever occurring. However, he lives by his hope. The hope.. For the better." As the spirit said that, random orbs slowly began to float closer to Liriel, and her eyes were running from one orb to another, seeing the wholesome, harmonious images of her peaceful life, the growth of her daughter, the lovely moments, and Liriel, felt her heart yet again beat harder and faster. She lowered her head and stared at the ground.
"All this, time.. He has.. Risked everything that he has, from his, life to his oath, because..he loves me..?"She asked. This was a very unusual and unknown concept for Liriel. She never had a mate, and never knew what that kind of love ever meant. This was like facing the unknown and being puzzled in an instant. She was staring at the ground while holding her face and trying to hold herself together. "Correct. I see it is a very unknown feeling to you. Someone who's love has been only the sword that you wielded ever since stepping on the path of a Khaine's warrior. Little do you know how much love can bloom.. If only." She said. "And do not try to deny, that as much as you were confused about him being the way he is, you slowly began to feel attached to him, despite him being, a mon'keigh, as you call humans." The spirit said, and Liriel frowned before standing up and yelling at the sky.
"He was my only way out of the world! He was supposed to be a liability that would give me an escape plan, but seeing how he honored his words, I could not allow my arrogance to take the upper hand, and just leave him to die.. I needed him." She spat back. The spirit, however, had her own plans. "Do not lie to yourself." It said. "That was the beginning of your plan.. Before you two ended up in the same boat." Liriel was quick to reply. "What are you talking about.. Stop.. For Isha's sake, speaking, in riddles.." She said while trying to stay calm. "Your plan was initially to use him for your own good.. But you cannot hide what's in your own heart, Liriel Valdan. What matters are the current circ*mstances. You care for him. Stop. Denying it."
"I care for him, and?!" Liriel said while staring at the skies, and around herself. "So why are you so stubbornly trying to deny the facts that are lied down in front of you? Is it not enough for you, an arrogant stupid creature, to see how much he keeps pushing himself to make sure that these images that you see, remain in his heart, out of love for you? He knows what would happen to him. And yet, despite him faltering at some parts of your journey, he kept going. Because he believes. How? It is possible only, if you believe in the words of..Of your own accord."The spirit told her, to which Liriel was silent once more, not finding any arguments at this possible dilemma. "I am simply trying to protect the truth.. Me and him, we have nothing in common.. I am a warrior who is destined to fall in battle one day. He, is a lost human soul, who is too hopeful for something that is an impossibility. "Love".. It does not exist..There is only war."
After seeing that Liriel was still in denial and was not willing to yield to the truth about Niko's feelings for her, the spirit was now truly speechless so to speak. But at the same time, it was truly irritated. Liriel stood still and stared at the horizon while remaining stoic, wiping her eyes from accumulating tears. However, as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the spirit standing in front of her, looking relatively unhappy, and quite annoyed.
"You are trying to run away from the truth. You are not trying to protect it.. I gave you all the facts, opened his heart for you to see what he cherishes the most at this very moment, and yet you are remaining in denial? Disappointing. But.. You are not yet lost. However.. You do want to understand him, but I do not think you truly realize how much he is willing to sacrifice." It said, and Liriel opened her mouth to speak, but she clenched her teeth, looked down at the ground as her hair went from ponytail to her usual long one, falling on her shoulders, and over her head. Because the more the spirit talked, the more the shell inside of Liriel's soul felt itself cracking. But she was not done with questions, and the spirit saw it.
"Tell me... This. How did he-" The spirit interrupted her rather immediately. "Get that scar on his face? I do not think you are ready for that." The spirit said, and Liriel tightened her hands into fists, before looking at her once again. "Unveil the truth, spirit." Liriel said roughly, something that made the spirit smirk. "You deny the most obvious truth, Liriel Valdan of Ulthwe. But I can feel the eagerness in your heart, pushing your curiosity in finding out the truth. Tell me in all honesty.. Are you truly following your warrior's path, or you have never been truly loved by anyone?" She asked the howling banshee, who began to feel irritated as her face was becoming obviously frowny. But she realized that there was no point in hiding her thoughts any longer, and simply replied. "... No."
"You are extremely overwhelmed by what you have heard, and seen, in here. I can feel it, and your reaction is rather strange.. But seeing how you were never loved before, I can see exactly why it is bizarre for you to grasp this concept. But it is futile to deny the truth when it is presented to you in an open platter. Niko will not admit this to you, because he is afraid of your reaction." That made Liriel to swallow her saliva.
"That is why he retains these thoughts and images within his heart and soul. For only the thought of you being alive right now, gives him any meaning or will to live.." It said. Liriel immediately widened her eyes. "What do you mean the meaning or will to live?" The spirit's face turned into a sad expression, and she simply looked away. "Before you arrived, all of what you saw today, was nothing but wasteland, deprived of anything bright, or meaningful. It was just a blackened, scorched, scarred land. When he spent more time with you, the land began to bloom, and his heart, the tree, grew its blossoms.. But had it not been for you,He would have killed himself from loneliness."
Liriel, immediately, gasped at her words. That one tiny spark suddenly lit up in her heart, and the spirit could see how that shell in Liriel was at it's peak and about to break. But she knew that it was not enough. Oh no, definitely not. "Killed... Himself..? How can he.." The spirit sighed, and told her what she was seeking for immediately. "The origins of his scar, the memories of it, the gripping loneliness, all hope lost, those he has lost.. All of this combined would push him to the limit. I saw his time running out until you arrived." She told Liriel, who immediately grabbed her shoulders and looked at her straight in the eyes. "The memories.. I need to see them. Please, is this about his scar? I.. I need to see the truth, I need to understand why, just.. Why!" She said, with her voice getting louder. The spirit remained calm and looked at Liriel in her amber eyes, seeing the hidden determination waking up within her, and that pure, stoic ignorance slowly dissipating, getting replaced by undeniable curiosity. "... So be it."
After the spirit said those words, she pointed at the portal without saying a word, and Liriel stared at it, before staring back at the spirit's direction, but it was not there anymore. Liriel swallowed her saliva, turned herself to the portal, and slowly entered it, gulping down her accumulated saliva, not knowing what would await her in the other side.
What awaited, was something she would remember for the rest of her life.
A pure, nightmarish vision was presented to Liriel's eyes as soon as she came out of the portal. The blue sky was replaced with darkened clouds. The flower plains were replaced with scorched wasteland. The tree, which had beautiful blossoms on it, was now literally dead and without any lush parts. The tree was darkened itself, and Liriel's shock was very real at the moment. She looked around, and saw literally nothing that would be a sign of life. However, what she did see, was a single well surrounded by black obsidian stones, with a tiny staircase made out of stone. "By... Isha..."
She walked towards that well, while the only noise that she heard, was an empty, and dead wind, which blew against her, and it was very much chilling so to speak. "What am I about to witness.. Oh great mother, protect me from faltering in this. Guide me, oh Isha, guide me.." She repeated while climbing the staircase, before reaching the well itself, which had a glistening, bright blue colored water in it. Liriel stood there for over a minute, and tried to touch, but then, out of nowhere, that familiar voice from out of nowhere, forced her to slightly jump. "Dip your face into the well.. If you dare. Because what happens next, is a huge gamble, Aeldari. "
After Liriel heard these words, she was even more hesitant to do anything with this well to begin with. However, she realized that there is no turning back from this, and decided to pray before her initial task. "Curses be upon me for getting into this messy situation.. But I need to understand him. Khaine, I ask thee, cover me with your blood covered hand. Oh Isha, our great mother, embrace me in your arms if I am to meet my death." After saying those words, she slowly closed her eyes, and dipped her face into the water, before slowly opening them.
*GRAB*
Suddenly, her eyes widened in an instant as a prolonged, clawed, pitch-black hand grabbed her by the throat, and forcefully pulled her down into the black abyss of the well. She struggled and tried to get the hand off from her throat while trying her best not to panic, but it was all for naught as she began to lose consciousness in this realm of Niko's soul. This unexpected turn of events really made her curse herself for attempting this gamble, but she knew that she had no choice, and now, she only awaited the next moment while speaking in her mind with her vision going completely blurry.
"I..Sha... Prot..ect.. M...Mmm.."
Space port of Merlorian capital of Xaroi.
Cloudy day. Landing pad number 121.
Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos, his acolyte Adrian, and some members of his routine from the members of Sergeant Tarn's squad were waiting at the landing pad for this uninvited guest, who presented themselves as an anonymous figure, who just happened to know Inquisitor Oleos. "My Lord. Any extra precautions?" Asked Adrian, to which Kaidan shook his head. "Negative, Adrian. We don't want any situation to escalate.. Although, I am curious to know who this individual is. This entire operation was a secret, therefore I can only fathom to think that someone may have sniffed us out, or we have a rat in our ship.." He said and frowned afterward, followed by Adrian frowning as well.
"If that is the case, they will not escape the Emperor's judgement. Hate snitches.." Oleos smirked afterwards. "You're following my thoughts, my dear acolyte. Snitches, get stitches. But now, let's concentrate." After he finished his last words, the sudden hiss of the Imperial shuttle's hull was heard. Oleos, Adrian and the rest of the crew prepared for this meeting with stoicism, although some of the crew members were anxious to know who might have grabbed their tails on this operation. The hatch opened, and then, came out a single figure... A figure, that forced Oleos to silently gasp, widen his eyes, and force himself to freeze on the spot.
"Well well well... Greetings, my "dear" colleague!" The mysterious man said. He was clad in Inquisitorial garments of red and black colors, and being quite tall, and possibly in his 60s. He had a long fancy mustache, a monocle glasses on his right eye made from gold, and had a long, gray hair. And what made him appear different from the rest, was his adamantine-crafted cane with his Inquisitorial seal acting as the handle, glowing and showing his authority of the Puritan circle. It also helped him to distinguish from the rest by wearing his black robe, and a silver chain that went to his right pocket, which had his sidearm. He made his slow approach towards Oleos, while grinning proudly.
Kaidan woke up from his trance, and frowned unhappily towards the approaching big man, who stopped about a few meters away from him, staring straight into his eyes. "Are you not happy to see me, Kaidan?" The man asked, while laughing maniacally as if intentionally irritating and teasing Oleos.
"... Did not expect to see you here...Inquisitor Julius Kasim."Oleos said, while standing still and just staring back at the man's eyes. Adrian was looking rather anxious behind his own frown at this very moment. General Urslov contacted Adrian through the comms as he saw the live footage of the spaceport's landing pads. "Acolyte Adrian. Who is this uninvited guest?" The young acolyte tapped his comms button. "Puritan Inquisitor Julius Kasim. An old rival of my Inquisitor.. They have a bitter history, even when my Inquisitor was an acolyte himself. This man is a black stain of our Ordo, and a pure madman. Do not be fooled with his personality, appearance or acting. He will go to any extreme lengths to complete his missions, no matter what he has to sacrifice. Therefore, if I were you, I would be really worried and careful when confronting him." Adrian answered him, short and simple. "... Emperor preserve us." Said Urslov, because no other words were needed here to be said. "Indeed, General.. Indeed."
This was the moment which Oleos truly feared. In front of him was a man of higher authority, but also, a man of unspoken cruelty and madness. Julius Kasim was a prick, a bastard, an idiot, anything negative that Oleos could think of, would be appropriate to describe this man. Oleos and Kasim had a bitter rivalry. In Adrian's eyes, Oleos was the way of light and knowledge. Kasim in the other hand, was the darkness and destruction.
What made this situation worse, was the fact that Puritan Inquisitor Kasim was very unpredictable. No one, except Oleos, knew him better. His manipulation skills would make the Eldar blush, so to speak. He always got what he looked for, and Oleos prayed for the Emperor to just let him die as quickly as possible. So much was the trouble that he caused. The only reason why he was not persecuted, was all thanks to his zeal and loyalty to the Emperor with the purest form of extremism. He was good at removing an alien threat, even Oleos knew it, but his methods, were all more or less Pyrrhic. The problem would be eradicated, but the cost would always be high, and he would not choose any other path, even if the different paths would be lied down in front of him.
"What are you doing here, Kasim?" Oleos asked, his voice radiating the vibes of negativity and mistrust. The Puritan merely smiled. "Did you really think, that I would allow you to take all this quote on quote operation of "Pure Secrecy" upon yourself while missing out the wild party? Don't be so silly, Kaidan. I have my agents in every corner of this galaxy. The galaxy, that belongs to the God-Emperor, and nobody else. You have a filthy xenos problem in this world.. And I arrived to take care of it." He said, his smile instantly disappearing and switching to a serious one, his eyes slightly closed as he was staring straight into Kaidan's soul. The Inquisitor, decided to have a little arguing with his colleague of the Puritan circle.
"This is not a matter of your concern, Julius. This operation, is run by me. I have absolutely no idea how you managed to find me.. But it does not matter. You are interfering into my mission. I do not intervene with yours, do I?" He asked, doing his best to remain calm. Puritan sighed. "Kaidan, Kaidan.. I am an agent of the Emperor and his authority. I do not need your permission to interfere into the operations of our Ordos, be it that of the Hereticus, Xenos or Malleus." He explained, while holding his cane.
"Every threat must be eradicated alongside with their history. I know you are still bitter at me with our mutual mission against the Necron abominations. I do not regret the sacrifices and destruction of the filthy xenos knowledge which would plague humanity's minds. Only the Emperor's inexhaustible armies.. These, are the only thing we need to survive. Do not believe that your "enlightened" ways will bring us any benefit. Or would you like the higher authorities to hear that you're doing a mission without telling them, let alone not reporting about it?" He answered, until Kaidan really held himself back from the urge to punch Kasim in the jaw, because as soon as he said those words, he was grinning yet again.
Kaidan held himself, but continued to stand his position nevertheless. "You manipulating bastard.." He said and spat at the floor of the landing pad, before staring at him once again. "What is your frakking purpose here?" Kaidan raised his voice before Kasim tapped his cane two times, and two of his most trusted acolytes came out, both clad in some kind of masks and assassin-like attires, before bringing him two scrolls as they both stood at their Inquisitor's sides. They seemed to have been two ladies as his acolytes, since their feminine bodies were obvious. Adrian cringed instantly. "Old pervert, abusing his power.. Cannot even fathom how much he brainwashed those two into trusting him and then doing whatever his sick mind can think of.." He said, while Kasim decided to read the scrolls in front of him.
"It has come to my attention that there was a... An anomaly here. Apparently, the knife-eared bastards and their abominable moon-sized ship slipped in this system. That attracted my attention, but as I see it, you have already gotten here before I did.. Truly an incredible feat." He said, before putting the scrolls away. "The reports are not pleasing throughout your operation, Kaidan. Frankly, I am disappointed. You follow your ambitions of "knowledge" as you say, but you allowed, an Emperor damned traitor and a xenos whor* to escape your grasp, because you were afraid of "losing" the knowledge about their presence here?" Kasim's words were getting into Oleos's veins, and Kasim knew it from his eyes, since Kaidan remained neutral in his facial expression.
Kasim continued. "You were too much of a wuss to shoot them both on sight and just continue your service in the God-Emperor's names? You were always running after knowledge, and still, you failed to realize that it slows you down.. Look around you." Kaidan raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Julius?" He asked, before the Puritan answered. "Your loyal devil dog, Sergeant Daniel Tarn, is wounded. The army of this planet has not been able to intercept the enemy. Not a huge, well-disciplined army mind you, but two individuals. My methods would have helped you a lot.. But is it truly my fault that I do my job very well, and you do not?" Kaidan swallowed his saliva. The Puritan Inquisitor was very well-informed. How he did it, was a mystery to Oleos.
"Are you here to hinder me for how I run my operations, Julius? Look at the pot calling the kettle black." Oleos crossed his arms, and stood literally just one meter away from him, while staring straight into his eyes. Because right now, he has had enough of hit sh*t-talking. Kasim raised his eyebrow for a second, and then, he wanted to say something. However, Oleos did not give him that luxury. "Na-a-ah. Don't speak.. You tell me that you do the job better than me? Very well. But tell me this. Is it me who messed up in the world of Dardelenus, when we were on a surveillance mission?" Kasim's calm and charming demeanor disappeared from his face, so much to the point that two of his acolytes, gripped the hilt of their daggers. Oleos smirked, and kept going.
"You failed to do a simple task against some brainless orks, and they stole an important stockpile of Imperial Titans like the bunch of rabid dogs that they are. And it was my crew that you hinder, who pulled you out of that mess, let me remind you. And that day, the higher command of the Holy Ordo scolded you for this mess up. Your mess-up got you demoted to the ordinary rank of just an Inquisitor, from the Lord Inquisitor." Kasim was fuming from his words. The only shame of Julius's career, was the incident on a Armoury world of Dardelenus. Kasim did everything to destroy any records of that day, but apparently, someone managed to sniff it out before it disappeared. And that someone, was Oleos himself.
Adrian, and the rest of the crew, were truly impressed. They were quite pissed off at this aged Inquisitor's arrogance, and the audacity of him to be insulting their master, their lord, and their boss. But little did they know, that Oleos wasn't willing to put up with any sh*t from well aged, and far more experienced colleagues of his ordo. "I remember when you isolated yourself for a day, because your pride was hurt. How unfortunate, I might say.. But it seems you did not learn your lesson that day, since you only got yourself deeper into trouble, and only avoid the retribution thanks to your methods that the Inquisitorial Representative of the Senatorum Imperialis is impressed with." Oleos said, and frowned at him.
"You are not the Lord Inquisitor anymore, Julius. We are of the same rank.. I do not wish to humiliate you further than you already are." He said, and Adrian, alongside the crew members, had a proud smile on their faces. "Our Inquisitor is truly exceptional in his task. Does not bend in front of any danger. Truly, the true agent of the God-Emperor." Adrian whispered to himself. He and the crew were feeling every sort of reassurance at this very moment, but little did they know, what awaited them next.
They heard the aged Inquisitor laugh after pretending to be getting owned by Oleos's words. Kaidan got confused alongside his entire crew as they all got instantly concerned, and all of their smiles disappeared. "What is so funny, Julius?" Kaidan asked, his arms crossed, and his eyebrow raised. Kasim merely took his monocle off to wipe his tear of joy, and put it back on his face, before it instantly got serious. "You feel so enthusiastic, do you, Kaidan? Allow me to remind you that I never care about what others think of me. What I care about, is progress. You believe I am the same rank? Allow me yet again, to dissipate this fog of confidence that is looming over you." Inquisitor Kasim said, and then, pulled out a square object with the size of a fist, shaped like a cube, and tapped the button, before a holographic message of a mysterious figure appeared, and it began to read out a message in front of Oleos and his crew.
In the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind, his holy majesty, his grace, and his power over the galaxy.
I hereby restore the rank of the Lord Inquisitor upon Julius Kasim for his effective results against the vile xenos.
Every Inquisitor is to obey him and his orders in the eyes of the God-Emperor.
Any disobedience shall be persecuted and the order of the execution will be instant. Do your work efficiently, and make the God-Emperor proud in your valiant service.
This order is unquestionable, and any objection is rejected. I, The Inquisitor Lord Terran of the Senatorum Imperialis, declare this order immediately.
The Emperor protects.
The holographic recording disappeared, and Julius calmly looked down at his colleague, who was busy looking down at the floor while his crew members, especially Adrian, were frustrated. They did not expect this kind of surprise, but Adrian was also blaming himself for getting too confident himself. "Cursed be this old bastard.. I knew he was a slick frakking scumbag, but to bull this kind of trick.. We are seriously trapped." Adrian whispered to himself, and remained at his spot with his arms behind him.
Oleos did not have anything to say for his defence. The bastard's acting got the good of Oleos, and for the first time, Oleos thought that he had the upper hand. But even here, this bastard managed to fool him quite exceptionally well. "Do you feel in charge?" Kasim asked. "... No, Lord Inquisitor." Oleos said, while gripping his hands into fists. "Look at me." Kasim ordered, before harshly pushing Oleos back, something that forced Adrian to get frustrated, and grab the hilt of his sidearm, before Oleos stopped him. "Adrian. No." He told him, before Kasim raised his voice. "LOOK, at, me, when I talk to you." He ordered, and Oleos, despite his own frustration, stared up at the Lord Inquisitor, and he stared back at him, while Adrian remained by his Inquisitor's sign.
"I take this mission upon myself and my crew. I will purge every sign of heresy that I see, and eradicate this alien and this traitor once and for all. My advice to you, my younger colleague. Do not stand in my way, and do not think about interfering in my methods, no matter how "extreme" you might find them.. I am well aware of what has happened here. However, you did manage to shut down the governor, shove the populace into one city, and give an order of mobilization to the planetary militia. For your good work, I will not inform the high command about your refusal to report your operation... Why would I ruin "my" success by jeopardizing your operation?" Kasim smirked. This was a clear insult for Oleos and his crew, because all of their hard work and sacrifice was taken away from them by this aged, arrogant Inquisitor, who waited for the perfect opportunity to grab the bounty when it was open for snatching.
"... As you wish... My Lord Inquisitor." Oleos said those words with bitter hatred for this bastard, who merely smiled and tapped him on his shoulder. "Good! Very good. Well now, and who do we have here?" Kasim's attention diverted to Adrian, who looked at him like a lion looks at its prey. Kasim smelled the irritation and the zeal burning in Adrian's heart, and decided to mess with him. "Adrian Kalias. You would have already been an Inquisitor of our Puritan circle, had you been a member of my crew.. What do you say, would you like to join me and climb up the ranks, and unleash all your fury upon the enemies of mankind?" Kasim asked, before grinning. "Your Inquisitor's results are... Quite pathetic. With such an unfortunate path, you won't be able to become the best version of yourself." Adrian immediately stood in a full attention pose, and replied to the arrogant prick.
"My Inquisitor is wise, calculated, intelligent, hardworking, smart, brave, resilient, and a true agent of the God-Emperor. It is an honor for me to serve under his command. My loyalty is for him. And only he has the right besides the God-Emperor to relieve me of the duty, or to free me from under his command.. I will not abandon him." Adrian proudly replied, surprising both Kasim and Oleos himself, who looked at him like a father looks at his son, with pride. "I admire your dedication and your trust in your Inquisitor. So, you refuse?" He asked, and Adrian, despite wanting to snap the old man's neck, merely nodded once. "Such a shame. You would have been a great asset under my command.." Kasim cleaned his monocle, and put it back on his eye, before looking around himself.
"I would have shot you in an instant for being so bold with a Lord Inquisitor.. But I do not wish to seek a personal rivalry with my colleague here. The one we have right now is enough as it is." Kasim said these words so calmly as if it was a normal thing for him, which, it quite obviously was. Adrian, nevertheless, did not show any signs of fear. He simply remained calm and collected. He stood by Oleos, who just looked at him in a surprised manner. "Adrian..." Oleos said, and Adrian merely smiled lightly. "Worry not, my Lord.. If I have to sacrifice myself in order for you to keep your hard work going, I will do it without a flinch." Oleos shook his head and looked at him. "Negative, Adrian. You are my acolyte. I need you to live, even if I die. That is an order." Oleos said, while Adrian nodded. "As you wish, my lord. Who else will carry your knowledge if not me?" The Inquisitor smiled. "That's the spirit, Adrian, that's the spirit.."
They both now looked at the newly arrived Lord Inquisitor, who stood still and was reading a few new scrolls that his two female acolytes brought him. "My Lord.. Are you sure those are not assassins?" Adrian asked. "Callidus Temple? No.. However, they look like they're specifically instructed to obey Julius no matter what. Keep a clear eye on them, Adrian. Do not trust any of their words, and be vigilant." Kaidan explained. "Yes, my Lord." His acolyte replied. Kasim turned around and looked at the two.
"Inquisitor Oleos.. Who is leading this militia?" He asked. "General Luka Urslov. A competent officer, who holds the structure of the planetary militia intact." Oleos replied. His voice had a sign of unhappiness and bitterness, but Kasim did not care, even though he knew how much Oleos hated his guts. "Get me to the military headquarters. Now." Kasim ordered, and Oleos nodded before walking off from the spaceport straight into the elevator alongside his crew, and Adrian. They got out of the elevator while staying silent around the Lord Inquisitor, and then, they took the turn towards the military headquarters on a high altitude. Before he entered, however, he ordered Oleos and Adrian to stay outside, and they obeyed, before the Lord Inquisitor went straight into the building with his 2 masked female acolytes.
"Atteeeennttioooon!"Urslov ordered his officers as they all got into a square shape, and saluted the Lord Inquisitor who entered the briefing room. "My Lord Inquisitor. General Luka Urslov of the Merlorian militia." Kasim nodded, before the General stood still in a full attention pose, with his arms behind his back. "So, General. Tell me.. How is it possible, that you, despite having so much firepower and numerical advantage, failed to apprehend a traitor and a lonely xenos whor*?" He said while sitting at the main table, with his female acolytes standing at both of his sides, while he emptied his pipe's ashes on the table, which had the Merlorian symbol on it. The officers, and even Urslov, held themselves from cringing out of frustration from such an insult. The Lord Inquisitor was calm and acted like he owned this entire planet, more or less, not even the governor defiled their symbol like this.
He shoved new tobacco into his pipe, and started to smoke. "Well?" Kasim asked, and Urslov, looked at him straight in the eye. "From the words of the Inquisitor Oleos, capturing them would prove to be more beneficial for this operation. I believe him, since we are theorizing that-" Kasim cut him immediately. "That there was an unknown xenos artefact in this world?" Urslov stayed silent for a few seconds, before nodding. Kasim frowned. "Everything that is tainted by the xenos deserves only destruction. Your entire world reeks of heresy if you have failed to do a simple task, which in reality would have been, to kill them both on the first sight and complete your mission once and for all. Instead, you decided to believe the naive Inquisitor instead of mastering the art of the Puritan circle, somewhere where I belong to." Kasim explained.
"My Lord Inquisitor.." Urslov said, while obviously being worried at the moment. Adrian warned him, earlier, to be very careful while confronting this old and aged Inquisitor. "The Inquisitor, has the authority over an ordinary militia like us. We were following clear orders, and we managed to trap the two scumbags in the northern mountains. We have made sure to patrol and scout all the pathways that lead out of the mountains. They have nowhere to go. I do not have the authority to question the Inquisitor's ways. He asked for our aid, and we obliged, as any Imperial subject should.. We swore to aid Inquisitor Oleos. Only he can relieve us from our duty, since I understand that you want to take the command." Urslov explained. Kasim smirked, since he realized that Urslov was being too careful at the moment. He enjoyed the power that he held, and to make sure others feel too little in front of him.
In an instant, he snapped his right finger, and the acolyte female from his right side, immediately jumped over the table, grabbed his head, and slammed it down the table while holding him down by his arms after jumping off the table. "Is that so? Are you showing me disobedience?" Kasim said, and immediately stood up with his sidearm aimed straight at Urslov's head, who remained grunting and unflinched, and merely looking straight into the eyes of the lord Inquisitor's cold and calm gaze, and the officers were in a state of anxiety and shock for their General, the one man who cared about them and their military service "General!" One of the Captains tried to intervene, but the female acolyte on the left side immediately tackled him down, and Kasim turned around, to take a good look at the young and struggling Captain.
"GGrrrrh.. Helios!" Urslov yelled, and Kasim merely placed his boot on top of the Captain's head, with a calm, and truly monstrous cold gaze. "Do not intervene in my affairs, heretical worm." And right there and then, the Inquisitor shot the Captain straight in his head, which forced Urslov's and the other officer's eyes to widen up in a panicking shock, and freeze on the spot. Kasim turned around, and aimed his pistol around the entire room, while staring back at Urslov with a smirky smile. "Do you still keep your loyalty to Inquisitor Oleos, or should your officers pay for your own mistake that you refuse to redeem yourself from, General?" He said with a maddening, silent laugh. Adrian was right. This man's personality was so twisted and his moods so random, that you would never know how he was feeling due to his talent of manipulative acting.
"Well? I guess we will keep going until you finally realize who you should follow.." Kasim said, and turned to one of the Colonels, who tried his best not to show fear, but the Colonel knew that this was going to be it. He closed his eye, and prepared for his imminent death. However, it was not destined to happen. Urslov did not want to lose his officers that he taught himself.
"Stop! My Lord Inquisitor.. There.. There is no disobedience. I am.. Me, and the entire Militia, is under your command. Waiting.. For your orders." Urslov said, and Kasim calmly smiled, snapping his fingers as his acolytes returned to his side. "Very well then, General! See? It was that simple.. It is okay. You have plenty of captains left. You should know how expandable the pawns are on a chess board. But I admire your dedication for keeping your officers in the highest qualities. Unfortunately, this one was unlucky. Oh well." He shrugged, mocking and taunting Urslov, who gritted his teeth, and closed his eyes, before opening them and looking at him. "My Lord Inquisitor. Your orders."
Kasim dropped more of his pipe's ashes on the Merlorian symbol on the table, and then shrugged, while the female acolyte on his right side, grabbed the Merlorian banner from the wall, and went to his legs to wipe off the Captain's splattered blood from his boots. The entire Merlorian militia staff felt intensively insulted beyond their imagination. They witnessed such atrocity, such as senseless killing of their brotherly officer, and defiling of their symbol, and their banner, by this arrogant and selfish Puritan bastard. However, they all had no choice but to endure with serious faces, even after the female acolyte threw the banner like a piece of cloth on the ground. Kasim ordered one of his female acolytes to go and bring in Adrian and Oleos inside, which she obeyed with a nod.
In a few minutes, Adrian, and Oleos, entered the room, and saw the grim looks on the faces of Merlorian officers while the female acolyte of Kasim walked in front of them in the briefing room. "They all look grim and deeply upset, what did he do..?" Oleos asked himself, before Adrian stopped his Inquisitor, and pointed at the dead Captain on the ground as soon as the female stood aside and approached her master. They also saw the defiled Merlorian banner, and the proudly sitting prick facing them like some kind of prickish noble. Both the Inquisitor and his acolyte had the shocking facial expression in written on their faces, and Kasim enjoyed it. "You don't like my methods, Kaidan?" He asked, and Oleos instantly frowned while closing his eyes, and opening them after two seconds. "Negative, my Lord Inquisitor. I shall not question your.. Methods."
"Good. All of you, get down on your one knee. Immediately." Julius Kasim ordered, and everybody except Adrian and Oleos went down to one knee. Kasim raised his eyebrow. "Did you not hear me? On your knee." He ordered with a cold voice, and Oleos merely looked at him with bitter anger. "You have absolutely crossed the line, Julius. Who do you think you-" He snapped his fingers once again, and one of the female acolytes smacked Oleos straight in his gut with the butt of her dagger, and forced him to kneel. Adrian instantly retaliated by punching the female acolyte in the face and breaking off her mask. She looked at Adrian, and he, literally froze on the spot with his eyes widened...The acolyte had no eyeballs. Only empty sockets.
This allowed the second acolyte to smack Adrian into the leg and force him to kneel while grunting in pain. Then, as the punched acolyte was looking for her mask, the sister-figure helped her by retrieving it and putting it back on her face. "Ts-ts. Always so bold, Adrian.. They rarely speak, and they have no eyes. Their masks are authentic, and only through them can they have any vision. Perfect tools to serve my needs before they become the Inquisitors themselves. Puritan circles care only about the stability of mankind." Kasim said. "Adrian, obey his every task.. Do not do that ever again." Oleos said, while remaining on his knee. Adrian was frustrated. "My Lord.. He is-" Oleos shoved his hand towards him. "Silence..." Adrian, despite his every effort, frowned, and just stared at the ground while being silent.
"All of you should know one thing. I am in charge of this operation. I expect every one of you to do your best, and to follow my every command. Any disobedience will be punished severely.. Every heresy shall be purged from this world. No matter where it hides. I will get rid of the two vermin and do the God-Emperor proud. Therefore, if you feel any ounce of frustration, do not direct it at me. Direct it at Inquisitor Oleos here, who you trusted with your lives, and he blindly sent you to your deaths. You failed to do a simple task against two individuals.. And today, you paid for it. Do not blame me. But blame him, and his retinue, for he did not manage to contain his ambitions of seeking knowledge and not the progress. Will you not see the clearer picture here?" Kasim explained, and all of their gazes turned to Oleos in a bitter mistrust and anger, except Urslov.
He wanted to say something, but he knew that if he dared, Kasim would bring out the mental punishment. Kasim, however, was more or less not wrong. They trusted Inquisitor Oleos, and from now on, would blame him for the loss of their soldiers, and what Kasim did today as a clear lesson.
This was truly a moment that Oleos hated. Not only did his most bitter rival manage to establish his authority over him, but he directed his trusted resources against him. He practically was losing every ounce of authority he had over this world, and he knew that Kasim would not stop here. Oh no, it was only getting worse. "To make you further realize the cost of your mistake.. Look out of the windows, and see for yourself what your trust in Oleos has given you." The Merlorian high command was confused by his words, and they all rushed to the windows, and much to their shock, all of them gasped.
The total slaughter has commenced.
The Merlorian officers saw their city in complete disarray. There were Imperial stormtroopers in black armor and grim looking helmets with red lenses arresting some of the population and shoving them into caged carriages, before they were brought far away to the countryside behind the hills, and the officers clearly heard the salvos of weaponries being shot behind the hills while in a state of horror. Kasim was simply smoking his pipe and inflicting his punishment upon the officers.
The caged carriages returned after a long while, and despite being empty, the officers saw that they were covered in blood. The blood of the people that the stormtroopers executed. Few thousand people in just a single hour were shot, and one of the Interrogators was issuing clear orders for the populace to learn from this mistake and to not resist the Lord Inquisitor's will. Some of the officers saw a lot of their family members amongst those who were unfortunately doomed in those cages, and they silently wept.
Oleos has had enough, and he was forced to stand up, with his acolyte Adrian following his every movement. He approached the table, and slammed his fist down on it, much to the unflinched Kasim. "Kasim. Have you absolutely gone mad?!" He raised his voice, clearly frustrated. "I am simply inflicting a punishment for messing up in this operation. But do not worry, they will not blame me.." He said proudly, while taking a puff of his cigar. Oleos then diverted his gaze to the whispering officers, and he clearly heard their bitter words one by one. "We should have never trusted him.." Said one. "God-Emperor curse us for believing in him.." Said the second one, before the third one said his own words. "Are you happy now, Inquisitor?!" He turned to the direction of Oleos.
"We believed in you, and gave you all that we had! And this is the thanks that we get for putting our lives at risk? In order to protect the lives of our families, your own mishap caused this to happen.." One of the Liutenants spoke and approached Oleos, before General Urslov got between him and Oleos. "Stand down, Derek.." He ordered, before the Lieutenant clenched his teeth and looked at him in the eyes with bitter frustration. "You are taking his side, General?! And what about us, our families.. Our honor?!" Urslov then got serious. "It is not Oleos who executed your family.. Stand, down, Lieutenant! Regain yourself!" And even here, the Lieutenant refused to oblige. "Emperor damn you, old man! It is his fault that we got punished so severely. Look at us, General! We followed your orders with the purest feats of loyalty, and where did that bring us?!" Urslov was about to speak, but Kasim cut him straight ahead.
"Now now.. Let us not get too emotional. Listen to me, Merlorian officers. Who wants to join me in this endeavor, to avenge your fallen brothers and sisters, by finding this traitor and the xenos, and killing them on sight, or by any chance, capture and lynch them after marching them through your glorious capital? Who wants to join me, in order for no more mistakes to happen, that unfortunately forced my hand to inflict the punishment upon you, for you blindly trusted this foolish Inquisitor who is clearly.. Responsible for everything that I did today?" Kasim asked, and immediately grabbed the Merlorian banner from the ground, before using his own flask to clean the blood in front of them, and also, wipe away the ashes from the table, where the Merlorian symbol was, something that confused and surprised the officers, and clearly, some type of admiration was slowly being visible in their eyes as they whispered amongst each other.
"I do not wish you or your home any harm. And.. Your foolish Captain left me no choice. Had he not intervened, I would have left him be. But never raise your hand on a Lord Inquisitor. I carry with me the clear authority. Join me if you want to regain your honor and avenge your fallen comrades. I did not come here to defile your home, your honor, your pride, and your fallen. I came here to give you a choice. What I did, was merely a lesson. A lesson, which.." He pointed at Oleos.
"In which this man, over here, feels about all of you. Imagine! I only showed you what he thinks about your lives, and your home. He willingly sends you to the jaws of doom while comfortably sitting in cover. Meanwhile, I, have faced every xenos danger all by myself and my acolytes alone. What I did, I did it for you to understand that all this time, you trusted a man who spat at your lives, your honor, your pride, and your deceased.. So do not blame me for hurting your families. Blame this man here. For the cost of your mistake, was too little, in his eyes.. And too high in mine." Kasim frowned and looked down at the banner he was holding. He proudly covered his neck with it, and then took his cane from the side of the table.
Oleos, Adrian and Urslov were surprised. They saw how Merlorian officers looked at Kasim, having deep sense of indoctrinated beliefs with the grip of his manipulative tongue, before looking at Oleos with a bitter hatred. Little did they know, that this was just Kasim being himself - A manipulative bastard. And what they expressed, were mixture of fear and brainwashed loyalty for a higher authority. He was clearly using his manipulative skills to brainwash the emotionally damaged officers to his side by playing with their minds, and using his talent of the words to twist their minds, and pull these poor bastards to his side. Oleos knew what he was doing, and only looked at him with a deep, fiery hatred, and frown. Adrian was doing the same, because both of these individuals knew how Kasim was. All Officers joined Kasim's side, but he wasn't done with his words.
"And those.. Who wish to follow the pathetic ambitions of gaining xenos knowledge that will perverse your minds, you can join this Inquisitor's side at any time. For that is a full right of an Imperial citizen." Kasim said, and after 30 seconds, Oleos was already on the verge of abandoning this mission, but then, surprisingly, General Urslov walked to the side of Oleos, and looked at Kasim with silence. "General Urslov.. Are you very certain about this?" Asked the Lord Inquisitor, who raised his eyebrow while holding his cane. "I swore my loyalty to Inquisitor Oleos. I believe in his path, and that is all I am going to say." He said, surprising Oleos who looked at him in a way of only admiration. The Merlorian officers looked upset for a little bit, since they wanted their father figure to choose their side, but General Urslov, was not a man to simply fall for some stupid tricks, or betray his words. He was a man of loyalty.
"Very well." Said the Lord Inquisitor. "I hereby take control of the planetary militia, and all the resources of this planet. We depart to the northern mountains. If I require your aid, Inquisitor, you will immediately respond. In the meantime, stay away from the operation. And do not get in my way, Oleos. Understood?" Kasim said in a very serious voice, and Oleos, slowly lifted his head, and replied. "... Yes... Lord Inquisitor." He said with a hint of frustration, something that earned Kasim a mad and mocking laugh as he left the briefing room with the rest of the officers, and his 2 female acolytes. Adrian, and Urslov, exchanged their looks, and then, the acolyte spoke in the room of silence.
"My.. My Lord. So... What now? He screwed us big time." Adrian said, punching the wall with the side of his fist. "I don't know, Adrian.. No matter what happens, that son of a bitch always is one step ahead of us. And it drives me to madness." Oleos said, and then, sat down on a table, looking rather lost while putting his fingers to his temple. "My Lord.. I would rather not ask you about what that man represents. He is a total psychopath, and he is a bigger threat to my home than those who we chase. But we still cannot abandon our mission, no matter his threats." Urslov said, while taking his pipe and having a smoke break.
Adrian joined in the conversation once more. "He is right, my Lord. We cannot just give up! That bastard may have beaten us this time, but he only won the battle, not the war.. Therefore, I suggest that we figure out a plan of our own." Oleos slowly lowered his fingers from his temple, turned around, and looked at him. "Adrian. With what? He now has the entire Merlorian army in his pockets, alongside with the resources. Don't be so ridiculous, you two.. We have nobody we can ask for aid, anymore." He said, and Adrian wanted to continue, but he shut his mouth as soon as the weight of Oleos's words awarded him with a grim realization - He was right. Urslov only smoked his pipe, unable to know what to do since the bastard Julius has already removed the trust of the world and now possibly the populace from Oleos. The situation looked to be rather dire... Oleos was on the verge of just taking a break.. But out of a sudden.. The door was heard as it opened up, and... Then!
"Do not be so quick to fall into despair, My Lord. Did you forget about your devil dogs?"
Suddenly, much to the shock of literally all 3 individuals, the familiar voice allowed itself to echo in the briefing room, and Oleos, with a sudden gasp, slowly turned around, and could not believe his own eyes.It was Sergeant Daniel Tarn himself, alongside his men!
"D..Daniel?! How did you- I- Did I not tell you to remain-" He immediately shoved his hand forward. "My Lord. There is no one except the God-Emperor in this universe to hold me back from being your loyal warrior. Me and my men are more worthy to fight by your side, rather than sit in some rooms answering stupid questions. I told you far back then, that no matter what happens, I got your back, Kaidan!" He tapped himself on his chest, and grinned. Oleos was at the loss of words. Tarn had a bionic eye, and now, he had two augmetic arms. Much like his brave men, he was well armed, with his thunder hammer, and hotshot lasgun, and his famous beret.
Oleos quickly regained himself, but could not help himself but to smile, genuinely feeling hope in this dire situation. Even Adrian was smiling, let alone Urslov who was lightly smiling, glad that such a tough bastard was well and alive. "May the Emperor bless you and your men, Tarn. I never doubted your loyalty.. I assume you really want to redeem yourself from that mess up?" Oleos asked, before Tarn simply laughed. "Give me a break, my Lord! I messed up, because I lost my men.. But their sacrifice was not in vain. I realized that, and now, me and my men are certainly ready to lie down our lives in your service, and for the Emperor himself. Ain't that right, men?!"
"WHOOAH!"
Tarn then looked at Adrian, and grinned. "Adrian. Still looking determined as always?" He asked. "You bet, Daniel. You are one tough son of a bitch, let me tell ya. To heal up so fast from such grim injuries and come out on top, that takes resilience worthy of only the Emperor's most blessed." Tarn nodded, then looked at the General. "General Urslov. You are an honorable man, I see.. Tech-priest Garn informed me where you were going, and I had my spy-fly bot broadcasting the conversation when we were on our way here. By the looks of it, Julius has arrived.." Tarn cringed at the mention of that name, and so did his men as their facial expressions changed. Oleos frowned. "Unfortunately, Tarn.."
"Look, my Lord." He approached him. "As bad as this may sound.. I do not need more than what I've heard to realize what that frakking bastard wants to do. And this case, is extremely unusual. It requires, as you have said, further analyzation, investigation.. Examination. As much as I so badly want to maul that xenos whor* to a pulp.. I want to apologize for messing up, and that I only wish to follow your orders to the last." He said, and Oleos shook his head. "Do not think about it, Daniel. You gave me a new sense of hope, surprised me beyond my imagination, and that, is worthy of my purest respect."
"And mine." Adrian said.
"Mine as well, Sergeant." Urslov said next.
Tarn nodded to both of them, then, looked at the Inquisitor's eyes. "My Inquisitor!" He and his men instantly went to an attention position. "Sergeant Tarn reporting. Ready to serve you no matter what it takes, alongside my brave lions, Sir!" Oleos stood tall, with authority pose, and got serious. "Very well then, Sergeant! Prove you are still worthy of the Emperor's majestic grace. Are you ready for your next mission, Imperial stormtroopers?!"
"Tempesta, Aeterna!"
They, and even Tarn, yelled in unison. "Excellent!" Said Oleos, before taking out a map onto the table. "Gather around me, men.. I now have a plan as we have Sergeant and his men." He said, and then pointed at the northern mountains, just as the Sergeant and his men, and even Urslov and Adrian, gathered around the table. "We have only one shot at this, men. But here is the initial plan. You will disguise yourselves as the Merlorian militia, and do your best to gather every data you can from the on-going operation. By all costs, avoid stumbling upon Kasim.. I'm afraid he might recognize you, Tarn. Even if not, he can sniff you out at ease, that bastard.. No matter what, be smart in your judgements, and do not fall for his tricks. He is always paranoid, and he directed the hatred that was meant for him, straight towards me. Truly a monster.. But nevertheless." Oleos finally took his cigar, lighted it up, and had his calm smoking session.
"The xenos and the traitor are hiding in these mountains. Their last whereabouts were approximately right, here. I do not know where did they vanish, because the blizzard covered up most of the surface, and we cannot get too fatigued by digging out the snow. But the plan is simple, men.. Do not, I repeat, do NOT, allow them, to kill these two. Otherwise, everything is lost. The traitor might be some kind of an agent.. Or let alone, the xenos has the information about the attack and what they dug out from here, especially when we saw the dead Drukhari scattered around." He said.
"This mystery needs to be solved, before it disappears forever. Infiltrate their base at the northern mountains. Me, Adrian, and General Urslov, will use stealth to reach the possible locations of those two after you report their whereabouts through the coded comms. Make sure to sabotage their equipment, and set up explosives in their fuel stocks in case of emergency. Tarn, I know how you love blowing things up into pieces, so you have the independence for it." Tarn grinned, and nodded. "Yes, my Lord!" He said, and Oleos then continued.
"The temperature here is pretty chilly, but that won't be troublesome. Even these two know that the further north they go, the harsher and tougher it will get. It is possible that they might be hiding in some caves.. But there are countless amounts of them here, as I can tell. Therefore, let us be very accurate. Any questions?" He asked, and Tarn shook his head. Urslov however, intervened after taking a few steps forward. "My Lord. They are... They are still my men. I, would like to ask Sergeant Tarn here to, minimize the necessary casualties if possible, but completely avoid killing them. They're too easy to manipulate, and I feared that this will be the case." He said, and Oleos, sighing, agreed. "Can you do that, Tarn?" He asked, and he simply looked at Urslov. "I cannot promise.. But I'll try." Urslov nodded. "That's more than enough."
Oleos, now with all things set up, looked straight at the window. "Let's get moving then, men! Urslov, get them Merlorian uniforms, and then, come back to me. We fly to the non-patrolled and non-scouted area of the mountains, and await for Tarn's updates. Let's get moving, men." Oleos said, and Urslov gestured Tarn and his men to follow him to the armory. "Follow me, Devil dogs." He said while smoking the pipe, and Tarn followed him alongside his men. Oleos remained staring at the window, and Adrian was free to talk with him as usual.
"My Lord. Is this possibly our only chance?" Adrian asked.
Oleos took a puff from his cigar, and answered him. "Possibly.. But nothing is impossible. This might be our only chance to capture and interrogate them. We capture them, get back into our cruiser, and depart away from this system without a trace.. That is my initial plan, Adrian." Oleos told him, before Adrian simply leaned forward, and frowned slightly.
"We have only one shot at this, I would judge.. But I trust your thinking, my Lord." Adrian said, and Oleos simply smirked. He suddenly came up with an unimaginable plan on how to make sure Kasim gets distracted and possibly frakked to pieces. Afterward, he spoke in his own mind. "Not only one shot, Adrian.. In fact, I know what to do to make Julius distracted, or at best get killed. You just wait..Emperor forgive me, however."
Liriel's vision...
Imperial world: Traxon III.
A battering sound of gunfire and bombardment echoing everywhere. The ears buzzing with tingles and deafening sounds. Intense flashes there and here.. These were the things Liriel experienced while she slowly opened her eyes, and found herself to be laying on a no man's land. "Where... Am I.." She said, and slowly stood up while regaining her consciousness. As soon as she did, however, she gasped. An artillery shell flew straight at her face, and she did not manage to dodge it... And it went straight through her like she was not even there. "Huh?! What in Khaine's... Name..?" Liriel touched her body and felt that she was intact, and that many lasgun and other projectiles were getting through her body.
The confusion was so strong with Liriel, that only increased once a Drukhari wych got through her, and ran towards the positions of where the projectiles were mostly coming from - The trenches. "Ulthwe's tears.. Where.. What.. Is going on? Am I in another realm of vision?" Liriel looked around herself, and observed her surroundings in a fast pace. She noticed that the trenches were filled with Imperial guardsmen far ahead in the south, and from the north, Drukhari Kabalite warriors were charging forward while their eldritch vehicles were providing them with covering fire. She quickly covered her eyesight from the flashes and walked towards the trenches to observe what was happening, and she instantly gasped.
The first man, that fell upon her eyesight, was younger Niko Armanen.
He was shooting from his lasgun at the charging enemies, and Liriel noticed that his face was intact. Both eyes were there, there was no scar, and he, was obviously younger. Next to him, was the spirit's figure - Alexis, the battle medic who was attending the wounds of her squad mates. "Is.. That you, Niko?" Liriel tried to touch him, but noticed that her hand just went through his body like he was nothing but air itself. She then realized, that this was Niko's memories playing out in front of her.
"Why is this such a difficult task.. By Khaine.." Liriel asked and just stood there, watching Niko closely, and then the horizon, where the Drukhari were charging from.
"Niko! Hand me the vox caster!" Said Sergeant Aulis, before Niko threw him the vox caster, and he began to immediately call for another artillery support. "Fire control! This is Shield 0-5! The murderous xenos are hammering our positions, and they're coming up fast! Requesting artillery barrage, stand by for coordinates! 8553-3023 980 16 50, Eight hundred meters, rapid fire, I repeat, rapid fire!"
"Copy that Shield 0-5. Fire command, all guns, coordinates received. Commencing artillery barrage, danger close. I repeat, danger close, take cover!" The artillery commander ordered, and immediately, Aulis yelled out. "Roger! Everybody, take cover!" And within an instant, everyone's heads went down, as the thunderous, whistling artillery barrage, commenced.
The ground shook entirely, and even Liriel felt how loud and deafening it was that she was forced to close her sensitive knife-ears and lie down on the ground as the ground began to shake in a tremendous amount of thunder and hammering. The charging Drukhari were decimated completely, as hundreds upon hundreds of shells were unleashed upon the no man's land.
It all stopped after only five minutes, and the eerie silenced kicked in. The guardsmen allowed themselves to raise their heads, and take a good look at their situations. They all cheered for a little bit as the Drukhari assault wave got repelled. Niko sighed out deeply, and leaned down against the trench wall, taking a few sips from his canteen, and sighing many times in relief. "Niko..?" Alexis approached him. "Ah, Alexis? It seems we survived the wave, heh.." She smiled at his cheerful behavior, and wiped his face from dirt. "We sure did. Thank the Emperor."
Liriel would not admit it... But there was a sudden urge for her to react instantly, by wanting to do what Alexis did, herself. It was obvious when she quickly gasped and tried to get her hands on Alexis, but she stopped and just began to confusingly contemplate on this kind of behavior. "Why did I even try to.. Never mind." She quickly shook her head and regained her concentration, before watching over this entire vision.
"Did you hear the proposal? Commissar Artan, General Varos and Major Rex are ordering the evacuation of the fortified city. We are having some success against the Drukhari scum." She said while feeding him some biscuits, which he happily chewed, and forced Liriel to secretly frown at this image, despite not knowing why or how.. It seems Liriel was feeling something that only humans would have as a common quality -Jealousy.
"Are they undertaking the operation at the moment? Well, I'll be damned.. Hah, I guess you are right, Al. How's your plans to open that apothecary store in Mer'Yen?" Alexis lightly blushed and Liriel was surprised to learn that she could understand what they spoke about, as it seemed that this vision allowed her to understand the Low Gothic. "Nicky, you.. How did you-" Niko cut her in her sentence. "Pfft come on, Alexis. I may have seen you writing your diary about your dreams.. Just let me tell you something. I am willing to be your assistant in that store. I thought a lot about it, and.. It would be fitting." Alexis lit up with a wide smile and went in for a playful hug. "Nicky you little devil!" They both laughed and cheered.
Liriel was at a loss for words. Her jealousy increased, and she did not even know why. Just why, did she have this sudden urge to push Alexis away. It seems that her instincts were kicking in, but she tried to control herself. But something, still, saddened the howling banshee. She realized that this innocent looking human female had a strong bond with Niko, but she, genuinely, did not feel like they were already mates here. More like a bond through service and mutual trust, but nothing romantic. "You tell me, Kalevan sister. What else would I wish for, after crossing several battles with you by my side, as a guardian angel of our squad?" Alexis smiled again, and shrugged. "I guess you could say that, since everybody thinks the same way." Niko gave her a thumbs up. "You bet they count on you, Kalevan sister!" She nodded, booped Niko on the nose, and walked away to get more supplies when the situation calmed down, and there were no wounded for her to attend, as other medics took them.
Niko looked down at his knees, and he looked rather upset. Liriel truly did not feel comfortable seeing even a younger him like this. "Something is bothering him.. I can already tell that by how he's being right now." She said. And she was right. Niko had a face of sorrow, and some deep realization. "He fears that this might be his last mission. We, of the Aeldari, always feel like this, before going to the battlefield.. How much he contradicts our beliefs is beyond me." Liriel said, and decided to sit at the opposite of him, straight in the trench.
She stared at him, and saw that he was indeed upset. She did not really blame him. Every battle felt like it was going to be their last, and even Liriel herself felt the same. She treated her own participation in battles as if her life depended on it. Therefore, she knew how hard it must be for Niko to experience what he is having at the moment. "His face remains the same.. What is he thinking at this moment, I wonder." She told herself, and saw Niko pulling out his notebook with his ever so famous smile. In an instant, he began to draw, in order to distract his mind.
Liriel got curious, and found herself moving to his side and sit next to him, watching him draw in peace. She carefully examined his notebook, and saw that he was drawing himself playing guitar at a campfire, something that got Liriel curious. "Playing a string instrument.. At a fireplace? Rather enthusiastic for an artisan." She said, and allowed herself to have a light smile on her face. This moment brought her a strange sense of relaxation. Then, he flipped the page after finishing his sketch, and decided to draw a Kalevan wolf.
As Niko began to draw the majestic animal, he also began to sing with low tune, until he slightly raised the volume enough for Liriel to hear the words. She looked at him in a strange way, since the language he sang, was so alien to her, and at the same time, it carried so much majestic aura, that she froze on the spot, and listened to him loud and clear.
"Mie suusi suurin.. Mie suusi suurin.. Suveks syömää.. Muut lampaaksi, lautsan alle.." He sang, with passion, and continued as he drew the wolf. "Mie suusi suurin, mie karhu kankahalla.. Miun veret pieälimmäisinä.." His face changed from a smile into a serious one as he increased the pace of his drawing. "Mie suusi suurin.. Suveks syömään.. Muut lauhtouh lampahaksi.." His singing got a tad louder, as if he was entering a strange trance. It was obvious by how his pupils got wider, and Liriel felt disturbance in the air. She felt like Niko was in a sort of hypnotizing effect. "Minä.. Sudeksi. Muut Lampahiksi.. Mie.. Suusi.. Suurin-"
"Niko.. Niko!"Suddenly, Alexis came out of nowhere and shook him out of his trance. "Huh?" Niko shook his head, and then looked at her as he stopped his drawing process. Alexis raised her eyebrow. "What in the great spear's name were you mumbling about? It looked like you were locked in a trance of some sort." She told him, and he simply shook his head for the second time. "Ah well, that was just me.. You know. Distracting my mind from the scars of war, you would say." Alexis rolled her eyes, while Liriel was quite baffled at the behavior of the Kalevan girl. "Distract this, distract that.. Don't be a fool. If you need some mental support, just come to me. I told you that before!" She booped him on the nose, and Niko was forced to have a jestful laughter. "Oh you truly are a guardian angel of our regiment, Alexis Kauno."
Alexis smiled, and they began to chit-chat. Liriel in the meanwhile, tried her best to understand this weird human behavior. However, one thing truly made her upset. "The mon'keigh have so much free will.. They have the option to act as they please. We cannot ever regain that luxury, no matter what we try, or do. Such a shame how our history is dark.." She said, and then, commissar Artan came out of nowhere, and saw the two individuals acting inappropriately in his eyes. "Niko Armanen. Alexis Kauno. What in the Emperor's name are you two doing? Get back to your duties before I flog you two!" The tough commissar ordered, and Alexis immediately saluted and ran off, while Niko stood up in an attention pose.
"Sir!" He lifted his hand to his forehead to salute, but commissar Artan cut him off. "Spare me your groxcrap, Armanen. Discipline must be maintained. So get to work, before I knock your teeth out.." He ordered coldly, and Niko had his eyes literally escape to his temple from those harsh words, but he controlled his behavior in front of the commissar. "Sir, yes sir!" He instantly grabbed his binoculars, and set up to look at the no man's land. The commissar went past him and continued his inspection of his troopers. "Aaaghh.. Artan and his ways. Always a pain in the ass, but he is a much-needed asset to our regiment. I doubt that without him, we would achieve any success. Although.. What the hell did just happen five minutes ago..?" Niko asked, before looking at his notebook real quick, then ignoring it afterward. "Never mind.. I really have to control my mind."
Niko concentrated, while Liriel watched his every movement. "There is a disturbance in this entire vision.. This is supposed to be some kind of revelation to me, is it not?"
"Your presumptions are not misleading you, I see."
"Huh?" Liriel gasped from hearing that familiar voice once again. She looked around herself, and straight at the sky the next moment. "Spirit? What in Isha's name is that supposed to mean?" Liriel asked her, frustratingly. "Look at the horizon, and you might be able to see it." The spirit replied, and Liriel looked straight at the horizon by leaning her hands against the trench wall, and just staring forward.
To her surprise, she noticed a.. Strange phenomenon. A weird looking, cybernetic creature was approaching the trenches with a single wheel instead of legs. Little did Liriel know, that it was nothing else than a simple servitor. "What kind of.. Abomination is that..?" She asked. The servitors were a horrendous things to look at, since they were extremely disgusting to comprehend.
"Contact!" Liriel gasped as Niko yelled out that word right next to her, standing literally one foot away from her with his binoculars. Suddenly, a well aged man with a slick cut, and a bald, tough looking big guy with a bionic eye appeared right next to him. "Guardsman, what is the matter?" The aged man asked. He was the father figure of the regiment, Colonel Emil Varos, alongside his right-hand man, Major Rex. "Sir.. I.. It seems to be a, servitor?" Both men exchanged looks with each other. "Hand me over the binoculars, son." Rex said, and Niko obliged, before the bald man looked through them himself.
"Hm.. Broadcasting servitor. It stopped. Emil, I do not like this." Rex told him, while Varos was rubbing his chin. The rest of the guardsmen were already pointing their lasguns, heavy stubbers and other weaponries to the horizon. "A servitor, in an open.. Field? Where did it come from?" Varos asked. "No idea, sir." Niko said next. "It just came out of nowhere, straight through that foggy mist.. And-"
"It's emitting some strange light, as if, beeping..?" Rex notified them, and both Niko, and Varos, looked straight at the horizon. In the next moment, a very grim looking image appeared from the chest of the servitor, who presented a wide, holographic square screen above itself. And within it, was a figure with a dark, spikey helmet, and spikey shoulders, its helmet visors pure green. Everybody froze right on the spot when that happened, and they had their fingers on their weapon's triggers, ready to shoot with a command of their leader.
"That must be, their leader.." Rex said, clenching his teeth in fury. Varos frowned afterward. "He is their archon. They will do anything that he asks of them, no matter what.. Let's see what he wants." He said, and then, they heard a mocking laughter from the figure on the screen.
"Hm-hm-hmmmmm.. How delightful. The prey appears to be intimidated by my presence.. Mmm, I sure enjoy that taste. The taste of fear. I am Archon Axaran Merus, from the Kabal of the Dreadful blades, from the dark city of Commorragh. Mon'Keigh leaders, present yourselves to me immediately, before I order my subjects to collect you like cattle into our ships, and be sent to our realm of torment and unimaginable pain." He said. His voice made every guardsman cringe and have their biles reach their throats, fighting the urge to vomit, since the archon's voice was so sinister and full of darkness, that they felt how horrifying his aura truly was.
Varos, and Rex, alongside the silent, but cold commissar Artan, got out of the trenches, and took about ten steps forward, instilling courage to their soldiers by doing this, and ensuring them the meaning of "If you die, we die. So do not run." And making sure that they remain where they are, no matter what. Varos then presented himself while remaining stoic. "I am Colonel Emil Varos of the 64th Line infantry regiment of the Imperial guard regiment of the Kalevan Silver Spears. State your presence upon this world, alien filth." He said, with roughness in his voice since he really did not wish to have any discussion with the xenos bastard, but he had to do act accordingly.
"Well now.. Mmmm, such spark, such fire. But too futile to impress me, mon'keigh. My presence here is nothing else than to taste your fears, and take you like cattle into our ships, enslaving your men, women and children to our ever-lasting desires! That is my presence, primitive..." Liriel was disgusted, since she could understand everything from this discussion as she stood by Niko's side. "Ulthwe.. How I cannot stand the dark cousins. Depraved beyond mortal imagination, they are truly disgusting bunch.." She said while cringing, hating that bastard's voice.
The Kalevan officers appeared to be stubborn, and Varos continued the chatting. "Over our dead bodies, xeno scum. We, of the Kalevan Silver Spears, are not the ones to give up so easily as you may presume. We know of your debauched ways, you degenerate piece of grox sh*te. Leave the Imperial space, or suffer the Imperium's wrath." He said, and the guardsmen had a temporary spark of bravery in their souls. The fear disappeared... Temporarily.
The archon went silent for about 10 seconds, before maniacally laughing and taunting the Colonel. "Hah! Really, primitive? Is that stubborn attitude the best quality you can offer in the face of total doom? I am severely... Disappointed, but delighted. This situation has gotten even brighter than I would presume. What makes you think that your words will hold any sense of reality, mon'keigh? You are looking in the face of your doom, and your desperation is speaking brighter than your own words. You merely desire to avoid the inevitable, but may I remind you, who we are?" He said and removed his helmet for a second to show his grinning face with dark eyes, piercings and even a tattoo.
"We are the Drukhari, Colonel. Your species were nothing more than wild animals when our ancient empire dominated the entire galaxy. Your rotting, carcass of an Empire, is nothing compared to us, or even those pesky craftworld cousins of ours, who so easily manipulate you, even while being in such a critical condition of being close to extinction. You are easy to fool, control. Therefore, you provide us with never ending fuel to keep the hungry "bitch" at bay. At the same time, your facial expression is reeking of pride. Pride, in primitives.. Make me laugh again." He said and laughed, much to the annoyance of Varos, Rex and Artan. The trio, was truly not having any of it.
But the words that struck Liriel the most, were Archon's words about the Eldar's manipulation. She frowned deeply, because deep down in her heart, she knew that she was manipulating Niko.. Manipulating him into serving her goal, and possibly using him for the direst of situations. But that was not what was hurting her. It was the fact that, after talking with the spirit, she was feeling rather bad for her human companion. He, through his naive ways, was doing his best to show her that he was genuine, and that he was not trying to trick, or fool her. Instead, he wanted to help her. Liriel mastered the art of manipulation, but she would not allow her pride to get the better of her, and manipulate him further.
"That is not true, you Drukhari bastard.. The manipulation is necessary. The Mon'keigh wants to see us exterminated, and we need them to keep Chaos at bay, despite them fueling it the most. But we do not manipulate those who genuinely have good will. I am, the proof of it. Monstrosity.." She said in her own mind, while deeply frowning at the laughing archon. She turned her sight to Niko, and she saw that he was worried. Like, very worried. His hands, while holding the lasgun, were shaking. Liriel, after seeing this, tried to touch his back to calm him down, but then again, she was reminded that this was a vision, and she could not touch him, or anyone for that matter. "Niko.. Be stoic." She said.
Major Rex took few steps forward and pointed his finger to the screen, while holding cigar between two fingers. "Too afraid to come out by yourself? Sending your stupid goons to our barrels? Talk about being arrogant. You are nothing, but a weak, power hungry alien who was shat out of some laboratory, or from some mutant's arse. Quit your bullsh*t talking and come out so we can end your pathetic existence... Xeno bastard." Rex said, clearly determined to break that archon's neck. Every guardsman had about a few seconds of good chuckle from their major's comment, and Archon, stopped his laugh, and looked rather bitter and angry with his frown. "It appears to me, that a mon'keigh does not know their place.. Get back under your Colonel's boot, primitive. I do not talk to bald apes." And now, Rex broke the cigar after clenching his fingers, and spat at the ground. "I will break your neck when I see you, grox sh*te bag."
Archon was not truly impressed, and now, he decided to truly hurt them. And hurt them all bad. "You primitives are pathetic. Your screams are the only music I desire to hear, and yet, in the face of annihilation, in the presence of the great Archon, you think you have any chance to get out of this situation?" He asked. "Debauched xenos.." Commissar Artan was the next to speak. "You vile alien dog. We decimated your armies with the might of our fire and steel. Do you play us as fools? Look around the land, you depraved bastard. What makes you think that we will not annihilate your pawns once again? Your vehicles burn, your warriors lie dead, and you, hide behind a wall like a scared little pissy child, and try to lecture us about the qualities which only the humanity can understand.. None of you alien vermin will be able to break us." Artan said, and spat at the ground, insulting the archon.
"What is the mon'keigh with that headwear trying to do.. Druchi do not care about words, except.. Few Archons as far as I know." Liriel commented, not wanting to indulge into thinking what the Archon had planned. Archon began to laugh after few seconds, and now, truly appeared to be very confident. "Reaaaaalllyy? My warriors? Lay dead? How blind are you to the truth, mon'keigh.. But worry not. Allow me, to truly show you, the cost of your blind faith of avoiding your doom. See, for yourself, the results of your mistake."
Everyone got confused by his words, but the confusion slowly turned into readiness, because the servitor, seeing a dead body of a fully armored Kabalite warrior, lifted him up with one of its mechanical arms, and then, presented him by holding him towards the trenches. Everyone's fingers were ready to unleash some shots, but then.. The servitor revealed the face of the kabalite warrior, and every office, and guardsman in the vicinity, changed from confidence, to an anxious and hopeless demeanor. It was the purest form of shock.. Because..
The face, was human.
"By.. The Emperor.. No.." Varos whispered, his eyes widened, while Rex was disturbed, but Artan was fuming with anger. Meanwhile, all the guardsmen, had their eyes at their temples from this shocking reveal - They killed their own people. Because the face of the human, was the face of a Corporal Vera. One of the soldiers sent to guard a convoy of supplies that the 64th Regiment had a dire need of. Every guardsmen now realized why the convoy never arrived on time, always hoping that they were coming, and the reason for it being slow, being nothing but the rainy weather. Liriel was the only one not surprised. She knew how vile, insidious and despicable the Drukhari were. How many pieces of tools they had in their disposal, and how clever their moves were.
"By Isha.. Judging by the reaction of these human soldiers, they blindly killed their own.. Ulthwe's tears.." She said, while looking at Niko, who still had shaking hands, which only increased by this unimaginable reveal. She appeared to be really worried about him, but nevertheless, looked straight ahead, as Archon began to laugh at the despair of the humans.
"Hahah! How easy it was to capture your primitive kin, wash their minds with our control, and dress them into make-shift armor. Where do you see my warriors, mon'keigh? You killed your own while thinking that you were doing damage to us. All of this assault was nothing else than to give you a false sense of hope, and encouragement. Do you feel that now? Do you feel that intense amount of desperation sneaking into your hearts, mon'keigh?" The Archon laughed again, now mocking and taunting the Kalevans. The guardsmen were feeling quite depressed, and some of them, wept. Because many of their squad members volunteered for delivering supplies through the convoy, and now, they knew that they met their demise through their gun barrels. The servitor then dropped the guardswoman's body onto the ground.
Varos was the most hurt one here. He was not showing it, but Major Rex and Commissar Artan knew Colonel very well. He was always a caring officer for the men and women under his command, and always encouraged them to try as hard as they can. Now, realizing that he is responsible for their deaths, he felt really terrible. However, he quickly shrugged that feeling away, and then looked straight at the screen.
"They have been granted the Emperor's mercy from your degenerate, eldritch brainwashing ways. You think that we are weak? You will not force us to yield. No matter what you try, xenos bastard.. They died for the Emperor. Send your best against the best! You will pay dearly for this travesty, mark my words.. Scum." He said with full determination. Even Liriel was surprised at how he handled the situation. "Commissar Artan. Destroy that bloody thing.." He commanded. "With pleasure, Colonel." Commissar Artan said, and then, pulled out his bolt pistol, and shot a single round at the servitor, who exploded into pieces and the holographic image disappeared.
"The mon'keigh leader is too stubborn.. The archon will not leave this to be. Why do these humans not retreat? There is no escape from the Drukhari unless they are entirely destroyed, or they are satisfied with their bounty." She said, after witnessing the current situation. She looked at Niko, who was not there anymore. "Huh? Nik..o?" Liriel said, and then, saw him on the ground, while holding his head and the lasgun against his lap. Liriel knelt down, and checked on him. "What is it with him..?" She tried to take a closer look, and saw a single tear leak down his cheek. Liriel would not admit it, but she felt.. Hurt. By seeing him in this state. Just like back in the woods, right at the pathway where she killed the Merlorian captain from the sentinel, and Niko suffered a PTSD. She was slowly but surely understanding the reason of him breaking down back then.
The howling banshee held her chest as it felt slightly aching. "What is this feeling.. Every cursed time he is hurt, it pains me for some weird reason.. I do not like this feeling, but he is the only human who genuinely helped me get this far." Liriel said, and stayed by his side, despite all of this being nothing but just a vision.
Colonel Varos immediately broke the silence, and joined the discussion that Artan and Rex were having, about holding the position. "Rex." He said, and his friend instantly looked at him. His face radiated loyalty, and Varos knew he would not disobey. "Rush back to the city, and hasten up the evacuation. I do not think we will meet again after today." He said, and Rex raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Emil? I'm not leaving yo-"
"Rex.. You are the only one I can completely rely on. Evacuate, the civilians.. Do not expect to receive any help from the Mordians and Maccabians. They aren't willing to spare any of their men. The Tallarns unfortunately cannot provide us with anything else than some ships for evacuation. Call them and get the civilians out. They will not leave until they have all of us enslaved or slaughtered." Varos explained, placing his hand on Rex's shoulder. Rex frowned, looked down, then looked back at him, and nodded with a salute. "Your orders are loud and clear, Colonel." Varos allowed himself to lightly smile. "I know, my friend.." They both shook hands. "The Emperor protects." Rex said, and then turned around, before turning his head slightly. "Emil. Make sure, that.. At least one Kalevan survives. For it has been, an honor, serving with you.. My good old friend." He said.
The Colonel nodded. "Likewise, Rex. Likewise.. Now, go. After the evacuation, do not return. Ensure their safety to the secured worlds of this system. We will take as many of them with us as possible. Go with peace, and make sure we are not forgotten, please." He said, and Rex nodded, still frowning and not too content with this situation. He instantly set off to his mission, and then, Varos looked at Commissar Artan. "Commissar. I would like to lift the mood of our warriors.. They are devastated beyond reckoning. With your permission, I would like to raise the morale of our troops." Varos said, and Artan nodded. "Consider every vox caster online, Colonel." He saluted, and went into one of the dugouts.
Varos in the meantime, went back into the trenches, and went to that dugout after witnessing his warriors in a depressive state. It was to be expected after the realization of what they have done to their comrades. But nevertheless, he had to do one thing to ensure that they go down with courage and honor, and not with fear in their hearts. He went to the dugout, and then, sat down on the table, before accessing the main communication's vox caster. He began his speech loud and clear. "Kalevans! A great calamity has struck us today.. All of you are aware, that, through the unknown and eldritch ways of the xenos scum, we have granted the Emperor's mercy to our comrades that they captured. I know what you are feeling right now. And I share with you this burden and sorrow.. But it is no time to grieve and give up, my Silver Spears!" His voice was quickly rising with all the essence of morale boost. So much so, that the Kalevan troops were concentrated on his words.
"We have granted them the Emperor's mercy, instead of letting them suffer in the hands of those devilish fiends! Now, they think we are weakened by this.. How wrong are these vile vermin. We are strong as long as we believe in the God-Emperor! They want to test our strength, and let me tell you, fellow Kalevans. I talk to you today not as your officer, but as your father, calling you to take up your arms, and avenge your fallen brothers and sisters!" He raised his voice louder, and louder.
"This day, we show the entire Imperium the true merit of the Kalevan Silver Spears! This day, we avenge those who have fallen! This day, we stand united, to vanquish the horrors, that dare confront us.. Follow me into battle, my sons! My daughters! I stand with you today! Every officer under my command stands with you this day.. Know that we will not abandon you. Kalevans, I do not ask you to give your lives for me. I ask you to stand your ground proudly in front of the Emperor, and to fall with honor." The Colonel said, while the guardsmen's faces were literally starting to get bright with confidence and determination. Even Niko was smiling with glee, which Liriel noticed, and quite frankly, liked it.
"This day, not all of us might survive.. But know this, Silver Spears. We shall pierce the heart of the enemy. Let them fear our spears, for we strike like thunder this day! Let them come and meet the tip of our spears! If I am to fall, I shall fall by your side... Let the entire galaxy know the value of our sacrifice today, my warriors. The Emperor looks at you this day, for only in death, does the duty end! Are you with me, my Silver Spears?!" Varos yelled, and the guardsmen were standing on their feet with full confidence and cheerful demeanor. Varos handed the vox to Commissar Artan in silence. He grabbed it, and leaned it to his mouth.
"Kalevans! The Colonel asked you loud and clear - Are you with him today?!"
"AAOOOHH!"
"We are the Kalevan Silver Spears!"
"AAOOOHH!"
"We do not yield, quit, or give up!"
"AAOOOHH!"
"We fight to the last drop of our blood!"
"AAOOOHH!"
"The Emperor is calling us, Kalevans! Will you answer his call?!"
"AAOOOHH! AAOOOHH! AAOOOHH!"
"Then FEAR me, but follow! Only the faithful shall win today!"
"ARGENTUM HASTA - AETERNA! KALEVA - VICTRIX!"
The Kalevans yelled at the top of their lungs, burning with confidence and ready to face the dangers that loomed over them this day. Niko made a sign of aquila on his chest, and ended his prayer to the Emperor. Liriel, however.. Was not impressed. She knew the Drukhari very well. She knew that they would be facing an opponent so vile and unpredictable, that the only thing that would grant these humans anything positive, would be a quick and a painless suicide. "Naive Mon'keigh.. Do they not realize that these speeches will serve them no purpose? The Druchi are horrendous creatures that do not care about anything else than enslaving and tormenting every living soul in this cursed galaxy." She said, and looked behind her. She saw a massive fortified city far ahead, and, realized that these trenches were the only thing holding the Drukhari back from raiding it, because of its protective shields, and the mountains hiding it from all sides, except the front, where the trenches were dug.
Afterward, as she was the observer of this entire vision, she noticed the guardsmen setting up their heavy weapons and their own lasguns at the trenches while pointing them straight ahead to the no man's land. The foggy mist was pretty much screwing up the entire observation itself, since nobody saw anything through it. Commissar Artan and Colonel Varos stood at the first trench line, with the supporting second and the third being behind them.
"Niko.. Is this it?" Niko looked at his right, and saw Alexis by her side, looking relatively saddened. "The mon'keigh girl again.." Liriel rolled her eyes and watched them both. "This battle will be bloody and all of us might fall today.. But be stoic, in the face of the dangers, Alexis. Do not falter, for you are our guardian angel.. I need you, Al." She slowly lifted her head to look at him. "Yeah..?" Alexis said, and then, Niko simply leaned over to kiss her forehead, with a pretty smile on his face, and this surely, made Alexis blush, but Liriel felt uncomfortable. "Yes.. I need you, we all do. Concentrate and do your duty, much like all of us do. Do not worry, for I will not leave you." He said, and they quickly had an embrace, with both of them looking hopeful. Liriel, unfortunately, did not share their hope. She merely frowned and felt sorry for them both. "This.. All of this is.. This is one of his darkest nightmares. Oh Isha, I should collect myself for the upcoming images." She said.
Alexis and Niko broke the hug, and nodded at each other without saying a word, before Niko resumed his duty on watching the horizon, while Alexis went to resupply herself quickly with medical essentials. The guardsmen remained where they are for a solid 30 minutes. There was only the sound of the wind, and an eerie, unnerving silence. Everybody waited for the battle to commence, but it just felt like it was taking forever. "Curses.. Where are they?" Niko asked himself. "Little do the mon'keigh know, that the Drukhari arrive in the most unexpected ways. Oh Isha, what will my eyes see today.." Liriel said, and then simply stood aside, while watching Niko and his movements, before resuming her gaze upon the horizon, straight to the no man's land.
Niko equipped his binoculars and decided to zoom in. And then, out of nowhere, from the foggy no man's land, came out a single grav-tank of the "Tantalus" class, with its main armament, Pulse-Disintegrator. "Contact! Eleven o' clock, enemy armor!" Niko yelled out and grabbed his lasgun immediately. Every guardsman held their fingers at the trigger. "Hold your fire! Let them get closer!" Commissar Artan ordered. "Guardsmen! Take cover, and avoid lifting your heads.. Follow Commissar Artan's orders thoroughly. I stand with you!" Colonel Varos declared, ensuring that the morale of the troops does not fall, as he held his sidearm and his sword in his hands while sitting in the first trench with his warriors. Liriel carefully watched, as she knew that the battle was about to begin. "Preserve us, great mother.."
Immediately after she said those words, she knew what the Drukhari were about to do, and it would not end up greatly for the Kalevans. The guardsmen lowered their heads just as the grav-tank began to rapidly shoot at the trenches with it's Pulse-Disintegrator, followed by reapers, raiders and ravagers, who all unleashed their armaments against the trenches. "Fooor Kabaaaal!" Yelled out the approaching Kabalite warriors and Wyches alike, who got out of the fog, and charged straight at the trenches under the covering fire of their grav-tanks. Liriel had to slightly close her ears due to how loud the battle was going to get, but then again she had to listen, and so, lowered her hands from her ears, and simply stood there, knowing that nothing can harm her physically, if not mentally.
"Fire control, come in! This is Colonel Varos! Requesting artillery barrage, over!" Varos yelled to the vox caster, and was ready to give out the coordinates, but the only answer he got was the vox caster buzzing into his ear. He quickly attempted to call the artillery once again. "Fire control! Come in! We need an immediate artillery support, over!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, before the other side finally spoke through all the scrambling.
"Colo-*bzzz*-Aros! They-*bzzz*are-*bzz*-king our po-*bzzz*-At is that green thing?! Ki-*bzzz*-t! Kill it!*bzzz*Ou-*bzzz*-sitions are overrun-*bzzz*-AA-AAAH!"*bzzzzzzzzz*The signal immediately got lost, and Varos cursed under his breath. Liriel, however, knew exactly what the "Green thing" meant, since she was well aware of the Drukhari's units. She would not dare to utter their names, for how vile these assassin class units were, and instead, she continued to watch over Niko and the rest of his comrades, who now, were left without the artillery support - It was cut.
"Malcador's teeth! We are left without artillery support.." Varos said loud enough. "Sir! They're charging, we cannot let them overwhelm us!" Aulis yelled. "Hold it, Sergeant! On my mark!" Varos said, and Sergeant Aulis nodded. The covering fire of the Drukhari grav-tanks kept pouring and pouring, but the main problem, was the charging units of the Drukhari. They had to be dealt with, and dealt with, they would. "Now, guardsmen! Follow me to glory! All guns - OPEN FIRE!" Varos ordered.
Immediately, every guardsman lifted their heads, and started to shoot volley after volley of las fire and other projectiles towards the charging Kabalite warriors and wyches. Liriel watched how the mon'keigh were putting up a formidable resistance. Even Niko was unleashing every shot at the enemy. "Die, scum! Rraaaghh!" He yelled and kept shooting. Lasguns, stubbers, cannons, heavy bolters, every weapon was being unleashed. Lascannons managed to damage some of the vehicles, but their covering fire got even more overwhelming. The Kalevans were getting vaporized and scorched into atoms one by one from the heavy grav-tank armaments. Despite this, they continued their struggle. They had one task - To hold off the Drukhari from reaching the city as it was under evacuation. And despite being left alone without the support of the other Imperial guard regiments, they would do their duty to the last.
The howling banshee watched in silence at the determined Kalevan resistance. As more guardsmen became wounded or killed, she was in awe of their resilience. The groans, painful moans and screams soon overtook the first, second and the third trenches. Most of the ones that suffered, were the second and the third trench lines, which yielded the heavier weaponries, and were the main targets of the grav-tanks. The Drukhari, however, also were taking heavy damage, mainly the foot units of Kabalite warriors and Wyches. Unfortunately, they were very fast, and were closing in to the first trench line no matter what.
"By Isha.. What a massacre!" Liriel told herself, while witnessing how many projectiles went through her and ended up striking the guardsmen in the trench lines. Niko changed his position, but soon fell instantly by tripping against Sergeant Aulis, who held onto his pistol and on his wounded shoulder, while having lost both of his legs. Niko's eyes widened as he got up and quickly knelt in front of his Sergeant. "Sarge.. Sarge! You.. You need medical assistance, let me help you!" He said and was about to pick up Aulis on his back, but he pushed him away. "Spare me the humiliation, Armanen! Go.. Just.. Go!" He said while groaning in pain. Niko shook his head. "Sarge! I am not leaving you!" Aulis immediately grabbed him by the shirt. "I am already lost, Armanen! Keep.. Shooting." He weakly said while losing blood. Niko, while his hands shook, bandaged his torn legs to stop the bleeding and ensure that his sergeant lives. Liriel really hated this picture.
Niko's pent-up anger only increased, and he continued to shoot his lasgun at the approaching enemies, who were getting closer and closer. "Guardsmen! Fix bayoneeeeets!" Commissar Artan ordered in the trenches, and every guardsman equipped their bayonets, and prepared to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Kabalite warriors and Wyches alike. Niko equipped his bayonet, and had his back against the trench wall, waiting for them to approach. It was obvious that due to their mobility, they would be easier to pick off with melee, but even he realized that the chances of their success did not grow by this fact. They just had no choice, especially with how much ammunition they lacked.
"Men and women of Kaleva! Prepare for hand-to-hand combat!" Varos yelled, holding his sword and sidearm. Every guardsman was already well aware of what awaited them ahead. And they would not go down without a fight. All of them knew that this was their last stand, despite the heavy damage inflicted upon the majority of them, those who could still stand, were ready to give it all. Even Niko himself, as Liriel noticed, had the light of determination written all over his face, despite he himself being terrified. But he knew that as long as his brothers and sisters in arms held themselves together, so would he.
The Drukhari foot units breached the first trench line, and all hell broke loose in the shape of a hand-to-hand combat. Kabalite warriors and wyches assaulted the guardsmen and overwhelmed them with their superior mobility. Unfortunately for the Drukhari, the Kalevans were a resilient people. And then, some of the wyches and Kabalite warriors alike fell down from getting stabbed with bayonets and other tools alike. However, the cost was too great. For each of the Drukhair forces, about 2 to 5 guardsmen fell, and yet they continued to hold them back. Liriel, in shock, watched how Niko was facing a Kabalite warrior, who held him against the trench wall with his rifle against his throat, and despite this scary picture, Niko's face showed determination and eagerness to destroy this vile enemy.
In the moment of dire situation, Sergeant Aulis blew the head of the Kabalite warrior from his sidearm, and Niko was freed from the grasps. "Hhuufff.. Thank you, Sarge." Niko said while coughing. "Shut it and kill them!" He yelled while shooting at left and right to where Wyches were trying to assault them. Niko grabbed his lasgun with the bayonet, and quickly charged at the incoming wych with a growl, that sounded like a wolf. He avoided the wych's strike by sliding against the ground on his stomach, and then stabbed the wych straight in her left foot, forcing her to drop in a painful scream, before mounting her and stab her in the heart about 5 times while he yelled. "DIE! DIE! DIE!" His hands and face were covered in Drukhari blood at this very moment. Liriel truly felt sick at how gorey this entire picture was, but she had to endure. And so, she ran alongside him, watching his every move in this vision.
The first trench line, despite a very resilient and formidable resistance, was already collapsing. The Dark Eldar were too much for an ordinary guardsman to handle, and even here, there was no exception. But the Kalevans were not willing to yield. Niko fought off another Kabalite warrior, who received a stab straight into his throat, before falling down without a motion. Niko lifted his head, and noticed Commissar Artan on his knee, wounded on his shoulder, still wielding his sword and his bolt pistol. He stood up despite the severe injuries, and kept on fighting. "All guardsmen! Do not yield! Vanquish the enemy!" He yelled. This encouraged Niko and the rest of the guardsmen to give it all. To give all they had in their souls, and to never give up.
However, more and more Drukhari units were entering the first trench line, while the second and the third were being crushed under the heavy fire of the Drukhari armor. At this point, Niko knew that the time of death was close, and so, he was not going to simply give up. "What a slaughter.. Such an unimaginable massacre, without any result!" Liriel said with her eyes already at her temple. This image was pure horror. Never has she seen so much death in such a short amount of time, and through sheer brutality. She saw how the Kabalite warriors and Wyches alike were all enjoying their work. They laughed maniacally and sad*stically while slicing and dicing through the Kalevan guardsmen, inflicting painful blows, gutting them, cutting their limbs off and just using them as meat for butchery. Despite this pure terror, she admired how the Kalevans continued to fight nevertheless.
Niko crossed a few dozen meters, and he got suddenly pulled to the side by no one but Colonel Varos himself. "Sir?!" He said, while shaking from adrenaline, stress and human fear. Colonel shook him and slapped him as Niko instantly woke up, giving all his attention to him. "Young man.. I received some news. The City has pulled out Manticore missiles. When our line is completely broken, I will unleash a red flare to give them the signal to bombard our positions when we get overwhelmed. Immediately find a hideout under the ground. I will not have all my brave warriors die in vain today!" He said, which shocked Niko to the core.
"Sir! You.. You cannot do this, Kalevans need you, we need you!" Niko protested, and Varos, simply shook his head. "Negative, young guardsman.. We are already lost. The least I can do, is make sure that they do not take any of us alive to their perverse desires. Quickly get yourself and anyone you can find. Tell them our tale, tell them all of our sacrifice. That we did not die in vain.. Go! Go I said! You have 5 minutes before I unleash the flare!" Niko was in a tough situation. He really did not want this to end like this. However, he knew that he had no choice. While cussing under his breath, he obeyed, and ran off to the nearest dugout.
He passed the bodies of guardsmen and Drukhari alike, and traveled around 20 meters to the right side, finding the only available dugout which led nowhere else than the underground. "Thank the God-Emperor... Wait." He stopped, and just froze on the spot for 10 seconds. Liriel watched him and got confused herself. "What is he.. Why is he not hiding as his leader told him to..?" She asked herself, while holding her ears from the mixture of many irritating noises. "Alexis.. Alexis!" He switched his gaze to the right side, and decided to look for his Kalevan sister. "He wants to find that girl..?" Liriel thought. Niko, in the meantime, ran and yelled at the top of his lungs for her name, calling for her.
Niko ran and he ran fast. He went past the fallen bodies, and just yelled for her name as much as he could allow himself to. In a short amount of time, he reached the far left side of the trench, and just as he was about to yell once again, he got grabbed by a Kabalite warrior who jumped on top of him, and now, he was forced to really struggle for his life as the warrior got on top of him, and tried to strangle him. "Get off, bastard!" Niko yelled, while Liriel watched, with her heart rapidly starting to race as she tried to control herself. This vision felt extremely real, and she had the urge to protect, and save him as usual, but she only swallowed this arduous pill and continued to watch in silence.
"No! Get o-off m-me!NIKOOO!" The sudden voice from 10 meters away. Niko's eyes widened, and he instantly turned his head to the right side, and saw two kabalite warriors laughing maniacally and stripping someone's clothes away.. This someone, wasAlexis.
Even Liriel saw this, and could only cringe in disgust. "Perverse and depraved beyond imagination.." She said, and did not even notice how Niko overpowered the kabalite warrior that held him, and through a huge rush of adrenaline through his body, he smashed his fists against the helmet of the Kabalite warrior until it stunned him enough, and then, gripped the dropped lasgun, and shoved the bayonet straight into his throat, before standing up and rushing towards the 2 kabalite warriors that were trying to violate his Kalevan battle sister. This, he would not forgive. In a swift, fury fueled motion, something that surprised even Liriel, he charged straight at them, and stabbed one in the backside of the head, and then, flipping the lasgun around, he began to violently maul the second one with the lasgun, using it like a blunt object. The second bastard did not even have time to react to his comrade getting stabbed. Niko was too fast to switch to him.
After about an entire minute of constantly smashing the Kabalite warrior's helmet, his head was nothing but a mush of brains and tissue. In short, a bloody mess. Niko panted heavily after making the last blow, and threw the lasgun away. He switched his gaze upon Alexis, who's shirt was opened, and her pants were gone. Only the underwear, the bra, and the torn shirt remained. "N.. Niko..?" She said softly, wiping away her tears. Niko dropped to his knees, before Alexis instantly gave him a hug, something he also returned to her. "They.. Won't bother you anymore.. Al." He said while panting. "You saved me.. Niko, if not you, I.." He lifted her chin. "No time for that. I am glad I got to you on time. Listen, we do not have much time here.. Manticore missiles will be unleashed here at any second now. We must hide in a dugout which leads to the underground, and survive this barrage. Our line is already broken."
Alexis blinked a few times after regaining her composure, and widened her eyes in an instant. "What- But our brothers and sisters-" Niko grabbed her shoulders. "Alexis. This is the order of Varos! We do not have time.. Please, just come with me." He said, his tone of voice already showing signs of fatigue and exhaustion. Liriel watched what just happened, and could not believe her eyes. "I.. Am starting to perfectly understand his hatred for the Druchii, especially how he mauled that one near his house at night.." She thought to herself, doing her best to remain calm and unbothered. But what was happening, truly did bother her to some extent.
Alexis, in the meanwhile, sadly nodded and looked at Niko. "Okay, Nicky.. Let's go, quick." She said, and Niko instantly grabbed her by the hand, before running back to the dugout. There was simply no time, or moment, to talk or to say anything in particular. Liriel in the meantime, ran after them, since she had to keep an eye on Niko first and foremost, and nobody else. They rushed to the hideout, before Niko covered the entrance with a pile of bodies. Liriel got through them like a ghost, and saw Niko and Alexis going under the ground, simply waiting for the inevitable to happen. "Niko.. Do you think we will survive..? Is this our last battle..? If so, then I am.. Happy to have fought by your side.."
"What the hell are you saying, Al?" Niko told her while slightly raising his weakened eyebrow. Alexis got quite surprised at how quickly he answered. "This.. Is not our last battle. We will survive.. Just, one more minute to go.." He said and rubbed his face as they continued to hide under the ground. "But.. You saw the carnage yourself." He looked at her even after that. "Our Colonel made sure that our regiment does not go extinct. We have to be honored, Alexis.. For I would curse myself if everything was lost.. You, first and foremost." Those words forced Alexis to look away in an instant, and try to hold back her tears.
She turned around completely, and Niko felt quite sorry for the poor girl. "Al.. Look. Listen." He approached her and turned her around. "We have no choice.. Just, understand, please." She looked back at him. "I do understand, just.. Not, easy.." She said. "It was never easy when we joined the guard.. But right now, let's just survive together, yeah?" He said while rubbing her head with a light smile. That smile of his, even here, was as fabulous as always. "Alexis stared up at him, and also gave him a light smile before she nodded once. "Yeah you.. You are correct. Heh.. Thank you for saving me from the.."
"Shhhhhhh.." He whispered, before hugging her against his chest. "Do not mention it. Do not think about it. It will never happen to you.. You are safe." He said. She hugged back onto him in an instant, as they awaited for the missile barrage. Liriel at this point felt something in her chest starting to burn. As if the jealousy feeling was not enough, now this weird feeling again irritated her whenever he saw her getting too close with the girl named Alexis. They held each other and just awaited. "Curses be upon me.. What kind of damnation do I carry when I get this feeling so.. Rapidly.." Said Liriel, while sitting in the underground herself, right next to the two. She decided to investigate further while ignoring the feelings that accumulated in her heart.
A minute passed. Then passed another, and another after that. Niko waited for the ground to just shake and experience the tremors, while also praying that nothing falls on his head or Alexis's head... But nothing happened. Only the mixture of many noises were heard, but not the massive bombardment of the Manticore missiles. Alexis and Niko held each other nevertheless, and out of fatigue itself, Alexis already fell asleep after about 8 minutes passed by. Niko got concerned, and he had to see what was going on. He had to check if the flare was shot into the sky. To do this properly, he softly removed his military issued coat, and made it into a pillow, before laying Alexis down on the ground, with her head against the makeshift pillow he made from the coat. "I'm sorry, Alexis.. But I have no other choice." He said with a frown, and then, climbed out of the underground, and headed back to the entrance, where the bodies blocked were blocking it from enemy sights.
Liriel was baffled at what he was about to do. "Has.. He gone mad?! Getting out there is a total suicide, and yet, he's risking..? I find it arduous to understand how he's pushing himself to the furthest limits.." She said and followed him. Niko slightly pushed one body aside, and took a peak with his eye to look around. "Frak.. Where is the flare..?" He asked. The flare was nowhere to be seen. Only the ongoing slaughter. Worst of all, was not even the fact that the flare was not shot. It was the fact, that Niko witnessed the Drukhari kidnapping many of the guardsmen as plunder and booty for their taking. He cringed at this sight, and only felt sorry for those brave soldiers he fought side by side with. Knowing what kind of horrors awaited them, was already bad enough. Niko did not wish to indulge into thinking about this, and instead, concentrated on his important task at hand. Which, take it or leave it, in his mind as he thought, would be his last.
He quickly pulled the body back to its place, and sat there thinking on what to do. He had to find Varos, and find him quickly. Only he had the flare gun with him to call in the signal for the barrage. "Emperor forsaken world.. Curse you.." He whispered, spitting on the wall he was facing, and holding his head. Liriel could only fathom to think what thoughts were filling his mind at this very moment. "Khaine's bloody hand.. He is well aware of the situation outside. The moment of truth is approaching, I must stand confident." She whispered to herself, and sat at the opposite of him, keeping her eyes on him completely.
"Off... Of me... Alien... Filth!"
Niko suddenly widened his eyes and instantly faced the bodies that were covering the entrance. He moved the same body aside and quickly looked on the right side of his field of view, and what he saw, sent shivers down his spine, filling his soul with dread and terror. "No... Colonel..!" He said silently. The Archon was holding Varos in the air by holding his throat, taunting and mocking him with his maniacal laugh. "Well well well.. Now. Don't you think that is rude, primitive?" He cheekily asked, before dropping Varos, and stepping on his chest.
"You are not a selfish leader, and that is admirable.. But fragile and pathetic in our eyes, Colonel. I wanted to offer you a wise choice. In exchange for your life, we take all your cattle away. But I knew you would never agree to this, you are different from any mon'keigh leader I have met. But it is too late to get out of your demise. Hm-hm-hmmm.. Everyone you swore to lead, is dead, or taken to our dimension for eternal torment. You will not be spared this great honor either, mon'keigh." The archon laughed again, while Varos showed only furious resilience, and anger in his facial expression. He was resisting.
In the meanwhile, Niko watched this scene unfold. And he had to do something. He noticed that the flare gun was laying on the ground, and Varos did all he could in order for the Archon not to guess what he tried to do. Niko had to make two choices here. Either to quickly rush to the flare gun and shoot it in the sky, or shoot it at the Archon to die with honor, to die with the father figure of his regiment by saving him. He did not wish for Varos to die like this, for he always saved him and his regiment many times, and always placed them ahead. It was a tough choice to make. "Frakking.. Hell, What do I do.. I have to act.. Okay.. Niko, you got this." He told himself, and prepared to get out, and quickly rush for the flare gun.
*GRAB*
"Huh-!?" Niko instantly gasped, and so did Liriel. Because a random wych shoved her hand through the bodies, and grabbed Niko by the backside of his neck, and pulled him out of the dugout, wiping her blood covered arm away before looking down at her find. "Archon, a hiding Mon'keigh!" She said, victoriously. Archon turned around in an instant, and removed his boot from the chest of Varos, before 2 of his bodyguards lifted him up and held him by the arms, before kicking him to his knees. "Niko... Niko! Run!" Varos yelled, before receiving the butt of the splinter rifle on his head. "Shut it, mon'keigh." One of the guards said, and Niko, was now slightly frozen, and paralyzed with fear. Because now, about 8 Drukharis surrounded him, the wych being the one looking down at him with her psychopathic facial expression, and an evil grin.
The howling banshee's heart began to slowly race as she was witnessing this unexpected moment. Her eyes were widened, and she could only fathom at what was going to happen right now. "Isha.. Preserve.. I.. Isha.. Preserve.." She whispered. The Archon now stood behind Niko, who quickly turned his head to him, and saw him staring down at him. "Juuuustt whaaaat do we have heeeere... A young mon'keigh, quite handsome one too.. Did you really think you could hide from us, calf?" He said, enjoying this moment. "Let us see how you treat your new masters.. Bow down to me, and kiss my boots, primitive.. And I will ease your suffering." Archon ordered, with a laugh.
Niko, truth be told, did not wish to make his life more miserable. It was a normal instinct for any human in his shoes to feel the same way. But then, he saw one of the flag poles in the distance, with the torn Kalevan flag still roaming in the sky, refusing to fall from the pole itself. And he also noticed his Colonel, who was alive, and had the facial expression of pure, undoubted human resistance. And he remembered Alexis, who Niko left in the underground. All of this, temporarily pushed his fear aside, and he simply turned around, lifted his head to look into the terrifying helmet of the Archon, and proclaimed.
"... Go... To... Hell... Alien scum." He said and spat at his boots, before the wych tried to intervene, but Archon simply leaned his hand forward, ordering her to halt. "You can tear our bodies for eternity.. But you will NEVER take our SOULS, for we.. Belong to the Emperor, and to him, we shall return.." He said, while slowly getting up to his feet to meet the Archon face to face, with a furious expression written on his face. Liriel, who watched this scene, truly had to admire the bravery of her human companion. In the face of possibly the most terrifying force in the galaxy, Niko spat on its face and decided to meet his demise by dying on his feet, rather than live on his knees. "By the Aeldari gods.. What are you doing, Niko.." She thought. She knew the sheer brutality of archons. Especially, if their orders, were disobeyed.
Niko, after standing up on his feet, spat at the helmet of the Archon once again, but just before the saliva even reached his helmet, the Archon gripped Niko's throat, and lifted him up, which forced Liriel and even Varos to gasp in an instant. "You believe your words precisely, little mon'keigh? You think your puny efforts will grant you any victory?" He said, tightening the grip on Niko's throat, who was gasping for air, and clawing the armored arms of the Archon. The Drukhari leader, turned around to face Varos, and decided to interrogate him.
"Let go of him, you frakking alien bastard!" Varos yelled, struggling to get out of the grasps of Archon's bodyguards. The Archon merely started to laugh, and to mock him. "Your stupidity has led you to this moment, mon'keigh leader.. He must be the last of your subordinates. Everything you care about is instilled in him, isn't it, huh? How delightful, and delicious it must be.. Mmmm, I can almost smell that despair in your puny heart, Colonel. Worry not.. For you only have yourself to blame for deciding to stay here and fight the inevitable. You already doomed your soldiers when you ordered your men to shoot them under our disguise." Those words struck Varos even deeply than they could. And he was on the verge as it is, but despite the guilt, he kept on struggling. "Allow me to demonstrate the result of your own errors.."
Liriel's heart started to race faster, and she prepared to witness this next, possibly the most terrifying moment as yet. "You cherish your handsome figures, don't you, little calf? Worry not. I will make you even more.. Handsome." Archon said, and eased the grip on Niko's throat, before using his other hand's clawed fingers as blades. Then, he proceeded to slowly make a cut on Niko's left side of his face, digging his claws without too much depth, and sending them down to his chin, forcing him to squirm and scream in agonizing amounts of pain. "Soldier! Let.. Go of him, you bastard, let GO OF HIM!" Varos yelled before the guards dropped him on his stomach, and pulled him by his hair, forcing him to watch the scene unfold.
Niko's screams knew no end, because in the next moment, the Archon gauged out his left eyeball straight from its socket, and he did this very slowly, and precisely, avoiding any major veins. By using his index finger, he simply twisted the eyeball, and plugged it out clean, with every Drukhari laughing in the distance, with the Archon included. "Now you look even more handsome than before, don't you, mon'keigh?" Archon asked Niko, mockingly, and with a hint of evil sarcasm. His eye and cheek bled completely while he screamed in pain. Varos was getting slowly broken. The cracking already began, and he was already on the verge of giving up. As for Liriel.. She was in a pure state of shock.
She watched the entire scenery in horror, and finally witnessed the moment of gripping curiosity. The moment of how Niko received his scar and how he lost his eye, and truth be told, Liriel felt the bile come up to her throat, before she was forced to swallow it and hold her mouth in horror. She had her theories about how he lost his eye and received the scar, the most popular one being that it happened from a battle wound, but she would never fathom to believe that it was going to be like.. Like this. With such sheer brutality and sadism, but seeing how it is Drukhari, she was not surprised, at all. "By.. The great mother.. Niko..." She whispered and took a few steps back, before tripping and hitting her back against the trench wall. She remained like this for a minute, before standing up and regaining her composure, remaining silent for now on.
"Defiling me with your liquids, you disgusting little mon'keigh will be a great addition in my chambers as furniture.. For now, I will kill you, and revive you later on." Archon said, and began to tighten the grip around Niko's throat once again. His screams got silenced as he could not muster them anymore, and only groans and gurgling noises were heard as Niko was choking on his own blood that leaked into his mouth from his wounds on his face. He was already getting weakened, and now both Varos, and Liriel herself who witnessed this vision, were already freaking out. Liriel knew she couldn't do anything but helplessly watch how all of this unfolded, and she waited for the moment to see how he will get out of this situation. She remained silent, stood still, and could only breathe heavily at this sight due to anxiety.
Varos in the other hand, desperately looked around, and there and then, he saw a fallen guardsman holding a belt of krak grenades. He knew what he had to do.. But he couldn't do anything right now as he was being held down. The only thing he could do right now, was pray. "Emperor.. Give me strength.. E..Emperor.. Please heed my call, help us.. Help your children at this moment of need.. Emperor, deliver us from alien threats.." He whispered, preparing for his last struggle despite his bleeding head.
Niko, in the meanwhile, slowly tried to claw the arms of archon, while his vision was becoming all blurry, second by second, since he was losing oxygen. He thought that this was it, the death approaching him.. To deliver him to the Emperor, and for him to finally close the last page of his life, and just deal with his fate that was so merciless. "Is this.. The end.. For me? To die so pathetically.. Ma, Da.. Forgive me for not keeping the promise.." Niko told himself in his own mind, preparing for his death... But then... Out of nowhere!
"Let go of him, you bloody alien bastard!"
Niko felt himself being dropped onto the ground as he took in deep breaths of fresh air, and his vision returned to normal. He quickly lifted his head to stare at the Archon, who was frantically spinning around. Niko looked at him and the commotion that took over this entire situation.It was Alexis.
Alexis, by some Emperor's miracle, woke up, and somehow managed to run and jump on the Archon and wrap herself around him with her feet and hands. Much to the shock of the Drukhari units and even Archon's bodyguards. Niko witnessed how Alexis, with all her Kalevan resilience, was stabbing the Archon straight through his right lens with her "Leuku" knife, constantly pushing it in and out, and twisting it occasionally, causing the Archon to yelp in pain and frantically spin around. The bodyguards and any other units did not dare to shoot her, fearing that they might hit Archon and get the worst punishment they can imagine.
This was the moment that the Emperor answered their prayers. Niko gasped for air as he was coughing up, and laid there on the ground for the time being. Alexis continued to do much damage to the Archon in the meanwhile. Liriel instantly developed a deep sense of respect for this short human girl, who she did not like at first due to.. Some reasons, but right now, saying that she was in awe of her, would be understatement. "By the gods... This mon'keigh girl is beyond fragile, yet shows bravery that I never would have imagined from her kind!" She proclaimed right there, shocked to the core at how she surprised the Drukhari. And, surprising the Drukhari, was an achievement that even the Aeldari were astonished for.
"Get- Her- Off of me, you worthless worms!" Archon yelled, trying to get her off of her, but he was disoriented. The bodyguards approached him quickly, despite their own fears, and both of them pulled Alexis by grabbing her back, and push her off of their archon, dropping her about 5 meters from her until keeping her down. Her Leuku dropped, and she gasped for air as her body got deprived of it completely from getting struck against the ground. Archon held his right side of his helmet, and truth be told, he was extremely pissed off. "You... YOU... What I will do to you personally, will be worse than anything your puny mind can think of!" He said.. But he had little time to react to what happened next.
"For Kaleva and the Emperor!" Suddenly yelled Varos, and charged against the Archon while carrying the belt of krak grenades in his hand, and pulling one pin off of one of them. He tightly hugged him and pushed him into a ditch nearby, before a massive explosion rocked every Drukhari in the distance to their feet, and they all dropped as the huge explosion sent pieces of rocks, dirt and sand in all directions. Varos sacrificed himself in order to inflict an eternal punishment for the Drukhari bastard. Unfortunately.. The Archon survived. His entire armor got smoked, and he lost a few huge chunks of it, and he got severe burns on his skin, but he was still breathing. He slowly got up, and got out of the ditch while limping. Liriel was baffled and could not say anything regarding this event.. She realized that these Kalevans as they were called, were truly something, and no words would be enough to say otherwise. She simply watched this vision unfold.
"Archon!" The bodyguards yelled, and stopped beating Alexis's body with their weaponries, before running towards their archon. He decided to yell at them. "Where were you watching, you worthless parasites?! I will personally give you two for haemonculi experiments in order for you to do your job properly.. You allowed the dirty mon'keigh to defile my body and my armor, for this, all of you present, will pay.." He proclaimed, and every Drukhari began to feel the real sense of fear after the words of their Archon, who slapped his temple and woke himself up from the damage that the Colonel Varos inflicted upon him. He turned his attention to Alexis, who was crawling in the direction of Niko, and instantly went there, and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground.
"I will have you thrown to the streets of Commorragh and be used by every inhabitant as they please, filthy mon'keigh.." Archon said, and Alexis, who was gasping for air, simply opened her eyes, and her amber eyes were filled with fire and determination. She frowned at him and spat on his scorched helmet without saying a word. The Archon tightened his grip further to choke her into unconsciousness, but then, something unexpected happened.
A sudden red flare appeared in the sky.
Archon turned his head to look at Niko, who held the flare gun in his hands while crawling and holding his wounded face with the other hand. He was grinning at Archon. "I will.. Take you to the hell with me, alien bastard.." Archon got alarmed by his words and couldn't understand for a second what he meant, but after about 5 seconds, the loud noises coming from the city far away, gave him a perfect sense of what was happening at this very moment. The whistling noises appeared, and they got ever so louder and louder until Archon looked at the city's direction, and saw something fiery roaring in the skies.. Many of them. He instantly dropped Alexis on the ground just as one of those roaring things came falling down upon them in a sonic speed, making a massive explosion in the danger close distance.
The Manticore barrage, has commenced.
Archon instantly got onto his grav-tank, and retreated away, with most of the Drukhari forces doing the same. Some, however, did not manage to get onto the vehicles as all of them quickly retreated away through the no man's land. The unfortunate victims were all blown to bits as so many Manticore missiles bombarded near the trenches, and the trenches themselves. Niko crawled towards Alexis while feeling very ill and weakened, while Liriel watched from the side while laying on her stomach. The ground was shaking. The tremors and earthquake were too real, and all she could do was stare at Niko trying to make it to Alexis, who simply stared at the sky as the Manticore missiles were raining down upon their position. Niko turned on his back, and simply did the same after getting near her, the dirt slowly burying them both underneath.
As Liriel found herself being baffled by this sight, she did not know where to run. She was on the verge of too many emotions at this very moment, but the help came to her through the unexpected ways. She suddenly felt her feet being grabbed by something, and that forced her to gasp, and turn her head around. It were the same pitch black hands that pulled her through the well, now pulling her by the feet straight into the hole in the ground that appeared behind her. She did not know where it was leading, and decided to resist by clawing on the ground with her gloved hands. "What- Let- Let go of me!" She yelled and turned on her back to get the hands off, but then, a sudden, angered voice from the skies was heard. "Stop resisting!" It was the spirit. Liriel confusingly looked into the sky, and this distracted her from the struggle, which allowed the hands to pull her down onto the hole, and take her away from this place, once and for all.
Back at the well...
Liriel landed directly near the well that she decided to bury her face at, before the hand pulled her into it. She gasped for air, and slowly got up, just to be met with the judging eyes of the spirit in the form of Alexis once again, who looked at her with a frown. "Do not ask. I pulled you there.. Our real forms are bad for the eyes of all. Now, did all of what you see satisfy your curiosity? How much more.. Are you willing to risk hurting him? As if infiltrating his memories was not enough.." She said, judgingly. Liriel was silent, and only looked at the ground while frowning herself. The spirit noticed the hint of sadness behind her frown.
"He... Suffered.. Through so much pain.. How does he ever think about smiling.. After all of that horror.. And he is one out of many, how does he have that strength, and why me.." Liriel said, and was on the verge of breaking down, but she held that feeling back. The spirit wanted to break her.. Not in a bad way, but in a good way, to break that stubborn resilience she was showing, she wanted her to finally act out her emotions. "What? You.. Are you stupid?" The spirit asked, and Liriel turned her sight at her. "What..?" Spirit sighed, and looked at her straight in the eyes. "You think, all of what you saw, was his worst moment?" Her words, forced Liriel to widen her eyes in horror.
"What are.. What do you mean worst, this was not the worst?" The spirit shook her head. "No.. I knew you would not break from this. But perhaps, you really want to see the worst moment? Then be my guest." She said, and then moved to the tree, that appeared to be dead in this side of Niko's soul and heart. The spirit simply placed her hand against it, and signaled Liriel to do the same, which she slowly, but reluctantly did. The spirit ordered her to close her eyes, and she did just that... About a minute passed by before the spirit broke the silence. "Open your eyes..."
Liriel opened her eyes, and turned around. The spirit was nowhere to be seen anymore, and the only thing that Liriel saw, was a star in the sky in the state of dawn, and a plain ground with little to no grass. "Huh, what is this place.. Wait, who is that?" She asked herself after taking into consideration the surroundings. She saw a figure carrying something in their arms far ahead, and she decided to make a fine approach by running towards them, and only when she was getting close did she notice that it was Niko. "Ni.. Niko! It's him, thank Isha.. Wait, the.. The mon'keigh girl?" She said, and noticed that he was carrying wounded Alexis on his arms, while he himself has bandaged his own eye, and he was looking very tired, but he was pushing himself further and further.
The banshee didn't understand where he was going. She realized that he survived the Manticore barrage, and was trying to find any signs of civilization. Liriel followed him by his side, and saw how his Kalevan companion held onto him. By the looks of it, something sharp may have struck her abdomen's right side, judging by the bandages that Niko used to patch her up to stop the bleeding. They both looked very tired, but the worst condition belonged to Alexis, who, as Liriel noticed, was breathing slower and slower with each minute.
"Hang on.. Al, please, I beg you, for Emperor's sake, just hang on.." He said as he carefully carried her in his arms, ignoring all the damage the Drukhari leader did to him, and ignoring the pain that was still throbbing in his head. They were both covered in dirt that dropped on them from the barrage, but that did not stop them. Or, specifically, it did not stop Niko. This was the same world of Traxon III, where Liriel saw the vision itself. But as spirit said, this one was the worst moment, and she would soon see exactly why.
"N..Niko... Leave... Me... Save..Y..Your..self.. I am.. Not going to survive.." Alexis spoke softly, and weakly. It fueled Niko with despair, and frankly, even Liriel felt bad for her. "I pity this little mon'keigh woman, who risked being tormented in the worst possible ways, for Niko.. I was wrong to judge her." Liriel admitted, and then, looked around herself. She saw the towering citadels of the city very far ahead. And then, made her own analysis. The city was empty, and there was nobody there, so Niko carried Alexis for miles after miles as the distance was so far away. "By the great mother.." She shook her head slowly and followed Niko, who picked up the pace of his walk.
"Do not say that, Alexis! You will survive, and.. Look, the apothecary store, r-right? We will open it together, we're both wounded and can ask a trip back home, we have that right as Kalevans. So of course you will survive.. As I told you before, you are not alone." Niko said, catching his breath. Alexis weakly giggled at his attempts to reassure her, but she was well aware that her blood loss was obvious, and that her death was already approaching her. Niko knew this too.. But he clung to the hope. At this moment, this was his only hope. To hope for a miracle.
"Niko.. You truly should have been.. A commissar.. Imagine how many of us would be victorious if you.. If you le..Led them.." She said, coughing. "Spare me that, Al.. Commissar Artan's job is.. Was, already, too much even for me. I'd rather remain a Guardsman by your side." He said, and they both shared a soft smile at each other. Liriel saw how Niko had a small tear running down from his right eye, the only eye that remained intact. Alexis wiped it away with her pinkie finger. "Know that.. I appreciate your attempts, but please.. Do not.. Overwhelm, and burden yourself by carrying me.. My time is.. C..Close.." She said, her eyes slightly closing as her breathing got slower. Niko widened his eye and now started to feel the anxiety gripping his heart. Liriel found this sight to be gut-wrenching as she stood at the side, just as Niko stopped his walk, and got onto his knees, lifting Alexis's head and placing it against his chest.
Liriel stood there and watched as Niko and Alexis stared at each other. The more she stood there, the sadder the situation looked. "Al..Alexis... Alexis, I beg you, hang on a little longer.. Please.. Hang onnhh.. A little loonghher...Stssh..Hhh.." Niko began to weep silently while caressing her cheek with his thumb. Alexis looked back at him in her dying state, and slowly lifted her hand, before placing it on his cheek, and rubbing it gently while she herself shed a few tears that ran down her cheeks. "Shh.. Ni..ko... I may not open my store.. May not see our home, the skies of our cherished Kaleva.. I at least.. I at.. Least.. See your F-Face.. And feel your arms.. around.. M..Me.. Emperor has not left.. Me to die alone.." She said, smiling at him through her weakened state. Under so much tears.. Niko smiled back at her, holding her hand that rubbed his cheek. "Alexis..."
She smiled further, looking saddened nevertheless that she unfortunately has to leave Niko behind. "Niko.. Re..member.. Do everything.. According to your own heart.. No matter what are the.. Circ*mstances.. Follow your.. Heart.. What it whispers to y..you.. If you believe it to be the right thing, do not.. Push it away.. No matter what, for I never J..Judged you.. Ever.." She told him, giving him some of her wisdom as he nodded to her. "Sssniffh... Yes.. My dear.."
The howling banshee, did not admit it.. But she felt the tears accumulating in her eyes at this exact moment. "Isha.. Oh Isha.. They share.. the pain, like us.." She said, while standing there and staring down at them both, trying her best to hold her composure, but she was cracking as it is.
"Niko.. Remember when.. We sat down at a campfire.. Year ago.. In the desert world..?" She asked him, to which he lightly nodded while sniffling and weeping further. "You sang.. That song.." She said. "Y..Yes.. My Alexis, yes.. I.. Remember.. I..It.." He replied, while softly holding her hand to his chest alongside her head. Liriel turned her attention to the waking sun, far away. "Please.. My last.. Wish.. Sing it, I want to hear your voice.. I love you, Niko.." She asked and told him. Niko lowered his head to hold back the biggest portion of his emotional state, and wept further, before nodding at her, and watching the dawn with her. "I.. Love you too.. Alexis." He said, and then, started to sing.
[ Please let me go. (Song: Petri Laaksonen: Anna minun mennä +Lyrics) ]
~ Vielä kerran tulee päivä, kun en jaksa taistella...
~ (Yet there will be a day, when I'm too weak to struggle...)
[X]
~ Kerron kyllä milloin se on koittavaa...
~ (I will surely let you know, when it arrives..)
[X]
~ Niin kuin joku koputtaisi hiljaa kotiovella...
~ (Like somebody would knock quietly on the doorstep...)
[X]
~ Silloin tiedän, nyt on aika avata...
~ (Then I know, it is time to open up...)
[X]
Alexis began to smile as she watched the dawn, the sun waking up to its usual routine. Niko also smiled as he passionately, and so lovingly sang this song for that one person, that he thought, he would spend his life with, back home, in Kaleva. The duty of the guardsman forced them to be a brother and a sister in arms, but deep down, both of them would have been a couple if they returned to Kaleva.. The only one who did not smile, was Liriel, mesmerized by how Niko was able to sing so passionately. She was cracking further, her tears becoming obvious as a single crystal tear ran down her cheek, she was saddened with this image. "This.. Is his worst moment.. Yet this song of lament, he sings so passionately, proves me.. Otherwise.. By the Ulthwe's tears, They lose and lament their loved ones like us, are we so blind to see this.." Liriel told herself, as the difference between their races was not so big after all. Niko continued to sing.
(Chorus)
~ Pidä silloin hiljaa kiinni, syliin hellään rutista... ~
~ (Please hold me tightly then, squeeze me into your gentle arms.. ~)
[X]
~ Pidä kadestäni kiinni, lohduta...~
~ (Hold my hand, comfort me..) ~
[X]
~ Että voisin aivan hiljaa huomaamatta nukkua.. ~
~ (So that I could so quietly fall asleep..) ~
[X]
~ Että voisin luulla, tulet mukana... ~
~ (So that I could think, that you'll be coming with me..) ~
[X]
~ Sitten anna minun mennä, kun on aika lähteä.. ~
~ (Then let me go, when it is time to leave..) ~
[X]
~ Kerro kuinka unelmoimme joka kevät yhdessä.. ~
~ (Tell me how we dream together every spring..) ~
[X]
~ Silloin anna minun mennä, kerro kevään linnuista.. ~
~ (Then let me go, tell me about the birds of spring..) ~
[X]
~ Kuinka kaunis onkaan taivas, kuinka kaunis uusi kesä ihana... ~
~ (How the sky is so beautiful, how beautiful is the upcoming summer...) ~
[X]
Niko hummed the melody of the song, and used his voice to echo it. Liriel sat down on the ground, as her knees were becoming weak from the amount of emotions running through her right now. Alexis slowly closed her eyes and tightened the grip on Niko's hand, enjoying this song that he so passionately sang for her in the last moments.
~ Toivon, ethän enää silloin kannusta ja rohkaise... ~
~ (I hope by that time, you don't urge and encourage me..) ~
[X]
~ Ethän pyydä, että jäisin elämään.. ~
~ (Don't you ask me to live..) ~
[X]
~ Säästä minut taistelulta, kuiskaa korvaan hiljaa vain.. ~
~ (Please spare me from struggling, just whisper in my ear..) ~
[X]
~ Irti päästä, olet vapaa lähtemään.. ~
~ (Let it go, you are free to flow..)
[X]
(Chorus)
~ Pidä silloin hiljaa kiinni, syliin hellään rutista... ~
~ (Please hold me tightly then, squeeze me into your gentle arms.. ~
[X]
~ Pidä kadestäni kiinni, lohduta...~
~ (Hold my hand, comfort me..)
[X]
~ Että voisin aivan hiljaa huomaamatta nukkua.. ~
~ (So that I could so quietly fall asleep..) ~
[X]
~ Että voisin luulla, tulet mukana... ~
~ (So that I could think, that you'll be coming with me..) ~
[X]
~ Sitten anna minun mennä, kun on aika lähteä.. ~
~ (Then let me go, when it is time to leave..) ~
[X]
~ Kerro kuinka unelmoimme joka kevät yhdessä.. ~
~ (Tell me how we dream together every spring..) ~
[X]
~ Silloin anna minun mennä, kerro kevään linnuista.. ~
~ (Then let me go, tell me about the birds of spring..) ~
[X]
~ Kuinka kaunis onkaan taivas, kuinka kaunis uusi kesä ihana... ~
~ (How the sky is so beautiful, how beautiful is the upcoming summer...) ~
Niko finished his singing as he opened his eyes, and watched the dawn with a smile.. He felt the tears accumulating once again in his eyes as he felt the grip of Alexis finally loosening on his hand. He granted her the last wish, as she took her deep breath. The last thing that she heard, was the voice of the only one she loved, and his arms around her. Niko slowly looked down, and saw Alexis sleeping like an angel, her eyes closed, and her face expressing happiness with a light smile. Niko smiled at her as his tears began to slowly drop on her face. He tightly hugged her head against his chest, wrapping his arms around her, and wept silently while holding her.
"Oh.. Niko..." Liriel said as she finally did not wish to hold back her emotions any longer, and broke down completely into tearing up, her tears leaking down from both of her eyes as she witnessed the most painful moment that Niko ever felt. Liriel was cursing herself, for she neglected him and his feelings by mistaking them for "mon'keigh" things, but just as the spirit literally told her the truth, she thought she was just trying to ridicule her, or mock her, and yet, after witnessing the worst moment in Niko's life, she truly realized the strength of Niko's love towards her. And yet, she was so brutal and harsh to him, and wanted to kill him so many times, yet here she sees his younger form completely broken by the loss of the one person he truly loved. Now, Liriel knew, that there was no doubt in her mind, that Niko, was afraid of her reaction, and rightfully so as Liriel thought, but now, she was defeated.
There was simply no purpose to fight any of this. Plus, all the hidden feelings, unbeknownst to her, which started to grow in her heart towards him, were shown to her through the moments of the vision. "I have been blinded.. By my own hatred.." Liriel said while wiping her tears away. "His entire life has been nothing but pain and loss.. Just like many of us, Aeldari.. I.. I cannot.. Just.." She was lost. Completely lost, and just cried onto her palms, while Niko, in the meanwhile, wept further while holding Alexis to his chest.
"Alexis... Alexiisss... Hhhhnnggg.. Sshff..Sfnnff.. Emperor.. Guide her to your paradise.." He said, before taking her Leuku from the belt to keep and safeguard it, and then, he started to dig a grave with his own hands while wiping his tears as he continued to cry over the loss.
"This was the moment that a piece of his soul died.. Liriel Valdan." The spirit said, who appeared right next to her. Liriel lifted her head and looked at the spirit. "Spirit, I.. After all of this, how can he have any feelings.. For me.. I am an alien to him, a monster to his kind, a beast to be killed.. As if my people do not even think the same about him.. If he is not mad, then why.." She asked the spirit that same question for the second time, and she, decided to be more specific with Liriel.
"As I mentioned, the difference is not huge.. Plus, he sees your natural beauty, and is charmed by it. My master does not care that you are an alien. You are a woman in his eyes. A woman he fell in love with.. You are a woman that gave him new hope, that lightened up his lonely and hurt soul, and closed the scar on his heart. He does not care that your eyes and ears are different. The rest, is too identical to a human. And he does not care if the entirety of the Imperium is against him. For he is willing to give his life for you, just so you can experience happiness. He is very well aware that you are longing for your home.. And guess what? He accepts the fact that after helping you, he might get killed by you. Or left alone once again." The spirit said without hiding anything. The last words, forced Liriel to gasp doubtfully as she slowly stood up and kept staring at the spirit.
"Do not even think about telling me you did not think about those moments. I know you too well, Liriel Valdan of Ulthwe.. You would have killed him when you reached your goal, wouldn't you? He was ready to accept even your betrayal, just as long as he can have the last look at your face and having done something which he would not regret. You would call this madness from his side.. But from his side, it is his love for you. He swore to help, and he would fulfill it to the last. You must link your soul with his, to know his every feeling.. And stop your hatred from getting ahead of you, for he has already defeated his one towards you." The spirit explained, and Liriel, after having thought for a while, nodded.
"I.. I just.." Liriel wanted to say something, but the spirit interrupted her. "You felt some disturbance and uncomfortable moments when she and him shared some cherishing moments.. Did you not?" These words forced a very grim stare from Liriel. "How did you.." The spirit smiled softly. "Those were your feelings speaking for you. Alerting you so to speak.. You were feeling jealous. You are an Aeldari who have been taught what your society always teaches you, much like what the human society taught Niko. Both of you shared the same views - Hate the other, kill the other, despise the other. But he has defeated it, and follows his heart. You should consider doing the same, because the seeds have already been planted."
The spirit was quite specific on this certain topic. Nevertheless, she already showed, and told Liriel more than enough to convince her of the fact, that she needed to drop her indoctrination, and choose to follow what her heart tells her. Liriel remained silent, and started to walk back towards the tree, with the spirit by her side. "I.. Have.. So much to think about.. I have not been taught anything else, than to wage war, and to never look for any other way.." She said. "You are not amongst your kinsmen, Liriel Valdan. You are alone, in an unknown world, with my master, and his pet. There is no point for you to think otherwise. Follow your heart.. Not what you have been taught." The spirit told her, just as she reached the tree.
The spirit stared at Liriel's back for over a minute of dreadful silence. Liriel in the meanwhile, placed her hand on the tree, lowered her head, and contemplated. The spirit smirked. "All of this is hard to swallow, isn't it? I will ease your burden.. The capital is only filled with the common folk. The spaceport is not heavily guarded by the humans. There are multiple ships and shuttles there. Every one of their forces are on your tail. The mountains are surrounded completely.. You can forget all of this. How? Leave my master to his demise, and make your escape at night. Contact your craftworld, and return home. You will feel guilt, but the duty will force you to forget it and continue your path as a warrior. You are too weak to follow your heart.." The spirit said, frowning now.
Liriel instantly turned her head around, and frustratingly looked at her. "Are you mad?! After everything we went through, after everything I saw, witnessed, heard.. You expect me to stoop so low?!" She said, and the spirit, simply laughed. "Oh really? Can you prove me otherwise? You clearly do not care about him." Now, the spirit was truly pushing it. Liriel walked towards her, and stood there with her fists clenched. "I do care about him.. You are a spirit. What do you know about what we, the mortal souls, feel, or experience?" She asked. The spirit simply sighed and answered. "The warp already has unimaginable amount of examples of what we know about you.. Do not lecture me about something that only I can grasp, Eldar."
"You do not know what it is like to be deprived of the vital things that only the mon'keigh can experience, while we have to push them aside in order to avoid falling into creation of our errors, spirit of the warp. I can, however, defeat this one quality that I have developed, and prove you otherwise." Liriel told her, while the spirit raised her eyebrow with a light smile. "If that is the case, then what is your final answer?"
Liriel stood there staring into her eyes, before slowly looking back at the tree, and inspect it from top to above, before finally proclaiming the words that the spirit demanded from her after so much time. ".. I.. I just.. No matter how much I deny this, or fail to understand it, this feeling.." The spirit suddenly stopped her right there. "You love him, Liriel. Admit it already.. You were too stubborn and in denial to admit it. Finding excuses, avoiding the facts until I showed you everything that you needed to see. I beg you to be wise, for the sake of Niko.. Stop denying this..Stop killing him slowly."
She really did not like hearing her last words. It forced her to look down at the ground, and then, stare at the palms of her hands, before clenching them into fists, putting them at her sides. The spirit continued to talk. "Only your love for him will be able to give him any salvation.. He has pushed himself beyond his limits to keep you safe. Now, won't you do the same? Won't you save him? Link your soul with his. Make this connection. All the feelings that you felt and experienced? That is called love. So what if he is a human.. He still loves you, and cares about you. Are you really going to be so brutal and harsh to him, when he continues to smile because of you?" The spirit really pushed Liriel's gears with these words. She knew that the spirit spoke the truth, and that her hidden feelings were unveiled to her. It was just very, very hard to admit it.
"How did I fall for him, without even realizing it.." Liriel simply asked. "Through common experience.. He has shown you many times how much he cares about you by saving your life. Not once. He saved you from the perversions of your darker cousins, sheltered you, fed you, saved you.. You experienced all of these thanks to him, and in exchange, your heart, and soul, became attached to him. Your mind is trying to force you to deny this, but always remember. Your heart and soul, are way stronger than anything you possess. Now, it is up to you to... T..To..." The spirit suddenly stopped and dropped to her knees as she held her chest, panting heavily herself. This terrified Liriel to some extent, as she did not know what was happening to the spirit, just as the ground beneath her feet began to shake like a massive earthquake.
"What- What's happening to you?" She said while kneeling and trying to check her out, but the spirit lifted her head, and saw a black tear running down from one of her eyes. The spirit was in pain, and Liriel became extremely concerned. It instantly pointed to the tree, as the entire world around them both burst into hellish flames, and the fire began to spread everywhere. The entire world became a blazing inferno for Liriel's eyes to witness. She felt a slight amount of panic kicking in from these sudden events, and just froze her feet while looking around after standing up.
"The... Tree.. Wake up.. Wake.. up..!" The spirit said, trying to just collect a few sentences together to say an understanding word, but to no avail. Liriel realized that right now, she had to get out of here. Out of Niko's soul and heart, and wake up immediately, and so, she ran to the tree, just as the spirit got up weakly, and followed her with a weakened jogging. She reached the tree, and then created a portal for her to jump into in the tree itself, and then looked at her with the most concerned and terrified look the spirit could muster.
"Niko.. Is dying.."
These were the words that she said, before Liriel's eyes widened in sheer terror, horrified and anxious as she gasped in shock. The spirit pushed her into the portal, and she began to fall through the darkness once again, while seeing the face of the spirit slowly getting tinier and tinier.
"Save h..him.. Liriel.. Choose.. Fate.. Or destiny.."The spirit's voice followed her as she continued to fall, and reached out her hand towards the spirit. She kept falling and falling, before she saw a bright blinding light surrounding her completely, and forcing her to shut her eyes for an instant while her never-ending fall continued to delay and delay, until everything went dark in her consciousness.
Merlorian. Northern mountains, the main operating base at the entrance to the mountains.
"What do you mean, you cannot investigate further?!" Kasim yelled. The Lord Inquisitor was clearly not satisfied with this report, as he spoke into his comms while sitting in the main tent at his table of operations. "My Lord Inquisitor, nothing can survive in the far up north. The weather is unpredictable and nothing can survive up there.." The officer behind the comms said. "I do not accept the words of impossibilities, Major.. Send the search squads there immediately. It is a clear order that you do not wish to disobey." He ordered, and the officer, reluctantly, obliged. ".. Yes.. My lord." He replied, and Kasim stood up to walk in circles, while the two of his bodyguards stood still, holding the hilt of their swords.
Suddenly, a Colonel of the Merlorian militia entered the room. "My Lord Inquisitor." He saluted, and Kasim looked at him while holding his hands behind himself. The cavalryman's pose, as it was known. "At ease. Report, Colonel.. Better make it quick." He ordered. The Colonel gulped and proceeded to make his report. ".. Nothing. We have not found any traces of them, despite our efforts. We are still continuing the search, patrolling from the skies, and from the ground. We dispatched many units that stretch ten kilometers from both sides, but the blizzard is making the search arduous." Julius frowned unhappily, and approached the officer.
"Return again without any good news the next time I call you, and you will find yourself as one of the applicants for the servitor program. Do not come to me with empty pockets. I require knowing the whereabouts of this xenos and traitorous filth. Your world is tainted, and if there is no other way around to remove it manually, I will personally remove it myself...Through Exterminatus."Kasim declared, forcing the soul of the Colonel to leave his body with the amount of terror and shock he experienced right now.
"M..My Lord, we.. We will do our best, please.. No need to call in that order. We will double our efforts. I give you my word, and swear by the God-Emperor." He said, before lightly bowing his head. Kasim smiled while standing at the side, resuming his cooler demeanor. "Good.. Very good, Colonel. It is best if you, and the rest, are on my good side. Go now, and do your duty.." The Colonel immediately left the tent, and left Kasim to contemplate while he held his chin and looked at the ground. "Hmmm.. Things can get quite interesting here." He said and continued to think further, before sitting down to write some reports, before tapping his comms at his ear. "Prepare the valkyrie..."
In the meantime, outside his tent, everybody was busy. The entire area, to be precise, was being fortified, with soldiers, vehicles, and tents being set up for this entire endeavor to begin with. Everybody did their errands and duties accordingly. The valkyries patrolled from the skies, the troops accompanied by vehicles patrolled from the ground, seeking for their targets that the Lord Inquisitor has prioritized. Most of the units in the base, were busy attending their training schedules, with minimal guards and sentries set up on crafted watchtowers.
"My Lord.. In position. Explosives set." Sergeant Tarn reported silently through the comms after finishing his work of placing some explosive devices under the platform of the fuel barrels, where it would never be found. "Understood. We are hiding in a tiny cave.. Too many valkyries in the sky. Make sure to scramble their signals and sabotage their communications. Cut the wires. In the meanwhile, I will use secret communication with our cruiser, and.. You will see, what I have in mind." Tarn heard his words, but could not grasp them, and understand what he was trying to explain to him at this point. Nevertheless, Tarn would do his mission precisely. "Yes, my Lord." He said, then changed his comms. "Maximus. Do you see the communications tower? Sabotage it... Just do not leave any traces." He said. "Got it, Sarge."
Tarn moved out of the way without being seen, and joined the passing squad of Merlorian soldiers, who, in fact, were his men. "Men. Report.." He said in a low tone of voice. "We went out of the perimeter and dropped multiple trees on the roads where the supply line is. This will slow them down, Sarge." One of his men said. "Excellent. What else?" The second one intervened. "Sir. The sentinels are very vital to this militia. We made few holes in their fuel tanks.. However, we cannot do much against the Leman Russes. They're very well protected, and only the Mechanized units are allowed to approach them." He reported. "Curses.. Still, it is better than nothing. While their firepower remains, their mobility will be compromised. Watch over them thoroughly." The men nodded all in unison, and Tarn continued to spy over the base and get more information that's needed, while avoiding Kasim at all costs.
Merlorian. Northern mountains, the tiny cave in the north-east.
General Urslov and Adrian were busy setting up the vox device in order to catch signal with the Inquisitorial Cruiser. Inquisitor Oleos in the meanwhile, was busy with a coded message that he was writing on a data-slate. It was an example of a morse code. A trick he learned from his Inquisitor. He did not tell anyone what this code was about, not even to his closest ally, Adrian. "My Lord.. I am not to judge your perception, or skills in general." Adrian said while connecting some parts. "But what are you truly planning?" He asked. "A distraction, Adrian. A dire distraction.. But it will give us the leap that we require." Oleos answered. This puzzled Adrian and even Urslov, but they believed in their Inquisitor.
"The device is ready, my Lord." Urslov said, while both of him and Adrian were wiping their foreheads from the work they've done. Oleos nodded. "Good job. Now.." He went to the mini cogitator, and began to type some things to establish a hidden communication to his ship. "Clearance - Diomedes. Code - Crimson blade. Connection, 24.961000.2596. Greetings, Inquisitor. Unit 85XI at your service." The cogitator said, which was in fact one of the servitors of his cruiser. "Unit 85XI. Connection to Magos Quintus." Oleos said. "Affirmative. Connection... Established." The device had a few buzzes, before the mechanical voice answered. "Inquisitor Oleos. By the Omnissiah, what a pleasure to hear your voice again." Quintus said. "Likewise, Magos. Look, there is no time.." He said, and connected his data-slate into the device, sending the data to his personal cogitator.
"We are in a bad situation right now.. Kasim has arrived. I lost every power I held in this world, and I require a distraction. I sent you a morse code.. Send it to that location." He ordered, and Quintus literally stopped talking for a little bit, which Oleos expected. "My.. My Lord. This sector is close to the eye of terror, and there is nothing vital there except dangers of the galactic scale. Why do you want me to send this code to this location?" Quintus asked, and Urslov, alongside with Adrian, were confused themselves at what Oleos was saying, being curious, but they did not intervene.
"Trust me. You don't want to know.. But we need a distraction. And this is the only thing that I have in my mind that will give us any aid." Oleos pleased, and Quintus simply obliged, even reluctantly. "As you wish, my Lord. With the Omnissiah's blessings. Anything else?" He asked. "Yes. Get the cruiser away from the orbit. Move it further away from the planet, specifically, behind the moon. Remain hidden, for I ordered every other of our units to depart to the cruiser. Do not ask me questions, please. Just do as I told you." He told him. "Under...Stood. Magos Quintus out." He answered, and now, he looked at both of his subordinates.
"That's it, men. Disassemble the parts and destroy them.. Thoroughly. Then, we move out as soon as the valkyries retreat. Await for my word." They both nodded and began their work, while Oleos tapped his comm button. "Tarn, come in. What's the status with the communications tower?" He asked.
Merlorian. Northern mountains, the main operating base at the entrance of the mountains.
"Inquisitor. We are waiting for Maximus to complete his task. Await for my word. In the meantime.. Some of my men have found out something grim. Kasim is a madman, and we all know that. He will definitely pull an Exterminatus upon this world if he fails to take down those two. There have been reports coming from his agents.. He has pressured reluctant Merlorians by using tyranny against their family members. The capital is slowly becoming a prison, not even the children are spared.. And the Governor, is dead. Alongside every official. Kasim commands this entire world now." Tarn reported, before a deep sigh came as a reply. "By the Emperor.. Understood, Daniel. Continue your report." Oleos replied. "Yes, my Lord."
Tarn continued his mission of spying over Kasim's activities, and of those who are now under his command. In a short amount of time, he got the exact report he was wishing for. "Sarge, communications tower sabotaged as you ordered." Stormtrooper Maximus reported. "Excellent work, Max. Join us at the southern side, but do not get caught." Tarn said. "Got it, Sarge. Maximus over." After that, Tarn whispered once again. "Men. Come." He ordered, and they all got into a square group, mimicking the Merlorian behavior, and acting more like them, in order to not get caught. "Inquisitor, come in."
"Yes, Daniel?" Tarn sighed in relief after a minute of radio silence. "Damned vox.. Thought we lost contact from the communications tower being cut. Either way, the tower is sabotaged. They will be busy calling for a technician and finding out the issue. The valkyries should clear off the sky, and the patrols should retreat. You are free to go." Tarn made his report for Kaidan. "Excellent work, Tarn. In the meantime, as I like to say.. Shove the sticks into their tracks. Distract them as much as you can. Again, under any circ*mstances, do not, I repeat, do NOT, get into Kasim's view. As I said, if he sees you, he will see the difference. Stay away from him and his bodyguards." Oleos warned him thoroughly. "Understood, Inquisitor. Tarn out." Tarn ended the communication with the Inquisitor, and then, he decided to stop under a few trees, and inform his men from the first bits to the last, just as Maximus joined them.
"Men. Our first task is done, now we switch to our second. Stay away from the sight of the Lord Inquisitor and his bodyguards. When the valkyries land? Sabotage them. When the night hits, volunteer for sentry duty. Act as Merlorians, and do not show your discipline.. For these individuals lack it. And keep in contact with one another through a hidden channel, in order for them not to intercept our communications. If you feel like you have been compromised, act accordingly. Anybody gets suspicious? Get rid of them. But remember, we are here to keep them away from our Inquisitor. Not to kill them.. But as I said, if there is no other choice, then be as cold as your blades. Now.. Let's do this, shall we?" He asked, and his men simply nodded. Tarn did not need anything else right now to feel confident in his men. He already knew that they would do their best, and so, he started his second task.
As Tarn went off to do his job with his men, somebody came out from behind a tree that was located near the spot that Tarn informed his men from. The figure was covered in a deep, dark cloak, and its facial figures were barely seen. It was clearly spying on Tarn and his men. "My Lord. Confirming targets.. Inquisitorial stormtroopers under a disguise. Task: Sabotage and deceit. Your orders?" The figure said in silence, and it sounded feminine.
"Hm.. So it seems that he did fall for my trap. Either way, keep your eyes on them and report to me of anything you may find. My loyal agent "Excalibur" should get in contact with me soon enough. I will be there.. Let my double stay where he is." The man behind the comms told the spying figure. "Understood, My Lord." And after that, the comms ended, and the figure covered her face, and continued to spy on Tarn and his men, by staying completely in the shadows.
Lord Inquisitor Julius Kasim sat on the throne inside the capital palace, with his feet on the table, and he was busy smoking a pipe. The pipe, clearly belonged to Governor Vivon, who was shot through the head, and was laying near his own throne which Kasim has occupied. Kasim's bodyguards, the two females, stayed by his side, with their blades completely covered in blood, and Kasim admired the view of the slaughtered governor's guards and Merlorian officials in the long hallway. Not even the servants, from children to teenage adults, were spared the carnage.
"I warned you, Kaidan.. I will let you feel confident.. Before crushing you completely. Let the game begin."
Merlorian. Northern mountains, outside of the tiny cave where Oleos and his group stopped at.
"Alright, fellas. The mountains are clear.. For now. Although, I still recommend caution. Here's the plan." Oleos explained as he placed down the map. "This here.. These are the last whereabouts of those two bastards. We need to seriously investigate this spot. Let's go there, and find any clues whatsoever. For I am very sure that they are weakened by this escape. Meaning? They would not risk going all over in that stormy blizzard. There might be a cave somewhere.. We should hurry. Tarn cannot keep them busy forever, and Kasim might have something in his mind for his mission. Let's go, men." He ordered, and then began to march towards the spot designated on his map.
"My Lord." Adrian intervened. "I am not trying to judge, but are you certain that they might have not left an extra pack of patrols around these mountains? You know, just in case?" He asked, and Oleos looked at him. "Negative, Adrian. These people, much like any other militia, start to panic when they lose communications." He said. "I wouldn't be so sure. My men wouldn't be willing to abandon the mission completely. There might be a pack that is roaming around there, brave jarheads as I like to call them." Oleos was surprised. He didn't expect this type of talk from the General, but he knew that he was serious. "Well, you are one surprising officer, Urslov. Hah, we will try to avoid them, if we even encounter them, that is.." Oleos said, and Urslov nodded.
They continued to march to the spot just as the evening struck, but the higher they climbed up the mountains through the mountain slopes, the colder it got, but Oleos knew where he was going. Adrian and Urslov were already well aware of the weather conditions on these mountains, and they surely were warmly dressed for this expedition. They still did not encounter any Merlorian soldiers in their path, and this allowed them to function independently. Oleos knew that Tarn did a great job, and could not help but smile to himself after seeing how empty the mountains were. "Emperor, bless Tarn and his men.."
His march continued nevertheless. There were no major talks going on, as they had to concentrate on their mission, since they could not trust these surroundings. But at last, they reached the spot, with a clear sign of vehicles that moved here, indicating that they took away the destroyed sentinels. "Here we are.. Exactly at this location is where they've been seen last time. General Urslov. Acolyte Adrian. Investigate this place immediately. I will be on a watch. Call me when you find any clues."
"Yes, My Lord." Adrian said.
"As you wish, Inquisitor." So did Urslov.
Adrian and Urslov separated into two different directions, while Oleos stood at the guard by watching the pathway. Acolyte Adrian went straight to the snow covered mountain's walls, and began to investigate them. Urslov in the meanwhile, went to the other side of the mountains, flanking it, and looked for clues.
The acolyte was quite cunning, since he used his bare hands to dig out a few parts of the snow, and uncovered footprints, which belonged to two individuals. "Huh? Emperor preserve.." He said, and wiped his forehead while digging two spots one meter away from the footprints. Then, he used his feet to clear off the snow, and found out the tracks were leading to the other side of the mountain, which was near Oleos. "Inquisitor. I uncovered footprints.." He informed Oleos, who immediately turned around and looked at him. "Footprints?" Then he tapped the comm button. "Urslov, come back here and watch the pathway.." After saying those words, General Urslov came running to their position. "Found anything?"
"Footprints. They are leading somewhere.." Oleos informed Urslov, who stood at the pathway and watched the Merlorian base from afar. "The lights are everywhere in their base, my Lord.. You should hurry up, before they seriously consider their options." Urslov warned them, and Oleos looked at Adrian next. "Adrian. Help me out here.." He said as he began to dig the snow by using his feet as quick as possible. Adrian nodded and joined him immediately, using his feet to uncover the snow and find the footprints.
They both were putting a lot of effort in this endeavor. And it rewarded them well. Because after almost half an hour of uncovering the area and finding out the footprints, they noticed that they were leading towards a mountain's wall, which was covered in a huge pile of snow. "My Lord! It's leading behind this pile.. Shall we?" He asked Oleos who immediately nodded. "Get to it, Adrian. Shame that we do not have shovels.." He disappointingly said as he began to dig out the pile of snow with Adrian.
"My Lord." Urslov said loud enough for Oleos to hear, and he turned around just as an object flew towards him. Oleos caught it in an instant. It was a shovel. "Did the Emperor hear our complaints?" Oleos surprisingly asked, and Urslov grinned. "Every Merlorian needs his personal tool, my Inquisitor. Now, please, hurry." He asked, and Oleos immediately began to dig out the snow with Urslov's shovel. "May the Emperor bless you, Urslov. You are well-prepared for everything.. I can consider you my friend" He complimented him, and Adrian offered assistance by using his hands to dig. "Adrian, no. Safeguard your hands.. I need them." He told him. "As you say, My lord.. Now, I do not want to distract you my Lord, but, what.. Did you do in that cave?" He curiously asked him.
Oleos simply laughed as he kept digging and digging, but nevertheless, he gave him a simple answer. "That is something that I cannot tell anyone, Adrian. Not even you.." He said, and then stopped digging while wiping his forehead and catching his breath. "Understand one thing.. Kasim is a very dangerous individual. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve that I cannot determine. But I also have a trick up my sleeve.. If you catch my drift. Only I know of this. That is all you need to know, Adrian." He explained, and Adrian could not help but feel proud for his Inquisitor. "Emperor's throne.. Your determination will defeat anything, my Lord." He said, before Oleos gave him the shovel, and he began to dig out the huge pile of snow, that was slowly becoming smaller. But they would require at least an hour to clear it off.
After one arduous 48 minutes of constant digging, they uncovered an entrance to a cave, that was intensively dark, and by the looks of it, they knew that it was going to be a very long one. "A cave.. Here is where the footprints end, my Lord." Adrian informed him as Oleos was catching his breath. "Then we shall investigate it. For we only have one shot at this, and to capture those two, and make our escape." Urslov turned around and sighed in relief after they finally uncovered a huge heureka. "Inquisitor. Take Adrian and investigate it. I need to stand here on watch, and make sure to alert you for a return. It is the best decision that I can think of at the moment." Urslov gave him his opinion, and he humbly accepted it.
"Good idea, General. Adrian, after me." Oleos said just as he took his flashlight, and entered the cave with Adrian by his side, who was also using a flashlight. "Emperor deliver us from the danger, and protect us from the malicious intents.." Adrian prayed as he entered the cave. "The Emperor protects.. Let us find what we came here for." After that, they both disappeared into the darkness and the depths of the cave, leaving Urslov all alone to stand as a watcher.
Urslov in the meanwhile, pulled out his binoculars after 10 minutes passed by, and zoomed into the base. He had to watch it carefully. "As calm as they can be, it seems.. Wait.. What.. In the Malcador's teeth?" Urslov zoomed in further after a confusion struck him. He noticed that the communications tower was in the process of being fixed, but that is not what bothered him. He noticed a group of Merlorian soldiers who were restrained and their hands cuffed. It was an entire squad, and he got instantly alarmed after noticing a tiny detail on an unconscious individual. "The one up front has two.. Mechanical.. Arms..Tarn?!"
He instantly tried to get in contact with Tarn, but found out that he could not do so, due to the signal buzzing constantly into his ear. "Inquisitor! Come in! Come in!" He said, and then punched the stone wall nearby after the signal got lost completely. "Curses! I have to rely on my faith that they return quickly.."
The depths of the Merlorian mountain cave..
Heavy panting. The pure agonizing thirst for fresh air, and unimaginable amount of headache. These were the things that Liriel was feeling at the moment while bleeding from her mouth and laying on the ground and shaking slightly, disoriented totally after waking up from escaping Niko's mind. She mustered all the strength that she could, and caught as much as oxygen as she could allow herself, slowly standing up to her knees. "Hhhhh...Hhhooo... Hhhhh...hhaaa.. I..Sha..." She could not even gather a complete sentence. So overwhelming was the entire process for Liriel, that the images she saw, were flashing in her eyes, alongside the noises, which she was hearing constantly.
She quickly remembered the words of the spirit, and instantly glanced at Niko, who was trembling, and breathing slowly while laying in the water of the nature's bath. "N.. Niko!" She quickly regained her composure, and crawled towards her human companion, despite the weakness that overtook her body since she felt completely numb from head to toe. She came closer to Niko with the most worried expression that she could muster, and saw him slowly, but deeply breathing, indicating that he was still alive, but he was definitely in a dying state since she could feel how his body was having an extreme fever. He was literally burning. "Ulthwe's tears.. Hang.. On...My Niko."
Liriel saw that Akila was still unconscious, but he was very much alive. However, she had to save Niko with everything that she had in her possession. She unleashed few coughs while ignoring the ache that her body was experiencing, alongside the bleeding that she was having at the moment. She could see Niko shiver intensively, which caused her anxiousness to increase. She made sure to wrap him in a layer of towel and a blanket, and keep him safely covered. Nevertheless, she fell on her knees after the pain got too much, and the numbness kicked in her legs like lightning. The entire procedure was extremely arduous, and she knew it.
"Khaine's bloody hand.. I deeply regret hurting him.. But I.. I.. Had no.. Choice.. I had to see.. The truth, before it swallowed me entirely.. And it is.. Painful.." She admitted while watching over Niko, while keeping his head on her lap, while he continued to breathe. She knew that he was in a dying state, but she would curse herself if she would allow him to die. This was the moment of truth, the moment of connection about to happen, and possibly, the only chance for him to stay alive.
"Niko.. You foolish mon'keigh child, literally.. You do not value your life accordingly. So many sacrifices, so much pain, loss, regret, guilt.. And yet you remain by my side, despite our differences. You truly are a.. Mysterious human boy. But by Isha, I will not let you die here.." She swore to herself. She was not going to let all his sacrifices he made for her, to be all in vain. The least she could do right now, is to save him against all possible odds, and to never be ashamed of it, for he showed her his true intentions, and she, in fact, was hurt from it.
Hurt not by him being a human, and her being an Eldar, but that it was him, a fragile, young human male, who was her salvation, and not one of her Eldar kinsmen. But she remembered what the spirit told her, and she knew that the spirit spoke nothing but truth. She saw Niko's worst moments, and at the end, the spirit made sure to break her stubborn barriers, and to make her admit the attraction and care she felt towards Niko. Liriel hated that feeling, for it was so alien to her, but she could not avoid it. She had to accept it, and at this very moment of dire need, she would not hold herself back.
Liriel, after staring into the barely conscious Niko, moved his hair away from his temple, and then, under the blissful light of the cave, decided to do the unthinkable for any Aeldari. But Liriel did not care, she had to save the one who saved her multiple times, and the only one, who genuinely loved her. "Great mother.. I do not expect forgiveness for what I am about to do, but I beg you.. Save him. And do not judge me, for..Loving him."
Liriel removed the layers around Niko, and he continued to shiver. She picked him up at ease, and laid him back in the nature's bath, before she got to the other end of the bath, despite the weakness in her legs slowing her down, and then...She began to strip. Completely.
This was an embarrassing moment for Liriel, but she quickly pushed that thought aside as she knew that Niko was not seeing her. But she knew what she had to do at this very moment, and she would not back down from it. She removed each piece of her armor, and neatly placed them on the ground alongside her belongings, including the power sword. Then, she slowly pulled down the zipper of her synthetic, tight, black suit, and she felt truly exposed. But she knew that there was just her, and Niko with his unconscious pet. She did not feel flustered, at all, she just knew what she was doing.
Niko, in the meantime, was rapidly jumping from being conscious, to unconscious in a very short period of time. His vision was blurry as he felt his body screaming for help, but he could not even move an inch, for his entire body was completely numb after he pushed himself to the limits to save Liriel. It also did not help the fact of her looking into his mind that made his situation worse, but he would have been sick either way. His single eye slightly opened, and he saw a blurred vision of something that he could only name it by the title of a "Goddess". Niko felt that he was either hallucinating, or already in the paradise, but he could not tell, for his mind was completely a mush, and nothing else.
"Hggfr...ggbhn...Hhhaah..." He mumbled, and this forced Liriel to freeze on the spot and cause her eyes to widen slightly. She quickly glanced at Niko, whose head was very slowly turning left and right, but Liriel nevertheless, finished stripping naked, and now, she appeared in front of Niko as a tall, well-built Aeldari woman. If only Niko was able to witness her wine glass shaped, perfectly built hips, his nether regions would literally go full inferno. It also did not help the fact that for an Aeldari, her bust was quite big. With a pure, delightful, pale skin, without a single scar on it. Niko tried to lift his arm to try and reach for her, through all the strength he could muster, but he went back into unconsciousness in an instant. This assured Liriel, that he was in such a bad state, that he was barely able to witness her naked glory. She took a few deep breaths, and began the procedure.
"His.. His mind is already severely weakened.." She told herself, and then, after the last deep breath, she slowly lowered herself to the waters, and entered the bath calmly. In the next moment, she gently lifted his back, and laid her back against the edge of the bath, before pulling his back against her chest, and wrapping her legs, and her arms, completely around him. Surrounding him with her warmth, and the feeling of her pale skin. She felt how his body was burning, but did not pay it any heed. She knew that what she was doing was outrageous, but she deeply cared for him to find it troubling, despite anything in particular. Niko's shivering stopped as he was getting embraced by Liriel, and she allowed herself to relax with him in her arms, but she knew that for the first step of the connection, this was not enough. She would have to cross,another line to save him.
Without literally saying anything, she slightly lowered his head after a long while, and stared at his face, while gently caressing both of his cheeks, and having a sad, frowny facial expression. After all, who would blame her? "Dear heavens aid me.. His time is running out.. But worry not, Niko.. Worry.. Not.." After saying her sincere words, she ran her thumb across her tongue, and rubbed it against Niko's dry lips, before freezing for one minute to think about what she's doing. "I am about to do something that I never imagined.. But if this means saving him.. How can I falter.." She told herself, hesitating to do what she would have never fathomed doing in her entire life of existence. However, the hourglass was already flipped, and she had to make a tough choice, but she, already made her choice, and would not retreat from it.
Liriel gently lowered her head, and under this calm, beautiful moment..
Her lips pressed against his.
She was kissing him, and trying to make a connection with his soul through this intimate moment, while expressing her feelings freely. After spending the most arduous possible times with Niko, at the last moment, she did not hesitate to cross any boundaries set up for her race, and did everything that she could to save him. She kissed Niko deeply while holding his cheeks, and the connection was slowly, but surely, building up. The entire scene looked to be ritualistic, but she did not pay it any heed. She simply did what she could to make sure that he stays alive, and as much as she would've cursed herself for crossing this line.. She did not feel anything negative. In fact.. She felt her heart literally brightening up by establishing this connection, and simply kept her lips against his for quite amount of period. Many images crossed her mind, but she began to notice the effects.
Niko's body temperature was cooling off, and his breathing was becoming more stabilized through his nostrils. Apparently, by making this connection through an intimate moment, Liriel was giving him all the spare strength that she had in her possession, and after a long moment, she completely forgot about all the worries.. She forgot about all her battles, the xenophobia, everything.. The only thing that she felt while kissing him, was nothing else than his lips, and his warmth spreading to her own body.
The psychic effect began to take place as Liriel used her psychic aura to heal him while being this intimate. She was eliminating the sickness that gripped him, and this, in exchange, had an effective result on Niko's health. As this first step of the soul connection proceeded, with mysterious, alien ways, Niko's health began to slowly, but surely, improve for the better, especially.. When a blue light shined between their lips, appearing as some unknown energy, which was helping Niko thoroughly.
After about few minutes, Niko's eye slowly opened up, and all that he saw, was Liriel's face with her eyes closed, and all what he recognized, was nothing else than her gentle, soft, and sweet looking face pressed against his. However, Niko's mind was too slow to process what was happening as his weakened state began to heal up. He kept his eye opened slightly, and he managed to lift his hand, and gently place it on Liriel's right cheek. This forced her eyes to sprung open, and she saw Niko staring into her orbs while they shared this intimate moment.
Liriel wanted to back off. She wanted to literally jump off from him, but then, she noticed that.. She couldn't. Her body refused to do it, despite her own complaints. "What is... What is wrong with... M..Me.. Why do I not feel flustered, or embarrassed.." She thought in her mind as she looked at him straight in his single eye, but what truly made her give up the resistance, was a single tear that ran down Niko's cheek. He weakly smiled at her, and weakly caressed her cheek, which calmed down Liriel's freaked out mind. "What Is.. He doi-" Her mind could not process this entire situation as she was completely cut off from thinking straight, due to the fact that Liriel's heart and soul was partially linked with his as he pressed his lips ever more deeply against hers, without even realizing this through his own consciousness.
"Isha's grace what is h..He... M...Mmf.." Liriel's heartbeat was racing at this intimate moment. She knew that Niko, despite his body healing up, was barely aware of what was going on, and yet, he continued to kiss her, and press his lips against hers ever more tightly. This caught Liriel off guard as she widened her eyes at how his strength was slowly recovering by this action alone. After about another minute or so, Liriel gave up with her last bits of resistance, and closed her eyes, with Niko doing the same as they continued to share this intimate moment between each other like two stars aligning in the sky, or two things forging into one.
The connection was almost at it's peak, and the kissing lasted for about ten minutes. Liriel felt a weird sensation throughout her entire body, as if she was having a sudden blood rush in her veins that only increased her heartbeat. Niko felt the same way, but he was still semi-conscious to pay it any heed whatsoever. But, nevertheless.. The process ended at last, with Liriel breaking the kiss by slowly moving her lips away from his, and staring into his single eye after so many emotions and expressions went through her mind during this entire process. Liriel felt the weird sensation within her chest growing ever so further, before she eventually gave in to Niko, and shared her feelings towards him.
The first step of the connection of their souls, through this sort of heating passion.. Was at last, established... The "Full" connection would have to wait.
"Isha.. Our great mother.. Do not judge.. Just.. Aid him.." She softly told herself while getting worried for Niko, who went back into pure unconscious state. She held his cheeks, and caressed them gently while keeping her legs and arms wrapped around him, and after 15 arduous minutes.. Niko finally opened his single eye, with his breathing now calmer than ever, and his body temperature going down. Liriel allowed herself to sigh deeply after witnessing such a relieving moment, and for the first time ever, she genuinely..Smiled.
"You are safe, Niko.. You are.. Safe." She reassured her human "Partner", who was showing signs of life, but nevertheless, she knew that he was still in a weakened state. Niko was simply staring into her eyes, not knowing what just happened, since his memory was quite scrambled.. He simply felt his strength coming back to him, bit by bit, and allowed himself to have a relieving moment by slowly smiling at Liriel's face, slowly, and weakly lifting his hands, and placing them on her hands that caressed his cheeks.
Liriel's joy was beyond any explanation at the moment. She was genuinely happy to see Niko's fabulous smile once again, and see his life signs returning to him completely. "Thank you, great mother.. Thank you, Isha.." She thanked her goddess for showing her mercy this day, and then, smiled further through the accumulating tears. Everything that she did, was outrageous, and she knew it. However.. Knowing that it was not in vain, reassured Liriel of her abilities, and her internal strength that she doubted would help, but it did. It helped her to save the soul that cared for her and loved her, and she would not be brutal and heartless to not understand it.
The howling banshee, gently unwrapped her arms and legs around him, and simply laid his head at the edge of the bath, and allowed the waters to do the rest of the healing while his body began the full recovery. She slowly got out and dried herself with a spare towel from Niko's backpack, before putting her synthetic, tight suit back on herself. "The fate is harsh.. But the destiny is fair. I couldn't simply let him die, especially after what he did, and what he feels towards me.." She whispered to herself, before sitting down on the ground, and meditating to prevent her own mind from collapse. She was stoic, but everything that just happened, was overwhelming her beyond any exception, and she had a lot to think about during her meditating session. She did not wish to speak or say anything, only concentrate.
After her little meditation procedure, Liriel decided to stand up and contemplate on her decisions that she made nevertheless, despite her barriers broken. She still felt awful for hurting Niko by engaging in her psychic vision ability, despite the fact, that she managed to save him, however.. What she did, was something unimaginable, by every standard. She knew that she had to do everything to save him, but it still was too much for Liriel, especially after what she witnessed by Niko's spirit, and what the spirit explained to her. And so, being silent, and having some amount of guilt within her heart, she decided to explore this cave which had the emitting light on its walls and ceiling, enough to not go blind. She knew that they would leave this cave soon enough, but they needed to find the exit.
Putting on her pieces of armor, she snapped her sword from the ground, sheathed it, and assured of Niko's recovery, walked off into one of the few paths that were available, but she would not go far away. Not at all. She took a glance at Niko before her task, then lightly smiled, before frowning in sadness and going off to the cave to wander and contemplate to calm down her overwhelmed mind. And so she went off.. The pain, the emotions, the overwhelming feeling, only grew within her. She was a warrior all her life, and never knew what these feelings are like, and she wanted to ease this pain one way or another. Aeldari were too mysterious and strange in their ways, and so, for a human, her behavior she had right now, would be as strange as it looked.
One hour later...
Niko's strength returned to him as he began to wake up. It was enough for his eye to open up and see his surroundings, before looking at his wet hands, and feeling himself completely wet from his throat to his feet. "Nnnnhhgg.." He grunted. "W...Where... Am... I..?" He asked himself, blinking a few times and looking around after arduously leaning up a little bit. "My head... Frakkhh..." He was experiencing a very annoying ache in every inch of his muscles. As if his body was cramped for so long, and he finally was released. However, stretched his limbs, and then looked around once more while his vision was returning to him, as it was slightly blurry for a while. "A Cave..? Where is.." He turned his head, and saw unconscious Akila. "Thank the Emperor.. You're alive, Aki.. But.. Liri.. Liriel, where.. Where is she..?" He asked as he looked around while standing on his feet, still in the waters.
"By the Emperor.. What.." He suddenly held his head as it was aching a lot. He tried to remember the images that he saw while his consciousness was constantly jumping from, before his tongue touched his lips, and a single image of Liriel's face passed by his eyes, until his eye widened. "Was... That.. Not a dream..?" He felt his lips tasting of purest lavender, and he did not understand why his lips felt.. Softer. He thought that what he saw, were just dreams, but little did he know, that it was all reality. He froze for a solid 5 minutes, wandering in his own mind as to what Liriel did to him. "Liriel.. What did she.. No.. Way.. There is no way that.. It happened.. Emperor's golden throne, I am so lost.." He just could not process these thoughts, because as much as they were real, he refused to believe it truly happened.
"What in the Emperor's name happened to me.. My last memory was collapsing on the surface, then I barely can remember what occurred here.. Did she, heal me up..?" He asked himself, but then cursed. "Damnation.. I have to find Liriel.. I have to know what happened here and what she did to me.." It seemed like Niko totally recovered from his body pushing itself above the limits. "Akila.." He said, then turned his head towards the direction of his white furred companion, before feeling his legs working once again, and walk towards him.
He knelt down and placed his hand on Akila's chest. "Thank the Emperor, he is stable.. I have to awaken him. Curses be upon the militia of this Emperor forsaken world.." After checking on Akila, he reached for his backpack, which was already half empty. He pulled out the little bottle of Amasec, opened the lid, and leaned it towards Akila's nostrils. "Come on Aki, get out of your slumber.." He said while holding the bottle at his nose, waiting patiently for his mind to process the strong smell of the alcoholic drink.
It took him a few minutes to wake him up, but at last, he awakened from his slumber. Niko allowed himself to sigh in deep relief as he saw Akila open his eyes, and look into Niko's face, who was smiling softly. "Aki.. It's me. You feeling better?" He said while closing the bottle, before literally jumping onto Niko's arms and constantly lick his face while wagging his tail. It forced Niko to have a little bit of laughter and pet his Merlorian wolf. "Ahah! I love you too, Aki, I love you too.. At ease, good boy, at ease." He told him, before hugging him and then pet him once again. Akila, despite just awakening from a possible coma, was brightened up with joy. After a little cute moment of rejoicing, Niko frowned shortly afterward, because Liriel, was still nowhere to be seen.
"Aki. I am telling you.. I got no idea what has happened, and how I am still alive, but our xeno lady here just disappeared out of sights. I must find her, are you with me?" He asked after standing up. Akila made a little howl of approval, telling him "Yes" by this way. Niko nodded and began to dress up in the clothes that were neatly stacked on a pile. He blushed lightly at the thought that Liriel stripped him almost naked. "Fraggin hell.. The xeno, surely surprised me.." He placed his fingers on his lips, while daydreaming for a little bit, and blushing ever so deeper. "This, taste.. Ahem! Nicky, concentrate." He shook his head swiftly and finished dressing up.
Niko was once again wearing his military black boots, his camo pattern pants with a belt, and a fresh long sleeve black shirt he pulled out of his backpack since he had no use of his former one that was laying on the ground. Next, he grabbed his holster, and placed his laspistol where it belonged, before putting his crossbow on his back, and the quiver at his hip. Then, he gripped his backpack, and tried not to think of the possible events that he thought were a dream, but as was said, little did he know, that it truly happened.
Right then, he pulled out a few pieces of salted meat from his backpack, and chewed on them, giving some to Akila to regain energy. After feeding himself as quick as possible, he went to the wall near his side, and filled his canteen from the leaking, pure water. He chugged down the entire canteen in one go, and filled it up again. "Emperor, grant me the strength and sustenance that I require.. How long was I out, is unknown.. But this will suffice." After filling the canteen, Niko looked around to find any clues as to where Liriel possibly went. "Akila. Help me out here, will you?" Niko pointed at his nose, then at the ground, and Akila understood the assignment immediately.
After getting on all fours from a sitting position, Akila began to sniff for any signs of Liriel's whereabouts. Niko, in the meanwhile, was busy thinking. "I do not blame her for leaving me alone here.. Probably too overwhelmed from literally having to take care of me or something, I cannot say.. But I require and demand answers." He thought, while Akila howled and gained Niko's attention. "Yes, boy?" He took a few steps closer and was perfectly walking now. He saw Akila facing one of the pathways, and then, he simply walked towards it, with Niko following him as Akila continued to sniff the ground. "Liriieeeeeell!" He shouted, with his voice echoing around the depths of the cave. There was no answer, and Niko sighed in slight disappointment.
The Kalevan young man nevertheless continued his march inside the cave, while occasionally shouting Liriel's name, in the hopes of her hearing him. "Kalevan devils... Where did she go.. I only pray to the Emperor that she is.. Wait.. A minute.." Niko's eye slowly widened as he touched his belt and did not find his "Leuku". He began to feel extremely nervous, and after having few dangerous thoughts, he simply ran into the path, while Akila confusingly ran after him.
"Inquisitor." Adrian asked Oleos who was holding an auspex scanner in his hands and seeking for any signals. "What is it, Adrian?" He asked. "I cannot get in touch with General Urslov. There is an intense buzzing in the comms.. Weird." Oleos merely rolled his eyes. "We are inside a mountain, literally. Unless we climb near the top, the signal will be extremely weak. We have to pray that nothing unfortunate happens. That is why we must be quick to get out of here if we do not find anything. They will resume their patrolling and scouting operation rather swiftly." He explained, while staring at the scanner and looking around his surroundings.
"That might be so, my Lord, but this all looks rather dire. If Urslov finds anything, we might as well never know about it until we are sure about where we are... Emperor forsaken world." He spat at the ground and frowned. Oleos merely laughed at his assumptions. "Do not fool yourself, Adrian. I know the types of Urslov. He's a steely individual.. So do not be so alarmed, young acolyte. Just be steadfast." Oleos said, and Adrian merely nodded with a light smile. "Your wish is my command, my Inquisitor."
Oleos kept on walking while holding his scanner, and so far, he only saw the beeping of his acolyte Adrian, but nothing else in the far vicinity. That was until, his auspex scanner went from green to red, indicating of a foreign presence on the screen at the top right. "My Lord?" Adrian approached as Oleos stopped. "Foreign presence... This might be exactly what we are looking for." He said, but Adrian detested. "My Lord.. There are two of them, and they always stick together from the past events, but they have a feral canine beast with them from local fauna. Are we certain this is exactly what we are seeking?" He asked him, until 2 more beeps appeared on the bottom right. And those, were slowly going towards the top after every scan.
"Another one.. Wait, two of them?" Adrian said. "The one at the top right is not moving. Adrian, listen to me." He looked at him straight in the eye with a frown and a serious stare. "There are only two of us. Let me do the talking. They are definitely armed, and we do not have the support of Tarn, or General Urslov and his men. We can only rely on us. Here, it has two rounds." He handed him a special weaponry, which was a handgun specifically loaded with a high voltage round, which would send electricity throughout the body on a straight impact. Adrian took it and looked back at him.
"I will do the talking. When they lower their guard? Send the traitor to the ground. I will handle the beast, and the xeno bitch. We already suffered so many unfortunate failures and events because of these two, and I do not feel too good about talking to these scum.. But this way, we ensure our success." He listened carefully to his Inquisitor, and understood his assignment completely.
"Understood, my Lord. Let us be on great haste. The Emperor protects." Adrian said.
"The Emperor protects. Let him deliver us from any failures.." After that, Oleos began to sprint to the direction of the one at the top right bottom of the auspex scanner, and Adrian followed him. They only had one shot at this, and they would not dare to miss it.
Liriel was humming a soft tone while having her long walk inside the depths of the cave. She was simply trying to distract her mind, due to the fact, that the overwhelming feeling, was gripping her heart quite arduously. She placed her fingers on her lips, and the heat once again spread to her cheeks before she shook her head completely. "Don't... Think about it, Liri.." She told herself, and instead, tried to distract her mind by remembering funny moments with Arleina, her aspect sister and closest friend, and the teachings and lessons of her uncle, Farseer Elidyr.
Despite her stubborn barriers being broken completely, there were still the hard, gripping thoughts looming within her head, and they were not unfair. She literally had an intimate moment with aHuman.And she just did not know how to feel about it. Sure, she was relieved to have saved Niko's life from the fate taking it from him, but by doing so, she crossed every possible line that any Aeldari would not ever dare to fathom. "Perhaps it was just, necessary.. I hesitated, and yet, I did it.. Ever so, lost, in this endeavor.. Isha, it is so hard and overwhelming.." She said with sadness.
Little did Liriel know, however, that she truly needed help. She did not know how Niko, himself, would react to her "ways" of saving him. Even then, she simply needed help to calm down her mind. Liriel continued to walk, and contemplate on her decisions, truly lost and not knowing how to react. She needed this time alone as she could not look into Niko's eyes and ever admit of what she did since she did not know how to react otherwise. From looking into his mind, to sharing a necessary, intimate moment with him, in order for their souls to connect and for his body to heal. She was not, by any means, ready for it, but she did it out of despair and necessity.
Soon, she completely stopped her walking, and looked at her hands after removing her helmet and putting it on the ground, kneeling down and sitting there while facing a wall. She slowly took out Niko's leuku from its sheath, and looked at it, before opening up the cap at its butt, and seeing the picture of the original owner of the blade - Alexis Kauno, the field medic that served by Niko's side, and someone he loved. She gazed on it, and then, simply closed the cap.
Liriel, was experiencing many emotions. And her being an Aeldari, and the world having some sort of protection against the warp, as known as Immaterium, she was experiencing these emotions freely, but a dozen times stronger than a human, and so, they were overwhelming her so much that she simply ended up crying after a very long time. She cried because she was too strong for a long time, and now, she freely felt the emotions that she was taught to shrug off while growing up. She did not know why, but she wanted a way out of it. Aeldari were not human, and the way they handled their emotions, was too alien, and unknown. And so, Liriel, thinking of how to stop these feelings, raised the Kalevan blade, and aimed it at her wrist with her hand shaking and trembling.
"I.. These feelings are so overwhelming and painful, I d.. I do n..ot.." Her mind was freaking out as it was pushing her survival instincts to the limit. She witnessed too much, and heard too much, and felt, too.. Much. As the human saying goes, "Curiosity killed the cat", and so, she simply lifted the blade, and for this exact moment, Liriel, acted like a completely new person, but who would blame her.. She prepared to hurt herself, in the hopes that this will force her to forget these feelings and force her to be in a simulation of a battle. Her eyes, slowly, closed... Until, out of nowhere, something stopped her in the process.
"... Liriel...? Liriel!"
Her eyes went open after hearing the familiar voice of her human partner, and this, forced her to slowly turn her head around, and completely halt her self-harming action. She saw Niko there, with the most worried facial expression that he could ever muster. She simply stared at him, with her hair running down her shoulders, and having a pure, confused stare at him. Niko was panting, with Akila by his side. It was obvious that he ran as fast as he could, but right now, Niko took a few steps forward while staring at her. "Liriel..." He said as tears started to accumulate in his green, emerald-like eye, and he simply picked up the pace of his run, and literally charged towards her.
He literally threw the Leuku away from her hand, and gave her the tightest hug that he ever gave to someone while kneeling in front of her tall body, and wrap his arms around her neck, while the tears of relief, started to leak down his cheek. Liriel was taken aback by this action.. Her emotions got stronger, but she felt.. Better, she felt relaxed, and simply lowered her head to look down at weeping Niko, and Akila laid on his stomach by her side. "N..Ni..ko..?" She blinked a few times with her amber eyes, and watched him lean his face back, and look up at her with a mixture of joyful and sad expression. He gently placed his hands on her cheeks, and spoke.
"What are you doing.. Liriel, what are you fragging doing.. Hurting yourself?! For what?!" He pointed at the dropped dagger, something that Liriel understood and simply continued to stare at him, not knowing how to react as if struck by lightning. "How would I live, how would I ever live knowing you've hurt yourself because of me, you xeno fool.. Do.. Not ever try to hurt yourself.. Liri, do not, ever do that.. Again.." Niko said while holding her cheeks and pouting under the tears as he wiped them away, before tightly hugging onto her once again, wrapping his arms around her back, and tightening the hug while lying his cheek against her chest.
Liriel did not understand what he was saying, but she felt, and knew, that he was scolding her for trying to harm herself, and possibly that she left him alone, but seeing how overwhelmed he was while clinging onto her, she realized, that his biggest concern, was her, and her well-being. He missed her and did not want her to go away. "Liri.. My sweet Liri, just what were you thinking.. What.. Were you.. Thinking.. I do not.. Freaking care what you did.. You saved me, and I will cherish that, for.. The rest of my life.. Why would you try this.." He simply wept. This might have looked weird, but Niko was simply terrified, and at the same time, happy that he got to Liriel on time, and stopped her from hurting herself.
The howling banshee gently placed her hands on his cheek and chin, and lifted his head, before lightly smiling at him under her own accumulated tears. "Niko.." She instantly hugged his head against her chest, laying her cheek on top of his head, and wrap her arms tightly around him, with both of them now tightly embracing. Liriel's previous thoughts, disappeared completely..Because Niko, came to her rescue once again, and completely erased her mind from overwhelming burden.
She hugged him without letting go, and Niko was quite surprised to see, that the way how she just treated him, was.. Out of ordinary. She appeared to be more trusting, and softer with him than before. Niko was relieved, but he thought to himself as to why is Liriel being so gentle with him, and not strict like before.. But he did not care to think about it further. He simply relaxed, and enjoyed feeling her warmth and her arms around him. "Niko, I.. Forgive me, for.. Hurting you.." She said in her language, and she got intensively surprised when Niko grabbed her shoulders, looked at her, and shook his head with a light smile, wiping his tears away. "No, no and no, I know you are apologizing in your language, no need.. Just, do not leave.. Please.." He said, shaking his head and assuring her that she has no reason to apologize from the beginning. Liriel was overwhelmingly surprised by this, and then, they embraced each other once again.
This was the moment that Liriel truly needed to calm down her messy mind. The embrace of Niko, acted like a numbing process for any worries that she had, and she felt it throughout her entire body. The sweet taste of pure relief.. She enjoyed it, and so did Niko. Akila was also joyful at this sight, and he simply remained silent, allowing the love birds to share a moment of rejoicing beauty.
Things have escalated so quickly during all the time in this cave, and both of them knew, perfectly well, that they could not survive without each other. Not only that, but none of them truly felt otherwise, and as they embraced, they already forgot about their indoctrinated beliefs, and simply, shared their feelings for each other. Especially Liriel, who was so overwhelmed in her own alien way due to the intense pressure of emotions. But now, she felt safe with Niko. After all, Farseer Elidyr in Liriel's dream, did not make sense to her, until now.. The words of Niko being her salvation, were now understood by her, as to what he truly meant by saying them.
Niko, gently, leaned his head back, and looked up at her, while she looked down at him. The cave's walls were starting to shine brighter, especially the ceiling above the two members of different species sharing their feelings. Under the pure sense of relaxation, the human, and the Eldar, stared into each other's eyes, while holding each other closely as they sat on the ground. None of them said anything, because their feelings, spoke for themselves in an open air.
The scene of total romance, was stronger than ever, when both of them forgot about everything that forced them to worry. This was the moment of anticipation.. Niko, did not know what she did to him, but he did not question that at this very moment, because he knew that she saved him, through one way, or another, and he was still breathing, despite the fate almost taking his life. She pulled him out of the grasps of unfortunate fate, and, realizing this, he felt happiness gripping his heart, and Liriel, felt the same way, noticing the sincerity in his single eye, that told her the next words - "I do not care what you did. You saved me. That is all I care about" and this gave her the reassurance that she desired.
With their glances now completely stuck on each other, Niko was the first one to make the approach. Both of their hearts, were rapidly racing at this very moment.. And their connected souls, radiated the passion which was placed in their hearts like the sowed seeds. Niko, slowly leaned his face towards hers, and she, in exchange, leaned her one to his. Akila sat on his paws, and witnessed the moment of total disbelief. Two different species were in love, and they were about to make their first step into being a couple.
Liriel Valdan, and Niko Armanen, prepared for this moment, with their lips merely a few inches away from each other. Their eyes simultaneously closed while they held each other, and then, their lips, closed up, ever so closer, closer.. And closer...
However, their romantic and ever so anticipated moment, was interrupted immediately as they stopped with just an inch away from their intimate moment.
Akila began to growl while facing the other side of the cave, and this forced them to both look at their white furred companion. They exchanged the looks, and immediately pushed aside their peaceful and blossoming intimacy, and switched their behavior into battle readiness. Liriel unsheathed her sword, and Niko, grabbed his crossbow, shoved his steel arrow into the groove, and aimed it directly at the darkness of one of the cave's pathways. Both Liriel and Niko, always knew, that if Akila is growling to some direction, he feels a foreign approach, and hence why, they were ready for anything. "Emperor's sakes.. Liriel, be ready." Niko said the only words that he could muster at this moment, and Liriel nodded, even though she did not understand him. But she knew what he meant.
They heard footsteps coming from that direction, and with slight anxiety, they kept staring into the darkness, until they saw a beeping light coming from afar. It only grew further, until disappearing completely. "By the great spear, who might it be..?" Niko silently asked himself while aiming through his crossbow. Liriel stood on an elegant position with her sword and already had her helmet equipped. The visors were not too bright in here, and she only anticipated on what they would witness since they could not run away. They would get lost, and the only exit that Liriel knew, was the one they both entered through. "Khaine guide my hand in order to slay your enemies.." She said, and both of them waited.
Out of the darkness, came two figures. One had a sense of high authority in Niko and Liriel's eyes, and the second person, was more of a bodyguard looking. Liriel glanced at Niko, and saw how he was sweating from nervousness. She looked back at the tall figure ahead, and swallowed her saliva. "That must be a very high authority holding individual.." She said, and then, with grim looks on their faces, they both stopped at 10 meters away from the 2 individuals and their furred companion.
Oleos, and Adrian, have finally found their targets. They both inspected them, and for a second, cringed at the sight, until Oleos coughed, and introducing himself after taking 3 steps forward.
"In the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind. My name is Kaidan Oleos, the Inquisitor of the holy Imperial Inquisiton of the Ordo Xenos. In the name of his majesty, I demand a quick explanation of your presence here, and that you introduce yourselves to me under my authoritarian right of my Inquisitorial seal." Oleos said. Adrian stood by his side and stared at both Niko and Liriel, ignoring the growling animal. He really wanted to literally break their necks by the look on his face.
Niko's heart sank immediately after he heard what Oleos just said. Liriel remained unflinched, and only confused since she could not understand what he was saying. She simply stood still, and did not move. Niko's hands began to slowly shake, with his forehead sweating. "In...Inquisition..?" Niko said. Oleos instantly looked to his direction, and his eyes, were truly fuming with fire. "Traitor.. What do you think you are doing? Consorting with the filthy xenos?" He crossed his arms, and Niko frowned at the insult as Oleos inspected him from head to toe. "I have met many traitors in my life of service to the God-Emperor. But never have I met someone who so willingly consorted with the xenos scum and betrayed their humanity. I asked you what do you think you are doing, traitor?"
The Kalevan young man knew of the Inquisition. He knew that they were very secretive, and that they were extremely brutal and cunning in their ways, but he still did not know their full capabilities. Only, that they are extremely powerful organization in the galaxy. Definitely the most powerful. "My name is Niko. That is all I am going to say.." Oleos remained unflinched, but Adrian became more irritated from how he had the audacity to speak like this to Oleos.
"Not willing to explain yourself, traitor named Niko?" He asked. Niko frowned despite the fear gripping his heart. He was not afraid for his life, no.. He was afraid for Liriel's life. The things he heard the Inquisition does to captured Aeldari, were something he did not even wish to fathom. "I am not going to.. Explain my actions to you, Inquisitor. You will never understand it." Oleos smirked. "Do not be so naive and foolish, traitorous bastard.. You will say everything that we desire. Your actions require a full explanation. Tell me.. Why are you consorting with an Aeldari? And those soldiers you killed, do you not feel any guilt?"
"I was only protecting myself, Inquisitor.. As to why I am aiding the xenos, you will never understand. I am not brainwashed, if that is what you think, Imperial agent.. It is between me, and her." Oleos immediately cringed and frowned. "Her? Why are you referring to this abomination as "Her" ? Only the humanity is perfect." Niko grit his teeth and he would not take an insult towards the only person he truly loved. "Shut yer fragging mouth, sh*te-head.. Do not insult her. Humanity is not perfect. I have scars to prove it, and what happened during my-" Oleos cut him immediately. "Your service, former guardsman?" He asked. Niko was taken aback by this, but he merely nodded once.
Oleos sighed deeply, and gave him a little lesson, trying to make sure he understands what he is doing. "You naive fool.. What happens is necessary for our race to survive, guardsman Niko. I not know what your homeworld is, what your regiment is, but know that you have already betrayed everything that were your roots by falling this low and turning into the horrific traitorous path. I cannot fathom to think of why in Emperor's name you are doing this, but sooner or later.. We will find out why you-" Niko was the one to cut him mid sentence. "Do not speak to me about treachery, Inquisitor. You do not know what happened.. Betrayal never came from me. Betrayal, came, to me. I am not going to talk to you about it, and I am not going to surrender to your authority. So do not dare, to speak, like you know me, or you know my past. You will never know..Until you are betrayed yourself."
This took Oleos back as he got intensively surprised, but Adrian held the hilt of the taser handgun, very tightly, and just wanted to silence him. The thoughts about torturing him were looming within the mind of Adrian, and he was seriously holding himself back from doing anything relatively foolish. He still listened to his Inquisitor's commands, and did not want to disappoint him. Oleos shook his head, and looked at him. "Stubborn resistance.. All for naught. You are already cornered. You know this better than I do, traitor. Know that the quicker you consider surrender, the easier, your pain, will be. And the Emperor's judgement will judge you accordingly, not harshly." Niko shook his head and showed him his pure resistance. "Get out of our way, or die. I will not heed your words.. Inquisitor." He told him with a frown. Oleos realized that there is no point to try and get the information out of this young man. Oleos already felt the fear radiating off of him, but his stubborn resistance, was stronger, and he was not going to go down.
Liriel just remained still, and thought about any proper planning on defeating them both and quickly running out of here since she realized that they have been found. She kept her eyes on them, and she was concerned with Adrian, who, she realized, is a complete hothead and wants nothing else than to see her head on a pike, alongside Niko's. However, Oleos, was now, staring at Liriel with silence. She looked at him, and they both simply remained silent, until Oleos, utterly, surprised Liriel beyond her understanding.
"Aeldari of the Craftworld Ulthwe. Your reputation as a Howling Banshee precedes you. I am willing to only guess and theorize, as to why are you together with a human that you consider as mere primitives, barbarians, vile scum.. You name it. I am Kaidan Oleos. Inquisitor, from the Ordo Xenos. What is your name?" Oleos was speaking the Aeldari lexicon. This forced Adrian to widen his eyes, alongside Niko, as they got surprised from the abilities of Inquisitor Oleos. Liriel was the most surprised one, and she faltered to reply to him, but nevertheless, she did.
"Liriel Valdan. Howling banshee of Ulthwe. Why I am with him does not concern you or your lapdog, Inquisitor of the Mon'keigh." She answered, before Oleos raised his eyebrow. "Really? What have you forgotten here? Do you not realize, that despite our fragile alliance, you are not permitted to violate the Imperial space, a lesson that you never learn, despite your race dwindled and on the brink of extinction?" He told her, before Liriel frowned behind her helmet. "Do not waste your limited, fragile time on trying to find answers from an Aeldari warrior. You will only find the point of my sword in your chest.. Begone."
Oleos did not falter. He only got ever so curious. He learned the Aeldari language during his younger years as an acolyte, since he had time to teach himself the many means of communication with the Xenos races. "There were Drukhari scattered around the zone alongside your warriors. What did you forget on this Emperor forsaken world? I promise you, I only require information out of you.. That is the sole reason of why I am here." He told her, but Liriel did not buy any of his groxsh*t. "Go to warp, Inquisitor. I am not going to tell you anything. Touch him, and I promise you, your death will be painful.." Oleos got confused from her words. He looked at Niko, then back at her. "Him? What- Are you for real? Are you telling me, that you care, for him? An Aeldari, caring, for a human?" This got him very uncomfortable, but Liriel remained stoic. "Touch.. Him.. And I will personallykill you with my hands alone."
The Inquisitor unleashed a laughter which confused all 3 individuals, even Akila stopped his growling for a second, before Oleos looked at Niko in disbelief. "What kind of heresy is this.. You both care about each other, and as I can see it from her words alone, she is genuine about her statement. How low have you fallen to have any feelings towards a xeno, guardsman Niko?" Oleos's jestful look turned into sheer, utter disgust. Adrian held his bile back as he felt like he had to puke. A human, having feelings for a xeno? Unimaginable. "I have nothing to say or explain to you, Inquisitor. Get out of our way, or suffer the consequences." Niko stated, angered at the expected reaction from these two. He already knew that they were extremely judgeful of him, but he did not care.
Oleos talked further. "This is beyond heretical and disgusting, traitor.." He told Niko. "I can imagine how your race would react to all of this, Aeldari." He told Liriel, who frowned further. "Give up. You are already surrounded from all sides by something even more malevolent than me in your eyes. I am offering you a fair choice. Surrender to me, and you have a higher chance of survival. If not, then someone else, who is far worse than me, will definitely make your death as painful as possible. What will you both say?" He said in both low gothic, and Aeldari lexicon. Liriel and Niko quickly exchanged their looks, then looked back at him, confused as to what he meant by this.
This was the exact moment that Oleos waited for.
"Now!" Oleos yelled. Adrian swiftly pulled out his handgun, and shot a single round at Niko, who reacted by shooting his crossbow towards Oleos. He dodged it, and Niko dropped on the floor while his entire body trembled from the high voltage spreading throughout his body. Liriel immediately charged forward, alongside Akila, but Oleos, being a very good marksman and having high reflexes, pulled out his own sidearm, and shot both of the high-speed voltage rounds at Akila, and Liriel, and forced them both to fall down. Liriel's sword was a few inches away from Oleos's throat, and she fell down to her knees, dropping the sword as she grunted in pain, while Oleos looked down at her as she looked up at him while her body trembled and shook with vibration. Oleos frowned. "Masters of deceit.. You cannot surpass the Holy Inquisition." Then, he simply, kneecapped her straight on her face, and forced her to fall on her back.
Niko, seeing his partner hurt, got overwhelmed with anger, and despite his entire body being electrocuted, he dared to stand up, and immediately run towards Oleos, and punch him straight in the chin, forcing him to take two steps back, before Adrian raised his leg due to his training, and slammed his boot straight on Niko's head, forcing him to lie down, and let the high-voltage rounds do their job to disable both of the individuals completely. Akila was howling and whimpering as he watched his owner get stomped, but he could not do anything.
Adrian immediately cuffed them both, while Oleos rubbed his jaw. "Successful operation, Adrian. You did good." Adrian looked up at him with a proud smile. "Your lessons and teaching, my Inquisitor." Oleos smiled. "I taught you well. Now.." After having tied them both, Akila was the next. He had his paws and his maw shut completely, and Adrian picked him up on his shoulder, before Oleos removed the voltage rounds from Niko and Liriel, and grabbed their belongings.
"Get up, traitor.." Oleos told Niko, harshly. Adrian kicked him in the head. "Did you not hear him?!" Oleos shook his head. "Easy, Adrian. Let's not damage his brain, for it is already damaged for consorting with a xenos.. Disgusting." Adrian nodded, but while Niko and Liriel panted heavily, Adrian forced them both to stand up. Their hands were tied from behind, and their feet, were tied closely, in order for them not to run, but have a slow and arduous walk. The ropes, were made out of carbon fiber, and were really a tough material to get out of. So all they could do, was walk in a slow and steady pace. Both of them got up, and Adrian harshly pushed them further.
Oleos, now successful about his operation, turned his attention towards the exit while staring at a piece of paper which he used as a map. He specifically drew the path he took within the caves, and knew where to go. "Be careful with them, Adrian. Traitors and xenos are to never be trusted." Adrian pushed them further. "Emperor's law is the only law. Abhor the xenos, and purge the heretic." He said. "Indeed.. Indeed. Now, we get out of the mountains, and call in a shuttle to take us away. I only pray that Kasim will not realize this.." He said, and picked up the pace of his walk.
Liriel and Niko, who were now weakened even further by the sheer amount of electricity, felt their limbs semi-numb, and could only anticipate at what awaited them. "Liri.. Are you-" Adrian smacked the back of his head. "Shut the frak up, traitorous scum.." Niko gritted his teeth, and only looked down before Liriel nodded at him, indicating that she is fine, but very much hurt. "Emperor.. Please, do not, allow them, to break her, and take her life.. Do whatever you want to me, but do not let them take her life, I beg you.. And.. Safeguard Akila.." He prayed, as that was the only thing that he could do right now.
"Great mother, Isha.. You witness what one of your children is going through. Guide us, but do not let them, I beg thee, do not let them ravage his body, and end his life.. Judge me, as you see fit, but do not let him fall from their hands.. Khaine.. Fuel, me.. Aid me in this, fuel me with your strength.. Safeguard Niko. He is a human, but he is.. My.. Human.." She admitted, while smiling lightly behind her helmet, but frowning immediately afterward. None of them knew what fate has prepared for them after they got captured. Worst of all, it was Inquisition, and all they could do, was pray, and do their best, to survive anything, that awaited them.
Oleos saw the light at the end of the cave, which was the entrance itself. He smiled at his success, and he heard no noises coming from there. Rather, the noise of the wind, which was a relieving sign. "Adrian, hurry. Let's go!" Adrian now pushed the two captured individuals ever further, while they stayed silent, and remained daydreaming in their thoughts. Liriel was busy thinking of any planning to get out of their current situation, while Niko, only thought about how to convince his captors on not to hurt Liriel.
They reached the exit of the cave as the darkness of the night approached them, since it was later in the evening. Oleos was the first to get out, and he looked around himself after dropping Akila on the ground. "Urslov! General Urslov!" He yelled for his companion, but no reply came to him. This confused him, and he immediately turned his head around. "Adrian, stay here.." He took a few steps, and then, looked around the entire area, before pushing the comm button. "Urslov! Tarn! Come in, anyone?" He waited for a reply, but only the buzzing and scrambled signal came to him. He cursed out of nowhere, and then, returned to Adrian in a swift motion.
"He is gone." Adrian got confused. "What- My Lord, what do you mean he's gone? He knew not to leave this post no matter what. What do you mean he's gone?" Oleos frowned as he looked down at the ground, while Adrian shoved both of the captured individuals on their knees. "He is gone. I do not know how, there are no traces to be seen anywhere.. Unless we-"
"Cannot find your General, Kaidan?"
The pure amount of dread from hearing that voice... It utterly forced the unnerving fear within Oleos's heart, and even Adrian got alarmed and anxious, as he widened his eyes, and Oleos, seeing Adrian's facial expression, turned around slowly, before seeing the Lord Inquisitor Julius Kasim, with his 2 bodyguards, approach him from the foggy mist. "K...Kasim?!" Oleos yelled, immediately aiming his sidearm at Kasim as he stopped about 5 meters from him, with a calm, arrogant grin. "Hm-hmmm.. Na-a-ah. Do not." Kasim snapped his fingers, and from all the surroundings, even from under the piles of snow, an entire groups of Merlorian soldiers got up, and aimed their weaponries at Oleos and Adrian. "Drop it." Kasim ordered.
Oleos gritted his teeth, and reluctantly dropped his sidearm, and anything else he had in his possession. "Good. Now, how about you explain yourself?" He laughed and demanded. Oleos remained with a deep frown with a mixture of anger and disappointment, while Liriel and Niko slightly lifted their heads, and realized the situation they are in right now, but there was little that they could do at the moment.
"Go to hell, Julius.. You puritan knobhea*d." Oleos said, and Kasim merely laughed. He enjoyed this. The feeling of humiliating his rival, and completely destroying all his plans. Oleos snapped his fingers once again, and then, two soldiers, brought up a badly beaten General Urslov to Kasim's feet, who dropped on the floor, and weakly lifted his head to look at Oleos through his swollen face. "General! What did you.. Are you out of your mind, Kasim?!" Kasim simply smirked, before the General spoke with a weakened voice. "I..nqui..sitor... They.. They g-got Tarn and his men!" Kasim shut him against the pile of snow by putting his cane on his head, and through malevolent evil, looked down at him with a calm, and cold glance. "Silence... Worm."
Oleos's eyes widened. Not only did they beat the living hell out of Urslov.. Not only did Kasim destroy all of his plans from first to last, but they also captured Tarn and his men. The only one he could rely on right now, was Adrian.
"You.. Absolute, monster.." Oleos did not know what to say. He was completely defeated, but he still had one question to ask his cursed rival. "How did you find me?!" Kasim raised his eyebrow, before laughing once again. "I told you back on our mutual mission against the Necron filth, Kaidan.. I am everywhere, where you can never expect me to be." Oleos detested afterward. "Stop speaking in riddles. If you have anything worthy of the Emperor's light, then you will speak the truth!" Kasim felt insulted by this as he frowned immediately. "You really are easy to fool, Kaidan.. You are all alone, don't you realize that?" Oleos once again detested.
"I am not alone, scumbag.. I have my loyal acolyte by my side." Kasim continued to frown, before slowly, but surely.. Smirking. Oleos did not know why he did it, but he had to quickly come up with a plan. "Adrian.. Listen to me. Make sure, that wh-"
*BBZZZZZZZTTTTTTT...*
Intense amount of pain and burning sensantion. This is what Oleos felt when a high voltage round struck him in the back, and he tightly clenched his eyes shut, and fell down on his knees before falling down completely as he tried to resist the pain... Oleos got confused as to why he was shot from behind, but little... Did, he know...
That it was his own acolyte Adrian himself, who shot him straight in the back.
Kasim smirked and clapped mockingly. "Excellent work, agent "Excalibur". He said as Oleos's vision was constantly getting blurry from time to time as he pulled out the high voltage round from his back and threw it away. He looked up through the numbness of his body, and saw, his own, acolyte, walking towards Kasim. "A...Adrian...! W..What are you... Doing?!" He asked him, being in such depressive disbelief at the realization of Adrian's betrayal.
Adrian turned his attention towards Oleos, and then, handed Kasim a tiny device he pulled out from his coat. "My Lord Inquisitor. Here is the pict-device of the entire footage ever since the arrival on this world. And I present to you, the traitor, and the xenos witch.." Adrian literally changed in a split second. He was a young individual full of potential in the eyes of Oleos, right now, he sounded different, and acted like an emotionless servant, who had a lot of infiltrating experience behind him. Kasim nodded. "Excellent work, my dear agent." Kasim shoved the device into his pocket, and looked down at Oleos, who now, was completely broken. He was betrayed, and all his plans were ruined. All thanks to this one scumbag of a rival which he utterly hated, even more extremely right now.
"Ever since you became an Inquisitor, Kaidan.. I had my agent show you the potential that you accepted, and I knew you would accept him as your closest acolyte. Little did you know, that he was a double agent all along, tasked by me to spy on you, and send me every amount of needed information. You thought you had the upper hand all this time.. I allowed you to have your confident moment, before crushing your entire existence upon your puny head." He explained with one hell of an evil laugh, before slowly pulling his sidearm.
"By the puritan circle and the holy God-Emperor of Mankind. Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, Kaidan Oleos. By the power of my Inquisitorial seal, and with a secured evidence, I declare an Excommunicate Traitoris upon you. You are under arrest for your radical activities, and refusing to abide the command of your higher ups. Refusal to inform them, and not heeding my warning when I already gave you a warning. As for this.." He looked down at Urslov. "I declare you, General Urslov of the Merlorian militia, a heretic, and a traitor to the Imperium, and on charges of uniting with the traitor, you are sentenced.. To death."
Kasim shoved a single round into his sidearm, while Urslov, and Oleos, exchanged the looks. "No.. Do not!" Oleos yelled. He already grew to consider Urslov as his friend, and he was about to witness his death. Not by the enemy hands.. But by an Inquisition which he belonged to. "My.. Lord." Urslov said, smiling lightly. "Do not.. Let our deaths, be in.. Vain.." He said, and Oleos tried to crawl to him, desperately trying to save his friend. Kasim handed the sidearm to Adrian, and he, without any remorse, aimed it at Urslov's head. "Noooo!" And shot Urslov dead, despite Oleos's pleading. He saw Urslov faceplant straight onto the pile of snow as the blood leaked out of the hole in his head, and cover the snow with his blood.
Oleos's sadness and depression knew no boundaries. He got betrayed, his plans destroyed, and now, his loyal comrade, suffered an execution from an acolyte he considered like his son. Kasim retrieved his sidearm, and continued to laugh after approaching Oleos, who's face was facing the ground, and Kasim, deeply, enjoyed causing him pain after pain. "You never knew how to listen to my reasoning, Kaidan.. And today, you paid for it. Adrian? Cuff his hands. Soldiers? Grab those two.. And the vile beast. Shove them into a mutual cage next to the one with Sergeant Tarn. I have a lot of interrogation to do.. Oh, and grab their belongings." Kasim ordered as he turned around, and went off to one of the pathways to climb down the mountain, and return to their base.
Adrian, without any regrets, or guilt, pulled out the cuffs, and arrested Oleos before lifting him off the ground while he depressively looked down at the ground. Then, he simply went to the same pathway which Kasim took. A few soldiers came up to pick up the tied Akila, and force Niko and Liriel back on their feet, before his mind completed the process of what in the Emperor's name just happened.
The soldiers did not hold back their anger, however. They were truly harsh with these two, and pushed them harshly from one soldier to another, and then one of them, smacked them both at the back of their heads, before yelling. "Traitorous piece of sh*te! Move along with the xenos whor*!" He kicked Niko in the butt, before he tripped, and Liriel, seeing her human companion abused like this, retaliated by headbutting the Merlorian bastard, and knocking out his teeth, before one of the soldiers smacked her on the head so hard that she went unconscious.
"Liri!" Niko got onto his knees and approached her while cursing at the bastards, before receiving a harsh strike from a butt of one lasgun to his cheek, and falling next to Liriel as he faced her helmet. His vision got blurry again, but at this moment, he only cared about Liriel, and nothing else. "Liri.. Hang on.. Nnggh.. Hang, on.." He said, before two soldiers raised him off his feet, and the third one, took his shovel from his belt, and swung it hard enough against Niko's face, until his mind completely went black, and he went unconscious from the strike.
The Merlorian soldiers picked them both up, including Akila, and they all went off to the pathway to get off the mountain, and return to their base. Kasim was well-prepared to interrogate them both. But he wanted to prove to the inhabitants of this world, that the puritan way, is the only way. Kasim would definitely execute them after public humiliation, or do worse, but it would all be seen soon enough. Right now.. Both of the love birds, had to be ready, for the upcoming trials and tough challenges ahead.
Craftworld of Ulthwe.
Gathering hall.
"Are you certain of this statement, Farseer Elidyr?" The great farseer Eldrad Ulthran asked his colleague, before Elidyr nodded. "My visions may have ounces of doubt within them, my dear friend.. But I am very certain. I felt her." He told him. Farseer Ulthran was skeptical, however. "My friend.. Look." Elidyr shook his head. "I know you are skeptical, Ulthran.. I expected you to be. But heed me, please. I can rely on your and Eloen's support. She believes me no matter what, but I understand you may have your doubts." Ulthran looked down at the ground, then looked back at him.
"Elidyr, listen. Even if all of this is true, do you really think, that the council would be willing to take a risk through a rescue operation? Even if I give my support, they will ask for a solid proof.. And we got none of that. The chances that they will accept mere visions as an approval for this operation, is exceptionally low. Even so, Autarch Nuvian lost many of his warriors. He is already meditating most of the time while isolating himself.. Which is unfortunate. As for your niece's best friend and companion, Arleina? She hasn't gotten out of her chambers ever since she woke up." Elidyr sighed deeply. "I understand what they are going through right now.. But believe me, my good old friend. Autarch will not leave anyone behind. And Arleina, is ever more eager to see my niece. Exarch Sarya as well, who was like a mother to her. We have those that can trust us. But as you say, we have no proof.. But we must try."
Eldrad thought for a while as he held his chin, with Elidyr doing the same.. Until Eloen entered the empty hall, and distracted them both by forcing them to look at her. "Forgive me, my humble seers.. But, you should come and see this. Quick." Eldrad and Elidyr exchanged their looks, and quickly followed Eloen out of the hall, before she took them both to the main communications hall, which was very wide and elegant. Every Aeldari showed them respect as they walked by, and even here, there was no exception. Every guardian stood up and lightly bowed at their presence. "My humble seers. Welcome." The main figure said, an Aeldari lady which held few tools in her hands.
"Be at ease, children." Eloen said, while Eldrad and Elidyr stood behind her. "Miledy." The main figure said. "We have received a.. Strange signal from far away from our sector. It is in our language, but it is quite primitive in comparison. However, this is concerning the operation you participated in the exodite world the mon'keigh call "Merlorian." After hearing this, Eloen was puzzled, but Elidyr immediately gasped silently and walked towards her. "What is this message, young one? Let me hear it immediately." She was taken aback by this, but nevertheless, she nodded, and signaled him to follow her. Ulthran and Eloen joined them. "Ulthran.. What do you think?" She asked him, while Eldrad stared forward. "Primitive code.. It is definitely not from our kinsmen." Eloen blinked a few times, but nodded afterward.
The main figure of the communications center went to a holographic image of the galaxy, and tapped a few buttons on their alien cogitator-like devices, and then, the buzzing signal, played out the next message for the entire hall to hear:
"In the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind. This is Inquisitor Kaidan Oleos of the Ordo Xenos speaking from the Imperial world of Merlorian. Do not question as to how I know your language, but listen to me, Aeldari of Ulthwe. Your warrior from the ranks of the howling banshees is alive. I may have had bad intentions to capture her, but I assure you, I only needed to know why did you violate our Imperial space, and invade our world, especially when I found out the scattered Drukhari ranks near the mountains and in the valley, alongside your fallen warriors. But that is not my point.. I have a bigger problem."
"My rival, Puritan Lord Inquisitor, Julius Kasim, has completely destroyed my plans after arriving to Merlorian, and he has taken the grip of the world, it's militia, and resources. He will not stop at anything to finding out your warrior, and she willdie a very painful death."
"You are right to not trust me as an Inquisitor. But if you value the life of your warrior, as you always did so, by treacherously causing the deaths of billions of humans in exchange for thousands of your own kinsmen, then, return to Merlorian before it is too late, if you truly value your kind, and stop this madman from doing such unimaginable things to your warrior, that I cannot fathom to think about. You are running out of time. The reason of why I am telling you this, should not be too strange. I failed to be the first, and I utterly hate my rival, for he is an extremist beyond anyone's imagination. It is up to you now, to kill the Lord Inquisitor, his retinue, and everybody that is loyal to him. Be in a great haste, Aeldari of Ulthwe.. Your warrior is in the northern mountains. I do not know where, but that is the last whereabouts. However, you know better how to find your members.May the Emperor forgive me for ever falling so low as to ask for your assistance. Inquisitor Oleos out."
The recording of the signal ended, and now, everybody was silent. Eloen and Ulthran were frowning with nervousness, but Farseer Elidyr, had his eyes slightly widened, until he turned around to face his two colleagues while holding his staff. "My friends.. It, It must be Liriel. I told you, I felt her. She is in danger, and we should not waste more time than we already did. Whoever sent this message, has already confirmed what we only theorized.. We must gather the council and present this as a proof to commence a rescue operation." He told them, while Eloen and Ulthran exchanged their looks, before looking back at him, while Elidyr, simply looked at them both with his eyes full of worries, sadness, and despair.
"Elidyr, my friend.." Ulthran placed his hand on his shoulder, before he looked at him. "Since the fate is smiling on us this day, and your heart feeling the tight grip of sadness, be assured, that I will personally lead this rescue operation, for your sake, my old friend." He said, lightly smiling as Elidyr nodded back at him, before they shook their hands. "Thank you, Eldrad.. Thank you. Isha's blessings be upon you and your wisdom." Ulthran nodded, before looking back at Eloen, who was smiling at this sight. She knew that there was finally a chance to see Elidyr joyful once again, and that she would be one of those, alongside Ulthran, to rescue Liriel.
"Farseer Eloen. Gather Autarch Nuvian, Warlock Belanor, Exarch Sarya, and Arleina, and wait for me and the council in the great halls. Inform them of our discovery. Me and Elidyr, will be there after the council is informed about our news." Eldrad commanded, before Eloen lightly bowed down.
"As you wish, Farseer Ulthran." Then, she simply turned around, and went off to do her task, while smiling in pure happiness. "Finally.. Thank you, great mother, for these news.." She whispered and picked up the pace, heading out to gather those that Ulthran needed for this operation to commence, especially after the council gives their approval.
Elidyr looked back at the lady who held her tools. "Young one. Give me this recording." The lady bowed her head. "Yes, Farseer Elidyr." She copied this recording into a little device made out of wraithbone, which was glowing with purple light, and handed it to Elidyr, who took it, and turned around to see Ulthran at the end of the hall, near the doors. He walked towards them, and both of them, got out, before heading out to gather the council of seers and inform them of this discovery.
"An Inquisitor, seriously.. Who would have ever thought?" Elidyr asked while carrying the floating device. "I have met countless of them in the past ten millenia, Elidyr.. This one is a very desperate one. They have wars between each other, and it seems like this one, was defeated by a far dangerous Inquisitor. Hereby, Puritan circles are more dangerous. They know no reason, only how to kill and cause destruction without any appropriate reason. It only makes sense that an ordinary Inquisitor would be so bold as to contact us." Ulthran explained.
"Even so, let us pray to Isha, Eldrad, that we are successful in this operation, and my niece returns home, safely, without any harm, before it's.. Too late." Elidyr frowned slightly before Eldrad clapped him on the back. "Worry not, Elidyr.. I assure you, the mountains will crumble, and the ground will shake if they decide to do the unthinkable. I will personally make sure, that your niece returns to you, safe, and unharmed. You know you can rely on me." He cheered up his old friend, and Elidyr lightly smiled while looking at him. "Ever so loyal, my dear friend.. Thank you so much for your assistance." Ulthran nodded, before they continued their journey to gathering the seers in the great hall.
Elidyr had his mind completely taken back with this discovery, but now, having his loyal friends and high chance of success, he was surely confident and assured of saving Liriel and taking her back home. He knew that she definitely missed her home, missed him, and her aspect sisters, especially Arleina, and right now, this was the time, which Elidyr truly, and desperately, needed.
"Worry not, Liriel.. We are coming to save you.. I only hope that the mist in my vision in the past week was only an illusion. May Isha give me strength if it is not."
