Chapter 7 Part 5

Chapter 7: Chaotic complications

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Part 5

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General Alexander's HQ

Victory Bay

Kronus

With a core of a plan established, the meeting dissolved with a promise for another one tomorrow evening to hash out the details after we all had both a better idea of what we would have available beyond Mechanicus estimations and a time to actually plan the various stages of the overall plan. Meanwhile, I felt compelled to prod our Xeno allies for information.

"I must ask for details about the Warp dampening technology you mentioned." I walked to the Necrons, who were slowly making their way to the exit where they could safely teleport away without potentially damaging the command center.

The tall, ominous-looking robot who was the Xeno representative today towered above me, its hunched head nearly touching the ceiling which was built with tall Astartes in mind.

"Ask." It rumbled without a hint of emotion.

"I'll be blunt. Can we have the technology, and if prudent, any available older schematics for versions, which might be easier to produce with a crippled industrial base. Ours hasn't been in the best of shapes for about ten thousand years or so." I asked, doing my best to keep my voice professional. Needless to say, this could get me shot, either by an infuriate Cog-boy or girl, our whoever arrived at the rescue. Either that or if my insane request panned out, I would be thrown on the deep end having to deal with politics, but that would be all right. It would mean I would have survived the fighting yet to come on Kronus and the immediate fallout…

The Necron simply stared at me with its glowing green eyes as if judging my worth and that of my request. There was something deep inside that recoiled and bristled at the very thought of a Xeno, any Xeno, daring to do something like this. Then there was the feeling of dozens of eyes staring at me with shock and not a little bit of anger. What the hell was I thinking?

Well, I was too deep to back out now, so I might as well properly dig up my grave so someone could shoot me and shove me in easier.

"From what I've seen and know about your people, you don't use Warp, so this kind of technology should not pose a danger to you. In fact, it's spread far and wide would only weaken our mutual enemies – Chaos and Eldar primary and anything that fucks those bastards over is a good thing in my book, especially if we can make it stick!" I spoke with unexpected passion.

The Necron continued to stare at me while disturbed murmurs echoed from the people surrounding us. The less said about the rapid-fire chattering of binary, the better.

"You speak sense." The Necron eventually uttered. "From the analysis of your available equipment, the odds of you Humans being able to produce the Pylon technology are slim. We'll search our archives for older versions of the plans and time permitting, we might be able to offer a dumbed-down variant you might be able to construct and use…" The Necron said calmly. "If this alliance pans out in the long run, we might consider sharing basic weapon and armor designs as well." The Necrons left with those parting words, the crowd hastily parting before them. Soon we could hear the distinct cracking sound of their teleportation.

"Well, that went better than I feared…" I muttered aloud and rubbed my damp neck.

"Inquisitor Veil, may we have a word in private?" General Alexander inquired in a voice that made it clear that he wasn't asking for permission.

"Yes, we need to speak." Captain Thule nodded while staring at me with cold empty eyes.

Fuck my life. So much for my Inquisitorial authority being a shield.

As if those two weren't bad enough, the AdMech chattering rose in intensity.

"All non-essential personnel, clear the building. You have duties to attend to!" The General snapped in a voice of command that got everyone scrambling to get out of his sight. Within moments, it was just the four of us – Lucas Alexander, Davian Thule, and my shadow, Anteas.

"Our Mechanicus friends are going to be trouble…" The Blood Raven's Captain spoke softly in a rumbling voice that nevertheless carried clearly through the briefing room.

"After this stunt?!" General Alexander waved at me. "I'm surprised they left peacefully. I half expected either open combat or someone taking a swing at the Inquisitor, which brings me to my primary concern. Lord Inquisitor Veil, what in the Emperor's name did you think you were doing?! There's cutting a deal with a Xeno, which is almost always a Heresy that gets you shot, but this?! Implying that our technology is inferior to that of aliens?!"

"Which is by the way true in this case…" I pointed out, earning myself a glare that no one would dare level at a proper established Inquisitor. "I'm not joking, anyone who has paid attention and has access to the relevant knowledge would be very well aware that technologically we've at best slid back a bit from the height of the Crusade. While that glorious era was a golden age for Humanity, it was never able to fully restore the height of technological progress our species enjoyed during the Dark Age of Technology." I snapped, not knowing what the hell came over me.

"That's a statement that can get people shot for heresy, especially if the local Mechanicus contingent has any say in it." Captain Thule pointed out with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Don't get me started on those toaster-fuckers!" I snapped back before I could think about what I was saying. That in turn earned me three stunned looks, followed by a slow chuckle that had more in common with gravel ground under a tank's threads than a sound of mirth, which came from Anteas.

"It's not like anything the Inquisitor said was a lie."

"That's not really the point…" Captain Thule glared at his chief Librarian. "Those are the kind of words the Inquisition shoots people over after putting them to question!"

"The way I see it, barring a miracle, that's my best case scenario after the mess on Kronus is resolved so in that case, I might just do my best for us in particular and the Imperium in general before my time is up." I shrugged. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but I had to be a realist. Besides, the odds of actually living long enough for our reinforcements and proper Inquisitors to become an issue was a long shot anyway.

"That's not helping, Inquisitor." General Alexander shook his head.

"It's what it is. Gaining access to technology that weakens Warp related phenomena, especially if the Imperium at large could reproduce it reliably? That's worth all our lives and more."

"I can't say that I disagree, however you could have put it in a more diplomatic manner, Inquisitor." Captain Thule chided me.

"If I had any actual experience as an Inquisitor, not to mention years of training as part of the retinue of a proper Inquisitor, things might be different." I pointed out. "As things stand, I'm doing the best I can and hoping it would be enough."

"You know, we tend to forget that you arrived as a wet behind the ears Acolyte and in many respects, you still are one," Anteas spoke softly. "However, you're still an Inquisitor, even though once we re-establish contact with the Imperium at large, some parties might disagree. Your words do carry a lot of weight, Inquisitor Veil."

"I certainly hope so, otherwise you wouldn't have stopped shooting at each other doing the enemy's job for them. Speaking about consequences, that particular fuck-up will be looked into, provided we all don't get killed first."

"I have no doubt about it." Anteas nodded, while Thule and Alexander did have the good grace to look chagrined.

"Speaking about consequences, I would request that you address the assembled troops tomorrow morning about our alliance with the Xeno and what you said tonight. The last thing we need is rampant rumors forcing the Commissars to shoot more people than they have to. However, first I need you to deal with the fire you lit up concerning our Adeptus Mechanicus contingent and do it peacefully. We need them doing their jobs, not arguing about the merits of alien technology!"

"I'll see to it the moment this meeting is concluded." I forced down the instinctive reaction of straightening up like a board and saluting the General.