Chapter 15 Part 5

Chapter 15: Our enemies bring us together

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Part 5

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Victory Bay

Kronus

The moment of hesitation cost Katarinya dearly. An abomination moved in front of the traitorous Commissar, shielding him. She gritted her teeth, cursing herself for allowing such weakness to creep within her! She should have shot him already! That way at least she would have rid the galaxy of one more traitor, even if it was the last thing she did!

Because right now? When abominations and traitors surrounded them on all sides? The absolute best they could achieve would be suicide, and the abominations weren't merciful enough to let them die!

"Charles, I need answers, now. What little patience I had left is now an exhausted resource." The Daemon hissed.

"This is Inquisitor Greyfax. Apparently, I'm a traitor now for working with aliens and upholding the alliance you brokered, sir." The traitor answered promptly. "By all accounts, the Lady Inquisitor has been a captive of the entity that assaulted us in an attempt to kidnap Selene. There are indications that she and her retinue are compromised. Despite the way they appeared and possessing many reasons to consider the Necrons hostile, they didn't fire a shot."

"Ah, hypocrisy, mental subversion, or plain stupidity, which is it, I wonder?" The Daemon taunted.

"That's interesting." One of the abominations declared. "I'm detecting Mind-shackle scarabs in them. Further, my scanners are highlighting an anomaly with the woman. She bears traces of long-term stasis technology exposure, much longer than the rest. They've been exposed for about four to five centuries. Without more invasive scans or specialized scanners, I'll have to guess. She's been in stasis for about nine thousand of your years, with an error margin of ten percent." The abomination lied. "There are anomalies, she might have been released for short periods before being frozen again."

"Inquisitor Greyfax, I'm Inquisitor Amberley Vail, Ordo Xenos. Even without the input by Herald of Victory, the way you arrived at Kronus puts your mental integrity in question. I'm compelled to request your surrender for medical examination and interrogation. If you don't comply, we'll have to subdue you."

"Preferably non-lethally, That thief caused enough chaos. We'll be doing him a favor if we kill each other while he is running away." The Daemon wanted them alive to torture them. Typical.

"Inquisitor, I request you stand down." The Astartes demanded as well.

Katarinya's arm shook, while impotent rage made her see red. She wasn't compromised! Her mind was the only thing that abomination hadn't destroyed! She put everything she had into pressing the trigger while aiming at the face of the Xeno shielding the traitorous Commissar.

Her flesh betrayed her! Was this the Daemon's influence or the abominations'?

"Inquisitor, we can't shoot at them! We're trying!" Her chief bodyguard whispered, distress and hatred coloring his usually stoic voice.

The obvious conclusion crashed over Katarinya. She was compromised. They all were. The only question was by whom, but it didn't matter now.

"There is only one way left for us, Sergeant. We live and die for the Imperium." In one quick motion, Greyfax pressed the barrel of her bolter under her chin. The Astartes were already moving, but they wouldn't make it in time. Her finger caressed the trigger once again, and to her immense frustration and fear, she couldn't pull it!

The Blood Raven was upon her then, and her world became an approaching red fist, before winking out.

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"This happened," Veil grunted. "Seriously, fuck my luck. Now, Charles, please go retrieve Karom from where you and Scipio stashed him. He might be unable to keep his mouth shut to save his life, but he still is the best Magos Biologis we have left. Consult with Scipio and get us whoever else among his boys and girls have experience with mind control devices and have them report to where you'll put the prisoners."

Amarkun observed the unfolding situation with interest. At the same time, he gleefully dedicated a part of his awareness to watch again and again a recording of recent events. The Pariah child hitting the Thief on the fingers when he tried to steal her, was deliciously ironic, not to mention glorious. The little Pariah deserved a gift for that alone. And a permanent security detail. While unlikely, they might just catch Trazyn while trying to take her again. At worst, they might be able to keep foiling him, which would be its own reward. If the Thief managed to get the Pariah anyway, then Amarkun knew how Veil would react. He was sure that Inquisitor Veil would do his best to deploy as many Human forces for a raid on Solemnace as he could arrange.

That was a win-win situation, no matter how you looked at it. The recording of a primitive child foiling Trazyn with a melee weapon was going to be priceless!

This was a very good day, despite the Thief's appearance.

The only downside was that now they had to offer even more concessions to the Humans. All because that never sufficiently damned thieving wretch took the Necron's honor, stabbed it in the back, shot it in public then landed a Monolith on it! At least watching Trazyn's fingers shatter was kind of soothing. It was really nice all things considered!

A brief exchange with Herald of Victory ensured they were on the same page as far as the Pariah was concerned. Now it was time to continue the negotiations and begin repairing the damage the thief caused.

"We're ready to provide Cryptek support in removing the Mind-shackle scarabs from your fellow Humans as well as find out any present mental conditioning and reverse it." Herald of Victory said.

"I'm sure Magos Biologis Karom-Beta-31 and the other Medicaes will appreciate the offer." Veil said. "They'd better." He added quietly.

Amarkun found himself agreeing with the Human.

"Further, because of this kidnapping attempt, we're ready to provide a permanent security detail for the Pariah Child Selene. They'll attempt to capture or neutralize the Thief Trazyn when he makes another attempt to steal her."

The odd energy readings surrounding Inquisitor Veil spiked, and the golden glow surrounding him became almost blinding for a few moments before subduing. It was an interesting phenomenon, one which revealed that their sensors needed a bit more hardening and calibration against trans-dimensional energies.

"I can provisionally agree to such an arrangement. We'll have to discuss the details later." Veil kept proving he was surprisingly wise for a primitive.

"On a related note, there is a standard offer of a reward to anyone confirmed preventing the Thief Trazyn from conducting another successful robbery." Amarkun continued. "Through her actions, the Pariah child Selene earned herself one such reward. We'll offer appropriate compensation as soon as feasible." That should win back some goodwill surely. And there were indeed many standing rewards aimed at foiling Trazyn, even if they weren't appropriate in this case.

"I'm certain Selene would appreciate a gift or two." Veil bargained well.

"I'll see it to it that Inquisitor Greyfax and her retinue are properly secured." Inquisitor Vail came back to their group. "I propose we continue negotiations later this evening after tempers cool down, and we've taken a proper stock of the situation. Besides, we do need time to consider your generous proposals."

"What she said." Veil agreed.

"That is acceptable. I'll have Cryptek Zaa of Tomorrow available for consultation."

"I'll have my best Crypteks ready to assist a well. Foiling Trazyn is its own reward!" Herald of Victory added.