"Trust me, bro," I said, trying to put on a reassuring expression as best as I could. "This particular Archon just took a beating from the Adeptus Mechanicus. Uh, 428-Sigma Hunter Cohort, was it? The Skitarii Marshal, Sigma 44-Kariya, is an old friend of mine. I trust that he pretty much crushed the poor Dark Eldar. They're at their most vulnerable now."
"Your old friend?" Egnis snorted. "I'm pretty sure the servants of the corpse god don't consider us friends."
I said nothing. Inwardly, I maintained that I was still loyal to the Emperor even after ten millennia of being cast out of the Imperium, but whatever my personal feelings, it was true that the Imperials didn't feel the same.
"Nonetheless," I finally spoke up. "The Drukhari possess a relic that we'll need for our research. You know Ahzek is searching for a way to reverse the Rubric...and these bozos happen to be our only clue toward the Ynnari. Remember when Yvraine resurrected several of our brothers? Hopefully, this Ynnari relic in this remote region of Commorragh might have hints toward there."
"You, along with Ahzek, are one of the few in our Legion who still seeks to reverse the Rubric," Hathor Mathias muttered quietly. Clad in his ancient Tartaros Terminator armor, he towered over most of my warband, with me being an exception because I was still wearing the old Cataphractii plate from the Great Crusade. However, instead of the resplendent ruby it used to be, it was now a deep sapphire.
"We will do what we must." I conjured a half-arcane holo-pict, which solidified into a tiny Sky Splinter fleet. "Thanks to our still loyal friends in the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Drukhari raiding party has been vastly reduced in strength. They're seeking to assault this tower to claim the relic, but we'll beat them to it."
Leaning over, I magnified the sleek, spiky shapes. Two Raiders, two Venoms, a soaring squad of Scourges armed with dark lances and a Cronos. Embarked within one Raider was the bitter Archon, still fuming over the defeat by 428-Sigma Skitarii Hunter Cohort, and his Incubi retinue. The other transports ferried three squads of Kabalite Warriors, the unit on the second Raider sporting exotic weapons such as blasters and dark lances.
Unseen, lurking in the shadows, were the Mandrakes, looking to seize the opporunity to strike. It was only thanks to my sorcery and warp sight that I was able to spot them.
"They'll die easily," Chronos vowed.
"That they will," I agreed. "You guys lead Acastus and Tukhan's squads of Rubric Marines. I'll teleport directly into the tower itself with Hathor and his platoon."
"As you will it, brother." Egnis clasped a hand to his gleaming breastplate and inclined his head. He placed his plated helm back, the neck-seals hissing, and turned to search for Acastus. Chronos did the same, heading toward Tukhan.
We barely managed to get into positions, but the aggressive Drukhari were upon the two Rubric squads before we could counterattack, the Raider surging toward Egnis and Acastus. Before they could do anything, the Archon and his Incubi leaped out and slaughtered them, cutting down the Rubric Marines with their glaives and deadly weapons. To make matters worse, the Scourges continued to bombard their position from afar with their dark lances, scything down whatever Rubric Marines remained, despite their esoteric protection and shimmering kine-fields. Egnis cursed before he teleported himself and Acastus back to the Honor of Tizca, their armor breached and their physical bodies wounded.
Being of the Pyrae cult, it would take them longer to heal their wounds. Sometimes, I wished we had more Pavoni experts.
Meanwhile, Chronos and Tukhan had troubles of their own. Dark lances were pelting their position, blowing their cover to bits and vaporizing three Rubric Marines before they could even fire a single shot. But a twist of fate allowed one of them to, uh, be destined to survive somehow.
+Those Drukhari are really nasty,+ Chronos complained with his mind. +Ignatius! When will you show up?!+
+Soon. The Drukhari are well prepared. We can't just teleport into their midst. Give me a few minutes.+
+We don't have a few minutes!+ Chronos whined, but his arcane vortex roared and engulfed the Incubi. Along with Tukhan and his surviving Rurbic Marines, they showered the Incubi with inferno bolt shells and soulreaper shells, dealing devastating wounds and cutting down almost the entire squad. The Archon hissed as he leaped away, but Chronos would not let him get away. The Infernal Master and his Rubric retinue pursued, their force staves clobbering the last of the Incubi and even managing to somehow injure the fleeing Archon.
"Filthy mon'keigh!" The Drukhari leader snarled, only to duck under Chronos's staff. He whistled before cartwheeling through the air and somehow embarking upon the Raider that had brought him here.
The Venoms were hurtling forward, along with the Raiders, while the Chronos stood sentinel at the base of the tower. The Scourges, the Raider with the Archon, and a Venom pummeled Chronos's squad with splinter cannons and dark lances, and at the end of it all, only Chronos was left standing. On the other hand, the Mandrakes finally slipped out of the shadows, and the Infernal Master sprang his trap, engulfing them in an arcane vortex that all but eviscerated them. Fortunately, before he went down, the final Rubric Marine with the soulreaper cannon also managed to gun down the remnants of the Mandrakes, annihilating them. Chronos tried to direct the Rubric Marine, only for him to burst apart under a shower of splinters. The Infernal Master staggered when the Raider charged into him, its prow careening into his chest, but somehow remained stnading. Smacking the spiky ship with his force stave, he reached out with his thoughts.
+Uh, some help here?+
"Coming."
I finally teleported next to the heart of the tower, along with an entire retinue of Scarab Occult Terminators. Leaving half of them to Hathor Mathias, we split fire, weaving spells of utmost potency and unleashing devastating sorcery upon the Drukhari. Ensorcelled Infused inferno bolts thundered into the Chronos, which was bathed by my coruscating flames, and it succumbed to our vicious bombardment. Missiles from hellfyre racks smashed the Raider with the Archon into bits, and the Drukhari commander spilled out in an indignant heap. Chronos smirked as he summoned his Screamers through an invocation and butchered the Archon before he realized what had just happened.
The Scourges were torn apart by another volley, directed by Hathor, while the soulreaper cannons ineffectually pinged away at a jinking Venom. That was...embarrassing. However, we charged into it, cutting it apart with our kopesh swords. I didn't even need to hit it with my force staff - my Scarab Occult Terminators basically tore the transport apart coldly and methodically. The Kabalite Warriors embarked within slashed out with several parting shots, but bounded away so that their brethren could fire at us.
The remaining Raider spun around and its dark lance boomed. By a twist of fate, a Scarab Occult Terminator was able to avoid his demise, but his tactical dreadnought armor buckled from the volume of shots from several splinter cannons from the Kabalite Warriors embarked within. The second Venom flew away, hiding around a corner of the tower and rounding about so as to avoid being gunned down by the implacably advancing Terminators.
"We have you now!" I crowed and directed them mentally toward the single largest target that remained on the battlefield. At the same time, I cast Temporal Surge so that we could reach the tower more swiftly. The end goal was just within sight - I could almost taste the relic within. It was emanating power - power that nullified our kine-shields and whatever esoteric protection the Drukhari was sporting, turning off forcefields and the like, but still a treasure nonetheless.
I would not let the Drukhari get in our way. We will reverse the Rubric, no matter the cost.
The Raider blew up as missiles and inferno bolts hammered it. Unfortunately, there was no other target as we had all but eliminated the Drukhari. Realizing how screwed they were, the Kabalite Warriors from the destroyed Raider doubled time toward the Scarab Occult Terminators, their dark lances and blasters blowing apart at least three of them. Meanwhile, Kabalite Warriors dropped out from their Venom, only for Chronos to spring his trap once again. Empyric flames devoured their shrieking figures, the Dark Eldar thrashing about as they fell just inches away from their transport.
The Venom sought vengeance for its fallen passengers, spinning around and pelting Chronos with splinter rounds. He finally succumbed, unable to endure the constant barrage, and a safety spell teleported him back to the bridge of the Honor of Tizca, where he could convalesce alongside Egnis and the sergeants.
At my command, the Scrab Occult Terminators unleashed a salvo upon the last squad of Kabalite Warriors, wiping them to a man...well, not really, for there was a single survivor. The sole survivor looked around in panic, realizing that he was...screwed. Even more so when the Venom was laid low by the soulreaper cannons, its fragile hull riddled with holes by the high caliber shells.
"...uh...I surrender?"
I watched him flee, but didn't bother hunting him down. We had more important objectives. Turning around, I entered the tower and reveled at the sight of the ancient xenos artifact hovering within. Primordial glyphs decorated its night-black hull, and it reminded me...of the Necrons.
Wasn't Ahzek busily running from a Necron army at this moment? I wasn't worried about my brother, though. He was Undying, after all. Still, to think that such threads continued to link us...my lips curled in amusement.
Though I had no idea what schemes the Changer of Ways had woven, I vowed not to fall into his intricate plans. Like Ahzek, I had no intention of dancing in the Chaos God's palm. We shall see the Emperor ascendant, or...die trying.
But first, we need clues to reverse the Rubric. I didn't know what connection this seemingly Necron relic had with the Ynnari, but surely sometime in the future, the intertwined paths would all be unveiled in all their glory.
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