Chapter Six

"There can be but one Emperor, one god, one saviour, one deliverer. Without Him, a billion billion souls are nought but fodder for the ever-thirsting evils of the Warp."

— Ecclesiarch Theodacus V, Indroit to the Verses of Dusk

Aurora-class Light Cruiser. Thrax System.

Hidden behind a holo-field and shielded from psychic detection, that kept it from discovery by the humans the small Eldar cruiser floated in the void of space, damaged yet not crippled. Even now the bonesingers worked their craft to bring the fighting vessel back to peak performance. Once that was done those that command this might machine of war would have to decide what course of action to take next.

Farseer Galadeer of the Yltar Craftworld had not expected to find her ship dragged along in the wake of the crude human vessel that she had been seeking to destroy. Her visions had foretold of her victory, of how she would ambush the vessel of the human empire and unsure that it played no further role in the future that she wished to bring about.

Only that hadn't happened, her vision had failed her, the humans had not charged into battle without thought as their crude kind were known to do, rather they had turned and fled as if they'd known that a trap had been prepared for them. This was Galadeer's fault, she had forgotten that while the humans were savages compared to her noble breed, they were not as simple as the orks. She should have been prepared for the humans to show some cunning and a second fleet prepared to attack from behind.

The Farseer knew that chiding herself was pointless. Rather she needed to focus on what to do. Simply destroying the human vessel was no longer an option, or at least it wasn't a very good option. The human cruiser was a flying fortress-city, and yes it was vulnerable from the rear, and not that well-armed for a vessel of its size, it had have strong defences. Even with the element of surprise, a victory could not be certain.

Besides there was a mind on that vessel, one very different from the others, one with knowledge and power that no human should possess. Galadeer felt certain that it was this mind that had deduced the possibility of an ambush and ordered the vessel to flee rather than fight. The human she sensed possessed power she did not understand and did not wish to challenge without learning more.

Another factor to consider was the warp. Never had it felt so pure, so clean, the world in this system sent turmoil that echoed into the other realm, hardly surprising given that it was infested by humans, yet the creatures of the warp were not coming to feed. The Farseer could only detect a few minor warp creatures, which were like small fish swimming in an ocean when compared to the predators she was used to, and they fled from her when she lashed out with her powers.

The Farseer wondered if they had somehow been sent to the past, to a time before the War In Heaven when The Warp was a peaceful realm only that didn't feel right and how could a world of humans exist in such an era? No this was not their universe.

As she sat in her meditation chamber, a simple space that was free from any distractions, Galadeer let her awareness move beyond the cruiser to the world that the human vessel was now orbiting. She sensed cold death there and something made from fire and shadow. Compared to other dangers that the Eldar had faced these were minor threats, but they should be dealt with and quickly.

In the long term, the Eldar vessel was stuck in this system, they had been caught up in the wake of a warp jump that the Eldar had simply not been prepared for, and it was only by sheer chance that the cruiser had been consumed by the predators of the warp. They should all be dead, consumed by She-Who-Thirsts, and the Farseer wondered if their salvation had come from the strange human she sensed, the one with a connection to the warp differed so much to that of his kin.

The human's vessel was the only way the Eldar had of returning home and perhaps the human mind she sensed could be of us to her people. If the humans had somehow stumbled across a means of travelling to different realities, dimensions free from Chaos, that could mean a new home for her people and a new future. This would have to be handled carefully. They couldn't destroy the ship or try to seize it as the humans outnumbered them too greatly.

A more gentle touch was required, the human leaders would need to be carefully contacted and made to see the benefits of an alliance. She would find a way to direct the humans on a path that was pleasing to her. This took time and she would need to study the humans, to better understand them, so that was what she would do.