Chapter 14 Part 3

Chapter 14: Diplomacy is not a dead art

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Part 3

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Victory Bay

Kronus

On the way down from orbit, Amberley had a great view of the field where the Ork horde died. It bore visible scars from precise orbital strikes. When her flight got lower, she could see a ravaged landscape, working parties still pilling up Ork corpses in mass graves before incinerating them, and more.

During the final approach, the Inquisitor could notice multiple Mechanicus parties salvaging damaged vehicles, mostly Tau. Whatever else, this was a reassuring confirmation that the reports she went over were true at least in part. Even such a little thing had an impact on her now. Amberley was still trying to process her short "negotiations" with the Necrons. The aliens were polite, almost reserved, nothing like what she imagined them to be. It was a stark contrast with the silent killers she was familiar with.

Most startling was the fact that the alliance still held. There were no reported incidents of Xeno aggression from Kronus. The Eldar were retreating, and indeed, they have been present. Her ship's sensors could prove that much, observing the tail end of a Grav tank column as it vanished into the mountains. Even now, many auspexes and other instruments were focused on twenty-five Walkers heading the same way.

That was disturbing and unusual enough, even if offered precious opportunity to gain intelligence. It was all the Necrons operating openly that greatly concerned Amberley. There were many of their Drones flying above Victory Bay and several bordering provinces. With the Warp event above the Deimos Peninsula dissipating quickly, orbital observation revealed the Xenos busy at work building more of their Pylons.

If those worked as advertised, she knew many Inquisitors who would gleefully commit mass murder to get their hands on them. She wouldn't be able to blame them either.

The ship's auspexes couldn't observe the Necron stronghold. The whole mountain range showed only a green haze when someone tried to scan it. If that wasn't ominous, Amberley wouldn't know what would be.

Her transport finally landed, surrounded by its escorts, and her party disembarked. Amberley patted her pilot on the shoulder in appreciation and disengaged herself from the back seat of the modified interceptor she rode down. She put the helmet on the seat and got out, then quickly disentangled her hair. It didn't like helmets very much.

Vail's retinue quickly formed around her, with Mott gently guiding their Psyker. Rakel could barely stand and cried tears of joy.

"I can see His light! It shines true!" The Psyker babbled.

Perhaps bringing her down here was a mistake, Amberley mused.

"It's time to find the truth." She muttered quietly and headed towards the far end of the landing pad. There a platoon of the Guard waited for them at attention. They were half the way there, when the armored doors separating the landing pads from the rest of the facility slowly began to open, revealing a golden glow.

"It comes forth!" Rakel exclaimed. "Rejoice my friends! Behold Divinity!"

Not a good sign that. Amberley saw Mott's right hand vanish in his robes to grasp the hilt of a blade, ready to deliver the Emperor's mercy. Simeon and Zemelda fell a step back, readying weapons as well. Good, the Acolyte was learning and the "former" Commissar was at his efficient best.

Vail left Rakel in their care and looked forth at what awaited them. A well outfitted Guard unit briskly marched forth, spreading out. A tightly-knit cluster of Stormtroopers followed, backed by a man with the distinctive uniform of a Commissar.

Amberley barely noticed any of them. It was the man who they guarded that caught her attention and made her breath hitch. Those wings were real, and they blazed with a golden aura. This was the moment of truth. They were either in the presence of the Emperor's chosen, in which case, Amberley's life would become tremendously more complicated. Or they would be fighting for their lives and souls against a Daemonhost.

The soldiers standing at attention shifted, making the sound of the Aquila at the passing group. The winged man waved at them with a smile and focused his attention on Amberley's retinue. His eyes studied each one of them in turn while the two groups closed the distance. As they grew closer, one thing became clear, the potential Saint was tired. It was obvious if you could look him in the eyes and go past their shimmering glow.

"Inquisitor Vail? Inquisitor Delkatar Veil, former Acolyte of Lord Inquisitor Requista." The man introduced himself. "It's good to receive some sorely needed support at last. We need to talk."

"That we do, Inquisitor Veil. Do you have a place in mind?"

"General Alexander's HQ is nearby. I'm sure he can spare a secure room for our discussion." He looked at Rakel and shook his head in what might have been exasperation.

"It would be safer to hold discussions on my ship. More private too." Amberley offered a sultry smile, wondering how he would react.

"I'll have to decline, though I'll appreciate a tour at a later date if the situation permits it." Veil grimaced, keeping an eye on Rakel. "I'll recommend getting her in range of our test Pylon. Being in an area where the barriers against the Immaterium are much stronger might do some good to your Psyker."

"You know what's wrong with her?" Amberley inquired. Of course, he knew, he was the source of it. The only question was if it was a benevolent incident or a malevolent one.

Veil's wings twitched in what might have been an annoyance. A moment later, his voice confirmed it.

"People around me have funny reactions to the Emperor's power flowing through me. That and the fact that it calms and cleanses the Warp in a small area around me. Apparently, it is an experience that takes some time to get used to after having to deal with its usual… miasma."

That almost sounded plausible. It was also insane and probably impossible. The odds of things turning out all right declined by the moment.

"Inquisitor!" Someone shouted, creating a commotion at the Spaceport's entrance.

This was it, Amberley decided and prepared to act. Around the Inquisitor, her retinue picked up the clues and was ready for action. This had to be a brave soul risking life and limb to get a warning out…

Amberley was ready to give the word, cursing herself for entertaining the thought that this wasn't a worst-case scenario.

"Scipio, what's now?" Veil's long suffered voice gave her pause. "Don't you have enough things to study and fix?"

A Tech-priest appeared. His red robes billowed from the speed he moved at and soon, the Mechanicus agent stood beside Veil.

"You can help! You must! It's the crowd! They're keeping us from the relic!"

That was both an unhelpful and ominous explanation.

"Scipio-Ro-11!" Veil barked and his wings fluffed out in a threatening display. "Compose yourself and act with the grace expected of one who represents Blessed Mars!" Veil paused. "Get yourself together! You're embarrassing the Adeptus Mechanicus in front of two Inquisitors!"

For the first time, Scipio-Ro-11 turned his hood their way. He stared at Amberley's retinue for a moment, then looked back at Veil.

"We've been scanning the site where the Omnissiah blessed you as it is proper! By the Motive Force, it was even more of a blessing we believed! We detected a large object buried right where you arose to smite the Orks! We're sure it is a trice blessed part of the Divine Engine The Aquila Ignis!"

"That's good?" Veil said. Confusion radiated from his whole figure.

"It's the crowd! It's back! There are even more people praying there, and they're ready to fight! They won't let us dig up the blessed artifact! You must come, Inquisitor! You must speak with them now!"

The first clear sign that Veil might not be a Daemonhost was the incredulous expression he displayed for all to see.

"Can we skip all the trivia, so someone could shoot me already and put me out of my misery?" The potential Saint groaned loud enough that everyone around could hear him.

This had to be one of the oddest Saints or Daemons in the galaxy, Amberley decided.

"Why would anyone want to shoot you, Inquisitor Veil?" She asked, faking naivety.

Amberley earned herself a despondent dead-pan look. Even the wings dropped, though their radiance didn't diminish. Truth be told, under the glow, Amberley had a hard time believing this could be a Daemon possessing some poor bastard. Naturally, that only made her feel more suspicious.

"Where do I start? Let's go stop the locals and the Martians from killing each other. I'll answer your questions on the way. Then you can shoot me, so all of this could be yours to deal with." Veil declared.

That certainly wasn't Daemon like behavior.

"Lead the way, Inquisitor Veil. Start from the beginning."

"You really want the long version?" The man gave her an incredulous look.

Of course, she did!

"I insist!" Amberley pouted.

"As you wish. Well, it was about sixty million years ago when the Necrothyr…"

Veil began speaking of things that were either beyond classified, or no living being had a right to know in the first place. Sometimes both and more. All Amberley could do was listen with sick fascination, while the insane man ignored her choked demands to shut the hell up.