You cock an eyebrow at Jace. "Where is the Main Computer Core anyway?"

"The pillar of the Statue of the Omnissiah, in the sanctuary of the cathedral."

You frown. "That wasn't the case the first time we were here. We walked right into the cathedral, and lingered there in close proximity to the statue for quite some time."

"True. Something has changed, either when the Plasma Drive was activated and the computer core received power, or when the Terra Incarnadine made the warp transit to Dagda."

The deck shudders under your feet. Jace grabs for a console to keep his balance. Yasha drops to one knee. The hair on the back of your neck stands up and you feel a wave of immaterial energy wash over you. You look at Yasha, she nods, indicating that she felt it too. You don't have time to plan out anything properly anymore. You tap your microbead. "Simo? Tristan here. Get Elena and Adam and head for the Cathedral. Contact imminent."

"Affirmative."

"Alright, let's go. Showdown time."

The shuddering and pulses of energy become more frequent as you approach the cathedral. Concerned with the structural integrity of the Terra Incarnadine, you send Jace off to coordinate the inevitable damage control efforts.

You, Yasha, Elena and Adam all reach the cathedral doors, where you find Lord Pyrus and Rubicon waiting. "Where's Simo?"

Rubicon answers, "headed for the balcony with his rifle. He should be in position in three minutes."

Another pulse, stronger than the last three, sweeps through the ship.

"I don't think we can wait that long, the ship is being shaken apart by whatever is going on in there."

Rubicon nods. "Bolter advance, covering fire. Pyrus, breach on my mark. Expect an immediate hostile response."

You, Adam, and Yasha stack up on one side of the door, Rubicon, Lord Pyrus, and Elena on the other. You can feel Lord Pyrus gathering energy to himself, feeling out the cathedral doors for weaknesses. Serpentsbreath is cold and heavy in your hand.

Rubicon gives the countdown, three flashbang grenades held loosely in one hand. Pyrus breached the cathedral doors with a series of pinpoint telekinetic strikes, tearing the wood to pieces and throwing them into the room at staggering velocities. Rubicon scatters the flashbangs into the cathedral before the splinters even have a chance to hit the floor.

You move in, staying low and sliding behind a pew to take some concealment.

Adam storms right down the center aisle, heedless of cover, flamer in hand, and a battlecry howling from his lips.

That deadly line of emerald fire comes right back down the aisle. Adam's head explodes into red mist and you hear Rubicon curse from the doorway. Kamas just laughs from the foot of the statue, a small section of the pillar slowly, slowly, starting to open up.

Elena responds by sending a hail of bolt rounds, suppressing Kamas as best she can.

Yasha Joins in, and actually scores a hit. Kamas' robe flutters to the floor, the brooch that was holding it in place shot away, revealing the metallic parody of a human skeleton beneath.

Pyrus steps through the doorway, a half-dome forged from raw psychic fire floating in from of him as he moves past Adam's headless corpse.

Rubicon appears behind him, laying down bursts of covering fire from his bolter despite having to wield it one-handed. His right arm is a ruin from the shoulder down from the same shot that killed Adam. At least one of the rounds takes Kamas in the side, and it drops to one knee.

You move to and down the left-hand aisle, staying below the line of pews and trying to not draw Kamas' attention. That Emperor-forsaken rifle simply don't care about having to plow through a few of them if Kamas decides to take a shot at you.

Kamas places another line of emerald fire just below Lord Pyrus' shield, detonating Adam's flamer as it lies between the two Space Marines. Rubicon grunts in discomfort, his aim disrupted from the smoke in his eyes and the flames licking at his wounded arm. Lord Pyrus doesn't even flinch as the flames char the paint from his armor.

Elena breaks cover headed for the right-hand aisle, trusting in Yasha and Rubicon's fire to keep Kamas occupied.

Yasha keeps her fire up as she follows Elena, seeming almost to stroll next to Elena's sprint.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The pillar opens fully, revealing a small platform. A silvery object begins to slide from a cubby hole deeper in.

Lord Pyrus drops his shield and rushes forward, his power sword crackling with killing will.

Rubicon is only a half step behind, his bolter already back in its holster and his chainsword revving into life.

You rush down the left-hand aisle, looking to flank Kamas and perhaps get a hit in while it is distracted.

Kamas rises to its feet and pulls a short shaft of metal from its back. It quickly expands into a full halberd, which she levels at the oncoming Space Marines.

Elena holds her fire and ducks behind a pew only three rows from the front of the Cathedral. With so many melee combatants close together, she dares not risk a shot.

Yasha trips over something outside your line of sight and goes tumbling behind a pew. You get the flashing impression that the fall was guided by an invisible figure, but your eyes might just be playing tricks on you with the amount of psychic energy in the air.

Lord Pyrus takes a controlled swing at Kamas' weakened side. Kamas easily parries it, the energized blade of the power sword skipping off the haft of the halberd.

Rubicon attacks from Kamas' other side, hacking low at her legs. Kamas simply hops back from the cut, avoiding it entirely.

You close the gap to mere feet from the combatants, and you can feel the warmth from the radiation coming from the pillar. You have to end this fight fast, before it finishes whatever process Kamas has started.

Kamas strikes the ground with the butt of her halberd, and you can see the ripple of slowed time reach through the air. Everyone else in the room freezes still, unable to move.

The pillar dings and the warmth fades from your skin. A luminous silver cylinder is sitting on the platform, the Shard that Kamas was seeking.

Your fury boils up within you. First Yasha, sent to the edge of death and beyond. Now Adam, head popped like a pimple, and Rubicon, who will need reconstructive surgery to repair the scraps of flesh and bone of his right arm. You feel the Warp energies suffusing your frame shift, breaking Kamas' hold on the reality around you. You dash forward in the stillness, ducking around two bolt shells from Elena's bolt pistols hovering in the air. You slam Serpentsbreath into Kamas’ halberd, throwing it to the ground and stunning the Necron where it stands.

Kamas spins around to face you. "Impossible! My command of reality is absolute!"

"A good thing that I'm not entirely of this reality then." Anai sheds her camouflage from behind Kamas, and soundlessly gestures for you to keep taking, to buy time. You let your voice drip with arrogance, the better to hold Kamas' attention. "See, you made at least two fuckups when you came after me. One, you underestimated humans. Hit a human with a stick, and they go make a bigger one to hit you back with. You demonstrated your hold on reality, so I went and found ways to break that hold."

"Inconceivable!"

"All too real. Human ships sail the Warp, Human minds can see through it and speak across it. Human will can focus those same energies to re-shape reality as we see fit. But your other mistake was even worse."

Anai steps up behind her sister and grips Kamas' head in her hands, "you left him alive, traitor, just as you left me alive." With a tremendous yank, Anai pulls Kamas' head from its shoulders, the stump of a spine trailing from the metal skull.

Reality shivers and stills in a heartbeat. Anai tucks Kamas' still blathering head under one arm and holds out two brass scarabs, each no bigger than your thumbnail. "For yourself and you lover, to dampen the warp energies surrounding you. Place it somewhere on your person, and it will sink into your skin, becoming as a tattoo. Touch it and will stillness and you will be shielded."

You take the brass scarabs in a gloved hand. One you place in a pocket, the other you place at the base of your throat. It sinks in, coolness spreading across your chest. You focus your mind and feel reality seize hold of your limbs once more.

Anai nods, places Kamas' head at lord Pyrus' feet and turns invisible once again. "Our paths may not cross again, but I thank you for helping Ariavari break my chains."

Time resumes is normal flow. Rubicon and Lord Pyrus stare at Kama's now headless body. Rubicon collapses in a heap, the pain of his injuries overcoming his physiology now that the fight is over. Lord Pyrus looks questioningly at you.

You know that he was able to see and hear everything that transpired during the stillness. "I'd say let sleeping dogs lie. Kamas was more than all of us could handle, and I may have been able to break his time-stop, but I was no match for him in a sword fight. I'd say that was the Sister, and she flat-out tore Kamas’ head off, as well as pulling total invisibility and that slow-time trick. I certainly have no desire to anger her or Ariavari, much less the two of them combined."

Pyrus nods slowly, thinking through things.

You clear your throat, "and what of my people? How will you deal with them Lord Pyrus?"

Lord Pyrus holds up a finger and opens a communications channel. "Inquisitor? I will require three stasis traps for the artifact and the technomancer."

He looks at Elena, still in a touch of shock from what just happened. "Will you submit to a mindwipe Elena?"

Elena's eyes roll up into her head and she collapses to the ground.

You hear a door open up on the balcony, and Simo curses aloud when he sees the scene down below.

You call up to him "Shows over Simo, sorry you missed it. Best if you go see if Jace needs any help."

Simo heads back out of the balcony, and you return to Lord Pyrus question. "It seems I must make the decision for Elena. What are her options, and what are the potential costs?"

Lord Pyrus studies her prone figure. "One, she could submit to a mindwipe. She would forget this event and any details surrounding it, if it is successful, and would rejoin your crew. If if fails, her mind could be wiped completely, and I would place her in your care to be re-trained for her current duties, or she might not survive at all. Two, she could enter the service of Inquisitor Olaf. For certain, she cannot remain as she is, she has seen too much. You and Yasha are more useful in your current state, so long as you do not stray from service to the Empire."