VALENITH
----------------------------------------
He let himself ever so slightly open, just a tiny trickle, less than he wanted but just enough to do what he needed.
The by now familiar rush of power filled him, itching to be used, tempting him to just reach for it.
Dark thoughts tried to take root in his mind but were purged before they even formed but a few still made it through, not strong enough to stick or be a problem but Valenith's mouth twisted in displeasure.
'A newborn child is more powerful than you. How pathetic.'
'No wonder Master sent you, instead of his other disciples, he'd rather be rid of you.'
'Just reach for it, the power is yours, just open yourself up to it and the galaxy will be yours, kill the girl, torture the Mon-keigh, twist the metal abomination into scrap!'
Annoying, Valenith noted as he purged these thoughts and scanned his mind for any lingering taint, his mind was a fortress, stable, strong, impregnable, static...static. Static wasn't a good thing but when your mind remained the same it was easier to spot tumors growing in it before they sprouted into problems.
That pitifully small trickle of Warp energy rushed through him, leaving behind a trail of bliss and yearning before it jumped into his staff. The staff hummed in power as lightning gathered into an orb, staying there until he needed it.
He thought back to how that pure energy going through him felt. It revolted a part of him, a part of him that was addicted to the way the Warp felt, a part of him that needed to die but another part of him just felt calm, relaxed, serene, it was a power that came without side-effects, that didn't want to eat your soul in return for the tiniest trickle of power.
To an Eldar who lived his long life shackling himself from his first breath to his last, that serenity was more precious than anything. He couldn't rest for a single waking moment of his life, never doubt, never stray and never give in even an inch to his emotions and inherent sadism.
Peace … Serenity.
Those concepts were only foolish daydreams of younger Eldar. Valenith knew there will never again be a time when an Eldar can live freely, tap into the Warp freely, and not worry about their souls being tortured for millennia after their deaths.
No worrying about taint, about possession, about She Who Thirsts. Valenith breathed in and out deeply, he'd been alive long enough to know that despite the future lighting up in his eyes, the shadows lurked around it to snuff it out.
Peace, not just for me but all of us. It is worth anything, everything.
As he positioned himself between the rampaging Space Marines he wondered why he was here. The easy answer was that Master Eldrad wanted him here, to relay information which was his initial mission. 'Open the Gate and stay close, learn what you can of 'it' and report it back.' It was a simple mission.
Valenith didn't believe for a second that was all his mission entailed, Eldar hadn't ever spoken straight, without riddles and metaphors or dozens of layers one would need to uncover before they even glimpse at his true intentions. So of course Valenith doubted his mission, he did report back when they were on Dagon, sending a small packet containing what little he managed to gather of the enigmatic woman.
'Shape-changing, biomass conversion superior to Tyranids, Regeneration beyond even the Phoenician, Psychic potential rivaling Farseers' were the main parts he reported. Upon further consideration, he added some more: 'Open-minded, Vain, Arrogant, Careful, Dangerous, Sadistic, Caring, Overprotective, and finally, Perpetual'. He added the last part after seeing her regenerate herself out of nothing. It wasn't how other human Perpetuals worked, but it was the closest thing he could think of.
He of course started with her absolutely pure and untainted Soul Energy. He assumed that was the main reason he was even here. Just the existence of that made him think that the woman was somehow outside of the dreaded four's influence.
It gave him ideas, ideas he didn't even dare dream of a week before.
'Stay with them, integrate yourself.' Was the answer he received from his master. Short and to the point. Something is very wrong.
He stayed, not just because of that order, he didn't want to think about whether he'd have disobeyed his master's orders if he'd been commanded to return but thankfully he wasn't forced to choose.
Lightning leaped off of his staff, zipping past a crimson armored warrior and into a Tyranid, a Carnifex. The Warp-fueled lightning scorched through the armor, incinerated the insides of the beast and did the same on its way out. It continued on to do the same to a dozen other bio-forms behind the Carnifex.
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
He received a grunt from the warrior before he leapt back into action, he felt their minds shift further and further away from what he considered human. They were becoming more beasts than men, hungering and thirsting for blood in more than one meaning of the phrase.
So savage.
Valenith sneered in disdain behind his illusion, he'd lucked out with those three, though the Magos was a weird one and he really wanted to smack that thing apart whenever it stared at him like a Drukharii would at their slaves.
He sent another arc, this time it scorched the air and chained between a small swarm of flying beasts.
Disappointing.
He stared at the woman he was supposed to protect, well he was protecting her, he'd done just that now as she showed no sign of noticing the flyers diving towards her as she wrestled with a large psychic beast.
I should have taught her better than this.
He recoiled at the thought, his brows furrowed as he tried to come to terms with his unusual feelings.
I suppose I'd need to train them better to integrate better.
It wouldn't do if the one possible savior of his species died because he was being stingy with his knowledge after all.
Maybe...maybe...I can be free of this shackle and channel Sorcery like her, free of Her control.
----------------------------------------
SELENE VOSS
She was deep into the enemy lines, she'd been thrown around a fair bit, blasted away, and bit down on but her armor held without even a crack.
She sensed no other human mind in anywhere close to her, so she made ample use of Echidna's gift.
She kicked out, her feet caving in the hardened carapace of a quadrupedal beast. As her armor touched the bloody flesh hundreds of hair-thin tendrils dug into the by now dead beast and Selene saw a counter trickle upwards at the edge of her vision.
[21] it showed. She could regrow her whole body 21 times now, next to it was a counter. [0d6h21m] meaning she had that much time remaining on full combat capability.
A handy thing. She'd made use of the healing function a few times. The padding was great and the weird fluid in it dampened the kinetic force of attacks, but she'd still been thrown into a wall faster than bullets flew so some things inside her body gave way.
She bit her lips in frustration as she felt her arm crack again as a beast smacked into her side. It wasn't her mind, weapons, or armor that gave way, but her body. She was the weakest link. Again.
Maybe I should...
She shook her head. No! That'd be a step too far. Using Xeno biotech was one thing. It would be another entirely to change herself. But why is my human body so weak??!!
She growled and her Psychic powers roiled along with her fury, empowering her body and armor. Her fist crashed into a skull and it gave way easily as her fist liquified the brain held inside easily.
But she is already so far ahead of me...
'Just give in, use the power!'
'Bend her to your will! Have her groveling at your feet!'
'How dare she be better? She doesn't deserve that power! Take her power, defile her body as you wish, defile her mind, defile her power! TAKE IT! TAKE HER! TAKE IT! TAKE IT!'
"URggghhh," Selene groaned, these incessant whispers and shouts had been relentlessly crashing against her mental shields ever since she'd stepped foot back into realspace and now with the Warp flowing through her veins they became louder, more powerful and more tempting.
"N-no," she grit her teeth, "I'd rather die a powerless human than give in to you."
She pushed out all Warp power from her body, leaving only a tiny stream dripping through her, just enough to keep her mind from degrading into want and need for that power. The energy exploded out of her in a swirl of indescribable colors and sent the ravenous beasts flying back but new ones crawled over the tumbling ones and came rushing at her.
I'd rather let Echidna turn me into one of her drones than give in to these whispers.
That one thought cemented itself in her mind.
Selene Voss would rather become a heretic colluding with Xenos than a raving lunatic worshipping the Great Enemy.
----------------------------------------
ZEDEV
"Finally," Zedev couldn't help but groan out as the Machine spirit finally felt satisfied.
He climbed on top of the vehicle, a Lemann Russ Battletank and connected himself to the machine...machines.
Engines roared to life as tires groaned against dirt, bent steel plating cried and the tracks of tanks crushed rocks beneath them.
'56 Battle tanks, 20 in good condition, 25 in manageable, and one barely operational,'
'16 Transport vehicles armed with autocannons, all in good condition.'
'10 Artillery, 6 in a good state, 4 in [Warning: High Chance of failure]'
'2 Baneblade Super Heavy Tanks in good condition'
That should do. They barely required some guidance and reassurance.
Plus most Machine Spirits were eager to head back into the fight and slaughter the enemies of mankind. They really only wanted some fixups and for Zedev to throw out the mangled corpses of their late operators.
Zedev surveyed the surroundings, his mind connected to the Noosphere acquired battle reports in real-time, controlled all vehicles and calculated the optimal path forward.
He held his power axe tightly in hand as his Auspex scanned the surroundings.
He might not be specialized for this sort of warfare but he was still a Magos-Dominus, he'd only have some problem if he had to work an entire planetary defense by himself.
All within expectations, Calculations and computations swirled around in his head, and a map of the fortress and its surroundings sprung up with real-time reports of all three of his 'allies' marked. optimal path found, engage!
Then the one he marked with deep red for importance disappeared, then reappeared a few seconds later, then disappeared once again.
Zedev tilted his mechanical head.
Negative. Termination impossible. Assumed Cause: signal disruption; no technological resistance found, assumed Psychic interference.
After a moment of consideration, Zedev put that thought out of his calculations. Echidna was impossible to predict but he refused to believe she'd die just like that.
First Priority: preserve Selene Voss.
Second Priority: Display competence.
"[Engage the enemy,]" he hissed in Lingo Technis, speaking to the elusive Spirits of the Machines directly "[For the Omnissiah, terminate all hostile bioforms.]"
Emotional suppressants held down the disdain when he spoke the war-cry. The Omnissiah was an inactive corpse barely functioning through arcane means.
'Not even he could rival Her.'
----------------------------------------