reporting for duty

Ever seen a loyalist iron warrior? Ever see one work for a rouge trader? Now you have. (Mun is a minor)

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Intro

I believe this is how you do it? I am having Tholian help me write these out.

(do read this whole this please)

Do not mention any of the… decimations please. Those are things I would rather not think about at any time.

Anything pertaining to “primarchcest” will not find a home there. You may take that somewhere else.

Any daemons who attempt to sell me something will be met with the hammer.

Finally, anny Imperial fist who thinks they are better, can kindly say so to me so I may throw them. Gently of course, I cannot loose what little credibility I still have.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

Having Khalara at his side definitely made it easier for Achilles to focus better on killing the incubi. At this point the incubi had left him quite roughed up. The damage his armor and mechadendrites received made him think about all the time he would spend repairing them after this was done.

An incubus managed to get inside and strike him on the shoulder. When the forge bolter turned around to shoot him, the xenos jumped out of its way, only to be electrocuted by the astartes' taser mechadendrite. The xenos became rigid as the potent electrical current ran through his body, which gave Achilles the oportunity to decapitate it.

The undead felt the tension leave his body once the last of the xenos was dead.

Meters away from them, Akhenaten fought what was probably one of the toughest battles in her life. The klaivex had done a great job at putting her between a rock and a hard place. Every single move of hers had to be executed within a narrow window of oportunity so as not to end up being torn to shreds by the xenos.

She knew she couldn't afford this to drag so long. For when exhaustion eventually slowed down her reactions, the xenos would take advantage of that to cut off her head. For all of their strenghts, astartes were not invincible. Akhenaten had been looking for a way in which she could defeat him without a great cost to herself, and found none. For klaivexes mere among the wickedest citizens of comorragh. They had perfected the art of killing over centuries of bloodshed.

If she wanted to walk away from this fight alive, she would have to accept that victory was going to cost her something. That was when she made her move. The astartes deliberately slowed down her reactions, leaving the xenos an opening. She suppressed a scream when his klaivex cut across her chest, and swung Red Lady to cut off the xenos' head of his shoulders.

Akhenaten wasted no time in casting a teleporting spell to get to the command center. She was in no conditions to keep on fighting after the klaivex had seriously injured her. The moment she arrived she walked towards the Celestial Geist's apothecaries. In this moment the biomancer was glad she was astartes. Were she mortal, she would be unable to function from the pain.

The apothecaries wasted no time in treating her after they saw how injured she was. The xenos' blade had narrowly missed her hearts.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Khalara assessed the situations as soon as the last incubi dropped dead. His helm flicking around in quick glances. “All are dead, and your comrade has gone,” he turned towards Achilles, looking a touch friendlier than he had been. “Good job.”

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

Achilles logged in into a familiar routine. He had fought incubi before, specially during his years in the Iron Warriors. Sometimes the iron warriors and the drukhari were fighting over a population they both wanted to enslave. Others, the iron warriors were fighting to avoid being dragged to Commorragh. Occassionally during those times he had been forced to defend himself from Incubi who wanted to his head as a trophy.

The undead alternated between using his mechadendrites and power axe to fight the xenos. He used to attack or parry blows from the foes closest to him, while the mechadendrites kept him from being taken by surprise by the furthest ones. Their movements were based on the information his sensors fed his HUD display.

Even with his skills, the incubi still managed to wound him. It seemed like they wanted to tear him to shreds before he sent into the maws of Slaanesh. He had deep cut on his side that would be hurting horribly were he not undead.

Meanwhile, Akhenaten kept fighting agaisnt the klaivex. Just as she had foreseen, it was a fight to keep her head on her shoulders. Klaivexes were the elite among the incubi. It was no different from those other times she'd fough his kind. In some of them she had ended up with severed limbs. Reattaching them had been a pain in the ass. It had involved eating great amounts of food and sleeping for hours in a safe place.

That was the reason why Klaivexes were among her least favorite foes to fight.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

If Khalara was not a seasoned fighter, he might have been yelling in a mix of pain and rage. To say he hated fighting xenos would be the understatement of the millennium. But to say he hated fighting the drukhari the most would be false as well. No matter how much be detested them, he had fought xenos who could suck the life and age out of a fellow Astartes within seconds. Compared to them, fighting a foe he could actually see and parry was very nice.

Most of his lower body was cut up and throbbing in deep agony, and during the entire debacle he had only managed to smite one incubi out of pure luck and a well-placed hammer strike to the side of the helm. If he sustained any more injuries to his legs and lower abdomen, he might lose a great amount of mobility.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Deadened nerves allowed Achilles ignore the pain from the wounds the incubi inflicted on him, which was just what he needed to keep fighting on. After shooting dead with his forge folter one of the incubi he had previously injured, he rushed to Khalara´s side to aid him.

"I hope being together makes it easier to fight these sons of bitches!", he said as forge bolter shot dead another incubi who had jumped in the air to the strike the iron warrior.

The remaining incubi fought more aggresively. Achilles narrowly escaped being decapitated by one of them.

Akhenaten had managed to injure the on the side. She knew Klaivexes could take a lot of punishment, but she hoped at least it slowed him down a little bit. She kept parrying his blows, waiting for the perfect chance to lure him into a trap. That's when she would finish him. The biomancer just to had to hold on. She had killed klaivexes before, she could do this.

She kept this words in her mind as she parried a blow that surely would have disemboweled her. An injury of that sort was the last thing she needed. Akhenaten was not Achilles, whose undead state meant that he often didn't realize he had received terrible wounds until after the fight was over.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

”Two fighters are typically better than one.” Khalara grit out, knocking an incubi away by just punching it in the side to avoid getting sliced in the shoulder.

“Just like the better days.” He murmured to himself.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

Achilles logged in into a familiar routine. He had fought incubi before, specially during his years in the Iron Warriors. Sometimes the iron warriors and the drukhari were fighting over a population they both wanted to enslave. Others, the iron warriors were fighting to avoid being dragged to Commorragh. Occassionally during those times he had been forced to defend himself from Incubi who wanted to his head as a trophy.

The undead alternated between using his mechadendrites and power axe to fight the xenos. He used to attack or parry blows from the foes closest to him, while the mechadendrites kept him from being taken by surprise by the furthest ones. Their movements were based on the information his sensors fed his HUD display.

Even with his skills, the incubi still managed to wound him. It seemed like they wanted to tear him to shreds before he sent into the maws of Slaanesh. He had deep cut on his side that would be hurting horribly were he not undead.

Meanwhile, Akhenaten kept fighting agaisnt the klaivex. Just as she had foreseen, it was a fight to keep her head on her shoulders. Klaivexes were the elite among the incubi. It was no different from those other times she'd fough his kind. In some of them she had ended up with severed limbs. Reattaching them had been a pain in the ass. It had involved eating great amounts of food and sleeping for hours in a safe place.

That was the reason why Klaivexes were among her least favorite foes to fight.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

If Khalara was not a seasoned fighter, he might have been yelling in a mix of pain and rage. To say he hated fighting xenos would be the understatement of the millennium. But to say he hated fighting the drukhari the most would be false as well. No matter how much be detested them, he had fought xenos who could suck the life and age out of a fellow Astartes within seconds. Compared to them, fighting a foe he could actually see and parry was very nice.

Most of his lower body was cut up and throbbing in deep agony, and during the entire debacle he had only managed to smite one incubi out of pure luck and a well-placed hammer strike to the side of the helm. If he sustained any more injuries to his legs and lower abdomen, he might lose a great amount of mobility.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

It was good that Khalara went back to them, for the drukhari sent the next best thing: Incubi. A group of five led by a klaivex stepped into the battleflield. The surviving wyches scattered, leaving the path clear for them.

They were bad news. Incubi were some of the deadliest warriors of Comorragh. Their combat was reknown for cold precision and unshakable discipline. Clad in suits of heavy armor and bearing enormous klaives, they served Comorragh's elites as bodyguards and executioners.

Achilles noticed they wasted no time in showing off. Instead, they advanced with the confidence of those who had killed mighty foes. He noticed Akhenaten's aura became nervous the moment she felt the Klaivex's eyes on her. The xenos had already marked her as someone dangerous, and therefore marked her for annhilation.

He silently raised his weapon towards Akhenaten. At the gesture, the incubi split off without hesitation. Four broke away to engage Khalara and Achilles, while their master strode toward the biomancer with measured, unwavering steps.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Khalara side stepped over to Achilles. Fighting incubi alone was a terrible thing to go through, and while he had no trust in Achilles, he wasn’t asinine enough to believe that the coming fight would be easy on either of them if they fought alone.

In the time it took for the incubi to reach the two, Khalara had already begun spinning his hammer. The large and heavy weapon could barely be made out against the blur it had quickly become. Getting hit by that would be certain death for a baseline or a grievous I jur to anyone who opposed him.

“Damned xenos.” Was all Khalara muttered before the four incubi struck.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Akhenaten and Achilles did their best to not die under the xenos' blades.

The biomancer put aside her firearm and unsheated Red Lady, a relic a beloved blood angel friend gave her a long time ago. The klaivex threw himself at her so quickly that she narrowly avoided being decapitated by him. Soon it became obvious what the xenos' strategy was: denying Akhenaten the opportunity to focus to launch psychic attacks. She would have to hold on until she found the perfect opportunity to strike. Unfortunately, it would mean there was a great chance she suffered severe bodily harm.

Achilles slung his autocannon to his back and unsheated his power axe. He looked at the xenos with grim determination. There was a great chance he woul be torn to shreds by the time this was over. If Achilles had struggled with the succubus, then he did even more with the incubi. The xenos had no need to show off. Every single move of theirs was precise and letal.

The undead smiled. Challenging opponents were always welcome. The axe´s disruption field flared into existence as he planted his feet. There was no need to match the drukhari's speed. Instead, he would rely on his strenght and mind.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Khalara slammed his hammer down on an incubi and snarled when the drukhari attempted to evade the incoming hammer. It was fast enough to avoid a hammer to the chest, but not even armor could stop the plurversing nature of a hammer with the power of extreme centrifugal force on its side when applied to the leg. Gravity has always been his friend.

But just as he got in the hit, a second incubi took the opportunity to slice at what little part of his hip was exposed, the klaive biting deep and tearing flesh apart as it struck. Khalara hissed in pain, and reflexively punched the incubi to the side. Damned xenos.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

It was good that Khalara went back to them, for the drukhari sent the next best thing: Incubi. A group of five led by a klaivex stepped into the battleflield. The surviving wyches scattered, leaving the path clear for them.

They were bad news. Incubi were some of the deadliest warriors of Comorragh. Their combat was reknown for cold precision and unshakable discipline. Clad in suits of heavy armor and bearing enormous klaives, they served Comorragh's elites as bodyguards and executioners.

Achilles noticed they wasted no time in showing off. Instead, they advanced with the confidence of those who had killed mighty foes. He noticed Akhenaten's aura became nervous the moment she felt the Klaivex's eyes on her. The xenos had already marked her as someone dangerous, and therefore marked her for annhilation.

He silently raised his weapon towards Akhenaten. At the gesture, the incubi split off without hesitation. Four broke away to engage Khalara and Achilles, while their master strode toward the biomancer with measured, unwavering steps.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Khalara side stepped over to Achilles. Fighting incubi alone was a terrible thing to go through, and while he had no trust in Achilles, he wasn’t asinine enough to believe that the coming fight would be easy on either of them if they fought alone.

In the time it took for the incubi to reach the two, Khalara had already begun spinning his hammer. The large and heavy weapon could barely be made out against the blur it had quickly become. Getting hit by that would be certain death for a baseline or a grievous I jur to anyone who opposed him.

“Damned xenos.” Was all Khalara muttered before the four incubi struck.

[danandphilcore]

send me "what's your favorite.." asks 💫

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

Akhenaten and Achilles turned around when they noticed the sounds of people being smashed coming in their direction. Khalara was approaching them. It felt nice to have his aid. Agile, armed with exotic weapons and the physically strongest of all the aeldari, the drukhari were among the toughest foes the Celestial Geists had ever fought.

Achilles focused on smashing the xenos with his modified autocannon. The weapon had been based on those carried by vehicles. The autocannon's barrage was complemented by the forge bolter mounted on his left shoulder.

His auspex alerted him to any upcoming ambushes. Those were taken care of by his flamer mechandendrite. Experience had taught him that employing overwhelming firepower worked agaisnt drukhari.

The scent of burning flesh alerted to him Akhenaten's presence. The biomancer was shooting the drukhari with a volkite caliber, a lovingly mantained weaponed she had kept through the years. She only used it when fighting difficult foes like the drukhari.

Yet even with those advantages, the drukhari remained dangerous. They fought with the strenght and ferocity belonging to those survived in a treacherous place like Comorragh. Trying to not to die was hard when your opponent had spent millenia perfecting the art of killing. Every move was performed with unnatural speed, and calculated for exploiting any mistake with merciless precission.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Khalara quickly fell into the thrum of the battle once he was acceptably close to Achilles and Akhenaten. His armor had been made with demolition in mind, so there were barely any spaces to stick a blade or find a weak spot to shoot, and even then getting close enough to stab him was a death sentence brought about by hammer or fist. Watching Khalara fight was like watching drill sink into a cave wall that was constantly collapsing around him.

Though he was always acutely aware of where the other Astartes were, and where the drukhari were attempting to climb on his back. He whirled around once again and flung a drukhari that had been attempting to get to his helm far to the left. This was what he had expected, after all he was in the middle of the fray.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

The drukhari closed around the army to prevent any possibility of escape. The xenos deployed nets and weapons which shot paralyzing toxins. Akhenaten felt a chill run down her spine as she witnessed this. Comorragh, she thought, they want to take us to Comorragh.

Already she could hear people screaming as they were trapped by the perfidious drukhari. Among the mayhem she could see succubi performing nearly impossible feats of acrobacy while they butchered people.

A succubus got a bit too close for comfort as she targeted Achilles. The astartes was not as agile as her, so it would be difficult for him to evade her strikes. His sensors warned him of the incoming enemy, and his mechadendrites attacked like furious serpents as their owner tried to get rid of it.

The succubi evaded their attacks with graceful movements. One of her hands carried a dagger, which she used to hit mechadendrites. Achilles cursed as his HUD display registered the damage. He knew she wanted to render him defenseless.

Rapid calculations fired through his brain while he thought of a way to kill the succubi. Previous encounters had taught him the drukhari were arrogant, so he would need to exploit that weakness to get ride of her.

The succubi purposely exposed vulnerable parts of herself while she attacked. So sure was she of Achilles' slowness, that she didn't care about putting herself in danger. She knew that he couldn't hit him.

Achilles deliberately slowed the movement of his mechadendrites to lure her in. The drukhari flashed a cruel smile as she moved to sever them, only to be shot down by an ammunition barrage from the forge bolter.

Her eyes widened. She had been too focused on the mechadendrites, that she had forgotten the forge bolter connected directly to his armor. Bolt rounds hit her directly in the chest before she could retreat. The xenos exploded in a burst of blood and gore that splattered the undead.

"Predictable.", was all Achilles said.

While Achilles was engaged in battle with the succubus, Akhenaten focused on preventing drukhari from taking people away. She targeted their circularity systems, wrecking the equilibrium of their elegant bodies. Blood pressure skyrocketed, hearts became paralysed and arteries burst underneath porcelain skin. The xenos dropped to the ground as their bodies betrayed them, releasing their captives.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

As Akhenaten began to exterminate the damned drukhari, Khalara found himself practically entombed in the lithe bodies drukhari. He barely was able to move as the xenos tried to pin him down in a series of folly attempts- all of which ended by more paste being added to the battlefield.

Khalara had put it upon himself to at least get rid of whatever cannon fodder was brought so the others could do some real damage. He would say getting stabbed in the joints did not hurt much, but the crooks of his armor were beginning to feel like burn wounds.

He then decided that being in the middle of the battle with no immediate support was not the beta of ideas, and in an extreme display of enraged hammer weilding, he carved his way back to where the troops and other Astartes were.

Eventually he carved his way up to the troop line, and turned to face the drukhari again. This time with more immediate support, he continued his tearing without having to worry much about flinging drukhari off of hi

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

Akhenaten and Achilles turned around when they noticed the sounds of people being smashed coming in their direction. Khalara was approaching them. It felt nice to have his aid. Agile, armed with exotic weapons and the physically strongest of all the aeldari, the drukhari were among the toughest foes the Celestial Geists had ever fought.

Achilles focused on smashing the xenos with his modified autocannon. The weapon had been based on those carried by vehicles. The autocannon's barrage was complemented by the forge bolter mounted on his left shoulder.

His auspex alerted him to any upcoming ambushes. Those were taken care of by his flamer mechandendrite. Experience had taught him that employing overwhelming firepower worked agaisnt drukhari.

The scent of burning flesh alerted to him Akhenaten's presence. The biomancer was shooting the drukhari with a volkite caliber, a lovingly mantained weaponed she had kept through the years. She only used it when fighting difficult foes like the drukhari.

Yet even with those advantages, the drukhari remained dangerous. They fought with the strenght and ferocity belonging to those survived in a treacherous place like Comorragh. Trying to not to die was hard when your opponent had spent millenia perfecting the art of killing. Every move was performed with unnatural speed, and calculated for exploiting any mistake with merciless precission.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Khalara quickly fell into the thrum of the battle once he was acceptably close to Achilles and Akhenaten. His armor had been made with demolition in mind, so there were barely any spaces to stick a blade or find a weak spot to shoot, and even then getting close enough to stab him was a death sentence brought about by hammer or fist. Watching Khalara fight was like watching drill sink into a cave wall that was constantly collapsing around him.

Though he was always acutely aware of where the other Astartes were, and where the drukhari were attempting to climb on his back. He whirled around once again and flung a drukhari that had been attempting to get to his helm far to the left. This was what he had expected, after all he was in the middle of the fray.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

"Thank you for your generosity. "Arthur took the map and rolled it carefully before putting it underneath his cloak.

FLASH FORWARD

The Celestial Geists had divided their forces among the major population centers. Some of them had gone to Uoipoint, where Khalara and the Rogue Trader army were. Achilles felt more uneasy as this went on. He did not know when the drukhari would launch their attack. The best thing he could do was to prepare himself for the upcomming battle.

He checked his weapons and armor to make sure they were in optimal condition. Any flaw in them was repaired quickly and efficiently. He could not risk being caught unprepared.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

In but a moment, Khalara produced his hammer. The large bludgeoning weapon that was nearly half his height was hoisted onto his shoulder as he surveyed the troops in front of him. For once he looked rather tranquil, even approachable. It was as if the impending battle allowed him a moment of reprieve from whatever mental terrors had assailed him not too long ago.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Akhenaten was also busy preparing herself for combat. Her routine was the same as Achilles, only with the exceptions that she also picked up poisons. They were the result of many years of studying aeldary anatomy and physiology, including performing experiments on captured specimens. Some of them had even been drukhari.

Each of her poisons had been perfected to work agaisnt different drukhari phenotypes. For a kabalite was not the same as a wych, nor a which the same as a scourge.

So far, the highest prize had evaded her. Haemonculi. For they were the most difficult to capture due to their expertise. Some of them were rumored to have been born before the Fall of the Eldar.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Perhaps it was the fact that he was born to a different age of iron warrior, but Khalara was always prepared for battle. At the slip of a wrist he could fall into fighting was no prior knowledge of what he was fighting. That was a relic of fighting the Hrud. But even then, it was what was expected of him before the heresy, and it is what is expected of him today.

This was the calm before the storm. He could almost hear the faint voices of his long-dead and long-damned brothers making jokes to the open air. Their folly attempts to keep warmth within the ranks was… kind, and dare he think it- but Khalara missed that. Not the bygone age when everyone was walking on eggshells set to explode- but when his closest brothers were not meaning to kill him at the drop of a hat. Decimation ordered or not. Perhaps their primarch was simply asinine in ordering that, after all, about 155 years later….

Khalara ended that thought, and decided to never follow that trail of thinking ever again.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Flash forward

The third week after the deal was sealed was when the drukhari showed their true faces. The rogue trader and the people closer to her were so dumbstruck when it happened, that when they finally were able to defend themselves the damage had already been done.

Reports of drukhari raids came from different settlements, some of them being the big cities in which the armies had been stationed. When Achilles saw the kabalites arriving to Uoipoint, he felt the urge to kill rising in his blood. Even if he knew the reason why the drukhari conducted raids, it didn't make him hate them any less.

The sounds of drukhari screaming in agony let him know Akhenaten had deployed her poisons. But even with her aid it would take a long time time until the drukhari menace had been defeated.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Khalara began to absentmindedly spin his hammer as he approached the battlefield, the rotations slowly but surely taking less and less time to complete. The troops around him gave a him a wide berth, they were used to running around him. Those battle sims had payed off.

He was making his way to where Achilles and Akhenaten were, and smashing in some enemy skulls on his way. But he didn’t trust either Astartes in any way, and this distrust made him want to play ‘supervisor’ for them. He would never admit that he also missed fighting alongside his brothers.

Instead of calling out when he saw them though to alert them to the fact that he was there, he quietly just continued to fight. Quietly wasn’t exactly the best word to describe using a hammer to turn drukhari into paste while taking fire to the face.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Another creature had made its way into the lower decks, and it is my job to cull this creature. I have fought the Hrud and my own brothers, this should have been something easier than it was.

Thirty-nine eel-things were in the water supply. It has taken me nine days to kill ten of them. I will be down here for several more days.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

"Thank you for your generosity. "Arthur took the map and rolled it carefully before putting it underneath his cloak.

FLASH FORWARD

The Celestial Geists had divided their forces among the major population centers. Some of them had gone to Uoipoint, where Khalara and the Rogue Trader army were. Achilles felt more uneasy as this went on. He did not know when the drukhari would launch their attack. The best thing he could do was to prepare himself for the upcomming battle.

He checked his weapons and armor to make sure they were in optimal condition. Any flaw in them was repaired quickly and efficiently. He could not risk being caught unprepared.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

In but a moment, Khalara produced his hammer. The large bludgeoning weapon that was nearly half his height was hoisted onto his shoulder as he surveyed the troops in front of him. For once he looked rather tranquil, even approachable. It was as if the impending battle allowed him a moment of reprieve from whatever mental terrors had assailed him not too long ago.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Akhenaten was also busy preparing herself for combat. Her routine was the same as Achilles, only with the exceptions that she also picked up poisons. They were the result of many years of studying aeldary anatomy and physiology, including performing experiments on captured specimens. Some of them had even been drukhari.

Each of her poisons had been perfected to work agaisnt different drukhari phenotypes. For a kabalite was not the same as a wych, nor a which the same as a scourge.

So far, the highest prize had evaded her. Haemonculi. For they were the most difficult to capture due to their expertise. Some of them were rumored to have been born before the Fall of the Eldar.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Perhaps it was the fact that he was born to a different age of iron warrior, but Khalara was always prepared for battle. At the slip of a wrist he could fall into fighting was no prior knowledge of what he was fighting. That was a relic of fighting the Hrud. But even then, it was what was expected of him before the heresy, and it is what is expected of him today.

This was the calm before the storm. He could almost hear the faint voices of his long-dead and long-damned brothers making jokes to the open air. Their folly attempts to keep warmth within the ranks was… kind, and dare he think it- but Khalara missed that. Not the bygone age when everyone was walking on eggshells set to explode- but when his closest brothers were not meaning to kill him at the drop of a hat. Decimation ordered or not. Perhaps their primarch was simply asinine in ordering that, after all, about 155 years later….

Khalara ended that thought, and decided to never follow that trail of thinking ever again.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

How has your ship been?

Rather quiet as of late. We haven’t had a random combustion of personell, no murders, no new children, and no new deals that I know of. It’s rather suspicious.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

if someone asks you to taste their “only mildly spicy stew”, do not accept the offer.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

"Thank you for your generosity. "Arthur took the map and rolled it carefully before putting it underneath his cloak.

FLASH FORWARD

The Celestial Geists had divided their forces among the major population centers. Some of them had gone to Uoipoint, where Khalara and the Rogue Trader army were. Achilles felt more uneasy as this went on. He did not know when the drukhari would launch their attack. The best thing he could do was to prepare himself for the upcomming battle.

He checked his weapons and armor to make sure they were in optimal condition. Any flaw in them was repaired quickly and efficiently. He could not risk being caught unprepared.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

In but a moment, Khalara produced his hammer. The large bludgeoning weapon that was nearly half his height was hoisted onto his shoulder as he surveyed the troops in front of him. For once he looked rather tranquil, even approachable. It was as if the impending battle allowed him a moment of reprieve from whatever mental terrors had assailed him not too long ago.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

"We need you to be stationed at any major population centers, for they are the best prizes for the dark kin. We have seen them raid small settlements, but those were slim pickings. What was left after stronger kabals had raided big cities. They weren't too happy about that. Bigger settlements mean more captives, which mean more prestige for them."

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

”Aye, I’ll do that. And if you don’t mind me asking,” Mkenzie tilted his head to the side, “Where will you lot be, and will Khalara be fightin’ on our front, or on yer front?”

[akhenaten-imhotep]

"We will be stationed in the same places as you. And as for Khalara, I will need to ask him." Arthur then turned around to address the other astartes. He kept the same polite tone of voice he had used with Mkenzie. "Besides whom would you prefer to fight? Whatever you choose, it is not an issue for us."

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

His answer was instant, and said cooly. A touch cold in fact. “With Mkenzie. I am used to his and his troops style of fighting, and I suspect that they may require some more support. If that is alright with you of course.”

[akhenaten-imhotep]

"We have no problem with you fighting beside them. In which city will you be stationed? And could someone be so kind to supply us with maps of the system? It would make it easier for the warband to know where the main cities are."

Arthur wondered what was the reason behind Khalara's coldness. Perhaps he was like Achilles, who often took a long time in warming up to people. He was not the friendliest person among the Celestial Geists. To the point people preferred him to keep him at arm's lenght.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

Khalara walked over to a small chest and produced the aforementioned map, and rolled it out on a table with care not to rip it. Mkenzie came over to the map, pointed to three dots upon in and whispered something to Khalara.

Khalara paused for a moment, nodded back to the man, and pointed to the Southern most dot of the three. “Uoipoint. And this map will provide you with all the major cities and such of this system.” He spoke as though he had rehearsed his answers several times over.

Which he had. He had always made sure that his speech was perfect and correct for fear of… someone from another part of his life. The scars that marred every inch of his body aches for a moment.

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

"what are you doing?" (Achilles)

“Why do you wish to know.” The iron warrior gritted out, on guard.

[akhenaten-imhotep]

Continued from here:

"We need you to be stationed at any major population centers, for they are the best prizes for the dark kin. We have seen them raid small settlements, but those were slim pickings. What was left after stronger kabals had raided big cities. They weren't too happy about that. Bigger settlements mean more captives, which mean more prestige for them."

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

”Aye, I’ll do that. And if you don’t mind me asking,” Mkenzie tilted his head to the side, “Where will you lot be, and will Khalara be fightin’ on our front, or on yer front?”

[akhenaten-imhotep]

"We will be stationed in the same places as you. And as for Khalara, I will need to ask him." Arthur then turned around to address the other astartes. He kept the same polite tone of voice he had used with Mkenzie. "Besides whom would you prefer to fight? Whatever you choose, it is not an issue for us."

[ironwithin-sanitywithout]

His answer was instant, and said cooly. A touch cold in fact. “With Mkenzie. I am used to his and his troops style of fighting, and I suspect that they may require some more support. If that is alright with you of course.”