The Multiverse Project: Warhammer 40,000

"What's this shit I hear about a new fucking Chaos God?!"

Laura burst into the manor's dining hall, her powerful cadence rocking the chandeliers. Not slowing down, the British inquisitor stomped up to the long table where Tangmo, Nikki, Celestine, Isha, Shadowsun and Fio were seated, the Thai commissar and the Russian exarch were slump in their chair and nursing large mugs of steaming beverage. Behind Laura came the rest of the Eight and the main characters, everyone on edge after Tangmo had told them that their true enemy was a new god of the Ruinous Power.

"A new Chaos God, are you sure?" Damien asked for confirmation, his timbre calm. "Maybe it's just Malal popping up again?"

"What is Malal?" Canoness Galatea demanded and Damien almost jumped out of his awesome Astartes armor when all eyes turned questioningly to him. Oh right, no one in the Warhammer 40k universe knew about Malal.

"It is not Malal, Brother Captain," damn, Laura stand corrected, because Celestine recognized the name, "he is nothing but a long forgotten ghost drifting aimlessly within the mad current of the empyrean, we have nothing to fear from him," the Living Saint held up a placating hand to forestall the main characters' question. "Be at peace, brothers and sisters all, for the Brother Captain's query was of merit. Malal was a Chaos God who had long since lost any power and relevancy to the universe at large, a black memory that can no longer harm us."

"How can you be sure?" Celalira, the Solace Sun Farseer, challenged Celestine, but her tone softened when Isha shot her a displeased look. "I mean, are you certain of this, your ladyship?"

"Of course lady Farseer, through the trail of my many resurrections, I more than once caught glimpses of this former deity," Celestine shrugged easily, her smile pleasant. "Many times have I drifted closer to discern and study this apparition, to better understand the nature of the Warp and its depth, but he always flees from me." Celestine's countenance hardened in a blink, brokering no nonsense. "And what we now face is worse than a forgotten god."

"She is correct," although lacking a steely aura like Celestine, Isha was nevertheless an indomitable sight, a tall glimmering tree that sway to the storm but never submit to its wrath. It was two sides of motherhood made manifest, the fiercely protective and unrelenting need to defend for Celestine, and the kindly sanctuary of warmth and hope for Isha, and bloody hell the contrasts worked beautifully together. "In their naivety and ignorance, the Tau are about to conjure into existence a new deity within the Warp. And unlike the Aeldari of old, this dark deed is being done deliberately, a conscious decision as oppose to a mistake."

"How?" Laura sat down beside Tangmo, the Eight and the main characters joining in around the table, with Damien and the Astartes standing tall behind them. "How could the Tau have done this?"

"I would like to know this too," Shadowsun's gaze was a little frightful when she looked at Isha. "You have yet to tell us how Paxish seeks to create…a god."

"You feeling okay now Shadowsun?" Tangmo asked then leaned closer to Laura. "She got roughed up pretty bad by the rouge Tau, as in internal bleeding and a concussion, but Isha healed her. She has been pretty jumpy since."

"A lot better, thank you lord commissar," Shadowsun nodded and tried to relax her posture, she what not successful despite Isha's disarming smile. "As I was saying, your eminence Isha, how was Paxish able to achieve this?"

"It is similar to how Slaanesh was born," Isha shuddered from the memory but powered through sternly. "The physic energy of the Tau are being fed into the Warp, toward a singularity that serves as a womb currently incubating this infant Chaos God. I must however confess that I do not know what kind of emotion is being fed into the Warp, but from what I can discern it is more…focus than broader concepts like lust and excess."

"Forgive me your eminence, but I find this hypothesis unlikely in the extreme," canoness Galatea spoke up politely but the Aeldari were nevertheless displeased that someone dared to contradict their goddess. "It has been firmly established that the Tau cannot interact with the Warp and project no spiritual presence within the empyrean, how can they then be able to create a new Chaos God?"

"I believe it is safe to assume that our initial assumption regarding the side effect of the Startide Nexus has been validated?" Shadowsun took a sip from her cup. "This expeditionary force was not the only one sent out across the stars, close to fifty expansion campaigns have been initiated in the last five years, but only this one, an intrusion into the heartland of the Imperium of Man, is being led by an Ethereal."

"If what you are saying is true, then millions of Tau has already achieved operancy," Bellona spoke up severely. "You Tau rotate your troops, yes? Those who fight on the frontline are allowed to return home, to the heart of your empire, once the campaign is over?"

"Is not the same thing done for the Imperium of Man?" Shadowsun asked, genuinely curious.

"Only in death those duty ends, and our war is eternal," Bellona made the symbol of the aquila over her heart and the humans and the Astartes mimicked the gesture reverently. "The point I'm trying to make is that those infected with the fever of the Warp have return to the general population, yes?"

"They do, while a new batch of troops are rotated into service, only the senior officers remain to supervise the new Fire Warriors," Shadowsun sighed despondently. "Can it spread? Will the soldiers who return to their families infect them with this…Warp sickness?"

"The Tau are young, so very young," Fanduin the Warlock shook his head in sympathy. "The evolutionary path your species has taken rendered all of you vulnerable to the miasma of the Warp, with no method of defending your psyche. Even we Aeldari and humans, with our physiological advantage, are not immune to the corruption."

"By the Greater Good," Fio gasped, one trembling hand covering her mouth, and it was only after Shadowsun grabbed hold of her shoulder that the Water Caste woman continued. "I've…seen the corruption you speak of. I initially thought it was the musing of the young and the radical, even I was admittedly curious, although my baser instinct warned me away. Back on the core worlds, I saw how the Greater Good was no longer studied as a philosophy, a virtuous teaching to be discuss and criticize, but revere and worship, with idols and scriptures, a religion preached with fiery fervor."

"Nothing new for us, mankind has been doing that shite since we stopped being primates," Laura shrugged. "In case you haven't noticed, we're the galaxy's resident expert on all things religious, much to the overall detriment of our species."

"No, you haven't the faintest clue as to the madness that is transpiring within the Tau Empire," Fio shook her head in distress. "Frothing preachers and their acolytes prowl the street, baying their belief in the face of all and attacking those who would utter polite disagreement, men and women who readily forsake reason for blind faith, delighting in dragging others into the darkness they have created. Worse, I've seen many indulging in…expressing their devotion in pain, more and more of these mad zealots would publicly mutilate themselves, while proclaiming rapturous joy in their devotion to the Greater Good." Mustering her courage, Fio glared singularly at Laura. "This is what we now face."

"I'm sorry, was she born yesterday or something?" Laura snorted and stabbed her thumb mockingly at Fio, causing the Water Caste diplomat to blush a furious blue. Huh, she actually looked kinda cute when she's mad. "I mean, hello? For the Emperor? In His name let none survive? All our catchphrases stems from religious fervor. And our unfiltered display of violence more than reinforces our devout nature." Laura made sure her sympathetic smile was especially condescending for Fio. "I know this must be a terrible shock for you my dear. For us, what you have described in such vivid detail is simply just another Sunday for the Imperium of Man."

"Now, now Laura, no need to be mean, she's only trying to help," Yuki playfully tapped Laura's head before turning to the miffed Fio. "I understand that for a Tau, this must be very disturbing, and you have my sympathy, truly, but as Laura had said we Aeldari and humans had seen all of this before. That being said, I think we should concentrate on the problem at hand?"

"Indeed, and given the scope of the corruption, if the information is to be believe, then the fight ahead will not be an easy one," Celestine swooped into the conversation and held her gaze on Shadowsun, not hostile but hardly friendly, "by your estimation, how badly is the expeditionary force infected?"

"Almost half of the expeditionary force is under the influence of this phenomenon," Shadowsun groaned and placed the empty cup down on the table, the commander rubbing a slow circle around her temple. "And with Paxish at the helm, I fear the very worse."

"How recent did you make this estimation?" Brother Sergeant Gallus asked.

"Right before I was abducted," Shadowsun glanced at the tall arch windows, the first hint of dawn was lighting up the landscape, black surrendering to dark blue, "so a few hours ago."

"And your troops?" Lady commissar Raine put forward her question. "Without you to shield them from the Ethereal, will they be killed outright for their allegiance to you?"

"Paxish wouldn't dare," Shadowsun shot back sternly, but there was no denying the doubt in her tone. "And I have given specific orders to my officers to remain inactive and not perform any military tasks without direct, explicit order from me."

"Can they be trusted?" Raine pressed on.

"Yes, I have utter confidence in them," Shadowsun responded with conviction. "I have fought and bled with these brave men and women, they will never betray me."

"Uh…not that I doubt their loyalty, O'shaserra," Fio was looking at her data-pad, her frown deepening as she tapped the screen. "But did you left behind any orders in the event of your death?"

"What?" Shadowsun demanded and Fio handed her the data-pad. Fingers dancing quickly over the screen, Shadowsun's eyes were blank for a moment before a resigned chuckle escaped her lips. She shook her head and handed the data-pad back to her niece. "Congratulation, brave soldiers of the Immortal Spirit battlegroup, you have successfully killed me."

"Umm, hooray?" Tangmo made a face and held up his fist in faux exaltation, the halfhearted gesture repeated by the Eight. "That was kind of the plan from the beginning…so is this a good thing or a bad thing for us?"

"Paxish is making O'shaserra's eulogy right now," Fio's visage scrunched up in disgust as she looked at the data-pad. "I can put this on loud speaker if you want."

"No one deserves that sort of torture," Shadowsun groaned. "Fio, can you please make a summary of the eulogy?"

"He is very respectable, tears in his voice as he exalted your accomplishments and selfless dedication to the Greater Good, a hero of the Tau Empire with none compare," Fio rolled her eyes, listening to the Ethereal was disagreeing greatly with her.

"I can think of another hero in the room with equal accolade," Henry smirked and pointed at lord commissar Ciaphas Cain, the Hero of the Imperium chuckled modestly as the guardsmen main characters clapped and cheered, waving politely for them to stop with the adoration. Like lady commissar Raine, Shadowsun wasn't impressed.

"What else is Paxish spewing?" Shadowsun continued, the sharpness of her tone silencing the guardsmen.

"The usual honey, nothing of note or unexpected, he knows what the crowd want to hear when tragedy of this magnitude struck," Fio said. "It does seem rather rehearsed though. Such perfection of cadence and rhythm can only come from practice."

"That's because he'd expected me to die at the hand of T'olku. The fortress was supposed to be my grave, and since it was destroyed by the battlegroup Paxish doesn't have to explain the circumstances of my death," Shadowsun sighed and turned to Tangmo. "What was supposed to happen to me, lord commissar?"

"Best case scenario is that you got turn into a centerpiece like that dead Tau back at the chapel," Tangmo told her. "But if I was being honest, I think Paxish and his goons had something worse for you in mind."

"Lord commissar Tangmo is correct," Celestine reentered the conversation. "The Dark Gods require servants, from simple thralls to champions to lead their army into war. You are a warrior of renown, so it is quite possible that the objective of your abduction is to forcibly enlist you into the service of this new god, a chattel placed upon your soul, reducing you to nothing but a tool to be used."

"You certainly don't mince words, lady saint," Shadowsun snorted drily.

"I was under the impression that a woman like you would value straightforward truth as oppose to sweeten lies," Celestine quirked a knowing brow, haughty and infuriating, but decidedly very attractive to behold.

"A little sugar wouldn't hurt in this case, but you are correct lady saint, your blunt honesty is a lot more preferable," Shadowsun took a moment to gather herself, banishing the weariness and fear from her system, then looked squarely at Tangmo. "How do we proceed lord commissar?"

"I say we nuke Xyvon with two hours of nonstop orbital bombardment from every ship in our fleet," Tangmo's super extreme suggestion was well received by the Eight and the main characters, no one paid any heed to the stunned Shadowsun and Fio. "By show of hands, who think we should bomb the ever loving fuck out of that place?"

"No! You cannot do that!" Isha's voice resounded across the dining hall, the reverberating echo manifesting in waves of silvery mist rippling out from the goddess of life, her objection was of such volume and passion that it knocked down every raised hand.

"Okay, jeez, I'm sorry! It was only a suggestion!" Tangmo was pressed flat against his chair, leaning frightfully away from Isha, who appeared rather ashamed of her outburst.

"Please forgive me lord commissar, I did not mean to frighten you so," Isha bowed apologetically. "But you must not take such a drastic action against the Tau."

"But why?" Laura put forward her question. "If we don't strike now, and hard, wouldn't that give the Tau more time to complete their ritual and summon the new Chaos God?"

"If you are to kill the Tau en mass, then you will only hasten the creation of the new god," Isha explained. "As was what happened when Slaanesh was born."

"She is correct," captain general Marwen said heavily, around the table the Aeldari were grim as recollection of the Fall came unbidden and unwanted. "Slaanesh is the culmination of excess emotion unleashed by the eldars at the height of death, and nothing makes the Chaos Gods more powerful than receiving millions of souls simultaneously. So if we were to bombard Xyvon then the birth of this new god will be accelerated."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Damien asked. "We have to go into Xyvon guns blazing anyway, there's no way to avoid bloodshed."

"How is this god being created?" Adelhard of the Black Templar now added his voice to the strategizing. "A ritual of this magnitude must be done with coordination and precision, meaning that a site, or several sites, dedicated to dark sacraments must be scattered across the Hive City, or at the very least have a supreme sorcerer of Chaos to direct the entire endeavor. Where do we concentrate our effort, the places of power or the mastermind conducting the ritual?"

"Several black sites are scatter across Xyvon, only those granted access by Paxish can enter, me and mine are not on the list," Shadowsun sat up a little straighter and looked at Adelhard, the commander not at all intimidated by the Space Marine. "As for the mastermind of this entire enterprise, Paxish alone pull the strings, with his underlings dancing to his tune. Killing the subordinates will achieve nothing, Paxish is our only target."

"But he is not working alone," Morelia cut in, the Valorous Heart canoness was staring down her nose at Shadowsun, "up until recently the Tau believed the Warp to be nothing but superstitious, worthy only of snide laughter and witty insults. I do not believe for a second that the Ethereal alone can bring this undertaking to fruition. He must have had help from the Chaos cultists in this system, and given the fact that the planetary governor and the ruling echelon surrendered to the Tau without a fight, we can safely assume that the highborns are the heretic leaders. Therefore, beside the Ethereal, the human cultists must also be marked for immediate termination."

"Several humans are a part of the Ethereal's inner circle," Fio tapped the data-pad quickly, "the nobilities, the merchant barons, religious preachers, and influential leaders of the lower class. As of late, they have been in frequent conference with Paxish."

"Surgical strikes combined with simultaneous attack from several fronts at once seem like the ideal strategy to go," Erik said and nods answered him. "Once we get a pinpoint on the locations of each target we can begin without delay, while the Tau are still mourning Shadowsun."

"Your eminence, how long do we have until the Tau completes their ritual?" Lita turned to Isha, the goddess was fidgeting with her armors, much to Elnys the handmaiden rising annoyance.

"I am not sure, but like all battle against the tide of Chaos, time is not our ally," Isha stroke her chin thoughtfully, brow knitted together in deep concentration. "And this is what perplexes me most."

"What do you mean?" Lita's posture stiffened a bit.

"I am trying to figure that out myself," Isha continued coyly, her tone apologetic. "When I had meditated on this with Celestine, we were sure the Tau are in the process of creating a new god, a deity that would be their anchor in the Warp. But now that I am on this planet, I let my mind wander, to contemplate the shifting current of the empyrean. And it was during this introspection that I heard it, the god, an ephemeral cry, distant and wanting, weak but growing in strength."

"How can you hear something that doesn't exist yet?" Nikki was as confused as the rest of the Eight and the main characters.

"Because this deity is already alive, figuratively speaking," Shadowsun stared hollowly at the empty cup. "I would very much appreciate a dram of amasec right about now."

"Shadowsun, love, I need you to repeat what you've just say very slowly and very clearly," Laura piped up, the silence that had come over the room was suffocating and thick. "Because it sounds like you're telling us this new Chaos god is already alive?!"

"In a manner of speaking," Shadowsun said as Jurgen, at the behest of Cain, went over to the commander and handed her a decanter of amasec. Gotta hand it to Shadowsun, she managed to hide her reaction to Jurgen's odor admirably, only a little flinching and sniffing as she nodded her thanks to the Valhallan aide. Breathing a lungful when Jurgen retreated, Shadowsun filled the cup to the brim and took a large swig before continuing. "It happened during the Forth Expansion, when the Startide Nexus was first used, testimonies gathered from survivors detailed what happened after the interstellar drive malfunctioned."

"The new Chaos god attacks the Tau when the Startide Nexus was first used?" Laura leaned over the tabletop, her interest piqued.

"No, the god saved them when unidentifiable anomaly, what you humans and eldars refer to as daemons, breached the hulls of the armada's ships," Shadowsun was growing more comfortable with the standard lexicon pertaining to the Warp. "If testimonies are to be believed, the attack was thwarted by a benevolent entity who then guided the survivors to safety, back into real space."

"Where did this entity come from?" Like Laura, Yuki was on the edge of her seat.

"The survivors were utterly convinced that their prayer and unshakable belief in the Greater Good created the entity," Shadowsun finished her cup and was about to make a refill when Fio snatched the decanter away. The commander glared murder at the diplomat but did nothing before veering back to the conversation. "Nobody believed them, myself included, but after everything that has happened, I should've given them more credence."

"It is more than likely that your soldiers were telling the truth," Isha said. "The Warp is fueled primarily by emotion, powerful emotion, the denizens of the empyrean drew strength from extreme passion, which the galaxy has in abundance. When the Tau were inside the Warp they, like all sentient being, pray to the greater intangible power when the universe lose all established paradigm and starts falling apart. That was how this new Chaos god came into being, through desperation and devotion to your creed of the Greater Good."

"But if what you say is true, then what we do next would be for naught," Celestine folded her arms across her chest. "We cannot stop this Chaos god from being born if it is already born."

"Yet it has not drawn its first breath," Isha pressed on. "It has been conceived, true, but in its current state it can only be described as embryotic. I do not believe this god is powerful enough to influence real space, yet."

"Okay, so things haven't gone straight to hell, great!" Henry piped up. "But how long do we got until everything goes straight to hell?"

"I admit to not being privy of Paxish's clandestine undertaking, most of it I learned from snippets Fio was able to smuggle to me," Shadowsun glanced at her niece. "Were you able to acquire more information since the last time we convened? Before the Immortal Spirit captured you, that is."

"Not much I'm afraid," Fio's face fell. "I'm sorry O'shaserra, I did try. Although I was able to catalogue the human's ritual, I failed to find more about the Ethereal's overall scheme. I'm sorry."

"You have always been good at assessing information, no matter how small the quantity," Shadowsun smiled encouragingly and Fio brightened visibly. "Go on, tell us what you think."

"Well, given what've learned so far, I would say that time is not on our side," Fio said with confidence, showing the diplomatic backbone the Water Caste was famous for. "Whatever ritual is being prepared, it is nearing fruition."

"That's a nice input Fio, but," Nikki deadpanned and stabbed her thumb at the dining room's door, "we got a Tau prisoner in our custody right now. And considering how that asshole had the gall to personally kidnap Shadowsun, he obviously takes direct order from Paxish, which mean he will know shit."

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that douchebag," Tangmo snapped his finger then tapped his earbud. "This is commissar Tangmo, bring the prisoner to the dining room please. We have some questions for him."

"Mistress Lithia, as I understand it you and the Avenging Knights are expert at interrogation, criminal profiling, and psychological examination, and have put those skills to great use during your stint as vigilantes back on Leenisium," Laura grinned at the shorthair canoness. "Would you be so kind as to give us a firsthand demonstration? I'm sure everyone is dying to see if the horror stories are true."

"Thank you for the compliment, lady inquisitor," Lithia's pleasant smile was terrifying to behold, the kind you see before a yandere girlfriend plunge a knife into your eyeball. "But we have been interrogating the Tau since he got here."

Blinking in surprise, Laura was about to ask Lithia to elaborate when the doors to the dining room swung open with a bang, and stomping through was Castrum and Lily. Hanging limp between them, his feet dragging against the floor and trailing blood, was T'olku. Fio squealed loudly when Castrum and Lily unceremoniously threw T'olku to the ground near the head of the table where Shadowsun was seated, his head bounced savagely off the granite floor and Laura winced when she saw the mangled pulp that was his face.

"H-He was your prisoner!" Fio looked about ready to faint. "You can't treat him like that!"

"Yes we can," Lily snorted, the Wolverine Sororitas was very pleased with her work.

"Were you able to get him to talk?" Colonel Min-Jae of the Homeland Rifle asked, like most of the main characters he wasn't terribly troubled by T'olku's ill treatment.

"Of course," Castrum kicked T'olku in the side and the Tau groaned miserably. "It was pretty easy all things considered. Just a few gentle taps and he was begging us to stop, spilling secrets before the questioning even begins."

"We have a very different understanding of the word 'gentle' Castrum," Tangmo made a face, quite disturbed by T'olku's less than stellar health. "I'm sorry, but, can the dude even talk? I mean shit, what the fuck did you people do to him?! Dude look like he got his face rearranged by Mike Tyson and Buakaw!"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic lord commissar, it is extremely unseemly," Lithia scoffed and walked over to T'olku, the Tau curled into a fetal ball, trembling violently. Flexing her gauntleted fingers, a large syringe shot out of her ceramite armguard, the needle gleamed maliciously as Lithia knelt down beside T'olku, harshly turned his neck to the side, and pressed the sharpened tip into his skin, greenish blue liquid rushed into the Tau. "There, the healing solution should be enough for the Tau to speak again."

The keyword here being 'enough', because the Avenging Knights had obviously tinkered with the healing solution, for although the horrid swellings and nasty lacerations on T'olku's face were mended, it was not a complete recovery. The Tau gave a harsh cry when he saw Castrum and Lily looming over him, his visage wretched, looking about ready to piss himself as he tried to crawl away, only to bonk into Lithia's armored legs.

"P-Please…" T'olku begged, already hyperventilating, abject fear honed on the Punisher and Wolverine Sororitas. "I'll tell you anything you wish to hear, every information, every secret, please, I'll do anything, just have mercy and spare me from those two!"

"You are a fucking disgrace T'olku," the Fire Warrior squawked when Shadowsun got off her seat, lips peeled back with murderous intent, and was stomping toward her kidnapper when Celestine held her back. Shadowsun stopped her approach, but her words were not spent. "I've always knew you to be a worm, but this went beyond even my lowest expectation."

"I'm sorry commander, for all the insults and injuries done upon you," T'olku blabbered and tried to scramble toward Shadowsun, his only foreseeable lifeline, but Lithia stepped in front of him. "Please, you must help me. I'll do anything for you!"

"You know Shadowsun, you can't help him even if you wanted to," Laura adopted her posh lady persona, slipped off her chair and glided gracefully to where T'olku cowered. Sparing the Tau a scoff of disappointment, the British inquisitor turned to Shadowsun with an amiable smile. "He is our prisoner, therefore we have complete custodianship over him, to do to him as we please, at our leisure and discretion. So I must ask you not to interfere with our questioning."

Shadowsun glared at T'olku, meeting his empty hope with pure contempt, and nodded sharply at Laura, "the worm is all yours, lady inquisitor."

"Oh capital," Laura tipped her awesome inquisitor hat at Shadowsun and fixed her attention on the trembling T'olku. "First off, I must ask that you stop with the shaking young man, a gentleman must be unwavering regardless of circumstances. Secondly, only two options are available to you, one riddle with pain, the other free of pain, is that understood?"

"Y-Yes, I understand," T'olku nodded hurriedly.

"So young man, pain, or no pain?" Laura went on reasonably, patience as she waited for T'olku to make the correct decision.

"No pain," T'olku hazarded a glance at Castrum and flinched, "no pain please."

"Excellent choice," Laura said brightly. "Now, why don't we start with the basic, shall we? How large is the Tau Sixth Expansion expeditionary force?"

"Seven hundred thousand troops, mobilized across the empire, this is our largest army yet," T'olku blabbered quickly, much to the bristling Shadowsun displeasure. "Commander Shadowsun is appointed the supreme commander."

"And what is your current fighting strength?" Lita put forward her question, stern but not overtly hostile.

"From the last report I got, around five hundred thousand," T'olku told her easily, eager to please.

"Where does that number stand when the heretic forces are added to the equation?" Lita went on.

"A few millions at least," T'olku made a face, "although the quality of the human soldiers leave a lot to be desire."

"Not the smartest comment given the company you now share," Brother Sergeant Antalok deadpanned and the room suddenly got a lot less friendly toward the Tau prisoner.

"Hey asshole, focus," Tangmo snapped his fingers several times until the paling T'olku got his attention. "Are the Tau soldiers converted to Chaos?"

"Not all of them," T'olku said. "Commander Shadowsun and her troops refuse the words of Ethereal Paxish."

"I've made sure to separate my soldiers from those under Paxish's sway," Shadowsun said. "That is why the battlegroup have yet to cross sword with my Fire Warriors, they are being deliberately held back by the Ethereal. He does not trust me and have only been using his own troops."

"We always appreciate target practice," Henry said easily, livening up the mood a bit, "so how many soldiers are under your command?"

"Two hundred thousand, this includes infantries, armored columns, Crisis Battlesuits, and auxiliary troops," Shadowsun beamed as she listed off her army, and truly it was quite an impressive list. "As of this moment, they are sequestered within the western quadrant of Xyvon, a slum which housed nearly five million of the lowest scums on the planet. It felt like we are permanently under siege, because unlike other parts of the Hive City, the denizen of the slum are unfriendly, to put it lightly."

"The slum was likely where the Ruinous Power first gain a firm foothold on the planet. Desperation, despair and hopelessness are fertile ground for whispers of the Chaos Gods," Crestienne, canoness of the Argent Shroud, made her solemn comment. "Your instinct is correct, commander Shadowsun, your troops are placed inside the slum so they can be watched, or swiftly eliminated if opportunity arises."

"And that opportunity has arrive," canoness Victrix of the Eternal Legion added grimly. "What will your troops do if the Ethereal move against them?"

"They are to retaliate if open hostility occurred," Shadowsun stroke her chin, her visage hard. "But the confusion of my supposed death could leave them vulnerable, I need to contact them somehow."

"Damien, help her out please," at Laura's request, the Canadian Space Marines took out his Astartes size data-pad and started tapping the screen. After a moment he walked up to Shadowsun and held the data-pad out to her. "You got some kind of secret password or phrase that only your friends would recognize?"

"Of course lady inquisitor, what do you take me for?" There was a hint of mischievous humor in Shadowsun tone as she tapped the oversize data-pad, the difference in size was comical to behold.

"So how are we gonna do this?" Tangmo spoke up. "Just a heads up, me and Nikki are taking a backseat this time around. Because after the whole Stormtroopers assault thing," at this the Thai commissar and the Russian exarch bump fists, "we wanna take things a little slow, chill out a bit."

"I think it's time for the Astartes to spearhead the assault for a change," Damien stood up straighter to loom over Shadowsun and Fio, looking smug as all hell, his Space Marine buddies murmuring in agreement. "No offense to the guardsmen, all of you have done splendid job against the Tau so far, but I think both friends and foes need a little reminder of what the God Emperor's Angels of Death are capable of. And with four full squads of Marines, well, I promise we'll give you a show no one is ever going to forget."

"You're not the only one who's itching to kick some butts," Lita piped up, the Mexican Warseer's polite vocabulary was very cute to behold. "The Aeldari forces will act in concert with the Astartes and show the Tau who's the real masters of speed and stealth!"

"Well, that's fine and dandy ladies and gentlemen, but I believe you're forgetting someone?" Laura raised her voice and the canonesses made their agreement with loud cheers and hurrahs. "The Adepta Sororitas will put their entire might on the subjugation and annihilation of Xyvon. If you think Space Marines and Aeldari are scary, wait until you see us grace the battlefield, we'll purge every soul in the Hive City and look smoking hot doing it!"

"Looks like we got a bit of a competition on our hands," Damien grinned before bowing apologetically at the guardsmen. "I'm afraid the Militarum will be playing a more supporting role this time around, for this I apologize."

"No apology needed, Brother Captain," colonel Evangeline of the Mordian Iron Guard spoke up amiably, her Imperial Guards colleagues were equally positive in temperament. "We would love nothing more than to witness the Adeptus Astartes in action."

"Over a nice cup of tea, I presume?" Colonel Alistair of the Praetorian added to a round of laughter.

"Something a bit stronger would be nice," colonel Lingxin grinned mischievously, earning cheerful hoots from Al-Rahman, Kenshin, Bruce and Stanislav.

"We stand ready to support the assault, Brother Sergeant," ever the stoic one, and a bit of a killjoy, Hildebrandt of the Death Korps announced sternly, shutting down the rancor. "Command, and we shall obey without hesitation and strike without mercy."

"I don't doubt it Hildebrandt, I have utter confidence that every guardsman and women will do their part and goes beyond the call of duty," Laura held up her corna and the colonels cheered with heart, even Hildebrandt nodded. At least she thinks he did. "So chill out mate, we got this!"

"And the battlegroup will not face Paxish alone," Shadowsun handed the data-pad back to Damien. "My troops have been alerted, they now know I am alive and that Paxish have betrayed them. They are currently on standby, awaiting my return. Also, I have told them we've formed a temporary alliance with the battlegroup, so there should be no friendly fire…from our end at least."

"And how do you plan on returning to your soldiers, commander Shadowsun?" Brother Sergeant Subutai asked and Shadowsun sighed heavily.

"I am indebted to the Immortal Spirit battlegroup, but I must ask that you assist me once more," Shadowsun swept her gaze over the main characters and the Eight. "Although healed, I doubt I can make my way alone through the slum, therefore I require an armed escort to make the journey."

"Eh, shouldn't be a problem," Nikki glanced at Tangmo, "right dude?"

"Damn right, we'll be plowing through poor people," Tangmo grinned mirthfully. "It's simple really, we attack them first with bombs and rockets, destroying their homes, and when they run helpless into the street mowed them down with machine guns."

"And then of course, releasing the vultures," Nikki and Tangmo laughed aloud, horrifying Shadowsun, Fio, and the more humanitarian leaning main characters. "Like Tangmo said, it's that fucking simple."

"Let's make this more fun then," Tangmo went on and, with a dementedly friendly smile, turned his head to the left. "Lord commissar Cain, lady commissar Raine, I nominate the Valhallan and the Antari to spearhead this operation into the slum and deliver commander Shadowsun safely to her soldiers."

"How very novel," Shadowsun allowed herself a small smile, and Laura was taken aback by how pretty the Tau woman was, damn, how was she only noticing this now? "I have always wanted to see the legendary Valhallan 597th in combat."

"I will be sure not to disappoint the venerated commander Shadowsun," Cain tipped his awesome commissar cap with a dashing smile, pearly, perfectly veneered teeth gleaming bright. Laura wasn't fooled though, the Hero of the Imperium was probably cooking up several escape plans in his head. "Rest assured the Valhallan 597th will see you safely across the heretic controlled zone."

"And with the Antari acting in concert, we should be able to reach the Tau's stronghold without excessive and unnecessary casualties," Raine spoke up easily but the barbed aimed at the Valhallan was not missed. Kasteen, Broklaw, Sula and Amberley glared murdered at the lady commissar while Cain, ever the one to diffuse an altercation, only nodded in thanks. "Me and lord commissar Cain will personally lead from the front. I ask that you remain close so we can effectively protect you."

"As you wish, lady commissar," Shadowsun was more than aware of the animosity simmering between Raine and Cain.

"Lady first, Severina?" Cain grinned warmly at his Antari counterpart.

"Together seems like a better idea Ciaphas, given the amount of hostiles we will be facing," Raine tried to smile back, and blimey, it was quite scary to behold. The palpable discomfort only increased when Raine tilted her head at Amberley, "that is, if the lady inquisitor doesn't mind us working together."

"Not at all, lady commissar," Amberley bowed politely but there was no mistaking the murderous glint in her eyes. "But to prevent any misunderstanding that may occur, I offer to chaperone the two of you."

"The more the better," Raine shrugged but not before shooting Amberley a poignantly unfriendly gaze.

"Should I be worry?" Shadowsun quirked a brow at Tangmo.

"They're professionals," was Tangmo only answer before giving Raine and Amberley very bored look, the kind of sufferance one sees on a father who was so fucking done watching his two daughters endless bickering. "I still got my ticket, so how about you two save the cattiness for your soon to be scheduled WrestleMania match?"

The two women grunted audibly before going back to ignoring each other.

"Alright, alright, alright, now that we got all the preliminarily planning out of the way," Yuki smacked her hands loudly and rubbed them together eagerly, "what do we do now? Do we start the mobilization?"

"I don't see why not," Henry shrugged before dramatically, with no small amount of malice, shifted his gaze at the cowering T'olku. "But first, we have some unfinished business to attend to, as in, how do we go about killing this little fucker?"

"Y-You can't do that! You can't!" T'olku spluttered miserably, failing to find any sympathetic ears. When his sad, desperate routine didn't work, he spun pleadingly at Laura. "Please! You made your promise that I would be spared!"

"I made no such promise good sir. Did I make such promise?" Laura fluttered her eyelashes, daintily flummoxed as she looked to the main characters for confirmation. Naturally, everyone shook their heads. "Dear me, I believe you have misinterpreted my statement, because I said that you can either received pain or be spare of it. Do not fret T'olku, you will indeed be free of pain soon."

"Commander, please!" T'olku made to move but Lily swiftly grabbed his shoulder. "You cannot allow this! They will kill me!"

"They will," Shadowsun gave zero fucks as she sat back down and folded her arms across her chest. "You are their prisoner, so face your fate with some dignity damn you."

"Fuck, this is the weakest shit I've seen in a while," Tangmo facepalmed in disgust. "I can't even take this bullshit anymore, can someone shut the motherfucker…!"

It happened so fast, so fucking fast in fact that it took Laura's brain a few moments to decipher what in the bloody fuck just happened. In the span of about two heartbeats, maybe less, Lily reached down to T'olku while Tangmo was still speaking, whatever the Tau was trying to say ended with a savage, wet snap when the Wolverine Sororitas coiled her arms around his neck and gave a mighty twist. Fio screamed and T'olku lifeless body flopped to the ground with a resounding thud.

"Jesus Christ Lily, what the fuck?!" Tangmo mouth hung open as he gawked at the dead T'olku.

"What do you mean what the fuck?" Lily quirked a brow in annoyance, "you said to kill him, so I did."

"I didn't mean do it here!" Tangmo waved exasperatedly at the dead body on the floor. "Great, now the corpse is gonna shit up the entire room."

"How the hell was I supposed to know you wanted him dead elsewhere?!" Lily shot back.

"That was clearly implied!" Tangmo's head darted left and right, looking for support from the Eight and the main characters, "right? I mean, if I had wanted the mofo dead here, I would've shot him myself."

"In defense of sister Lily's action, I do believe you could have been somewhat clearer in your instruction," Cain offered and Tangmo's jaw dropped in disbelief at being betrayed by a fellow commissar, prompting the Hero of the Imperium to dip his head apologetically. "I have to be fair Tangmo, misunderstanding tends to happen when one's command is not clear."

"I'll remember this Cain!" Tangmo stabbed his finger at Cain and gave him his crazy eyes, more than enough to convey how not serious the threat was. After a few seconds, both commissars snorted and shared a friendly chuckle.

"See? It's your fault for not being thorough," Lily huffed victoriously and nudged her head at Castrum. "Besides, you should be thanking me, because if Castrum had her way she would've repainted the floor blue already."

"She's right," Castrum nodded and held up her modified Leenisium bolter. "I was already aiming for his head."

"That's great, now how about you two kindly get rid of the dead body?" Tangmo smiled brightly at Lily and Castrum, it was very handsome but unbelievably douchey. "Seriously, we're not Chaos cultists. I prefer my meeting area free of the recently deceased."

Lily glared darkly at him but at the urging of Castrum, the two Avenging Knights each took T'olku's arms and unceremoniously dragged the dead Tau away, the Wolverine Sororitas muttering curses under her breath.

"So that's one order of business down," Yuki deadpanned. "What's next?"

"We get back on track and prepare the battlegroup for the fight to come," Lita announced sternly, earning nods from the Eight and the main characters. "Dawn will arrive in a couple of hours, I want fifty percent of our troops ready by then."

"Forgive me lady Warseer, but I have one more question that needs to be answered," Celestine spoke up and locked eyes with Isha, the Saint regal, the goddess queenly. "I need you to be honest with me Isha. If we fail in this mission and the Tau's Chaos God reached maturity and ascend to divinity, what kind of damage can we expect to see?"

"It will be devastating, rivaling the Fall," Isha said sadly. "And since this cataclysm was planned, it is very likely that the horror unleashed will be of a magnitude greater than anything we have ever seen."

"Will another Eye of Terror come into existence?" Celestine asked.

"Yes, if the Ethereal is successful then I'm afraid the universe will have to tend with a second Eye of Terror," Isha sighed. "Worse yet, Chaos rifts will emerge to isolate more swathes of the galaxy."

"I'm sorry your eminence, English is not my first language, so I need you to repeat what you've just said," Erik cut in, like the rest of the Eight he was very much alarmed by the goddess's bleak testimony. "Because you just used the word rifts in the plural form, and I am praying to everything that is holy in this universe that you've made a mistake somehow."

"It was no mistake High Ranger," Isha shook her head. The exuding maternal calm barely able to keep the Eight's collective shits together. "Multiple rifts will come into existence from the birth of this Chaos God. The universe is sick and wounded from the constant intrusion of the Warp, the barrier between realms, already severely weakened by the Thirteen Black Crusade, can only suffer enough trauma before rupturing completely."

"Holy fucking shit Isha, no pressure at all dude," Tangmo made a face that was half resigned, half amused, but the humor was lost completely on Isha, because the goddess wilted visibly.

"I'm sorry lord commissar," Isha bowed apologetically. "But I must be honest in this regard."

"Yo Isha, dude, you don't owe me any apology, alright? I was being sarcastic bro, it's a joke, totally not meant to be taken seriously," Tangmo said hurriedly, seeing how the Aeldari, Elnys and Celalira especially, and Celestine too, looked about ready to shank him. Even after Isha nodded her understanding, the animosity only seemed to increase. "Can y'all stop looking at me like that?! I'm feeling very harass right now! I didn't mean to make Isha sad, for real!"

"I know lord commissar, you were just giving voice to the difficulty ahead of us," Isha said kindly then glanced at the glowering Elnys and Celalira with a sharp look. "Now, now ladies, be nice."

"We are being nice," Elnys spared Tangmo a narrowing gaze before turning away with a huff, chin jutted high in polite displeasure, seemingly forgetting that the Thai commissar can easily kill her if he'd wanted to. But being the gentlemen that he was, Tangmo tipped his awesome commissar cap at the Aeldari and Celestine.

"What will the Tau contribution in this undertaking be?" Colonel Akecheta of the Wind Walker asked solemnly, reminding everyone of the tectonic gravity of the situation. "Once commander Shadowsun successfully reaches the encircled army inside the slum, what will happen next?"

"The Tau under my command shall assist the Immortal Spirit battlegroup, this I promise on my honor and that of the Empire," Shadowsun announced with steely conviction, there was no doubt she meant every word. "I must confess that I am wary, however. Given the nature of the Imperium of Man, what guarantee do I have that the battlegroup will not fire upon my soldiers at the first opportunity?"

"We won't shoot the Tau," Laura grinned toothily at Shadowsun, "pinky promise!"

"…That's it? That's what you're offering me?" Shadowsun was incredulous and Laura can't imagine why, she did say pinky promise!

"It's the same amount you're offering us. But seriously, the Immortal Spirit battlegroup hereby promise not to shoot any Tau aligned with you and will do our best to keep friendly fire at the minimum," Henry intervened diplomatically, the American general's sincerity was enough to mollify Shadowsun. "However, this courtesy extends only to the Tau and other xeno auxiliaries. If we see any of those Gue'vesa motherfuckers, we will kill them."

"I would also advise that you and your soldiers wear easily discernable emblem, so that we don't shoot them by mistake in the thick of a firefight," Damien added before Shadowsun can comment on Henry's promise to summarily kill the turncoat humans. "You know what, tell them to wear black armbands, preferably with the aquila or Isha teardrop on it."

"And how to do you propose we do that?" Shadowsun asked with a hint of sass. "Are you going to airdrop crates of armbands on our heads? And did you just honestly tell me and my troops to wear the coat of the arm of the enemies?"

"You don't exactly have much of a choice dude," Tangmo shrugged, a ghost of a grin dancing on his lips. "If the Tau finds the idea of wearing the aquila and Isha teardrop to be offensive, well, I don't give a fuck, because they'll be the one getting shot. As for the armband themselves, we have almost a day before commencing our assault, plenty of time for your troops to make them."

"Give me the data-slate, Brother Captain," Shadowsun shook her head in exasperation as Damien lends her the communication device again. Muttering what was obviously rude Tau curses under her breath, and tapping the screen with more than necessary force, Shadowsun send the latest directive to her soldiers. When that was done, Shadowsun handed the data-pad back to Damien, all the while giving Tangmo a hard look. "A day? It would take you a day to move on Xyvon?"

"Love, this isn't a movie, we can't just order everyone to break camp and bum rush the planetary capital," Laura rolled her eyes. "We are already consolidating our resources and planning the most optimal logistical routes to maximize our offensive capability, and these things take time, as someone of your militaristic pedigree should know. Besides, if we move a little too fast, Paxish and his heretic buddies might notice something was off and try to accelerate the Chaos God birthing process."

"You are right lady inquisitor, forgive me," Shadowsun sighed and rubbed her face with clear weariness. "I am restless, and it is clouding my mind. But yes, we need patience and precision now, not blind anger."

"If there's any more proof that you're not infected, you just gave it to us," Laura tipped her awesome inquisitor hat at Shadowsun in respect. "And now that we're in the planning stage, I would recommend that you get some rest. From what Tangmo told me, you've been through quite a bit of beating, a shut eye will do you a world of good."

"Thank you lady inquisitor, but goddess Isha have heal me of all my injuries, no rest is necessary," Shadowsun told Laura then bowed lowly at Isha, who curtseyed in return, "if anything, I am more than eager to help with the planning."

"The more the merrier," Tangmo yawned loudly. "Personally, I can use a power nap, thirty minute should do."

"Same here, that couch outside looks really comfy," Nikki nodded in agreement before holding her thump up at Isha. "Thank you for your help your eminence, safe travel back to the Immortal Spirit."

"Oh, I'm staying on the planet lady exarch, to help you directly in stopping this Chaos god from coming into existence," Isha held up her hand, stopping Elnys and Celalira and the Aeldari in attendance from voicing their objections. "I have made up my mind on this matter. Once, I was not able to stop the creation of a Chaos God, dooming the Aeldari and the galaxy to the Eye of Terror. As long as I draw breathe, I will not allow that to come to pass again."

"Nicely done," Celestine leaned over as the Aeldari grumpily accepted Isha's decision.

"I had a good teacher," Isha winked back at the Saint.

"Alright, now that we got everything clear up, you'll have to excuse me," Tangmo got off his seat and stretched his back lazily until the bones cracked, "I gotta go find a bed."