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Blow up the building on the left he says. Use your warp magic he says. If it was that bloody easy she wouldn't have needed their help in the first place. Whilst she grumbled inwardly, she knew she had to try. She knelt on the ground as the battle raged in front of her; the distinctive thudthudthud of bolter fire and the pinging like rain of bolt casings falling to the floor making up only a part of the cacophony of noise that she struggled to ignore.

She used her sword as a catalyst, staring at the blade and focussing her energy; she began to feel prickling sensations behind her eyes as they began to glow brighter and brighter and she felt the blade heating up with the power she poured into it. She didn't think she could summon enough, she had never been good at this and she knew it. This time though, she needed to and so she pushed herself. So she sucked more power from the Empyrean and her vision began to speckle with white spots and she began to hear distant whispers like the muffled mumbling of patrons whispering quietly in a library. That was enough, if she pushed herself any more she could be possessed by any opportunistic Daemon. She stood up, feeling the heat that emanated from the blade, and the vibrations that shook through the handle and she pointed it at the left hand building and released the Eldritch power it contained.

A single beam of incandescent blue and purple energy leapt forth from her blade in a thunderclap. It smashed into the lower half of the building and blasted it apart, flinging rubble and masonry out into the street. The top half collapsed like a deck of cards in the wind, dropping tons of rockcrete and other construction materials onto the pile, which then blocked most of the street. A few Genestealers had been caught underneath the collapse and had been turned to paste below all that weight. To many other psykers among her kind, summoning an equal beam would have been easy, almost trivial but to her it had been almost damning. Her legs had turned to jelly and she felt an overbearing tiredness come upon her, so she sat down and waited; there was still a gap in the rubble to the right, but Merric was on it, and soon they would be safe at least for a while. Until the Genestealers found a way around their makeshift wall.

Koth delivered a brutal kick, spiked boots digging into his armour to leave shallow, but deliberately painful, gouges that barely kissed the skin. He then swept Nirov aside using the Flat of his Klaive, ''Try not to kill many Koth, they would relay our posistion to the Astartes and lead them away from the Medicae''' Xillians voice chimed in his head. Try not to kill them, he was seriously doubting this Archon's resolve!

A bolt rang against his armour, shunting him back as the bolt exploded against ancient xenos metal, the force pushing him back. Koth glared at the Human female, she was more resilient then the rest, He gave her that. His glare was deep and murderous, every part of an Incubus conveyed dread and malice.

''Next time, girl. Watch your back.'' Koth intoned like an angry god before another shot flew towards his face. It never connected. The Displacer field flashed vibrantly with a red light as the Incubus's mind link registered danger. With a thunder clap of displaced air Koth was gone and where he once stood lay an ornately fashioned and beautifully crafted xenos knife. Not a gift, a promise.

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She heard the tell-tale skittering of diamond hard claws upon cracked cobble. She heard the bestial, throaty howls and she smelt the cloying smell of dried blood. She knew, instantly, there was no time to evade such a hunting pack. Genestealers, some of the most deadly creatures in existence, to run is to be run down and to fight was to be drowned in a tide of claws. Unfortunately for the Genestealers, there where few creatures faster and more deadly then they in close quarters, and a Dark Eldar was one of them.

''Shhhh, fool, don't draw attention to yourself. Genestealers like live prey, so i am sure your acting repertoire includes playing dead!.'' Xillian chided as she slumped the semi-conscious Harlequin in a dark corner, he whimpered slightly as she set him down.

Xillian drew her Husk Blade with a flourish, it left a tail of dark smoke as it evaporated the moisture in the air. The pairs of hungry red eyes analysed her from the dark, ''Only three?'' Xillian thought, ''Someone else must be making a fight out of it.''

Then the Genestealers pounced.

Klipp scowled. "Best hope they can stitch that skull of yours after I am done with it", she mutters. Grigi dashes to her side. He kneels down and puts a hand on her shoulder. "How badly are you wounded? Can you stand?", he asks. Klipp shakes her head, "I am pretty fethed up to say the least. I can't feel my legs and I think that shuriken round did a number on my guts. Grigi.. Give me the Emperor's Peace", she says holding Tross's pistol up. "You can still be saved. We just need some more medical equipment", the man replies. She shakes her head. "The mission comes first, Grigs. I will just put our lives in danger". "Damn it, we lost Tross, Helga, Kovski, Antonic, Suda and Ferdino. I am not losing you", he says.

Nirov stands up, dusts himself off and mutters angrily. "You need medical attention too, Nirov", Susa says. "I'm fine", he replies. The human says, under his breath, "I'd like to see that fether swat a melta bomb". Susa flattens her lips and looks towards the space port. Their objective is so close yet so far. Her auspex began to beep wildly as she approached the building . "There must be hundreds of Tyranids in there...", she said. "We cant do this with three people. We need our marksman for this", Grigi says looking from Susa back to Klipp. Klipp slowly shakes her head. "Alright, lets go. Someone should get the package from Tross", she says. Susa nods and walks over to the fallen Jaeger's corpse. Tross had always been good to her. He was the squad's rock. To see him dead filled her with sadness. She picks up the package and clips it to her belt. "Let's go", Susa says. Grigi picks up Klipp and carries her as an emergency worker would someone in need. Grigi gives his Repeater and a spare magazine to Nirov while keeping Tross's pistol. Susa carries the squad's remaining rifles. They then head out for the medical center to save a friend in need.

*a blast of plasma dropped the other building, and the remaining genestealers were crushed*'
*Avicus was kicking a long dead creature, sputtering obscenities*
*Merric sees the farseer sitting, whisks of ghostly smoke rising slowly from her sword and armour, and his brow furrows in what he is surprised to find is concern*
{merric} "farseer, are you alright? Or do I have to carry you again?"
{Avicus} "That was fun."
*lukas shakes his head in mock distraught, and mutters about madness*

Farseer Laurella was tired, but not quite tired enough to let her pride go for the sake of being carried. She waved Merric away, "See to Avicus, he approaches the end of his endurance." She remained on the floor, waiting until they started moving again before straining her exhausted muscles. Whatever else she could say about these Mon'Keigh, they were good fighters and hell, she was starting to get attached to them; fighting together against common enemies does that to people.

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Argentmun groaned in pain but his eyes jumped open at the sound of genestealers screeching in his immediate vicinity. His eyes scoured the room and he saw the Archon, he had met earlier, standing in front of him with a dark and smoking blade twirling around her head. She stood against three genestealers which charged into her with the ferocity of enraged rhinos. He instinctively tried to stand but immediately collapsed in agony, he had forgotten he was so injured. Realising he only had the operational use of his left arm, he reached across himself to try un-clipping his shruiken pistol from his belt. It was an awkward angle and so it took a while to shake it loose.

He knew he couldn't help much, but maybe he could help distract them. He fired a string of shruikens at the genestealers whilst they duelled with the Archon, all of them bounced off like hailstones and the genestealers didn't even notice. Argentmun snarled in anger, to be ignored by the lowly likes of these creatures galled him and so he hurled his pistol which bounced off of one of their heads. Surely that would get some attention.

*merric grinned at the farseer's maintainance of pride. He would never admitt it, lesser men would be killed for admitting it, but he enjoyed the farseer's company. Under the rouse of arrogance, genuine, resilience rested with in her eyes, it was something he could appreciate. He caught himself thinking of possible ways to get off this world with out killing her. His plans ranged from somehow deactivating her powers, restraining her and finding a way to get her back to some where she could not stop them to simply knocking her over the head and shoving her through the next web-way portal he happened to be fighting near.*
*he stopped mid-stride and turned to the eldar, her feline appearance emphasised by the way she stretched her muscles.*
{merric} "monkreig. What does it mean? I've heard your kind say it before, but was does it mean?"

"Stay awake, Klipp, we are almost there", Grigi says. Since the Jaegers had left the space port they had bandaged up their wounded comrade to stop the bleeding. Still, her armor was covered in barely dried blood. "I'm not falling asleep. I've told you this several times", she answers. "You keep drooping your head", Grigi says. "Truth to be told I am feeling really weak right now. I think I lost a lot of blood", she says. The man carrying her frowns underneath his helmet. He didn't know if there really was a way to save her once they were there. He didn't know how to perform surgery and neither did the other Jaegers. He just had to hope there was some sort of servitor that can do it for them. They ignored the Stormbolter fire that was erupting in the distance. All that mattered to them was saving Klipp.

====== =====

"Did I ever tell you the story of how I brought down a Daemon Prince with naught but a single melta bomb, Brother Donnis?", Leo asks. "Only every other week. But I never tire of hearing it. Regale us once more", he says. The Ultramarines were nearly at the exit of the tunnels. The simple architecture that dominated the majority of the subway system gave way to more ornate designs that is characteristic of the stations. "Well, it was the end of a long war against a World Eaters war band. The Salamanders and we had pushed back the traitors all the way to the first city they had conquered. The Imperial Guard surrounded the city with a series of defended trenches, artillery guns and columns of tanks. It was to be an easy victory for the Imperium. However, the World Eaters warlord had sacrificed what remaining citizens there were in the city to Khorne. In return he was made a daemon prince. The Daemon prince wreaked havoc on the Imperial Guard's lines murdering hundreds. That was until we set up a line of defense on this bridge. Well, this bridge was over a thousands of kilometers deep chasm. The world was covered in the holes. So I had an idea: Why not lure him over the bridge that had been rigged to explode? So, we did. The Daemon Prince fell for the bait we had sent out for it and came charging at us screaming unholy litanies. Fortunately for our ears the melta bomb went off, the bridge went down and the Daemon Prince fell with it. Thus went the Silencing of Khorne", Leo tells.

The other Ultramarines laughed at his story. "Oh, I was there Brother Leo. Our guffaws could have shaken the planet apart", Kade says. When they finally arrive at the Train Station Donnis take out his Auspex and activates it. The auspex beeps repeatedly and loudly as many blips show up on it's screen. The blips seem to be just where the Ultramarines are. "Tyranids. There must be hundreds of them above us", he says. Brother Morris holds his heavy bolter up. "I have more than enough rounds to deal with such a threat. By the Emperor, I could give each one a personalized bolter round if I had such time", Morris says. Kade nods. The massive super soldier climbs up onto the platform and makes for the exit. His fellow Astartes do the same. They then run for the exit as if they couldn't wait to shoot the Tyranids.

Once topside the Space Marines take in their surroundings. They are across the street from the Space Port and surrounded by several ruined structures. Just oustside of the Space Port itself is a dead Storm Trooper, several blood stains and a fallen knife. The Ultramarines jog towards the scene. Kade kneels by the corpse of Sergeant Tross and shakes his head. "The blood of martyrs is the foundation of the Imperium", he recites. He stands up and turns to his fellow Astartes. "What do you make of the scene?", he asks. "Eldar ambushed a squad of Stormtroopers", Leo says pointing towards a dead Harlequin. Calkir picks up a Dark Eldar blade. "Looks like the Eldar had their darker kin with them. I'm surprised there is only one corpse", the Astartes says. "What are your orders, Sergeant?", Donnis asks. Kade looks at the blood on the ground. He notices that there is a trail of blood leading away from the Space Port and towards the Medical Center. "The Dark Eldar likely took the Troopers prisoner. From the looks of it they are on foot. Let us see if we can rescue them. If not.. then, at least we will rid ourselves of the Xenos threat", Kade says. The Ultramarines run off towards the medical center to "save" the Guardsmen.

Speed, ferocity and deadly intention. It was these things that dictated life or death in a battle, and the Archon had all of them in spades. She span and twisted, flipped and contorted, each and every strike of the starving genestealers coming so close as to kiss her Ghost Plate, but no more then to leave a tiny scratch as a token.

The Harlequin seemed to of regained consciousness, she hoped he wouldn't draw and attention. Then the king of fools lived up to his name, firing in effectually at into the throng of flashing limbs clawing vainly at her. He then threw his pistol, thwacking onto the head of a lunging Genestealer. It turned, pure and utter alien murder in it's eyes as it turned it's head to snarl at the Harlequin. The head hit the floor, then evaporated with the rest of the body. Noticing the effect, she stopped evading and started blocking, every claw that came at her went away with but a small cut as it was repelled by the Husk Blade.

''Archon, I am here!'' Koth cried as he burst onto the scene, eyes darting wildly to take it all in, Klaive raised high.

''You are late, Koth. Shame on you, you would of enjoyed this.'' Xillian said coyly as she shook her hair of the accumulation of dust, several large mounds of dust also lay at her feet.

''Carry the Harlequin, I have disgraced my self enough for today i think.''

''Yes Archon'' Koth said obediently. He clung his Klaive to the magna-clamps on his back and picked up the slight Harlequin as he would a small child, a hand under both his legs and his neck. The Harlequin stirred and looked as if he was to speak.

'' Ah, the Harlequin lives! The medicae center is just around the corner, i found it on the way here. I hope when we get you fixed up you will make this worth the Archons while, she does so hate wasted time.''

It wasn't long before the Ultramarines caught up with the Storm Troopers. Grigi lets out a sigh of relief once it is apparent that they are friendly. "Space Marines. Thank the Emperor", the Jaeger says in reverence. Kade looks among the Visigians, "Well met, Storm Troopers. We thought you were captured by the Dark Eldar". "We barely fended them off, my lord. They retreated once we grievously wounded one of their number", he says. "They retreated? That is unusual for the Dark Eldar...", Kade says. He glances over at Klipp. "How bad is he wounded?", the Sergeant asks. "She has taken a shuriken round to the gut. We are unsure of the specifics of the injury but we know it is serious", Susa answers. "She will not last long. Is there any medicae buildings around here?", Kade asks. "That is where we are heading, my lord. It is about a block from here", Grigi answers. "Very good. Are those Hot Shot Volleyguns?", the Veteran Sergeant asks. "No, my lord. These are weapons called Heavy Repeating Autoguns. They are similar weapons, though", Susa says. "Such firepower could be useful in case of traitor Marines.... We will help you save your friend, Troopers", Kade says. "Thank you, my lord", Klipp says.

The Ultramarines and Stormtroopers both head off towards the Medical center. It would be some five minutes before they actually got there since the Space Marines were keeping pace with the Jaegers.

Laurella smiled, "Mon'Keigh, we currently use it as an insult to species we consider inferior. The Mon'Keigh were a species of cannibalistic creatures that once plagued this galaxy like the orks do now; we destroyed them, but their memory remains. On a side note, your species evolved from creatures on your planet you called Monkeys, so it's especially fitting in your case. I will freely admit though from the way you have acted today I will need to re-evaluate my stance on many things, including the usage of such a moniker to describe your kind." She had developed a grudging respect for these, Mon... Humans. They were tough. Hell, she knew if she'd taken a witchblade through the chest, she wouldn't have gotten up afterwards let alone fight on for a good hour or two.

She turned to the matter at hand, whilst matching pace with Merric, "I have a feeling the Hive-Mind wanted to push us this way. It allowed me to see that vision. Why would it do that? If it wanted to destroy us it should have left me blind. It's annoying me, what does it have in store for us?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Argentmun felt ashamed to be picked up like a little broken toy and was about so say something of the like when his body erupted in pain from the movement of his broken bones. He clamped his mouth shut and gritted his teeth to endure the sensation without causing himself more shame.

Medicae centre? He had known nothing about Imperial Facilities still in operation. Then again, the Farseer hadn't said much before she left.
Make it worth the Archon's time? What did she want? The last time they had encountered each other they had parted on icy terms. She hadn't liked his answers.

Thinking about the last time he spoke with the Archon reminded him of Jaraxius and his chest constricted in response. His anger focussed his mind and gave him the strength to hold on. He snarled through his pain and rage, "Archon, what do you want of me? I have my own mission and it is no longer just the preservation of the Eldar; when I am healed, I will kill all Mon'Keigh!"

*Spinning around in a desk chair, Ry'leth sits behind the front desk of the medicae center, the corpses of several minor bioforms fallen around him, the burned blackened flesh flaking in the cool air. The disturbed Tau quietly whistles to himself, his own armor covered in burns, blood, and flith, he is getting REAL sick of this planet. The only good thing so far about this world was this WONDERFUL weapon he had discovered, he held his newly claimed melta closer to himself as he went around a particularly fast turn on the chair,*

*Sitting in the corner, the patherfinder meekly plays with the hovering drone, his boss is starting to worry him...*

{Avicus} "ha! Ihe always thought that it was some kind of order. he spent hours trying to discern how to tactically defeat the menouvour!"
*Avicus' laughter mixed with coughs that were speckles of blood. he was losing time*
{merric} "easy, friend, come on."
*he grabbed Avicus' arm and pulled it over his shoulder*
{merric}"hmmm, the hive mind, our cheif librarian, he has told me of it. he said that it claws at the inside of a witch, uh.. psycher's mind, and that it seems sentient. but our apothecaries claim it is no more then a collective conscience of the insects, one thing is for sure, it seems to send shivers down one's spine. perhaps it was simply a memory from some time ago, released as the genestealers realised our presence? or- here we are. good."
*the medicae, a large white-grey building, virtually intact, extended before them. mounted above the door was a large crozious symbol. the door would easily fit the terminators, having been constructed to fit multiple stretchers at a time, the glass of the doors had been plastered over from the inside, so merric kicked the glass, shattering it every where.*

 Ashiraya wrote:
Karnus points eastward. 'We have detected signs of movement from the high ground, and we have located the vox signals... We have them... Let's go...'

He and the rest of the squad quickly makes haste towards the Ultramarines, though they are still a fair distance away.

Gavriel nodded, and made a sign with his hands in the crude battle-commands from old Olympia, and as one the Iron Warriors began following Karnus and his squad, while readying their weapons, checking magazines and holding grenades at the ready. Some checked their comb-bolters, making sure that they could switch to their melta payloads within a moment, should their bolter ammunition prove incapable of tearing through the Ultramarines' armor.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud

The sound of Plague Marine boots rapidly hitting Imperial building roofs was heavy and steady. Though they ran quickly, they did not tire from it, and had already ran much farther than any mortal man could run. Marus did not halt the advance to inform Karnus of their progress.

'Champion... Long range support scans from the Serpent's Revenge have been synchronised with our armour data... The assessment is that the Ultramarines are heading against a medical building... We should head there, we might arrive before they do...'

Karnus simply nods once- Marus easily able to discern the motion even in the full run- and the squad shifts direction slightly to the left, irrevocably closing in on the target area.

{Avicus} "well, this is *groan* underwealming."
* the inside of the medicae centre was destroyed, the few surgery and appointment roomsthe group could see from here were disheveled, and pieces of servitor littered the ground.*
{merric} "no. Stay with me, brother, there has to be a servitor here somewhere."
*but unless it's legs have been removed, it would have greeted them. There are no servitors here, there are no medical personnel. Avicus will die.*
{Avicus} "well, It looks like this rock is my place. Can you go find some tyranids? I want to stab something."
{merric} "No! This is not the place i lose you Avicus. Three hundred years, if you think I'm going to let you leave after three hundred years working together, you're wrong."
{Avicus} "you'll find someone else to drop buildings on"
{merric} "LUKAS! Go find SOMETHING! NOW!"
*lukas walked toward the closest surgery room*
*blood was saturating the area around Avicus now, and merric struggled to remove his terminator suit, it took him valuable minutes to dis-assemble the suit, and action that arming-servitors did in seconds*
*Avicus' Black hair and pale skin were coated in sweat, and a waxy substance. Merric felt some of this rub onto his fingers as he felt avicus' brow for temperature.
Blood had soaks through avicus' tight fitting under-shirt, and the material was saturated*

Farseer Laurealla looked on as Merric worked upon Avicus but it didn't look good, the blood wouldn't stop pouring from his wound and it was her fault. So she had to act. She pushed Merric away from Avicus and stared down at his chest, to normal eyes there was nothing to see but blood, and lots of it, covering everything. To her mind's eye, she could see straight through everything to the damage below. He had two sliced arteries and some other torn blood vessels but it was the arteries that couldn't heal themselves at the moment.

Usually her people would channel the warp through psychic healing songs and sessions to repair wounds and other medical problems but she had never been trained in those arts. She had observed them in action over the centuries and thought she knew the general gist, but that would be too risky and unreliable for Avicus at the moment. Therefore she decided to use what she knew. She pulled out her Shruiken Pistol and unloaded it before inserting the whole barrel and part of the handle into his wound, it was the only object of the right dimensions she could see in her immediate vicinity. The massive bulk of the Human on the table shook as she began her work, she knew it must be painful for him and he was probably preventing himself from instinctually ripping her apart. She began to channel energy from the warp into her pistol, as she had done with her witchblade before, but this time it was different; she was much weaker and heard those dreaded whispers from the second she started summoning her power. The Shruiken pistol conducted the heat through the handle to the barrel which began to glow red hot and smoked inside his chest. He writhed at the heat inside him and she heated the pistol even more and then moved the barrel to cauterize the arteries and as many major blood vessels as she could find.

Whiteness surrounded her vision and the whispers had grown into shouts and screams. She had tunnel vision, and focussed everything on saving Avicus. She ripped the Shruiken Pistol out of his chest; it was melted and useless and so she flung it at the wall to shatter into pieces. Avicus was no longer in imminent danger of death, but he was still in a critical and weakened state from massive blood loss.

She stumbled across to the back wall with cramps in her neck and burns on her hand, she left Merric to see to Avicus and knelt on one knee in the corner with her head rested against the wall.

"Heresy!", a man shouts. 5 giants of men clad in ornate blue power armor enter the room where the Terminators are. Behind them are 3 normal humans with one carrying a wounded comrade. The lead one, wearing Mk. 4 power armor, levels his combi-melta at them. The other three combi-melta equipped Ultramarines do the same. The remaining one trains his heavy bolter on the Farseer. "What in the Emperor's name are you doing, Space Marine? Consorting with Xeno filth? Using xeno witch powers on one of your number? Explain yourselves!", Kade says.

''What i want of you? Ha, in the state your in you could barely kill a Gretchin. No, i need nothing as physical as that from you, although I am sure you could get about it when we get off of this rock.'' The Harlequin began as if to speak again, the Incubus shook him to quieten him with a yelp at interrupting.

''Yes, we are getting off of this rock. Your Farseer is a traitor, she consorts with the Mon'Keigh filith and from the Shurikan casings we found, she even fights with them! Her visions where false, or she is deluded. How can a Farseer as obviously inept as her divine the fate on an entire species that none other of her weakling kin have, all the while under the oppressive psychic gaze of the shadow in the Warp?'' Xillian reasoned, the Harlequin looked conflicted but resolute.

''You are the Harlequin, you life is in tales and stories, and i am afraid this Farseer has spun a tale for you to. No, what i want from you is the info you have about the Space port that you patrolled for Khaine knows how long while the Farseer was off with her Mon'Keigh 'friends'. There must be a way to sneak past the main tyranid nest, a crack, a side door, a window, and if anyone knows it my soul chits are on you.'' Her plan was laid out before the Harlequin for scrutiny, her logic was sound and her plan as effective as it could be, but she feared the Harlequin would hold true to the delusions of the Farseer. Lets hope he remembers this is the same Farseer that got his friend killed, killed off over half his troupe and left him to complete an unachievable mission.

*lukas turned around, the small surgery room even more broken then when he had found it, and slowly walked back to the group, the ultramarines did not object, they were waiting for an answer from merric*
*Avicus twitched, blood filled his mouth, but the pain of his wound was slowly subsiding.*
*merit could kill them all, rip apart the storm troopers, slice or blast or even lose the plasma cannon and punch them all into broken husks, he would nearly certainly survive. But the others wouldn't. Avicus, the friend he had known for three hundred years, the man who had been kicked out of an airlock to save him, would be shot to peices. And the farseer, laurella would die faster than you could say "heresy" merric saw no alternative*
{merric} "ultramarine *his voice shook with barely contained fury* I am merric varren, first captain of the hounds of loken, and I will not accept this insubbordination"
*ultramarines. DAMNED ULTRAMARINES. They had always looked down upon the hounds, seen them as clearly corrupt as the legion they came from. Merric felt his armour compensate for the shivers going through his body, and was not sure if it was rage or fear the pumped through his blood"
*merric slowely, deliberately, certain that the ultramarines are aware of the movement, steps in front of the farseer, holding Avicus up by the shoulder, not wanting his blood to stagnate.*
"and if you kill any of my men, I will rip you to peices."

A whistling comes dark the darkened halls, followed by a slow metallic "tap tap tap tap" The tau emerges from the shadows, his meltagun distorting the air around it with heat. A smile cracks over his face, as his visored eye spots what appears to be two groups of marines in a stand-off perfect. He waltzes into the room, keeping his melta aimed towards the ultras.

"Greeting.... You must be the marines my friend told me about... And you... Your friends shot my cultist... But I'm willing to let bygones be bygones... Hows this... I help you... You help me... I leave and we never see each other again... Here.... A gesture of good faith... "

He tosses a small bag towards the standing terminator

"pain-killers... For your friend..."

"I am not subordinate to you, Captain. Chapters are mostly autonomous from each other. And I will not kill you or your men either. You have not given me any reason to do so. That you and your men are going against every principle our God Emperor of Mankind has stood for is shame enough. However... I have not personally heard of your chapter. Hounds of Loken, was it?", Kade asks. Kade looks back at the Stormtroopers, "Our allies here require medical assistance. Do you know if any of the servitors still live?". When the Chaos Tau enter the room Morris aims his Heavy Bolter at them as do the Stormtroopers. "If you have any love of the Emperor left in your heretical system at least assist us in purging these xenos", Kade says.

Ry'leth's smile quickly fades from his face

"Now now now let's not go purging anyone.... There are about three servitors left standing... We have them in a storage locker a few rooms over... I can show them to you... If you let me deal with what I must in peace... Despite my faction of choice I believe right now what is most important is leaving this doomed world... But lets not try anything... unwise on the way... I have you all marker lighted... and these walls are weak they cannot block a railrifle shot...."

He lowers hsi gun and begins to move back into the darkened halls whispering to himself

"Thought these aliens liked tau... "battle brothers" they said..."

The moment the Farseer's head thudded against the wall in exhaustion, she felt a cloud descend upon her mind. Panic rose in her chest, but before she could move or utter anything the presence began to suppress her. It was like a wet towel being tightened around her face, asphyxiating her, trying to wipe out her mind. She fought back, struggled to retain control of her body and to force out her oppressor but she was so tired, "Leave me foul entity of the warp, you do not belong here!". She heard the being laugh in her mind, "I have been following you for many decades, Farseer, and now I finally have you all to myself." She fought back with all her might, trying to at least break this stalemate long enough to warn the others. She knew something was going on around her but she was so focussed on what was happening in her brain rather than paying attention to her surroundings.

"Don't struggle. Accept your fate. Give in. I promise I'll make it painless." These were but a few of the thousands of taunts the presence conjured in her mind. It felt like she had been in this mental deadlock for an eternity but it had been but a minute in real time. After a few more perceived eternities of strife versus this Daemon, she felt her grip upon her body slipping and it pounced upon her weakness like a ravenous wolf, mauling her psyche and trying to extinguish her completely. She had to give ground or die, so she mentally retreated into a recess of her mind to gather her strength to hold out.... and hopefully push this Daemon out. She doubted her chances.

The Daemon took control of the Farseer's body, relishing the feel of air upon her skin and in her lungs. It stood up, exalting in the feel of the lithe Farseer's body. She turned around, grinning manically and observed the situation with her head cocked to the side quizzically. Pitiful humans, ever arguing and believing their lives to be so important in the grand scheme of things. The big Terminator in front of her was holding up a wounded human; he was covered in blood and sweat and she wondered what he tasted like. So she hopped on over, with her eyes shining with a pale pink light, grabbed hold of him and licked him.

Argentmun wasn't convinced by the Archon. For all he knew, she could be lying about the Farseer working with Mon'Keigh simply to save her own skin. Hell, he had only just said a minute before that he wanted to kill all Mon'Keigh. He spat blood as he snarled back, "Like I'm going to believe that. I will not betray our species for the sake of your miserable life!"

Leo nudged Kade and gestured towards the Farseer. Kade frowns. He has seen daemonic posession of psykers before but never that of a Farseer. The Ultramarine looks back to the Storm Troopers. "Leave us, Guardsmen, while I negotiate with these malcontents", he says. Rather briskly the Jaegers leave the room knowing full well what was about to happen. If there was something a Space Marine could not do it was talk to Chaos. Certainly not the Ultramarines, anyway. Once they were out Kade sneers underneath his helmet. "Burn these heretics. Burn them all", he whispers to his squad mates in their helmet communicators. The Ultramarines with the Combi-Meltas aim their guns right at the Terminators. They fire a blast of superheated air at them which would certainly put a hurting on them at this close range. Morris fires on the Tau with his Heavy Bolter trying to kill as many as possible before they were gunned down. Kill the alien. Burn the heretic. Purge the unclean.

However, as brother is about to fight brother in the medical building, something unexpected happens.

Karnus and the other Plague Marines reach the end of the roofline, spotting the medical building down below, their internal armour sensors filling their views with the detected beings inside. They drop down all the way to the street, each one dropping to their knee as they hit the ground, a series of four loud clangs reverberating through the immediate area. This close to the foe, Karnus risks the use of short-range vox with standard encryptions as he contacts the Iron Warriors.

'Brothers, we are about to engage... There is a way down in the building that we just dropped from... Use it, and be prepared to charge in and provide heavy hitting power when you arrive...'

The Plague Marines sprint all the way to the building. As one, the four Plague Marines draw a Chimaeron pattern localised miniature-Vortex grenade. Hand-crafted by Saptarus Vrakk, the Master Warpsmith of the Glacier Serpents, these difficult-to-make weapons were nonetheless deemed necessary by Karnus to use against so many and probably well-equipped loyalists.

In almost perfect unison, the Plague Marines throw one of these grenades into the building, each landing in a different area. Karnus makes a quick estimation based on the enemies' heat signatures and he judges that they are out of range of the blast, but they should probably be shaken around a bit. And so, with a violent swooooooosh, a Warp vortex appears where each grenade has landed, collapsing and disappearing in a fraction of a second but pulling much of the building with them.

Alas, our poor Storm Troopers were in the worst place possible. A vortex grenade landed at their feet sucking them all into the warp. 100,000 Visigian Jagers went onto the world. None made it out alive. But this is par the course for these poor souls. Not a single aerial insertion mission has gone correctly. However... not all is lost. The Inquisitor's device seemed to have escaped the vortex grenade intact along with a chunk of the trooper that was carrying it.

The tau expected this, expected yes, but very disappointing....

The pathfinder crawled through the air ducts. Softly blinking behind him were the lights of several grenades, primed to detonate at Ry'leths command. Not normally enough to do much of anything, but on a weakened floor, holding such a heavy load... Just enough to collapse a section... A massive thud echoed from above, and the pathfinder wimpered to himself of all those to have survived the attack, why did it have to be her?/i]?

Ry'leth drove to the floor, wincing in pain as several shots grazed his back, his alien blood oozing out, he really wished he hadnt given away his pain killers...

"Now.... *cough cough* (this floor is dusty!) Do it now!"

The ceiling exploded between the tau and the imperials, dust blinding them all... a massive crash soon followed and in the smoke a heavy, labored breathing began to be heard...
A massive [i]Thing had fallen through the floor its herculean body struggling to fit and maneuver in the small hallway, as the dust cleared it became clear what it was...
Once gleaming, the raw metal of the crisis suit now streaked with rust and a hideous slime, the head crooked sideways as if the neck had been snapped, all lights dead, all lenses cracked... Casting ones gaze further downward more horrors were revealed, the cockpit was chained shut, a faded red 'X' emblazoned upon it, heavier chains, rusted and broken hung off it like moss on an ancient statue, hanging skulls clattering as it moved. In it's right arm, a massive fusion cannon sat, charred and long disrepaired, and an equaled ash covered flamer on the shoulder, on the left side sat a mildly flickering shield generator, still mildly functional, sparked in the shadows. Were it's left arm should be, a massive, pulsating, and sickly green limb burst from the metal, long claws curling over the ground before the humans, pustules erupting on the surface. clattering madly, several insectoid limbs darted on it's back, originating from rotten looking globs of meat struggling to escapse the confines of the suit.

ladies and gentlemen...

I present the crisis spawn.

Ry'leth rose to his feet, climbing several chains until reaching the back of the beast, striding his new mount, he stared in shock at the hole suddenly formed in front of him...

"What was that now?"

They would have fired their Combi-Meltas. They would have. However, the shaking of the building stays their trigger fingers. The distinct noise of a vortex grenade gives the Ultramarines pause. "Stand down Ultramarines", Kade says. "Storm Troopers, are you alright?", Leo asks. They receive no respond on the vox comms. "They must have been hit by one of the grenades. Poor souls", Donis says. Kade shakes his head gently before looking over at Merric. "Captain, we need to come up with a plan. There is something dangerous out there", he says, "And that Farseer has suffered from the warp". He gestures towards said Farseer. Morris still fired a few glancing rounds at the Tau but, as was mentioned, they didn't kill any. Kade then turns to the Tau. Perhaps he could kill two threats with a few honeyed words.

The Ultramarine almost vomits into his helmet as he sees the monstrosity the Tau has mounted. "What are your terms, vermin?", he asks.

The Farseer, trapped deep within her own mind had only one hope - that she could outlast the being's manifestation outside of the warp. If she could hold out, she might be able to survive and actually be able to continue with her mission; that was what kept her going so long.

The Vortex Grenades changed all of that. The moment they ripped warp-tears in space was the moment she was damned.

The Daemon cackled manically as it was able to drink in power directly through the temporary warp rifts that were opened in close proximity. The Farseer's eyes glowed an even brighter pink and she seemed to grow even more beautiful; all imperfections cleansed by the soothing currents of the warp. The power those grenades had given the Daemon allowed it to crack open Laurella's last mental bastion and it therefore completed its possession of her. She expected it to consume what remained of her soul or to damn her to 'She Who Thirsts', but it didn't happen. "Why don't you finish me Daemon!?" "If I finished you, this body would be nothing more than a primitive Daemonhost. With your Soul intact, I have full use of your body, memories and powers and that makes you valuable to me. For now you can simply suffer as you see what I do in your name!"

The Daemon sensually licked Avicus again before twirling into the middle of the room. She laughed at their confused priorities; threats within, threats without, the danger you know, the danger you don't, the Farseer you knew and the Farseer possessed. She came to a halt in the middle of the room and mischievously grinned at all of them, "You Sppppaaccce Marines, are celibate aren't you? You don't have to be." The Daemon tore off the Farseer's clothes and stood there, naked as the day she was born, all bared and beautiful for the Humans to see, "You could have all of this and more!" it gleefully pronounced. "Then again," it said in a darker voice, "You could refuse this perfection and I would then ensure your perfect Deaths." Either way, it waited for their answers by dancing gracefully with the Farseer's hair floating mystically behind, almost as if she was swimming in water.

Laurella raged inside her own mind. Raged at the total lack of control and the humiliation the Daemon forced upon her. This only made the Daemon happier and so it began singing as well; a melody so harmonious and sensual that like the Siren Singers of lore, mortal men would be helpless to resist..