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The Farseer slumped on the floor of her cell, chains forged from meteoric iron binding her arms and legs, sweat streaking down her face, her blonde hair hanging disarranged around her face, and her breath ragged from effort. Inquisitorial Storm Troopers dragged the corpses of Sanctioned Psykers from the room, blood dripping from their faces. In a psi-shielded observation room overlooking the cell, a certain Inquisitor oversaw the matter. "Send in the next group." he said implacably. A concerned bureaucrat unwisely chose to speak out at that moment "With respect, Inquisitor Okazaki, perhaps we should just give up. We've already burned out over a hundred and fifty psykers, and-" Without turning away from the spectacle below, Okazaki pointed a finger at the bureaucrat and the man crumpled, blood pouring from his nostrils and ears. "Proceed." the Inquisitor calmly responded.

"Her resistance was formidable, but she crumpled in the end. Even as we speak, the Librarians are finishing up sealing her memories and powers, and personality re-write has since been completed." Inquisitor, psyker, scholar, Tadashi Okazaki, Guardian of the Emperor's Will and Word, reported rather smugly to two other Inquisitors in the gardens of the Inquisition Fortress on Terranova. "We broke down her mental barriers at the relatively cheap cost of two hundred and twelve Sanctioned Psykers. Only then did I have the Librarians finish the job." Inquisitor San Diego responded to his old friend, lowering his copy of Discourses on Exploration, "I would have preferred a cleaner job, but in this situation, there probably was no choice. Even if they serve in the Deathwatch, I'm sure their respective Chapters would have complained if they ended up biting the dirt over this matter." he said, his voice echoing hollowly behind the steel mask he constantly wore. "Okazaki. San Diego. Just how much are you motivated over revenge?" asked Lady Inquisitor Marina, senior member of the Terranova Conclave. After a moment, Okazaki responded "Revenge? Nothing of that sort. I merely do my duty as an Inquisitor of His Imperial Majesty. San Diego though..." As he turned towards his friend, San Diego reached up and removed his mask, exposing his ruined face. "It may not by Saim-Hann...but Ulthwe's death would go a long way to make the pain go away...and to appease the ghosts of an entire field army." spoke Inquisitor San Diego, his voice thick with emotion. After regarding her two, one-time students for a moment, she went back to contemplating the blooming peach blossoms. "Just don't go too far...that's all I'm asking."

The young woman slowly blinked her eyes open, lying on a hospital bed. As she struggled to stand, she caught sight of a man standing near the window. "Have you come to?" he asked with an impassive expression. For a moment she regarded him, before sadly lowering her gaze to the floor "I...I don't know. I don't know who I am, or why I'm even here." Okazaki smiled at the woman, surprised despite himself at how Human she looked. "You are Annabelle. And you are fiancee to Lord Aurelius of House Seraphis." To himself, Okazaki smiled at the thought of what lay in store for the former Farseer.

***Two Years Later***

"This is...an Eldar memory crystal...isn't it?" Admiral Maebara and his staff looked over the glowing green crystal hovering in Inquisitor Okazaki's palm. Maebara looked at his old friend and colleague with raised eyebrows. "Well...not exactly." Okazaki said wryly. "To be honest, its a faux memory crystal - we had to sacrifice dozens of Sanctioned Psykers to crystallize all the memories of a certain Farseer - and with those memories, we shall strike devastating blows against Craftworld Ulthwe." Maebara sighed, closing his eyes as he sat back on his command throne. "Are we really going to do that? No offense, Tadashi, but aren't you being a bit reckless? My fleet is good, but with their superior technology, without numbers, this is suicidal." Okazaki smiled. "Oh we won't be attacking Ulthwe - yet. What we'll be attacking is a secret fleet base here - Point Sigma-Nine-Gamma-Theta." The command center was left in a state of shock. "A fleet base? That's impossible!" responded one of the fleet commanders. "If there truly was a base there, we would kno-" "Indeed. If not for their advanced sensor masking technologies. Now that we have its location, that is worthless." Okazaki strode around the holo-projection of the entire sector in the center of the command center, slipping the meme crystal into a specially-designed psi-containment device attached to his wrist. "The biggest weakness of that base is that while its meant as a forward base for use in operations against either the Imperium or the Forces of Chaos by the Ulthwe Mobile Fleet, is that only the reserves are kept there - the Ulthwe Mobile Fleet is always in deep space for strike operations against us or the Great Enemy. Once we have the advantage of surprise, annihilating the Eldar reserves will be easy - their arrogance guarantees that the reserves will be unmobilized, and ripe for the killing. We can then deploy Deathwatch and other Imperial personnel to take control of the facility for our own purposes while the fleet prepares a trap for the Ulthwe Mobile Fleet as it speeds back to base." Forestalling several commanders (Maebara remaining seemingly unimpressed) with a raised hand, Okazaki continued "Most importantly however, is what the crystal revealed - known only to this particular Farseer, and why she supported the construction of this base centuries ago, is that deep beneath one of the asteroids is a complete STC database for starship and other related technology." At that revelation, fear and respect gave way, officers muttering amongst themselves with awe and surprise. Letting it sink in for few moments, the Inquisitor continued "I have already made arrangements with the Mars' Council of Archmagi, and they've agreed to allow us to field test any new designs and technologies - once our operations are completed, the STC will be duly transported to Mars. The High Lords, for their part, are waiting for further results before passing judgment on this matter." As Okazaki finished, Maebara looked at his old friend in the eyes - after a few moments, he smiled, and softly said to himself "As reckless as ever." Looking up, the Admiral gave orders "Commence preparations. The fleet will deploy once preparations are complete!"

***Four Days Later***

What began as a seemingly ordinary day went terribly wrong as multiple warp portals opened right inside the Eldar Defense Perimeter - even as the defense laser and torpedo emplacements powered up for a strike against the approaching Imperial warships, Deathwatch Terminators teleported into the defense platforms, quickly seizing control of the control and power centers and shutting down shields and weapons alike even as boarding craft deployed Inquisitorial Storm Troopers who moved to consolidate Imperial control of the defense platforms.

Meanwhile, Starhawks launched attacks against Eldar launch platforms, launching missiles at weak points in the structures and burying both the Eldar and their Attack Craft beneath rubble. What few Eldar Attack Craft that managed to launch were torn to pieces by Fury Interceptors and Lightning Fighters - as more Starhawks pummeled the helpless Battleships, Cruisers, and Destroyers sitting at harbor. Imperial warships quickly closed for the kill, deploying Imperial Guard forces to seize control of the facilities. Ground resistance was stiff - but with their fleet destroyed, and with Deathwatch Astartes spearheading the Imperial offensive, the matter was since a foregone matter.

Once the docks were secure, Admiral Maebara ordered his ships to prepare a 'warm reception' for the imminent arrival of the Ulthwe Mobile Fleet. Mechanicum and Naval personnel quickly powered up and prepared the defense platforms - fully expecting that in their arrogance the Eldar would never expect the Imperials to use much less understand how their defense platforms worked - while other ships quickly deployed a nuclear minefield, crude and primitive even by Imperial standards, but still powerful and effective weapons for all that.

Within hours, the Ulthwe Mobile Fleet arrived as expected in vengeful fury - only to run straight into a nuclear firestorm that wiped out an entire quarter of the fleet and ripping their fighter screen to shreds. Even as they struggled to regroup, the defense platforms opened up their laser and torpedo batteries, further decimating the Eldar forces. Angry at the audacity of the Humans and at their perception that the Eldar never expected the Humans to use their own technology against them, the Fleet Master ordered his fleet destroy the defense platforms - only for the Humans to launch torpedoes and Attack Craft using the debris as cover on approach. As dogfights broke out between the Human Attack Craft and the remaining Eldar Attack Craft, the Fleet Master ordered his fleet to close and engage, determined to take as many Imperial ships with him as possible - which, like the fate of the surviving Eldar garrison, was already a foregone conclusion...