Chương 48: Chapter 46: Bring to the table.

POV: Agatha Striker, Lord Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus. The initial debriefing went unusually well. Normally in these types of meetings, she would have to coax and pry information from the individuals involved. Aarark's or rather Bethany's reports she could trust to be accurate. They held nothing back regarding the movements the Biomancer made when in the city.

The frequent trips to the other hive would have been a red flag but the heretic had actually sought out others in the city and sequestered them away using his stolen authority. The auction they had held where the fake absconded with the vortex grenade wasn't unusual. While some of the items were interesting they were well within the remit of Lord Drakio's warrant, the Archmago's purview, and the Astartes. It was probably for the best those items had been secured.

The Princeps's purchases made it rather obvious she was a collector of either pistols or obscure weaponry by her estimation. When the topic eventually moved on to the revelation of the heretic the Princeps was given credit for discovering the discrepancy in the Rosette and for resolving the scrap code attacks. The activation of Cycladon's shields and how they were overwhelmed in short order.

"Archmagos, can you explain from where you produced an Ordinatus Sagittar?" Agatha inquired.

"Indeed. We discovered a hidden location inside the Argent Drake used by Princeps Nicole's family who is responsible for the construction of the Argent Drake. The files therein hinted at its location and presence within the ship. It was uncovered and fielded in short order. Vesuvius performed well above expectations." The Archmagos explained with a pleased expression.

"It says that after you started your attack a warp portal was opened using the vortex grenade and stabilized by the heretic psykers. However, the method for closing the portal is not included in any of the reports. Why is that?" She asked as she looked around the table.

"An experimental man-portable high-yield piece of ordinance was blessed by Lady Lael Zyne and launched through the portal. Injuring the daemonic entity holding it open and resulting in its closure." The Archmagos explained curtly. The sisters of the Silver Lily were more than willing to boast about and elaborate on the various miracles Saint Lael had performed.

"Where did this weapon come from?"

"It was produced by the Princeps." Doll replied simply. Agatha's eye twitched "What was the exact nature of the weapon?" She pressed unsure if she would get an answer.

"... Cyclonic." Agatha blinked slowly, her gaze boring into the placid expression of the Archmagos before turning to Nicole who just brightly smiled at her.

"Are there more of them?"

"No more prototype warheads have been constructed." Doll replied. Agatha almost moved on but how Doll had precisely worded that statement made her reconsider.

"What about non-prototype versions?" The Archmagos regarded her shrewdly before he gave her a respectful nod and admitted "A small number have been produced or are in production."

"Archmagos, you are not an approved manufacturer of Cyclonic ordinances!" Agatha hissed.

"Correct. I am not. However, Lady Cavalero is." the Archmagos' posture radiated with an irritating smugness. Agatha turned her gaze back to Nicole who nodded.

"I own a secure private copy of a Cyclonic STC. Including all possible permissions required for production. Issued in M30." Agatha considered that statement for a long moment "You? Can make exterminatus weapons?"

"Indeed. The Purest Shadow has informed me your supply requires replenishment. I hope to discuss the particulars of such a resupply later." She said looking eager. Agatha leaned back in her chair as she realized that she would likely have to pay out of pocket for such a service and internally winced. Any lingering subconscious thoughts of potentially interrogating the curious ancient child went out the window after that bombshell.

"Yes, we can discuss that later. Next was the assault on…" She glanced down at her data slate "The Archeotech laboratory?" Agatha watched Nicole's expression drop into a forlorn expression as she listened to the various reports of what happened. The timeline culminating in the loss of the Yggdrasil project and the death of the imposter. Agatha's expression grew more and more incredulous as they explained just what the tree overtaking Cycladon would be capable of once it finished its growth period.

"It does WHAT!? You have two more of those!?" She understood why it was considered a relic. Such a thing could turn a toxic wasteland into a verdant paradise in just a few years. The possible applications and candidate planets buzzed through her mind.

"Ideally we would like to get one of the two seeds to Mars." The Archmagos admitted.

"They cannot be stored in stasis and have a maximum shelf life of 500 years due to their unstable nature. Locations and ideas for the third seed are still being considered." The seeds were relics that fell clearly under the domain of the Mechanicus, but that did not exclude her from offering suggestions. The number of worlds scoured by virus bombs or other Exterminatus weapons that could be made whole once more was numerous.

Poor Osook was practically vibrating in his seat as he went over the data they had been given and what STC fragments had been successfully recovered.

"Archmagos, I would be willing to assist you with target selection for the remaining seed. Our planetary data repository for the Segmentum was updated less than three years ago." Agatha offered politely.

"Your consultation is welcome, Inquisitor. We would also welcome your expertise in rooting out any lingering heretics that may have escaped our wrath when we purged the core of the cultists." The Archmagos said as he nodded. Agatha wasn't used to people inviting and encouraging her to audit them and do her job. She allowed a small half smile to form on her face as she took another sip of her recaff.

"So, the imposter. You are certain you killed him?" She asked softly.

"The Princeps personally cut off his head with her axe and brought it back for interrogation. The process proved immensely fruitful. It was through my thorough scouring of his brain matter that exposed the overarching plot and revealed the individual responsible for Ur-Haven's recent woes." Magos Xor spoke up.

"Would you be willing to hand the head over to us?" Agatha asked him.

"Of course, Inquisitor. I would be delighted for you to check my work and confirm my findings yourself. We can have it sent over to your vessel in a matter of hours." Xor replied confidently. The information regarding the oncoming fleet was highly concerning. However, it did explain a lot.

Without the intervention of the Star Dragons and Drakios' army, the siege would have taken months and been quite bloody on both sides, and the Dark Eldar would have arrived at a war-torn planet ripe for plundering with an active warp portal spewing out horrors. The only outlier was the Man of Iron.

While she believed it may have been tricked or coaxed into appearing by Eligael there was next to no mention of it in the main reports other than its appearance and the subsequent result of the small stealth vessel fleeing the planet.

"Regarding the Man of Iron…" Agatha was about to ask more but she was interrupted as the Archmagos raised a hand.

"Lord Inquisitor, the matter of the abomination is directly related to the issue I spoke of earlier. We can discuss it if you wish however only you and the five Astartes possess the clearance to do so without censure. If any of your retinue remain for that discussion they will be subject to a Volitor implant or psychic memory erasure." The Archmagos's voice was firm and his expression serious.

"That includes the Xenos and your security team." Agatha sighed.

"It is a matter I would like to be informed of, but given the multitude of other matters at hand, I believe that discussion can be tabled for now. As long as you are certain the threat is dealt with?" considering that STC fragments and the seeds hadn't triggered such a response, whatever secret they were hiding must be immensely important but also not worth antagonizing them over.

"The threat is contained." The Princeps chimed in.

"Further information is classified." Just as the tension started to rise a voice called out.

"Would anyone care for more wine? It's my favorite vintage from the past decade!" Agatha gave a sidelong glance to Cornelius who filled up his glass and then downed the entire thing with a bright smile and immediately started to refill it.

"I assume you have been making preparations for the imminent invasion?" Agatha asked, letting the subject change which got the officials involved. The planet had indeed been fortifying and making suitable preparations. After having discussed the current plans and offered some suggestions Agatha was finally ready to bring up the main issue "I think it is time to discuss this. The Purest Shadow requires repair and rearming after our recent turbulent encounters."

The Princeps visibly perked up from where she had been leaning back looking bored.

"I've spoken with the Purest Shadow, there are a lot of repairs that need to be made. Your armour also requires the attention of myself or Master Doll. I am willing to perform the maintenance and provide you with a salvo of Cyclonic torpedoes in exchange for the contents of vault 44-B-6." The Princeps said as she leaned forward and looked up at Agatha expectantly.

"Osook. Please remind me what are the contents of vault 44-B-6?" Agatha asked her Magos who paused to check.

"44-B-6 has some individual pieces of armour plating. Recovered a decade ago by one of our teams from a heretic smuggler."

"What do you need them for?" Agatha inquired out of curiosity. That didn't seem like a fair trade at all unless she was missing something.

"I don't need the plates themselves. I need the material they are made from. I plan to melt them down and harvest as much of it as I can for a personal project." The Princeps explained with that cute bright smile.

"What material?" Agatha asked as she sipped her recaff.

"Auramite!" The Princeps chirped and Agatha nearly choked on her drink.

"I should be able to get a few kilograms of it from all the plates if I am careful. I believe it's a fair exchange. The plates themselves hold little value aside from the auramite and a few trace other metals like adamantine that are mixed in with the ceramite." Agatha considered the offer for a moment before she nodded.

"That is acceptable." The Princeps beamed and leaned back content to let the Archmagos continue negotiations. Agatha agreed to aid in the planet's defense, but that was a formality. Some material resources were bartered in exchange for full repairs.

"Nicole, was there any additional compensation you were interested in from the inquisitor?" The Archmagos asked as the negotiations were nearly finished.

"Well… In their armory, there is something I wouldn't mind acquiring. Weapon P-289." The Princeps muttered after thinking about it. Agatha was already pulling up that entry and glanced over at Osook who was going over the list of suggested repairs. The item was a pistol. The Phosphoenix, though there was no ammunition for it.

"You are aware we have no ammunition for that weapon?"

"Yup, I don't have any either. I'd still like it for my collection." She admitted with a shrug.

"What service would we get in exchange?" Agatha asked her.

"Mmm, how about… I fix the instability in the plasma reactor?" The Princeps offered and Osook suddenly started to cough and sputter.

"You know how to fix that!?" Osook asked once he recovered. After a nod from the Princeps, he leaned in and whispered.

"Lord Striker I would greatly appreciate it if what the Princeps says is possible. That issue has been vexing us for many years. The Archmagos and the Magi all vouched for her ability to do so."

"Anything else, Princeps?" Agatha asked.

"Well there is a plasma pistol I wouldn't mind adding too. P-131 but that's it." She said quietly. Agatha looked it up but that was just to confirm it wasn't some saint blessed thing. The Moiraean Lance was just a rare plasma pistol from a fallen forge world. A useless relic and a plasma pistol in exchange for fixing a major issue with her ship's reactor was the best deal she'd ever heard of so she happily agreed to the trade.

"Are you quite finished?" Anvial asked her with a small huff.

"You can handle the minutiae of your exchanges later. It is imperative that I secure the vessel and safe passage of the individuals on the surface post haste. Making me suffer with my proximity to the Null is naught but rude." He grumbled like a petulant child. —----------------------------------------------------------------- POV: Nicole I regard the Farseer as he complains to the Inquisitor. As my first proper encounter with an Aeldari, it isn't the best first impression but neither is it the worst.

He's haughty but most Farseers were in the lore. The Ynnari are at least reasonable by most accounts.

"Farseer Anvial, would you prefer to move our discussion elsewhere? This may not be the most conducive environment," I ask politely.

"Unfortunately, my escorts may take offense to that." He gestured to the Inquisitor and the Astartes.

"Let us simply get on with it." I nod and pull out the first case.

"In that case allow me to offer a gift. A gift freely given as a show of good faith and support for your cause." I say as I open the soul stone box. Anvial is staring down at the three stones with wide eyes.

"Do you… know what these are?"

"Three Tears of Isha, all inhabited, two that have not yet felt the touch of the circuit and one that has." I reply candidly with a small smirk. Anvial hides his surprise well and nods as he pulls the box closer and gently strokes over all three stones before moving to stare down at me with a look of guarded concern.

"You say you know of my cause?" He probes. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"I suppose the Emissary, the Yncarne, and the Avenging Son have made us allies of circumstance." I reply with a thin smile watching as Anvial stiffens in his chair and gapes at me like a fish. The rest of the table has been engaged in various small discussions but most are watching our exchange. The Inquisitor is listening in with a small puzzled frown. Master Doll, Captain Bolaar and Lord Drakios are all relaxing with looks of amusement adorning their expressions. Anvial clears his throat, "Ahem! I see.

I will accept this gift in the spirit it was offered. I desire the Light Cruiser you have laid claim to and the safe passage of the Ynnari forces on the surface. What is your price?" He asks as he gently closes the lid of the soul stone box leaving it close at hand.

"I want access to the Eldar Webway Portal network. Ten jumps for a fleet. To any location of our choosing." I state boldly.

"Absolutely preposterous!" Anvial yells sputtering.

"The vessel and crew are worth two jaunts at most!"

"I require at the very least, three." I say softly.

"Where could you possibly need to go?" Anvial asks me with a frown. I grin and access the Holo projector nearby and use it to display a map of the Segmentum on the surface of the table. I zoom out from our current location and start to scroll, I move towards the Halo Stars. I go past the Calixis Sector, into the Koronus Expanse. I start to zoom into the Accursed Demesne. A blank spot on the map between the unclassified worlds of Yamakor and Hemelshot.

I maintain eye contact with Anvial as I place my finger precisely and tap. I watch as his face pales.

"Are you insane!? Do you know what resides there!?" He shouts, drawing attention as he stands up and slams his hands on the table.

"I know of the Entropic Spirit, fate beyond fate holds no sway over me, it will allow me my dues. To any vessel broken of body but whole of spirit willing to rage, rage against the dying of the light, to them, I shall extend my hand. We shall claim the Abaci and wrest free no more than three," I hold up a single finger.

"One from the Outer Sea." I add a second finger, "One from the Inner Sea," I add a third and final digit as I whisper "One from The Deeps."

"You risk yourselves if you linger in that cursed system." Anvial hisses regarding me with a fearful expression.

"We will contend with the Ghosts, the Echoes, and the Hollow. But I will have my dues." I reply, ignoring the confused looks from the rest of the table.

"Five jumps and two favors from the Ynnari."

"You ask too much!" Anvial growls sitting back down after adjusting his robes.

"The vessel itself is untouched. Perhaps I need to further sweeten the pot?" I ask as I pull out the second box.

"Lord Scalprum, can I ask you to step away from the Farseer? I would like to allow him the use of his sight." Getting a nod from the stoic Templar who moves further away and seems to reign in his Null aura in an impressive display of control. Once he is away I open the case and Anvial's eyes widen.

"Perhaps these will make you reconsider? A set of the Weeping Stones and an Emblem of the Broken Chain." I say as I push the box towards the dumbfounded Eldar. Anvial picks up the stones, gently rolling the runic stones carved from psychoactive rubies across his fingers reverently before turning to look at the emblem. His gaze hardens, and he looks up at me with a calculating expression. I drop my suppressors and let my psychic presence flare.

"What do you see Farseer?" I ask him, his presence flaring a moment later. Anvial closes his eyes, the rubies glowing softly as he channels through them.

"Individuals are pebbles tossed into the ocean of fate, their ripples scattering across time and space, some larger, some smaller. You… you are not a pebble." Anvil looks at me warily "You are a moon tugging on the tides of fate." I just smile at him as he comes down from his divination.

"You offered… five jumps and two favors?" He asks hesitantly.

"And of course, you aid Ur-Haven against the chaos fleet before you depart." I add clapping my hands together.

"Of course. Five jumps, two favors on my name and the honor of Ynnari, and our aid against the minions of chaos. I wish to accept these terms, Silver Child."

"Great! I will contact the former Drukhari, now Ynnari in Cycladon and permit them to return to their vessel. We have a deal." I extend one of my little hands and Anvial takes it for a shake.

"You still risk much, daring to brave the cursed demesne of the Processional." He says as he releases my hand.

"One jump to get us there, one to get us out after the chaos threat is dealt with. That will leave us with three jumps and two favors." I say getting an amused snort from Anvial.

"You are a shrewd one." He says giving me a nod of respect as he puts the Weeping Stones away and closes the case.

"If you will excuse me. I will return shortly. I need to arrange passage for the Ynnari in Cycladon." I say, excusing myself from the table with a small curtsy.

"Anvial what location are you two talking about?" The Inquisitor asks as I leave the room.

"It would appear the little Princeps plans to plunder the depths of one of if not the largest ship graveyards in the galaxy, a cursed place accessible only through our gate network. I believe your kind call it… The Procession of the Damned." Anvial whispers, shuddering a little after he speaks. —------------------------------------------------------------ POV: Sylenn Zann, Ynnari former Drukhari Sylenn was in no rush despite the new vessel appearing in orbit. Their time would come when it came.

There was no need to risk the lives of their forces at this time. She did not however anticipate their first contact with the human leadership would be so peculiar. A short while ago an ornate, floating human skull had approached their position. It had activated a holo projector and vox unit to speak with her. The figure it projected was youthful and petite, bearing the trappings of the human's Mechanicus caste.

"Greetings. Are you one of the leaders of the Ynnari here?" the small figure asked.

"Yes, I am." Sylenn had replied, remaining on guard.

"Good news, Farseer Anvial Veilwalker has arrived to pick you up. We have already worked out a deal. You may safely return to your vessel in orbit once I disable the defensive batteries, you should be clear to move within the hour. You are not to leave orbit though you may adjust your position if necessary." The figure told her. Sylenn looked more than a little confused but nodded her head slowly.

There was little chance that the girl would know and use the name of the farseer they were expecting unless he had truly arrived.

"Forgive my hesitance but can you provide proof of this?"

"Ehh, if he hasn't contacted you yet I am sure he will soon. He's kind of busy being interrogated and fawning over the soul stones and artifacts I handed over as part of our deal." The girl shrugged.

"And who are you to guarantee our safety?" Sylenn asked, attempting to be polite.

"Princeps, Nicole Cavalerio, the Matriarch of House Cavalerio. Ah, the Farseer has promised your aid with repelling the chaos forces. If you attempt to leave before that, the Argent Drake will destroy your ship." The girl warned Sylenn who nodded gravely.

"I understand… I have prepared a gift. This is the former captain of the vessel, a vile Drukhari who refused the light of Ynnead." she gestured to the head of the former captain.

"Oh. Uhh… Thanks? One less Drukhari jerk in the universe. I'll… send a servo skull with a grabby arm to get it. No idea what I'll do with it. Did he happen to have a pistol sidearm?"

"Yes. He owns several. Why?" Sylenn asked curiously.

"I would much rather have one or two of the least spiky pistols as trophies than his head if no one else has claimed them yet." The little one seemed to look to the side and get distracted.

"I gotta go, I'll leave this skull here to follow you around, and I'll announce when you can depart!" Then the projection had cut out and the skull had been following her dumbly ever since.

"Lios, which of the former Captain's pistols are the… least spiky?" she asked her companion after she returned to their camp.

"What? He had a full personal armory." Lios looked confused by the question "I… The Blast or the Fusion Pistol perhaps? The Shuriken and Stinger Pistols each have a spike, the Shard Pistol has two. Is a Neuro Disruptor spiky? Gah! Why are you even asking me that? I just got a message from the Farseer!" Lios said, shaking his head.

"The humans made contact. We can return to the ship soon. The skull behind me will tell us when. I wanted to give the captain's head as a gift but it wasn't received as enthusiastically as I thought. The Princeps said she preferred pistols." Sylenn muttered, feeling contemplative.

"The Princeps? She's important, the Farseer mentioned her. We are to avoid antagonizing her at all costs. The Ynnari owe her a debt of two favors." Lios said seriously. The pair looked into each other's eyes and then together they nodded and spoke simultaneously.

"One of each." They smiled at one another.

"Just to be sure she likes one of them."

"Agreed. Perhaps she'd like the head more if we put it back in the helmet?"

"We could tastefully arrange it on his own Impaler. For the ironic and vengeful sub-tones?"

"Mmm perhaps." —----------------------------------------------------- POV: Agatha Striker, Lord Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus. Anvial's discussion with the Princeps was cathartic if nothing else. Seeing the Eldar get rocked with surprises and outmaneuvered one after the other was a delight. What wasn't was how many questions it raised. What had the princeps meant by her earlier comment?

"I suppose the Emissary, the Yncarne, and the Avenging Son have made us allies of circumstance." The stingy Eldar hadn't even allowed them access to the gate network once since they picked him up! Now the Princeps had secured not only five trips through the network for a fleet but two unchecked unrestricted favors from the Ynnari. That could be anything from something minor and simple to a request for the aid of a full Eldar war fleet!

Just after the Princps excused herself and Anvial dropped that last little bombshell Agatha frowned.

"The Procession of the Damned?" Racking her brain if the term was familiar to her. Lord Drakios whistled.

"Well that's a name I haven't heard for some time."

"I am unfamiliar with this location. Would you care to enlighten us, Arken?" The Archmagos asked. Lord Drakios nodded.

"I am not surprised, if you hadn't noticed when Nicole projected the map it's in Calixis. Deep in the Halo Stars. There are a lot of tales from the Processional. The most well-known tale is one from the famous Rogue Trader Wrath Umbolt and his vessel the Righteous Crusader. While Umbolt never spoke about it, his writings as the first documented Rogue Trader to find it have proliferated in certain circles. Our library may even hold a copy… I wonder if the Princeps read them." Drakios paused to sip his wine.

"I believe I recall hearing about it from exchanges with the Ordo Calixis; those exchanges were almost entirely secondhand, however." Agatha admitted.

"We are in possession of both physical and digital copies of the writings." The Archamgos confirmed as he pulled up the document on the projector.

"The writings and tales from his crew indicate the Procession is divided into layers. The three the Princeps mentioned and a few others. The gateway and fragmented cloud are at the far outskirts of the system. Then comes the Outer Sea of Space Hulks, then the Inner Sea of Space Hulks, and finally the Carrion Deeps before you reach the Turbulent Star in the center of the system. There are also records of three worlds: Blight, Decay, and Oblivion.

The stories are a bit inconsistent but several mention The Carrion and The Hollow Men, along with ghosts, temporal, and other anomalies." Lord Drakios said, waving a hand about as he explained.

"You would be wise to avoid the star if you value your lives. Lingering in that place will only see you added to it." Anvial said quietly.

"The Princeps mentioned that you were seeking an Abacus?" Agatha inquired.

"We are looking for a Void Abacus to help rectify the issues caused by our lack of access to the Astronomicon." The Archmagos stated.

"Ah, that would be quite useful. I had to rely on Anvial's assistance to make the transition here," Agatha nodded, "I can see how this Procession would be an ideal location to find them."

"Some of the tales mention amazing Archeotech relics and valuable Xenotech recovered from the system. But many never return at all." Lord Drakios said wryly.

"The idea certainly holds merit but we have other pressing matters to deal with. Before we get to them I did have one question for you Anvial. Just who are the Emissary, the Yncarne, and the Avenging Son?" Agatha asked, narrowing her eyes as the Eldar looked away guiltily and rubbed the back of his head.

"Aha… Did I forget to mention that? I was certain your contemporary would have informed you." Anvial asked cagily, lifting his right thumb to bite down on the nail. His eyes faintly aglow as he peeked into the future.

"Speak plainly Anvial!" Agatha growled. He sighed "It seems there is no further value in concealing this information. The Emissary refers to my master, Prophet Yvraine, High Priestess of Ynnead, the Daughter of Shades. The Avenging Son is the new Imperial Regent of your Imperium, that she and one of your Archmagi awakened from stasis, Roboute Guilliman." That was all Anvial managed to get out before the room erupted into a cacophony of frantic shouting.