Short story that I wrote for pleasure and as a measure of distraction, tying into the background of my latest army. Hope you enjoy!
"Fear me for I am your apocalypse"- Creed of the Eversor Temple
Inquisitor Andromeda Sejanus of the Ordo Xenos smiled as she studied the intel provided by the Astartes on the ground. The Scouts of Brother Captain Sibrand had done their work well; the Space Marines had confirmed the location of the enemy command centre. The highest priority target would be there; a member of the Ethereal Caste. The surest way to decapitate the Tau invasion of Nineveh.
However, trying to assault the location with the forces she had available planet-side was going to be too high to justify such an attack. She might have an entire regiment of the Imperial Guard and two battle companies of Space Marines at her behest to fight back the xenos invaders, but all three forces had been heavily mauled beating back the latest enemy assault, and judging by the astropathic communication that she'd received from someone she hadn't spoken to in a very long time, she was going to need every one of those warriors for a far greater battle.
A greater threat than the pawns of the Ethereal Caste is gathering on your current battlefield. The Prognosticators have foreseen it and now we move to stop it. We cannot tolerate xenos interference in this matter, sister. Use what you must to eliminate their threat, but ensure the Tau presence on Nineveh no longer lingers by the time we arrive.
Andromeda Sejanus had no notion what could bring an Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus or elements of the 666th Chapter to an Eastern Fringe backwater like Nineveh, but it was not her place to question. And in truth, Andromeda would not turn her nose up at any excuse to expedite the slaughter of the alien.
Hatred of the xenos was something Andromeda Sejanus had had in abundance since the invasion of her homeworld by vermin invaders from the Vior'la sept world that had seen her family killed and she and her brother made charges of the Schola Primogenium on Argus VI. She and her brother Perseus had been marked out early on as suitable candidates for the Ordos and both had flourished in their callings amongst the ranks of the Inquisition; the Ordo Xenos had seen Andromeda's powerful, all-consuming hatred for the alien and had moulded and shaped it into a weapon as lethal as any power sword, honed and channelled it so that she might use it most effectively, and then given her the tools to use that hate to devastating effect against the enemies of humanity.
Aliens of all stripes and races had fallen to her, both personally and through her machinations. She had personally slain the Biel-Tan Autarch Selenarya Mournhowl to avenge her mentor, Inquisitor Ducard amidst the reviving Necron catacombs of Mortis Prime with a plasma pistol shot to the head, despite losing her left arm to the Eldar's mirrorswords. She'd helped mastermind the victory won by the Templars of Steel over WAAAGH! Skullkrakka on the shrine world of Mina's Redoubt; her most notable contribution to lure a prominent Warboss and his finest warriors into a trap- a foot tunnel under the River Cerberus and then sealed at both ends, leaving the Warboss and his lieutenants to drown when the explosives planted by Chapter Techmarines detonated to flood the tunnel. She'd provided the Templars with the means to end the threat posed by Hive Fleet Manticore to the agri-world Mirabeau IX by deploying Culexus Assassins to support the Space Marines to terminate the synapse creatures in control of the horde, the beasts dying in horrific agony as exposure to the aberrant killers fatally ruptured their cerebrums and left the chittering hordes under their command at the mercy of their innate instincts and easy prey for boltgun and chainsword.
But of all the aliens she'd fought, Andromeda Sejanus despised none so much as the Tau. In part, it was due to her past and the atrocities she'd seen as a child- Tau battlesuits opening fire on fleeing crowds of civilians, Kroot butchers feeding on still-twitching bodies and footage she'd seen and rumours she'd heard afterwards, of the POW camps, of slave labour and forced sterilisation of the human survivors- but she knew deep down it was because in her opinion, the Tau doctrine was the most dangerous threat, save the corrupting lies of the heathen disciples of the Ruinous Powers, to the hearts and minds of the Imperium's citizenry. It was easy to convince the common man to hate an Ork or a Tyranid- such creatures had nothing in their primitive minds for humanity but hate, and could offer nothing to mankind but death and devastation, and faced with such, even the common citizen of the Imperium would fight to the bitter end against such horrors. But the Tau were far more insidious- they wormed their way into the minds of those they came into contact with, made people forget their duty and loyalty to the Emperor and the Golden Throne, deluded them into thinking equal partnership with xenos barbarian filth like the Kroot and Vespid were possible and abandoned mankind's manifest destiny to rule the stars and expunge such vermin from the galaxy to become slaves beneath the boots of alien tyrants. But Andromeda Sejanus would never forget, and she would never stop reminding the Tau of the fact that this galaxy was humanity's, and that like all others before them, if they continued to challenge that supremacy, they would be destroyed.
It was a battle she'd been fighting for untold years, using every weapon and tactic at hers and the Ordo's disposal- virus bombing and mass genocide of Gue'vasa enclaves, destruction of alien facilities and outposts by Deathwatch kill-teams at her behest, financing and arming pro-Imperial terrorists and insurrectionists within the borders of Tau space, assassination of Imperial officials and dignitaries that had defected to the Empire- in the eyes of Inquisitor Sejanus, nothing was too extreme, no weapon too severe, no tactic too repugnant if it meant removing the threat of these upstart wretches from the Imperium's back to allow military forces along the Eastern Fringe to deal with far more dire threats like the automaton warriors of the Necrontyr or the ravenous swarms of the Great Devourer. In achieving victory against the Tau, for Inquisitor Andromeda Sejanus, the end always justified the means.
What she was about to unleash upon the target location proved that.
Entering the strike cruiser's launch bay, she watched two bulky servitors loading into a modified drop-pod a man-sized oblong, matt-black sarcophagus, while red-garbed Mechanicus adepts attached cables and wires to the thing, while twisting dials and codes on digit-panels to reactivate systems within the device. A rime of frost clung to its surface and icicles clinging to its edges began to melt as the sarcophagus and its contents began to thaw, revivification systems slowly powering up to bring life back to what lay inside.
"Status update?" the Inquisitor commanded as the servitors finished loading the sarcophagus into the drop pod and like the reversal of an orchid opening to bloom, the drop pod began to seal up around its cargo in preparation for firing.
"Revivification protocols at 65% completion" the adept on the left answered. "Commencing upload of target biometrics to subject" the cyborg adept continued, inputting another cable into a jack in the sarcophagus through the only opening of the pod yet sealed. "Upload at 5%...10%...18%"
"Entering target co-ordinates" the second adept added to the Inquisitor's query, leaving its counterpart to complete the last portions of prepping the drop pod and its contents for deployment. "Co-ordinates deployed. Awaiting your command to fire, Inquisitor".
Sejanus moved to where the drop pod stood and approached the sarcophagus, wiping her augmetic left hand- the original limb severed by the Autarch's blade decades ago- across a glass viewing panel on the front of the sarcophagus at head height, observing what lay within, illuminated by flickering green light from within the sarcophagus as its internal systems awoke and prepared its occupant for the task it had been bred and moulded for. Eye lenses the colour of dried blood stared at her through the frosted glass from a death's-head fashioned in a baleful snarl as a black-wrapped upper arm began to twitch as the last traces of cryo-sleep dissipated, flexing fingers tipped with adamantine, scalpel-sharp talons.
"Revivification protocols complete. Target biometric upload at 78%...85%...88%"
"Do what your masters made you for" Sejanus whispered to the sarcophagus as she moved to join the second adept in the launch bay's control booth to fire the damn thing. She smiled as she studied the target co-ordinates, making note to deploy servo-skulls to record and observe once proceedings got underway. She wanted to see her methods vindicated, to see the Tau assault fall apart as their precious leader was butchered like a grox in a slaughterhouse and they saw how far the Imperium would go to keep its property out of their grasping hands.
"Target biometric upload complete" the first adept remarked as the Mechanicus agent joined the others in the sealed control booth, now that they were about to open the strike cruiser to the vacuum to fire the drop pod. Studying the intel she had, Sejanus noted it would take approximately 2.45 minutes for the drop pod to hit its intended target.
That would be more than enough time for the pod's lethal payload to be armed and full operational by the moment it impacted on the planet below.
Wishing only that her unsuspecting targets could hear it, Inquisitor Sejanus whispered to her unwitting enemies "Fear me, for I am your apocalypse", revelling in the appropriateness of the Temple's creed as her hand of flesh slammed down the firing button and the drop pod was sent whirling into space to let its contents do their bloody work below.
"Approaching target co-ordinates. Will report upon assessing situation"
Shas'ui Bork'an Ka'mais Niorol of Strike Team Niorol, part of the security detail guarding the perimeters of the repurposed captured Imperial bunker serving as the command centre for the protection of Aun'el Ko'ur, leader and figurehead to the Bork'an forces present on the planet Nineveh, as it was named by the gue'la, hastened her footsteps, though she was not particularly enthusiastic about this assignment. While it was an honour for her fire team to be part of protecting such a vaunted agent of the Greater Good, her presence on this frigid planet was not one of the more enjoyable assignments she'd completed. The near-artic cold was bad enough in calm conditions; when the wind whipped up, it was even worse, to say nothing of the fact that shorted out sensors and radio communications, despite the best efforts of the Earth Caste technicians to keep things functional. The horrendously vicious blizzards that could crop up were even worse; in the earlier stages of the invasion, more than one fire team had been caught out by the wintry conditions and succumbed to hypothermia, and while the rates were dropping now, there were still cases of frostbite and other cold-related injuries and sickness cropping up amongst the Fire Caste forces on Nineveh.
Nor was the environment the only danger they had to face; the Imperials were growing more bold and more vicious in their determination to force the Tau off the planet. The vanguard of the Imperium's armies, scouts of the so-called 'Angels of Death' were moving closer and closer; barely fifteen miles for Ka'mais's current position, stealth teams and Pathfinders were fighting running battles with Astartes snipers and saboteurs, and hit-and-run attacks by bike-mounted troops from the Space Marines identified with the designation 'Templars of Steel' were near-constant on the front-lines, the Imperium's elite warriors probing for weak spots in the defences, causing chaos but retreating before a co-ordinated response could reach them. The Fire Warriors and Kroot Carnivore squads defending against such assaults were being pushed to the breaking point, and while Ka'mais was no defeatist, she could see it would be only a matter of time before the Space Marines succeeded in breaching the defences.
Ka'mais Niorol was smart enough to know what had provoked such aggression from the Imperials; they knew Aun'el Ko'ur was here. She knew enough history of her people's wars with the Imperium of Man to know the Imperials recognised what kind of blow to morale the killing of a member of the Ethereal Caste would inflict. 'They have to, if our reports about who is co-ordinating the Imperial war effort are accurate' Ka'mais thought; a woman who was already notorious amongst the Fire Caste, one of the Imperium's infamous 'Inquisitors', a woman whose hatred of the Tau'va was legendary, and who had no scruples about using any and every weapon at her disposal to satisfy that hatred- bombing Tau civilian population centres with biological weapons, financing and supporting pro-Imperial terrorists on Tau-held worlds, having the Deathwatch sabotage orbital stations and satellites to use as missiles against the worlds they were orbiting were just some of the war crimes Inquisitor Andromeda Sejanus had committed to mark her as an enemy of the Tau Empire- trying to murder a member of the Ethereal Caste would be exactly what such a foe would be expected to do.
So when word had come through the comms network of something coming down within a klick of the Ethereal's command centre, Ka'mais and her squad had been given the co-ordinates to investigate, with the rest of the cadre close by, easily within radio contact and able to assist if they encountered trouble. The Air Caste pilot who'd reported in had sounded almost apologetic to waste their time, believing what they'd seen coming down was likely no more than debris from the battle still raging in space, but the Shas'vre in charge of the Ethereal's security refused to take chances. There had been no detonation recorded by the sensors, so what had come down wasn't a missile, nor the prelude of an orbital bombardment- the Imperials couldn't know the bunker's location, else what they had in terms of firepower in Nineveh's air space and orbit would have opened fire with everything they had- but no one believed this contact could be friendly, if the fact the Shas'vre had ordered the bunker locked down until further notice was anything to go on.
'It would be much simpler if the honoured Ethereal would allow himself to withdraw to orbit' Ka'mais thought to herself. Aun'el Ko'ur insisted that his presence on Nineveh would bolster the morale of the troops fighting to secure the Greater Good's dominion of this system, but in Ka'mais's opinion, keeping your most valuable possession in one place only made it easier for someone else to steal it.
They reached the co-ordinates and Ka'mais knew she was right to be worried. The contact was a drop pod of Imperial manufacture, similar to the ones utilised by the Space Marines to attack from orbit, but this one was different, smaller as if meant to contain only a single individual rather than an entire squad, made from midnight-black metal and marked with an insignia the Tau Fire Warriors didn't recognise, a blade-pierced skull in dull silver. The pod had opened, splayed out like a metal flower in bloom, and at its centre, a strange, oblong sarcophagus fashioned of the same material as the pod, meant to fit a single human body, looking like it had been opened from the inside if the multitude of wires dangling limply within the sarcophagus as if torn out in haste were any indication, steam billowing from its surface from the heat of re-entry. In the few patches of undisturbed snow not melted by the heat of impact, she could see a few footprints. 'Only one mark. Alone. On foot. Should not be difficult to run to ground'
"Command, this is Shas'ui Niorol of Fire Team Niorol. We are at target co-ordinates; have identified contact as drop-pod of Imperial manufacture. Intruder presence suspected within the vicinity. Evidence suggests only one. Request permission to pursue"
Nothing but static. Ka'mais tried to relay her report, but there was no response and for the first time, Ka'mais Noriol felt uncertainty. The other teams of the cadre were useless to them if they couldn't be raised if trouble struck, and if their communications were severed, there was the distinct possibility whatever the drop pod had contained might double back to take advantage of that fact.
"Communications are being jammed. Lay'ten, see if you can see what's causing it" Ka'mais instructed a member of her Fire Team. The pod had to have some sort of jamming device built into it; the sooner they found and disabled it, the better.
At that moment, there was a pair of loud bangs as objects bounced off the side of the drop pod and landed on the snowy ground in the centre of the squad. Ka'mais had barely a second to identify them as Imperial grenades before they went off, cutting the Fire Warriors off from each other's sight in thick, billowing clouds of oily grey smoke. Ka'mais kept her pulse carbine gripped tightly as she desperately tried to clear the air around her. As she did, however, she heard a sound she recognised, a sound that made her blood run cold.
The sound of a power blade's energy field going active.
And that was when the screaming started.
There were two at first; one she recognised as the voice of Lay'ten, screaming in pain she never thought a living being could express, the other sounding human in its cadence, but sounding halfway between a battle-cry and the roar of a hunting animal.
'It knew', Ka'mais realised with a jolt of horror. 'It knew we'd come to investigate and it waited for us'. With communications down, sooner or later, other teams of the cadre would come to investigate their last known position, but by then, what had fallen upon them would be gone, looking to take advantage of the gap in the defences to reach what was undoubtedly its true target.
She heard Ol'nan die next, a wet, choking gasp as if he had been felled with a punctured lung and then, as Ka'mais spun, trying to get a shot at what was out there, she saw it coming for her; running at full sprint, she could only catch glimpses of death coming at her- a snarling, baleful death's head, lean limbs clad in reddish-black body armour, eye lenses the colour of dried blood glinting in the weak light and in its right hand, a single edged sword, a falcata of Imperial design, its blade crackling with coruscating lines of lightning. Ka'mais had seen the damage an Imperial power sword could do to flesh and bone. She raised her pulse carbine, aiming for the centre of the hostile's chest and fired…to no avail. The figure moved with serpentine swiftness, dodging aside from one shot, then a second. A third slightly clipped its right shoulder, but the figure didn't even flinch from the injury. Ka'mais guessed her attacker was likely pumped full of the steroids and combat drugs certain elite warriors of the Imperium utilised to increase their combat capabilities and tolerance to pain, but before she could properly aim a head shot, it was on her.
The sword cleaved at Ka'mais's neck.
In that nano-second, Ka'mais felt a sense of vertigo, that she'd last felt when the Orca dropship deploying her and other forces to the surface of Nineveh had been forced to spin in mid-air to avoid Imperial anti-aircraft fire. Her head cracked on the ground, losing her helmet, which went spinning away; Ka'mais tried to get back to her feet, but her body wasn't responding; indeed, she couldn't feel her feet or any part of her body. The wind suddenly cleared up- Ka'mais assumed so by the fact the smoke from the grenades was beginning to clear, because she couldn't feel it on her skin, and as it did, saw something that stunned her; a Tau body in the blue grey battle armour of the Bork'an sept swaying upright, headless, the decapitation bloodless, the ragged stump cauterized by the power sword's energy field.
In the last instant before the remaining elements of bio-electricity dissipated and sent her into the darkness, Ka'mais Niorol realised it was her own. The stories that a head could survive a few moments after being separated from the body were true.
The remaining members of Fire Team Niorol were dead in the space of 8.3 seconds. Their killer had already moved on before most of their bodies had hit the ground.
The wound in the right arm bled, but it didn't hurt-the pain suppressants in the assassin's bloodstream already having taken effect, and the anticoagulants and other combat drugs were already causing the bleeding to slow to nothing. The Eversor bounded on to its ultimate destination, moving through snow-covered ruins left behind by pitched battles between Imperial and xenos armoured columns, its gaze flicking from side to side, constantly alert for any more sentries or warning signs of discovery. It knew it had to move swiftly if it wanted to complete its mission; the patrol the assassin had just slaughtered were sure to be missed before too long. It had to complete its mission before that discovery was made and the Tau completely locked down the area to protect the target. The masters of the Temple demanded it. The Imperium and the Emperor demanded it.
The Eversor knew where it was going; the mission briefing uploaded directly into its cerebrum as it awoke from cryo-sleep had been complete, detailing the identity and location of the target for the mission- xenos filth marked for death. The assassin didn't know how long the lapse since its last mission had been, nor did it matter; all that mattered was that its services were required once more. The Ethereal would die. Anyone or anything who got in the way of that objective would die- this was what the Masters of the Temple had trained the assassin for since the youth it had been had been plucked from the schola and deemed a suitable candidate for training under the auspices of the Officio Assassinorum.
A mission update scrawled across the interior of the Eversor's helm, directing it to head to a new set of co-ordinates on approach to its target, stating that additional support would be deployed once it reached the co-ordinates. Without hesitation, the Eversor began to move to obey, sprinting to the co-ordinates.
Fire crackled as the Ethereal staggered back to his feet. The burning wreckage of the Orca transport crackled and continued to rock with secondary detonations, the Thunderhawk that had shot it down continuing up out of firing range of the remaining AA defences- the few that hadn't been destroyed by pro-Imperial saboteurs who'd slipped through the security screening- while the Blackstars that had been flying as escorts broke off from the larger aircraft's flanks to chase down the Barracudas that had been trying to protect the Orca.
Beside Aun'el Ko'ur, the defecting Imperial Governor of Nineveh ranted and raved in clear panic as she clambered back to her feet, alternating between gesticulating at the burning remains of the Orca transport wrecked on the landing pad and looking over her shoulder at the perimeter walls of what had once been her private compound; gue'vasa troopers and Fire Warriors desperately defending the line against Space Marines in black, silver-edged armour rappelling down to ground level from another Blackstar gunship hovering above the outpost or descending from on high on jump packs with swords raised and pistols blazing. As the Ethereal watched, a shas'ui was decapitated as a descending Assault Marine laid about him with a screeching chainsword, two more members of the dead shas'ui's Fire Team staggering back, one missing his right arm at the elbow, the other clutching a ragged trench the weapon had carved through the Fire Warrior's chest. Seconds later, the Astarte was punched sideways as fire from the burst cannon of a descending XV8 Crisis battlesuit caught the warrior and two more Space Marines close to him before they could get retaliatory shots off. Before the battlesuit could move in for the kill however, a missile streaked down from overhead and the cannon arm was torn off as the Blackstar hovering finished deploying its troops opened fire with the missile batteries slung under its wings. The assault cannons at the craft's nose opened up moments later, tearing apart the battlesuit, but its fellows opened up with their plasma rifles in retaliation. They failed to do any major damage, but the Imperial craft's pilot recognised the danger and broke off, heading up into the sky to re-join its fellows before coming around for another attack run. A Barracuda fighter that crossed its path took a trio of missiles to its right wing and plunged from the sky, smashing into a nearby administrative building and incinerating the gue'vasa troopers trying to evacuate the staff from within as its engine and ammunition feeds detonated on impact.
All around the compound, desperate battles for survival raged as the Deathwatch slaughtered anyone in reach- heavy weapon-toting Veterans forming up a perimeter, using overturned crates, debris from burning structures and buildings as barricadesto form a firing line as jump-pack equipped melee combatants chased down any Tau defenders unable to get to the safety of their own lines in time, or in probing attempts to breach further into the compound through the defences the Fire Caste forces were hastily erecting. Aun'el Ko'ur cursed at such wanton butchery- not that he had expected anything different from the Imperium- when the sound of engines caught Ko'ur's attention. A pair of Hammerhead tanks began to move from the vehicle hangers to the right of the governor's facility, moving into range of the Space Marines laying down suppressing fire on the Tau Fire Teams, beginning to turn to try and outflank the Astartes; Ko'ur felt his heart surge as the leftmost tank opened fire with its railgun and three Astartes went down, two remaining where they fell, the other staggering back to his feet despite missing most of his right arm, incinerated along with the bolter it had held. For a strange instant, Aun'el Ko'ur was sure he could see a black-garbed shape, an almost human figure clinging to the left side of the closest Hammerhead, but then the gunship moved on and the shadow on its blue-grey hull was gone, so quick the Ethereal was sure he must have imagined it…
And then what looked suspiciously like a melta bomb detonated on the right side of the craft, its engine shearing off as the explosive tore it apart, having been planted on the engine's intake. The craft listed to its right, slamming into the side of its fellow and knocking both tanks off course, leaving them prey for the Imperial forces- the all-too familiar shriek of Hellstrike missiles being fired came from above as the shadow of the Thunderhawk commencing another attack run passed overhead- but the Ethereal's eyes were drawn to movement from by the crippled Hammerheads, a slender figure leaping out from the inferno, sprinting straight at them.
"Run-"Aun'el Ko'ur began to yell, before something the approaching attacker hurled at him caught him full in the chest, knocking him from his feet again. Looking down at his lap where the crude missile had fallen, Ko'ur saw it was the helmet of a shas'ui…with the severed head of its wearer still inside. Kicking it away in disgust, to his horror, the Ethereal saw that the attacker had almost reached them, completely unconcerned by the battle raging metres away, and the Space Marines seemingly willing to keep their distance from the advancing creature. The figure was a horrific vision, illuminated by the flames off the still-smouldering wreckage; a snarling, baleful death's head, lean limbs clad in reddish-black body armour, eye lenses the colour of dried blood gleaming like fresh-cut rubies in the light of the flames, a drawn power blade crackling with lines of pale energy as the blade went live, the warrior spinning it as the dark figure dropped into a fighting crouch, its unarmed hand going to its waist-
"Eversor-" was all the woman beside the Ethereal, stood idle like the rest of the group as the carnage raged around them, managed to get out before the assassin shot her in the stomach. Cassandra Webb, last scion of that noble house, former Governor of the Imperial world of Nineveh and traitor to the Imperium of Man, collapsed as lethally powerful toxins rampaged through her system, the traitor shrieking in paroxysms of agony; before the toxins could do their work, however, the assassin stamped down hard on the traitor's larynx, leaving the former Governor to choke to death. The pistol barked twice again, only this time it was bolter rounds that dropped two of the woman's turncoat aides with gaping holes blown through their chests. The remainder of Cassandra's diplomats ran for their lives, looking for a form of escape that didn't exist, as the Deathwatch continued their systematic purge of all life in the facility. The assassin began to advance on the Ethereal when a keening, avian screech rang out, deafening even over the sounds of the battle, and from the left flank, a pack of nine milk-skinned Kroot auxiliaries charged out of a nearby barracks, brandishing their bladed rifles as the Shaper at their head drew a pair of falxes from its Ork hide belt, perhaps thinking the lone figure an easier target than the dug-in Space Marines that, to Ko'ur's surprise, were beginning to fall back, the Blackstars looking to be landing to extract their forces-
'They served their purpose' the Ethereal realised. 'The Deathwatch were never meant to take this facility, just keep us busy long enough for the Assassin to get in range of its target' a chill going down Aun'el Ko'ur's spine as the identity of that target became clear.
The Eversor's bolt pistol barked twice, dropping two Kroot with perfect headshots. The first to get into close range swung out for the Eversor's head, its rifle a bladed quarterstaff…that passed harmlessly overhead as the Eversor bent backwards, its spine near horizontal. The assassin's answering strike swept up, almost negligent, and the Kroot's hands were in an instant vainly trying to staunch the blood from its opened throat. The power sword parried another strike, knocking the blade stabbing at its right side away, before the neuro gauntlet on its left hand struck out, a quartet of bloody crevasses carved across the offending Kroot's face, which collapsed as the full dose of neurotoxins took near immediate effect. The Eversor screeched in rage as the Shaper took advantage of its distraction, a falx blade biting into its left hip. Snarling, the assassin pivoted on its heel, and the Shaper was knocked back as the roundhouse kick connected with its jaw. The Eversor went on the attack, using one of the dead to boost its leap into the air, lunging at the shaper with its power sword in both hands; the Shaper's crossed its twin blades and caught the assassin's strike inches from its face, kicking the assassin in the stomach and knocking it back, the falxes slashing low to try and eviscerate its foe. The Eversor darted back, narrowly avoiding being gutted…and hacked down at its exposed foe, the Shaper's battle cry turning into a shriek of pain as the power sword severed its right arm at the elbow. The Eversor kicked the xenos leader in its stump to keep it down and then moved on, contemptuously beheading the Shaper with a casual backhand. The remaining Kroot, realising they were outmatched, broke off, though not quick enough for three, the assassin's Executioner pistol dropping them with bolt rounds to the back, while the third fell when the assassin hurled its power sword, the blade flying end over end to bury itself in the back of the alien's skull, jutting from the crest of bony black quills…and then there was no one between the assassin and its target.
Aun'el Ko'ur was hauled to his feet and lifted in the air by his throat as the Eversor studied him, determining how best to kill him, a guttural snarl of hate escaping the death's head mask covering the gue'la butcher's helm…when the sound of running feet and engines shrieking to assist in deceleration cut through and both killer and victim turned their heads to see two squads of Fire Warriors and a pair of Crisis battlesuits aiming their weapons at the Eversor, all aching to fire but unwilling to risk hiting the Ethereal. The only remaining humans were the surviving gue'vasa troopers who managed to escape the purges, the Deathwatch having withdrawn with their purpose of facilitating the assassin's approach complete…which only intensified the sense of unease amongst the Tau forces. If they'd left the assassin behind, then the warrior clearly had no concern about its own survival.
"It's over, gue'la" the shas'ui inside one of the Crisis suits declared. "Stand down or die. Release the Ethereal now and you will be spared"
The answer was both what they expected and dreaded; letting loose an almost bestial screech of hate, the Eversor rammed the talons of its neuro-gauntlet into the revered Aun'el Ko'ur's chest, death near instantaneous from the damage to the organ even before four lethal doses of neurotoxins could take effect. The Eversor flung the body aside, its mission completed, and threw wide its arms, almost daring the aliens surrounding it to shoot. They duly did so, volleys of plasma fire ripping through armour and into flesh, sundering organs and bones…but the Eversor's last cries were not ones of pain, but one of satisfaction. As it collapsed and the closest Fire Warriors moved in to confirm it was dead, an ominous glow began to emit through the cracks in the assassin's armour, like magma boiling up to the surface…
The vid-feed from the Eversor's helm showed her everything. Inquisitor Andromeda Sejanus smiled in satisfaction as she saw Governor Webb being relieved of her position and she had all but clapped in delight like a juvie landing a date with the captain of the scrumball team at the schola as she watched the sight of the Ethereal's facial expression as its killer had rammed the talons of its neuro-gauntlet under the alien demagogue's ribs into the vital organs, just minutes before the footage cut out following the Assassin's explosive demise- hopefully incinerating the Tau forces that had just been its firing squad-, the chemicals flooding its bloodstream igniting in the biological equivalent of a supernova, no longer kept in check by the body's metabolic processes.
While she knew there would be some complaints when her brother Perseus- and technically her superior in the Inquisition, given his time in the Ordo Malleus had seen him achieve the rank of Lord Inquisitor- arrived on Nineveh about her casual use of one of the Officio Assassinorum's assets, she felt no discomfort; the end would justify the means. With both the Ethereal and the planet's traitor governor exterminated, xenos and insurgent forces would be dealt a significant blow to their morale…and Captain Sibrand and the Templars of Steel would be both willing and able to keep the pressure on the aliens to ensure they didn't recover from being thrust so far off balance. With sufficient force and pressure used to capitalise on the decapitating strike she'd just had carried out, the instructions she'd been given to clear Nineveh of xenos interefence before the Grey Knights arrived for whatever purpose had brought them to this Eastern Fringe backwater would be fulfilled.
In the years to come, Imperial records would commend Inquisitor Andromeda Sejanus for her decision, noting that such a brutal act of retaliation to the brief Tau annexation of Nineveh ensured that, when Imperial rule was finally re-established and secured on the planet, the Tau Empire didn't dare try to set its sights on the planet for quite some time afterwards for fear of similar such savagery being used again, but those records also note that, given the battles that followed and the nature of the foe that took the place of the Tau to claim control of Nineveh, the Inquisitor might have done better to hold back such a stroke for those fights.