@#@#@# Amos's POV @#@#@#
“Genestealers?! On your ship?!” Dahl did not like the news Delray had brought, especially after he let the fact two of them were planetside and possibly implanted a crewman. “Our only method of escaping this world is now crawling with those Emperor-damned beasts?”
“I had no way of knowing what was in the shipping containers when I purchased the goods.” Delray's face was flush from the exertion of escaping death and embarrassment of being called out on his mistake. I could tell the merchant only retreated because he wanted something, because most shipmasters would have died defending their ships. “A pod with at least two of the beasts fell planetside, towards the arctic region magnetic north of here.”
“Then I guess we're paying a visit to the Crystal Empire.” Taylor was wearing similar clothing to ours, right down to an aquila on his breast pocket. I had no idea where he had gotten it, because my clothes were too small for him, and Dahl didn't wear anything like that.
“And what of Ophidia?” The boss really didn't like being delayed in anything, especially when he was so close to catching the bastard he's chased for so long. Taylor shrugged in response.
“This planet's security is my primary concern. The very last thing we need is a genestealer cult popping up. The only good news we have is they wont be able to reproduce for a few months.” He looked lost in thought for a moment, then relaxed as Chrysalis came in with his armor. It seemed he planned on leaving immediately, and used his powers to signal his... I'm not quite sure what I should classify them as, but they weren't separate much. “Now, either you all come with me, Amos flies my squad to the Empire, or we take the train, which will delay hunting Ophidia by at least a week.”
“How does your Inquisition get any work done?” Dahl was fuming at that point, knowing he was trapped in a corner. He wanted Ophidia burned, and so did the rest of our team, and he was more than willing to do everything he was capable of to accomplish this. I've already mentioned him employing Kroot mercenaries before, so his reluctance to cooperate now was a bit startling.
“I imagine similarly to yours.” Taylor knew that insult was duel-layered. For an organization that utilized xenos and heretics to function in any sense comparable to the Holy Ordos of the Inquisition was blasphemy, as well as the added layer of Dahl's rather correct suspicions regarding him and Chrysalis serving to compare the two personally. It was then I realized the Burned Man was an enormous dick. “So, want to go alien hunting in the frozen north, Reglan?”
“We are not on a first name basis, heretic.”
“Ouch. If I had feelings, that might have hurt.”
$%$%$% Taylor's POV $%$%$%
So, apparently the strider has a lot of room available. Delphine would not be with us, nor would Oleg, Alexander, or Martellus. The Elements were here, as were Jay and Chrysalis; Luna was watching over Scipia back at the palace. We were flying at a steady mach one, not too fast or too slow; we didn't want to arrive too early. Delray, that sonofabitch, had brought genestealers of Equus. Genestealers! Are you getting what I'm saying?
I wasn't worried about a Tyranid invasion, because getting here required Warp travel, and the bugs didn't utilize it. The planet couldn't be devoured, but it could be overrun and destroyed from within by swarms of the sneaky bastards. Luckily, they picked a pretty terrible spot to land; Chorion's brood lived in the Crystal Empire as full citizens, and we always got along. It'd be a headache connecting to so many changelings at once if you considered my previous record of twenty, but so many eyes and ear and connections to scan the crystal ponies would prove necessary.
“I don't see why we can't just try to reason with them.” Fluttershy was a pacifist through and through, even if she didn't quite understand the severity of the situation. She was referring to the genestealers, not Chaos, because we hadn't informed any Elements other than Twilight of the danger beyond the material universe.
“Fluttershy, they want to hypnotize and dominate the population and try to signal an alien swarm to devour the entire world.” I wasn't going to mention they would fail to hail a Hive Fleet, but that was my little secret. It was getting really tough to convey just how shitty the universe Dahl and his retinue came from, because not only did English lack appropriate words to describe it, the peaceful little ponies were getting less and less capable of comprehending the dangers that were now prowling their world. “Their claws could rip my armor open like it was nothing, and they have no qualms about war crimes and other atrocities.”
“If they don't fight by rules, how are you even going to find them?” Rainbow Dash had settled down a bit in the decade I'd known her, though she never settled down, if you catch my meaning. She was actually growing into an intelligent mare, though she wasn't exactly stupid when we first met, though she was still rough around the edges. “I don't think they're gonna have signs all around the empire saying Here we are, come kill us!”
“They psychically dominate their victims, so I'm going to beat them at their own game.” I tapped my head for emphasis. I planned to use Chorion's changelings to search the hearts and minds of every crystal pony I could round up, provided any genestealer cult that formed hadn't already moved into isolation. Well, they only had about two hours on us at the moment, so maybe they only reached a handful of ponies. “We'll see what happens we the changeling hivemind interacts with the genestealers' brood telepathy.”
“This seems like a great way to get yourself killed,” Rarity said with a roll of her eyes. She wasn't a fan of violence apart from the poor acting in those trashy radio soaps I hated. She also hadn't forgiven me for that time I ran through her boutique naked when her sister and her friends were over, then cleared out before I could catch any flak directly. That being said, we got along famously when there was alcohol involved.
“Now Rar, they wouldn't be doin' this if there were 'ny other options.” Applejack was understanding of this predicament to an extent, an ability granted by the fact she happened to be the mother of a genetically engineered human-pony hybrid and the significant other of the Pyromaniac. Worrying about humans getting killed kind of died off after she and Jay had Candied Apple; now they only had to worry about me killing their son if he decided to snoop around Scipia.
The entire time, Dahl just sort of sat there, looking at the ponies in fascination. Amos had the servo-skull in the cockpit so Twilight could assist him in navigating to the Crystal Empire. He seemed rather dumbfounded that we were having entire conversations that he did not understand, and I took great measures to ensure he was left ignorant. The Crystal Empire would be our first stop, where we would make our actions officially known. Wiping out the genestealers would be a red flag for Ophidia, and possibly drive him deeper into hiding.
The chase always makes the kill more satisfying. The Ripper, who oversaw the Inquisition's movements in the Crystal Empire, would gladly agree. He was a griffin by the name of Jacques, and had been perhaps the only griffin I fought who survived a run-in with my powersabre. For that, I conscripted him into my squad. Surprisingly, we get along.