$%$%$% Taylor's POV $%$%$%
“Dahl, Martellus, meet Princess Celestia, my boss.” Dahl seemed to regard the alicorn with mild disinterest, only because he would have much preferred working with me than an alien. The Magos Explorator, however, was rather difficult to read. You know, because most of his face was immobile. Seriously, Karapass's expressions were easier to determine than Martellus's. “Tia, meet Inquisitor Dahl of the Ordo Hereticus, and Magos Explorator Martellus of the Adeptus Mechanicus.”
“Charmed...,” She trailed off, unsure of the two. To be fair, she had been dealing with humans for... a while. The alicorn looked at me curiously, only now noticing how little of the Martian's humanity remained. There would be an aversion there, I'm sure; she had only met a handful of augmented people, myself included. Cyborgs weren't really on her list of favorites, trust me on that.
“Well, go on, Dahl; I'm not holding your hand through this.” The inquisitor gave me harsh look, clearly not expecting me to be so blunt. The psyker nevertheless stepped forward, and looked the princess in the eye. Much like in humans, ponies perceived eye contact as a display of dominance or equality, neither of which he had. He was a stranger in the court, an interloper in the kingdom, and he had possibly brought ruination upon our heads by chasing a dangerous heretic to our home.
“Xenos, I am Inquisitor Reglan Dahl, and I am after a man named-”
“Ophidia, yes, I know. Man of average height, shaved head, last seen traveling with a cabal that included a number of rouge psykers.” Celestia gave me a wink, using all the information I had provided about the Chaos cultist and his ilk. With Dahl out of useful information regarding his mark, he would be forced to work on our terms. “I hope you have a plan of action.”
“I require information regarding this... kingdom, as well as the local customs. Chaos is a foe that is all too slippery.” The inquisitor looked to me to see some confirmation or support, but my mask was as stoic as granite. Honestly, Celestia and I knew I could track Ophidia myself, and call in reinforcements to burn whatever hole he was hiding in to the ground. Technically speaking, Dahl was a liability. “Your Inquisition's cooperation would be helpful to that end.”
“My Inquisition works alone, as is written in its founding charter.” Celestia's voice held only truth. The Inquisition was a both a military organization and a political entity, but was neither at the same time. We could not requisition troops from the royal guard, standing army, or navy, nor could we conscript from the local populace. “Chaos, and indeed any entity that poses a threat to my kingdom or this world, falls under the Inquisition's jurisdiction.”
“I'm sure this charter only applies to organizations within your kingdom?” Dahl was hopeful, for naught. It was all in black and white; I worked with Celestia and Luna to write the damned thing, so I was the best person to know. I also knew what the alicorn was playing at; you see, she didn't like me, and she really didn't like Dahl and his retinue, so she found a way to fuck both of us over.
“The only way you can utilize assets set aside for the Inquisition is to be a member.” I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the colorful little diarch could be a complete bitch when she was bogged down with work. Well, it was tax season. Still, this would be a good chance to see how dedicated Dahl was to his job and the interest of the Imperium. Would he swear allegiance to a xenos culture to eliminate a threat to his people, or would he be too stalwart to actually fight?
$%$%$% Amos's POV $%$%$%
You know, we don't usually get many chances to relax, so we take them as they come. Oleg had another lho stick, which one of the ponies walking by had to direct him to another room, which was adjoined, where smoking was allowed. No, seriously, this little orange female saw him just sitting on a couch, puffing away, and angrily pointed him to the next room. I laughed like someone had forced nitrous oxide in the room. Alexander, however, did not.
The savant had his dataslate opened to a some historical record, xenology of some sort, detailing contacts with Tau on border worlds. It seemed he was trying to use the information to benefit us, though I doubted the ponies had the same devotion to a Greater Good or similar doctrine, as evidenced by the rather explosion argument we saw down the hall. From my experience, which was extremely lacking, Martellus was the only member of our group who would be able to truly figure these xenos out. Still, his repeated searching and study benefited us a bit more than Delphine's chosen time killer.
The Sister Hospitaller knelt before a small aquila, an icon she kept on her person at all times. While no sanctified shrine, I was sure the Emperor heard her prayers. We were, for all intents and purposes, stranded on an alien world with no means of communicating with the Skyward Valkyrie other than our vox systems, which were surely monitored. For a moment, I considered kneeling beside her, though we suffered from a bit of theological difference, and my presence may have broken her concentration. Shrugging, I realized there wasn't much I could do.
I reached into my coat, the heavy leather number I almost always wore, and retrieved my whetstone. It was a cultural practice from home to sharpen your knife when you've got a moment to rest. Really, what did you expect? The Imperium only rediscovered my world three centuries ago, and we still maintain our warrior traditions, albeit in a more civilized manner. I unsheathed my knife and prepared the stone, which is to say I licked it. Hey, don't give me that look; it's good for the soul. Oh, and don't bother asking why I didn't use the blade to stop the xenos from taking us hostage.
$%$%$% Taylor's POV $%$%$%
“Princess, we hardly have the time to send them through training.” As much as I would have liked seeing the six Imperials crawling through mud, it would do no good to waste such time. Ophidia needed to be stopped at all costs, which meant making some sacrifices and ignoring the damned charter for a while. “Submit them to the physical and equip them Inquisitorial armor so we can be done with it.”
“I'll not serve some alien ruler.” Dahl did not know how deep of a hole he was digging, and it was obvious. The physical examinations were mostly painless and quick, performed by the Inquisition's own medical personnel, who were trained to deal with a myriad of biologies.
“If you choose death, then so be it.” Celestia looked to me gravely, and nodded once. I unsheathed my powersabre, not bothering to engage its internal field generators. Cutting through necks did not require the force I could apply with my unaided arms, much less when they were supplemented by my armor. However necessary this was, I regretted that I was now the executioner responsible for the deaths of six, really about five and some change, humans whose only crime was their devotion to their Imperium.
“I will not serve you, but my retinue and I can serve beside you.” Words played across my HUD, sent from Martellus, asking me not to kill the inquisitor just yet. The magos understood the need for protocol, certainly, and there was something rather odd about Dahl's tactics. Most inquisitors, my own included, were savagely loyal and would rarely change their opinions about working with who they perceived as an enemy or neutral third party. I paused only for a moment more, to allow the psyker a chance to make his case. “This physical, my men and I will take it, but only if we will be granted access to your weaponry and vehicles.”
“Taylor, you heard him; make sure the Medic is ready for them.” Celestia's disposition changed like someone flipped a switch, a testament to her acting abilities. She never intended for me to kill Dahl and Martellus, only to intimidate them into obedience. A risky tactic, given the last time she used it, we were locked in a year-long war that still had the border with the Pridelands scarred. But, considering it seemed to work, I found little chance for anything to go terribly wrong. A little wrong, sure, but not so wrong I couldn't fix it.