Retrieval
++Facility 2W6379BJ, Denton III++
++3.637.879.M39++
Deathwatch Brothers Venris and Atellus stared down the hallway at the xenoform. A few seconds ago, they had been embroiled in what both fully expected to be the last fight of their lives, grappling Necron Immortals in a last-ditch bid to prevent them from bringing their guns to bear. Then, without warning, reality as they knew it had momentarily ceased to exist within a scant few meters of their position, their enemies had vanished, and the “Imperials” outside were the apparent victors. The gaze of the two Astartes had been drawn to the creature they instinctively recognized as the one responsible for this turnaround.
They were, naturally, debating whether to kill it.
“Too dangerous,” Atellus said in the sign-language all battle brothers shared. “Xenos untrustworthy. Terminate while exhausted.”
“Possible use?” Venris replied, fingers gesturing rapidly in the dark. “Obvious enemy of Necrons.”
“As is Chaos. Xenos obviously Warp-tainted.”
“Disagree. Further investigation needed.”
“Better ten thousand innocents die than one guilty man survives,” Atellus quoted a well-known Imperial proverb. “Take no chances with Chaos.”
“Primary objective: preserve all that is left of facility’s data and personnel. Impossible without assistance.”
“Better dead than corrupt.”
“Sure of corruption?”
“All xenos are fundamentally corrupt.”
“Imperium deals peacefully with xenos on occasion,” Venris pointed out. “In times of great necessity. Precedent exists.”
“A xeno Acolyte, though?”
“Do not know.”
“Neither do I,” Atellus admitted.
“Proposal: peaceful first contact with group. Agree to work with them. Confiscate best weaponry,” Venris signed. “At first sign of corruption, terminate with extreme prejudice.”
Atellus hesitated, considering. “Agreed,” he signed a second later.
The conversation had taken place over the course of a scant few seconds, yet another benefit of enhanced Astartes physiology and reaction time. Even if any of the supposed agents of the Inquisition were capable of understanding it, they were some distance away and darkness offered substantial privacy. At the moment, every eye that the Astartes could see was either on the floor or staring at the xeno with idiot expressions of relief or awe. For its part, the little purple creature was still struggling to catch its breath, and continued to do so for a good amount of time to come.
“So…” it eventually managed between gasps. “Where were we?”
“You were explaining who you are,” Venris said, with just the faint undertone of a growl. “And what you are doing here. Be quick about it, there are almost certainly more enemies on their way.”
“Yes…” this Twilight said, still panting badly and dripping with sweat. “We’re here to… here to…” she gasped loudly and stumbled, head towards the floor.
“Someone capable of speaking.”
“My lord Astartes,” the Stormtrooper called Titus stepped up and bowed his head, while the xeno “Acolyte” continued to wheeze loudly in the background. “We are here on the authority of Lord Inquisitor Tas Rovini of Ordo Xenos. We have orders to retrieve a psychic specimen under containment here, with the secondary priority of aiding any Imperial survivors that we find.”
“I am Interrogator Kylara, also under authority of the Lord Inquisitor,” said the sour-looking woman. “I do not answer to Acolyte, and was here prior to the xenos assault on a separate mission. That has since been aborted. I also seek the psyker called Marius Quin.”
“She is telling the truth on at least some of that,” Atellus signed. “I can vouch for her presence at least five hours prior to the initial xenos attack.”
“We are Battle Brothers Venris and Atellus of the Deathwatch,” Venris said aloud, a few moments later. “We and the few personnel that we guard are all that is left of this facility.”
“We are seeking a psyker in containment tank approximately 43 meters distant,” Titus pointed past the Astartes. “Unless you have it with you, my lords?” he sounded slightly hopeful.
“Laboratory specimens were left in their tanks,” Atellus told him.
“And most likely terminated by the xenos,” Venris stated the obvious.
“Not…” the little creature managed, “Dead…”
“You can be sure of this?” Venris was skeptical.
“Feel psychic presence…” this Twilight looked as though it might drop to the floor at any moment. “Ahead…”
“That would be highly unusual.”
“It’s true,” she insisted, legs visibly wobbling as she struggled to resume an upright stance.
“My lords, can you aid us?” Titus asked, hesitantly.
Venris growled at the audacity of a mortal asking a Space Marine to leave his post, half tempted to apply appropriate discipline on the spot.
“No,” said Atellus, brusquely. “Our mission priorities do not include the preservation of prisoners. Do you have transport?”
“Just one,” Titus answered.
“How are you getting it through the enemy air cover?”
“We aren’t,” he gestured at the xenos. “The Acolyte is capable of medium distance teleportation.”
“Do you have working vox equipment?” Atellus asked.
“We do,” Titus nodded.
“We require a set. And weapons,” he looked down at Twilight. “The bolt pistols will do.”
The little xenoform looked up at the Astartes, down at her weapons, and then back up at the Space Marines again. With a weary sigh and without a word of protest, both were gripped in purple energies and tossed limply at the Space Marines. Venris and Atellus caught them without a word.
“Terminate?” Atellus signed silently, even as he examined the disproportionately small pistol.
Venris considered. “Negative,” he signed back. “Imperial allegiance probable.”
Atellus hesitated. “Very well.”
Turning his gaze back to the small group, Venris beckoned them to come forward. One by one, they did so, eyes down and head wisely lowered. The Interrogator came first, with the least hesitation, while the little xeno hung back. Whether from fear or exhaustion, she was among the last to approach the Space Marines. By the time she drew near, Atellus was already activating the group’s long-range vox equipment, signaling the Space Marines’ continued existence and requesting immediate reinforcement and extraction. The process of contacting other elements of the Deathwatch took several precious minutes, during which time the remainder of the party took up defensive positions, waiting for the next wave of Necron attackers to appear.
They never came.
Several minutes later, the Astartes had duly established a link to their brethren and detailed what had happened. By that point everyone that wasn’t a superhuman immune to fear was jittery, half jumping at every shadow or half-imagined movement through the corridors. Necron attacks were bad enough, but if they had paused it could only be to prepare some especially horrible device to send against the Imperials. Right?
“Move along,” Venris commanded at length, making up his mind that they were not an immediate threat. “Complete your mission. We will remain here until relief arrives.”
The little purple xeno looked up at him, opened her mouth as if to say something… then thought better of it, clamped her filthy alien lips shut, and walked past without a further word. Which was a good thing. Venris found merely being in the presence of xeno scum difficult, having it question his actions would most likely have earned a bolt between its eyes.
The small Inquisition group tiptoed past the Space Marines, looking jittery. Weapons were pointed everywhere in a manner the Astartes considered highly unprofessional. Fear was for the weak. In the end, though, they rounded a corner and disappeared from even the Astartes’ enhanced sight. When they did, Venris and Atellus gave each other a brief, knowing look.
Neither of them would forget this.
For Twilight Sparkle, the next leg of the mission was simultaneously relieving and unnerving. She was greatly relieved by the fact that no metallic horror appeared from the darkness to rend their flesh from their bones while she lacked her bolt pistols. After spending so much energy on the last group, and with the promise of a difficult magical extraction ahead, a chance to rest and build her strength was greatly appreciated. At the same time, she couldn’t help but be worried. Why were the Necrons holding back? Surely there had to be more them? They couldn’t have all been chased off by that one attack? Was there some trap ahead, some ambush of which this was but the prelude? She had no way of knowing.
Competing for primacy with all these other feelings was Twilight’s heavily repressed sense of elation. Objectively, she knew that the mission wasn’t over, that she wasn’t safe, and that the Necrons on Denton III were far from defeated. Now was not the time for celebration. But at the same time, a large part of her wanted nothing more than to stop and skip around and sing her lungs out. Whoever said revenge felt empty was crazy or lying! Twilight had just destroyed one of the beings responsible for the senseless genocide of her people, plunged him into an eternity of horror and madness – and it felt great! She wanted to dance and sing and hug herself. She had long ago vowed to see Equestria’s blood avenged, and today she had taken a great stride along that path.
“Rest easy,” Twilight thought, willing the spirits of the departed to hear her. “Justice for you has been done, and more will follow. I swear it.”
No matter the alicorn’s thoughts on it, nor how nervous the empty gloom seemed to be making the humans, progress from the point where the group left the Astartes was swift and unimpeded. Not one Necron emerged from the shadows to menace them, not even a single Scarab was spotted scuttling about the halls. Why it was so was the topic of much fruitless speculation, such that by the time the group arrived at the shattered entrance to the room containing their target, half of them had worked themselves into a nervous frenzy. But still, when the crossed the broken doorway, nothing leaped out at them. The room had clearly been attacked, with chunks of metal and a handful of body parts littering the ground. But it was silent, and the containment tanks had not been touched.
“There,” Kylara instantly pointed out one of the containment tanks. “That is where the filthy witch was when last I saw him.”
Twilight walked carefully towards the indicated tank, sliding the image of the man she was after out of her belt.
“Why does the boss even want this man?” she heard Aisen asking in a whisper. “What’s so special about him and not Astartes?”
Kylara, for whatever reason, chose to indulge the man’s curiosity. “We have… evidence,” she said, carefully. “Suggesting that this particular witch may be able to see xenos movements in advance. Anywhere from hours to weeks in advance. Part of my mission was confirming his abilities. Mechanicus technicians even suggested he might be capable of seeing… more.”
“More?” Aisen echoed.
“More,” Kylara repeated, in a tone of finality.
“This is our man,” Twilight declared, moments later. “He seems to still be alive… why? Why would the Necrons leave him and the others be? They killed everyone else in here.”
“They are xenos filth,” said Kylara, irritably. “Who knows why they do anything?’
Twilight didn’t bother to respond to that. “Signal our ride,” she ordered. “We have our man, so have them move to our coordinates. I’ll get ready to take us out,” she glanced at Kylara. “I assume you’ll be wanting to join us, Interrogator?”
“Yes,” she said, through gritted teeth.
“Very well,” Twilight nodded. “Call it in.”
++Valkyrie-class Airborne Assault Carrier Warbird++
A short amount of time and a nauseating short plunge through the Aether later, Twilight Sparkle and retinue, plus one newly-acquired Interrogator and prison-casket stared down at the remains of the Mechanicus facility. There were shattered buildings, ruined machinery, and broken corpses everywhere, but as it had been inside there was not a single Necron to be seen. There were no patrolling soldiers, no mechanical insects, no flyers, nor any other sign of the invaders. It was as if they had never been. What they left behind was little more than an eerie, silent graveyard.
“This is Inquisitorial Acolyte TS to base,” Twiligth voxed as the Valkyrie rose higher into the sky. “Mission successful.”
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Oh goody. Its back.
Yippee!
6270409 I second this statement
It lives!
Great chapter there. Sadly for Twilight, Trazyn isn't swimming with demons yet... But I'm sure Acolyte TS will get another chance soon.
This story is back, it seem.
Whoooo! It's back!
Twilight as a Jokaero. Somebody do this now.
So glad you're not dead! Happy day!
....LEEEROY NECRRRRROOOOONS!
Whew... came here because of NCMares art, took a peek and read the whole thing.
I'm impressed. I have only very little knowledge about 40K but this was a captivating ride nonetheless. highly enjoyable even without the background knowledge.
Well done!
Woot!
Love this story!
The target is left by the necrons, AND the suspicious interrogator is present exactly where the traitor might be? This has bait written all over it.
Warhammer is actual the reason I got into mlp as of mlp 40k fan art and it fills me with joy to see it updated again. Now I'm going to binge read it all over again with the new chapter.
YAY! THE STORY IS ONGOING!
Fabtastic, 'nuff said
Technically if twilight sparkle is a descendant from pony's from Holy Terra then she is not a Xeno's, and if her DNA is close enough to base pony's, and is a inquisitorial acolyte she could eventually make it to inquisitor herself, and i think that would be awesome.
I wonder what the Mechanicus will ask Twilight for this time, yanno to replace the holy bolt pistols again. I am sure it will be more than last time... and likely a lot funnier! Can't wait to see what happens next!
Caught up with this finally. I look forward to the next chapter.
Highly readable even for someone who doesn't know much of anything about 40k. You're very good at making the universe accessible.
6518698
It's an extraction mission, not reclamation. And there's a planet-wide war going on. And Trazyn has been making a point to eliminate all other Inquisitorial squads he can find.
But yes, they are total dicks. What were you expecting?
Twilight hates the Necrons. But what I want to know is how will she react to meeting the sympathetically good in moral Eldars and Tau. *cheekily smiles*
6565155
Eldars : "We don't care if everyone else dies as long as we survive."
Tau Empire : "Join the Greater Good or die."
Twilight : "... Buck you all." *throws them in the Warp.
Well... when you started new ongoing story, you aren't going to update this fic regularly anymore, are you?
6613605
It doesn't help to keep starting more and more new fics, without finishing the already existant ones.
Ok, so I didn't just read through this and the prequel in an hour and a half, honest.
On a serious note, these stories are brilliant, perfectly within lore and just well written in general. Always love Necron stories.
Was expecting Dark Eldar from the cover art of the first one, am almost glad I was wrong.
Now I will begin the wait until the next chapter. I pray that it is not too long, I sadly lack the patience of the Necrons
6764884
After all that time spent in W40K ambience, I would say she turned less cute and more badass.
Dear Snake Staff,
I fel in love with this story and really get stunned when Twilight executed two people on the spot, it was a pure essence of fate that has become her share, and gave her roots as a rightous to-be-Inquisitor. And I know that kind spirit she once been still remains deep inside, but she's no longer vulnerable like a litte pony. There are such a lot of MOMENTS here that can surely be put to some "How to write a gripping book?" manual. You truly know how to create a reasonable circumstances and wherabouts for a hero's nature to expand and change. I'm impressed by the dialogues created for Twilight, therby other's talkings are also exactly fitting as they should to expose their traits and motives, TS is the hardest part and a crown jewel here, killing-machine pony to lay waste upon the Xenos filth. You use wide approach showing diffrent perspectives of many characters - with this all, methinks, You can just write a book and I' ll be the very first man to buy it. And it is said by the guy who never watched FIM and is there because of specific nature of mixing grimdark with weaponized cuteness, "mind bolt pistols" (Norad2, gj :) ), and fascination for watching worlds collide - and I'm starting to adore this little Xenos. You have my great appreciation and thanks for what you've already given us and I modestly ask for more, good sir, of this brilliant tale.
Yours faithfully,
N.
Aww, why do all the awesome 40k stories have to "end" before I even find them.
I do wish you'd continue with this story. Much like I wished that there were more Space Wolves in the Deathwatch.
6866510
Does this include "Courage, Honour and Friendship", in which ponies and Ultramarines form an alliance against a Tyranid swarm?
6868422
Yes! I found that one late as well and it hasn't updated in forever!
6866510 I´m sure Snake will, when he has the time and motivation to
6971465
Having 3 unfinished fanfics at once doesn't help.
6998530
Neither does my new job. But it pays better, and I do need money.
6866510 The reason why there aren't many Space Furries in Deathwatch is because so few can part with their Astartes-Grade alcohol
7229472
Nailed on the head!
7229969 Damn right I did.
7240455
That, and some Inquisitors like to get sanctioned xenos in their suits.
Please update this soon, our hive fleet grows restless....
7279181
9 weeks now... I'm starting to fear for the future of his fics.
7333632 we are preparing several lictor and genestealer broods to track him down. The hivefleet just awaits the order.....
7333643 That is the utmost heresy! Why not send the Ultrasmurfs? They can survive damn near anything
7363443 because we can do it quietly. You marines have a tendency to shoot first and assume you killed a heretic.
7363741 True, especially that Sly Marbo fellow
7363741
Looks like they already did shoot.
7333632 Patience is a virtue, my friends
7279181
7391803
This is not about patience. This is about an author not having logged in 11 weeks and the decreasing hope of seeing him come back.
7391900 Well, he does have a job, perhaps he´s focusing on that?
7392015 Well, if he´s gone, then hopefully one of us can carry the torch
7392047
An author's agreement is required for someone else to take their fic and continue it.