I Blame You, Too

by Whitestrake

Abraham Lincoln was challenged to a duel and given the choice of weapon, went with broadswords

@#@#@# Cain's POV @#@#@#

We took our respective lanes, including Lyra and Amos, as we readied our weapons of choice.1 The Burned Man opted to use his new bolter, though I suspected it would explode as soon as he fired it, while he purchased a lasgun for his compatriot to occupy herself while Amos assembled his own carbine variant lasgun. I, of course, used my laspistol. The range itself was subterranean, and extended quite for at least two-hundred meters, not counting the booths, ammunition lockers, power cell charging stations, and observation areas at either end, with both of the latter locations behind sixteen centimeters of armorcryss.2

At the clock's tone, we opened fire. Amos and Lyra used their rifles' single-shot setting, while the Burned Man was firing in four-round bursts3, their shots leaving scores in their own slabs, each about fifty meters downrange. Amos and I were the most accurate, though my pistol was just beyond its most effective range, while Lyra and her master were quickly catching up. After we had each fired sixteen shots, giving the Burned Man enough time to swap magazines while he cursed about ammunition capacity, the next round began, and targets at seventy-five meters popped up, eager to soak up as much damage as they could.

Now, the two stragglers were more familiar with their weapons, and while not quite as accurate as Amos, were more than holding their own. It goes without saying that my laspistol was beyond useless at this range4, so I opted to return to Amberley's side while the three settled their differences.

“What do you make of him?” I asked, confident the Burned Man could not hear me over the roar of his bolter. Her eyes looked over him as he switched to full auto, somehow holding the violent weapon steady while its machine spirit's fury vented on the targets.

“He seems... useful,” she said after a moment, and I'd be lying if I said my palms didn't give a little itch then. While she played at being a bubbly blonde, she was still an inquisitor, a master manipulator, and above all else, smart enough to make do with what she had. “He's lying about how powerful he is, probably by changing the machine's read-out or not resisting as much as he could.”

“Isn't every psyker different, though?” I asked, not really wanting to hear the answer. Even weak psykers suffered insanity to some extent, and the Burned Man seemed, at most, a little unorthodox. I realized I'd opened a can of worms the moment Amberley nodded.

“That's what has me wondering.”

@#@#@# Amos's POV @#@#@#

This was awful, completely awful. There we were, sharing a shooting range with an inquisitor and the Commissar Ciaphas Cain, and Taylor didn't look interested in anything other than blowing up targets with his bolter.

Relax, Amos; they do not suspect you have had any involvement in heresy of any sort,Taylor's voice echoed in my head, unaffected by the din rising from our guns. However, I can..., there was a noise of frustration, something brewing on the horizon, like the broodlord, only worse.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked aloud, turning to him as though he'd whispered it to me. I kept my voice low enough that the inquisitor and commissar could not hear us, or I at least hoped they could not. The targets returned to the floor as servitors scrambled to replace those too damaged to flip back into their slots, and Taylor turned to me just as our scores appeared on a pictscreen near Inquisitor Vail.

“I would suggest voxing the Valkyrie to get the crewmen we had with us when we cleansed the genestealers,” he said. Just tell the shipmaster to let Celestia know to round up my top men, he added in my head as he turned to face the scoreboard. To my surprise, only the first round counted.

“It would appear Commissar Cain is the victor,” Inquisitor Vail said in a mock-surprised voice. Taylor and Lyra were using equipment they were unaccustomed to, and I wasn't a sniper by any means. “I suppose it is good you did not wager anything, Taylor,” she sad, chuckling in a friendly manner.

“Ah, but this is practice,” he replied, slinging the beaten bolter over his shoulder. Lyra pulled out a small vox unit and spoke into it, using her native tongue to hide what was being said. She turned to Taylor and something else, which I believe was a confirmation, because he nodded at her and returned his attentions to the now-curious inquisitor and commissar. “Should the greenies attack, which they always do, we may have to see who kills the most.”

“Perhaps,” Cain replied, as I felt he would. He was a hero of the Imperium, an exemplar of the of both his office and the Imperial Guard. I actually had no idea if his regiment was there or not, nor did I really care at the time.

@#@#@# Taylor's POV @#@#@#

The bolter was a supremely powerful weapon, at least when compared to the slug-throwers we used. I was tempted to take it apart as soon as I had a free moment, but I sincerely doubted Amos would appreciate seeing me steal technology. Martellus, for all he had done, would probably freak right the fuck out. Still, Equus would need such an armament if we were to survive past our first engagement, not to mention the first wave of conquest, purely to bolster our numbers, of course.

Still, there was something nagging at my mind, on the very edges of my thoughts. The air was charged and... well, I doubt it will make sense to you, but it tasted fun. It wasn't like the clawing hunger that coated the Skyward Valkyrie during our purge, or the anger that suffused the caverns beneath the Crystal Empire while Chaos made its first incursion. There was something inhuman about the sensation, though it felt like a drunk trying to fight someone.

As we stepped into the street, a klaxon stared blaring its siren. Cain and I looked at it distastefully, but only I said anything about it.

“It's always something.”

@#@#@#@#@#@#

The Canterlot Temple was buzzing with activity as inquisitors ran about their emergency procedures. The Musician had called in a killteam, something only done when great need arose; the run of the mill inquisitors were capable of handling just about anything the planet could throw at them. Jay stood in his flaming camouflage, fulfilling the necessary position of human leader/bullet-sponge. Steel Tart, Gilded Unity, Solemn Dirge, and Radiant Velvet flanked him, transformed into human form for the foreseeable future.

“What do you suppose we'll be facing on the other side?” Dirge asked, looking through the Doorframe at what he could only describe as a giant tomb. He read the reports, of course, but he still had trouble wrapping his head around the idea of giant, metal box floating through the void.

“Something tough,” Tart replied, a touch of hope and excitement creeping into her voice. It was known within the squad that the two fooled around during their off time. Surprisingly, the practice was encouraged to promote unity.

They hefted their packs, full of Doorframe pieces, and stepped aboard their first starship. The sound of two metallic hands clapping informed them of their unseen guest. Jacques stood about thirty feet from the Doorframe, standing with his augmetic foot on another bag of Doorframe parts. Like the others, he was disguised as a human, complete with the cybernetics to make him look the part.

“You didn't seriously think you could leave me behind, did you?”

Author's Note:

1) Again, Cain makes no mention of Taylor, nor the fact that they stood next to each other.
2) What they were hoping to protect against is anyone's guess.
3) The burst setting of the standard bolter is four rounds, though it is ony used against close masses of enemies of heavily armored targets for obvious reasons.
4) Not quite, given Cain's considerable skill.

Comments

[Praeco Nigrum]

YEAH! awesome chapter man!

Can't wait ti the next one, so please don't make us wait too long :D

[Dubious]

Cool, I wonder what Cain's reaction to the FTL doorway will be?

[Rhodesm96]

3446956 I wonder if Taylor will let any of the humans see it, what with the Imperium's reputation and all.

[Dubious]

3460706 Depends if he wants to move large quantities of troops to Equestria or not. Also, is he going to get helped by the Imperium? Coz it'd be a lot less genocide-y if he asked the Tau politely.

[SCP Pinkamena]

3311604 In 1778, the Austrian Army turned on Itself. It lost over 10,000 men.

[Razzy]

Fuck yeah Jacques is back!