The Wayward Son

The Bridge, Command Deck

After dropping the women off with Major Medina, Seiras wasted no time going to the elevator that led up to the command deck of the bridge. Many people seemed relieved at his presence when he passed through. The humans in particular seemed especially in awe of Seiras since not all of them had been able to see him this closely before…or in his power armour. The sigil of the Inquisition on his armour seemed to both frighten and relieve people simultaneously. He quickly remembered that most of them didn't know he was connected to the Inquisition. Granted that was hardly a matter of fear in their current circumstance. It seemed more likely that they were relieved the Inquisition would "save" them. Seiras had his doubts though. These peoples' fates were in the hands of Ferrus Manus…and that likely wouldn't end well considering how dismissive the Gorgon was about the non-combatants.

There was undoubtedly many civilians from other slave chambers that were somehow lucky enough to make it with the escape mob. Seiras didn't examine them closely enough to see if he recognized any, but he briefly wondered if there were any from the first slave chamber he had been in. Those people were probably still traumatized by him butchering two dozen overseers and skinning their leader. No doubt they probably had mixed feelings about him now.

Hundreds of people were hunkered around the chamber beneath the bridge. Many were praying and most looked like they had peak levels of anxiety. Seiras could hear a lot of talking and gossiping about what was going on. No doubt most were confused as to why aliens were helping them. Regular imperial citizens didn't really know the difference between craftworlders and dark eldar. Plus, the Imperium had never officially worked with Tau before either. It was obvious the more militant humans there understood just how heretical this situation truly was. However, considering a primarch was helping them, how could they object? Seiras briefly wondered how the Inquisition would react to a primarch. Inquisitors claim to speak for the Emperor, but could they truly tell a primarch what to do? Meela's point about Seiras having diplomatic immunity thanks to Ferrus was an interesting point to consider.

Various aliens mostly stuck with their own groups, but for some reason everyone there seemed to be getting along more or less. Valeria was quick to ditch the other women with the Cadians when she encountered some of her fellow gang members. They seemed amazed and happy to see her.

As he approached the elevator to the command deck, Seiras could see her talking to them and pointing at him. It was equally surprising that the Water Caste Tau Ambassador had survived as well. She was wearing fire warrior armour oddly enough and looked a bit shell-shocked. Most of her kind were doing what they could to comfort her. The apparent absence of her two fellow water caste friends made it quite obvious that they were killed along the way.

Other than that, some wounded people were being tended to. Most of the relevant individuals he had worked his escape plan with were keeping the peace. Seiras was surprised to see that Commissar Kavka and the ogryn had survived and were with the surviving Cadians as well. Most of the Cadians were still alive fortunately enough. Seiras felt confident leaving the other women with them.

He also found it interesting to hear some of the prayers nearby. Apparently someone had told everybody else that Ferrus was a primarch and the Emperor's son since he could hear prayers to "Archangel Ferrus" or "The Holy Iron Saint" from several nearby. It oerfectly explained why the Gorgon seemed to hate the civilians.

'The Inquisition is going to have their hands full figuring out what to do with these people. I doubt Lord Ferrus cares about most of them. He'll probably recruit the Cadians at least. Maybe we can get a whole regiment for his fleet. They'll definitely want to avenge Cadia. I wonder if Lord Ferrus wants to go to Terra first or to gather his gene sons? Medusa is their homeworld and it's very close to the Eye of Terror. Well, I shouldn't get ahead of myself…we need to get back to Atia's fleet first,' Seiras pondered over the future.

A considerable number of Eldar guardians were guarding all of the entry points as well as a number of armed humans. Though they clearly disliked each other, they seemed professional enough to work together. A group of guardians was also watching the elevator as Seiras finally reached it.

He found it strange when some of the guardians spoke to him as he passed. One in particular filled him in on the situation, "The exarchs are on the command deck with your primarch, space marine. The ship has been cleared of hostile Commorrites as well. So far things are going well. We've had no pursuers from what I've heard."

"Where are the rest of the aspect warriors? I only see guardians and warp spiders here," Seiras asked.

"Most are still in route. A few are guarding the strategic locations on the ship like the engines, hangers, and the shield generator. Exarch Tallath believed it would agitate the other species if we all gathered here together. He was clearly right judging by how hostile your species is acting," the guardian explained.

"Most don't know the difference between craftworlders and commorrites. Just keep your guards up. I'm expecting harlequins to try and stop us. We still need to outrun Asdrubael Vect as well," Seiras stated sternly.

The guardian nodded, "Exarch Tallath told as much. We will attack them on sight."

Seiras nodded before getting on the elevator and riding up to the command deck. Without wasting anymore time, he approached Ferrus. The primarch was standing in the middle of the command deck as he stared between the eldar piloting the ship and the view outside the window. Atharen seemed to be at the center next to Ferrus and was in charge of navigation by the looks of things.

"That was approximately twenty eight minutes librarian…though the other exarchs only just arrived as well. Slow the ship down." Ferrus stated coldly.

It was then that the Blood Raven saw Sorellia, Ashera, and Tallath along with several of their aspect warriors scattered about the command deck.

"My apologies my lord. I was delayed," Seiras bowed his head.

Ferrus lightly shrugged with indifference, "You're here now…let's focus on our plan. Tell them what I had in mind."

All of the eldar briefly glanced at Seiras with noticeable weariness. Seiras took a deep breath as he looked over at the curious eldar on the bridge. Atharen cocked his head at them confused, "You had something else planned?"

"Asdrubael Vect contacted Lord Ferrus and myself over our personal vox channel prior to my arrival at the armoury. He knows where we're at and where we're going. He also told us that a fleet of space marines is trapped in a pocket dimension. We should free them," Seiras stated calmly.

"That's not a good idea, space marine. We've had next to no pursuit and our path seems mostly clear. We're also not far from a webway gate out of Commorragh. You would have us jeopardize our escape to free some space marine fleet? Do you even know where they are?! Finding a pocket dimension in Commorragh would take too long!" Atharen said with clear disapproval.

Ashera sighed, "I thought your intention was to dissuade the primarch from veering off our escape plan. I object to this diversion as well. We should use that webway generator remote at the gate and take a back path to avoid potential pursuit. They won't expect us to have access to a harlequin route."

"Listen to me, exarchs…Vect knows where we are. He's probably waiting for us on the back path we're heading for. Considering how advanced his ziggurat is, we'd be fools to assume he couldn't pursue us on the back route...or cut us off with his fleet," Seiras replied calmly.

"If Vect knows where we are, then we have all the more reason to not waste any time with detours! We'll just take the main route out then," Atharen dismissed.

"You're missing the point, Eldar…if he knows where we are, he could intercept us on either path…or have his fleet cover multiple routes," Ferrus interjected with cold logic.

"So your suggestion is we waste even more time looking for a space marine fleet!? What good would that do? The longer we delay a decision, the sooner he can outmaneuver us. I say we take the back route. It narrows down considerably, and we can outrun the ziggurat if we go that way. His ship is too big to chase us all the way. Logically it is the best option." Ashera shook her head.

"On the contrary, eldar…it is worth our time. I assume one such as Vect has a masterful knowledge on the webway and the ability to traverse it as he pleases. If he's tracking us, then we will not escape unless he is occupied with something. He is currently waiting in reserve for someone named Malys to appear. I have a plan. We are going to lure him to that space marine fleet after I ask him where it is. I will then contact Malys and tell her where Vect is. In the aftermath of their clash, we can escape and free the Astartes fleet in the process. That or they can die to cover our escape. I have no intention of prioritizing their rescue over our escape," Ferrus interjected callously.

"You…you're willing to sacrifice space marines to cover our escape? It's a good plan, but not one I'd expect from a primarch. Even still it relies on too many uncertain variables. You'd be naïve to think that Vect or Malys would blindly fight each other and ignore us. Besides, I doubt those space marines would mindlessly throw their lives away for nothing," Atharen responded a bit disbelievingly.

"That is why we should convince both Vect and Malys individually that we will help them kill the other by luring them out. As for the Space Marines…they will listen to me," Ferrus followed up.

Tallath glanced at Ferrus disapprovingly, "So you're suggesting we try to deceive the two strongest and smartest archons in Commorragh at the same time? That would be a nigh impossible task even for a farseer to pull off."

"Yet the alternative is we blindly hope that one of their fleets don't cut us off on a webway path out of here. If they do, we will not be able to escape. It is a calculated risk, but it will work if we offer some compensation," Ferrus countered.

"So you would contact Vect through your vox channel, but how do you intend to contact Lady Malys? Any broadcast would be easily intercepted and I'm not even sure that Seiras could psychically message her." Ashera asked Ferrus.

"The haemonculus gave me an encrypted frequency to message her. One of several options to assist in our escape. This Malys will likely take the bait if she knows Vect is pursuing a primarch…me. She likely wouldn't want him to acquire me," Ferrus stated logically.

Atharen crossed his arms and looked at Seiras, "You're in support of this, space marine? You do realize that they would never help us without substantial compensation, right? The aid of Drukhari does not come cheap…especially from its two most powerful archons. They would want immediate compensation."

"I would rather take my chances outrunning their fleets. Your plan is too dangerous, primarch. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we can't agree to it," Tallath added.

"It's worth at least trying. Either way we're going to run into one of them or possibly harlequins as well. The worst case scenario is it goes badly, and the space marine fleet dies to cover our escape. I told Ashera this earlier, but Vect also claimed to have another primarch on his ziggurat. Jaghatai Khan. If we told the Astartes about that, they would commit fully to attacking Vect. They would certainly believe it from Lord Ferrus himself. I am not suggesting we attempt to rescue the Khan since there's no telling if he's even on Vect's ship to begin with," Seiras tried to reason.

The exarchs seemed somewhat receptive to his logic as they looked at each other. They were likely speaking in their own communication devices in the brief silence that followed.

Finally Tallath sighed, "There is one major outlier here that I want to address now…what if that other primarch is on Vect's ziggurat? What then?"

"Melisara gave me two remote teleporters and a homing beacon. I can leave the beacon on the bridge here and can go onto Vect's ship to retrieve him if he's there. When it inevitably goes poorly, Seiras and I can easily teleport back with Khan. The haemonculus assured me that he wouldn't expect something like this if we encountered him since it can bypass shields. It's apparently something she invented and kept to herself for a special occasion. Seiras and I will go aboard Vect's ship as a distraction and to confirm the truth. This will keep Vect distracted and allow Malys to catch him off guard. Once we're aboard, and the two fleets cross paths, they will be preoccupied with each other. Using Melisara's teleporters, I can then immediately teleport both Seiras and myself back to this bridge. We will escape in the aftermath. Assuming Khan is on Vect's ziggurat, we should be able to teleport Khan off with us if we get within close range. The teleporter has a ten meter radius so that would work. The Astartes fleet would then follow us if we had Khan…but if Khan is not on that ship, I will tell them he is and they will die to cover our escape," Ferrus elaborated with cold logic.

"What if Vect or Malys has a way to block your teleporting? Then what?" Tallath asked unhappily.

"Unless the haemonculus was lying, they shouldn't. In the case of that happening, I give you permission to leave us behind. Knowing how your species is, I assume you would anyways. I understand this plan has a lot of variables, but I will not fault you for fleeing without us if it fails. Is that agreeable?"Ferrus noted rationally.

Tallath sighed, "I…suppose so, but if we leave without you…the human slaves will turn hostile towards us."

"If that happens you have my permission to kill them. Seiras will leave the webway generator remote with you before we depart. This puts us in more danger than it does you. I can only hope you don't betray my trust," Ferrus stated coldly.

Ashera glanced at Seiras now, "This plan is insane…you're both willing to risk your own freedom on the chance that Melisara is actually your ally?! I thought you intended to dissuade the primarch from doing this!"

"It isn't my place to tell Lord Ferrus what we should or shouldn't do. If he believes this plan will work, then we should attempt it. His logic is undeniable however…we need to make sure Vect and Malys are preoccupied to ensure a successful escape. This also gives us a chance to confirm whether or not the Khan is aboard Vect's ziggurat. I'm personally of the belief that he is not…but that shouldn't matter. So long as we can teleport back here and flee once the fleets engage one another, we should be able to succeed. As he stated, it puts us at a far greater risk than your people," Seiras explained.

"Why are you so convinced that the Immortal Revenant is trustworthy? She is Vect's favorite haemonculus. This could easily be a part of her plan," Ashera stated disapprovingly.

"Melisara walked into the warp along with Seiras to resurrect me. She gave me many interesting blueprints on eldar and necron technology. She told us both about the dark age of technology and the Eldar Empire before its fall. She had proof that she once helped the Custodes and the Mechanicus to repair the Golden Throne. I don't like your species, but I trust her individually. She is a logical being and has nothing to gain by betraying us. If that were the case, we would already be in Vect's hands or locked in one of her deep laboratories. If this was all an elaborate ruse to betray us, then we are already doomed. The only option now is to proceed. The plan is acceptable…agreed?" Ferrus responded in a threatening tone.

The exarchs finally consented as they all nodded with reluctance. Tallath sighed, "Fine…but if this goes poorly, you're on your own. We haven't come this far to fail in a spectacular blaze of stupidity. One way or another our warriors will be going home. Assuming the best possible scenario here, I have one more condition…"

"State your condition," Ferrus replied strongly.

"You will work cooperatively with our seer council on any future matter they deem important…and you will never attack Iybraesil or its citizens," Tallath stated.

"I accept your terms. I will ensure the High Lords of Terra and the Inquisition adhere to it as well. If all goes as planned, then I will know that your Craftworld can be trusted and relied upon." Ferrus nodded.

"We will proceed with your plan then," Tallath nodded.

The eldar on the bridge seemed somewhat shocked by this outcome and what it could mean. Both humans and eldar were extremely xenophobic and unwilling to cooperate on a large or long-term scale. A primarch becoming an official ally of their seer council seemed like an impossible scenario…but it was beneficial. Even as inferior as humans were to Eldar, they were far more numerous. Having a primarch as an ally ensured the preservation of many eldar lives and they knew it. They also probably knew what it would mean to betray Ferrus' trust. It was for this reason alone that Seiras was positive they weren't going to abandon them.

"I am going to contact Vect now with our Vox channel. Keep our current course," Ferrus instructed.

Seiras turned on his vox again and waited for Ferrus to do the same. The primarch wasted no time speaking into it, "Asdrubael Vect, are you there?"

A long silence passed much to Ferrus' annoyance.

"Where is that space marine fleet!" Ferrus shouted into his helmet vox.

Finally Vect responded, "Oh? You turned your vox back on. How nice. Why should I tell you that?"

"I want to negotiate our release from this place. I am not vain enough to believe that we can outrun you in the webway," Ferrus responded.

"Do you now? Interesting…I didn't expect a primarch would have enough sense to want to negotiate with me. Your brother certainly wasn't the talkative type. He DID think he could outmaneuver me," Vect mused.

"What exactly do you have to gain by keeping us detained here? Your realm has enough problems to deal with. Melisara told me that your kind have made deals with the Imperium in the past. Am I wrong to assume that we can't reach some type of agreement?" Ferrus asked.

Vect sighed heavily over the vox, "Well, here's the thing. I'm not really mad at Melisara, but I am a bit hurt that she kept you a secret. To think the great immortal revenant and my beloved long-time friend does not trust me…how sad. She and I see your imperium the same way. A nice big shield with endless livestock to safeguard our way of life here. I don't actually care if you escape, but I have a reputation to maintain in Commorragh…you know? You would have to offer me something of value to humor your request."

"Such as?" Ferrus replied with obvious contempt.

"Well I could ask for all the usual things like slaves, non-aggression, pariahs…but I know you wouldn't honour an agreement like that long-term. I have a simpler request that gives me immediate results. I want you to give me Malys' Talisman of Vaul. It's going to tear a hole into the webway if I let Malys keep it for too long. She has no idea what she's doing with it." Vect stated nonchalantly.

"How do you expect us to do that? You would have done it yourself already if you could," Ferrus stated.

The supreme archon sighed, "I'm usually not this open or honest with people I deal with. I'll tell you since you're sensible enough to realize that I am the one true master of Commorragh and I can very easily stop you from leaving. I technically can take Malys' Talisman of Vaul without your help. I had three options. The best one involves infiltration. There is a webway portal at the heart of every Talisman of Vaul. I have an agent on the inside of that ship who can open it. However…Malys' agents are no doubt watching me right now on my ziggurat. I've identified a few traitors in my fleet and I have to move carefully. You however could go in and she would not expect it. I imagine a primarch or a psyker space marine could easily take out Malys' forces in close quarters aboard that ship. I will send you schematics for its layout. If you can disable its shield generator, I can teleport my forces aboard to seize control of it. Malys undoubtedly has dozens of escape plans, so I won't bother chasing her. It's imperative that you don't let her self-destruct the ship though. I can do this with or without you…but considering that you're already bait, I would prefer your help in the matter."

"How would we get to this webway path?" Ferrus asked.

"There's one on my ziggurat that you can use. It's top secret though. Only my haemonculus Urien knows about it. I'll make sure you find it if you agree to do this," Vect stated casually.

Seiras seemed a bit confused, "So there are webways inside of the webway? How does that work?"

"It's a giant mess, believe me monkeigh. It's even confusing to Aeldari. The webway is a maze within a maze within a labyrinth within a slipspace highway within the warp. Only a rare few have it fully mapped out. Pocket dimensions are usually a webway path within another webway path that has been sealed off. That space marine fleet is trapped in one between here and the path you're currently flying towards. I will let them out and give you your brother primarch if you do this for me. You will then have my permission to leave," Vect explained.

"Okay…so let's just assume I accept this deal for a moment. How would it work, exactly? I won't agree to this unless I have details on the plan." Ferrus asked.

Vect seemed more serious now as he spoke again, "I need you to put on your best acting performance for me. I will intercept you at a webway gate, and we will outwardly 'negotiate' me letting you go if you come aboard my ship. Then I am going to pretend to double cross you and I want you to start killing and fighting my servants. Malys' spies will see this, and she will think it the perfect time to attack my ship with the Talisman of Vaul. We will have to make it convincing…so don't hesitate to kill anyone. You can even attempt to kill me…though you won't succeed. I will try to avoid you afterwards, and I will send an Avatar of Khaine to fight you. While that's happening, one of you…I don't care which one, should go to the webway gate in the center of my ship. I'll guide you there. My insider on Malys' ship will open it after I give the signal, and you can help them to shut down the shield generator. After that, Malys should most likely flee, and my forces will board the ship to prevent Malys from self-destructing it. A bit of a roundabout plan…but it should work. Malys is smart but she won't expect you to help me after I 'betray' you."

"You expect us to commit to this wholly on your word alone? What's to stop you from attempting to capture us after we deliver this Talisman of Vaul to you?" Ferrus questioned skeptically.

"Nothing…but I would have captured you already if that was my main goal. I don't really gain much by keeping you in Commorragh. Your Imperium's survival is essential for the preservation of this city. I benefit in the long run if you escape…but I saw opportunity in using you as bait to draw Malys to me. It was also a convenient way to kill off Faelan. He was getting a bit ambitious for my tastes. It baffles me that Melisara kept you a secret. Maybe she thought I'd keep you detained here like I did Jaghatai Khan. I would have released him already had I not been convinced that he would just wreak more havoc in my realm. You're actually doing me a favor by taking him out of here. Make sure he stays out and we won't have any future problems." Vect replied with casual honesty.

"What do you know about those Blackstone Fortresses? Your kind call them Talismans of Vaul…are they ancient Aeldari ships?" Seiras decided to ask the archon since he had the chance.

"No, they're not," Vect stated without any explanation.

"Are they ships of the Old Ones then?" Seiras followed up.

"I didn't realize monkeigh were aware of their existence…did Melisara tell you about them? She knows a lot about the ancient empire. Regardless, in all honesty, we don't really know. I assume as much. They're called Talismans of Vaul because some believe they were made by the smith god and used to fight the C'tan during the War in Heaven. The Blackstone Fortresses as your kind calls them are very dangerous superweapons that can draw upon the warp. When properly used, they can even destroy stars. As you may or may not know, the Black Crusade and its Chaos forces had several of them. They created a warp tear across the galaxy by crashing one of those ships into Cadia and destroying the Necron pylons holding back the Eye of Terror. If Malys did something stupid with hers in Commorragh, she could do irreparable damage to our realm and collapse a chunk of the webway. I haven't even tried destroying it because if it explodes in the webway, it'll rip a hole into the warp and cause a disjunction. She knows that and is recklessly attacking my fleet with it. Needless to say, I want it removed from Malys' possession. Do that for me, and I will give you Jaghatai Khan and allow you free passage to leave. Trust me when I say, you will never get a better deal than this. Also, don't mention this to anyone on that ship. Malys might have Ynnari agents on it hiding among the craftworld slaves. The exarchs you can trust, but don't trust anyone else," Vect explained.

"I assume you have agents on this ship as well then?" Seiras asked the supreme archon.

Vect chuckled, "Assuming you killed all the Commorrites on that ship, most likely not. I did have all of Faelan's ships bugged with trackers recently, however. That's how I know where you are. It's quite advanced. Urien made it. So, do you accept my deal? It is the best option for both of our factions."

"We need to discuss this before I agree to anything. Assuming you're not lying, then I might consider it. We'll let you know soon," Ferrus stated coldly.

"Very well…" Vect sighed casually.

"I have another question Asdrubael Vect…" Seiras spoke up again.

"Of course you do…" Ferrus stated with obvious disapproval.

The supreme archon chuckled, "One more…before I go. I'm a busy ruler, you know."

"Why do you want to kill the Ynnari?" Seiras asked.

"That's like me asking you why you want to kill heretics in your Imperium. They're a crazy death cult that wants to commit ritual mass suicide to summon some god in the hopes it will save us from Slaanesh. It's an absolutely ludicrous idea. We'd be better off installing necron pylons all around the city to completely cut off the warp from Commorragh. I've already been working on that for centuries now. Melisara was one of my pioneering haemonculi who knew how to reverse engineer them. Assuming your Imperium collapses, we won't be able to rely on soul harvesting slaves. This is my long term solution…your return to the Imperium gives me a lot more time. Plus your direct help in disarming Malys ensures I can work on it undistracted. I assume you probably have a backup plan in case I betray you…but I'm honestly not going to. Give me the Talisman of Vaul and you're free to go. Make your decision soon…if you meet me at my ziggurat I'll assume you've accepted." Vect answered before ending the vox call.

Seiras and Ferrus both immediately turned off their voxes afterwards.

The lack of spoken communication on the bridge had all of the eldar on edge. Atharen himself was looking between Ferrus and Seiras with obvious anticipation. It was likely he knew they were talking via vox or psychically.

"Did you contact him yet, Primarch?" Atharen asked anxiously.

Ferrus nodded, "Yes…he said he would send coordinates to us and hand over Khan. His condition is that we board his ship and negotiate compensation."

"Receiving an encrypted message…they're coordinates. It looks like the primarch was right. Vect does know where we are," one of the eldar working on the bridge said fearfully.

"Take us there immediately," Ferrus commanded.

Ashera glanced at the Gorgon concerned, "So he agreed to hand over your brother primarch on the condition you board his ship? That is the most obvious trap I've ever seen. Tell me you're not actually going to do that. I don't know whether to consider that arrogant or foolish."

"He won't be expecting Malys to attack his ship while we're aboard. Patch this encryption through to Malys. Try to open communications with her," Ferrus commanded the eldar who received the coordinates.

The Gorgon roughly handed something to the eldar. She reluctantly entered in the encryption and tried to send a discreet broadcast.

Several moments passed before a dinging like sound followed. The eldar fearfully glanced at Ferrus, "They are attempting a vid call…should I answer it now?"

"Yes," Ferrus stated with cold intensity.

The eldar made sure to get up from her seat as she answered the hail. A moment later a holoscreen popped up in front of the console. Through it they saw a black haired dark eldar. She had green highlights in her hair and a mask over the top left half of her face.

She had her bust shamelessly displayed and appeared to be in a bathtub much to Seiras' complete shock. The bathtub was full of something that looked like water, but knowing dark eldar, it was probably tears or something equally as bizarre and disgusting.

Malys elegantly covered her bust as she spoke up, "This had better be important! I'm bathing right now, and this is my…'me' time!"

It only took her a moment to switch over to gothic upon realizing who her callers were, "Monkeigh?! How did you get my personal webnet frequency? I wasn't going to answer this call, but usually only people I like can contact me personally. Wait…I heard there was a primarch with the escaping slaves. A space marine too…how interesting. How did you acquire my contact information?"

"Is she…bathing right now?" Atharen asked as he stepped in front of the holovid display next to Seiras and Ferrus.

Even the craftworlders seemed a bit surprised that Malys would answer a call while in a bathtub.

"A craftworlder too?! How curious…wait just a moment for me to get a robe on," Malys said with amusement as she darkened the vid on her.

A few seconds passed before Malys appeared back on screen. She was now wearing a bathrobe by the looks of it. Seiras could tell it was made of skin, but put aside his disgust as he watched the archon wave a fan in front of herself, "Ah that's much better…so how did you get my webnet address?"

"Melisara gave it to me. I don't know where she got it, but it's likely you have a traitor in your ranks who she obtained it from," Ferrus answered her curtly.

"She had a large collection of your kabalites stored in one of her hidden bunker labs as well. One of them might have had it," Seiras added.

"Melisara? Ohohohoho! OHOHOHOHOHO! AHAHAHAHAHA! I love it!" Lady Malys began to start cackling like a deranged psychopath. Her demeanor reminded Seiras of Mokaela and Maeralya if they were fused into one person. She had the sense of humor of the former and the posh condescending personality of the latter.

Ferrus stared through his helmet with obvious disgust, "I fail to see how that's funny. This is a serious matter, archon. I don't often waste my time talking to aliens!"

"Mhhhmm…I just find it hilarious that Melisara of all people would turn on Vect. I guess it's true what they say…the people closest to you are the ones most likely to stab you in the back! That's why I killed my last lover by stabbing him first!" Malys giggled as she flashed her flesh bathrobe showing the obvious remnants of a face on part of it.

'She must be crazy even by dark eldar standards. I can see why Asdrubael Vect wants her dead. He seems way more reasonable than she is,' Seiras thought bewildered.

Ferrus appeared completely unfazed by her bizarre posh behavior as he waited for her to finish laughing.

"Listen…Vect is tracking us right now. We're flying to meet him. We told him we would negotiate for our freedom. This is an opportune moment for you to attack him while he's distracted with us. I expect he will betray us once we board his ziggurat. If you assist in our escape, the Imperium would be willing to show you future leniency. I understand that you are aligned with a faction called the Ynnari. You could greatly aid in their cause by assisting me. I reward loyalty…even to xenos. Assist in our escape and we will be in your debt. We're sending you the coordinates now," Ferrus tried to get the conversation on track.

Malys waved her fan with a lady-like poshness, "You are clearly underestimating him…he likely knows any attempt at contact with you escapees would draw my attention. I'm afraid I have to decline your polite offer, primarch. It is cute though…that a monkeigh god-prince would ask little me for help. It's enough to make me feel all warm inside. I certainly do enjoy the idea of your Imperium being indebted to me. Though I fail to see why I should endanger myself for the likes of you. There isn't much you can offer me that I can't already take. I don't fear your bloated, stagnant imperium. It's so inefficient and primitive that it can't really do anything to solve its own problems…let alone any of mine."

"You have a Blackstone Fortress. Vect clearly fears you, Lady Malys. Is there any way you'll reconsider?" Seiras interjected.

"Lady Malys? How polite of you, space marine…and here I thought you barbarians didn't understand manners. To think one of your kind would show me the proper respect…how delightful. Maybe I'll humor your request…let's hear your offers. Amuse me," she laughed as she waved her fan again.

"We don't know what you want. Is there something specific we can offer?" Seiras trailed off.

Malys smirked, "No? Well what a waste of my time then…I don't like dealing with stupid animals. Make this offer worth my while and I'll consider helping you. Monkeigh are so bad at diplomacy it's laughable. You're trying to make a deal, and you don't even have an offer ready for me? Haha…how sad."

"Vect seemed convinced that she was going to attack him anyways once we were aboard, Lord Ferrus. What was the point of contacting her?" Seiras asked the primarch psychically.

Ferrus sighed mentally into the psychic link, "We're going through with Vect's plan…I'm doing this to cover up our intentions of helping Vect. If Malys does have spies on this ship, they will be convinced we're not helping Vect. It's also important that she thinks she has the upper hand here. Just go along with this. Do that annoying thing you do and talk her up."

"How about we help you take down Vect's Ziggurat? Surely you would want it, yes? Lord Ferrus and I could probably disable its defenses from the inside. I have some knowledge on how to operate your technology." Seiras suggested.

Malys scoffed at him, "Ahahahaha…you and the primarch? What are two monkeigh going to do to Vect's seat of power? Don't be arrogant. I would have already had that ziggurat if Vect wasn't so cunning. I highly doubt you could outsmart him."

"We can do a lot from the inside. Enough to keep them distracted for your fleet to do some real damage," Seiras added.

"Cute…but no," Malys dismissed his suggestion.

"We're done here. Time to go with my backup plan," Ferrus stated with annoyance as he pressed a button to end the call.

"Hey, now wait just a mom-" Malys didn't get to finish her statement before they hung up on her.

Ashera glanced at Ferrus in the following awkward silence, "So what is your alternate plan?"

"We're going to retrieve Khan and use the space marine fleet as sacrifices to cover our escape. Seiras and I will teleport off of Vect's Ziggurat once we have him...if he's there," Ferrus replied.

"You gave up rather quickly on trying to get Lady Malys' aid…are you certain there's no way to reason with her?" Tallath asked.

Ferrus shook his head, "She is going to show up anyways I imagine…it was just important that she got confirmation that Vect is after us and that I am present. She was just hoping to get more out of it by acting elusive and playing on our desperation. She might also assume that Vect could have intercepted this call. I know how Eldar diplomacy and schemes work…I'm not stupid."

"Hmm…a tactical choice," Tallath noted, "well let's get on with this insane plan of yours."

The primarch nodded as he pulled something off of his armour and set up a homing beacon for the teleporters. Ferrus was even meticulous enough to put it out of the line of sight of every vid display that could spot it. He then activated the beacon shortly afterwards. The Eldar watched curiously as Ferrus proceeded to attach a small and unseen teleporter to Seiras' power armour. His own likely already had one on it.

"It's done…I can remotely activate the teleporter once we're ready," Ferrus stated calmly. He then went to recalibrating his wargear.

"I don't like this…but at least you have a quick escape prepared. Let's hope the haemonculus didn't betray you. Trusting the Revenant is foreboding," Sorellia sighed.

"Ashera…I have a request if you'll oblige?" Seiras asked the fire dragon psychically.

She didn't look over at him, but he could hear her response in the psychic link, "What is it? Why ask me psychically?"

"Lord Ferrus believes there might be Ynnari spies on our escape ship. We can't discount the possibility of some being harlequins either. Be careful who you let on the bridge. Some might even be on it already," Seiras stated.

Ashera responded a moment later, "That would explain why the primarch is acting the way he is. Good to know. We'll make sure there's no sabotage…although you could psychically check. I don't know the capabilities of monkeigh psykers, but do you sense anything amiss with our escape party?"

"No, and that's what troubles me. Meela might also be interfering with my foresight. Infiltrators could have easily slipped in during the mayhem of our escape. Just be ready in case they make any moves," he responded.

"I will privately inform the other exarchs. It might be a good idea to send Tallath and Sorellia to watch the engines. Atharen and I can hold the bridge. Is there anything else I should know?" she asked.

"We're actually helping Vect capture the Talisman of Vaul. It was his real condition for letting us go. We can't be certain he'll honour his word, but I'll keep you updated if things change," Seiras explained.

Ashera sighed into the psychic link, "This just keeps getting worse. I'll let the others know."

"Here is the webway generator remote, Atharen," Seiras pulled out the device and handed it to the warp spider exarch nearby.

Atharen glanced at it before plugging it into some strange circuit pedestal on the bridge. A holographic minimap display of the webway popped up shortly afterward. It then multiplied exponentially as it graphed out available paths now open to the ship's navigation options.

He glanced at Seiras before gesturing towards places on the holographic display, "The coordinates Vect sent us lead to this location past the gate we're about to reach. It is a forked path where three pocket dimensions converge into the wider webway out of Commorragh. It's a prime location for an ambush…though we can take this underpath here. It's the harlequin back route that Ashera wanted us to go through. The main danger is we can get cut off on the other side here…or worse encounter harlequins at this point. Nevertheless, we'll most likely have to take this route after the two fleets intercept each other."

Ferrus glanced at it as well, "What about this path through the right fork…it leads to a back path further along that reconnects to the wider webway. It seems to be the most direct back path."

"No, that path is a dead end…" Atharen shook his head.

"Are you sure about that?" Ferrus crossed his arms.

Atharen sighed, "Of course I'm sure…see that blinking red light on the display? It means the gate is damaged. That would be the best path if it weren't for that technicality. This one over here could also work, but it takes us dangerously close to harlequin dominated pathways. I always assumed the Black Library was somewhere along that way. It would be unwise to venture near it if we are being pursued by harlequins. They can remotely shut down gates on the pathways leading over there. According to our farseer, there have also been a lot of chaos space marines breaking into that area. Thousand Sons to be specific."

"Why would Thousand Sons be there?" Seiras asked confused.

Atharen shrugged, "Good question…maybe Farseer Iruna would be willing to elaborate in detail. We only know they've been attempting to find the Black Library. It holds lost knowledge from the height of both of our civilizations. Likely they seek arcane knowledge. Harlequins jealously hoard secrets within. It is nigh impervious…especially because the Laughing God Cegorach is said to reside within. If we are being pursued by harlequins, they would want us to go that way."

"We'll proceed with your course then, eldar," Ferrus nodded.

Atharen scoffed, "Of course we will…don't assume I hadn't chosen the best option."

"Assuming all goes as planned, where do we proceed after taking this underpath?" Ferrus asked.

The Warp Spider exarch zoomed out the webway map as he hit a few holo displays causing the pathways to open up. He spent the next minute or so explaining the various routes they would most likely take beyond the initial few. According to Atharen, they were going to stop by Corun to drop off the humans first. Ferrus seemed to like the idea as he nodded in approval.

"What are you going to do about the rest of the aliens here? I have no intention of dealing with them." Ferrus asked.

Atharen glanced over at Tallath as if expecting him to answer. The Striking Scorpion exarch sighed, "We'll probably relocate them to a Tau planet. Some of the mariners or corsairs might be willing to ferry the lesser species to their homeworlds. It doesn't really matter to us though. At the very least, we won't be cruel enough to leave them in your Imperium's territory. That is practically a death sentence."

"I suppose we'll figure it out later. Any fate seems better than being a slave in Commorragh," Ashera added.

As they continued to discuss navigation options, Seiras had a psychic vision fill his senses.

Seiras' Vision

"Ahriman…you look as terrible as always. How fares your vain hunt for the Black Library? Pathetically unsuccessful I imagine?" the voice of a chaos sorcerer sounded.

The vision showed a thousand sons sorcerer looking into some type of psychic warp window. The other chaos sorcerer speaking was on the other side of it. Seiras did not recognize either one of them, but the one in the warp window had the heraldry of the black legion. Hearing the name of the sorcerer he spoke to was quite chilling, however.

'That's Ahzek Ahriman? The greatest chaos sorcerer?' Seiras thought as he examined the Thousand Sons sorcerer more closely. He was robed and armoured like most would expect a chaos sorcerer to be, but Ahriman's helmet had three sets of horns and a third eye on its forehead. He carried a strange looking staff and had several other sorcerers with him.

"You would do well to remember your place in comparison to mine, Iskandor Khayon. To what do I owe the displeasure of you contacting me?" Ahriman responded in powerful, low-pitched, and echoic voice.

"Surely you are aware of what has recently transpired within the warp? The Warmaster wishes to speak to you personally," Khayon replied.

"I have no desire to waste my time engaging in pointless trivialities with Ezekyle Abaddon. Unlike you and your impotent master, I have made great strides in my goals…and they are far more important than Abaddon's Black Crusade," Ahriman replied with condescending dismissal.

"Impotent master? We shattered Cadia…the warp has torn the galaxy in half. You dismiss that achievement as irrelevant?" Khayon countered.

Ahriman's echoic voice followed up slowly and mockingly, "Abaddon already has your 'unparalleled expertise'. I imagine you wouldn't contact me unless you believed you could not accomplish a goal that I can."

"Enough with this…Ahriman, I would speak to you," the voice of a third chaos marine sounded. His visage appeared next to Khayon in the warp window. He wore terminator armour, had a high tail of hair despite being mostly bald, and was wielding a dangerous looking daemon sword. The sight of the talon on his other hand made it obvious that he was definitely Abaddon.

"What do you want, Ezekyle?" Ahriman asked with a clear tone of disinterest.

"You are likely aware that Ferrus Manus was recently resurrected within the warp, I assume?" Abaddon asked him.

Ahriman nodded his six horned helmet, "I am."

"Does that not concern you? He was reanimated at Khaine's Gate by a Blood Raven librarian. He is in Commorragh right now…in the webway itself. Have you kept track of his movements?" Abaddon followed up.

"You already have Khayon and Neroth for this nonsense…why waste my time asking me?" Ahriman responded dryly.

"You're also in the webway…much closer to Commorragh. There is interference on my end," Khayon stated factually.

"Now I see what this is about. You want me to do something about it?" Ahriman asked knowingly.

"Of course I do…you may not care much for the goals of the Black Legion, but even you must see that it would not be good for another loyalist primarch to return to the Imperium. Guilliman is already mobilizing to repel my fleets," Abaddon practically hissed.

"Afraid of Guilliman are you?" Ahriman laughed at him. His nearby sorcerers joined in laughing as well.

"You're wasting your time trying to undo the Rubric you cast so long ago, Ahriman. My 13th Black Crusade is much larger than any of the previous ones. Multiple primarchs are joining me in this conquest. You have all the time in the universe to pursue your goals once we remove the stain of the Imperium from its rotting seat of power," Abaddon replied calmly.

"The Rubric CAN be undone! Some eldar reversed it not too long ago! One of these so called Ynnari! They have the secrets and I will find it in the Black Library! I don't care about the chaos gods, I don't care about the Imperium, or any other mundane revenge you might have! I will save my brothers!" Ahriman hissed with echoic fury.

"I heard about that…the Ynnari witch Yvraine is her name. It might interest you to know Ahriman that she was the catalyst who brought back Guilliman. Fight with us and I will devote our efforts to helping you capture her," Abaddon replied diplomatically.

"I don't need your help capturing her. I also know the conditions that come with being one of your lackeys, Abaddon. You'd have better luck convincing Kharn to listen to you," Ahriman dismissed his offer.

Khayon interjected a moment later, "Then do us one favor, brother. We need you to locate Magnus."

"Why can't you do it, Khayon?" the other sorcerer scoffed at him.

"Magnus and I are not on the best of terms. I understand he recently reversed your exile and that you two are on speaking terms again. He would accept a psychic message from you. Tell him that Perturabo agreed to come to Maeleum and we are expecting him there," Khayon replied slowly.

Ahriman was silent for a long pause as he turned to look away. It was then that Seiras saw Ahriman was looking directly at him from his vantage point of the vision.

"I'll consider it," he finally stated before shattering the psychic window.

Seiras felt his hearts tense up as Ahriman's voice filled his mind psychically, "I see you…Blood Raven. No one can spy on Ahrim-"

The librarian forced the vision to end before the sorcerer could finish speaking.

End of Vision

Upon the vision ending, Seiras immediately shielded his mind with as much focus and willpower as he could. This caused his psychic powers to flare a bit as Ahriman's echoic voice faded from his mind. The librarian quickly felt his senses returning back to reality. Looking at the time on his helmet visor's HUD it seemed a few minutes had passed.

His strange psychic fluctuation caused great alarm on the bridge. All of the eldar tensed up as if he had just been possessed. Ferrus was facing him and had a hand on his sword.

"Are you stable, librarian?" Ferrus asked almost dangerously.

Seiras nodded his head, "Yes my lord…I apologize for that."

"What was that?" Sorellia asked him confused.

"I just had a vision…" Seiras spoke slowly as he tried to alleviate some of the tension.

"Prophecies and visions are not my expertise. Did it have any relevant information we should know?" Ferrus asked.

The librarian turned his head towards the primarch, "It was between chaos sorcerers of the Thousand Sons. One was called Iskandor Khayon and the other was Ahzek Ahriman. Abaddon was in the vision as well. He asked Ahriman about us…you specifically Lord Ferrus. It looked like Ahriman was in the webway. Abaddon also mentioned that the traitor primarchs were going to meet on a planet called Maeleus. I assume it's in the Eye of Terror."

"I know of that world…that is ill news indeed. We should definitely ask the seer council about it when we get out of here," Ashera stated solemnly.

"How could they already know about the primarch?" Tallath asked incredulously.

"I imagine my return caused an echo in the warp. High level psykers might have been able to hear it. Regardless, we will look into this Maeleus planet later. Did your vision show any indication that Khan was on Vect's ship?" Ferrus asked.

"No…but Ahriman did look at me and he spoke to me right before the vision ended. He sensed he was being watched. I think he might try to intercept us," Seiras reluctantly added.

"It'll be the last thing he ever does," Ferrus stated without a shred of concern.

Seiras took a deep breath before speaking again, "Lord Ferrus…something relevant did just dawn on me. The Khan is a psyker, correct? If that's the case Vect would undoubtedly have put a limiter collar on him. That might be responsible for my inability to sense him. It's also an issue because Melisara's teleporters don't work when those collars are active. That's also not counting for the fact that Vect might have the same pylon technology Melisara used to shield herself from the warp."

"Then I'll remove the collar myself. I saw how they worked when Melisara put your collar back on. It won't be an issue. Though this is good to know now," the Gorgon shrugged with indifference.

Atharen scoffed at him, "You're not concerned that some chaos sorcerer saw the librarian? He might know where we are now. Vect and Malys are big enough problems already…as are the harlequins. The last thing we need are agents of the great enemy interfering in the escape."

"Atharen speaks truly, primarch. The name Ahzek Ahriman is known to me…he is the greatest of the chaos sorcerers. His interference is not something you should take lightly or dismiss pridefully. Imagine all the daemons he could summon," Ashera added.

Ferrus shook his head, "I know Ahriman personally and this changes nothing."

"We're not doubting your ability to kill him, primarch…but a sorcerer of his infamy likely commands numerous rubric marines as well. We're not equipped for dealing with that," Sorellia interjected.

"Then consider it fortunate that we're getting Khan and hopefully a force of space marines to join us. I'll make sure your precious lives are preserved," Ferrus countered aggressively.

Tallath crossed his arms, "We don't even know if he's actually on Vect's ship."

"We'll know soon enough. Regardless of our obstacles, I assure you that we are getting out of Commorragh," the primarch spoke calmly.

"Isha grant us mercy if this plan crumbles…" Ashera spoke in her language to the others.

"We're getting closer to the coordinates Vect sent us. I hope your plan works, primarch…for all of our sakes." Atharen followed up with obvious skepticism in his voice.

After a bit more flying in awkward silence, the ship finally reached the coordinates Vect had sent to them. To everyone's surprise, Vect's ziggurat was floating by itself near the webway gate in the distance.

"There it is…what now?" Atharen asked.

"Hail his ship," Ferrus commanded.

The primarch and the librarian both turned their voxes back on as they flew ever closer to Vect's ziggurat.

Confirming that he could indeed detect when their voxes were on, the supreme archon's voice came through shortly afterwards, "I'm glad to see that you're willing to cooperate. I will remotely open that gate and let the space marines through once you're aboard my ship. Most of my fleet is waiting in stealth near the space marine fleet as well. I usually don't leave my ziggurat this vulnerable, so Malys will likely attack without hesitation once I 'betray' you. She'll expect my first ambush, but not the second one from you. Get ready to put on your best acting performances. Also, for your own sake, I'd advise against taking the harlequin underpath. There's a small fleet waiting in there. Just a friendly warning for you."

Their hail was received by the ziggurat shortly after Vect ended the private vox call with them. The supreme archon's visage came up in a large vid display at the front of the bridge, "Ah, so you came after all. How unexpected…I take it that means you intend to negotiate?"

"We will…but understand this. I will kill you if you betray us!" Ferrus growled.

Vect smirked at him, "Ah yes…of course I've heard all of that before. Here's the deal, land in the main hanger and take the elevator up to the central chamber. The hallways should light up to guide you along. I'll meet you there. I'll hand over your brother and we can discuss your Imperium compensating me afterwards."

"I would rather hear your terms right now before I risk coming aboard," Ferrus challenged him.

"Is that fear I detect? Oh fine…I want all future raids from the Black Heart Kabal ignored, I want five hundred pariahs to fortify Khaine's Gate, and I would like you to help me kill a delusional false prophetess named Yvraine. As you're likely unaware, she is the leader of a faction called the Ynnari. They're some strange cult that worship the death god, Ynnead. They're preaching something about ritual mass suicide. Obviously I'm not a fan. They have made themselves enemies of Commorragh. Are those terms agreeable?" Vect asked.

"Fine…" the Gorgon exhaled with clear disapproval.

"It's a deal then…meet me on my ship and come pick up your brother," Vect replied with an upbeat smug attitude.

He ended his call a moment later. The exarchs seemed like they could tell that Ferrus was lying to a certain extent. Luckily they were smart enough to not say anything compromising as Ferrus walked towards the elevator along with Seiras.

"We'll be back," Ferrus stated confidently as the two of them departed.

"Do you even know how to pilot the shuttle craft in the hanger?" Atharen asked dryly.

Seiras nodded, "I can…"

"One question before you go…this teleporter beacon looks like it has a remote function on it. Does that mean we can teleport you back here as well?" Ashera asked.

"I believe so…but don't do it unless I tell you to. I can track if it's been moved as well, so don't even think about throwing it out the ship to try and kill us." Ferrus stated coldly.

"Our survival chances are much higher if you do succeed. We might leave if you fail, but we're not going to try and kill you. Your future cooperation with Iybraesil is worth more than our lives and I believe it was the farseer's original intention. I will trust her vision and in your plan since she told Seiras that she would see him again. We want you to succeed," Tallath stated honestly.

Ashera threw her firepike over her shoulders and hung her arms over the shaft. She nodded in agreement, "I swear upon Iybraesil that I'll keep the beacon safe and undisturbed. Your trust is not misplaced is us primarch."

Without another word, Ferrus and Seiras descended down the elevator shaft. Once they were alone on the elevator down, Ferrus looked down at Seiras and handed him something, "I have a backup plan in case this doesn't go well. This is another beacon…if Vect actually betrays us after we help him, then we'll teleport aboard and steal the Blackstone Fortress. I want you to put this beacon somewhere on its bridge if you get the chance. If necessary, we'll relocate our survivors off this ship after we seize control of the Blackstone Fortress."

"As you command, my lord. Although I'm not so sure I can pilot that thing," Seiras nodded.

"We'll figure it out. Take a hostage if necessary. One way or another, we're getting out of here. None of these xenos are going to outsmart me," Ferrus explained calmly.

"To be honest, I don't think Vect actually intends to betray us. He's been rather honest about his goals," Seiras stated.

Ferrus sighed, "You might be right, but just in case, be ready. I don't leave anything to fate or chance. We will not be outmaneuvered."

"Vect said he had an Avatar of Khaine on his ship…are you going to be alright fighting it alone?" Seiras asked.

"Fulgrim once destroyed one of those things. I will be able to handle it," the primarch stated carelessly.

A moment later the elevator touched down. The primarch and librarian walked side by side as they made their way past the large gathering of slaves in the lower chamber. Everyone was staring at them with anxious wonder and concern as the two superhumans passed. No doubt many were concerned that their two biggest protectors were leaving.

"Lord Seiras, Holy primarch, where are you going?!" Major Medina tried to flag them down as she ran over.

Despite his helmet, Seiras could tell Ferrus winced when he heard 'holy'. The primarch stopped briefly and looked at her. Everyone watched with fearful anticipation as the entire chamber went deathly silent.

"Remain here and await further orders Major. You're in command of the humans until we return to the ship. I expect everyone here to obey you as if you were me. Seiras will contact you psychically if we require anything," Ferrus stated coldly without explaining the situation to anyone.

Arika didn't seem to have the gall to ask any further questions as she stepped aside and saluted them, "May the God-Emperor be with you my lords!"

Ferrus cracked a fist upon hearing that but simply let it go as he began to depart. Seiras walked to his side and remained silent as he pondered over the logistics of the plan.

"Where are they going? Why are they leaving?!" a panicked person could be overheard shouting. Lots of gossip and anxious fear seemed to sweep through the chamber as everyone was getting a bit scared now. Even some of the aliens seemed deathly concerned that the primarch and the librarian were leaving.

One person was even dumb enough to try and block Ferrus and ask him a question, "Holy Saint of Iron…where are you going?! You're not leaving us behind are you?!"

Ferrus didn't even bother stopping as he effortlessly tossed the man out of the way into a nearby bulkhead. This seemed to startle everyone in the chamber that Ferrus would hurt someone without remorse.

The primarch then spoke in a restrained but furious voice, "If any of them disobey, kill them Major Medina. We will be back…so maintain order!"

"Yes Sir!" the Cadian Major bellowed as all of the guardsmen and even PDF troops brandished their weapons with military discipline.

This shut up every single human and alien in the chamber as most even sunk down to their knees or in seated positions. Even the eldar in the chamber visibly flinched a bit from Ferrus' intense spout of anger. The man Ferrus had tossed aside didn't appear to be terribly injured, but he was clearly not getting up anytime soon from having a primarch throw him at a wall. Seiras found it amazing that the man wasn't a pulpy stain on the bulkhead. He was unconscious and bleeding though.

Once they were clear of the chamber and considerably out of hearing range from the main chamber, Ferrus spoke to the librarian, "You weren't exaggerating when you said these humans considered me holy. It makes me sick."

"I know, my lord…but we can't do anything about it. I imagine even if you did want to disband the Ecclesiarchy then they would assume you were corrupted or something," Seiras sighed.

"I hope Guilliman is working on a solution then. I can't believe I'm saying it, but I'm looking forward to speaking with him again," Ferrus responded with a distant tone.

Seiras nodded his head, but decided it was best to not bother Ferrus with any unnecessary questions right now. It was clear that the Gorgon was in an extremely bad mood.

Ferrus seemed to know where he was going as the two walked in silence for a few minutes before reaching a hanger bay. Right before they passed inside, they saw Meela standing at the entrance alone. She had clearly seen them coming and moved to intercept their departure.

Ferrus stared at her briefly as she motioned at them, (I've been surveying the ship for any sign of psychic disturbances. It looks clear to me.)

"I have a mission for you silent sister…do it well and I'll ensure you're reinstated without question," Ferrus spoke to the pariah seriously.

Meela nodded at him, (What do you ask of me, my lord?)

(Make sure nobody gets on the bridge until we return. Watch these Eldar for any sign of treachery and if the worst comes to pass, I need you to inform us.) Ferrus gestured at her after briefly sheathing his sword.

(How will I inform you?) she gestured.

Ferrus threw her a small device and responded, (Put that on your wrist…Red means enemies are on the ship. Blue means it's clear…green means betrayal. Use those to keep us updated on the situation here. If your device shows gold, I want you to kill the eldar on the bridge.)

(We don't expect a betrayal from them, but it's good to prepared…try to keep a vantage on the elevator leading up to the command deck. Harlequins or infiltrators might attempt to take it,) Seiras added.

The Oblivion Knight bowed her head, (I won't fail you. Where are you going though?)

"We're going to Vect's Ziggurat. He has Jaghatai Khan," Seiras answered.

Meela's eyes widened almost in wonder, (Another primarch?!)

"Yes…do what you have to, silent sister. We must go now," Ferrus stated before walking to the shuttle.

The pariah waved at the two of them before she went charging out of the hanger towards her mission.

After boarding the shuttle and a minute a quick tinkering, Seiras got it airborne and flying on its way towards Vect's Ziggurat. Neither one of them said a word in the following silence.