Questions and Caution

Meanwhile, across town

"Let me get this straight?" the question is asked by a red haired woman. "You met who after they did what to you're Terminator Armor?! And she had a trio of winged, angel like women armed with phasors?"

The woman nodded to herself.

And unable to recall exact details such as what exactly their faces looked like and such? the red haired Kalish woman spy turned Space Guild merchant thinks to herself. Sound like the Champions the Guild had hired my ship to keep tabs on with this Quest business.

That was, until the world had gone crazy and she’d found her sister somehow gotten magically yanked down to the surface here, inside one of those magically cursed costumes in this d*mned town here. Had almost caused the Kalish woman a heart attack, it had!

Thank the whatever gods and goddesses (not that the Kalish woman really believed in such things) for her sister’s safe return to the spacecraft after whatever had happened . . .had reversed itself. Sister was back up in the ship and back in her old body (and not a magically recreated body of her human/NEG Angel form, the First Child known as Rei Ayanami!).

Though the plug suit had looked rather nice on her....but that's not important right now!

The Kalish had transmatted down (armed heavily and with a brace of security types of her crew) to retrieve her sister and damn the consequences of exposing the natives of this world who weren't ready yet for "First Contact" with the rest of the universe!! Only . . .today was Halloween and this was Sunnyvale, so no danger of tramatized natives!!

That and they'd only to come in on the tail end of things. They’d seen the highlights from afar and enough to know the meat of the situation and would have left at that, but the Kalish ship captain felt a debt of honor needed repaying, so here she was...

"Xeno, I said as much did I not," a tired sounding voice said. As his father might have said (in the privacy while in counsel) it had been “a day”. Oh, not as bad as SOME he could have mentioned, like the times he had saved (or been saved) by his father . . .but it had been pretty intense.

Indeed, at first when everything had . . .changed and he‘d found himself not only freed from whatever had bound his armor up but aside a young (normal) child of around ten years of age . . .dressed in rough mockup of HIS armor. And not too far away was another child, about the same age dressed up as his now vanished foe: the “Iron Monger”. Both children (young boys) had been knocked out by the strain of it all, and laid at his feet.

Terra! It . . .was true. He HAD been fighting in effect a human child who’d been possessed by . . .another. Not a warp demon, but something who’d controlled the poor young boy and he’d not detected it with his Psyker powers! And he’d . . .it looked like . . .he’d been a possessing entity as well!!

Everything was still OFF with that power, might we add. And to top it off, beyond basic communication one could accomplish by hand waving and patimine the noble warrior found himself unable to communicate with the fretful children, who for whatever reason seemed to have imprinted on him. Seeing him as a guardian and protector against the darkness of this terrible night.

That was, up until the time that the red headed woman had shown up and soon had been able to speak his language by apparently just listening for a bit to his words. Amazing!

Indeed, he’d been very grateful for the help this woman had rendered him, calming the children. That was, until he realized something. Asked about it and the woman had confirmed without any attempt at deception on her part.

It had been something of a ...disappointment to find out that this golden skinned, red haired woman had not been human, despite appearance. Somewhat put off by it this good Samaritan being of an alien species, the Primarch is willing to give her some slack.

Hey, it wasn't like he was some kind of xenophobic jerk, ready to kill another JUST because they happened to NOT be human! Yes, there were those within the Imperium who preached such a doctrine, but HE made sure that those under him were more tolerant.

As long as an alien behaved itself and didn't endanger humanity, it was live and let live with him.

"Well, at least he didn't call me Sputnik," the red haired woman mutters, remember a certain IASA astronaut that insisted on hanging that nickname upon her.

Frankly, the last analog of John Critchton she'd met had been even MORE annoying and rude than the one she'd bumped into in the Uncharted Territories, if that was to be believed. A discussion in passing on the matter with an associate from that time (a Champion named Betty) had stated it sounded like THAT particular Crichton was . . .a real *sshole. More close to the Crichton everyone had been glad had died than the saintly one during that "It's a Wonderful Life" section of the episode "Unrealized Realities".

. . .

Frankly it still was a bit unsettling to discuss such matters of her old life with human fans of Farscape the TV series. But at least she felt somewhat vindicated in her assessment of that one who'd caused so much trouble earlier.

But that's not important right now, is it?

"Ah, but pardon me!" the red haired Kalish woman smiles in a slow, deprecating manner. "Where are my manners! In addition to wanting to thank you for looking after my sister while all that chaos was going about earlier in this town. Without your timely aid when you stepped up to confront those that . . .monster the little boy over there had become she might have been injured, or worse.”

The Primarch looked at the alien woman oddly as she then actually bowed slightly, giving thanks. While somewhat archaic, the woman somehow felt that this huge man was something of a knight (albeit in high tech power armor). And she’d be correct. Warmaster Horus, as well as the rest of his Primarch brothers, WERE knights in one fashion or another in the Imperium of Mankind, just below the Emperor himself, but still knights of a sort.

Not wishing to be outdone in protocol, as well as being something of a diplomat as well as warrior, the man returned courtesy with appropriate (for Imperium decorum) back. Xeno woman or not, she did at least deserve that.

He was somewhat impressed at how this woman did not seem to be (overly) intimidated by his mere presence. Some (most) people who meet just an “ordinary” Adeptus Astartes (Space Marines) were awed by it. Primarch? Ah, a bit more than alittle awe, but not from this one.

Hm, maybe it was the product Xeno culture or upbringing? Well, it could actually help him, really. Sometimes awe got in the way too much for his taste. Sometimes, it was just an out and out hindrance..

Besides, the woman was proving to be nothing but helpful so far anyway so why NOT be courteous? That and given that he’d found himself still here in this odd town without a clue as how he’d arrived here (and how to get back to his home and all that), this “Kalish” woman was perhaps a good means to an end in fixing that problem.

Or at least a good start at a fix, anyway. That and Maybe...

“Thank you for you aid,” Horus says finally, after exchanging pleasantries and names (so odd, after a deadly battle, but customs are customs). “However, you appear to know something about those who I have spoke of. Perhaps amongst the things you know of them you could maybe tell me exactly why they had been less than . . .friendly with me at first, exactly? And why after having neutralized me as a threat, they did not crush me whilst defenseless?”

There could be good and legitmate reasons for that. After all, looking at it from one angle the brawl that had come about after he‘d failed to drive the flying armored monster off could have been seen in a dark light. A battle of ego, as it were, with no regards to collateral damage. Innocents (rare though those were) threatened by stray weapon discharges.

He‘d had hoped to be able to drive the enemy off and away but instead got sucked into a battle he had not wanted, anyway.

He had HOPED to finish off the fiend quickly, to end the threat. Only to himself AND his enemy getting ensnared by those less than thrilled looking young teens with unexpected powers and abilities!

But still it might not be so easily bright and shining, the truth. It may sound paranoid, but given the world Horus haled from there my be dark, ulterior motives. And he wanted to be wary so as not to be fooled.

The Enemies of Humanity were always looking for openings, you know. Very devious... Maybe this whole business of a “Horus Heresy” and him somehow being involved in something to bring down the Imperium was a ploy!

1. Never paid to NOT be cautious, especially suddenly arriving HERE by means unknown to him for reasons Unknown to him....

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree