"Those are the Q'orl. Though they possess advanced starships, they lack Warp travel capability. That is precisely why they are attacking the Navigators."
"They can control minds with their mind grub. Their purpose in capturing human Navigators is to utilize them for Warp travel and establish their own empire."
The Black Emperor consolidated all the information he knew about the Q'orl and transmitted it telepathically to both of them.
"I am very interested in their Queens. Capture them."
"Tomorrow, perform the ritual. I will bestow upon you the Arc Projection Guns."
"Offer them to me, along with their mind grub, their planetary marker-stones used for navigation, and their deep-space monoliths."
The Q'orl Queen was the main ingredient for the "Psychiatrist's" subsequent Sequence 6, "Hypnotist." The mind-control maggots were supplementary materials.
The Q'orl planetary marker-stones was the main ingredient for the "Atrooger's" subsequent Sequence 6, "Scribe," and the deep-space monoliths were supplementary materials.
Arkhas and Nerat exchanged glances. Though the Black Emperor's command differed from Lord Horus's task of slaughter, the Black Emperor's will superseded all else.
"As You command."
"My Lord," Arkhas added, "there is a warrior in my 89th Company who is exceptionally talented."
Hearing Arkhas recommend a talented individual, Nareth asked with interest,
"What is his name?"
"His name is Alastor Rushal. His battle-brothers in the company call him the Raven." Arkhas Fal continued.
"Though young, he has proven himself in a series of battles and is highly praised."
Upon hearing the name Alastor Rushal, Nareth immediately knew who Arkhas was recommending.
Alastor was a Raven Guard, but after the Dropsite Massacre, he joined the Night Lords and became a member of the Kyroptera.
The Kyroptera was the future ruling council of the Night Lords, composed of the Legion's high-ranking members.
After a certain Campaign, Sevatar, seeking an advantage in the intense internal power struggle within the Legion, brought Alastor into the Kyroptera.
Though a member of the Kyroptera, Alastor was actually in an awkward position; he commanded no military forces of his own.
But Alastor's abilities were considerable. Crucially, since he was willing to betray Corvus Corax, his will was not unshakeable.
This meant he could be "corroded."
"Prepare a frigate. Load the sacrificial items. Order Alastor Rushal to escort them," Nareth instructed.
"Tell Horus this is in gratitude for my rescue of you at Xana."
Arkhas was taken aback. He looked up into the depths of the mist, seeing only a vague, indistinct figure.
As the Shadow Lord of the Nineteenth Legion, he immediately grasped the Black Emperor's implied meaning.
"My Lord, You do not wish them to know that I serve You."
"Correct." To ensure the Emperor entrusted the relic Shrieking Void to the exiled Terran-born he trusted, Nareth needed Arkhas to maintain appearances as usual.
"Furthermore, you and Nerat should not interact frequently from now on. Do not let anyone discover your close relationship."
Corvus Corax would not exile all Terran-born immediately upon his return. To bring them all under his command, Nerat Keelin had to remain with the Raven Guard.
This would allow him to take the remaining Terran-born away before the Heresy, and also learn something from Corax.
Though Nerat, as a Terran-born, was not favored by Corax and would not even meet his Primarch before being used as cannon fodder at the Forty-Two Gate, the Ashen Claws was still a Chapter reformed according to the Raven Guard's new combat doctrines.
"We understand."
The black mist swallowed them. Nareth sent them out of the Kingdom of Disorder.
Segmentum Pacificus, Svejk System.
Flagship of the Nineteenth Legion, renamed by the Shadow Lord as the Sea Monster.
Arkhas sat on his throne. "Have the Arc Projection Guns been issued?"
"Shadow Lord, they have been issued. Each squad has one," the Honor Guard Captain immediately replied to the Legion Master.
"Excellent," a slight smile appeared on Arkhas's grim face. "Remember the appearance of the xenos Queens. Capture them."
"I will present them to Lord Nareth. He extended his aid to us on Sha'nir II."
"My Lord, Nerat's company has, as you ordered, locked onto a chain-ship. They are preparing to simultaneously board when it disassembles."
"Good," Arkhas's tone was flat. "Blockade the other ships. Do not let any xenos vessel slip away."
He and Nerat had agreed before parting yesterday: the ocean world was for him, the "Sailor." The secrets of the xenos ships were for the "Mystery Pryer" to explore.
As Arkhas maneuvered his ships to blockade the Q'orl vessels, Nerat was already stepping off the ramp of the boarding torpedo.
The "Mystery Pryer" heard the buzzing drone of wings. He raised his bolt pistol and fired directly into one of the dozen or so labyrinthine entrances before him.
With a bang, the round detonated against a xenos, its papery form shattering.
Nerat's subsequent bolts pierced the mist, striking the xenos' slime-coated bodies, blasting them into bloody mist.
His Guard members looked towards the passage entrance. The xenos shrouded in mist had six eyeballs, their compound eyes arranged in vertical pairs.
The xenos possessed a bird-like beak. Their bodies were encased in a material resembling brittle paper. This outer surface and tough, sticky inner surface formed a garment like a sleeveless short coat.
Adamantium-tipped rounds shredded the xenos' papery clothing, detonating within their bodies.
Accompanied by piercing buzzes, xenos after xenos flew out.
Their bodies quivered. The surrounding air seemed sucked away by a fan, drawn into their bodies.
Amidst a series of pops, invisible gaseous bullets were expelled from their rear ends.
A string of crisp impacts rang out as one Guard member's power armor was struck repeatedly. The ceramite visibly crumpled.
Nerat noticed the mist-like compounds in the air. Simultaneously, the "Mystery Pryer's" psychic intuition warned him that something was flowing through the atmosphere.
He knew this was the chemical mixture secreted by the Q'orl's complex chemical glands. The xenos, lacking auditory organs, communicated through colored hormones and fluid pheromones.
Nerat ordered on the company comm channel: "Target their upper bodies! That's where their sacs are! The xenos communicate with secreted hormones!"
The Astartes immediately aimed their bolters at the xenos' upper torsos. Bolts thundered. Q'orl sacs ruptured one after another.
Slime splattered everywhere. The labyrinth entrance was covered in disgusting grey-black fluid.
The xenos' attacks immediately became disorganized. Impacts clattered against various power armor suits, causing no damage.
After the dense barrage slaughtered the surging tide of xenos, the Guard Captain stepped forward. He stopped before stepping in the disgusting slime.
He shrugged and joked, "These xenos are disgusting. But this is the only passage."
The "Mystery Pryer's" eyes glowed with a red-black light. Seconds later, he spoke.
"No, that's a trap. We take this passage."
He pointed to the third passage on the left of the one from which the Q'orl had emerged.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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