"Are you two alright?", I inquired, helping the Sisters back to their feet, "The Holtzman Shields are great for physical and energy weapon protection, but do little to nothing against being crushed."
"Yeah, we found that out the hard way. Do you mind if we get new masks? Ours appears to be cracked.", Ionica remarked, looking at the sword I dispatched Obsidius with, "If I may…what is that sword? It looks very similar the Emperor's Flaming Sword."
Using Clear Skies to clear the area of toxic gas, I gave the two of them replacement masks before yanking my blade out of Obsidius' corpse. As the two of them fitted their masks to their faces, the Eldar and other Imperials came over to hear this explanation as well.
"This Dawnbreaker, it was gifted to me by a very influential individual on the fringes of the Galactic Republic. Like the Flaming Sword, this blade can cleanse corruption and permanently kill Daemons.", I informed everyone, "They have a personal grudge with the forces of Chaos, and jumped at the opportunity to help vanquish them permanently."
"Is this individual able to help us fight against Chaos directly, or provide additional weapons like this?", Ionica asked, unable to look away from the mesmerizing aura of the sword.
"Unfortunately, the person who gave Dawnbreaker to me is permanently bound to that world by a curse. She, along with sixteen others, are stuck there until the Chaos Gods either lift the enchantment or are slain.", I elaborated, "As for producing more artifacts, none of them are able to due to the same curse."
"Well, what about the other sixteen people? Did they give you artifacts as well?", Eldanial inquired, wanting a soul-destroying artifact for their Craftworld.
Nodding my head, I grabbed a few other Daedric artifacts from my inventory to show them. Surprised that I had so many, Eldanial glanced over at Amallyn for the briefest second before asking to examine the artifacts. Handing them over for examination, both groups were amazed by their exquisite craftsmanship and overwhelming divine power. Refusing to touch Molag Bal's Mace and Mehrunes' Razor, they politely asked me to put them away as they radiated bloodthirsty, murderous aura. Handing them back to me, once they were done looking over everything, I began the process of collecting the corpses of our defeated foes.
"What are you doing?", Mane inquired, with a hint of concern, "You are not intending to give these traitors a proper burial, are you?"
"Oh no, these bastards do not get that privilege.", I chuckled, stowing the corpses away, "As Samus will tell you, the Imperium of Man has an open bounty on all Chaos Marines. The current rate is six hundred thousand per dog tag, meaning this lot is worth 15.6 million credits, and that is not counting a potentially higher reward for Chaos Lord Obsidius."
"Are you running low on funds?", Eldanial questioned, seeing an opportunity to bargain for an artifact.
"Haha, no, my household and territory are in excellent financial condition right now. The money will be added to our coffers for future expenditures.", I remarked, as the last marine disappeared into my inventory, "Alright then, everyone ready to head out?"
Giving it a thumbs up, I took point once again and began leading our group toward the captives. Hoping to capture this place before nightfall, my goal was to sleep in my own bed tonight aboard the Endless Horizons.
---Forty Minutes Later---
Noticing substantial changes to the environment, as we drew closer to the captives and our final destination, everyone could tell something was very off. Starting around a mile away from the captives, enemies stopped showing up and the toxic gases began to dissipate. By the time we reached the hallway leading to the jail, we were able to remove our masks and breathe normal air again. Feeling knots forming in our stomachs as we stared at the giant door leading into the Webway Chamber, the Eldar began to feel physically ill in response to it.
"Is everything alright?", I asked, watching color drain from their faces.
"No…something evil and twisted is behind that door…", Eldanial said, trying not to throw up.
"There are countless voices screaming in our heads begging for mercy and to be released from their torment.", Amallyn stated, clutching her head tightly, "MAKE IT STOP!!"
Stepping in to help, Mylene and I used the spell Calm Mind to try and help alleviate some of the psychic pressure they were experiencing. Making little to no difference in their condition, I proceeded to cast Psychic Protection on them. Feeling the spell's effect immediately, the Eldar fell to their knees in relief. Mentally drained by whatever attacked them, they look at me with gratitude and respect.
"Thank you, if you had not done that, I fear our minds may have exploded from psychic overload.", Eldanial remarked, "I hate to burden all of you, but can we take a brief respite after freeing the prisoners? We will need some time to recover and make mental preparations to resist whatever lashed out at us."
"That works for us, I would like the Tech-Priests to confirm our armor is in top condition before we take the plunge.", Ionica said, glancing over at Mane.
"I was just about to suggest that.", Mane agreed, wanting to give them the best chance of survival possible.
Agreeing to their request, my troops and I helped the Eldar to their feet and down the hallway to the jail. Taking a seat in a corner of the room, close to the hallway, they began to meditate while I walked over to the prison cell. Rushing over to greet me, as I approached, the people inside were happy to see a friendly face.
"I do not know who you are, but you are a sight for sore eyes.", a well-dressed man said, with a relieved smile, "Can you help us get this door open?"
"That is the plan, let me take a look at it.", I told him.
Unlike what I expected, based on the security feed, the door was not makeshift but part of the wall itself. Knowing that I would not be able to rip it out easily, I glanced over at the control panel next to it. Prompting me for a code to access the door controls, Dair provided me with what the old security code. Punching the digits into the panel, the security screen disappeared, allowing me to hit the Open button.
"Hot damn, first try!", the man chuckled, as everyone quickly vacated the cell.
Glancing over at the rest of my group, the man's eyes fell upon Amallyn who was deep in mediation. Cracking a smile, as he looked at her, I assumed he was one of the people amongst the party she lost.
"You know her?", I inquired.
"Yeah, the four of us are all that is left of our exploration party.", the man answered, pointing the people in question, "This is my hired mercenary Dahyak Grekh, Priest Taddeus the Purifier, and I am Janus Draik, an Explorer and Rogue Trader by trade. Who are all of you?"
"This is the young man I was telling you about, Janus. The one the God Emperor told me about in my dream the other night.", Taddeus said, stepping forward and shaking my hand, "You are the direct descendant of Klordius Aremus, Lost Primarch of the Second Legion, right? I was told to lend you my influence and strength to help bring our nation back onto the glorious path he began laying out for us ten millennia ago."
Realizing who I was, Janus was about to apologize for his rudeness and bow his head when I asked him to stop. Insisting he treat me like a normal man, I wanted to avoid the religious bull crap that comes with being a Primarch. Acknowledging my request, the Rogue Trader relaxed a bit more and began talking again.
"So based on what Taddeus told us, you are here to capture this place for its Void Technology. Something about using it to close the Great Rift and suppress the Eye of Terror?", Janus questioned, having only paid partial attention to the priest's ramblings.
"Correct, the central control room is just a short walk from here. After a meal and a short respite, we will head out immediately.", I informed him, "Do you need weapons?"
"Our stuff is in one these cells, I believe.", Janus answered, walking over to investigate.
Poking his head into each cell, the furthest one on the back wall was where everything was being kept. Using the same code to unlock the door, Janus stepped inside and retrieved everything. Tossing his team members their equipment, the Rogue Trader set Amallyn's belongings on the floor in front of her. Handing over what remained to the other prisoners, they graciously accepted them without hesitation.
"So then, all of you must be from other captured exploration parties, right?", I asked the others.
"Correct, sir.", a scaly lizardman acknowledged, "In my case, the party I came here with was ambushed by some eight foot tall monsters in Astarte Power Armor. I cannot tell you which legion they were from, but I can say their armor was incredibly old. If I were to guess, probably ten thousand years or more."
"Same thing happened to our team.", a large, four-armed red man chimed in, "Everything we threw at them seemed to only annoy and piss them off."
'Demons where Astarte Power Armor…does that mean the Eleventh Legion is somehow involved with this? If that is the case, why could the Emperor of Mankind not detect their presence? He found me easy enough, so there is no reason he should not be able to see them.', I thought, "Thank you for that information, it will make preparing for this upcoming fight a bit easier. I assume all of you are pretty hungry, care to join us for a meal?"
"At this point, I will happily eat some Corpse Starch.", Janus laughed, dryly.
"Take a seat and let me fix our meal.", I chuckled, "And no, Corpse Starch is not on the menu."
Deciding on a small variety of sandwiches for lunch, I retrieved some egg salad, sliced chicken and steak, a few toppings, and some fresh bread from inventory. Using the Force to help assemble the sandwiches quickly, I passed out equal portions to everyone and began to eat.