---Thirty Minutes Later---
Receiving word that the last group of survivors had departed the planet, the troops began to fall back to their respective ships. Retreating in waves, unit it was just Amallyn and the Order of Divine Lamentations, Ionica's people did one final sweep of the structure before returning to the New Genesis.
"Alright, Victor, everyone has returned to their ships. We are good to leave!", Ionica called out before looking up at the parapet, "Amallyn, are you staying here or coming with us?"
"Victor and I have plans tonight, so of course I am coming with you.", Amallyn remarked as she slung her rifle over her shoulder and descended from her position on the wall.
Unhappy with the Eldar's response, Ionica's face twitched in anger as Amallyn gave her a smug smile. Purposefully leaving out that it was just meditation, Amallyn got a bit of joy out of watching her rival's dismay.
"Do not rub it in my face…", Ionica muttered, gritting her teeth.
"Then do not make such stupid remarks.", Amallyn stated, looking at her. "I am warning you now, Ionica. Unless you can move past your intolerance of xenos, Victor is never going to accept you into his harem. He already told you what his end goal is, your distain for xenos will only hinder that."
"I never thought I would hear an Eldar preaching tolerance of other races, but… I know you are right. Having worked with many xenos now, I know that not all of you are bad, but purging heretics and xenos is all I have ever known.", Ionica admitted, turning her gaze toward Victor. 'I want to be one of his biggest supporters and someone he can rely on when times are tough. The path before me is fraught with many obstacles, but it is all worth it for the man I have come to love.'
Finishing off the last enemy I could see, I used the Force to check for enemies and survivors elsewhere on the planet. Once I had confirmed that the world was completely devoid of life, aside from the three of us, I teleported Bloodtide and UR-025 aboard the New Genesis and then flew over to the two women.
"Sorry to keep you ladies waiting.", I apologized, touching down before them, "Let us head back to the New Genesis and wrap things up. I am looking forward to taking a shower and having a nice hot breakfast."
Wholeheartedly agreeing with me, the three of us proceeded toward the portal to leave. Just as we were about to step through, an oppressive pressure abruptly fell upon us, overwhelming the women immediately. Falling to the ground, unable to breathe, Amallyn and Ionica blacked out while I shrugged off the enemy's intimidation tactic.
"I did not anticipate running into one of you so soon, but I guess this is to be expected after massacring so many of your followers.", I commented, turning back toward where we had come from.
Looking at the portal that had opened in the fort's entryway, Khorne looked at me with interest as he sat upon his throne of skulls. Due to the influence of my otherworldly knowledge, the Chaos God looked like Gothmog from Tolkien's books.
(AN: Photo is on in Discord.)
"If you have come here to offer me a position amongst your followers, save your breath. I have no interest in becoming a follower/subordinate of the Chaos Gods.", I told him in annoyance. "Aside from one outlier, our interests do not align in the slightest. Each of you seeks to destroy the Materium while I desire to sample everything it has to offer me."
Laughing at my words, Khorne found my treatment of him quite intriguing.
(Khorne)
"Our shared hatred for the Fourth Chaos God.", I answered, motioning to Amallyn. "They seek to devour the soul of my lover and her people; I refuse to let that happen."
Tightening his grip on the Skull Throne, it was clear my memory was indeed correct; he despised the youngest Chaos God with a burning passion. Watching the flames around his body flare up as his temper soared, I used magic to shield the three of us from the intense heat he unleashed unconsciously.
"We both know that you want them dead as much as she does. The only difference between you in that regard is what you want. You want their skulls, and she wants their souls.", I commented. "Besides which, I prefer to acquire my power with my own efforts. Power given to you by others can always be revoked; it is only the power one obtains through dedication and hard work that cannot be."
"If our business has concluded, I will be on my way.", I said, picking the two unconscious women up.
Closing the portal without another word, I was grateful his oppressive aura vanished along with it. Gingerly carrying the two unconscious women in my arms, the three of us vacated the planet, shutting the portal down behind us.
---Two Hours Later---
Situating the survivors, after they were cleansed and received medical treatment, I sat down with Dance, Eagleson, Lawson, and Yoma to go over the aftermath of our battle. Handing over their respective after-battle reports, the five of us reviewed everything together so we could evaluate the areas we could improve in.
"Overall our losses were not that significant.", I commented as we began wrapping up the meeting. "Given that we were up against a massive host of daemons and several traitor warbands, losing one thousand six hundred thirty-seven men, four hundred fifty-eight support assets, and thirty automatons is not bad at all. Not only that, Eagleson managed to lightly damage only twenty-seven of our ships! All of you did an excellent job."
"Thank you, sir!", the four responded.
"The only question I have left is, how did the enemy breach the ship's shielding? From what I could see, the enemy used basic munitions against us. Our layered shielding method should have easily withstood that without any trouble.", I stated. "Any idea what happened?"
"Unfortunately not; the crews of each vessel reported no abnormalities during the fight. The few attacks that got through were easily stopped by the Beskar-plated hull.", Eagleson remarked, "All data from those events was forwarded to Dair and Luxion for further review. Do either of them have anything for us?"
"So they are beginning to field technology they stole from those fallen nations…", Dance said, crossing his arms. "Do we know where the enemy conducts their R&D? If we do, we should destroy it to help our allies out."
"The Dark Mechanicum does not have a designated place for R&D; they are spread out across various planets throughout this galaxy. Without any intel to go on, it would take decades to root all of them out.", I sighed, "For the moment, all we can do is improvise, adapt, and overcome the problem. Yoma, have your people keep their ear to the ground for anything about the organization."
Nodding her head in acknowledgment, the five of us parted ways and went about the rest of our day. Heading to the medical bay, where Amallyn and Ionica were resting, I wanted to check in to see if they were recovering all right. Walking into the room, with a plate of food for each of them, the two women sat up in bed and greeted me.
"How are the two of you feeling?", I asked, setting the plates before them.
"Everything seems fine, but what exactly happened back there?", Ionica inquired with a concerned look.
"A Chaos God decided to pay us a surprise visit. His intense aura caused the two of you to black out.", I explained, taking a seat between them. "He offered me a position amongst his ranks, but I rejected the offer. I could never be a part of Chaos; it would mean abandoning those I care about and working with a bunch of crazed lunatics."
Laughing at my description of Chaos followers, they agreed the description suited them perfectly. Letting out sighs of relief, Amallyn and Ionica were happy to still be alive after encountering such a powerful entity. Taking this opportunity to speak with Ionica on where we stood, the two of us began to sort things out while they ate their breakfast.