The group continued their descent, moving deeper underground. With the aid of their power armor, their pace was astonishingly swift, reaching a depth of one kilometer in no time. The surroundings took on a strange aspect, resembling a labyrinthine maze.
Grott's power armor emitted a scanning pulse, mapping the terrain around them and creating a three-dimensional model displayed on his visor. Only then did he realize they were amidst the fire control mechanisms of the weapon arrays. The maze wound around a massive processor, mirroring the intricate circuits of machinery.
After advancing a while longer, a gunshot suddenly echoed from around the next corner, prompting everyone to take cover against the wall. Their power armor, both standard and elite models, released scanning pulses. The results revealed an ongoing battle in a long corridor just beyond the corner, identifying one faction as allies and the other as enemies.
"There's a female Inquisitor with eighteen Space Marines on our side," Grey relayed over the comm channel. "The enemy consists of fifty Chaos Marines."
"An Inquisitor? What on earth is she doing here?" Grott was taken aback. Though he'd expected hostiles, he hadn't anticipated an Inquisitor so deep beneath the satellite's surface. The only plausible explanation was that she had been embedded here long ago, only to be discovered and swept into the fray as the enemy breached these depths.
"Damn the Inquisition," Grott muttered bitterly. "Kill them all."
Grey shook his head. "We have to aid them."
Relations between the Inquisition and the Talon Sector had been strained for some time. Although Grey was uncertain why the Inquisitor was here, he saw this as an opportunity to ease the tension between the Inquisition and the Talon Sector.
Besides, Grey doubted she was a long-time infiltrator. On the Celestial Engine, no presence could avoid detection, whether the engine was fully operational or damaged.
"You're the Guard; I'm bound to follow your lead," Grott sighed, nodding. "Let's move."
Grey heard Grott's voice stretched in slow motion as he engaged bullet time. Swiftly, he shot out from behind the wall, rounding the corner. Eighteen Space Marines surrounded the Inquisitor, shielding her while engaging the enemy. Their armor appeared ancient, of a make unfamiliar to Grey. The Inquisitor herself wielded a single-handed crossbow, firing between the gaps of the Marines' shoulder plates toward the Chaos Marines at the far end of the corridor.
Navigating between slowly drifting arrows and explosive rounds, Grey closed in on the fifty Chaos Marines. Before bullet time elapsed, he had slain five.
To the others, time seemed unchanged. They witnessed a figure suddenly join the fray, crossing a hundred meters in an instant and dispatching five Chaos Marines in a heartbeat.
"Focus fire!" the Chaos Marines rallied, directing a hail of bolts at Grey, only for them to be deflected by his activated gravity shield. Standing his ground, Grey retrieved a beacon from his pack and planted it.
Rifts opened behind the Chaos Marines as Grott and his escort emerged from dimensional space, striking from behind.
"Lute's gonna crush the big ones!" bellowed Lute the Ogryn, charging in and scattering the Chaos Marines' formation.
The Inquisitor and her Marines seized the opportunity, joining the battle. When the last enemy's helmet was pierced by a crossbow bolt, silence reclaimed the corridor.
The female Inquisitor approached one of the fallen foes, lifting her high-heeled boot to plant it on his helmet, leaning down to pull the bolt free. After stowing it, she turned to Grey.
Grey, too, studied her. This Inquisitor wielded both a single-handed crossbow and a rapier, neither of which were mere melee weapons. Likely enhanced by energy fields, her weapons could penetrate even power armor with ease.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"Talon Guard," Grey replied curtly, offering no further explanation.
"Talon Guard?" she echoed in puzzlement, leveling her crossbow at Grey's head. "Where am I? How did I end up here? And why have I no memory of a 'Talon Guard' within the Imperial forces? I order you to explain."
Grey was taken aback by her questions. This Inquisitor didn't know where she was? Then why was she here, on the Celestial Engine? And how could anyone in this system not recognize the Talon Guard?
After a moment's thought, Grey answered, "You're on the Celestial Engine near Cadia. As for why you're here, I don't know. The Talon Guard is not part of the Imperial Guard; we are from the Talon Sector."
"Not part of the Imperial Guard?" The Inquisitor's expression hardened as if she'd heard something deeply offensive, her finger poised on the crossbow trigger. Behind her, her Space Marines lifted their bolters, aiming at Grott and his squad.
"No… aim… at Lute's Captain!" roared Lute in anger, his massive form charging toward the Space Marines.
"Stand down!" Grott commanded, pulling Lute back.
Had they engaged, Lute's charge would have been his end. He did heed Grott's command, reluctantly retreating.
Watching the massive Ogryn in power armor, recalling how these soldiers had materialized behind the enemy, the Inquisitor felt an unsettling sense of heresy.
"Lower the crossbow," Grey said, casting a glance at the gravity staff in his hand. "I'd rather not kill… not kill an Inquisitor. But if I must, no one will ever know you died here."
After a moment's deliberation, recalling the sight of Grey dispatching five Chaos Marines in an instant, the Inquisitor realized her life could end here, quietly.
"Unworthy of the risk," she relented, stowing her crossbow and rapier. She gestured to the Space Marines behind her. "We appeared here suddenly, as if waking from a dream. We've no idea how we arrived."
Her Space Marines echoed her bewilderment, one asking, "Tell me, did Terra hold?"
Grey was skeptical of her words, suspecting deception, but chose not to confront her. "Your questions can wait, madam. May I know your name?"
"Greyfax," she replied.