A pair of Adeptus Mechanicus raced with high speed over sand dunes, escorted by a considerable force of Astra Militarum soldiers. What the soldiers around them regarded as a small talk ongoing between the two was, in fact, a heated debate of the two servants of the Omnissiah.

  "By all our calculations, this area has a sixty percent probability of turning into a warp portal in four days." One of them stated, while he repeatedly scanned for enemy presence in the area.

  "Reassess with shorter time frame." The second member of the Cult Mechanicus moved slightly ahead and it was clear from his demeanor that he was the leader of the moving force.

  "Eight percent chance of full warp contamination within eight hours." The other Tech-priest did not seem to mind his lower rank, as it was only concerning their current mission. In the bigger picture, he was the one sent by the Order to assess the operations of Magos Eisenarch Alvrick, who seemed to be under-performing in his role to support the Inquisition.

  Naturally, inefficiency could not be tolerated.

  "An acceptable risk." Magos Eisenarch reaffirmed his resolve, his decision to continue in the rescue operation on the planet unchanged.

  "I disagree. To risk all out assets only to extract a single member of Ordo Malleus is against official guidelines." The tone of his companion was slightly more strict, as if he was losing patience with his partner.

  "It is eight percent."

  "There is a confirmed Tyranid presence on the planet and the proximity of a Craftworld is increasing the risk of this mission failing." He reviewed the mission status for the leader to make him see the error of his ways and awaited his response.

  "Inquisitor Keal Gull was present during the high priority event Kappa904SL3 near this planet, the value of his data is sufficient to trigger an exception from the standard procedures. " Magos Eisenarch insisted and the conversation came to a halt for a while.

  Their forces struggled to climb over a large sand dune, but the source of the signal was getting closer and closer. In one hour, they should reach their target with their current speed. The fine sand was not kind to the mechanized units of the Astra Militarum that roared behind the pair of the tech-priests, but one hour was nothing to worry about.

  "The value of his data cannot be estimated, insufficient information." One of the leading figures said, irritated, as if he knew his companion's reaction in advance.

  "Correct, an unknown variable, this decision is in scope of the expedition leader. There is no deviation from standard procedures." Magos said with and his eyes lingered for a second too long on his conversation partner.

  At that moment, the forces of the Imperium of Man arrived at the top of a sand dune and saw a vast ruin in front of them, many of the weathered structures buried deep in the yellow sand of the desert. The planet was full of ruined structures and they seemed to have finally found the right one, as they could see a magnificent ruin in the distance, the ages old fortress-monastery not losing all of its charm even after the eons it had rotted at the edge of warp.

  * * * *

  "They are coming, I might have misjudged him this time." Kael Gull stopped at the first floor of the ruined fortress-monastery, looking outside into a mild sandstorm through the broken wall, which must have crumbled down a long time ago. They had left the opened space of the courtyard in favor of the cover made of black ruined stone blocks around them.

  "Are we in hiding? You have moved with haste." Lor'themar asked, his focus lacking. The inquisitor froze for a second, realizing the high elf's condition had not improved, but there would be time and place for that in the future.

  "The most logical option. Enemies won't be able to decode my signal quickly, it is safer to hide for a while before my support team comes."

  "How do you know?"

  Wordlessly, the inquisitor projected the inner display of his helmet outside, the holo-projection captivating the eyes of the high elf.

  "Huh, another one of the strange magics of yours." Lor'themar stared at the projection as if it was something extraordinary.

  "You and your folks are ones to talk." Kael laughed, remembering all the inconceivable ways the denizens of the foreign world manipulated fire, ice and water. A simple holo-projection of his helmet display was nothing noteworthy.

  Suddenly, the miniature map projected in front of them began to beep, a mild red light flashing under a few red dots displayed at the edge of the screen. The inquisitor turned his head quickly in the direction of the threat, his hand sliding to the hilt of his chainsword.

  "I will go recover some bolts, there will be company."

  "Enemies? You do not strike me as someone afraid of a fight."

  "A fight?" Kael chuckled while taking long strides in the direction of the courtyard, where they had fought the demon. Lor'themar followed him with ease, his sharp sight gazing in the direction of the detected threat.

  "Our numbers are too few to make a real different in battle. We need to keep a low profile as long as possible, let's hope it is not Tyrannids. We would not survive their numbers."

  The inquisitor did not bother to take the stairs down and jumped instead, the ceramite of his boots biting into the sand in the courtyard and began collecting used bolts. Lor'themar imitated him and nimbly weaved through the fallen stones and crumbled icons of the destroyed Chapter, retrieving ammunition for the inquisitor's strange weapon.

  "They are closer, let's hide in one of the rooms."

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "We should be able to take them out without being noticed." Lor'themar proposed one of the obvious strategies of the high elves.

  "That is the last resort, it might be impossible. There is no stealth when the hivemind is watching." Kael stopped collecting bolts and rushed to a near wall, pressing his back against it. Slotting the ammunition inside his belt, he glanced at the high elf, who mimicked his actions and added a few bolts of his own.

  Shortly, they stood still and listened to the howling wind of the desert. The inquisitor's eyes were glued to the red dots on his display, until all the dots vanished.

  "Advanced stealth, it's Eldar." Kael Gull said while drawing his chainsword, the tone of his voice filled with glee.

  "Good news?" Lor'themar asked, his reaction bordering with disinterest. Another word with its meaning lost to him.

  "Yes, the fights are more tricky, but they ain't the kind to overwhelm you with numbers. Their casualties matter. Prepare for a ranged ambush." The inquisitor readied for combat, pressing his back against the closest wall. "Do not bother with stealth and better find a wall to cover your back, you won't outdo them in hiding."

  Hearing a sound to his right, Keal lifted the chainsword he held in his left hand and blocked a slender blade aiming for his neck. At the same time, the finger of his right hand pressed his bolter's trigger, sending a bolt towards the torso of the suddenly appearing Eldar warrior. The enemy emerging from stealth reacted immediately to his failed ambush and bent his body into an impossible angle, dodging the bolt that penetrated deep into the sand behind him.

  The enemy clearly intended to continue his attack, but Kael did not stop with a single bolt and the slender figure had to use its sword to deflect a second bolt before jumping behind one of the crumbled obelisks, taking cover.

  "Let's corner him!" Lot'themar watching at his side had a dumb idea, but the inquisitor immediately stopped him, his tone uncompromising.

  "No, he is already back in stealth and somewhere else. Others are waiting for us to expose out backs." He snorted, remembering well his other fights with the elusive xenos. He quickly slammed the pommel of his sword into the wall behind them and nodded when it resonated with a dull sound, mot budging an inch. It should not allow the Eldar to shoot them through it from the other side.

  The High Elf wanted to doubt the inquisitor's judgement, but decided to rely on his companion's experience, as he himself was completely clueless about what was happening around him.

  "For some reason, they are reluctant to strike." The inquisitor mumbled and looked again at all the data available using his gear.

  Another probing attack came, when a blade materialized out of thin air, but Kael smacked the projectile aside with the flat of his chain, like it was just a minor nuisance.

  "You should eat more, your attacks are too weak." He roared, teasing the Eldar, but he already knew they could not be baited with strategies commonly used against greenskins.

  The inquisitor glanced to the side to check on the status of his companion, but to his surprise, he had his weapon half-drawn, obviously undecided if the attackers were truly his enemies and the Eldar did not attack him either. Keal Gull growled, it was his negligence, he should have had informed Lor'themar before the fight about the nature of their enemy.

  Eldar were no high elves!

  They were not some marry band of pioneers or diplomats, they were simply using the fact that the high elf was hesitant to attack them and focused all their efforts to take down the inquisitor. The moment he was killed, Keal had no doubts in his mind the Eldar would deal with Lor'themar.

  Luckily, the looming crisis was ended in the next moment.

  "For the Mankind!"

  "For the God-Emperor!"

  Suddenly, loud shouts were heard, carried by the wind, followed by thundering explosions of artillery munitions.

  That was the Astra Militarum for you, the inquisitor himself had no clue where the Eldar currently were, but the eager men of the Imperium of Man's military considered their hunch enough to send a few artillery shells just in case.

  The inquisitor frowned when one of the shells exploded only two dozen meters away from him. The lightly armored Eldar he had been fighting was blown away by the blast, injured by shrapnel. His power armor produced just a few unpleasant scratching noises, leaving Kael completely unharmed.

  Well, the Eldar might be smart and good in stealth, but their tactics were nothing against the mighty ignorance of Astra Militarum's arillerymen. They did not expect them shooting even without the knowledge of their position and that was their mistake.

  "Great, Astra Millitarum's precise munitions. I hope we all don't die here." Kael Gull growled while retreating further away from the point of impact. He remembered that some of the soldiers were too scared or simply lazy and kept firing their guns without adjusting the barrel's position, their only objective being to survive the mission while looking soldiery enough to escape charges for desertion.

  War was a grim business. Many did not fight because they wanted to and the faith of the Ecclesiarchy could not carry the morale of the soldiers all the way. Kael Gull even remembered seeing many of the important agents of the Adeptus Ministorum itself carefully avoiding the front lines while preaching the lofty words of Cult Imperialis.

  Usually, the louder the preacher's words, the more he was trying to hide his own faith's deficiency.

  Whatever ideals were driving the soldiers in charge of the artillery, the result was that the battlefield turned much more chaotic. Kael Gull favored it, because his power armor was able to shrug off all collateral damage except for direct hits. The same could not be said for the Eldar, who were quickly retreating when faced with the unfavorable conditions and the fight ended even before it properly began.

  The inquisitor bisected an injured Eldar in front of him and sent a few bolts into the back of another unfortunate child of the Asuryan, who had his stealth disrupted by a shock wave.

  The inquisitor nodded, as if the Eldar's retreat was a matter of course. Although they were much better warriors than the soldiers of the Astra Millitarum, the bulk of the mechanized brigades that often accompanied the soldiers of the Imperium was not something they could cut down easily. The Eldar were rarely willing to deploy enough of their own heavy machinery to be able to face the likes of Leman Russ battle tanks. Quick, precision strikes was their strategy of choice.

  As soldiers began flowing near him, each one wary of getting too close to the inquisitor, Keal saw two tech-priests who were heading his way. He recognized one of them right away.

  "Inquisitor Kael Gull." Magos Eisenarch stopped in front of him with a quick greeting. "The situation is getting more dangerous, we need to move quickly."

  "Let's move out." Kael nodded and had to act to stop one of the soldiers from shooting Lor'themar, who was mistaken for one of the attackers. His armored hand caught the eager soldier's firearm and turned it skyward, redirecting the bullets meant for his high elven companion.

  "He is an asset, I want him alive." The inquisitor stated in a commanding voice and the soldiers of the Astra Millitarum surrounded the high elf, intending to disarm and arrest him.

  Kael did not stop them, as it would be very complicated to persuade them otherwise. At this point, speed was of the essence.

  "Let them." He commanded in Thalassian and Lor'themar listened to his command, understanding the volatile situation they faced.

  Hearing the language, he received questioning gazes of many soldiers and the two tech-priests, but no one considered it important enough to bother the inquisitor with questions. Effective immediately, he was the commander of the expedition and all present were perfectly aware of the fact.

  Kael Gull watched the heavy machinery of the Astra Militarum change direction and jumped on the armor of one of the tanks. Carried by the plasteel monster, he thought about his next actions.

  "There will be an immediate debriefing at the base, we have a visitor." The Magos came to the side of the tank and warned Kael of the special circumstances.

  "As expected." The inquisitor was not sure what story he would spin for his superiors to make at least a little sense. His mission had been too wild even for his standards.