Cold Submissions

Illumination

The lho stick smouldered bright in her blood-soaked hands. Her blood.

She took a long drag, savouring the coils of sweet smoke. All around her, amidst the gilded pillars and cowled statues, waterfalls of clean water gushed into a large central pool, the worship hall ringing with the chimes of water bells. The marble floor that once paid homage to St Arde of the Burning Sight was plastered with gore. A small crater yawned a messy red in its centre, her contribution to the shrine, the priest, or whatever that thing was, near vaporized by a plasma grenade.

Bolter fire continued outside the hall, but all Liandra heard were the waters laughing through the chimes and channels built into the shrine. They called this paradise, and she could see why. There was a wet smack at the far end of the pool. Her optics swivelled to focus on a formless thing slopping out of the water. With one movement, she sighted down her pistol and fired. Her shoulder smashed into the wall with the recoil, a wildfire of pain razed through her body. She watched with satisfaction as the aqueous pseudopod bloomed a bright blue and exploded. Liandra took a drag on her lho stick.

Three more shots.

A door smashed open admitting a muscle-bound figure, his upper body seemingly made of biceps. His green vest blackened by scorch marks, his flesh riddled with weeping bullet holes. A small head squeezed out from the trunk of flesh, completely bald, a Low Gothic 'Seventeen' tattooed to the side of his skull. Behind him, the room was red with pulped bodies. He heaved, black mask bobbing, in sync with a two-handed hammer that crackled with lethal energy.

'Hey Seventeen,' she grinned, her internal servos whirred piteously as more fluid leaked out the hole in her side; her legs flopped uselessly. 'Totally screwed it up...'

The orgyn's pig-like eyes flared bright blue as veins bulged and wriggled throughout the brute's body. Seventeen charged, his hammer raised. Near his shoulder blades, stuck an empty vial.

'Aw shit!'

Her pistol boomed twice. Seventeen lost half of his face and most of his left shoulder, but the brute continued towards her. Liandra went numb, heart pounding with the ogryn's steps. Then, there was a staccato of birdlike chirps and Seventeen's torso, now severed cleanly from his legs, slid to the floor. She exhaled, and the servos in her arm gave a sputtering whir; her arm hung dead beside her. She lived though. One more drag on the lho stick.

'Liandra', Authoki's gravelly voice said somewhere above. The agent landed softly in front of her, an Aeldari shuriken pistol in their hand. Another burst and Seventeen's still convulsing head and torso were reduced to meaty chunks.

'The Emperor Protects. We've got the information. The mission is a success.' Authoki said.

'Good,' Liandra barked a laugh. 'As you can see...' she nodded at her entire body; her missing left arm, the gaping hole in her side, her limp right arm...

'We can still fix you, I'm sure the...'

Liandra shook her head. 'The brain's still in the pool there. Suffer not the Xenos to live yes? Besides, Sister Calia is still out there.'

'Liandra...'

'I know our boss is great and all, but pulling her out of his pocket?' Liandra laughed. 'I thought they were just myths!' The first time she met the Sister of Silence, Liandra was overcomed by a clammy wrongness. But here at the shrine, she thanked the Emperor for Sister Calia who, in her golden armour, muted the sourceless cacophony in her head.

Authoki raised the pistol, 'It would be my honour then.'

Liandra shook her head again. 'You have a plasma? I used mine on the priest - he was just a boy!' She spat, dropping the lho stick. "Aww shit.'

'They seem to want psykers. That boy was likely one,' Authoki glanced at their chrono. Runes were counting down. Liandra gave a bloody grin.

'Always prepared, you bastard.'

'It was good working with you Liandra,' Authoki turned to leave.

'Hey wait! Get me a fresh lho stick. Help a sister out eh?' Authiko paused, and then bent down to Liandra.

'I'm just thinking,' Liandra started as Authiko searched her body. 'You know, all these pilgrims come rushing to this place, saying the waters are blessed by St Arde, growing this huge congregation here, singing. laughing, worshipping the Emperor and St Arde. You know, the good stuff.

'They think it's all a miracle, polluted water cleansed by the fires of St Arde, and I admit, this place looks amazing. Best place in this shithole hiveworld.

'But it's not a miracle, is it? It's those damn things in the water, those damn barnacles or what-nots eating everything. And they are so happy, they spew their eggs into the water and everyone just laps it up like the Emperor's piss. And when they hatch, we got little babies growing within folk, controlling their every action and thoughts. They learnt to think, to connect. And then,boom, they've got a hive mind.'

Authoki fished out a lho stick and lit it, pressing it to Liandra's lips.

'So, the question is, who made this thing? Because, here's the kicker Authoki,' Liandra smirked. 'This ain't Xenos."

Liandra shifted the lho stick in her mouth, feeling a small capsule buried in the cotton filter. Her smile cracked wider. 'Oo, very kind of you Authoki.'

'The Emperor protects, Liandra.' Authoki gave the sign of the Aquila

'Hey! Find whoever was playing god here and show them His wrath.'

Liandra watched the agent run out of the hall, her eyes trained on the large rosette tattooed upon their back. She drew a long breath, staring up into the crystalline roof, feeling the lho smoke tingle down her throat. It was night on this forsaken island, but soon, from the bowels of this wretched place, a second sun would be born.

'The Emperor protects' Liandra smiled and bit down on the bomb capsule.