Secret War: Warhammer 40,000 by Ben Agar (reading eggs books TXT) 📖

hire all of us," I said. "That we had no choice in the matter."

"No," she said. "No, we don't."

I narrowed my eyes and looked at her sidelong.

"You're worried that you are merely replacing one slave master with another," said Karmen.

I shrugged. "Yes and no. After all, I've learned from this disaster is to read people better. I think she's legit, Karmen, but I might be wrong."

"What do your instincts say?" said Karmen.

"My instincts say," I smiled. "My instincts say that I'm right, that Wesley was right to trust her, and she'll be a great ally and employer. We were truly lucky that she came to us, but my instincts also say..."

"Says, what?"

"It just seems all too convenient," I said.

She laughed. "Really? A world destroyed? And we just manage to luck out enough to be rescued by a good person who's willing and ready to help us in our endeavour? You call that convenient?"

"Yeah, I do," I said without hesitation.

"If it's any consolation," Karmen said. "I agree with you."

 

 

One of the Stormtroopers had voxed forward, so we were unmolested as we walked into the Sensorium then taken to an enormous pict viewer, already showing the familiar brown cloud-covered world of Omnartus. There were eight chairs set in front, six of which occupied. Darrance was in one, his legs crossed, elbows on his thighs and his hands intertwined, index tapping, watching so intently he never noticed our approach. Torris was on another until he saw us, then his eyes widened with abstract surprise, and he pushed himself to his feet.

Vex was there too; he sat hunched forward on his seat, his fingers flying across his portable cogitator's keys, but every few seconds, the kid would glance up at the pict screen.

Vark sat, still in his carapace armour, and he barely spared us a glance, his expression a contorted mask of disgust and rage. Next to him was Helma, she seemed to watch on impassively, but I could see her eyes were welling with tears, her hands gripping the armrests so hard, her knuckles were stark white.

The last two I couldn't have been more surprised were there. Arlathan was watching from beneath a hooded brow, leaning forward, his expression intense. He only noticed us after Torris got to his feet, and he looked almost as shocked as Torris that I came. Last was Verenth, and to see the ex-hammer there made me respect him all the more. He looked at the screen with fierce, laser-like intensity.

"You're here!" exclaimed Torris. "I didn't expect to see you here."

I shrugged and managed a smile. "I...I guess I should..."

I trailed off as I looked closer at the feed, seeing the vast explosions ripping across Omnartus' surface in seemingly sporadic bursts.

Torris' eyes narrowed, and he looked at Karmen. "He's here because you made him come, didn't you?"

She nodded. "I felt he should witness this."

He bristled with barely contained anger. "Do you have any idea the psychological damage this could do...?"

"I'm fine," I interrupted softly, stepping closer to the screen. "I need to see this."

"No," said Arlathan so firmly, it forced me to look at him while he was abruptly getting to his feet. "I agree with Marcel. You shouldn't be here, Attelus."

"If you think it's going to be psychologically damaging for Attelus," growled Karmen. "How can you be here then, Arlathan Karkin? This is your homeworld; yours and Verenth's there. Won't it be even more psychologically damaging for you and him?"

Arlathan's jaw set. "I watch because I think it'll temper my will," he said. "Force me to work all the harder in the future to stop it again. Force me to keep on working inward to turn myself into a better person. I've been trying to do that, lately and because of that, I agree with Marcel. He shouldn't be here, but I agree for a different reason."

"And what's that?"

It wasn't Karmen who'd said it, and all of us turned to the speaker. My eyes widened, and I gasped in shock and surprise. Now she was the very, very last person I expected to see here.

"Adelana!" I gasped.

With a sad smile, she walked toward us through the hustle and bustle of the Sensorium, her two-man Stormtrooper escort at her flanks.

Everyone, even Vex, got up from their chairs.

Arlathan was so shocked he seemed unable to answer her question.

She continued to look at Arlathan. "And what reason is that?"

He managed to find himself. "I believed he should be with you. Helping you through this instead, but..."

"But, here I am," she said. "I can see all of you are shocked to see me here."

"Can you blame us?" said Torris.

Her attention fell to the floor. "No, I can't. I don't even know how I can be here."

"So, then," I said. "Why are you here?"

She looked straight at me; her large eyes sparkled with tears, but there was no anger there, just a sadness of such strength it took my breath away. "I've never seen my world from orbit before. I wanted to see it for the first and last time before...Before, I'll never see it ever again."

I wanted to point out that technically we're weren't watching Omnartus from orbit at all but kept my idiot mouth shut.

"Will you be able to handle that?" said Helma. "I mean, won't it..."

She wandered off in her sentence.

Adelana shrugged. "I don't know, but if I can't, and I decide to...If I decide to take my own life, please do not try to stop me. My life is my own, and if I choose to end it..."

"Your life isn't your own," said Enandra as she walked toward us, the Psyker and one Stormtrooper, who I guessed to be her lover at her sides. "It is the Emperor's, and only in death does duty end."

Adelana flinched at the Inquisitor's intensity, terrified of her.

Enandra's hard expression disappeared suddenly, replaced by a warm smile. "You are still young, Adelana. You still have duty left unfulfilled."

"But, I..." Adelana squeaked, and she began to retch with tears. "But I..."

I threw caution to the wind; despite the intense anxiety it caused me, I took Adelana in my arms just as she started to collapse to the floor. Pulling her close and she wept into my chest; it reminded me disturbingly of Elandria only a day or so ago. I'd failed in saving her just as I'd failed to save Omnartus, to save Castella, Garrakson, Wesley, so many. I just hoped I wouldn't fail Adelana as well or that I already had.

"You may end your duty, Adelana," said Enandra sadly, and somehow her words made Adelana stop her weeping and turn to look at her. "I will not stop you, that is your right, and I honestly wouldn't blame you. But I sincerely hope that you do not. That you managed to leave your quarters to be here speaks of a strength of will that astounds me. You have potential, great potential, Adelana."

Enandra attention turned up, and her eyes wandered over all of us. "All of you have great potential!"

She looked back down at Adelana again. "I can see that others can see that too," she said as she glanced at me pointedly. "Please see that, and please believe that even at the very, very worst of times, there can still be the best of times later."

"I don't care!" Adelana suddenly screamed, making me flinch. "I don't care about your potential crap! My mother! My father! Everyone I know and love are going to die! Why should I care? Why?"

"That is the truth in life," said Enandra. "It is such a truth that it is now, as an ancient Terran dialect would call it, cliche. All of us will face death, everyone, everything. Whether it is sentient or not. You must care, Adelana, because if you don't, you will end your life, which won't make anything better. It will just completely and utterly eliminate any potential of it ever getting better. Do you think your mother and father would want that? For you to snuff out the life, your life which is a life of such boundless potential that they had the honour and luck to bring into this galaxy, just because they have died? Just because they were claimed by the one absolute that will claim us all."

She shook her head. "No, I don't believe they would."

"You can't...You can't," Adelana whispered weakly.

"I can't know that?" said Enandra with a shrug. "Is that what you mean? No, maybe I cannot, but I am an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus. I am a product of decades of experience and learning. And if I may sound extraordinarily arrogant, I can read people frigging well. From what I can read of you, I can see you are an intelligent, well adjusted and good person. Most of the time, but there are always exceptions. Usually, that means their parents loved them dearly, treated them well, but not too well. I'm sure they made mistakes; no one is perfect, but..."

Enandra trailed off. "I am meandering, my apologies. But, Adelana, just think on that, please," she sighed.

Then much to my shock, Adelana made a slight nod. I'd never been held in such awe ever before; this woman, this Inquisitor, was genuinely great. She was worthy of her position and more, on the same level as Brutis Bones, perhaps even more so. I could tell Enandra's words were also aimed at me. Even if I knew it'd all be for nought, I wouldn't have done it after Estella's earlier words.

With this thought, I glanced over my shoulder to Karmen. I caught her looking at us, and she suddenly flinched her attention toward the floor.

"Thank you," said Enandra, and she walked by us, then stopped to stand and watch the pict feed with us.

Still holding Adelana close, I watched Enandra, my brow furrowed, my expression grim. My earlier suspicion rekindled. She was good, just too good to be true.

I pushed away such thoughts, clenching my teeth and inhaling sharply.

"Please," said Adelana, "please let me go; I need to see."

Even though it stung me to do so, I instantly did as told.

She smiled at me sadly. "Thank you," she said, although I wasn't sure why exactly she was thanking me.

Then Adelana walked past, and we watched the pict feed.

We watched Omnartus burn.

Then die.

 

 

It happened only over about an hour; it was hard to believe such an act could be possible. Billions of lives snuffed out, just like that, an hour seemed like a bit of time in a human's lifetime, but in this galaxy, it wasn't even an eye blink. It almost made me laugh out loud as I thought that metaphor was indeed the understatement of the galaxy, perhaps the universe. For the first time in what must've been thousands of years, the black-brown pollution clouds dispersed by the falling bombs, they fell to such an extent and number the blue skies of Omnartus would've been seen clearly by those living on the upper hive.

The view would've only lasted a few minutes before being engulfed in fire. Each explosion was massive, in quick succession followed by another, then another until it seemed to conjoin into one tremendously huge dome of flame, and even that just seemed to grow and grow and grow.

I couldn't look away as tears flowed down my face freely and my body seemed locked in place. I couldn't even glance to check on Adelana, who stood right beside me.

Verenth got up and left about halfway through, storming out, snarling, cursing and crying almost insanely.

The poor bastard, I hoped he'd be okay.

Once it finally finished, we were silent for a long time. I stood still, struggling to breathe; the agony in me felt like a freezing, constant jolt of raging thunder that tore my insides asunder, hollowing me out.

I was brought out of my stupor by Adelana's weeping, and I looked to her, though I had no idea what I could say. She turned and stormed off, her hands covering her face. I raised my hand, but I didn't know