Editing Love and Krieg Spinoffs (section)

==The Rescue==
===Captives===
The Mandrake known as Iral grinned as he looked at the mon-keigh, he had stripped them of all of their clothes, save for their gas mask. It was a pleasing esthetic to him. Normally he would have worked on the face, but keeping the mask on was important. Anyway, it wasn't as if the Dark Eldar had a lack of options without the face.

"So, tell me...are you originally from the Rain, or the Sunlight? I suppose it doesn't matter much any more does it? You all going back and forth between the two, I bet you lost track." He smiled and picked up a branding iron. "Now...what is that mon-keigh phrase you always like to say?"

"Terranis holds." The Krieg said quietly.

"Ah, yes...well, let me make sure that everyone knows that great truth." He slowly carved those words into the soldier's flesh...first in Gothic, then in both Eldar tongues, then in Tau, Kroot, and at least a dozen more languages. The Krieg spasms and made grunts of pain, but did not scream.

"You know how this ends, don't you? I will take your precious little soul, and you will be removed from your cycle. Never again will you see your precious Terranis or Krieg. You will not serve your Corpse-God anymore...and you will cease to plague us."

The soldier's fist curled into a ball.

"That is what we will do to all of you, you know. And you know that in the Warp the Ruinous Powers are gathering strength...soon your precious Terranis will be assaulted, and well...say 'Terranis Holds' all you want...it won’t change what will happen."

The Krieg soldier just shook his head. "Terranis Holds. Always."

The Mandrake scowled. This wasn't fun. It never was any fun with the Krieg now. He didn't even get the enjoyment of devouring their souls as there was too much of a risk of them slipping back to that...that problem. It had happened before, and had been a shock to many. So they were stored. Trapped in a prison, and kept out of the way until a solution could be found. However, they didn't scream or wail in their cells, grunts of pain and agony yes...but nothing satisfying. 

Also...the Mandrake was becoming unnerved in his duty. The Krieg were starting to recognize him, and his table. He had told one his name a long time ago, and now they knew it...before they saw him. Also...he couldn't help but shake the feeling that they were always watching...observing...trying to discover where he was, and where the prison was.

It was near frightening the thought that a Dark Eldar was the one being hunted this time.

===Request===
The Canoness did not like the Krieg. Well, she didn't exactly care for any of the cowardly, often heretical, and weak soldiers of the Imperial Guard...but the Krieg in general rubbed her the wrong way. She had served with them, and nothing about them...fit. How they almost never broke, that strange peace in their eyes, and of course, their beloved Terranis. The idea that the Emperor had set aside a world just for them...and that they chose to go there rather than swell by His side...it offended her sensibilities. The idea of having to share the glorious victory they would receive when they purged that heretical place was...galling.

Still...what was the most likely scenario? These Kriegers go along, get cut to ribbons by the Dark Eldar, and provide a decent distraction for the Sisters. All in all a win.

Both women stamped their seals of approval onto the form.

===Transit===
Battle Sister Sara Estonia frowned as she sat down at the mess hall on the ship 'Gloriana' that was currently heading to Weyan VI. Her armor had needed some personal repair and prayers, so that meant she had to miss having the meal with her sisters. Which resulted in her having to share the mess with the Imperial Guardsmen. It was a less than satisfactory situation, but her stomach insisted, so In the Emperor's Name, she would prevail.

She entered the mess, got her food, and looked for a seat. She wished there was a Tallarn battalion here. They at least knew how to treat one of the Emperor's Daughters with reverence. Instead she had to deal with rowdy Valhallans, uncouth Cadians, as well as this battalion from the world of Girabi, who looked like Commissar fodder. She finally spied an empty seat by a table that was being occupied by some Kriegers. Well, they weren't too bad. At least she'd be able to dine in quiet.

She sat down. A few of the gas mask wearing soldiers briefly looked at her, and then back to the table. Apparently she had sat down, close to the same time they had arrived. One of the soldiers was returning with a stack of rations, which were quickly passed out among them.

Once they were passed out, the Krieg closest to Sara looked at her and passed her a piece of paper. She took it and looked at it.

Would you like to lead us in prayer?

She nodded and bowed her head. The usual Litany of Devotion to the Emperor, how He may guide them through the warp, thanking Him for the food, and ensuring a victory in His name. She finished and started into her food for a second, when she noticed that the Kriegers still had their heads bowed for a moment longer, and then they removed their masks, ate swiftly, then replaced their masks. They then took out what looked like city blueprints and poured over them.

Sister Sara then recalled that the Kriegers were not ordered to come here, like the others, but requested it. They had even brought some extra equipment with them.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

One of the Krieger's passed her a note. 'Plans for our entry point. Sewer system we need to tunnel into before we can reach the prison."

"Prison?"

Another note, 'Yes, they are holding our people captive. We come so we may free them."

"What, you think they're still alive?"

The Kriegers shook their heads.

"But you're going to rescue them?"

They all nodded.

"How?" A cold feeling slightly formed in her stomach as she thought of a thousand horrible scenarios, all of them heretical.

One of the Kriegers took off her gas mask. "We only need free them from their prison. Once free, they will be taken by the Emperor back to Terranis. However, first He expects us to free them, and prove we are still worthy of our Second Home."

Sister Sara frowned, that wasn't expected. She had heard about this 'Terranis' thing that the Krieger's believed in, the Sisterhood said it was nothing to concern themselves with but...

"Tell me about Terranis." She asked.

All the Kriegers looked at her, and she swore than under the gas masks they all had a happy smile. The Krieger who had her mask off moved closer to Sister Sara. She cleared her throat.

"First, you must know the one Truth. Terranis holds, forever."

A few hours later, Sister Sara returned to her quarters, an odd feeling in her stomach. She lay down on her cot, thoughts bouncing through her head. It was just a silly little legend that these Guardsmen told themselves...but there was that look in that woman's eyes. Peace, conviction, certainty, and...well...faith.

She tried to remember the last time she saw that gaze of faith and belief in one of her sister's eyes.

===Hunted===
Iral frowned as he tapped his finger on the table. The high-up muckymucks were blabbing about how the stupid mon-keigh were coming for them. How they needed to prepare. There was a lot of laughter and joking about what they were going to do to them when they arrived.

However, Iral felt...uneasy. The feeling had been following the mandrake for a while now, and Iral did not know why. That angered him. He was a master of all feeling and sensation. He could control anything and anyone, and he could certainly control himself.

"Iral...Iral?"

He looked up. The rest of the war council was looking at him.

"Oh, uh...yes?"

"Have you gotten any new information out of our new prisoners?"

"Oh," He tried to remember, an act that took far longer than it should have. "No, I discovered who it was that slipped through the net and sent out the distress call to the mon-keigh. He has been found, tortured, and his soul is now being shredded as we speak. Nothing really interesting, just a little mon-keigh slave that had more foolishness than sense who got a little lucky."

"Mmh...thank you. You can return to your duties, we still have much to discuss.

Iral happily left that stuffy room and proceeded back to his 'office.' Apparently, he worked in what used to be a mon-keigh place of law and judgement. A fact that amused him. He returned to the tortures of a young female slave, enjoying the agony of her soul, when one of his assistants came in. He silently waited for Iral to finish his current technique upon the girl, and enjoyed her screams as he did.

When Iral was finished and put the old apple corer away, he looked at his associate.

"Yes?"

"Command gave me this to give to you. Our seers have divined what kinds of mon-keigh forces coming."

"Thank you, you may finish her off if you wish. Start with the lower nerve cluster in her legs, I haven't touched those yet." Iral said as he walked back to his quarters, flipping through the report.

So...some Inquisitors, meh boring. Guardsmen, bleh...Ooooh! Some of those Sisters! They were FUN. He smiled and started to plan exactly what he would do to them.

That was when that strange feeling returned. He looked back at the sheet. There was a Krieg unit in the Imperial Guard.

Almost instinctually he looked towards his shelf where a group of glass spheres sat. They were still glowing with that quiet light. No change...he was sure that there was no change.

Still...he now knew this feeling for what it was...fear. The prey had suddenly just heard the cries of those who hunted them...and they were getting closer.

Iral tore the report in his hands and turned to look at the shelf of glass spheres.

"Don't get your hopes up! Or do...that way it'll be all the sweeter when they join you. You'll never return to that delusion of yours...you hear me? NEVER!" He panted and looked around the room as if something was waiting to strike at him. He spun on his heel and left for the armory...he had to get ready.

===Sin and Sisters===
The Commissar walked down the trench, looking around. What in the warp was going on? How could half of an entire battalion of soldiers vanish? There were 30 Kriegs here this morning on the front lines, exemplarily examples for the rest of the troops. He hadn't had to execute a single one of them...and now, after casualties, there were only eight manning the defenses. Had they all deserted? Did the Dark Eldar kill them? The battle was at a standstill so far, and any soldier on the field was necessary!

He grabbed one of the few remaining Kriegers. "Where are your fellows, soldier?" He shouted.

The Krieger handed the Commissar a piece of paper. He snatched it away and pushed the soldier back into his position.

It was signed by the Inquisitor and the Canoness; the other Kriegers had been called away on a special request. The Commissar relaxed, and then noticed that one of the Girabians was cowering in his bunker...cowering! Well...he knew the solution to THAT problem.

The commander of the unit knew that what they did would ensure that he would be reborn on Krieg many many times...but he would not let this atrocity remain for one day more. So he had copied the Inquisitor and Canoness' signatures onto that form. The others didn't know, so they would return, but he was willing to accept the responsibility.

What he hadn't planned on was one of the Sisters to actually follow them. He looked back at Sister Sara as the group quietly made their way through the sewer maze. She believed that they were under orders, and she was assisting by her own will. This was bad. They had a perfect attack prepared to cripple the Dark Eldar, and free their imprisoned brethren...but the Sister complicated things.

Still...right now he had to focus. The sounds of battle raged above them, and soon they would be inside the center of the city. The heart of enemy territory. If they were discovered...no...they had been preparing for this moment. They would not fail.

At least they would not be lost in this maze of tunnels and foul smelling odor. The commander only had to close his eyes, clear his mind, and he could hear his comrades whispering. Fighting through the pain of their tortures...telling him where to go. He followed. Trying to send a message back to them.

'Hold. For we will be there soon.'

He knew it was unnecessary to say though.

They always Held.

===The Trial===
Iral paced in the courtroom. He looked up at the statue that was still there. Some mon-keigh woman wearing a sheet. Her eyes were blindfolded and in one hand she carried a sword and in the other a set of scales. He had no idea what mon-keigh Goddess it was...interestingly, neither did any of the smelly apes he questioned. Apparently it was a long lost relic of the by gone age. He appreciated good art though and, even by Eldar standards, it was a classy piece, and it had aged spectacularly well. Probably because this room had been sealed tight long ago. It always made him smile to see his...visitors...reach out to this long forgotten deity for salvation only to slowly realize that she was blind to their suffering. He always thought it was a Goddess of Punishment, his new 'patron' if you will.

However, right now his Goddess gave him no solace. The front lines were far away, and apparently it looked as if the mon-keigh would slowly lose...but he felt uneasy. He felt them...his pursuers...closing in. But that was impossible...that made no sense. There were no mon-keigh here. They'd have to break through the front line, fight through and entire city of his brethren and indoctrinated slaves, and then reach him...and he was no push over.

He drew his rapier. A custom weapon of his, light, thin, coated with such wonderful poisons...another item he had taken from the mon-keigh...true he added his own little touches, but he liked taking things from the mon-keigh and making them his.

The Punishment Goddess. This poisoned rapier. The souls of those Krieg...he didn't feel right calling them mon-keigh. They were just Krieg when they were nothing but soul.

He knew they were close. He had spent so much time with the Krieg that he could tell when another one of them was close. He was probably sensing them out on the battlefield...he had nothing to worry about...why should he worry? They were not the marines, or their sages, or their men of tin and glass. They were just simple little husks that wore masks. The only thing that made them different was that their souls coul-

BOOM!

The floor behind him erupted, and the fox knew that the hounds had caught up to him

The Kriegers scrambled to pull themselves up out of the hole, affixing bayonets to face the Mandrake...but the xeno was just too damn fast. He skewered one of them through the throat instantly, and then leaped back into the shadows, the Krieg and Sister Sara instantly took defensive positions. Standing in a tight circle, guns and flamer ready, watching for the first twitch, the first sign of the sick monster.

All of the Krieg could feel them now. They were holding fast, but still...they cried out for assistance, for aide. The commander heard it the clearest, and spoke to the sister in a whisper.

"The target is down that corridor, fourth door on the right. We will hold the xeno, you get there and then destroy everything in that room."

Sister Sara shook her head. "I will not flee from a Xeno. I will stay. You and your men go."

"I have to stay...I have a perfect attack against these monsters that will swing the battle in our favor. However, I cannot secure the target and do my attack at the same time."

The other Krieg soldiers just nodded. They knew what they had to do. As one they all ran towards the hall, they didn't stop to open the door. They just charge through.

From the shadows, Iral laughed. "I've put enough wards on my quarters and on your comrade's precious little souls that there's no chance you fools will reach them. You'll all be new additions to my collection, except for the sister...no...she and I will be closely acquainted very very soon."

"Stop hiding like a coward and face me Xeno!" Sara cried out. "You will pay for the suffering you have caused. This I swear in the Emperor's name!"

"Ugh," A voice directly behind her said. "I'll have to cut your tongue out first; you girls are SUCH a bore!" 

Sara spun around with her flamer up, just in time to receive a kick to the face that sent her flying back, crashing into the base of the statue of the Punishment Goddess.

"Now that's out of the way...onto the important business." Iral grinned as he stepped towards the Krieg Commander. 

The Commander raised his lasrifle and fired, but Iral was again, far too fast. With an 'oh please' look he batted the gun away, causing the shot to go wide, and strike the sword arm of the Goddess' statue, causing part of it to crumble to the ground.

The Dark Eldar Mandrake sneered and grabbed the Krieg by the throat and held him up with one hand, ripping off the gas mask with the other. "I...LIKED...that statue! Ohhh, I am going to make you PAY for that. You know...I finally realized what I'm going to do." He grinned. "I'm going to take all your little friends, and place their souls in empty Eldar husk bodies...then I'm going to make sure that each and every one of you believes with every part of your being that you are one of us...and then I'll send you back to your precious Terranis, and you will clear it out for us...show us how to get there...and then we will dine upon that world for AGES...and it will be all thanks to you. How does that sound?"

"Terranis...holds..."

"Ugh...I am so SICK of hearing that!"

"Then how about this old gem? FOR THE EMPEROR!" Sara screamed as she slammed the sword of the punishment Goddess into Iral's side. It was blunt, too big, and too heavy to wield properly, but there was a satisfying crack of shattered ribs, and the Mandrake dropped the Krieg as it was his turn to fly across the floor.

"You...bitch!" He snarled. "I'll make you pay for..."

There was the sound of an explosion from down the hall. Iral turned, aghast at the feeling of all those precious souls escaping. "No! How! I sealed the door, and there was no way you could have opened that shelf!"

"You sealed the door and the shelves..." The commander gasped. "But you didn't do anything to the walls around them...and Kriegers are GOOD at breaching."

===Verdict===
"No...No! I WILL have ALL of your souls for this!" Irai shrieked. "Do you know how many of us are coming to rip you apart? I will make your pain last for AGES!"

"I'm planning on it." The Commander said. He looked at Sister Sara with sorrow. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to involve you in this. You...you could run..."

Sara frowned as she looked at the Krieg. "What are you talking about?"

"The only attack," the commander started to unbutton his greatcoat. "That will never fail," he opened it to reveal that his chest was covered with wiring, and what looked like small grey canisters in clear vacuum bags. "Is a suicide attack." He smiled. "Kriegs also are very good at using nuclear bombs as well."

Iral's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No, no nonononono! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!!!"

Sister Sara...smiled. "Blowing up the center of the Dark Eldar base will seal our victory...I am proud to see this moment. I am ready to go to the Emperor."

The doors burst open that moment, with Iral's back up arriving just in time to see the Krieg press the detonator button.

Sister Sara slowly opened her eyes. The sky was so...blue. She was on her back, she raised her head, a quiet grassy field stretched before her, and a city beyond that. There were people walking along the field in lines...walking along trenches.

She laid back down her head and closed her eyes again. Tears on her face. Soon she would go into town. She would walk the perimeter, and soon His Gloriousness would call her back to service...but for now...peace.