Maverick

With Lena out of the fight, and an unending buzzing sound grating inside her mind, Alexa kneeled panting for air over the exhertion of throwing that psychic scream towards the daemon of Khorne. She cursed her feebleness, how weak she was in comparison of this putrid being of pure seething hatred. For a second, she thought of defeat, how the world would not see her again, or her friends, or even the warriors she barely knew but fought to their end just to see this one miserable beast felled in one way or another. Would it be peaceful? To finally die? To finally leave the suffering of the world behind the curtain? Would she even make it to an afterlife, knowing her soul would be ripe for the taking of the warped gods of chaos? But it would not end. A flourish from Tenkai sliced the arm of the blackened knight as the area fell into an eerie, preternatural silence. Or maybe it was just inside her head? Her eyes started to focus around, looking for another way out, her human instincts kicking in once again. A dog cornered is one that fights until it couldn't, and now with that in mind, she couldn't help but to feel as if she hadn't seen this before. Indeed, she had, every day, every second, and just a few instants ago. Lena, Davath, Tenkai, and the other guardians that had suffered grievous injuries or simply lost the fight. But that they did... Fight. Fight until the end. She merely dropped to the ground and covered her face. Certainly, something a Khornate daemon would found pathetic, a mere human girl giving up to her faith. But perhaps, it would be too late, or so she hoped, that he would see the errant shard of metal shoot straight to his charred visage. And then another, and another, and another. Suddenly, every piece of metal, from tiny to the largest, began to assail his figure, some bouncing on his plate, but others repeatedly clashing against his skin, Even Lena's glaive, so idly forgotten, would fly blade first against the daemon's skin. More metal joined, twisting, piercing, turning. And a final blast of superheated shrapnel coming from the girl herself, sent flying back by the sheer recoil of the Guardian's shotgun she had managed to pull towards herself enough. If the daemon tried to move, he would find himself riddled with so many shards on his flesh, so much wrought steel twisted against his skin and over his body, that mobility would be even more impaired than ever.

It was a fight to the death, Alexa's ill advised strike not only missing but the khornate monstrosity taking advantage of her psyker powers to press on her mind. It was a grave slight, to attempt such frivolous attacks against a beast made of corruption and misery combined in a corporeal shell, seething with hatred and sheer burning bloodlust. It was an intense headache, like someone slowly driving a titanium spike right into her cranium with a power fist. But her eyes didn't stop burning with her own font of psychic potential, warp energy still pulsing out of her sight. Kneeling, reeling, every movement a struggle, every thought of retaliation snatched. But for a second there, the Inquisitor could feel a burning light inside of her, like a fire bellowing inside her like a furnace. She very slowly, but firmly, stood up and looked at the demon directly into what she thought would be it's foul eyes. A trembling hand raised, the other in a white knuckled grip around her blade, Alexa's mind flooded with the memories of her past... How the odds were against her all this time, and how she had beaten them all... And now in what could be her darkest hour, the dice were cast, and she stood tall... A moment courage, shining brightest in the backdrop of despair. The Inquisitor braced herself, and in an instant, a psychic scream of her own clashed against the unsurmountable chaos energy of the blackened knight, perhaps matching it for a second. And a second is all she needed. She knew she couldn't stand mind to mind against a corporeal channel of the Blood God, but she needed to keep it's focus for but a single moment. From behind her, the Stalwart image of her protector charged forward, heavy armor not impeding her speed in the slightest. Guardian Lena Drachenberg's stride was victorious, at least in spirit, as the combined efforts of Tenkai and Alexa would hopefully give the opening she needed. She was not a Greatsword, but every Guardian in the Force Majeure knew that one swing could be as decisive as a flurry. And one swing she attempted, all her might behind that single blow of her war glaive, aimed at that chip in the back of the daemon champion's leg. @Fierach @Tenkai Matsumoto

Davath's cunning action gave Tenkai the opportunity he needed to strike, as Alexa's assault pierced the blackened, warped plate of the Khornate beast in front of them. Had it been a simpler monster of a lower caliber, it would have surely been beaten by now. However, the Black Knight dashed onwards, like the stuff of nightmares running wild in the dreams of the most disturbed Astropaths. But Alexa was not one to relent anymore, for nightmare had been her life, and she had taken the abyss within herself... Promising to bathe it in the light of humanity's greatest determinations. She would let her psychic energy run over her body, feeling every fiber of her being buzzing and writhing with the warp as she dashed towards the foe with everlasting fury. She didn't need to beat it in combat... After all, her melee combat prowess was but a fraction of Tenkai's incredible ability... But she only needed one strike, perhaps not lethal, but a strike to cement her zeal into the beast's twisted void of a soul. She moved like a blue blur, ending right in front of the Knight as Tenkai released his attack upon his leg. All the energy she had gathered she charged her blade with, the catalyst steel crackling brightly against the ashen background as she attempted to strike an opening on his armor. All the time, she looked up to the creatures face, her eyes pulsing with the warp as she spoke in a modulated, but furious voice. "Face me Daemon... Face the light of the Emperor himself." She uttered, prepared to clash her own Psychic powers against his.

The more time it passed, the more heat Ellyna's temperature auspex began to overcharge, the diminutive cyborg resorting to turning it off altogether. Her heat resistance was put to the test to it's maximum capacity, certainly, though she was confident her father's work was beyond capable of resisting such an infernal amount of heat. She moved from side to side, jumping to the pillars opposite of Master Eredas as she kept giving the massive creature a multitude of slashing wounds, her blades moving at the rhythm of her music in radial, wide arcs of piercing purple. "This is barely working." She uttered in a frustrated tone, her bobbing intensifying along with the music picking up a higher tempo. As the order to take cover suddenly roared, the creature reared his massive head into an echoing scream, becoming a veritable living volcano as it spewed a massive amount of fire. Ellyna jumped back and twirled, her blades scoring the ground in a rather large circle around her. The flickering image of a barrier appeared around her just in time as the fire began to spread. "Defensive protocol 21-B activated." She spoke, unemotionally, her stance changing to a lower, more grounded position, grabbing her blades in a reverse grip. The shield would keep her safe from the heat, and anyone nearby could use the covered area to protect themselves as well. The music the people affected by her audiomancy would feel was now a slower, more Bass boosted rhythm. They would feel more balanced, grounded and with greater endurance.

Alexa's mask began pumping and filtering oxygen to her as the smoke began to blanket the area, the air heavy with a supernatural quantity of ashen substance and detritus. It became clear to her that something was amiss... The imps had fallen, some of them turning craven and escaping back into the confines of the ship, and as the team trudged deeper into the bowels of the massive daemon cruiser, the more unnatural their path became. It was like walking on the blood stream of a gigantic, infected creature, their presence a virus the body would work savagely to purge off it's twisted insides. It was no surprise they did not see it coming until it was too late. The Inquisitor felt the pull of the knight's aura like an animal would react to pure survival instinct. She had felt it before, like every sense in her body shooting into a maximum alert, ready to fight, flee... or die. She tried to warn them... To tell them of their impending doom at the blood-soaked claws of the Blackened beast. But she was too slow, or the knight too fast, or perhaps both. It would not matter, as his presence would send those unaware of his unholy influence into a reckless rage. They did not stand a chance. She just began to shoot it, yelling a futile retreat to the Guardians, falling unheard on the fevered pitch of battle. Lena began to advance as well, her weapons ready to meet against the daemon. "No!!" The Inquisitor yelled, however, as her mask's lenses sparked in a teal glow and her hand shot into the air, grabbing Lena with her powers and pulling her back from the daemon's reach. "No! Inquisitor! Release me now! I must... I must go! My brothers!" She screamed in response. But it was over in a heartbeat. The broken warriors at the feet of the towering facsimile of a knight, his maw consuming their flesh at the same time he spoke his vicious taunts towards the survivors. Alexa stepped back... Her trembling hands holding her head in exhasperation, her weapons still firmly gripped and shaking along. She felt so much sadness, so much fear, a tidal wave of emotions. The warp was so deafening in there... Every pulse and every crunch the ship made, every crack and gulp the foe's feeding caused, a festering fear she had felt so many times before and never failed to reel it's head back into her mind... But in this cacophony, a sudden realization came... The Inquisitor, in her state, found one emotion she had rarely faced... Rage. Anger... No... It was more... Stronger, intense. FURY. It was not the bloodcurling, senseless anger of battle. It was not the dark, giddy pleasure of the crimson spectacle before her. It was beyond such low, base emotions, the anathema of the ruinous filth the Dark Gods fed from. She raised her head high, the glow in her visor an intense, shimmering azure as she holstered her pistol and leveled her arm towards the monster. With a modulated scream, her hand balled into a fist, the movement of her fingers followed by the rippling crunch of metal, the inner "bones" of the ship swinging towards the beast like jagged spears. Would it fell the beast? Hardly. But she was ready to meet the bloodletter with all her might, a moment of valor shining in the backdrop of despair.

"Time to move, remain vigilant. Guardians, up front, shields up. Any movement means fresh meat, we are the meat grinder." The first Greatsword ordered on the comm-link. The Guardians would form a shield wall at the front of the group, the Greatswords covering the flank on the back and leaving Alexa on the center and Tenkai right behind her, all soldiers ready to move at a moment to give him the space needed for him to be the monster combat expert he was. Alexa wore her Inquisitorial "Death Mask", A grim looking ballistic mask provided with filtration systems and oxygen reserves for hostile and boarding operations. The full visage of the Inquisitor, while small, was for the first time quite menacing at first glance, with her blue glowing blade in one hand and a strange, gilded looking pistol that seemed to hold the same glow as her blade in it's chamber. "There is some walking to do before we get to the Engine Room. These halls have many nooks and crannies where the daemon filth will be waiting for us." She spoke, her voice modulated slightly by the mask. "We must drop one or two floors, then proceed to the rear of the ship. Or at least that would be the case in a regular ship, keep your eyes open for warp signatures. Purge everything in your wake." The Greatswords nodded and signaled the advance, the well trained squad moving at once. Lena remained one square behind the squad's "Tip", front and center of Alexa as her duties as protector demanded. The first third of the way appeared eerily silent and calm. No enemies in sight, no entities on their auspex, and only the sound of their boots against the solid metal floor to accompany them. Suddenly, a scream, human in nature, but somehow not. Like a screech, or a whine, or a yell... Or all at the same time. It was a sound that made no sense, yet it evoked the same response from the entire squad. The Greatswords readied their weapons as the Guardians planted their shields and cocked their shotguns. Alexa pointed her pistol towards the front of the squad, ready to pull the trigger. The metal began to creak, a clacking, cacophonous sound following. The warp energy pulled on her mind as she detected the large mass approaching. But she couldn't see anything... Unless. "They are on the walls!" She yelled. A claw broke the metal around them, the broken steel bleeding a black ichor as crazed, imp like demons broke through them. Shell after shell began to be fired, the Greatswords picking the ones bold enough to attempt a flanking maneuver. The Inquisitor silently shot her pistol towards the targets she could aim for, the shots crackling with warp energy that essentially melted the flesh of the demons' bodies. As one attempted to jump over the testudo, Lena intercepted it in mid air and slammed it against the hard steel of the floor, grabbing it's upper jaw with her heavy gauntlet and ripping it's head off in one gruesome pull. "Push forward! For the Force Majeure!" The squad began to move while attacking, carving a way forward towards the back. Though savage and deadly, the daemons fell in droves in front of the concerted efforts of the boarding party. The would show them what humanity was ready to do. To defend, to avenge, to purge their foes from the world. To become the Slayers of Doom, and plant fear into what was once Fearless.

"Are you sure about this? You would be safer in the ship." Lena stood in Alexa's door, the Inquisitor readying her gear up. Most of the things were in good shape, and whatever damage it had suffered had been repaired as best as they could aboard the Bellum. In contrast, however, her coat still had the marks of battlewear, a couple of tears at the tail and the seams, but still fully functional. "I'm not staying inside while all of you risk your lives Lena. We already talked about this." Answered the Inquisitor, fitting a glove over her cybernetic hand, a serious neutral look on her face. The Guardian nodded silently, already in full armor. "Piercing the warp veil. Arrival at Kadia imminent." The two walked to the bridge as the Imperator Bellum made it's last boost towards realspace. There was a few seconds of silence, follow by a low gasp of most present when the situation unveiled in front of them. It was worse than she had thought. "I have never seen a Daemon engine that size!" Alexa exclaimed, her eyes surveying all around the field. She walked towards Tenkai and James. Pondering her past encounters with large daemonic presences and her old teachings. She could feel the sheer pull of warp energy from the ship-like being, her eyes glinting as an idea formed on her mind. "It's energy signature is too heavy to be that stable. A being that size must be having something inside it tethering it to this plane, otherwise it would be displacing constantly." She explained to the two commanders. "Your orders Lord Eredas?" Lena asked, putting her helmet back on.

Alexa's wounds were healing well, though her exhaustion was more attributed to her extended use of her powers more than anything. It had been a rough few days, Lena dutifully looking after her and not letting her jeopardize her health further. Observing her surroundings, the pristine white walls of the medical bay were a shocking contrast to the metallic gray and black of a black ship, or even the regular staff corridors of the Imperator Bellum. "How are you feeling today Alexa?" Asked Lena in a peppy tone, bringing her a little juice carton. The inquisitor smiled and took the juice with gusto, her hands still a bit stiff with bandages all over. "You don't have to pamper me so much Lena, your job is making sure I don't die, not being my personal caretaker." Alexa answered, giving the Guardian a puppy wide-eyed gaze. The warrior lady waved her comment away, enjoying a juice herself. "Oh yeah... Imagined if I all of us had that kind of protection on us..." A booming voice would break the peace from another corner of the room. It was another guardian, this one with bandages and a patch covering what appeared to be a now rent eye socket. His expression was borderline angry. "You are gonna run your mouth today Barret? Is that what you really want to do in medical leave?" Lena answered, her voice instantly changing to a stern tone. Alexa dropped her gaze slightly, wanting to avoid the confrontation entirely. "I'm just saying... Imagine if the Kadians had sent something more than just this... Child. Are all inquisitors like her? A one shot match that breaks after the first use?" "She kept your ass alive out there did she? Or do you think those beastmen suddenly keeled over because they were afraid of your shitty blade play?" Lena lashed back out. Alexa held the Guardian's arm, like begging her to drop it. "What are you now Drachenberg? A guard dog? Are you going to run away with her and frolick in a field like an obedient little puppy?" Lena stood up like a missile, approaching the other Guardian with her fists balled up. "You question my loyalty... I might just decided to even up your other eye!" Alexa stood up as well, holding Lena's hand back in an attempt to stop her friend. "Please Lena... Just let it go..." She said almost in a whisper. "Both of you, that's enough..." Another voice cracked the tension, like a hammer banging against an anvil. It was Greatsword Davath, now standing and seemingly towering over all present. "Would it have mattered if we had a battalion of Kadians at our side? Would it have mattered if the Inquisitor had an unlimited supply of power?" Davath spoke to the other two Custodes, who had fallen silent at the words. "This war is not about power, or about numbers. We do what we can, with what we have, as we have always done... This bickering is as pointless as asking for 'What ifs'" The Guardians looked at each other begrudgingly, each going back to what they were doing before. Alexa followed Lena back to her bed, Davath going back to his carving. "Don't scare me like that..." Alexa said to Lena, rather serious at the moment. "Tensions are running high... I'm sorry." Lena answered, rubbing her neck embarrased. Alexa looked up to the ceiling, feeling a bit cold. Her mind focused on their situation for the moment, an energetic "Tug" as it may, being what discovered their current path through the warp, and what little power she could put towards it was at least enough to keep them safe... For now.