Maegon, Hrothgar and Kremiel soon arrive in the infirmary area, along with a number of their followers.
Despite being of the cold-hearted kind, Maegon is glad to meet Usher and his men again after those few long days.
Anyway, no time for rejoicing.
Tempus Fugit.
Azrael considers the best way to approach the matter, and decides that, particularly given the presence of the two space marines, the direct approach is probably the best.
"The matter I wished to discuss with you is this: I have strong reason to believe that there is, or perhaps more accurately there was, a daemonic entity residing in the warp core of this vessel."
The Inquisitor blinks but stays silent.
Here we are.He carefully listens to Azrael, with a strange feeling of
déjà vu.
He saw fragments of all of that earlier, when he draw the Tarot. Not the whole picture, just piece of puzzles randomly flying in the Empyrean.
"The Elder has still not left his obfuscated sanctuary in the heart of the ship, probably a reasonable reaction if what he says is true. What he said to Yelena matches with my own initial observations and my subsequent probings of the enginarium. Furthermore, while I have not yet had the opportunity to speak with Andross personally, I have developed a good working relationship with the other squat crew and what I have gleaned from them is also in agreement."
Azrael pauses briefly before continuing.
"I have not directly inspected the warp core. I do not have enough experience with daemonic entities to attempt such a thing, this is why I wanted the Inquisitor present. I have however been gently probing peripheral systems around the enginarium, and while the warp taint is still strong, it is definitely ebbing. This, combined with the apparent disappearance of the Emperor's Child known as Xerxes and the odd behaviour of Captain Lexander who is known to have been involved in fighting in the enginarium, leads me to believe that the daemon has left the warp core and may have possessed the captain."
With that Azrael stops to allow the space marines and the Inquisitor to respond.
"A Daemon. Thank you for bringing this… matter… to our knowledge, Magos. You have been wise to avoid direction confrontation."
Maegon cannot give the excuse that he belonged to the Ordo Hereticus, not the Ordo Malleus, and has little experience of daemonic entities himself.
It would be wrong to bother his allies with such considerations. The situation is tense yet between both Space Marines. Even if their chapters are both bound to the Imperium, they are so different… But common threats and objectives can make them work hand in hand, with a deadly efficiency.
Furthermore, it would be wrong to tell that he is not familiar with creatures from the Warp. He knows some of them quite well. Anyway, more than most of the mortals know them. They whisper to him in his dreams and nightmares.
However, he does not know the specific entity on this ship and he is too weak for a direct confrontation, either physically or mentally.
"I am not surprised of such news, considering that we are on a voidship who belonged to Chaos Space Marines."
At these words, Maegon feels hate and anger grow in Hrothgar and Kremiel.
"But this voidship is
ours now, or must become ours, if we want to leave this cursed planet, then travel with sufficient chances of survival. It would be insane to leave the atmosphere and join the void with a free Daemon on board. And I don’t speak of warp jumps."
The Inquisitor is sure that his interlocutors have already traveled through the Immaterium and know the inherent risks.
"The fact is… If the Daemon is bound to a mortal host, we have a chance to cut his link with the real world and send him back into the Warp."
Maegon is not entirely sure of that.
Both the ship and the planet are so tainted…
He looks at his allies.
Kremiel is frowning and stays silent, already considering tactical issues.
Hrothgar thinks slower but understands that a hard fight is likely to come. That pleases him.
"A daemon host ? I already fought possessed renegades in the past. I don’t care if it can’t bleed, I don’t care if it doesn’t feel pain. If my blade can tear it apart, pieces after pieces, it can be destroyed." says the Space Wolf with a fierce voice.
"Well said. Confidence is an essential quality to fight Daemons."
Not overconfidence. "But first, we have to investigate."
Maegon turns toward Azrael.
"Magos, you know the ship better than us. What do you suggest ?"
