“
You
’
re crazy,
”
Max said.
Crimson giggled.
“
I
’
ll send out my third missive in seven hours. It
’
s how long you have to prepare for the assignment. You will hopefully have a large crowd of warriors by your side as you rush the building,
”
she stated, as serious as could be.
“
All right, I guess this really is show time. But all of that talk about me not dying, well, it
’
s sounding more like you were building false confidence in me.
”
“
Don
’
t be such a pessimist.
”
“
I
’
m an optimist. I am quite positive I am going to die.
”
*
*
*
*
Zarfa and Sarah were both very nervous. They had decided to try to sleep early when Zarfa had returned home. With the recent incident of betrayal, Zarfa was feeling more and more uneasy about the events that would occur in the near future.
Zarfa
’
s communicator rang in his head. He wasn
’
t sure if it had awakened him because he wasn
’
t sure if he was asleep. He wasn
’
t even sure how long he had been lying on the floor next to his sister, who was also laboriously trying to sleep.
“
Zarfa, it
’
s Crimson. Tomorrow you are going to get a bit wet. I can
’
t tell you everything, who knows if Synaptix is listening. But your salvation is coming on the wind. Don
’
t worry about their army, and proceed as planned.
”
“
What time is it?
”
Zarfa asked.
Before Crimson could respond
,
there was a crash of knocking on Zarfa
’
s door. It rattled the frame and he leapt to his feet before he had even realized that he responded to it.
“
It
’
s about time for you to get up, in fact. Three hours now until the battle. Trust me, everything is going to be okay. In fact, by Synaptix sending their army, the Psyker Screams…well…they
’
ve only sped up progress. Tomorrow, the same time as the battle of Ilyeion, I am going to broadcast my final missive and command the Crimson Crusade to march on Polyhelix and Synaptix.
”
Zarfa approached the door as he responded to Crimson.
“
Then it is only the Alexarien government that we need to topple… Is that right?
”
h
e questioned as he opened the door.
“
Right, but we can deal with them when you get Legion Nine here.
”
“
Zajifa!
Thanks for your support, Crimson, and I really hope that you provide salvation as you promise. Not for my sake or my sister
’
s sake, but for the sake of the people who have put their trust in me
,
”
h
e exclaimed over the com
-
ink as he hugged Zajifa
, who was standing at his doorstep,
in joy.
“
Um? Zajifa is there? How? I haven
’
t done anything yet,
”
Crimson
’
s voice rang in his ear.
Zarfa took a moment to register her words
. H
e was too happy to see his friend to really notice what she had said at first. In a few minutes
,
though
,
it registered
.
“
What do you mean you haven
’
t done anything yet? Then how is he right here?
”
Zajifa just stood there silently with a large grin on his face
. F
inally
,
he spoke
.
“
Guess I
’
m just better at escaping than you ever gave me credit for.
”
“
Did you hear that
,
Crimson? He is just as arrogant as ever! Anyhow, if he could escape Badger on his own, I really hope you can crush him on your own the way you say you can.
”
“
I will. I promise. Just do your best fighting out there.
”
“
I will,
”
Zarfa said as his communicator logged off.
He looked down at his sister, feigning sleep. She may have even been on the
cusp of it, but he knew she was
as worried as he was. He knelt down beside her and stroked her cheek gently with his hand.
“
It
’
s time to get up, my dear Sarah. You know you don
’
t have to join the battle if you don
’
t want to.
”
“
I know, brother,
”
she said, opening her eyes.
“
It isn
’
t like I haven
’
t seen battle before. I
’
ve seen the atrocities of war… I was forced to do so from the other side. I only hope to have a hand in killing as many of the Faraza as I can. They
’
re sick, twisted, sadistic… I want to destroy them.
”
“
I don
’
t want people to be hurt any longer, sis, and this is the only way I know how to prevent it. I don
’
t enjoy killing… It
’
s
…well
,
it is something I am good at
.
”
“
I can
’
t argue that,
”
she said, pulling herself to her knees and wrapping her arms around Zarfa.
“
C
’
mon, get yourself washed off and have something to eat. We have a long day ahead. Let
’
s hope it truly is over after today.
”
“
I don
’
t see the point in washing off… I mean, we are going to get covered in blood and sand. But I
’
ll have some food,
”
Sarah said in response.
“
A good point.
”
Zajifa just stood behind Zarfa watching the brother
-
sister moment when Sarah
’
s eyes rai
s
ed to meet his. They looked like beautiful glimmering jewels to him as she smiled and said,
“
Excuse me for not jumping up and down with excitement
.
I knew you
’
d be back
,
though. Welcome home
,
Zajifa.
”
“
Excused
,
”
he said
,
shrugging.
*
*
*
*
From the moment Zarfa informed Crimson about Synaptix sending their army, Crimson activated every minion chip that she had planted. There was one in a member of every Barometrics office that housed a Pilvikone.
Brian stalked down the corridors of the office to the chamber
of
the Pilvikone. He had come into the twenty-four hour facility as if it were any other day at work. It wasn
’
t his shift, however, and he had with him a gauss
-
powered pistol with a silencer hidden under his suit jacket. He also was carrying ten magazines that held eighteen bullets each, all carefully concealed in his clothing.
He came in through the front door, which had two sleepy security guards. They both greeted him with a smile upon seeing his badge. He went back to the security desk where a third was watching the monitors for suspicious activity. A small puff of noise
,
and a projectile rocketed through the security guard
’
s head, sending bits of brain and bone all over the displays.
Brian walked calmly back to the front where the guards were waiting for anyone they deemed a threat to walk through the doors. He calmly, and almost even politely, held his gun to the back of the first one
’
s head, and without a word, pulled the trigger. He quickly aimed for guard two and laid him to the ground with a single shot as well. Before either of them knew there was even a threat, Brian had dispatched them both.
The building had unbelievably low security. They had never had an attack occur before. There were switches under the desks of every employee
’
s cubicle to alert authorities of a threat, but Brian was going in at an off hour where there would be few at work. Even more, every command that Crimson had executed into her data-pad told him to be cautious and to move quietly. In no time, he had slaughtered everyone in the office without raising a single red flag.
Now he moved quietly into the women
’
s bathroom in the hallway leading to the Pilvikone. He stood on the counter with the sink between his feet and opened up a ventilation duct. Inside was a fully automatic gauss projection assault rifle MK-VX2I12. It
was military grade and held one
-hundred-thirteen rounds. One-hundred-t
welve
in the drum, one in the chamber.
He moved to the room where the Pilvikone was housed and closed the doors behind them. He chained them shut with a Kelmantrium security wire and placed a powerful short
-
ranged fragmentation explosive on the door.
If anyone managed to get through, the explosive would go off, killing anyone within a twenty meter radius. Brian was thirty. He sat on top of the Pilvikone with his sights aimed at where anyone might be s
tanding after the blast cleared
and they sent a second assault into the room. That was if anyone were to suspect why the weather had suddenly gone haywire.
This was occurring at every facility that housed a Pilvikone simultaneously. Only Brian went by a different name at each place.
Zarfa
’
s Conflict—The Sins of The Father
Badger had awakened several hours before the battle was to begin and commanded his swarm of psychic warriors to travel south to the destination. With full Psyker Scream modifications, he could hear the Faraza swarm muddling about in the caverns below their feet. The expanse of caves they dwelled in was vast and stretched for miles under the desert sand.
He could hear the squirming of fresh larvae that had been laid by the queen. He could hear the clattering of chitins rubbing together as they scuttled through the hallways. But most of all, he could hear the high-pitched whirr of their wings as they prepared to take flight.
The Faraza raiders were no doubt mounting their mighty insects and preparing to rain death upon Zarfa and his men. Badger could hear it; they were gathering in large vestibule
-
type
chambers
where they could all trickle from exits that would collapse behind them. They were
clever with
their digging. They only had one true entrance, but thousands of exits.
Badger was about four miles out from the site of the battle when the wind came blowing in furiously as if some greater force had sent it in hot anger. The sand pelted him and hurt his eyes. He quickly put on protection and had the army follow suit so as to not lose their sight.
The wind kept coming with a bite and a sting. It was blowing so hard that the sand was scraping off bits of his skin as it hit him. Blood seeped from his raw skin and soon every bare bit of his body was bloodied and sore.
Suddenly, the wind broke and a loud crash of thunder came. Lightning bounded from cloud to cloud in the sky above him and glistening red drops of rain fell upon him and his soldiers.
It was the eeriest sight he had ever seen. The glowing red tinge in the rain seemed to come up from the ground as a sort of dust and swarm amidst him and his army. A small breath of red haze floated around his face for a few moments and then intruded in through his nostrils.
It looked like a smoke he was inhaling into himself. But he had no idea what it was. His body began to tingle as he marched on. The rain was still pouring torrentially and the lightning and thunder came without letup.