Once again searching. Nathel surveyed the topographical map hologram that was projected by the Raider's pilot. Her Sybarites all had different opinions about where to look for the relics Nathel sought. None of them knew exactly what they were, or what they were for, but they were told how to find them. Layria stood at the back of the group, arms crossed, helmet being held by a Warrior from her coterie. The other Sybarites Jumai and Drucha'la, and the Wych Succubi Cher'iin and Am'Edaala all had their guesses as to where to look. Layria shook her head as each of them explained their spurious reasoning. Finally, as Drucha'la completed her explanation, they all turned to Layria for hers. With a contemptuous sneer at the other women, she walked among them and pointed to a ruined Mon'Keigh settlement on the holomap. The others all gave her looks of disdain. Fools that they were, she thought. So superior because they had been granted command of Warriors mounted in Raiders while she was forced to move on foot. Layria didn't even explain why she had chosen that site, which annoyed the others. She knew it, and enjoyed it. But the fact was, she had chosen well, and with a curt nod of her head, Nathel Rim-Seeker herself agreed. The others glared at Layria with ill-concealed anger, but Layria simply smirked and walked back to her Warriors. Rayandanel, her second in command and her lover handed Layria her helmet. "You were right again." He said, watching the other Sybarites and Succubi over Layria's shoulder. "The others will not forget." Layria laughed as she turned to look at them, Drucha'la and Cher'iin, the Reaver Jetbike leader were speaking to one-another as they watched Layria. Layria gave them a hard look, and the two other women smiled humourlessly at her before turning away to walk together towards their own units. Layria shook her head and turned back to her Warriors. "Don't dismiss them, Layria." Said Rayandanel as he lifted his Splinter Rifle. "They are jealous of you." "They should pay attention to their own failures before they decide to covet my success." Layria responded contemptuously. "You should be wary of who else notices your success, Layria." He returned, nodding towards the Raider of their Archon. Layria turned, and Nathel herself was watching her speculatively, white hair whipped by the wind. Layria's expression was blank as she turned back to Rayandanel. "Nathel will be the ruin of us all one of these days." Layria hissed. Rayandanel's face paled with fear as he grabbed Layria by the arm. "Be careful what you say, Layria!" he growled. "Even your own Coterie would be glad to serve you up on a platter to The Betrayer for that remark." Layria threw off Rayandanel's grasp and drew one of her blades with a fluid motion, pressing it against the flesh beneath his eye. "Don't touch me like that!" she snarled. "Don't get any pretenses of your own, Walking Man." Rayandanel's eyes flashed with anger which he quickly suppressed. To walk was an indignity among the Rokea Kabal. To be a walking man was doubly so. "Very well." He whispered. "I will remember my place if you remember yours!" Layria released him and stepped back. She gestured to the rest of her Coterie and turned to follow the rest of the raiding force as it moved towards the area Layria had indicated on the map. She slashed her blade at a tree, felling it with one blow. Releasing her anger in this way was not satisfying. Only getting her blades into the flesh of their enemies would do to sate the feelings simmering inside her at the moment. The force split up, different units spreading out to search the area. Finally, Layria and her squad arrived at the crest of a hill overlooking a series of ruined buildings. She paused, waving her left hand for the Dark Lances to move to the front. Crouching behind a wall, she surveyed the territory before her. Directly to her right was a ruined corner of a building, then an abandoned fenced garden, overgrown with weeds. A hill beyond that had at its summit further ruins along with a trio of rusted watch towers. Ahead of her was the shell of a small Mon'Keigh building, which was open at both ends. This looked promising, she thought. The Mon'Keigh who lived here would not likely have known what the relics they were seeking were for, but probably would have stored it in such a place if they found it as she suspected they did. She drew the small scanning device each of the unit leaders had been given and aimed it at the building. The monitor crystal lit up a dim purple. Something was indeed there. Layria smiled and was about to order her squad forward to search the building when the Warrior at the far end of the wall whistled. Layria's eyes looked past the ruin to a hill at the far end of the area... something was moving, large figures in black and gold... "Mon'Keigh Space Marines." She growled. Two squads on foot and a Rhino vehicle were advancing cautiously towards them. "Rayandanel, signal the others, we have located the relics and prey too." She told him. Rayandanel nodded and activated his communicator. Soon, the Raiders of Jumai and Drucha'la whisked in from over the trees behind her, swooping down on what was soon to become a battlefield. Black streaks of Dark Matter burned through the air towards the Space Marines and one of the humans was obliterated by the blast. Layria pointed to the left where the Rhino was advancing behind a hill. Two further blasts struck the vehicle, turning it into a fireball that would no doubt alert the other Dark Eldar and Space Marines alike of their location. Seven Space Marines stumbled out and ducked behind a wall. Jumai's Warriors dropped to the ground in the abandoned garden, leaping from their transport. Searching the area for the relic, they came up empty. "No, you fools! The building!" screamed Layria, pointing to the ruin ahead of her. Drucha'la nodded down at Layria from her Raider and directed the hovering transport forward. Soon, her squad was dismounting inside the building. From that vantage, they could see the Space Marines advancing closer. Their Splinter Cannon fired a stream of toxic missiles at the Marines behind the wall, and despite the success being Drucha'la's, Layria smiled in vicious satisfaction as a further two of them were dropped, their armor not providing sufficient protection. Meanwhile, the signal for reinforcements had gone out. A squad of hulking Terminators, another squad of Space Marines and a lone human wearing a jump pack appeared. In their turn, the Dark Eldar started to arrive in numbers. The Ravager, along with the Raiders carrying the Wyches and Nathel and her retinue raced silently into the area, taking up positions to support Drucha'la's squad. Further fire ghosted towards the Space Marines, though the humans were forewarned, and were able to take sufficient cover so that only one more perished. Jumai's squad remounted their Raider, which spun in the air and darted off towards the right, heading towards the Space Marine flank. The move was unsupported, and drew the attention of the Mon'Keigh. Heavy Bolter fire ripped through the Raider, destroying it outright as the explosive rounds tore through the vehicle's fragile hull. Three Warriors were killed in the crash. Layria did not wish failure on Jumai, she was the only one that had any respect for herÖ but any failure by another Sybarite was a potential success for her... The screaming of the engines of the Reaver Jetbikes drowned out the softer whoosh of the primitive jump packs of a squad of Marine Assault troops, while Philliam the Tormentor, Nathel's pet Haemunculus, appeared out of the trees behind Layria. "Has Drucha'la found it?" he asked with his gruesome voice and even more gruesome visage. "Yes." She replied. "But they are out in the open, and the Mon'Keigh are closing in." Layria pointed towards the ruin just as the lone Space Marine with the jump pack leapt into the midst of Drucha'la's squad. Bolter fire tore into the Warriors, and three were blasted into bloody heaps, followed by the Space Marine's ferocious charge. Three more Dark Eldar were killed in the resultant melee. Layria's jaw dropped despite herself, and Philliam rubbed his hands together. "A pretty price he will fetch." He rasped. "If we can keep him alive..." he added as Drucha'la herself slashed the Space Marine in the leg with her Agonizer. Layria glanced at the Haemunculus. "Whatever you say." She muttered. She hated deferring to this male. But then again, he did provide an essential service to the Cabal that was otherwise overtaken by Nathel Rim-Seeker's bizzarre obsession. The slaves he managed to keep alive to be sold in the markets in Comorragh kept the Cabal equipped and funded. The melee resulted in the relic being claimed by the Space Marine, a Chaplain as Philliam called him, and this was not a good thing, as far as Layria was concerned. She directed her Warriors to open fire on the Assault Squad closing in behind the Chaplain. The Space Marine warriors were rapidly picked apart by fire from the Ravager, two Raiders, Layria's squad and the Wyches who had disembarked to support Drucha'la. In the end, a smouldering crater was the only evidence left to mark the grave of seven Space Marines. The Dark Eldar did not escape losses either, however, for Jumai's squad was decimated by fire, while Cher'iin's Reaver Jetbikes were forced to fall back with them as they lost two of their number to a Space Marine Devestator squad. Drucha'la's and Am'Edaala's squads failed to harm the Chaplain in combat, and as a result, Am'Edaala's Wyches fled and Am'Edaala herself was crushed by the Space Marine's weapon. Drucha'la's Raider was burned from the sky by a Lascannon blast from a Marine tank that had just rolled into the battlefield. Layria, forced to stay with her squad on the hill as fire support cursed her luck at length and with much fervour. Her Warriors stepped away from her discreetly. The battle continued, however, and soon Layria's Coterie was needed again, as another squad of Space Marines began to approach the pivotal melee. Dark Lance blasts once again ripped into them from her squad and the Ravager, and ultimately another squad was obliterated. No doubt Philliam would be disappointed that there would be no prisoners from those squads, nor indeed anything at all to salvage. Drucha'la was soon left alone in close-combat with the Marine Chaplain, but the Dark Eldar fortunes were about to change, for Nathel's Raider, initially stunned by Lascannon fire, had regained control, and Nathel and her retinue leapt from the transport and surrounded the Chaplain. With a single thrust of her Agonizer spear, the Chaplain was no more. Nathel claimed the relic and began to move back towards the Dark Eldar lines. The Terminators were advancing behind, however, and the rest of the Dark Eldar were given the task of eliminating their threat. Once again, Dark Lance Blaster and Disintegrator blasts hissed through the air from Raiders, the Ravager the Wyches and Layria's squad. Philliam himself got involved, mofing into range with his Destructor. The Terminators, though encased in powerful armor, were no match for the high-tech weaponry of the Dark Eldar. Terminator after Terminator imploded as the Dark Matter struck them, but it was Philliam's Destructor that did the most damage with an especially potent acid mixture, melting the last two of them until only the Space Marine Librarian remained. On the right flank, Cher'iin and the remains of her Reaver Jetbike squad had regained their courage and advanced. Blaster shots tore into the Marine Predator tank, tearing off the tracks and immobilizing it. The tank was not eliminated, for it was still facing Nathel's retinue. It spat lascannon and Heavy Bolter fire, felling four of them, while a Tactical Squad killed another one with a frag missile. Their courage held, though, for the Dark Eldar were confident in their superiority - Hadn't Nathel Rim-Seeker just claimed the head of their most fearsome warrior? The engagement was almost finished. The Space Marine Librarian thundered forward, smashing Phillam aside while the Devestators annihilated the Wyches, but they were all but finished. The Librarian vanished under a pair of Dark Lance blasts and a Marine Tactical squad was reduced to two members by the Ravager. Fading back into the shadows, the Dark Eldar departed victorious, leaving the Space Marines to count their losses. * * * Layria and Rayandanel stood among the other Warriors and Wyches of the Rokea Kabal back in their fortress at Comorragh. They were celebrating, but Layria was not enjoying herself. She swirled her drink in its crystal goblet, watching the colours change as the liquid was agitated. Rayandanel noted his lover's lassitude. "I know you find this a pointless and hollow victory, Layria, but you would do well not to question Nathel's plans." He whispered. The corner of Layria's mouth twisted in disdain. "These fools don't even know what they're celebrating!" she snapped, causing a pair of Wyches nearby to glance over at them. Layria merely made a rude gesture at them, and the two men laughed and walked away. Layria turned to Rayandanel and whispered, "Nathel goes in search of obscure Eldar relics, and only the incidental capture of slaves keeps the Rokea afloat. This last mission we did not even capture a single slave!" Rayandanel nodded in assent. "This is true, but Nathel seems to think the relic will lead us to a prize." He explained patiently. Layria gave him a penetrating look, but let it pass. "Well, it will certainly lead us to something." She grumbled. Nathel the Betrayer, also known as Rim-Seeker, stepped out into the celebration chamber, her Incubi around her. Her unorthodox methods were making her followers impatient, and this had prompted her to increase her security, lest one of them decide to make an attempt on her life before her quest was complete. She gripped the shaft of her Agonizer, made from the Singing Spear of an Eldar Farseer. The arrogant Eldar of the Craftworlds would learn to fear the name of The Betrayer. "Rokea Kabal! We go tomorrow to the world named Ferruul'eth'el'adriel." She announced in her clear voice, silencing the conversation in the room. "Maiden World and protectorate of the Biel'Tan." A ripple of muttering swept the gathered Kabal. Nathel smiled. Let them speculate. She was getting closer to her goal. The relic she had captured would allow her to access the Warp Gate on that world, unleashing the Rokea on an unsuspecting Maiden World. No doubt that would placate the slave-traders, while Nathel herself gained another piece of the puzzle that would allow her to access vast power... Layria frowned. "The Biel'Tan will not sit idly by while we invade one of their worlds." She muttered. Rayandanel glanced apprehensively at her, expecting another tirade, but Layria suddenly smiled. "A chance to get my blades into our Kin once more? Isn't it just as you say? Look at the bright side?" Rayandanel smiled at Layria, but could not shake the bad feeling he was getting... * * * Far far away, aboard Biel'Tan, a Seer's casting of the runes revealed something disturbing. The rune for the Dark Kin aside the World Spirit. The Dark Kin seeking that which is beyond retrieval? The runes were associated in the casting with the Maiden Worlds and with a hidden and forbidden power. The Court of the Young King was notified, and Warp Gates activated. The Sword Wind would return to Ferruul'eth'el'adriel - The World of The Fury of the Stars... If you'd like to read the other installments, see: Part 1: My Glass is Half Empty Part 3: Desperate Measures Part 4: Unwelcome Saviour by Jesse - July 4, 2001