"What?" Cain grunts.
> You say "I've no more questions."
"Alright," Cain sleeps. "What else?"

"Nothing else is required," Magos Cern says. "Return to your pod."

Cain nods, before walking back into his pod. The cyro-pod shuts, leaving Cain back to his cold, endless sleep.

"We should continue," Magos Cern says. "I still have to show you the gladiator slaves who you'll take under you command and the Uwais Tribe. The Goliaths will act as your heavy shock troopers, the gladiator-slaves will act as scouts, skirmishers and fill in whatever spare roles you have, and the Uwais tribe will be your main unit. I'll take you to see them."

You begin following Magos Cern out of the cyro-sleep area, and along the hallways. After ten minutes, you reach a large metal door, which opens to reveal a large room filled with bunk beds, with familiar bronze bodies lying in the beds.

"This is Dorm A. We have around sixty soldiers here," Magos Cern says.

Fay walks into the room, and lets ou a shout.

"Gentlemen! Your captain's back!"

The tribals roll out of bed. You recognize a few of them, but strangely you recognize many as men from other various tribes."

"Fay, you're back!" one says.

"How did the fight go? It took far longer than expected," another adds.

"Oh, shit! Is that Karth?" another asks.

The attention immediately goes from Fay to you, as tribals begin appearing. They all appear far more muscular, many bearing fresh scars.

"Karth! How are you even still alive?" someone asks incredulously.

"It's the Uwais shaman!" another asks.

"Karth, how are you? What have they been doing to you?"

You watch as the tribals begin to surround the three of you, although Magos Cern makes sure they keep as least half a dozen feat away from her.

"Stay back. Karth is only here to see you, not talk to you," Magos Cern says, drawing a datapad and letting out an electro-shock that causes the group to let out a pained yelp before they back away.

"Why are there so many men and women from other tribes? I thought it was the Uwais tribe who was kidnapped."

"When we arrived on your planet, we needed to do a lot of work. We drained lakes for water, drilled into the planet's crust to get vast quantities of Promethium, wiped out native species for food. It takes a lot of effort to run a vessel this large, and to do it quickly and efficiently. While we did so, our soldiers went to work. They needed to fight, both to train and to simply shed blood for their own enjoyment. Prisoners were taken in vast quantities, and I used them as I used the Uwais tribe. Now, there's far more from other tribes than there are from Uwais tribe."

"Hmmm... your home world is destroyed. Ambition is the only path forward now, Karth, there is no going back. We will conquer the stars together." Meliodas says.

"I suppose calling them the Uwais tribe is a bit of a failing, then. Tribals would be more suitable."

"As you wish. You are their superior. You can do as you wish with them."

"The average tribal will be be outfitted with combat armor as well as some equipment, such as grenades, gas masks, communications devices, that kind of thing. The stronger ones will get Bolters, the strongest will be equipped with melee weapons; chainswords, chainaxes, power swords, as well as bolt pistols. The weaker ones will be given specialized roles and equipped for as such: meltaguns and missile launchers for anti-armor, snipers with sniper rifles and stealth roles with chameoline cloaks and silenced weapons. We should have a fairly well equipped army that will be able to hold their own when fighting alongside the Guardsmen and Traitor Marines we have under our command."

"We're not fighting for you fucks!" someone shouts.

"Yeah! Fuck you, you kidnapping bastards!"

"Ah, this is an issue," Magos Cern says. "Unfortunately, due to my... failures in work on the brain, Kyros has forbid me to tinker on their minds to ensure loyalty. Fay has only so far failed to do, so it'll be your job now. I need all rebelliousness to be crushed."

"How?" you ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Get it done. I don't care how. I need to go check on the oxygen decks to the macro guns on the starboard side doesn't asphyxiate," Magos says, turning around and walking off.

"Well, that's a bitch," you complain, turning to Fay. "I guess we need to get rid of rebelliousness before Kyros gets pissy and blows our heads clean off."

"Or..." Fay says slyly. "We could just hide the rebelliousness. It would be better if we kept it under wraps until we have a chance to get out of here."

"Oh, choices, choices, choices. Terrify, threaten, talk or trust. Which shall it be, Karth?" Meliodas says.

You walk forward, into the center of the dorm. You have several options here. You could attempt to use some of your psychic powers to show these tribals the true power of the Warp. That would definitely ensure their loyalty, if only out of fear. You could threaten them to ensure their loyalty, once again while out of fear, and you wouldn't have to alienate yourself by making yourself seem like a terrifying psychic being. You could attempt to convince the tribals that loyalty to this place is the only rational choice. You could also take Fay's path, and assure them that they'll have the chance to get revenge, but that for now they should hide all rebelliousness until it's time to strike.
> You terrify the tribals with the powers of the Warp
You tug at your collar, but fortunately, due to Kyros' distraction with his troops who are "disloyal", the restrictions are loose. Not gone, still definitely there. You know if you try anything you'll gain his attention and the restrictions will be tightened, as well as the collar around your throat, most likely. Still, you need to take advantage of this and put on a full show.

You walk slowly forward, raising into the air. Black and purple electricity begins running along your body, bursting along yourself. You set alight, as the crimson flames of the Warp engulf. You change your meek and timid voice, amplifying it through the Warp to booming proportions.

"Do you see what I've become? Do you see what Kyros made me? I am a vessel of Chaos, a being of the Warp. This is the power the Warp holds. This is the power Kyros holds, the power this vessel holds, and the power of the cursed men who guard and crew it. You can't possibly hope to beat it. You should only thank the Dark Gods that the role they've asked you to fill is beneficial to you, and embrace this role to the utmost."

The tribals, including Fay, stand back, looking terrified. You know in that moment that fear has replaced all rebelliousness in their souls. They'll follow orders now. You drop down to your feet, staring around.

"Spread the message," you say to the tribals, before turning to Fay. "We should go."

You walk out of the room, quickly followed by Fay, who runs after you.

"What the fuck was that?" she asks.

"I did my job," you say simply.

"Those are our friends, our family, our kinsman. You're not seriously happy with a life of service to a guy who kidnapped us? These guys killed Duggin!"

"Duggin was a fool," you reply. "Our lives were once meaningless. Now, we have a hope. Surely you understand?"

"I wish I could say I could, Karth, but I don't. I don't know how you can think that."

You walk outside, where Kyros awaits, smiling.

"Well done," he says, smiling. "Impressive display."

"You were there for that?" you ask.

"I was aware. Why else would your collar restrictions be weaker?"

"I assumed it was because you were distracted," you admit.

"If that was true, whenever I slept you'd be free to do whatever you wanted," Kyros says, smirking. "Now, we need to visit the last of your soldiers, the gladiator-slaves. They're always an interesting crew. Shall we go?"

You look at Fay, who nods, although she still looks nervous from your earlier "display" of power.

"Yes, let's," you reply.
> You visit the gladiator-slaves
You follow Kyros, as you head to the arena. You reach the doors that would lead into it, but instead oof entering you go off to a small elevator behind it. You enter, and it slowly begins descending. It opens, revealing the underhive of the arena. There's dozen of cages, holding exotic beasts and dangerous Xenos. You see a half dozen thick, heavily muscled, green-skinned Orks in a cage, their necks chained to the wall. They're howling and roaring, tugging at their chains. Surprisingly, while most shout in their barbaric, guttural language, one seems to speak yours.

"Humie! Humie! Get me free! Get me free!" he shouts. "I is gonna let you live, even give ya a bitta loot and an escape pod if ya let me free!"

"Don't respond!" someone further down the catacombs that lay beneath the arena shouts. "It only encourages Ol' Dak!"

"Hmmm... this Ork must be one of the greatest speakers of his kind," Meliodas points out. "Of course to us he's a fucking idiot."

The ork's eyes narrow, before he begins howling in frustration and smacking his hands against his own head, a heavy thud emanating as his muscled fists slam into his thick skull. You continue walking, passing amazing and fantastic creatures and gladiators. There's a tentacled slug-man with a large beak and dozens of eyes peppered around his body which is huddled up in the corner of it's cage, a trio of horrible bird-hound creatures that scratch at their bars, a massive human wearing what appears to be an iron cage with hundreds of inward pointing nails who rams himself against the cage wall, his body shredded to such an extent you're amazed he's not dead yet, a multi-legged, horned creature that looks almost cute. Finally, you reach a long hallway, with thick, heavy metal doors spread along the hallway. An eye peers out of a door eye-slot, staring at you.

"Hello there. Do we have more fighters, or...? Oh wait, it's them. Terrific."

The eye disappears, and the slot closes. Kyros takes out a datapad, pressing several buttons before the door slowly slides open, revealing a large open area. Bunk beds line the wall, with a bunch of young men and women, the oldest in their late twenties and the youngest in their mid-teens. They wear very little armor, all of which is either leather or light combat armor. They sit around a fire, roasting chunks of meat on sticks in it. Two of the gladiators lean against the beds nearest to you, staring at you. One is a tall, muscled and tanned, with long blond hair and sparking green eyes. She holds a long, rifle-like gun with an axe blade made into the barrel with a grip under it. The other is shorter, with similarly tanned skin, with playful green eyes and curly brown hair, holding a curved sword and a Plasma pistol. They both look to be in their late teens or early twenties at latest.

"Is that a fire?" Fay asks.

"Are they armed?" you also.

"Yes and yes," the male says, turning to the girl. "This question game is fun."

"The fire's below a vent that's sending the smoke... somewhere. We weren't exactly given schematics of this place, all we know is the smoke doesn't bother us. And we're allowed weapons to keep the others in check. Even if we both went for Kyros, our minds would be shattered before we could raise our weapons," the girl says.

"Nah, I could at least start a swing before I was killed."

"These are the Twins. They lead the Gladiator-Slaves. Now, introduce yourselves," Kyros says.

"I'm Castus," the boy smiles, staring at the pair of you.

His eyes flicker, as he looks over Fay. He appears to be checking her out. You feel like punching him in the throat, but refrain.

"You're a jealous one, aren't you?" Meliodas says.

"I'm Olive," the girl says, extending a hand, which you grab and shake before Fay does the same.

"So, is there a reason you're here?" Castus asks.

"Fay and Karth will be taking command of the gladiators. They are my lieutenants, and will command a segment of our army, the slaves."

"Oh, terrific. We've been shafted," Castus says.

"I'm sure Kyros will want us to have an advisor position to assist Fay and Karth," Olive says.

"Correct," Kyros says.

"Well, there might be an issue with that," Castus says. "You see, both Fay and Karth have a history of... well, murdering my men. Pitting the Kyros Jr and Magos Cern's latest brand of super-freaks against us has led to a lot of men being, quite understandably, pissed with the guys who hacked apart, or psychically exploded, or simply beat their friends upside the head until they went comatose."

"If you want, we can have the dissenters flailed alive. Simply point them out, and I'll have them broken. Is that preferable?"

Castus goes quiet.

"As I thought," Kyros says with a smile. "Make sure the men know to follow orders. Now, it's late, and these guys need sleep. Is anything else needed?"

"I suppose not," Olive says.

"Well, we need a lot, but nothing we're realistically getting anytime soon," Castus says.

Kyros stares at Castus, fire beginning to run along his body.

"Nothing needed, sir," Castus says.

"Good. Fay, Karth, let's go," Kyros says.

Kyros swivels around, walking out of the room. You quickly follow him, and the massive metal door shuts behind you.

"So, we'll escort Fay back to the Uwais dorms, and then send you to your room," Kyros says.

"Well you know, Karth's room is closer. I could just spend the time in his," Fay suggests. "It would give us some time to go over battle plans now that we know what our men are capable of, and I can inform him of what the Uwais tribe are like in battle..."

"Really? That's the reason? That's the reason you're going for?" Kyros asks, raising an eyebrow. "No."
> You argue that Fay should spend the night in your room
"But she could help me plan what do to with the lieutenants and what to do to secure their loyalty, and..."

"Don't fuck with me, Karth. You just want the girl there so you can have something fuck. Maybe if you were a little smarter with the way you acted towards me I'd grant you such base pleasures, but you acted like a prick all while you've been here, so no, she'll go back to her bed, and you'll go back to hers."

"Surprisingly, the cunt doesn't stop being a cunt just because you want to get laid. Unless I'm wrong and you seriously didn't plan or want to try anything with her, in which case Slaanesh will never get a hold on your soul," Meliodas says.

You arrive at the doors to your cell, and Kyros opens it.

"Hurry up, inside," Kyros says.

You look at Fay, who smiles at you.

"Bye, Karth. Thanks for trying," she says, giving a short little wave.

"Bye, Fay," you reply.

The doors are shut, and you walk over to your bed, collapsing on it. Only now do you realize how exhausted you are. You've spent all day walking, which again isn't exactly your specialty. You close your eyes, and soon sleep takes you. Thankfully, the twilight stage where your soul can rest and your exhausted mind can find peace, lasts extra long. Of course, it doesn't take long before the nightmares hit.
> You sleep
You writhe in pain, curling up in an attempt to get the endless suffering to end. All you hear is the chattering of thousands of skulls laughing at you. You star up at a mountain of skulls that rises up into the sky past. You can see beasts of metal roaring as they charge across the skulls, ramming into each other with powerful clashes, with dragon-like beasts flying overhead.

You take in a panicked breath, stumbling away from a nearby one and falling. You tumble along the skulls, rolling down the mountain of skulls. You slam into the skull of a massive beast, ending your tumble. You look down at a massive river of boiling blood, horrifying creatures of bones bursting from the water and diving back under again. You frantically try to use your powers, to levitate away from this horrifying place, but you can feel an invisible hand around your neck, closed tightly around your trachea and preventing you from breathing, tethering you to the ground and preventing you from using your power.

It... doesn't go well from there. You wander the endless mountain of skulls, hiding in terror from the daemonic beasts that roam. Eventually, you awaken with a start, finding yourself lying in bed in a cold sweat, naked and scared. The rest of the night is, thankfully, not as bad. The monsters of your dreams staying off in the distance away from you. Sleep is... somewhat bearable.
> You several Hours Later...
You wake up to the sound of the metal doors opening. You stand, looking up to see Kyros and Fay entering the room. You realize you're naked, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around yourself. Fay giggles, smiling.

"Well, that was a surprise. A pretty small one, to be fair," she says with a smile.

You find a little leeway with your collar, and eagerly use it through the flick of a wrist and send Fay onto her behind once more. The collar tightens around your throat quickly, making it hard to breath but not unbearable. You raise your hands in surrender, and Kyros releases the collar.

"We're going to the war room," he says, softly but creepily.

Kyros seems considerably darker today. His coat is covered with several dark red splotches and stains. You doubt it's a good idea to ask about their origins. You stand up, following Kyros along the halls.

"What's in the war room?" you ask.

"We're just having a meeting. Quiet now," Kyros says.

You walk along the hallways in silence, passing my various crewmen running along the halls, working. Kyros walks quickly and you break a sweat trying to walk at his pace.

"Can we slow down?" Fay asks.

"You're a genetically-upgraded super-soldier. Is a fast walk really too much for you?" Kyros says, continuing at his speed.

"It's too much for Karth," she says.

"I'm... fine," you pant.

"No you're not," Fay says. "Physical exercise isn't exactly a strength of yours."

"He has the energy to talk, he has the energy to walk! Now silence!"

Kyros flicks his wrists, and Fay yelps. A long, thin cut appears, running down her cheek, as blood runs down her chin.

"Hey!" you shout.

You step up, staring into Kyros' eyes. His eyes are wild and cruel. The humor and joy he held only a few hours ago is gone. You realize that he'll be more than happy to hurt both you and Fay seriously. You back down.

"That's what I thought. Now faster, we've wasted time with this!" Kyros says.

You speed up, moving as quickly as possible. Soon enough you reach the war room. The doors open, and you pause. Inside, lying in her seat, is Calpurnia. All of her skin is just... missing, seemingly flayed off her. Blood covers her seat, the the floor around her and the table. Her eyes are missing, seemingly gored out by inhuman claws. She lets out a pained moan, and you realize with a start that she's somehow alive.

"What the fuck...?" Fay says.

Magos Cern appears behind you, walking forward. She stares at Calpurnia, seemingly disinterested.

"Does this concern me?" she asks.

"No, old friend.This concerns the others," Kyros says, his voice a low growl.

Uncaring, Kyros sits down at the table. Taj enters, but doesn't even respond, simply taking his place at the table. Calpurnia holds up a hand as if begging for help, but Taj simply spits on the table.

"Traitor," he grunts.

You watch as Durge walks in, with Elizabeth at his side. Durge pauses, looking at Calpurnia, before looking at Kyros, as Elizabeth turns very pale.

"What the hell is this?" Durge asks, staring down at Calpurnia.

His massive, bloated frame waddles forward, standing over the bleeding near-corpse.

"What happened you, he asks, before shoving a spike-arm in front of Elizabeth and pushing her back, stepping in front of her defensively as he stares at the rest of the room. "Who did this?!"

Rebecca walks in, a grin on her face.

"Oh, who did this?" she asks, clearly feigning surprise.

Finally, Elios walks in, pausing, and looking around the room, taken aback.

"What... what happened?" he asks, turning even paler than his chalk-white makeup.

"It seems our good friend Calpurnia has been attacked in the dead of night," Kyros says. "Imagine how much pain she's feeling. The pain of her wounds. The pain of her betrayal. Who hear could have possibly betrayed them? Who could have plotted late in the night to back stab a person, to betray someone who had given them so much? Could it have been Elios? Durge? Elizabeth?"

"Fuck... you," Calpurnia says, before collapsing her head against the table.

Calpurnia screams as her arm's bare flesh begins to cook, as Kyros glares at her. Durge raises a spike, running it through Calpurnia's head.

"Enough. There's no need to prolong her suffering," Durge says, glaring at Kyros.

"I suppose. Perhaps it's best that she died. Do you know what, Durge? Magos Cern, Chapter Master Taj and Rebecca all came to me, told me a coup was being planned by Calpurnia, and she was recruiting all the faction leaders. I'm sure she hadn't gotten around to asking you, Elizabeth and Elios yet, or you would've reported it to me. Correct?"

Durge stares at Kyros, not saying a word.

"Well, I'll have someone investigate who could have possibly done this to our dear friend. Anyone, as for the purpose of this meeting, I just wanted to tell you we're all out of Recaf, and I'll have it replaced by tomorrow. I also suppose I must say I'm taking control of the 33rd Istanford Regiment in the wake of Calpurnia's passing. Now, everyone back to their duties. We're in a risky time. Who knows who'll have the next... accident?"

Kyros walks out of the room, and you and Fay follow him. He immediately has you set to work. He has you train with a few of your new men, fighting off dozens of crab-like aliens with a handful of Goliaths, Tribals and Gladiators to learn how they fight. The Tribals still work with their hunting tactics and the methods of war used to fight off the endless greenskin attacks, so you find you're easily able to lead them to victory.

The Goliaths are borderline idiots, who even in the heat of battle get distracted by themselves and each other, get frustrated when their massive hands fail to successfully reload their bolters, and are more than happy to break formation to charge the enemy. Cain proves himself as a solid leader, taking you orders and bellowing them out with massive, powerful lungs, loud enough to snap the Goliaths back to violence. The Goliaths make up for their mental failings with their extreme strength, withstanding punishment beyond what you thought was possible, whilst turning steel to dust with their powerful blows.

The Gladiators' fighting style is an interesting one. Due to the lifestyle of gladiators, they haven't really trained for being part of a large unit, only knowing how to fend for themselves or maybe fight alongside a small unit of a half dozen people. They're good, experienced fighters, but despite their experience they're still young and wild, taking unnecessary risks in battle and acting far too prideful. While Castus is wild and barely acts as a leader in battle other than shouting out curses at the enemies, rallying his men and leading a charge whenever necessary, Olive is calm, collected and acts as the real leader, spitting out battlefield tactics that allow for a crushing defeat. The gladiators also have a certain showmanship, no doubt because they're performers before they're fighters. The gladiators' attacks maximize bloodshed and feature extravagant yet unnecessary feats of agility, something that needs to be eliminated from their battle doctrine.

All in all, your newfound force is fairly competent. You're satisfied with their ability to fight, which is bolstered by your immense powers, the only outlet of which are these arena battles. After several long hours fighting, just as you're too exhausted to continue fight, the massive metal gates from which the aliens spew slam closed.

You hover in the air, firing a stream of multi-colored fire that consumes a crab-alien, before you swoop down, firing a psychic blast directly into the unarmored face of another. Your forces wipe out the remaining beasts, and soon the fighting is over, leaving you surrounded by corpses, blood and bolter shells. The metal gate you came through opens, and you drop to the ground, feeling your collar begin to restrain your psychic powers again, before standing and beginning to walk back inside.

"Well done, men. You've proven yourselves today," you say.

Your four guards wait by the gate, alongside dozens of other guards to ensure none of you attempt a mistake. The gladiators are led to the underneath of the arena, the Goliaths back to cyro-sleep and the Tribals to their cell-dorms. You're quickly escorted to your room, and the doors close behind you. You walk forward, quickly undressing from your blood-stained, sweat-soaked clothes before collapsing on your bed, burying your head in your pillow.
> You go to sleep
"Karth!" Meliodas' voice says, appearing in your mind. "Look behind you, you fool!"

You quickly twist around in bed, raising your fists and preparing to use what little psychic powers, to see Elios leaning in the doorway of your bathroom.

"Shit! What the fuck are you doing!?" you shout.

"Hmmm... a man can't just lean back and enjoy one of the finer sights in life?" Elios says, winking as he strolls confidently towards you.

"Get...!" you try to speak, but he puts a finger against your lips, leaning in close.

"Quiet, baby. No need to fret. I'm not here to give you any trouble. I'm hear to help you with a certain little... problem."

Elios runs his hand along your bare chest and up to your collar, playfully tugging on it. You stare at him, waiting.

"Well, let's be realistic here. We're going to be slaughtered. If we're lucky, we're going to be killed when Kyros leads his moronic charge against the Imperium. If we're unlucky, we're going to end up like Calpurnia, tortured to death by a paranoid Psyker."

"You're at risk of being tortured to death. I never betrayed him," you say.

"Oh, baby, why do you have to be so difficult?" Elios smiles, two of his fingers walking up your legs, slowly nearing your groin. "Baby, at the moment, Kyros is looking to eliminate those who are going to betray him. But he's growing paranoid. He'll end thinking you're going to betray him, whether you are or are not. Let's be fair, you do have motives. Your tribe destroyed or enslaved, forced to bear the troubles that a Psyker does? Hell, it wouldn't surprise me if you had an escape plan in the works. Hell, even if he doesn't, one of your men will act rebellious or a battle will go wrong, and you'll be blamed for it. You need to get with us, baby."

"Let's say I'm considering it. What would it entail?" you ask.

"You need to get the leaders on your side. Fay, Olive, Castus, whoever's in charge of those big monster boys I saw you working with earlier. Get them on your side, while I will talk to Elizabeth and Durge about maintaining the rebellious attitude amongst Calpurnia's boys, make sure they're still up for a little bit of mutiny."

"What happens when we take the ship?" you ask.

"That'll be decided once we've secured the other leaders. I'm sure they have demands of their own. So are you in?"

"Hmmm... it's clearly our only option, but you should know that Elios both wants to fuck you over and straight up fuck you," Meliodas says.

"I'm pretty sure my other choice is death. That's not even a choice," you say.

"Well, it's the one I'm giving you, baby," Elios says,gently flicking the tip of your dick, causing you to yelp and scuttle back on your bed.
> You agree
Elios steps forward, knocking on the metal door. The guards open, immediately raising their bolters. Elios waves his hand.

"You didn't see me here. The voice of Slaanesh calls you, and you're his now. Move aside, and tell no one I was here."

"I... no... yes, sir," one says, stepping aside.

You watch Elios stroll out of the room, giving a final smile and wave as he leaves the room.

You get some sleep, lying wrapped up in your blankets. Blissfully, there's only a few dark, terror-filled dreams, the rest only filling your with a vague, uneasy sense of dread. You awaken to Magos Cern poking you in the stomach with a white-hot pincer.

"AH!" you scream. "What the fuck?"

"My diagnostics told me that I'd be able to wake you up 0.4 seconds faster this way. We need to go," Magos Cern says.

"Where?"

"First, you require food. Then, you'l get some implants. I'm going through some long overdue upgrades for the... "Goliaths", as you called them, and Kyros asked me to pencil you in for a few biological upgrades."

"Then?" you ask

"Melee practice. In wake of assassination threats, Kyros wants you to be able to fend off a melee assassination as easily as you could a ranged or psychic attack."

"My powers can do that," you say.

"You'd be run through before you could react. Castus and Olive will run through some drills to get your reaction time up and give you a few dodging techniques that will lend themselves to all your battles."

"Then?"

"By then, with the recovery time from the implants, your weak body will require sleep."

"OK", you say.

Magos Cern leads you out of the room, and along the hallways. You find yourself in a massive cafeteria. You walk forward, spotting Fay sitting alongside a badly burnt girl with a long braid wrapping around herself and another with a prosthetic arm replaced by a sharpened, mechanical claw. Fay looks up, noodles hanging from her mouth, spotting you.

"Oh, Karth!" she says, waving, before noticing that her mouth is filled with noodles and blushing.

You take a seat next to her, and she smiles.

"So, how are you doing?" she asks.

"We need to talk. Alone," you say, looking at the two tribals beside her.

"Uh... OK," Fay says, motioning for the two tribals to move, which they quickly do.

"Thanks," you say to the tribals as they walk off.

"So? Is this about what I think it's about?"

"What do you think it's about?" you ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you know... you want to speak to me alone... privately... so I kind of assume it's about us."

"Yeah, of course it's about us, that's why we're both here to talk about it."

"No, I mean... like, us us," Fay says, clearly frustrated by your failure to understand.

"What?"

"Well, like, do you want us to be a couple?"
> You say "Yeah, I want to go out."
"Oh, really?" Fay says smiling.

"Don't you?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah!" Fay says, smiling. "I was actually just going to ask you about that. I'm glad you said yes."

Fay smiles, before leaning in and kissing you briefly on the lips. You stare into her bright green eyes, the split-second kiss lasting for infinitely longer, feeling the warmth of her lips flood into you, before she pulls back.

"Well, that was nice. Ideally our next rendezvous is going to take place somewhere where we're not surrounded by our tribe and horrible guards who want us dead," Fay smiles. "Was that it, or was there something else?"

"Yeah, we have something important to discuss."

"Wasn't that important?" Fay asks, smiling.

"Oh no,it was, I just... I meant important for the tribe, not just for us," you say, stumbling over your words.

"It feels nice to see you've become as awkward as I just was," Fay giggles. "Now, stop spitting out words. Take a breath, and tell me what's so important."

"Rebellion."

"Oh?"

"Kyros is mad and paranoid. He's either going to slit our throats or send us on an endless string of suicide missions. We need to do something, and I really need your help. A group of collaborators have planned to rise up, and rid ourselves of Kyros. Then, we take over. I need the support of your Tribals to do so.

"Yeah, totally. Done."

"Done?"

"Yeah. If we don't escape, we die here. Also, they're your Tribals as much as mine. Who else is in on this?" Fay asks.

"Elios, Durge and Elizabeth are all in. No doubt Calpurnia's man will help us," you say.

"What about Cain and the twins?"

"I haven't asked them yet, but we need to get them on board," you say.

"Do we hae a solid plan yet?" Fay asks.

"Not yet. We need to find out how many people we have fighting for us."

"What happens after we take the ship," Fay asks, raising an eyebrow.

"That is still to be decided. Once we have Cain. Castus and Olive behind us, we'll have bargaining power. So you're in?"

"I'm in," Fay nods. "I'll have the message spread among the tribals."

You notice one of your guards walking towards you, carrying a tray. You motion for Fay to quiet down, as the guard arrives putting the tray down on the table.

"Eat," he says, in a cold voice like the scraping of a blade on rusted metal.

You look at your food. There's a bowl of noodles and strips of thin, cured meat, a small bowl of green jelly with chunks of odd, alien fruit inside, a large plastic cup of wine and a small, dense biscuit-like cake.

"Well, someone's being pampered," Fay says, smiling.

"Clearly I'm just more important than you," you gloat as you have a forkful of noodles and meat.

Fay grabs the biscuit cake from your tray, taking a bite.

"Hey!" you say in annoyance, as Fay sticks her tongue out.

You quickly eat your meal, polishing off the entire tray and gulping down the wine. Then, Magos Cern arrives.

"Good, you've eaten," she says. "These operations will be safer if you've had a full stomach."

"OK, I'm ready, let's go, you say. "Bye, Fay. See you soon."

"See you later, Fay says, blowing a kiss.

Magos Cern leads you out of the cafeteria and along the halls, off along halls and elevators. Eventually, you pass through the cyro-sleep section, arriving in a large operating room. Dozens of Goliaths are lying on the surgery tables, many halfway through surgery. A half dozen other Tech Priests wander around between the Goliaths, removing and adding flesh, bone, organs, cybernetic implants and other strange things.

"I didn't know there were other Tech Priests," you note.

"This ship is the size of a small moon. Did you think you've seen enough of it to accurately be able to say that we don't have something? I have scores of Tech Priests who followed me into the embrace of the Dark Gods," Magos Cern says.

Magos Cern leads you to an operating table.

"This is yours. Please get undressed and wait here, I need to grab my materials and equipment. Stay here."

Magos Cern turns around, walking off, leaving you alone. You spot Cain, lying on his operating table, his chest cut open to reveal still functioning organs. You wonder how he can still be alive with such a hastily cut-up torso, before you wince as you see his eyes dart towards you and you realize he's conscious. Looking to see Magos Cern hobbling away, you hop off the operating table and walk over to him.

"Commander Karth," Cain grunts. "Need something?"

"I have... an offer."

"An offer? An offer of what?" Cain says, absent-mindedly picking at a cut alongside his... or at least, one of his stomachs.

"Freedom," you say, catching the monster's attention.

"Go on," Cain says, furrowing his scarred brow and causing a thin stream of blood to pour from his horns.

"We're planning an escape. We could use you and your men," you say.

"We?"

"Elios, Durge, Elizabeth, Fay, others," you say. "That's it, I think."

"When?"

"We don't have details, yet. We need a head count before we can start planning it."

"Hmmm... I'm willing to give you control of my... "Goliaths", as you called them. But, I have a list of conditions that I want to be satisfied once we take the ship."

"Go on," you say.

"I want us to get names. Every Goliath who is capable of remembering and answering to a name will be called that instead of its serial number, by you and ALL other members of command. No more cyro-sleep. I want a bed for every single Goliath. I don't care if it's fine cloth or a slab of concrete, as long as it doesn't freeze them, it'll do us. I want free time that's not just killing."

"Anything else?" you ask.

"That's it," Cain says, spitting out a serrated teeth that's fallen free from his jaw.

Cain's demands are far from unfair. Really, all he wants is slightly more rights for his Goliaths, which wouldn't even take any more resources. Still, you don't want the beast getting a big head. You ARE still in charge of not only his collar, but the collars of every single Goliath. All you need is a few threats, and the Goliaths will be yours.
> You agree to Cain's demands
"Deal," you say.

"Good, good," Cain nods, extending a hand.

You grab his hand, and thankfully Cain doesn't attempt to squeeze, which would almost certainly result in your fragile bones shattering. You shake vigorously, and Cain attempts a smile. The corners of his mouth twist unnaturally high, revealing rows of serrated teeth, curved fangs, massive molars and many other weird, odd teeth, protruding from bloody, rotten gums. You smile in response, not willing to offend him.

"The beast would've taken half of what he asked for," Meliodas says.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" you say angrily.

"I presumed you knew," Meliodas replies.

"Are you OK?" Cain says. "Tell you what?"

"Uh, nothing. Sorry," you say.

"OK. Good deal," Cain says, his face contorted in what you assume is his version of a raising of the eyebrow. "Alright, best get prepared for your operation before Magos Cern gets back."

"Yeah, I should," you say.

You walk over to your operating table and quickly get undressed, before lying down. After another minute or two, Magos Cern appears, pushing a tray in front of her. One of her metallic tendrils grabs a syringe filled with a pale, translucent liquid.

"This might hurt a little. It will more likely hurt a lot more," she says.

You let out a pained yelp as she jams the syringe into your neck. She begins pushing down on the plunger as what you hope is anesthetic is pumped into you. Warm hands embrace you, pulling you into the oblivion of unconsciousness.
> You embrace the darkness
Your eyes lull closed, and you lose consciousness.

You awake an unknown time later, lying on the metal operating table. Magos Cern stands over you, washing her implements in a basin of water. She looks at you, her cold, red eyes peering into your soul.

"Ah, you're awake. Good," she says.

"What did you put into me?" you ask.

"The biology of what I did is beyond you, flesh bag."

"Can you dumb it down for me?" you ask.

"Could one reduce concertos to the mumbled grunts of mutants?" Magos Cern asks indignantly.

"Please?"

"Fine. I increased the size of your heart by 40% and lungs  by 12%, and added several veins and arteries leading directly to the brain from the heart. These actions increase the blood flow to your brain, and should hence increase psychic abilities. I added multiple microchips that breed monocytes, other white blood cells, platelets and other helpful things for your body. That was the bulk of my work. Other than that, it was just a medical check-up."

"OK," you say.

"I have a lot of important work to do, now. You should've had enough time to recover."

Two of your massive space marine guards arrive, a roaring face on their thick helmets.

"Here you are," Magos Cern says. "Guards, make sure to walk slow. If at any point the patient starts puking blood, let him sit down for ten, maybe fifteen minutes."

"Shouldn't you keep him hearing for observation, then?" one of the guards ask.

"I have far too much work to do," Magos Cern says. "Don't disturb me. If anything goes wrong, go to Genetor Corivan. He is very experienced with medical matters."

"Yes, sir," the space marine says.

Magos Cern quickly heads off, walking off to a row of elevators. The space marines stare at you, and you climb out of bed with a groan.

"Ah, my head," you say.

"You should have headaches for the next 48 hours," Magos Cern shouts, right before she disappears into an elevator.

You stand, feeling a rush of blood hit your head. You walk after the space marines, along halls and up and down elevators, until you find yourself in the arena. Castus and Olive are there, mid-battle with each other.

"Oh look, it's tweedle-dum and tweedle-fucking idiot," Meliodas says. "Not even a laugh? Oh wait, you didn't grow up with nursery rhymes, you're from a Feral world. My bad."

Castus swings his sword at her, while Olive swings her rifle-axe up at his head. He rolls out of the way, kicking Olive's foot away and sending her to her knee, before booting her in the head. She collapses down, before rolling out of the way to avoid a downward stab by Castus. She grabs Castus' sword handle and punches him. Castus falls backwards, before taking up a fighting stance. Olive begins circling him, her gun-axe at the ready. She spots you, smiling.

"Karth's here," she says.

"Bullshit," Castus says, readying his sword.

"Karth, tell him you're here," Olive says.

"Yeah, I'm here," you say.

Castus turns to look at you, but Olive charges, swinging her gun-axe. She knocks the feet away from Castus, dropping his knee down on Castus stomach. Castus grunts before Olive grabs her gun-axe and holds it to Castus throat.

"Dead," she says.

"No fair, we were supposed to stop when Karth got here," Castus says.

"You're still dead," Olive smiles, standing up.

Castus grabs Olive's wrist, pulling her forward so his sword pokes into her stomach.

"Dead," he smiles.

"Seriously?" Olive says, rolling her eyes. "Fine, I'm dead. Are we finished yet? The kid needs training."

"Fine," Castus shrugs. "Let's start it."

Castus draws a dagger from his belt, staring at it. The blade is a bright silver, with an odd pattern etched into it. It's handle is a bright, light blue, with a short, silver horn coming from the end of the handle.

"Now, this is an absolute beauty. I really don't use it enough, so it's yours. Xenos-origin, so even owning it is heresy. The blade is razor sharp, it could cut through flesh and bone easier than it could through air. Here."

Castus turns, tossing the dagger straight at your head.
> You duck
You duck your head, the knife flying just over your head and cluttering to the floor behind you.

"Good catch," Castus says.

You grab the knife, taking a practice stab.

"What do you think?"

"It's a knife," you say simply.

"Yeah, it is. Do you like it? Does it feel good?" Castus says.

"I don't know anything about knives. Maybe," you say.

"Alright, first, we need to talk. Is anyone watching us? Like, are there cameras?"

"No. Well yes, but they're offline," Olive says, resting her head on the butt of her axe-gun. "What is it?"

"A plan is being formed. We're going to escape."

"Escape?" Olive says, musing. "Who's on our side?"

"We have a large amount of people on our side. Elios, Elizabeth and Durge are bringing the weight of their war-bands, as well as most, if not all, of the Guardsmen here. Then there's the Goliaths and the Tribals, both of whom are with us."

"What...?"

"Because I've done this twice before, I best say. We have no plans yet. They're to be decided. We have literally nothing. We just need to check whether you'll join us. Then, we'll get the leaders together to plan our to take over, and what to do with once we've actually done so."

"Huh. Well, I'm in," Castus says.

"What?" Olive asks, surprised.

"Yeah, I'm in," Castus says.

"We don't know the plan, we don't have any assurances that we won't be back-stabbed as soon as we take over, we..."

"Olive, let's be smart here. If we don't rebel, we'll definitely either be killed fighting Kyros' war, killed trying to put down these fuckers' mutiny, or killed fighting another arena battle for these bastard's amusement."

"If we rebel, we'll almost certainly be killed!"

"Almost certainly is way better than definitely. Plus, we'll get to kill a few of Kyros' bastards before we go down."

"Fine, I'm in, but I... we have a few demands," Olive says.

"Go on," you say.

You know the gladiators will be essential to your plans, so you really need to get them, but still, you don't want to devote to many resources to this issue.

"I want instant freedom once we take-over. No more being locked up under the arena. I want my men to have free reign to travel around the ship. I want pay, do the men and women who fight and work for the ship actually get something from it. I want an increase in food rations, and better equipment than the shit we're given. I want actual medical care, on top of this."

"That it?" you ask, annoyed with her large demands.

It'll probably take a serious amount of resources to fulfill her request. You have a few options here.

"What a fucking greedy bitch. This fucker needs a dick, I tell you that," Meliodas complains.
> You agree to her demands
"Done," you say.

Olive extends a hand, which you grip and shake extensively. Castus extends his hand, which you grab, but he twists your arm around, causing you to yelp painfully. He kicks away your foot and sends you to your knee, before bringing his sword up to your throat.

"Dead," he says with a smile.

"Well shit, Castus, what's wrong with you?"

"What? I was just preparing him for fighting. I thought we were supposed to be training him. First lesson, kid: trust no one. Now, get up."

Olive offers you a hand, smiling.
> You allow her to help you up
You grab Olive's hand, and she pulls you to your feet.

"Ah, good job," Castus says. "Second rule: the first rule is bullshit. You know who doesn't trust anyone? Bastards like Kyros who ends up with no loyal friends, no allies, nothing, and then end up alone, with no one. If you want to survive in this world, you need allies."

Castus grabs his sword by the blade, offering it to you. You reach out to grab it, before he swings it and smacks you in the side of the heat, sending you to the ground. Castus offers his hand to you, which you accept. He pulls you up, before kneeing you in the stomach and tossing you to the ground.

"Come on, you're not learning. First rule: trust no one. Don't you listen?"

"I was going my the second rule," you say, groaning.

"Sometimes, the first rule is more important than the second rule," Castus shrugs.

"How the fuck am I supposed to tell the difference between which rule to us?" you ask, annoyed.

"Beats me. When you find out, you'll be the most powerful warlord in history. Until  then, you just go off gut feeling and intellect."

"Seems like a shitty system," you say, as Castus finally lets you stand up.

"Seems like a shitty world you're in. That system is the best I have to offer. Now, rule three: in hand to hand combat, go for the weak spots. The throat, eyes and balls are always good, but when it comes to half these fucks, I'd stick to the eyes, because past that, I don't know what you have left. Observe."

Castus flips his sword so he holds the blade again, wrapping his sleeve around the blade so it doesn't bite into his fingers as much. He steps forward, swinging his sword with insane speed. The pommel slams into your throat before jabbing you in the eyes, leaving you to stumble backwards. You quickly close your legs together before Castus jabs the pommel into your groin, and you collapse backwards with a pained yelp.

"See? Effective," Castus smiles. "Rule four: you can win through many ways. Pain submission, incapacitating them, or simply taking their lives. Judge which can be used to take down your enemies. For instance, in your case, pain is the way forward."

You're growing tired of being hit in the face. As Castus steps forward with his sword raised, you decide you're going to do something to dissuade him from continuing to hit you.
> You freeze Castus' sword in place
You use your telekinesis to hold the sword in mid air, Castus grunts in confusion as he finds his weapon stuck in the air as it was concrete.

"I don't need to learn how to wield a sword, Castus. You've trained all your life with a sword. I never have. Yet look how simply I disarm you? I need a sword as much as you need fangs. I've evolved past the need for it," you say, before sending the sword clattering to the ground.

"Fair point, kid," Castus says, as you have his sword levitate back up to him. "I suppose you're good to go. End of training."

"Terrific," you say. "So, can I leave?"

"Yeah, I'll call your guards here to open the gates and take you off," Castus says, grabbing a walkie-talkie hanging from his belt and speaking into it.

"Yeah, we're finished here," he says. "Oh shit, over."

"Affirmative, out," the voice comes back.

Soon, the gate lifts up as your guards saunter out in their thick power armor.

"Where to next, boys?" you ask.

"Shut it, psyker," one growls, looking at Castus and Olive. "Is it back to the cells for you two?"

"We're happy to practice some more here," Olive says, twirling her gun-axe to stop a surprise attack from Castus. "I mean, if this dumb bastard has done so little practice to think that would take me down, he's go to need a lot more practice."

"Pffh, I'd like to see you take me down," Castus says.

"So be it," your captor growls. "Move it, psyker."

You raise your hands defensively, and allow them to escort you back to your room.
> Three Days Later...
There's no peep from Elios, Durge or Elizabeth over the next few days. There's more of the usual, training, fighting and such. Eventually though, as you put your head down on the pillow, you hear a familiar voice.

"Karth, talking to you with that collar on is painfully hard. Can you start checking the shadows so I don't have to do this?" Meliodas says.

You twist around in bed, to spot a familiar figure in the corner, wearing tight, very revealing black leather with heavy make-up.

"Why do we have a habit of meeting like this?" Elios says.

"Fuck," you say, jumping up in bed.

"Is that an order? Because I'm more than willing to... serve," he says, licking his lips.

"Why are you here?"

"We're meeting up. We have plans to make. Shall we go?" Elios smiles.

"Uh... sure," you reply.

Elios strides over to the door, knocking on it. The guards open, and Elios once again deceives them so they easily step aside.

"How do you do that?" you ask, as you stroll past your guards.

"Serving Slaanesh has it's benefits. Charisma, beauty, the ability to bend people to your desires, and an ever-lasting... stamina," he says, breathing the last word.

"Ah, good to know," you say.

You stroll through the hallways, heading down a path you've never headed down before. Eventually, you find yourself in a seemingly abandoned section, entering a large room that's been done up like a war-room.

"This is the old war-room. Kyros had a new one built in a position safer from boarding actions. From here, we run the mutiny."

You look around the room, taking note of who's here. Durge sits in a large wooden chair, pricking boils along his belly with his spike-arms. Elizabeth sits in the corner, reading a datapad. A young man, seemingly in his twenties, leans against a wall, smoking and scratching his thick stubble, with a shaved head, scarred face and sallow skin. Cain is scratching the scarred cuts that run along his leathery bare chest. Castus is playing with a knife, while Olive leans against the wall, drinking from a canteen. Fay leans against the wall, noticing you instantly.

"Hey, Karth," she smiles, walking up to you. "How'd Elios get you out of your cell?"

"Did some deceiving trick on the guards. You?"

"Elizabeth put the guard's to sleep somehow," Fay replies.

"Alright, boys. We're all here. Shall we begin?"

"Yes, let's go through this," Durge says.

Durge stands, scratching the side of his stomach as you see something furry scuttling through his intestines. You try not to get sick, or to simply set the entire monstrosity known as Durge aflame to cauterize his disgusting form, before reassuring yourself that he's on your side.

"Sssh, sssh," Durge says, patting the side of his stomach, before grabbing a remote from the large metal table and turning on a large blue hologram of the ship, the Roar of the Vortex. "Here she is. We need to start planning how to grasp control of the ship. Remember, this isn't a planet. We don't win by capturing more territory than the enemy has. We need to capture the necessary areas."

The hologram begins to change, as various sections become different colors.

"These black sections are abandoned by crew. They're either unnecessary cargo space, unused dorms or functional sections whose functions are either redundant, have been taken over by other sections or are being fulfilled by whoever remains in these sections."

"I thought they were abandoned," Fay says.

"Abandoned by the crew, not abandoned by all. You must remember just how large this vessel is. Certain sections were crewed by slaves or mutants who, from lack of contact with crew members, have regressed to a feral state. Many of them now fulfill their roles, such as cleaning pipes or pumping air or working generators, because they consider it a religious ritual, necessary for their food, water and waste pipes to continue or just do it without knowing why."

"Ah. How... terrifying to know that that's a reality," Fay says.

"Their sacrifice is necessary," Durge shrugs. "Now, I shall continue. These brown sections are entirely ran by mutants. These mutants hold no loyalty to either side, and fulfill non-essential roles, or at least roles that aren't essential short-term. For the term's of this... mutiny, these spaces are as irrelevant as the abandoned areas. Now, we get onto the important things. These green sections are, or at least will definitely, be controlled by us. The Black Rat's floors, the Shrieking Harpies' floors, the One Eyed Crows' floors, the arena and arena catacombs, the cyro-sleep area, the medical bay, the Tribals' dormitories, and the 22nd Regiment's dormitories. The 22nd Regiment is, for the most part, under our command, although their are loyalists to Kyros, so it will take some time for them to sort out that issue in the mutiny. These red sections are the enemy's. Kyros' chambers, the Bloody Claw's floors, the Techpriests' sections, the floors used by the Undying Reapers, and the floors controlled by those who will almost certainly be loyal to Kyros, whether they be from assimilated war-bands or his original allies he had when first capturing this vessel."

Suddenly, the hologram shifts again, as the sections become either black, grey, blue, green or gold.

"These sections in black are irrelevant. Ignore them. These areas in grey are of little importance, but these are still a benefit to hold. The blue sections should be captured. The green sections are of more importance than the green sections, and should be prioritized. These gold sections, the command bridge, the engines and the macro-cannon decks, are completely necessary. We need these for victory. Now, Elizabeth shall go into details on the objectives, and Elios shall divide our forces."

Elizabeth stands up, walking towards the hologram, as Durge collapses into his seat.

"Thank you, brother. Now, we have four main objectives. The first is to kill Kyros. If we're lucky, that should get much of his forces to surrender. Hopefully, Rebecca will as well," Elizabeth says.

"She won't surrender," Elios says.

"She might," Durge says hopefully.

"I've know her the longest. She never gave up. When dad gave her the choice of apologizing for breaking the barn's windows in exchange for half as many lashes, she spat in his eye. As long as she has a limb left, she'll fight us. And I'm counting her head as a limb," Elios says.

"Well... we can hope," Elizabeth says. "The second objective is to capture the golden sections. The third and fourth objectives are to capture as many servitors as possible and Drake Amadeus, respectively."

"Who the fuck is Drake Amadeus, and what's a servitor?" Castus asks loudly.

"A servitor is a partly biological machine, made from machinery and the body of a criminal, slave or cloned body. They're not sentient, but are controlled by the Techpriests and used as their workforce. They do the bulk work of maintaining the ship. Capturing as many of them should make the transfer of power... easier. Drake Amadeus is an extremely powerful Navigator, a species of mutant who have a psychic third eye that allows it to see through the Warp and allow us to navigate through the Warp. Drake is one of the few Navigators powerful enough to allow a ship this large to navigate safely. If we don't secure him, we lose all abilities to go at the speed of light. In other words, we drift through space until we all starve to death. So, Drake is an important objective. Those are our four main objectives. If we fail in any of those, we fail in everything. There are dozens of other objectives, such as securing medical supplies, finding food, what have you. Those can be handed out to the individual groups. Elios?"

Elios stands up, strolling over to the hologram as Elizabeth sits down.

"Now, we have a sizeable force. The Shrieking Harpies, the Black Rats, the One-Eyed Crows, the 22nd Regiment, the Tribals, the Goliaths and the Gladiators. We even have a... special asset," he says, looking at you. "Whilst each of these factions on their own are fairly effective, combined they're infinitely stronger. Here are lists of what forces you'll command, and which of the forces you were to command will be transferred to another leader."

Various rolls of parchment and datapads, a strange mix of tech levels, is passed out. You raise an eyebrow as you realize you've not been given anything.

"Why didn't I get something?" you ask.

Elios smiles as you.

"Putting you with a large force would be a waste of resources. Putting you with a small force would leave you wiping out too many enemies, unable to hold the ground you've already taken. So, we're going to use your as a specialty item. We're sending you to capture the prisoners. Release the ones you deem trustworthy, and secure them. Most importantly, secure Drake Amadeus. Understood?"

"Yeah, got it," you say.

"Once you have, we'll regroup forces, and make a move to finish off Kyros and his lieutenants."

"Got it," you say.

"When?" Cain asks in his monstrous voice.

"Soon. Within the next few days. We need time to spread the orders, make preparations and Elizabeth needs time to find a way to deactivate the various collars and explosives planted on the slaves. Be ready at all moments," Durge says.

"How do we know when to strike?" Olive asks.

"We're going to have explosives planted to take out as many loyalists as possible. When you hear massive explosives, or if you're too far away when the alarms start, your collars should deactivate given that I succeed, which I will, and then strike and go immediately to your objective. Understood?" Elizabeth says.

"Got it," Olive nods.

Elios begins passing out files.

"Look over these, then leave them to be burnt," Elios says.

You're passed a file, and eagerly grab it.
> You look at the files
You look at the files and see three subheadings: Drake Amadeus, the Penthouse, Charles Antonguella and the Troupe of Dancing Blades. The files seem to be a mixture of printed out and hand-written, leading you to assume they're from different sources.
> You read File: Drake Amadeus
Name: Drake Amadeus

Species: Human, Sub-species Navigator

Age: 27

Marital Status: Unmarried

Children: None

House of Origin: House Jenassis

Current Location: The Penthouse, Roar of the Vortex

Blood Type: A Positive

Additional Mutations: None

Mental Illnesses: Sociopath, Sadist, Narcissist,

Alliances: None

Dependents: None

Useful Intel: -Drake has so far proven to have no loyalty, betraying all of his previous employers. Do not trust him.

-Drake has refused to pledge to any of the Dark Gods, or even to Chaos Undivided

-Drake has proven to have many hedonistic tendencies, such as whore-mongering, heavy drug use and similar activities.

-Drake is reasonable sufficient with firearms and melee weapons. It is necessary to keep him away from all weapons.


You look at the files and see three subheadings: Drake Amadeus, the Penthouse, Charles Antonguella and the Troupe of Dancing Blades. The files seem to be a mixture of printed out and hand-written, leading you to assume they're from different sources.
> You read File: The Penthouse
The Penthouse is a large house situated on the Roar of the Vortex. It is made up of multiple rooms, including a kitchen, a massive bedroom, a bath house, a large lounge, room for dozens of slaves to live and much more. It is the home of Drake Amadeus. It is occupied by not only Amadeus, but also bodyguards Charles Antonguella and the Troupe of Dancing Blades, as well as dozens of slaves and prostitutes under the service of Amadeus. The penthouse holds luxuries and treasures of great value, both monetarily and intellectually. All operations carried out here should take care around such items.


You look at the files and see three subheadings: Drake Amadeus, the Penthouse, Charles Antonguella and the Troupe of Dancing Blades. The files seem to be a mixture of printed out and hand-written, leading you to assume they're from different sources.
> You read File: Charles Antonguella
Charles Antonguella was a miner on Kerunga-IV, until he was kidnapped by Dark Eldar. He was forced to fight as a gladiator for the Dark Eldar, but found himself to have bested several Wyches. He became an esteemed fighter for the Dark Eldar, who reveled in his beauty and his abilities at killing enemies with his bare hands. Eventually, he escaped and fled off-world, where he became a mercenary. He eventually began working for Kyros as a bodyguard for the infamous Navigator Drake Amadeus.


You look at the files and see three subheadings: Drake Amadeus, the Penthouse, Charles Antonguella and the Troupe of Dancing Blades. The files seem to be a mixture of printed out and hand-written, leading you to assume they're from different sources.
> You read File: The Troupe of the Dancing Blades
The Troupe of Dancing Blades is a Chaos group under service of the Chaos Lord Kazirai the Beast-Fucker, known for both his highly amusing name and his large amounts of sexy aesthetically pleasing warriors who served as his mistresses. They fight with acrobatics and long blades. They have extensive use of stealth technology as well as hallucegenics. They are currently in service to Kyros, acting as bodyguards to Drake Amaedus.


You look at the files and see three subheadings: Drake Amadeus, the Penthouse, Charles Antonguella and the Troupe of Dancing Blades. The files seem to be a mixture of printed out and hand-written, leading you to assume they're from different sources.
> You finish reading the files
You hold the file out, offering it back to Elios.

"Burn it, honey," Elios says.

You shrug, as the file sets alight in your fingertips, turning to ash. Fay notices you're finished, and hands her file to you.

"Are you offering this to me to read?" you ask, confused.

"No, Karth, but there's no candles around. It's times like this where it's good to have a friend who can act as a lighter."

You quickly set the file alight, and it turns to ash once again.

"Thank you," Fay says. "How's your mission looking?"

"Easy enough. If I can get this collar off, I'll be fine. If not, I'm fucked," you say.

"I'm sure Elizabeth can get the collar off. She seems smart," Fay says.

"I am," Elizabeth says, not looking up from her files.

"Are we finished here?" you ask.

"Sure thing, darling," Elios says, standing. "Shall I escort you back to your room?"

"Sure thing," you say, as Fay nods eagerly.

You stand, following Elios along the hallways. After a few minutes, you reach the tribals' dormitories, where two Chaos Marines stand at either side of the door.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be out of your cell!" one says, raising his bolter.

Elios snaps his fingers, and the two guards pause.

"You saw nothing," Elios says.

"Yes... yes, sir," the space marine replies, as Elios opens the door.

"Goodnight, Fay," Elizabeth says.

"Goodnight, Karth," she says, before disappearing into the dorms.

You quickly head towards your room, reaching there after a few minutes. Elios pulls the same trick with your guards, as they fall under Elios' commands. He opens the door, motioning for you to enter.

"Goodnight, Karth. I have a lot to organize, so I won't be able to offer you the chance for me to stay the night. Sleep tight, darling," he says, as the door closes."

You shake your head, walking over to the bed, collapsing onto it. Soon, you drift off to sleep.
> Two Days Later...
You walk down the hallways alongside your four Chaos Marine guards. You head towards the war room, where Kyros is planning the first strike against the Imperium, taking over a Hive World, to secure a huge population that can be recruited from to bolster Kyros' forces ten times. You hum a tune, some old Uwais war chant that you find quite catchy. You feel a wave of nausea hit you, and you pause, as you feel a heavy weight lifted off your soul, and your cloudy mind is cleared. Your collar clicks, and falls off you, hitting the ground. Your guards stop, noticing you've stopped.

"Prisoner, why have you s...?" one of the guards asks, before noticing your collar has fallen off.

"Wait..." he starts to say, as the alarm begins to blare.

"Hahaha! Freedom! Freedom!" Meliodas cries.

Then, you strike. The first guard's head snaps around, tearing his head clean off his shoulders. You quickly set the second alight, shielding yourself from the bright blue flames that begin melting through the thick armor as the guard roars. You teleport behind the last two as bolter fire slams into the hallway where you once were. You blow a hole in the chest of one with a blast of psychic energy, before levitating the last one into the air, tossing his bolter across the room.

"No, no, no!" the space marine roars, shaking and trying to grasp at you.

"Kill! Maim! Burn! Break! Smash! Crush! Slaughter!" Meliodas gleefully chants.

You smash the space marine into the ground repeatedly, shattering armor and leaving him as a bloody smear on the ground. You attempt to orientate yourself, trying to picture the path you took from your room to get here, and remembering where the Penthouse is.

"Brother! Is Prisoner Alpha secure?" a radio crackles.

You turn, noticing the radio attached to the first space marine's belt. You pick it up, as the psychic energy around you vibrates as you talk, changing your voice into that of the space marine.

"Imitate his comrade's voice. Use the Warp," Meliodas suggests.

"We were forced to kill him. What's the situation?"

"Good riddance. Our brothers have betrayed us. The One Eyed Crows, the Black Rats, the Shrieking Harpies, all traitors! The 22nd are fighting, but I don't know whether the majority is with Kyros."

"What's the plans?"

"Kyros has us divided between exterminating the traitors and trying to put down the slave revolts that are taking place. The first and second generation super-soldiers are rebelling. Take your unit, and secure the gladiators. If they have the arena secured, they will have a strong defensive position."

"Understood. We'll get it done," you say.

"Send them to their reapers, brother, and ward off your own one," the radio crackles.

"Glory to Kyros," you say. "Praise the Dark Gods!"

"Nice touch," Meliodas says.

The radio finishes, and you clip it to your belt. You float into the air, hovering along the hallways towards the Penthouse. You pass a trio of shotgun-wielding Bloody Claws, rushing towards the cyro-chambers. You fire a jet of flames, engulfing the trio but don't even slow down to watch them die. Soon, you find yourself in the elevator, rising towards the penthouse. You wait patiently, listening to reports come through the radio.

"The entire area's filled with them! They're all traitors. I..."

"Bridge secured, push forward."

"Fall back, fall back, they're not going down!"

"Rage! Kill! Maim! Smash! Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"

"Leading the charge! Secure Elizabeth Staine, and they'll all... shit! AARGH!"

"Damn it! I've been sealed in! Get me out, dammit! They're coming for us!"

The elevator doors open, leaving you faced with five heavy bolters aiming at you.

"It's the Psyker!" someone shouts.

"Time to die, mortals!" Meliodas roars.
> You quickly fire some firebolts
You spew fireballs from each hand, immediately engulfing two of the bolters, and their operators, in flames as they let out terrified screams. Unfortunately, the other three fire. Bullets slam into your boy, one quickly finding your head and blowing it apart.


You walk down the hallways alongside your four Chaos Marine guards. You head towards the war room, where Kyros is planning the first strike against the Imperium, taking over a Hive World, to secure a huge population that can be recruited from to bolster Kyros' forces ten times. You hum a tune, some old Uwais war chant that you find quite catchy. You feel a wave of nausea hit you, and you pause, as you feel a heavy weight lifted off your soul, and your cloudy mind is cleared. Your collar clicks, and falls off you, hitting the ground. Your guards stop, noticing you've stopped.

"Prisoner, why have you s...?" one of the guards asks, before noticing your collar has fallen off.

"Wait..." he starts to say, as the alarm begins to blare.

"Hahaha! Freedom! Freedom!" Meliodas cries.

Then, you strike. The first guard's head snaps around, tearing his head clean off his shoulders. You quickly set the second alight, shielding yourself from the bright blue flames that begin melting through the thick armor as the guard roars. You teleport behind the last two as bolter fire slams into the hallway where you once were. You blow a hole in the chest of one with a blast of psychic energy, before levitating the last one into the air, tossing his bolter across the room.

"No, no, no!" the space marine roars, shaking and trying to grasp at you.

"Kill! Maim! Burn! Break! Smash! Crush! Slaughter!" Meliodas gleefully chants.

You smash the space marine into the ground repeatedly, shattering armor and leaving him as a bloody smear on the ground. You attempt to orientate yourself, trying to picture the path you took from your room to get here, and remembering where the Penthouse is.

"Brother! Is Prisoner Alpha secure?" a radio crackles.

You turn, noticing the radio attached to the first space marine's belt. You pick it up, as the psychic energy around you vibrates as you talk, changing your voice into that of the space marine.

"Imitate his comrade's voice. Use the Warp," Meliodas suggests.

"We were forced to kill him. What's the situation?"

"Good riddance. Our brothers have betrayed us. The One Eyed Crows, the Black Rats, the Shrieking Harpies, all traitors! The 22nd are fighting, but I don't know whether the majority is with Kyros."

"What's the plans?"

"Kyros has us divided between exterminating the traitors and trying to put down the slave revolts that are taking place. The first and second generation super-soldiers are rebelling. Take your unit, and secure the gladiators. If they have the arena secured, they will have a strong defensive position."

"Understood. We'll get it done," you say.

"Send them to their reapers, brother, and ward off your own one," the radio crackles.

"Glory to Kyros," you say. "Praise the Dark Gods!"

"Nice touch," Meliodas says.

The radio finishes, and you clip it to your belt. You float into the air, hovering along the hallways towards the Penthouse. You pass a trio of shotgun-wielding Bloody Claws, rushing towards the cyro-chambers. You fire a jet of flames, engulfing the trio but don't even slow down to watch them die. Soon, you find yourself in the elevator, rising towards the penthouse. You wait patiently, listening to reports come through the radio.

"The entire area's filled with them! They're all traitors. I..."

"Bridge secured, push forward."

"Fall back, fall back, they're not going down!"

"Rage! Kill! Maim! Smash! Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"

"Leading the charge! Secure Elizabeth Staine, and they'll all... shit! AARGH!"

"Damn it! I've been sealed in! Get me out, dammit! They're coming for us!"

The elevator doors open, leaving you faced with five heavy bolters aiming at you.

"It's the Psyker!" someone shouts.

"Time to die, mortals!" Meliodas roars.
> You create a psychic shield
You immediately raise your shields, as bolter fire thuds into them. You feel them, like a tapping on your mind. Unfortunately, by the sheer amount of bolter fire being shot at you, one finds it's way in. It slams into you, blowing your chest open. You collapse to your knees, as your shields fail as you lose focus. Bullets riddle your body, killing you instantly.


You walk down the hallways alongside your four Chaos Marine guards. You head towards the war room, where Kyros is planning the first strike against the Imperium, taking over a Hive World, to secure a huge population that can be recruited from to bolster Kyros' forces ten times. You hum a tune, some old Uwais war chant that you find quite catchy. You feel a wave of nausea hit you, and you pause, as you feel a heavy weight lifted off your soul, and your cloudy mind is cleared. Your collar clicks, and falls off you, hitting the ground. Your guards stop, noticing you've stopped.

"Prisoner, why have you s...?" one of the guards asks, before noticing your collar has fallen off.

"Wait..." he starts to say, as the alarm begins to blare.

"Hahaha! Freedom! Freedom!" Meliodas cries.

Then, you strike. The first guard's head snaps around, tearing his head clean off his shoulders. You quickly set the second alight, shielding yourself from the bright blue flames that begin melting through the thick armor as the guard roars. You teleport behind the last two as bolter fire slams into the hallway where you once were. You blow a hole in the chest of one with a blast of psychic energy, before levitating the last one into the air, tossing his bolter across the room.

"No, no, no!" the space marine roars, shaking and trying to grasp at you.

"Kill! Maim! Burn! Break! Smash! Crush! Slaughter!" Meliodas gleefully chants.

You smash the space marine into the ground repeatedly, shattering armor and leaving him as a bloody smear on the ground. You attempt to orientate yourself, trying to picture the path you took from your room to get here, and remembering where the Penthouse is.

"Brother! Is Prisoner Alpha secure?" a radio crackles.

You turn, noticing the radio attached to the first space marine's belt. You pick it up, as the psychic energy around you vibrates as you talk, changing your voice into that of the space marine.

"Imitate his comrade's voice. Use the Warp," Meliodas suggests.

"We were forced to kill him. What's the situation?"

"Good riddance. Our brothers have betrayed us. The One Eyed Crows, the Black Rats, the Shrieking Harpies, all traitors! The 22nd are fighting, but I don't know whether the majority is with Kyros."

"What's the plans?"

"Kyros has us divided between exterminating the traitors and trying to put down the slave revolts that are taking place. The first and second generation super-soldiers are rebelling. Take your unit, and secure the gladiators. If they have the arena secured, they will have a strong defensive position."

"Understood. We'll get it done," you say.

"Send them to their reapers, brother, and ward off your own one," the radio crackles.

"Glory to Kyros," you say. "Praise the Dark Gods!"

"Nice touch," Meliodas says.

The radio finishes, and you clip it to your belt. You float into the air, hovering along the hallways towards the Penthouse. You pass a trio of shotgun-wielding Bloody Claws, rushing towards the cyro-chambers. You fire a jet of flames, engulfing the trio but don't even slow down to watch them die. Soon, you find yourself in the elevator, rising towards the penthouse. You wait patiently, listening to reports come through the radio.

"The entire area's filled with them! They're all traitors. I..."

"Bridge secured, push forward."

"Fall back, fall back, they're not going down!"

"Rage! Kill! Maim! Smash! Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"

"Leading the charge! Secure Elizabeth Staine, and they'll all... shit! AARGH!"

"Damn it! I've been sealed in! Get me out, dammit! They're coming for us!"

The elevator doors open, leaving you faced with five heavy bolters aiming at you.

"It's the Psyker!" someone shouts.

"Time to die, mortals!" Meliodas roars.
> You teleport behind the heavy bolters
You disappear from their sight, appearing behind them. You let out a jet of flames, engulfing two heavy bolters and killing their operators. You twist around, shooting a blast of psychic energy at another, before spitting lightning to kill the last two operators. It's only a minute before you arrive at a massive, thick metal door with an intercom.
> You use the intercom
You press down on the button, and a voice crackles through.

"Password?" the deep voice asks.
> You attempt to physically probe the man's mind for the password
You feel his mind, and gently test it for it's thoughts.

"Should I have stayed loyal to Kyros? Fuck, I could sti... No, no."

"I wonder if Mimtu needs more food. I should buy more food."

"Is this dipshit going to say Railroad or am I going to have to kill him?"

"It's Railroad," you say.

The door clicks open.

"Alright, get inside. Quickly," he says.
> You step inside
"I can smell him. He's here," Meliodas says.

You step inside the doorway, looking into a marvelous palace. There's a huge grand staircase, with above it a massive chandelier of candles, the only illumination for the room. Beside it is an obsidian, bejeweled statue of a dragon, emitting a long burst of flames made from a bright red and orange gemstone, sits beside a marble table laden with roast meats, delicate pastries and fancy wines. You spot Amadeus, lying on a large silk couch, wearing an opened red silk hooded robe. On his forehead is a third, closed eye, while his normal eyes are focused on the girl in front of him, on her knees performing fellatio. You momentarily blush, before remembering that you're an insanely powerful psyker and not a fucking child.

"Drake Amadeus, you're coming with me," you say, as Drake lets out a yelp, kicking the girl off him and stumbling back.

"Shit, it's Karst! It's Karst! Get him the fuck away from me!"

You step forward, before seeing a dozen girls emerge from the rooms upstairs, walking towards the grand staircase. They move with insane flexibility. Some behind back and walking with their heads peering out between their legs, before twisting their heads around a hundred and eight degrees. Some on all fours, their legs stretched back around their shoulders to allow them to walk forward at an odd angle. They move with delicate grace, before they each draw a pair of curved knifes, continuing to walk towards you. You see Drake Amadeus scuttle away from the corner of your eye, but it seems you have a bigger threat.

"Ah, Slaaneeshi whores. Make their deaths quick. They'd just enjoy you drawing it out," Meliodas says.
> You fire a jet of flames to hold the Troupe back
You fire a jet of flames, and the Dancing Blades quickly retreat out of the range of your fire. They dance along the edge, waiting to strike.
> You head up the stairwell, spewing fire
You march up the stairwell, spewing fire at the Troupe. Unfortunately, as you move up the stairs, this puts you far enough that can't hit them, but close enough that they're within leaping distance now that you're somewhat below them. The Troupe strikes, leaping off the bannisters to attack. Immediately, three of them are upon you. You fly out of the way of one and set the second alight, before the third leaps at you. You back out of their way, avoiding a sword blow, before you're stabbed through the back, and you collapse to your knees, before a blow takes your head off.


You fire a jet of flames, and the Dancing Blades quickly retreat out of the range of your fire. They dance along the edge, waiting to strike.
> You fire psychic bolts from distance
You fire the bolts, as they fly towards the enemy. The Troupe moves constantly dodge the blasts, missing most of them, but a few land. You keep the Troupe at a distance with your fire and zero in on the kills with your psychic energy.  After you kill a few you realize their tactic, and they attempt a charge, although with a burst of energy and the powers of the Warp flowing through you, you manage to wipe out the Troupe with considerable ease.
> You find Amadeus
You turn from the scene of your killing, and head towards the rooms where Amadeus scuttled off to. A faint light shines through the door, which you kick in, easily finding the Navigator as he lies in an empty bathtub, holding a dagger to the knife of a half-dressed prostitute who still looks to be in her early teens.

"Stop! Don't move a muscle! You get any closer to me, I slit this bitch's throat!" Drake shouts, snarling at you.

"Does he think that'll work? Fool," Meliodas laughs.
> You kill the prostitute
With a narrowing of your eyes, the prostitute's neck is snapped. Drake releases her body, staring at you.

"You're... well, you're a threat," Drake says, dropping the knife and standing.

"You're coming with me," you say.

"Sure, sure," Drake says.

You bind Drake's hands together with invisible chains, and force him to march forward. Drake immediately becomes compliant.

"Can I grab a few things?" Drake asks. "My... dreams get pretty bad. I have terrifying nightmares. I have medication that helps. Please, please can I get them?" Drake asks.
> You allow Drake to retrieve his medication
"Go," you say, as Drake nods his head thankfully, running over to the counter and beginning to gather various pills and jars of balm from the tables, searching through drawers. Suddenly, you hear a hissing sound behind you.
> You quickly turn to investigate the noise
You swivel around, spotting a metal box begin to rumble, emitting air that smells of trees. Then, you hear a booming noise and your head explodes, painting the room red.