《Aegis》Chapter 27: Morrigan's Troubles

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Between checking up on Morrigan and asking Vir about his boxes, you decide that checking up on Morrigan is more important. Accordingly, you call her over you microbead and ask her if she will join you for another round of weapons drill. She agrees, although you can hear the trepidation in her voice. At the agreed time, you head down to the rifle range in Cargo Bay 7, now known unofficially as Marine Country. Given that the Space Marine team will be right next door in Cargo Bay 6, the name seems appropriate somehow.Your musings come to an end as you approach the range and you can hear the measured Crack... Crack... Crack... of her Hellgun.

She doesn't even look up as you enter, simply putting another hole in an already perforated target. You decide to stand well behind her and watch until she finishes up. It doesn't seem healthy to surprise a person with a weapon in their hands, particularly when you know it's loaded. Nearly a full minute later, Morrigan pauses to reload and you grab her attention by clearing your throat.

"Tristan, what did you want to talk over this time?”

"You actually. You seemed as nervous as a virgin on her wedding day when we met Lord Pyrus. What's up?”?

"He's a combat psyker. Oh, I know Vir and Yasha are pskyers, but they are good people and I have come to know... them quite well. Pyrus on the other hand, he scares me."

You can all but see the gears turning in Morrigans head, and hear how carefully she is picking her words. This time however, you decide to call her on it, "Morrigan, we are going to be playing host to a fireteam, at least, of Space Marines for a little while, and I can tell that something else is bothering you. So come clean and tell me what it is already, because the last thing I want is for you to wind up dead over a misunderstanding and leave me looking down the barrel of a Bolter from the wrong end."

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Morrigan sighs, "It all goes back to the Eldarim Incident. Frank and Simo were busy fighting the ship, but I was busy fighting in the ship up close and personal. During the fighting there are at least three different points where strange stuff happened. Two were clearly the void pirates fault, because they were throwing lightning or fire or some other unnatural shit. The third time, I'm not sure. I remember seeing shrapnel, or whatever their guns were shooting, fly past my head so slow I could have reached out and picked it out of the air. My shots were going just as slow but exactly where I was aiming, killshots every one of them. And hoarfrost crawling up the bulkheads all around us. I'm scared Tristan. What if I'm a psyker too? And If Pyrus knows it and decides that I'm a witch or something and decides to burn me..." she breaks off and starts crying.

You are stunned. You hadn't thought much of this possibility, and had dismissed it every time it came up in the back of your head. Surely Vir or Yasha would have alerted you if they detected another psyker aboard. Yet you never bothered to ask, simply assuming that they would. Now you have a situation, and you have little time in which to solve it. You blow out a long breath that you didn't know you were holding as several things click together in your mind. Morrigan's disappearances while the Aegis was in the Warp, and her twitchyness when you would see her over the same timeframe - she was hiding, afraid that something would happen. This isn't something you could hand off to the local priest, even if you had one aboard. You are sure that there are some among the crew, but then problems of rank and rampant superstition come into play. So you decide on the next best solution, "Morrigan, I'm hardly an expert on psykers or Warp-influence. But Vir probably is, given all the shit that he has been through. It's not my story to tell however, so you should probably go ask him about what happened to him during the Kania Incursion. Plus, he knows Lord Pyrus, so you could probably get some more information on that score as well. But there is no way I'm simply going to toss you out an airlock, or allow anyone to do so, unless something actually happens. That's been my policy since before I hired you, and I see no reason to change it now."

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Morrigan sniffles, but nods her head shakily, "I'll do that thing."

Your micorbead's priority signal alert goes off and you roll your eyes, "best head off then Morrigan, It appears that I've got some things to do." Morrigan heads for the hatch as you accept the incoming signal, "Tirstan here, what news?"

"Frank here Sir. We have a Cargo Shuttle on approach from the Mavros."

You shrug, "They must be beginning to transfer cargo. Direct them to Ventral Docking Bay 2 and have Jace stand by to assist in needed. I'll be down there to greet them. Tristan clear." You close the connection and go to greet the new arrivals.

When you get to Ventral Docking Bay 2, Jace is already there, and he has the doors to Cargo Bay 6 open. you can see some of his preparations inside, but your attention is drawn back to the cargo shuttle already unloading crates and boxes. It looks like any other cargo shuttle you have seen, with the exception of its paint - a flat, light drinking black, without a single scratch or dent to bee seen anywhere. before you can investigate it further, Lord Pyrus approaches you trailed by two other figures of similar stature. The remainder of the Space Marine team, you assume.

Both of the new arrivals have the same black armor and silver left arm. The figure on the left has an ice-blue right pauldron, adorned with a snarling wolf head in black. He carries a massive rifle over one shoulder, and a bolt pistol and ax ride his belt. On second glance, you notice all of the augmetics: left arm from the elbow down, both legs from the knees, both eyes, and you can hear the soft click and whir of augmetic lungs at least. the figure on the right sport a dark blue pauldron with a white omega symbol and carries a bolter, bolt pistol, well-used chainsword, and an abundance of grenades. Lord Pyrus introduces Wolf's Head as Direwolf, and Omega as Rubicon. With introductions made, Lord Direwolf and Lord Rubicon, though you are sure that those are code names, head off to oversee Jace and the cargo robots storing their equipment. Lord Pyrus turns back and asks one question before he departs, and you smack your forehead at how obvious is seems. What do you do with the Mavros while the Aegis is on this mission?

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