Kayvaan tapped the small auspex terminal on his wrist, eg to the Sky-Eye orbital rey system. “We use the four Adeptus Meicus surveilellites orbiting the p. Let’s take a look at the aerial view of Faln… Oh, perfect timing. Elizabeth aeam just nded. Look at that resolution. It’s clear as day.”

  The dispy revealed a live feed of the area. Kayvaan zoomed in, sing the surroundings. Kayvaan never expected to actually find something. He was fully aware of who the other party was. A skilled sniper could blend into their surroundings using the simplest tools. Unless someone specifically looked for them, they would walk right past without notig the well-camoufged figure. And these weren’t just shese were Eldar Rangers, masters of stealth and secrecy.

  Spotting a Ranger hiding in the juhrough an orbiting satellite was about as likely as hitting the jackpot in a hive-world lottery. Kayvaan's attempt wasn’t out of genuine belief he’d succeed; it was more of a teag exercise for Darius. He wahe young man to learn how to utilize the unit’s equipment effectively and creatively. “Hmm, this is strange,” Kayvaan said, squinting at the monitor. “Darius, do you see it too?”

  “I see it, Captain. The image is clear,” Darius replied, his enhanced goggles dispying the same feed from the Sky-Eye rey. “But… are they fighting? And who are they fighting?”

  The Rahemselves weren’t visible in the high-altitude footage, but their sniper rifle shots left a telltale sign: brilliant blue energy trails slig through the air. Each shot left behind a glowing streak of light that lingered briefly in the jungle’s dense opy. It was strange enough that the Eldar Rangers were engaging in bat while keeping the Imperial Guard pinned down at Faln, but straill was the question of who—or what—they were fighting in the depths of the jungle.

  Even more bizarre, the energy trails didn’t seem to be aimed at some external enemy. The trajectories suggested the Rangers were firing at… each other? “I don’t get it. What are these xenos thinking?” Kayvaan muttered. “Alright, let’s take a closer look. But this means I won’t have time to babysit you, Darius.”

  Kayvaan quickly marked a random point deep in the jungle on the map, far from Faln, and turo Darius. “Here’s the deal. This is your one-month jungle survival training. Yoal is to reach this point in thirty days. The coordinates are already loaded into your map. The Valkyrie will be there to pick you up at the end. If you’re not there by then, they’ll leave without you. So don’t be te.”

  Without waiting for a reply, Kayvaan activated the timer and said, “Start now. This el is closed, and the team is disbanded. I’ve got work to do.” With that, Kayvaan vanished into the jungle, leaving Darius standing alone.

  Back at the fortress, Elizabeth was fuming. Kayvaan had pletely disregarded the inal pn and gone off on his own. Her angry voice crackled through the vox-link for a full hour, cyg through every insult she could think of. She started with questioning Kayvaan's intelligence, moved on to speg about his mother’s lineage—whether she art Ork or something worse—and finally settled on acg him of heresy against the God-Emperor himself.

  The inal pn had been straightforward. Kayvaan and Darius were supposed to disembark halfway to scout while Elizabeth aeam tialn. Once Kayvaan reached the designated position, Elizabeth would lead the defense forces out of the fortress in a charge against the hidden Rangers.

  Of course, the charge wasn’t expected to succeed. With no clear knowledge of the Rangers’ positions, it would be a suicide mission. Everyone khat. But the Guardsmen’s deaths wouldn’t be in vain.

  The energy trails left by the Eldar ons would reveal the Rangers’ approximate locations. Even the gree recruits could spot the glowing streaks through the air. Using the Guardsmen as bait, Kayvaan could then pinpoint the Rangers’ hiding spots and take them out with tranq-rounds, capturing them alive.

  It was a simple, practical pn with a strong ce of success. In sniper-versus-sniper bat, the winner is usually the one who spots and takes the first shot. The pn positioned Kayvaan in the perfect pain unseen and strike first.

  If everything had gone smoothly, Kayvaan would have captured the Rangers, seg the Faln. Elizabeth would deliver the prisoo higher and, earning reition for her leadership and potentially seg a return thtful p the Imperium. It was a win-win situation.

  But now, thanks to Kayvaan’s impromptu decision, everything was thrown off course. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Elizabeth barked over the vox-link. “Do you even care about the mission? What the Eldar are doing out there has nothing to do with us!”

  Kayvaan’s voice came back, calm but tinged with curiosity. “Drink some water and rex, Elizabeth. But seriously, aren’t you even a little curious? Why are the Eldar doing this? Suppressing Faln while fighting in the jungle? And it looks like they’re fighting among themselves. That’s not normal. I thought you’d want to know why.”

  "I'm really not ied at all, and frankly, I suggest you don't get curious either," Inquisitor Elizabeth said bluntly. "This kind of curiosity will get you killed sooner or ter. If we need answers, we’ll extract them from prisoners. Uhe care of the Inquisition, they’ll fess everything, no matter how much they wish to keep it buried. What you're doing now? It’s futile. Besides, uanding what the Eldar want or why they do what they do? Irrelevant. Our orders are clear: capture as many as possible, purge the rest, and scour their stain from this world entirely.”

  Kayvaan’s voice remained calm but resolute. “They’re killing each other. There has to be a reason.”

  Elizabeth scoffed. “Maybe it’s just their twisted culture, like how we se our ons after battle. Or perhaps they’re naturally drawn to sughter. The Eldar are deceitful, scheming, airely devoid of honor. They ot be trusted, and nothing they do should surprise us.”

  “e oh know this isn’t normal,” Kayvaan tered, unyielding.

  Elizabeth’s tone sharpened, her frustration unmistakable. “By the Throne, Kayvaan, they’re xenos. Foul abominations. How you expeything but deceit and treachery from creatures born outside the Emperor’s light? Their very existence is a stain upon the gaxy.

  Kayvaan didn’t flinch. “I’ll figure out why they’re doing this,” he said firmly. “And just to remind you—this isn’t a suggestion. Elizabeth, who’s in and of this operation?”

  Elizabeth’s jaw tightened, her voice dripping with venom as she ground out the truth. “You are.”

  This had been decided long before the campaign began. In matters of war, there could only be ohority. Despite her strong disapproval of Kayvaan’s methods, Elizabeth had no choice but to follow his orders. For now. “Good,” Kayvaan said with audible smugness. “Then here’s my order: shut up. I’ve had enough of your pining. You’re worse than a hive-world e.”

  Elizabeth’s fury erupted. With a roar of frustration, she smmed the unicator, the device splintering under her fist. The link cut, just as Kayvaan had expected. In the fortress and room, Deputy Captain Marlbh froze mid-sip, his coffee nearly spilling as he bore unwilling wito the argument. The tension in the air was stifling, and the marapped i radius of two giants at war.