After some time in the Underhive,
more and more cases of kidnapping had begun to spread like Tyranid swarms.
The intermediators and their hired guns were busy trying to pin down the instigator.
A rumor had surfaced—a deal to be made in an abandoned complex:
2 hours past midnight, in the designated area.
The guilds began working together.
Sixty or so hired guns surrounded the zone—but no one was in sight.
"This smells like a trap."
Someone muttered.
"Stay alert", Rouge ordered.
Far away,
a figure watched through a monocular.
*Sigh*
"What a bunch of dumbasses.
Falling for such an obvious trap."
*Pop*
A low gunshot echoed—
likely a grenade launcher.
A shell arced high into the air.
Everyone looked up—instinct kicking in before understanding.
Some dove for cover,
psykers raised force-shields.
Panic surged.
The shell burst—releasing a strange gas.
A bioweapon. A rad grenade.
Those caught in it succumbed to radiation sickness.
Even if they survived the blast, help would be difficult.
Through the monocular:
out of sixty,
about twenty-five were already incapacitated.
"Not bad",
the observer said.
Casually munching on food.
Rouge led the remaining forces back to their fallback point,
injecting anti-radiation syringes
as they went.
She blasted a hole in the wall—
their only exit.
But as they tried to escape—
*Bang-bang*
Gunfire rained in unison,
picking off ten more men, one by one.
The hired guns returned fire
—wounding a few enemies.
Now, through the monocular,
the ambushers came into view.
They looked nothing like the ragtag mercenaries.
More disciplined.
Coordinated.
Maybe ex-Militarum?
"All those years of fighting,
just to retire and spit on the Emperor's gifts?Well, doesn't matter."
He lowered the monocular and stood.
Back inside the building,
Rouge and her allies were pinned down.
The enemies were closing in.
Their formation collapsed.
Even more panic spread.
People scattered—running, fleeing.
More were cut down by precise,
methodical gunfire.
Rouge tried to drag a wounded man to safety—but failed.
Amidst the chaos…
another predator joined the hunt.
*swish*, *boom*, *bang*.
Systemized shots became random.
The air grew thick.Blue light pierced the dark.
Silence fell.
Rouge, preparing for death,
armed a krak grenade—
hoping to take them with her.
She threw it upward.
*Boom*
It exploded—but did no damage.
A force-controlled detonation.
"How much would I get for all these guys?"
A familiar voice.
She looked up, tears forming.....
"Everything, I will give you everything I have"
A young man crouched beside her, scarred.One under his right eye,
another beneath his left jawline.
It was Kochav.
"Ha… as if that would be enough.
After this, there's no way you'll have money to pay me.
Let's just say you owe me one."
He said, just before she passed out.
Back at the Hired Guild ran by Rouge.
Kochav scrolled through the dataslates collected from the enemy.
Rouge, bandaged, stirred in her bed.
"Nothing", Kochav said.
"What?" she asked.
"They had nothing on them. No clues.
No connections."
"How many died...?
My men...
my family...?"
She asked while trying to mask her distress.
"Let's say I saved six from your team.
And around ten from Ash's and Rick's", Kochav spoke calmly.
"Sixty... Only sixteen came back.
I should have prepared.
I should have known…"
She slammed her hand on the table.
"Yes, you should have.
And seventeen returned—
you forgot to count yourself."
He said before grabbing her bandaged arm which is started to bleed.
"Don't ruin my work, It took me fourty minutes to patch you up, you know?"
"Are you going to kill him....that bastard.."
Rouge asked seriously.
"Of course.I guess this is my first official commission then.
I want payment upfront…
This will do."
Before leaving,
he shattered a glass display,
retrieving an Orlock-style revolver—extended barrel, antique wooden stock.
"I'll be taking your family heirloom.See ya."
Rouge gave a faint smile, letting out a sigh.
"If only I could have had you as family…"
In Kochav's mind,
he knew he had made much trouble for
the instigator.
It was only a matter of time before
they found him.
"Assuming they know
The Dead Rogue is responsible,
they'll have eyes everywhere—
searching for information."
"Though…
I doubt they'll find anything useful.
Not many know who I really am… I think.
And the ones who do—no way they'd talk."
He muttered, walking down the street.
"They don't need to talk." A voice.
"Was that from the roof?"
Before he could locate the source—
a head rolled in front of him.
One of the women he rescued?
There was a hole in her skull—
a sign of psychic trepanning.
He stood still.
Or perhaps he was planning
his next move.
Left hand resting on the revolver's hammer,
right hand ready to pull a force-shield.
*Bang Bang Bang*
Ballistic and las-fire exchanged.
None of them seems to be doing damages....
Two force-shields.Two psykers.
Force-lightning flared—blue and purple.
One grounded. One atop the roof.
Both smirking, confident.
" I'll go first."
Kochav rushed toward the attacker.
Using Precognition dodge,
he avoided the incoming projectiles.
Getting closer to the walls,
He wall-walked—no, wall-jumped—
and reached the top in a blink.
The enemy predicted his path.
Aimed perfectly.
*Click*
"Jinx", Kochav whispered.
The gun malfunctioned.
"It's time for you to show me what kind of psyker you are, Lucas."
"Tch."
Lucas's arm that was holding to the rifle began to change shape....
His right arm formed a massive blade with his bone protruded becoming the edge.
"A biomancer," Kochav muttered.
"What an abomination."
"Now...how to fight a biomaner."
A memory surfaced :
"Master Philos… what if I encounter another psyker?" young Kochav had asked.
"Either ally or adversary,.....always keep your distance. Especially if they are biomancers",
"One direct contact could distinguish your life, the art of biomancy revolves around
the user's body."
Enginseer answered,
then grabbed Kochav's wrist.
"They can only control their own—unless they do this."
A jolt of electricity pulsed into Kochav's wrist.
Back in the present:
"Don't get touched, huh?
Easier said than done."
Kochav vaulted over to the opposite roof.
"A little saf—."
Lucas fired hot liquid from his blade––
boiled blood?
"So the gun's not entirely gone…"
Observing Lucas's arm.
There was a small barrel in
the edge of his bone.
The shot earlier struck the force shield—
The impact knocked him back.
*Boom*, *Boom*, *Boom*.
"How can a biomancer triggering explosions at range…without contact?"
"Unless—the bullet…"
He spotted it.
a tendon was latched onto his shield.
With a swift slice,
he severed it with his sword.
"What a pain,
extending his body by a tendon.
But maybe I can use it."
Kochav's eyes rolled white
granting him unnatural awareness,
He probed Lucas's mind.
"Don't hesitate now…"
A feint.
Lucas resisted—but it was enough,
a distraction?
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
A force barrage—three of five shots connected.
Lucas staggered.
Kochav lunged.
Instinctively, Lucas impaled him
through the chest.
"Is this it? Did I get him?" Lucas wondered.
"Not quite", a voice echoed in his mind.
He looked—no one was on the blade.
The mental attack had succeeded.
The real Kochav was elsewhere.
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
Force bolts and barrage slammed from all sides, he couldn't dodge.
No, his body isn't dodging them.
Looking for The Dead Rogue,
he was nowhere to be seen.
Lucas panicked—firing in all directions.
He hit something—tendons leading to empty space.He tried to channel Blood Boil.
But it backfired.
He hemorrhaged.
Collapsed.
Kochav appeared behind him.
"You let your guard down twice,
you almost managed to fend me off—
but the the barrage caused your mind
to lose focus."
"That was when I used your trick,
Your tendon.....your connection."
"The shots that missed,
Don't you find it strange that
they were way over your head?
You didn't even need to dodge it."
"Yes, it was hiding something"
He crouched.
"A hallucinogen Grenade attached
to your very own tendon."
"None of my attacks were distractions....
Now meet your Retribution."
*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*
Kochav jumped down from the roof,
sensed something Though he ignored it.
Back at the guild,
Kochav stumbled in—battered, bloodied.
"Is it done?" Rouge asked.
"Mhm"
Kochav nodded, exhausted.
He sat across the bar,
more like he collapsed onto it.
"Aren't you worried about your soul?
That kind of power...
the toll must be immense."
"How would I know?Last time the Dark Gods tempted me was when…"
He paused then trailed off.
"There's always a toll.You just don't know—or you don't remember," Rouge said gently.
She walked over to him
"Consider this part of your reward."
She placed her room's key on the counter.
"Is that supposed to mean I get everything?" Kochav asked.
"If you desire," Rouge whispered.