Warhammer 40,000: Stavrakis- The Hunt For Valakt

Bittersweet reunion

She ordered her servitors to stow her lockboxes. She looked just like she had the last time I saw her. I handed the slate back to Edmund and we both walked up to meet them. Her white hair was dirty and muddied, almost as much as her ship and servitors. She wore an armoured bodysuit with jungle camouflage, and her pistol was strapped across her chest. 

We looked at each other as we neared. When we were close enough, Edmund broke off to handle the logistics with Kive. I kept going until I was almost face to face with Inquisitor Lex. We stared at each other for a moment. 

This close to her, I finally managed to notice how much she had actually changed. For one, her hair was cut short, cropped almost to the scalp. She had also put on much more muscle bulk since the last time I saw her. we held each others hands and bowed slightly.

"Lex. It's good to see you." I said with what little warmth I could muster.

"Lore." She acknowledged me. "What happened here?" There was no emotion in her voice, but I could see by the way she pulled her mouth that the event disturbed her.

"The foul machinations of chaos." I answered. "An enemy who called himself Valakt was responsible."

"The name is unfamiliar to me. What happens now?" She asked me. She always liked to cut to the chase.

I motioned for her to follow me. I trusted Edmund to handle the logistics of her stay here. I saw Kive pull out a command slate and transmit new instructions to the Inquisitors Servitors. They fell in step behind us with steady, plodding steps.

"The entire Inquisitorial areas were ransacked and vandalized. I apologize but our armoury, the mission control and the hab rooms were also attacked." I started explaining.

Lex took the news surprisingly well. It only took her a few long minutes to calm down.

"In response..." I began slowly "because the entire hive is nearly deserted, Lord Isshmus has requisitioned the entire Spire as Inquisition territory." She nodded. "The hab rooms directly behind and above the original areas are designated for returning Inquisitors until we can get the damage repaired."

I can only assume her Interrogator was listening in somehow, because the servitors change their pace and moved off down another corridor, leaving the two of us alone.

"Lore. What happened?" Her voice was strained. Her homebase team was considered family to her, and she had many valuable items stored in her vault.

"I suspect this 'Inquisitor' Valakt gained access to the Spire by some means. The Spire citizens were turned against me and my retinue by some means, and when I finally confronted the bastard, he had a huge Felid in his thrall. By some means." The brief summary seemed to occupy her thoughts for some time.

"What was your previous mission?" I asked after some time.

"Ork hunting." Always cutting to the chase. "I was seconded to a detachment of jungle hunters."

We passed through an empty common room. The silence was deafening. We looked around at the empty hallways. The flowers and plants that were dotting the edges of the room were wilted and brown. A thick layer of dust was beginning to pile up in the corners, and all of the seats that had been placed here were in various states of disrepair.

"Was your mission a success, Lore?" She asked me now as we moved on.

"Yes. Thankfully. It took me a almost a decade, but that beast is dead."

She smiled at my news. We had always been very good friends. She had helped me on my mission in fact, more than once. Her information gathering skills and her extensive support network that used to be stationed here were more than invaluable. The loss of hers, and all the other home based teams would inhibit our efficiency for decades to come.