Vex Chronicles 3: Hunt

Drowning the pain

Aes Cognis, female trooper quarters

Lady Audessa looked at the face in the mirror. It was weird how different she looked with short hair. She would have laughed about the irony if it hadn't been such a serious matter. Her escaping her own execution had put her into the service of the very same man that had brought about Audessa's death sentence. Thankfully the inquisitor hadn't given her much attention.

Trooper Dorus stood on the name tag of her eredian drop trooper uniform. At least she now had a female set. The times of ill fitting armor and uniform were past her. As lady Audessa she had lived in luxury. She had worried if the color of her cloth fit her eyes and figure. Now she was happy if her cloth fit at all...

How could Audessa have even fathomed that the squad of troopers she had joined, would choose to side with inquisitor Ilvex's band. And that wasn't even the end of the irony. The very same woman with her bald head and her wonderful pale skin was also here. The little bitch Mordessa had breathed her pheromones all over her. She had manipulated Audessa into cooperating with the genestealer cult. With her new life as trooper Dorus, Audessa was now even more trapped than that pale creature that had ruined her life!

Audessa clutched the decorated executor pistol tighter. She could get her revenge... She could get her revenge on both the woman that had been her downfall and on the inquisitor that had sentenced her execution. They both didn't knew that she was here. No one knew that lady Audessa was still alive. She could just pull the trigger. No one would miss Mordessa. But the inquisitor was another matter...

Wait? Has Audessa really just thought of shooting an inquisitor? How far had she fallen? That was against everything the Imperium stood for. And Audessa was still... Was she really still a citizen of the Imperium? She was a wanted criminal. Audessa looked at the weapon. The weapon of execution... Vex's execution or hers?

But for now Audessa had a role to play. A role that was harder than she thought... Hakkar had already realized that she wasn't the trooper she had tried to play. He expected her to be a examinata deserter. Not so far off from the truth. But the sergeant had not hold it against her. As long as Audessa would do what was expected of her, sergeant Hakkar would be not a problem. And Audessa trusted her people's skills enough to say that sergeant Hakkar would hold word and keep her little secret.

Audessa's bigger problem was her own... desires. Audessa's eyes fell onto the other woman. The former conscripted woman was a beauty. The female troopers had their own quarter and washing rooms. And they just had to put her above Audessa's bunk bed...

Just how Sanriza slipped out of her cloth, how the water caressed her body... It was torture! And the many bandaged wounds made Sanriza appear just so delightful fragile. Audessa couldn't let that moment pass. She put her weapon back and begun to undress herself, trying not to stare while taking the stall next to Sanriza. Audessa was a trained examinatii. She had been taught to use voice and gesture to get what she wanted.

"You take it quite well, Sanriza." Audessa let it sound casual. "Forced into conscription against your will. And now uprooted into the service of inquisitor Vex, the executioner of Ede Prime."

Sanriza turned around and peeked over into the other stall. Oh man, how could she be so causal with her nakedness...

"Dorus, right?," Sanriza asked.

Audessa instinctively nodded. Being Dorus had already turned into a second skin.

"Our officer's decisions trapped us in this mess," Audessa gave the other woman a welcoming smile.

"Trapped? I..." Sanriza sighed. "I have a death to wash away... Say, Dorus? You always appear so collected. I... I feel so dirty. I killed a good man. And whatever I do, I can't wash that away. Ever!"