[hider=The Mission]Gareth stopped at the sound of gravel shifting up ahead and brought his lascarbine up to his face, one eye closed, the other keenly peering through the sight. He relaxed when one of his squadmates rounded the corner of the broken rockrete wall; only slightly, though, for it was Apollyon Kaicero, the man of their motley crew that he knew and trusted the least. The grizzled soldier hailed Kaicero with a quick wave and he responded in kind, a condescending smile on his lips. A few hand signs later and it was clear that Kaicero hadn't found their objective either. Gareth suggested continuing on together and Kaicero agreed.

Like many ex-Guardsmen, Gareth had kept his old combat fatigues and flak armor, though all Imperial livery and symbols had long-since been removed. From the top of his bald head to the soles of his bootstrapped feet, he looked like the walking stereotype of soldier-turned-mercenary. The man opposite him was very different. Kaicero looked younger, handsome, with smooth and fair skin and his hair was beautiful – gold, with a silken shine to it, and trimmed to perfection. Neat, pearly white teeth were visible when he smiled and his eyes were bright blue, though the soldier had a sneaking suspicion that they were high-end bionic implants. Something in the iris seemed to shift every so often and Gareth could swear that they glowed in the dark. Kaicero wore what was obviously a very expensive outfit, featuring a slim, high-collared black overcoat, strategically padded with ballistic fiber, beneath which the soldier could make out a form-fitting flak cuirass. His hands were gloved in black leather and his feet were clad in steel-tipped combat boots. Tying the whole ensemble together was a bright yellow sash worn around Kaicero's waist, adding a dash of colour. Bizarrely, he smelled like flowers.

All of that was unusual by itself, but what made Kaicero really extraordinary was the weapon he wielded. It was expertly crafted and obviously of xenos-make but Gareth had never before seen anything like it. The rifle-sized weapon consisted of a sullen grey metal body that reminded him a little of Eldar weaponry in its design; there wasn't a single straight line or hard edge to be seen and  the design was dominated by soft, round shapes and curved tubes. Contained within this metal framework was an exotic capacitor of some kind that glowed dimly with an electrical, blue light. The wide barrel was slitted and vaguely hexagonal in shape. 

The two men had met only a few days before when their employer's shuttle had come to collect the squad from the spaceport. Gareth had asked Kaicero a few questions in an attempt to get to know the blond man a little before their mission but Kaicero's answers had unsettled him. 

“I hail from the hive world Aphrodus IV,” Kaicero had said. “It is a fine planet, make no mistake, and I was born into a very privileged position there, but I outgrew its limited potential some time ago. The Ghoul Stars are so much more... [i]interesting,[/i] don't you agree? Look around you, my friend. Such variety! On top of that, not having to deal with the Adeptus Arbites at every turn is very refreshing –  and do not get me started on the Inquisition. No, my friend, the great Imperium of mankind did not agree with me at all. I am here because I need the freedom to do what my heart desires.” There was a slightly dramatic tone to his voice but the wrinkles around his bright eyes and the curling corners of his sculpted mouth had betrayed his amusement. 

“You came here because you were bored?” Gareth had replied and narrowed his eyes, incredulous. “Are you telling me you're one of those spoiled aristocrats who joined a death cult for shits and giggles or something? Explains the fancy gear, [i]friend,[/i] but you're in way over your head if you think the Ghoul Stars are a great holiday spot,” he said and shook his head. Kaicero reminded him of Chaos-worshippers, who Gareth mostly knew as the worst kind of employer. Their mercurial and devious nature made them unpredictable and if there was anything the soldier hated, it was unpredictable.

Kaicero's reply had been short. He'd tilted his head and smiled. “Very perceptive of you, my friend, but I feel like you might be too quick to judge.”

In the here and now, Gareth made sure to let Kaicero take point. The soldier couldn't help being impressed by Kaicero's noise discipline and feline grace as the aristocrat navigated the debris-strewn ground. He barely made a sound. They were walking through the empty ruins of an old techo-library in a human settlement on a desolate Dead World, abandoned due to the unknown threat that had cleansed the Ghoul Stars of human occupation, and looking for a cogitator room where an ancient artifact was supposed to be located. Their employer had been suspiciously scarce with the details and only given them a description of what it was supposed to look like; a black, avian skull about the size of a walnut. That Gareth couldn't guess what made it so valuable worried him and the rest of the squad. Kaicero did not seem to share their concerns as the blond man had merely winked when Gareth brought up the topic and said: “Interesting, don't you think?” 

The squad had initially fanned out to search the wide corridors and empty halls of the subterrenean ruins as the auspex seemed to indicate it was devoid of life. Gareth and Kaicero quietly crept down a series of stairs, delving deeper into the complex, and came upon the lifeless corpse of their Vespid squadmate at the bottom. Gareth cursed and felt his heartrate spike – they were obviously not alone. Kaicero was unreadable as he crouched next to the Vespid, lifting the xenos' arm to get a better look at the wound that killed it. Gareth kept his rifle up and scanned his sectors obsessively – the dark hallway was only lit by their flashlights and he felt like the oppressive shadows were about to materialize into a lethal threat. His breath steemed in the cold air, cobwebs danced from the barren, stone walls in a thin breeze and Kaicero's creaking leather gloves made the only sound. Nothing happened. 

Gareth unclenched. Kaicero stood back up in a single, fluid motion and Gareth looked at him, expecting a hand sign to tell him what had killed the Vespid, but Kaicero just shrugged. [i]No idea.[/i] Annoyed, Gareth motioned for Kaicero to step aside and knelt down at the Vespid's corpse himself. Kaicero raised his exotic weapon and stood watch. Gareth idly wondered what exactly it was that Kaicero's rifle did when fired as he aimed his flashlight at the Vespid's side. Blue blood leaked out of the serrated wound and Gareth prodded it with his finger, lifting the skin and digging in. He pulled out an extremely thin projectile, circular and featuring a heavily jagged edge. It almost seemed to disappear when he looked at it head-on and Gareth immediately recognized it for what it was. He sighed deeply and slowly got to his feet. It was Kaicero's turn to look at him expectantly now and Gareth made the appropriate hand signal, a beak-like shape with all his fingertips pressed together. [i]Eldar.[/i]

Kaicero's eyes came alive with interest. Gareth could see something shifting and turning in the aristocrat's irises again and grimaced – enthusiastic curiosity was not the appropriate response to learning they were being hunted by psychic space-freaks. The ex-Guardsman had only dealt with Eldar a few times and was glad he made it out alive on every occasion. Gareth shook his head, shot Kaicero a last disapproving glare, raised his rifle to his face again and set off at a snail's pace. He was determined not to be ambushed this time. Kaicero followed with a spring in his step. 

They met up with two more of their squadmates. Gav'althir, the Kroot, was distraught to learn of the Vespid's death, and Mika shook her head. Neither of them indicated they had seen the Eldar and were immediately overtaken by a healthy sense of paranoia, much to Gareth's satisfaction. At least they had the sense to be wary. The four of them continued, each carefully watching one direction, their backs to each other as they crept through the facility. 

For the longest time, nothing continued to happen, until the four of them came upon a large, circular chamber illuminated from above – the roof had caved in, allowing the pale silver sunlight of the planet's distant star through. Rockrete rubble littered the chamber in huge chunks, some of them more than fifteen feet high. To his relief, Gareth saw rows upon rows of cogitators, some of them smashed by the debris, but the room fit the description provided by their employer. The sooner they found that damned skull and got out of here, the better. They approached the center of the room, sticking to the shadows cast by the largest rockrete chunks. Kaicero took point. 

He rounded a corner and laughed. It was a bright, pealing sound that made Gareth's hairs stand on end. The soldier was about to punch Kaicero in the neck for breaking noise discipline when he realized Kaicero must have found something. He peered around the stone edge and saw an Eldar slowly rising to its feet, its back turned to Kaicero. The xenos was tall, unnaturally thin and entirely covered in blood-red armor. Gareth willed Kaicero to fire his weapon and kill it, but the blond man spoke instead. 

“Eldar,” Kaicero said, smiling. He cocked his head and laughed again, quieter this time. The Eldar turned around, its hands still holding a shuriken rifle, and Gareth swore he could see the creature's disgust and disappointment through the tall helmet that covered its face. 

“Mon-keigh,” came the reply. 

“Drop it,” Kaicero quipped cordially. He motioned with his weapon for emphasis. The Eldar obliged after a few seconds, understanding that it had been outplayed when Gareth, Gav'althir and Mika came into view, their weapons aimed at the Eldar's face. Gareth swiftly swept past Kaicero and forced the Eldar to its knees. “Why are you here?” Kaicero asked. 

The Eldar made a noise of disapproval. “You would not understand,” it spoke, its voice high and cold. “You are blind to the future.” 

Amused, Kaicero tutted. “Cute. Do not make me ask again, Eldar. You will regret it.” However threatening the contents of his words, the tone of his voice did not become any less polite and conversational. It unnerved the hell out of Gareth. Who the hell was this man anyway? 

Gav'althir screeched and collapsed. Shuriken rounds whipped by soundlessly. “Ambush!” Gareth yelled and dove for cover – that, at least, was plentiful. A bright flash of blue light flared, accompanied by a harsh, electrical sound and a loud thunderclap. The lifeless corpse of the Eldar, its armor shattered, flew out of sight. Gareth initially thought that was Mika's doing, the group's psyker, but quickly realised it was Kaicero's rifle. It dawned on him what the weapon must be – a Xenarch death-arc. He whistled appreciatively. 

More Eldar were coming. Gareth could hear one of them howling and cursed. He hated the Banshees. He poked his head out to get a read on where the rest of the squad was and saw Mika's corpse. Kaicero had disappeared from sight, but another loud bang and flash of light, bright enough to illuminate the distant walls of the chamber, meant that he was still putting that death-arc to good use. Gareth spotted two Eldar running between the rubble and lined up his shot – two quick bursts of lasfire put one of the Eldar warriors down as the other lept for cover. Gareth took this opportunity to sprint towards the location of the last death-arc discharge, hoping to link up with Kaicero. 

What he saw when he found Kaicero beggared belief. The blond man, his death-arc now slung around his torso, was engaging the Howling Banshee in melee combat. Kaicero had produced a combat knife from within his coat and was evading the whistling edge of the Banshee's pale wraithbone blade while making the occassional jab himself. That he was even keeping up with the Eldar's speed was remarkable and Gareth quickly realized that it wasn't just Kaicero's eyes that were bionics, and from the speed of his reflexes it was obvious he was glanding something more potent than adrenaline. Gareth attempted to line up a shot but Kaicero and the Banshee were dancing around each other too fast for the ex-Guardsman to fire without fear of killing his ally. Instead, he whirled around when another Eldar appeared with the intention of shooting a distracted Kaicero in the back. Gareth didn't doubt that the xenos would be precise enough to get the killshot. Gareth beat the Eldar to the punch, however, and gunned it down with a barrage of lasfire. The Banshee, distraught, turned her head – just for a split second – to look at her fallen comrade and Kaicero did not waste the opportunity, plunging his combat knife into the Eldar's abdomen. The Banshee gasped and staggered back. Kaicero, still smiling, unslung his death-arc, casually aimed it in the general direction of the xenos and pulled the trigger.

Several tendrils of lightning exploded from the barrel, spidering across the rockrete in search of a target, and when one of them connected with the Banshee it pulsed with power and blasted the Eldar's armored form asunder. At such close range, the thunderclap was almost deafening. Plasmic discharge fell to the floor along the length of the fatal lightning tendril's path and ate into the rockrete. 

“Holy Throne,” Gareth stuttered. 

Kaicero turned to look at him. Unbelievably, the aristocrat hadn't even broken a sweat. “Neat, isn't it?” He laughed again and said: “Oh, how exciting!” 

Gareth was immediately furious. “Exciting? Most of our squad is dead and [i]you[/i] would have been too, if I hadn't covered your back,” he spat and jabbed a finger in the direction of the dead Eldar that had attempted to shoot Kaicero, slumped against a chunk of debris. For the first time, Gareth saw a crack in Kaicero's demeanor, and the aristocrat frowned. “Yeah, that's what I thought,” Gareth continued. “Not so fun when it's almost you that hits the dust, is it? How much experience do you have with this line of work, huh? Even with all those fancy implants and that gear you still behave like a thrice-damned amateur.” 

The blond man opened his mouth to say something but closed it again when Gareth held up his hand. “I don't want to hear it. Let's find this damn skull and get the feth out of here.” 

Kaicero fell in line, sullen-faced, as Gareth stomped through the chamber, his lasrifle at the ready should there be any more Eldar. Their employer had described the resting place of the avian skull as a small safe plugged into one of the cogitator rows instead of a screen. It should not be too hard to find. 

Quietly, Kaicero lined up his death-arc and aimed it at Gareth's back. [/hider]

Apollyon Kaicero is a 27-year-old aristocrat from the wealthy hive world of Aphrodus IV, located in the Segmentum Obscurus, not far from Thracian Primaris. He became involved with an upperhive death cult at the ripe age of 19 and quickly discovered he had a penchant for killing and dangerous mercenary work. Not for the money, mind you, as he was wealthy enough, but the thrill of the kill was better than any drug in the world. He spent most of his considerable inheritance on bionic implants, including all of his limbs and several organs (including his eyes) in an attempt to optimize his physical potential, and a very rare Xenarch death-arc. After several run-ins with Imperial law, Kaicero casually decided that the lawless fringes of the galaxy would be a more interesting place to conduct his business, abandoned his family and cult and migrated to the Ghoul Stars, a journey that took up two years of his life. Kaicero now works as a freelance mercenary, taking on jobs that pique his interest, and only accepts the monetary reward in order to keep himself fed, housed and supplied. 

He is cold, fearless, mercurial and entirely without empathy. In his line of work, these are strengths, and Kaicero abuses this with impunity. His weaknesses, however, are also plentiful -- his lack of experience, naivety and pride make him difficult to work with and sometimes put him in mortal danger. While Kaicero's combat prowess [i]is[/i] very significant due to his extensive augmentation and superior gear, he lacks any semblance of common sense and has made it this far in part due to sheer luck.

Aside from his death-arc, Kaicero also carries a combat knife with him and a small autopistol strapped to his thigh. He avoids using it at all costs as he considers it an undignified weapon.