29 Chapter: 5.3

Chapter: Landfall

Part: 3

Escape Pod Epsilon-III

Greybrand's heart skipped a beat as she recognized the voice laced with disdain and superiority. It was unmistakably that of an Aeldari, a filthy Xeno species that her Ordo had sworn to eradicate. Her eyes snapped open and she turned to face the source of the voice, there, under the dim emergency lighting of the pod, she saw a figure clad in sleek, form-fitting armor that seemed to shimmer under the faint light. The Xenos features were elegant and angular, her dark armor... wait!

Dark? 

Weren't the Banshees particularly fond of bone and red?

Greybrand felt a strong surge of unease. What in the Emperor's name was an Aeldari doing in the escape pod with her? Her hands instinctively reached for her weapons, one resting on the holster of the bolt pistol while the other moved toward the hilt of her power sword. Her eyes narrowed as she regarded the Xenos, her training kicked in as she assessed the situation,

"What's the meaning of this, xenos scum? What trickery is this?"

Greybrand demanded, her voice steady despite the rush of adrenaline pumping through her veins, and laced with authority. She was fighting hard against the urge to vomit, not like she could vomit anything except bile, the last time she ate was two months ago, after that, she had been ingesting nutrient packs borrowed from the Mechanicus.

The Aeldari regarded her with a mixture of amusement and contempt, her lips curling into a sardonic smile.

"Mon'keigh, do not presume to threaten me. I find myself in this situation by sheer happenstance, forced to share this primitive vessel with... you."

Greybrand clenched her jaw, her grip tightening on around the hilt. She knew she couldn't afford to let her guard down, not with an Aeldari in such close proximity, especially not without identifying what type of warrior this Xeno was,

"I can't trust you."

The Aeldari tilted her head slightly, 

"And what need do I have of your trust, Mon'keigh? But for the sake of our current predicament, I suggest you keep your blade seethed and I shall do the same."

Greybrand hesitated for a brief second before her lips curled in a feral grin,

"You know what? I don't like sharing."

The Aeldari's eyes narrowed slightly at Greybrand's words, she began to shift her weight from one foot to the other, her dark armor glinting subtly in the faint light of that small compartment. She raised her chin and with a haughty look that made the Inquisitor wanna pummel her face in, she sneered,

"What a coincidence, I don't either."

With a swift motion, Greybrand drew her bolt pistol and aimed it at the Aeldari, her finger hovering over the trigger. Somewhere inside her brain, a small part of her memory reminded her that her pistol was down to three shots, but she didn't pay it any heed, in such a confined space, three were more than enough.

"I think we can remedy that."

The Xenos appeared unbothered by the gun pointed at her, even as her eyes narrowed slightly. In a sudden move, the Aeldari vanished from sight, reappearing with inhuman speed and drawing her weapon - a sleek, white blade that shone with an ethereal, blue light.

Greybrand cursed as she fired her bolt pistol... and missed!

The Aeldari tilted her head and the round sheered past her, slamming into the reinforced ceramite walls of escape pods. A soft *thud* followed by a loud *bang* confirmed that the round had missed its mark. She laughed mockingly at Greybrand's miss, her sword flashed forward and it was a sight to behold! 

The Inquisitor's blood ran cold as she saw the blade's eerie blue glow, her shot had been off the mark, but perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. With the Aeldari's weapon drawn, it would be easier to know how she would attack.

Still, a sword and an Aeldari would be a dangerous combination for her even if she was not exhausted already. She fired a second shot, aiming for the weapon in an attempt to disarm the Aeldari, but this shell... was dodged as well.

The warhead shot past the Aeldari and slammed into one of the seats, made from some sort of sturdy material for the sound of the bolter round detonation was muffled.

The third time Greybrand fired her pistol, the Aeldari waited for her, mockingly. She moved quickly, almost too fast for the Inquisitor to track as the blue blur flashed towards her, Before she could react the Aeldari struck, the bright blue blade cutting down on her, slicing through the pistol and cutting into the side of her Flak armor.

Greybrand fell back from the sudden strike, the blade burning hot where it touched her armor. She cursed as the Aeldari struck again, the blade aimed directly at her neck, and barely managed to draw her power sword and block the attack before the Aeldari could loop her head off.

The clash of metal reverberated within the cramped confines of the escape pod as Greybrand desperately parried the Aeldari's relentless assault. The Inquisitor's power sword clashed against the Xeno's elegant blade, each strike sending sparks flying in all directions.

Fatigue was accompanied by the stinging sensation from the wound she had suffered earlier, causing Greybrand to wince every time her blade contacted the Xeno's. She knew that she was outmatched in swordsmanship against an Aeldari, she simply lacked the speed and finesse that the Xeno possessed naturally, but she refused to yield... she didn't survive that scrap hell just to die in the hands of a Xeno Scum.

The Aeldari, for her part, moved gracefully and fluidly, each movement was precise and calculated, and each strike was aimed with deadly accuracy. She pressed the attack relentlessly, driving Greybrand back with every swing of her blade but something was wrong with her movement. Her movement might be fast but she was wincing, dividing more weight on one side of her body, covering her flaw with skills but it was a flaw nonetheless.

With a sudden burst of strength, Greybrand managed to break free from the Aeldari's onslaught, creating some distance between them. She took a moment to catch her breath, her mind racing as she assessed the situation. She knew that in her current conditions, she couldn't hope to defeat the Aeldari in direct combat, not without losing a limb or two. 

As the Eldar prepared to launch another attack, Greybrand's mind raced through her options. She couldn't rely on brute force alone to overcome her opponent. She might need to outsmart the Xenos, to anticipate her moves and exploit any weakness she could find.

Then, a sudden realization struck her like a bolt of lightning, or rather, her hand clasped around the 'realization's' grip. Something was beneath her cloak, something she had received not long ago and forgotten about after placing it in her inner pockets.

Greybrand prepared to execute her plan, feigned weakness, deliberately stumbling to the side the Aeldari's blade had struck before, leaving herself open to an attack. The Xeno took the bait like a fish in the pond, lunging forward, her blade aimed at Greybrand's... shoulder.

The momentary confusion cost her the plan and the Aeldari's blade plunged through her right hand shoulder, making her drop the power sword.

With the power sword out of her hands, Greybrand's survival was no longer an assured thing, and a bead of sweat rolled down her brow. But she still had one trick up her sleeve before the Aeldari could finish her off, quite literally. The Inquisitor unclasped her cloak, letting it drop down to her sides as she raised her left hand, the slick black pistol, M6H, that she had received mere hours ago aimed directly at the Aeldari.

Before the Xeno could create a proper distance between them, Greybrand emptied the magazine in her chest. Most of the bullets shattered on her armor, but a couple managed to make it past, striking home in the soft flesh of her underbelly.

The Aeldari's breath was ripped from her lungs as bullets tore through her body, ripping her armor and tearing through vulnerable flesh. She stumbled backward, eyes widening as she realized the danger she was in. Despite the pain, her movements remained fluid and graceful, not hindered for long despite taking multiple hits.

Greybrand watched, a hint of triumph in her gaze as her plan had finally paid off - the Eldar was wounded and weakened now, she only had one chance to kill her, a chance she realized was impossible for her to take.

The left half of her chest was screaming out in protest, the Aeldari had wounded her first, and the extreme movement afterward had made it worse. Not to mention the blade pinning her shoulder to a compartment, which she later realized, contained emergency rations.

So... she leaned back and glared at the Xeno,

"Filthy Xeno scum!"

She grumbled under her breath only to be met by an insult from the Aeldari herself,

"Primitive muscle-brained beast!"

Greybrand raised her head and met the eyes of the Aeldari leaning against the wall, merely meters in front, just like she was pinned to one.

"Pointy... eared... bitch!" 

Greybrand gritted her teeth together as her hand twitched around the grip of her pistol. Her left shoulder screamed in protest, but she had a job to finish. With all the strength she could muster up, she pulled the trigger, but the gun would not shoot, it was out of ammo. 

The Aeldari let out a mocking laugh as the Inquisitor's gun clicked empty, though she was wounded badly, it appeared that neither of them could kill the other at the moment. But hers was not a race that would pass up a chance to gloat at others,

"Oh, I do so love primitive technology. It's always fascinating to see it fail when you need it most. Perhaps, then, it is time for you to surrender, you damned filthy-!"

Her words were cut short by a sudden coughing fit, blood splattered on the floor before her as she heaved, barely managing to sit upright.

Greybrand watched as the Aeldari struggled to breathe, her expression turning into a feral grin as she saw chunks of flesh mixed in the blood. The Xeno's wounds were deeper than she initially thought.

"Heh, have those gunshot wounds finally caught up to you? Perhaps you should-!"

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