Bluff? Bravado? Intent to dissemble or dissimulate? All of the above; doubtless. Such was the task – perhaps nature – of the Marines Mendicant. From his non-standard armour to the seemingly meaningless glyphs and logographs adorning his plate, everything about the pseudolegionary rang false.
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| [//@death_of_a_rubricist+] |
Regardless of his intent, the Golden Hands weren’t going to allow the Mendicant to escape this time. They had already assembled a formidable doc-ident on their target. Perhaps an Argent Herald – that much was suggested by armour-spoor – but the Hands didn’t give that much credence.
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| [//@spacedhulk+] |
No; more likely one of the orphan Firebreak. Such had been surmised when he used that blade of his to open up Brother Utigent – and then escape. Not before the rest of his clade had been killed, mind (so the Golden Hands noted proudly); and nor had the Mendicant escaped unharmed.
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| [//@spacedhulk+] |
In the end, they found him amongst the fire fields and lava pits. A lone warrior in ancient armour, his wounds still bleeding from their last encounter. Envenomed weapons had done their work well, overwhelming even transhuman physiology.
Despite the odds stacked against him, the Marine Mendicant made no effort to evade their pursuit this time. Servo skulls and surveillance familiars, deployed in standard, overlapping search patterns, had detected the Partisan easily.
Not running, not hiding. Just waiting.
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[//@spacedhulk et @death_of_a_rubricist+]
|
Even as the hunter-killers of the Golden Hands surrounded him, the Mendicant still made no attempt to either attack or escape, his calm demeanor in complete contrast to his earlier ferocity.
"You're coming with us, heretic", the team leader snarled, "We have many questions for you. Information that, one way or another, you will provide our Interrogators."
"And I have answers for you, Golden Hand." In comparison the Mendicant's voice was calm and measured, betraying no sign of the pain the injured warrior was obviously enduring. "The question is, do you really want to know?"
