Lady Vespera wakes up with her heart pounding like blows of powerfists upon a shadowfield, and she hates it when she wakes up with a cranky mood. But then, if it does she must be that time again, a time where she would not even want any contact with anyone. She pulls her bedsheet away, revealing her amorous form and walked towards the dark reflective surface at the end of her room and looked at her form. Despite her impossibly beautiful form, and long, velvety dark turquoise hair running down her back, she knows that she is not in her top form today. What she would kill to go back into her bedsheets and rest away her fatigue....
Unfortunately for her, a loud thumping can be heard on the door.
"Who dares disturb my slumber?" Vespera lied, but that is a rather natural thing for her to say, and indeed if she does not even know how to lie, she might as well end up as one of the slave-things found in Lower Commorragh.
"My lady, today is the day. The Kabalites are getting restless, and personally my Wracks are already eviscerating themselves to put themselves in a rather favourable mood for today...." A muffled but dark and sinister voice, even for a Dark Eldar can be heard over the doors to Vespera's chambers.
It's today?! Urgh....I don't feel like it....
Vespera remembered then that today is the day they are going to raid realspace and to a Mon-keigh world that they called a hive world, and there's nothing more important than a raid on realspace in Commorragh as a raid is a sign of prestige, not to mention the fact that it would help sate She Who Thirst's appetite for their soul. She realized that if she does not go on this raid, her minions would turn on her and her prestige would drop. But she wants to be alone today, to weather through the feeling welling up inside of her. She ponders and ponders about how on earth she would allow her Kabal to take their usual supplies of slaves and sate their desire to inflict pain, but also not going to the battlefield for the day.
A day after would be fine, but she has already bragged to the other Archons about making a raid that would bring back so much slaves that even an old prune like Archon Viscalien will become as youthful as she was. She wished that she did not boast it like that. An Archon's tendencies to sabotage another Archon's efforts is natural and she have planned for it, but for an Archon to lose face....that is the ultimate humiliation that no amount of planning can save her from. No Archon would cancel a raid just because they do not feel like it that day.
"My Lady, are you alright?" The dark sinister voice answered back though the door.
Damn, I guess I will have to go but if I do not lead from the front, then my own Sybarites and Dracons would take advantage of it all and bring down the Kabal....wait....bring down the Kabal! That's it!
"My Lady?" the sinister voice asked again.
"My dear Haemonculus, would you like to have a chance to do something for me?"
"Why the question, my Lady? You know I will always follow your commands..." Vespera knows that the Haemonculi will only follow her commands for as long as she provided him with enough pain and suffering, and she would use that to her advantage today.
"Good, good.....can you go and wire a Void Bomb on each one of my Raiders, Ravagers and Venoms? I want you to prep it to explode upon my voice commands. Do it discreetly will you?"
"Sorry...what did you say?"
"You heard me Haemonculus. Do it now. While you are at it, please pass on my Medusae to every one of my Kabalites."
"Yes Lady Vespera. Your wish is my command..."
Before long, the sound of a few light footsteps distanced itself from the door and Vespera knew that the Haemonculi have agreed to it.
After some while, Vespera called for her Kabal to gather at the courtyard for an assembly. Clad in her custom-made armour with her shadow field embedded in the center and with her long flowing robes, she walked out towards the podium where she would now reveal her genius to not go and fight for the day. As she looked at her Kabal lined up before her with her glowing, baleful optics of her featureless, horned helmet she knows that any Dark Eldar loved their ownself before any other being.
"My Lady, the bombs are set to explode upon your voice commands. I must say this is truly something interesting for me in a long while..." The sinister voice came from behind Vespera, and Vespera turned around to see a waspish figure behind her, with his flayed face being the only feature that anyone would truly remember of this particular Haemonculi.
"Very well, Lastrael. You may go and prepare your Wracks for battle then." The Haemonculus nods and went on his way. Vespera always hated the Haemonculus, but he served his purpose admirably.
"Greetings Kabal of the Rapturous Venom...", she paused for dramatic effect before going on, "Before we go about our realspace raid, have you not wondered why are there Medusaes attached to each one of your units? Well, I will tell you why, and it is in a form of a challenge; whoever who does not give me the most slaves and pain and suffering will be blown out of the sky. Each one of your raiders and ravagers are now armed with a Void Mine, and if I deem you not worthy you might as well say goodbye. The Medusae will record the suffering you have caused so do not even try to take out one of the Medusaes as that will be the end of you even if you caused enough pain and suffering."
Immediately, a sense of fear and anguish filled the air, and Lady Vespera inhaled it like a fine wine. There's nothing more pleasing to her sense than the pain and suffering of her fellow Dark Eldar.
"And you all remembered what happened to Dracon Villeact don't you if you dared to do anything to me?" The air of fear only grew more denser than before. Yes, she remembered that incident well enough where she tortured the foolish dracon who tried to usurp her in front of them and made the poor dracon an example that they will never forget.
"Now, will you wage the raid for the Rapturous Venom?" She asked them, and the Kabalites answered her with one voice; the voice who only agreed to do her bidding because their lives were in danger.
"Good....now go forth and raid. I will be in my chambers as I need my sense to be as pure as possible to know who inflicted the most pain."
In one masterstroke, she have gave her Kabalites the incentive to get as much slaves as they could while not going to a raid herself. In addition, due to her manipulating their feelings, she have enough of their souls sucked into her body to sustained her for the day. She would do her full invigoration once they have gotten her the slaves needed for it. And last but not least, she would not have lose face in front of the other Archons of not getting the slaves. If she is bored, she would just blow up the Raiders one by one until she is satisfied of the carnage.
With her dillema gone, she walks down from the podium, a dark joyful sensation warming her heart....
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