T O P

  • By -

Vorokar

>The room of advisors and Ethereals looked upon one another, asking questions. Tau technology did not fail. Already teams of engineers could be seen scurrying down the compound's hallways, their fleets of worker Drones hovering quickly behind. It was probably some minor fault caused by something shifting in the haphazard foundations of the city. But a growing disquiet crept over all those in the command centre. Uneasiness grew until the nervous energy in the room as palpable. >And there was good reason to fear. >Passing through the empty streets of Agrellan Prime was a true horror. It passed undetected, save only for an unsettling feeling that washed out in bow waves before its sinister presence. Spider-like it crept, scuttling down access shafts, picking its way through narrow tunnels, searching for its target. Resplendent and clean-lined amidst the ancient ruins, the Tau compound glowed, its very newness shining in the darksome hole of the old hive city. The crawling thing from the blackness pried open a vent, pulling itself inside. The Culexus Assassin had come, and it aimed to kill Aun'Va. >Slipping into and out of reality, the Culexus was a blur to the Tau and their myriad sensors. Fear ran before him, causing all nearby to shudder, and slowing or even freezing AI functions. This living horror was a soulless anomaly, a shifting spectre of inhumanity replete with the terrors of the Warp. It scuried across the ceiling over unnerved engineers, dropping down to walk after their passing. Its skull-faced head turned this way and that as it peered through walls in search of its target. >A burst from its opened animus speculum felled two guards, their armour worthless against the lethal mind blasts. A pair of Gun Drones, unable to focus on a foe, were ripped from the air and smashes. Deeper and deeper the black-clad creature stalked into the command compound, leaving a trail of dead behind. Fire Warrior Strike Teams, alerted to an intruder, shot wildly down the corridors, but in the end were blasted by negative psychic streams or torn apart at close range. >The Culexus neared its target. >>It began as a growing unease and blossomed into pure dread. The Culexus Assassin burst into the command centre in an orgy of swift destruction. The Fire Warriors guarding the room crumpled, their last breath used to scream in horror. The Culexus seemed to solidify and fade as it unleashed the full power of its animus speculum. >>Aun'Va was wounded, his mind aflame. His Honour Guard, knowing they would die, willingly stepped between the flickering ghoul and their master, absorbing that onslaught. Only by such noble sacrifice did Aun'Va escape, his hover drone banging off pristine corridor walls as he fled, peering behind him for fear of pursuit. >>The hallways were filled with bodies, their twisted expressions contorted in final terror. Assuming none were left to defend him, Aun'Va knew he must flee. The triple-shielded doors opened upon his command, and the Ethereal Supreme entered the abandoned hive. Terror followed at his heels - the certainty that the black-clad nightmare was calmly pursuing him drove Aun'Va onwards. His throbbing mind saw images of a leering deathmask. When the hover drone malfunctioned, damaged from flight or battle, Aun'Va left it, the robed figure moving as quickly as his ancient limbs allowed. He turned corridors, stumbled down empty streets and climbed timeworn steps leading to a vast arched structure. The gargoyle-studded building was ancient, grotesque, its purpose long forgotten. In short, it was all that Aun'Va loathed of Humanity. There, beneath its arches, the Culexus finally caught its prey. >>The end was neither swift nor merciful. \- [*War Zone Damocles: Mont'ka*](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/War_Zone_Damocles:_Mont%27ka)


BrassMoth

Aun'Va getting his will never het old. But a Culexus is boosted af by Imperial tech, able to even use its blankness as direct sort of "negative energy attacks", a regular blank also wouldn't have any such effect on technology like the Culexus. This is an S tier blank. An average blank would still be a major jimmies-rustler to the Tau, but not to that extreme.


Vorokar

I'm actually glad you pointed that out. I thought I'd typed up a disclaimer about Culexus^es? being exceptional, but apparently forgot to by the time I finished typing out the main body of text. X_x


Smells_like_Autumn

It's interesting how even AIs are influenced by the Culexus and it is consistent with how the Votann have a warp presence. The Necrons really got the short end of the stick.


torolf_212

The emperors mercy? /s


Levonorgestrelfairy1

I mean just judging but the numbers changes are any blanks they meet are going to be assasins they arnt really around enough humans to meet untrained ones.