13 Miuzund
332 E.O.D.
332 E.O.D.
A letter delivered unto one Aurelian Vaidyan:
A,
By order of the Raj: acquire fiend hearts, sparing no expense, as many as you need to see Project Homunculus reach its conclusion.
Time is of the essence. The magisters suspect. I can buy you eight months at most before we come under public scrutiny. I am putting my trust in your discretion henceforth.
Accompanying this missive is a fresh Crucible graduate on her first assignment. Use her well. She is acquainted with that pride of Karmatun. Three common-stock legionnaires, disposable, are under her command. Use them as you will. They will not be missed.
Signed,
H.
A young woman, hair cropped high and shaved at the temples, stood at attention. She wore a loose tunic that covered the straps of a leather cuirass and a pair of sandals laced to her knees. Malicevora by name, she maintained an uneasy distance from the man to whom she had delivered the letter. Around her, a dimly lit workshop sprawled in the cellar of a hillside hovel on the perimeter of what had come to be known as the Imerisan Front. Windowless, the workshop held itself to silence, much adverse to the raucous howls of insects and beasts beyond its tight fitted ceiling.
Three others held rank behind her, backs straight and eyes as close to unseeing as they could manage. They were older than her, faces pocked and tunics worn, but contented themselves to what leadership she offered. Precious little, given the circumstance, other than to lead by example: hands clasped behind back, breath kept quiet as not to disturb the man before them.