Exigency: The Old Guard

A pause. "The city? What makes you think I intend to bombard the city? I intend to destroy the space port! Valon cannot be allowed to leave this world alive."

The roof begins to open, dust raining down as the hatch ponderously slides away. The sun beams down into the chamber, banishing shadows left undisturbed for centuries.

"You've made some very questionable assumptions about my motives," the woman shouts, relying on her own formidable lungs instead of the base's speaker system. "Dangerous assumptions. That's not like you at all Serana."

Commander Pirle steps out of the control hub's office and into the light.

Epril has walked out to the railing. Her hair is auburn rather than blonde but there's a definite family resemblance between the two Margoyles sisters: and it's especially apparent now that she's leaning over the railing and rolling her eyes exaggeratedly.

She jabs a hand in the air. Wilhelm can hear light footsteps retreat down the walkway. Indeed, there might have been even more scouts out there than he first thought.

"There. Happy? We're wasting time, Serana. I've got a job to do and you're getting in my way."

She's wearing Montakon-made powered armour, a lighter and more flexible model compared to an Arbiter's. It's maroon and has a stylised V near the shoulder: the Vigilance Movement's insignia. Epril is working for the Vigil, or at the very least she's posing as one of their Vigilantes.

"Valon is about to leave the planet and this," Epril raises her voice even more, sweeping an arm towards the cannon, "is our only means of stopping him!"

Pudge detects a small power spike. Someone within the control hub is already working on getting the firing system back online.

"This war of...? Serana, this war started because the idiotic Mercenaries were more worried about their precious treaty than neutralising the Vault." Epril sneers. "If they had listened to reason we wouldn't be here."

"I wanted to blow the Vault up. I approached the League: I had a strategy in mind and I was always very open about the risks. Some Mercs agreed with me, the others said the civilian casualties would be too great." Epril sighs. "Instant civil war. Meanwhile Graves-Burton played both sides. He wanted to open it up and we all know how that turned out.

"You're right, thousands might die and that's tragic. But millions will perish if Valon gets off this planet. You've seen him in action, yes? One man who's a match for an entire Mercenary League division: what happens if he lets his friends out? Picture a dozen Valons. A hundred Valons, rampaging through Alpha Sector in the name of some ancient despot. Surely you and your friends understand what we're trying to do here?"

"If you're right, we live happily ever after. But what if you're wrong? I would be accountable for unleashing unbelievable horrors on the Sector. I would have done nothing to stop an avoidable tragedy."

Serana knows Epril, and she knows she's getting to her. The commander is as expressionless as her false-faced Major but Serana can recognise the telltale crack in her voice.

"The last time a Vault was found the High Council drowned an entire world in fire. I have seen these 'Ancients' before, Serana. They don't even think of us as the same species. They think of us like vermin gnawing at the remnants of their old empire. They kill us by the thousand, without pause and without effort."

"Of course I don't want to fight my own sister," Epril snapped. "You speak of this as if I planned for her to be here—"

Epril pauses. "Iraniii, isn't it? Well, well. Your father dies fighting an Ancient and yet here you stand, talking to me about sparing an Ancient's life for the sake of family.

"A horrific day. The Vigil didn't cover ourselves in glory. I wasn't even a full Vigilante then, I was just some pampered Councillor's daughter fresh from a stint at a top Montakon academy, a trainee attached to the unit for a routine investigation. Only this investigation involved a Vault." Epril flinches. Perhaps she's shuddering, but it's hard to tell beneath all that armour.

"This... thing... emerged and began to burn everything in sight. Flesh to ash, stone running like water, turning half the planet into a volcanic hellscape." Epril swallows. "We broke. Half of us died instantly and the rest fled like startled birds. But one man, a lone Enforcer, did not turn back.

Epril points down at Pudge. Her finger is trembling. "Your father went toe-to-toe with one of those monsters. He held his ground during the evacuation: his sacrifice stopped the Erdain incident from spreading off-world..."