The Lost (30k Primarch Quest)

XXV. The Lightning strikes

The hours they give you are going to be what undoes them.

You take a deep breath as you look into the sky, and the storm above begins to swirl. You can feel the water and lightning gathering in the skies above. You hold your arms up, palms up, and you feel the storm in your mind. It is always there, always ready and waiting for you to call on it. The wind blows and slows before blowing harder again and repeating the process, like a person taking progressively deeper breaths.

"You said that you can get a message quickly to the other monks," you say, slowly. "Any chance you could do the same for my crew?

"There are paths into the harbor through the stupa," Whim says. "Why?"

"If you don't mind," you say, "send word to my crew to come up here with me. I'm not going to do this without them."

"What, you're really gonna help us?" Whim asks.

You shrug. "My ship can't sail anyway, might as well. Make sure you get Han, at least, and tell him to bring the rifle."

"… well. Alright then." Whim frowns, before gesturing to one of the other monks, who nods and runn off.

You don't pay attention to time as it drags on. It could be a minute or an hour, but Fan yawns, and you glance at her down on the ground. She looks surprisingly bored.

Without a word, you grab Fan and hold her up so she can see over the wall.

She gapes. "Wow… there's a bunch of big ones out there…"

"Yup," you say, concentrating on the storm. The more you try to make it rumble, the more like ice the little girl feels in your hands. It's actually starting to hurt.

Fan seems to realize it, too. "… Pointy said I stop magic right? Maybe I should get down-"

"Don't worry about it, Fan," you smile before bringing her back to your shoulders. "I'm glad you're here. There's nowhere safer for you than wherever I am."

She smiles at that and sits on your shoulder. "Okay."

The two of you are quiet for a time. The blowing wind begins to swirl around both of you, the small child's blonde tresses whipping in front of your face. You don't pay it any heed; you hear the storm growing.

"So, what're we gonna do?" She asks, trying and failing to hide her fear. "They're really big."

"So was the armiger back at Bohai," you say. "I'm gonna bring the storm down and then I'm gonna kick their butts."

She giggles. "Yeah! And punch their faces!"

You laugh hard and so does she.

"I'm impressed that you can laugh when there's a dozen knights coming." Caihong says dryly as she comes up behind you.

"Why not? Not like being grim and serious would improve our chances anyway."

"… fair." Caihong nods to you and glances at the sky. "Think you can take them all, captain?"

You frown. "You think I can't?"

Caihong puts her hands behind her back. "I think it's a coin flip. Most of them will at least take damage."

You look out to the Knights, silently counting your enemies out.

"I think you're underestimating me."

She shrugs but doesn't argue. It wouldn't be the first time and you both know it.

"Are the others with you?"

"Everyone's here. Even those cultists."

Han sets up his rifle and aims down its sights, one of the Aeldari pistols taking an honored place between Truth and Recon across his chest.

"What'd you name it?" you ask without looking at him.

He glances up at you only a moment, then smirks as he sights down again. "The pistol? Elegance."

"… and the rifle?"

"I call her the Say My Name."

"… is it too late to change that?"

Han snorts. "Yeah fuck you too, sir."

"No no, I want that to be the name of my next ship."

"… Wait, really?" Han pauses, then glances down at the rifle. "… I'll think of something."

Thank goodness he bought it.

"Any hints on how to deal with the Knights?" You ask Ping.

"Go for the ones with the big cannons."

You snort. "Thanks, Ping, that's very helpful."

"Ignore the ones with chainswords and gauntlets," Ping adds.

"… what, really?"

"We're trying to break the siege here, right?" He asks, and takes your silence as a note to continue. "The Knights with cannons and missile pods will hang back. Those with the gauntlets and such will get closer to try and rip the shield down directly."

You hadn't actually given it much thought, but it sounds obvious now that he's said it. Of course the knights meant for shorter range would close with the wall (even if they had guns) and of course you'd want to target the guns that can stay out of your effective range. You're not entirely sure what the monk's effective range will be, but if it ends up being shorter than you want without effective long-range support, at least the enemy won't have the option either.

"… That helps a lot actually. Anything else?"

Ping puts a hand on your arm. "The bigger ones will have ion shields that'll hold off ranged attacks. They can be overwhelmed, but they won't stay down long. If you see one of the Knights' shields break, focus it down and do it fast."

You nod. You weren't planning to fight the robots at range, but it's worth keeping in mind for the storm. "How long would I have?"

"I don't know, depends on the individual shields and charge. Could be a minute, could be seconds. And shanwei," Ping hesistates, "I'm not sure one lightning bolt will kill the pilots inside. You'll want more."

Fan looks down at Ping from your shoulder. "Lightning?"

Ping's mouth twitches into a smirk. "You'll see, little girl."

"I don't think I've shown you this trick before," you note to Ping.

"No, but I've heard stories," he chuckles. "Should be quite the show."

Han stirs, shock coming to his features. "Uh, captain-"

"I see them too," you growl.

As the knights stand still and silent, ready and waiting for the command to charge, you see a number of infantry forces wearing the colors of the Empress' own house. Arquebusiers with their newfangled rifles, a number of men and women with long spears.

This is why they gave you time. They were letting their forces catch up. Why they think they need infantry when they have a full lance of Knights is its own question, but at least you have an answer now. And… to your surprise, you also see a number of men and women in robes fussing over the machines and carrying strange artifacts of their own.

So they do have monks.

-

As the sun begins to sink, the darkness of the storm slowly begins to cover the temple, the harbor, and all the land around you. You doubt the clouds cover all of Zhongua, but it covers so far across the horizon that you can almost believe it. By the time the sun truly sinks past the horizon, you can only tell the difference because of your incredible sight.

The wind is howling.

"Your time is ended," The Knight booms in the distance, as a light drizzle begins to pour down. "You will surrender Lord Chan to our custody."

The rumble in the sky is the only answer you or the monks give.

"… Fine. Bae."

"Yes lord."

The missile pods on one of the knights turns and with a bright flash, the first shot flies. Then another, and another.

Your time's up.

You look at Fan on your shoulder. "Wanna see something cool?"

The grin she gives you is an imitation of yours.

Before the monks or your crew have time to object, you run out of the walls and into the fields beyond.

You consider momentarily if approaching them personally at this speed is advised; they might hesitate to fire if they think you've come to negotiate or if you're their target… but you dismiss the idea quickly. They've already fired and the time you'd lose from approaching meekly simply isn't worth the risk.

-

The rain comes down in sheets.

Bae Lieu fires his payload towards the temple in the distance, timing it as best he can to maximize effectiveness against the shield. His steed is purring beneath his hands, as eager a hunter as he.

The lightning storm is… unexpected. But if the rumors are true, the Tech Monks' tricks are only beginning. Their own monks had been remarkably tight-lipped about this whole operation.

Lord Zhou was in command of this operation, and the group had spoken on their tactics before the siege truly began. Lieu's steed is a Bushido class. There's a missile pod on its back, yes, but beyond that and a melta gun stubber it lacks ranged firepower. The reason to send him first to fire is simple enough; once the missiles are gone he can close and engage normally. Unconsciously he flexes his thunderstrike gauntlet and keeps his reaper chainsword arm at the ready.

And then one of his brother knights is struck by lightning, and the armiger explodes.

Lieu thinks it terrible luck, but his steed is angry. Its instincts are screaming at him; something was very wrong. He initially dismisses the machine's anger, thinking it's simply mistaken, until another bolt comes down and strikes another Nodachi nearby.

"Lord, contact!" Lieu says, revving his chainsword and turning to find something, anything. Auspex show him little, but the aggressive machine knows what it wants, and his melta stubber fires. Shadows shift and flicker as something moves in the rain. Another lightning bolt strikes another armiger, and while it doesn't explode, it falls over and does not move again.

Lightning flashes just long enough for him to spot a single humanoid figure leaping through the air.

It looks like a man, taller than most but a man nonetheless. He wears a coat and a ridiculous tricorn hat like a sailor, with a long blade in hand. The thing's body is slick and smooth, without a beard or even long hair. On its shoulder is a little blonde girl, around six, whose very existence makes the knight's skin crawl.

Lieu doesn't quite understand what he's seeing or why but his steed knows a foe when it sees one, and his stubber comes up to fire. The melta flash lights the thing up, and Lieu realizes with horror that the monster's face is split by a mockery of a cocky grin. Lightning flares around its hands and strikes against Lieu's ion shield, pressing him back. Lieu strikes out with his thunderstrike gauntlet, swiping at empty air. The next strike, while still blind, connects with it, and with a savage grin Lieu squeezes the gauntlet.

It meets resistance.

What the hell am I fighting-

Another flash of lightning.

The child is stuck between the finger and the man, who is trying to force the knight's fingers back. The child's terror is writ on her face.

Without thinking, Bae Lieu opens his hand.

"DAMMIT NO!" Zhou shouts.

Whatever he grabbed falls to his feet, and before he can think to reactivate his stubber the foe is in the air again, slamming his fist through his steed's canopy and grabbing Lieu by the throat.

He gasps for air, a grip tighter than iron on his throat. He can't move, he can't breathe…

"You tried to spare her." The thing growls, before releasing his neck.

Then it slammed its fist into the knight's controls.

Fire explodes in Lieu's spine and he screams in agony.

"You're welcome." The thing jumps away from the steed, leaving Lieu and his steed to collapse to the ground.

-

You laugh as you swing off the knight, letting it fall to the ground and crash. Its top is sparking, but you left the rider alive.

"Take that jerks!" Fan laughs as you leap down, yelling at the bondsmen as the Knight falls. "We're the coolest heroes of justice!"

You're not so sure about the 'heroes' bit but you're definitely the coolest.

"Know this, wretches!" You yell. "I am Ching Sun-Sin, Son of the Reaver Queen, the Stormbreaker, and these are not the first Knights I have felled, nor will they be the last! Give up and I might let you live~"

"COWARDS!!" The knight roars. "WITCHES! THIS STORM IS YOUR DEVILRY!! FIRE ALL CANNONS!!!!"

Your grin dies.

The Knights begin firing. Rotating cannons boom in the air and explosions flash against the raised shield. Missiles fly from another machine's back mounted pod. The Daimyo-class, the clear leader, fires all of its cannons and missiles towards the shield in the distance. It lights up so brightly that it pierces the storm, and though you only glance briefly, you see it flickering.

"Dammit no!" you leap again, heading for one of the firing Knights. You climb atop and, like the one before, you slam your fist through the steed's top. Fan woops as you grab the rider inside and snap his neck with your bare hands. But the action takes you a few moments, which the others have used to surround you. Their guns are blazing, and you're bolting through the thickly falling rain, back on the ground in an instant.

A shot from the knights strikes your leg, and you swear as the leg explodes into useless meat and shards. You know the wound isn't fatal, but it needs a few moments to heal, moments you don't have. The bondsmen have you surrounded, and they stab at you with spears and swords.

You grab one of the spears and proceed to whip it around so fast that you kill a dozen men in an instant. They're mortal men, not really a problem, but their efforts and your destroyed leg slow your progress. Like a big pit full of mud.

Then you see the fallen knight, the one whose pilot you spared. It's on the ground, but it's still moving.

Its melta stubber is aimed, and steaming as it warms.

Fan gasps with horror. "LOOK OU-"

You grab Fan and throw her aside from the coming blast. As your world turns the white of the sun, you hear her scream.



…









…







Heat.







Pain.









Rage.







For a moment that lasts an eternity, you know nothing.

Then, you're on the ground. Fan is shaking your shoulder, crying and shouting incoherently. Or maybe it's your hearing that's screwed up?... no, it's both, you realize, as your ears start working again and you hear the soldiers around you talking.

"He brought a child with him?" Someone asks, apparently bewildered and horrified.

"That's no child!" Someone else snarls. "Kill them both-

"GET BACK!!"

You lash out, and a bolt of witchfire flies from your hand like a lightning bolt, cleaving through the speaking soldier and then the face of a knight. The pilot doesn't have time to scream before the melted machine falls back to the ground.

The bondsmen and the other knights don't have time to react as you rush forward. You cleave through the men around Fan like a raging lion, putting her back on your ruined shoulder before you can even register the blood. You rush to the fallen knight, grabbing its remains in your hands. For the first time in your life you feel strain as you lift the knight and throw it in one motion.

The armiger slams into the Daimyo's shield with the force of a meteor strike. The shield fails the hulking monstrosity right before the armiger explodes. The daimyo reels, and for a moment, it looks like it will tip over, but another Knight rushes in and catches it before turning to face you.

"YOU DARE?!" You roar, with a defiant voice that booms like thunder. "I AM THE STORM AT SEA!! MAN, MACHINE, GOD, DEMON, NOTHING CAN STAND AGAINST ME!!"

You snarl into the pouring rain that's coming down in thicker and thicker sheets. Distantly you're aware of a few things. That shot didn't kill you, but everything hurts and burns. Your flesh has been blackened by the sheer heat of the melta cannon, and rain runs in rivulets down your skin as it pieces itself back together.

You lash out with your hands again, and with a crack lightning strikes out from your hand and smashes into the Knight's shielding. Something in the machine bursts and sparks and the shield fails in an instant. Your bolts cleave through the machine's body and as the pilot screams the machine explodes.

The knights are backing away. Good, they should be scared! Rage fills your hearts, and lightning crackles in your hands. Your flesh is burning and blackened all over, but it knits itself into red and raw in moments. The lightning burns you too, but in that moment you do not care.

One of the other knights turns his stubber onto you, this one ballistic, and fires a burst of shells. You collapse to your hands and knees, one leg and one arm shredded to uselessness.

"Sun?" Fan runs to you and presses her hand onto your shoulder, and where she touches the pain redoubles. "Oh no, no no…Get up!"

Your body is healing, stitching itself back together with a speed that would've been reassuring if you'd been alone. The rain seeps into the burned out cracks in your skin, adding to the searing pain of everything around you.

"Run…" you rasp, though in the same moment you breath it out you realize it won't do any good. She's a small child, how far could she possibly make it with this many soldiers and even Knights around?

One of the bondsmen pulls out a pistol and aims it directly at you, eyes wide with terror. He fires, and the bullet catches you in the chest. And yet, the bullet plops to the ground, bloody but ineffective against your reinforced ribcage. You're not entirely sure what that means, but you know none of their guns can harm you.

He pulls out a second to try again anyway.

The soldier's head bursts like a watermelon and his body collapses. Another is shot in the chest by pistol.

"BACK, FILTH!!" Someone dashes past you and slams powered fists into a third soldier, his blow cleaving the woman's armor like butter. She crumples instantly, and Paradise's next blow hits a bowman with such ferocity that his entrails scatter across the grass.

Someone you can't quite see steps up next to you, firing her pistol at another as monks and sailors run past you and her. "Captain, can you walk?!"

Caihong? That sounds like Caihong. You try to pull yourself to your feet, but your legs collapse immediately.

"That was supposed to be rhetorical! Dammit, get him up!" She pulled her other pistol and fired again.

"SHANWEI!"

Someone's hands grasp you, and though you feel pain you don't lash out. The hands are familiar, and so is her voice.

"I got you," Eun says, trying to pull you up onto your feet. She can't keep the worry out of her tone or off her face. "Come on captain, we're okay… dammit you're heavy!"

The man with the powered fists runs back to you, and just as he draws close you realize who it is; Paradise in Labor. He gets on your other side and helps Eun lift, the two of them moving you quickly back to the gates.

"Fan… where…" you rasp.

"We've got her captain, just hold on." Eun says, her voice trembling.

Paradise whistled. "Pull back!"

"can still fight…" you rasp.

"No need now, they're retreating," Eun says, though you can hear a waver in her voice.

"Don't… lie to me…"

"I'm not, shanwei, they're pulling back. They just also have guns trained on us. Very big guns."

Well… no attack, then. If they fire now they'll kill your crew.

It's honestly a little surprising they haven't already fired.

You glance back, and glare at the fallen knight that almost killed Fan. The bondsmen are pulling the pilot out of the wreckage.

Spare him because he tries not to kill Fan, so he tries harder?

He's barely awake, but he's looking at you as you're pulled away.

You won't forget that one's face any time soon.

-

Eun and Paradise carry you all the way back to the walls. You glance back as the gate closes behind you. There's a lot of bodies. Only some of them are in the enemy's colors. There's a few in the bright orange of the Tech Monks as well, though most wear the rags and patched together clothing of your sailors and/or your cultists.

Eun puts you down, and she and Xiulan fuss over your wounds.

"Fan…" you rasp, past a cracked throat and bleeding lips. "Where…"

"She's here." Eun says quickly. "We're keeping her back a moment."

Xiulan is applying medicine, but you brush her away. Your flesh is knitting itself back together, and you know (without knowing how you know) that you will need a day or so to recover fully, but will be able to walk in a matter of minutes. Whatever medicines she was about to administer wouldn't have helped you enough to matter.

"Use it on others. Check Fan." You snarl. "I'll be fine."

Fan runs up to you, but Eun keeps her back. "He's still healing, dear."

Xiulan scowls at you. "I do not mean to question your wisdom lord, but why was Fan even with you?!"

"Safest place… is wherever I happen to be."

She shakes her head, angry. "The battlefield is no place for a child!"

You spit blood up at the bald woman. "What about Son?! He fought me."

"Against my express wishes! You think I wanted him to charge an 8 foot tall slab of masculine perfection with a pocket knife?!"

Eun bites her lower lip. You can tell she agrees with Xiulan, but doesn't want to say it.

"Fan snuck onto my ship!" You snap at Xiulan. "She'll follow me into battle anyway. At least when she's right next to me I can keep tabs on her and make sure she's safe!"

"Oh yes she was so very safe today, wasn't she?! Surrounded on all sides by bondsmen, and with Knights shooting at her and her ride into battle."

Fan spits at Xiulan. "You're not my mom!"

Xiulan gives her a glare you saw in your own mother's eyes more than once, and the little girl quails and shrinks back from the look. "And our lord Sun-Sin is not anyone's father, clearly!"

"Xiulan, she's fine," you say, and despite yourself the angry mother look is pushing your own anger down as well.

"She got lucky! You will not do such a thing again!"

"O-or what?" Fan stammers, trying and failing to look like getting glared at by a mother wasn't making her quail in fear.

"There's no 'or what' here, it isn't up for discussion." Xiulan scowls. "This child-riding-on-your-shoulder-into-battle crap ends now."

You're about to tell her off, but something in her tone gives you pause. Xiulan isn't speaking like a cult leader, she's speaking as a mother. It'd be worth it to encourage this sort of attitude in a former demon-worshipper. You have no intention of stopping Fan's rides on your shoulder… but in retrospect bringing her out to fight Knights might've been too risky of a call.

"… I'll take your opinion under advisement."

"… as good as I'll get I guess," She sighs. "Now… uh, Ping, if you'd be so kind…?"

Ping tosses you his cloak, and it only occurs to you then that the melta blast destroyed your clothes. And more importantly YOUR HAT!!

"I need a new tricorn as soon as possible." You say, tying the cloak around your waist. "My hat got blasted to bits."

"Yeah, about that," Ping says, "Not that I'm complaining or anything, it's great you're here and healthy even if your… muscles are making me feel very inadequate but speaking of your anatomy HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!"

You stand up and hold up your arm, showing Ping the new flesh knitting itself together over your burns and scars. "I'm healing."

"That doesn't even begin to answer my question AND YOU KNOW IT!!"

Eun shakes her head. "Don't jinx it Ping."

"Bring me to the monks." You rasp, pointing with a charred finger to Lotus. Eun is hesitant, but helps you walk (not that you really need her to, but it feels nice and makes her feel better about it so why not). She brings you to Lotus, Whim, Paradise… and the lay-sister of all people. You hadn't expected someone merely on a pilgrimage to be privy to these conversations, but perhaps you're wrong.

Lotus blinks as you approach, then quickly speaks. "We'll get you medical-"

"Shut up, I don't need it. What do we have to work with?"

"Huh?"

"Knights, technology, secret passages, anything!" You snarl, and the storm rumbles above. "What do we have to work with?! We're going after them as soon as we can, right?!"

"That…" Lotus shakes his head, still bewildered. "We have no Knights of our own and the Knight Daimyo is still under repair. We can fight, but…"

"Sallying out personally without the proper preparations would make us vulnerable," Virtuous Whim finishes. "As you just proved."

You scowl. He couldn't have said that when you still had skin?! "What, you don't have super armor or something to take these things on?"

"Not that would hold back the stomping foot of a 10 meter tall robot," Whim snaps. "Nor gods-damned melta cannons. What in the depths were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking 'hey some big robots only I can stop, I should go stop them for the ungrateful little shrimps in orange cuz I'm feeling stupid today!' Stupid to expect any gratitude I mean."

Whim laughs. "Well thank you, they're going to come after us even harder! Even more of us are going to die now!!"

"I don't think so," The lay-sister says.

"What, seriously, girl?!" Whim snaps. "In case you haven't noticed-"

"The captain demonstrated the capability to disable or destroy no less than 5 knights while carrying a small child in an impressively short period of time," She interrupts. "And while we are aware of his unique status, the enemy is not. They will temporarily withdraw to regroup with other forces and reevaulate the cost-benefit of this assault. In the meantime we may continue to restore Lord Chan's machine to fighting condition, at which time he loses all reason to remain."

She looks at Whim and Lotus. "Captain Sun-Sin has, at minimum, bought us time and at best has ended the threat of our antagonists. They potentially could postulate a preponderance of puissant pirate… I do not have a good word for him that starts with a 'P'. Preternaturals?"

"… what'd she say?" Fan asks.

The lay-sister turns to her. "Was my elucidation incoherent?" She asks, completely genuinely. You're not sure if that's charming or annoying.

"She said that Sun-Sin just saved us, because they have no way of knowing if we have more warriors like him." Whim growls, his tone implying he thought her full of crap. "Seems more to me like they'll bring in the Staff."

The lay-sister shakes her head. "The Empress desires Lord Chan alive. The Staff of the Azure Sky would render such a retrieval impossible."

Whim blinks. "… okay, that's…"

"And even if he hasn't," she interrupts, "The fact is that he did not bring this attack on our heads. Blaming him for it is counterproductive."

"… yeah." Whim says, looking away. He seems mollified. "… my apologies. This is… a lot."

"… Okay, regardless, he's saved us for now." Lotus concedes. "We've got time to prepare."

"We'll gather up the remains of the knights left and see if anyone's sat the Throne," Whim says. "And if not we can probably jury-rig something together."

Ping twitches at that. "Jury-rig?"

"It's difficult and risky," Whim concedes, "but not impossi-"

"It's impossible!" Ping interrupts, real anger in his voice now.

Whim raises an eyebrow over an empty eye socket. "I'm sorry, I was unaware you served in one of the temples."

"I haven't but I don't need to be a monk to know that Knights will never accept a pilot who hasn't sat the Throne," Ping snaps. "You might get away with it for the armigers, but the rest, not a chance. We'd be lucky to get them working for other Thrones.

You pull yourself away from Eun and put a hand on Ping's shoulder. "Calm down, both of you. What's this Throne thing?"

The lay sister turns to you. "'Sitting the Throne' means to go through and complete the ritual of becoming, a necessary first step towards piloting a Knight."

You'd wondered about that. You'd thought such was nonsense promoted to keep the Knights under the control of the nobility, but if the monks are saying it too there's probably something to it.

"How necessary is this ritual?" you ask.

"Piloting a Knight without it is suicide," Ping snaps. "Your brain will get fried the first time you take her out, if you're lucky and don't just die the second you turn her on!"

Lotus holds up his hands. "It shouldn't come to that anyway. The Temple of Civil Defiance has a number of monks with the necessary implants and we can give them to others if need be."

Lotus bows to you. "If you'll excuse us a moment, captain."

Ping folds his arms and still looks pissed as the monks move away and begin discussing things in furtive tones.

"… Ping, Captain…" Eun glances between you and him. "This doesn't need to concern us. If the monks want to risk their own on some ritual then-"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Ping whirls on her, and you're shocked at the venom on his face. "You don't know what you're saying! I-"

He stops as he sees the look on your face and hers, then briefly inhales. When he speaks again, his voice is calmer. "Fine. If they want to risk it, that's on them. Not our problem."

He stalks off. You briefly consider sending Caihong or Amaya after him, but decide against it. Sometimes one needs to let their comrades cool off.

The lay-sister then walks up to you, nodding to Eun and Ping. "Captain, I have a request I would make of you."

She places her forehead against yours. "My gratitude is intangible but it remains in abundance, captain. And I ask you allow it to serve for two. Virtuous Whim is worried for his temple and his inability to see a solution has left him frustrated. I ask you forgive his behavior."

… It's a bit of a surprising display, all things considered, but Whim's been on your bad side for a while. The lay-sister's display and his attempt at an apology has at least earned them some points, but you aren't-

"In exchange he will find you an appropriate piece of headgear to replace the one you lost."

All is forgiven, I'd take another melta shot for him… okay maybe not but if the hat's good I'll consider it.

"Hey I never said-" Whim begins.

"Quiet." You, the lay-sister and Lotus all say at once.

"… There's one other thing I'd want from you," You look her in the eye. "Your name."

She blinks. "I… have not taken a name, yet," She says, hesitant.

"You had one before coming to the Temple, yeah?" you growl. "So what was it?"

She blinks twice more.

Then she smiles, leans close and whispers. "Once, my name was Dalnim."

Dalnim… it'll do.

"With respect… keep that to yourself. Strictly speaking it isn't mine anymore."

You grin and put a healing hand on her shoulder. "I just want you to know, I'm taking as many of the monks with me as will willingly come when I leave. There's room for you on that boat if you like."

Dalnim raises an eyebrow. "… Didn't Lotus say he wouldn't allow it?"

"So? Pirate."

She stares at you long enough for you to feel an ounce of concern, then says "I'll think on it. For now, we have Knights to deal with. And the Kuji-Nan must show both you and the Empress that we are not to be trifled with."

Before you can continue or ask what she means, she turns and walks away, leaving you with your thoughts. Eun helps you down next to the wall, and though Xiulan tries to apply medicine to you, you wave her off again.

It's true that you didn't win the battle; you almost died. And now that they know you're here and able to fight back, they're going to come after you even harder.

But you didn't lose.

And more importantly, you're angry now.

They don't stand a chance.

-

Voting

Monk Techs

With the temple directly under threat, the Kuji-Nan have thrown caution to the wind and started pulling out their biggest guns. What does the Temple of Perpetual Devotion have available to fight against Knights?

[] – Cyborg Warriors

The monks you've encountered have limited their cybernetic upgrades from what you can tell. However, some of the monks have fully embraced the machine, and these warriors will fight alongside you against this foe.

Because now that their neutrality has been spat into their faces the Monks are not going to hold back anymore…

[] – Vox caster parley

The Tech Monks serving with the Empress surely have some reason for what they are doing. The monks consider that, perhaps, if they knew more they could figure out some kind of equitable trade. Or failing that, get more insight into the motives or movements of the enemy.

But that's not all, for the Temple of Perpetual Devotion can do more with a Vox Caster relay than just talk…

[] – Replicae imposter

Clone Lord Chan and send the clone back with the Knights, under the guise of the Temple 'seeing its error'. By the time the Empress or the monks figure out it's not the real Lord, he'll have left and it won't be our problem anymore. It's a devious plan, and one that might very well work if nothing goes wrong.

Because a clone can do more than simply pretend to be the original…

[] – Write-in

Suggested by @SpacePaladin
[] – Write-in
-[] Unleash the mechanized swarms.
The Tech Monks do not just modify themselves. Whether to practice their craft or because they believe that it brings other lifeforms closer to perfection, animals of all kinds have been implanted. Now the Tech Monks will unleash the swarms of modified beasts and insects to ravage the enemy supply lines and gum up the workings of their machines. Of course, coordinating these creatures is a big undertaking so it's not like they can just throw them into the fray at a moment's notice.

Suggested by @xamaplak
[] – Write-in
-[] Ah Perry the platypus knight, you've arrived just in time to witness the unveiling of my temple-re-locator-inator
The Kuji-nan monks have their secrets. Technology that was thought lost, thought destroyed... It seems that, under this temple, the monks of the kuji-nan were keeping a large, flight-capable ship. They're currently loading all of their important technology into that ship, though you also notice that it has rather large guns...