The Lost (30k Primarch Quest)

Spoiler

Pirate Queen

ii. The Seas Called Him Home

Ching Shin pulled the sergeant off of her sword, shoving his body with a roar of frustration onto a pile of other bodies. She pulled her pistol off of her belt and shot the last of his bodyguards. The man crumpled like a bag of oranges. Deep ones, she could use one of those right about now.

"Alright who's not dead?" She asked, wiping her blade.

A number of groans answered her. Cao had survived. Oda was pulling himself up from the ground, wounded but not fatally. Xin, forever silent, held up a fist. Injured but mobile. And Hana was reloading.

Four left. Out of twelve that had come with her to loot. Not great.

Shin knew she wasn't at her best, either. Her shirt was red when she got it, but had been considerably cut up throughout the battle. Her long black hair wasn't tied back anymore, and she'd lost one of her gold earrings in the brawl. Worst of all, she'd lost her tricorn. Her favorite hat and some asshole had blown it off of her-

Hana tossed something to her. Oh. There it was... but it had a hole through the top, fuck.

She went to the window and looked out the hab into the night.

The port town was surrounded. She could see four knights from her vantage point alone, and a few dozen bright fires down below hinted at many normal troops.

She bit her lower lip. Even if she was seeing everything, odds weren't great. The leader of the knights was flanked by two other, smaller machines with multi-barreled cannons she'd seen roar like lightning.

This was supposed to be a quick stop to resupply and do some repairs. The small hab she'd taken shelter in was abandoned. That should've been a sign, she knew that; there was barely anyone in the port, they'd obviously evacuated. But how had they known she was coming? The blockade on one side and the knight siege on the other suggested it. But neither seemed like a big enough threat to her or her crew, and they'd made no demands.

Shit. Maybe she'd just picked one of the rebel ports at random? That would explain things; they didn't have the resources to spare. Could they have evacuated for another reason? Her timing was awful.

Or maybe, she thought bitterly, they know you're here and don't think you're as much of a threat as you try to be.

Seven ships. She had seven ships now, harassing trade between the noble houses. And they'd sent one knight and her detachment, and a dozen war junks to blockade the harbor.

She was almost insulted. Almost, except it was working. Whoever was leading the groups knew what they were doing. They'd struck only after the pirates had begun looting the city properly. From the sounds of cannonfire back towards the harbor, she could tell her own ships were keeping their enemies at bay, but with knights moving into the town, that wouldn't last.

She couldn't be cornered, could she? No, no there had to be a way out of this place. They could abandon the cannons, run for the ships, and punch through the junks. But they wouldn't make it quickly enough with the knights chasing them down.

Speaking of the devils…

One of them – a big, ornate thing, no doubt one of their leaders – strode into the town with the ease and confidence of a king returning to his palace. This one had a large chainsword for a left arm, bigger than a man, and cannons mounted on its back. Its right arm was a gauntlet that crackled with eldritch energy. As it stomped through the streets, she could hear laughter coming from the machine. Its pilot was shouting with glee as buildings before her were blown to bits.

"THE RATS HAVE GONE TO GROUND?!" She laughed, the cannons on her back silenced for a moment as she gloated. "FACE ME, COWARDS!! SHOW ME WHAT PASSES FOR HONOR AMONGST YOU THIEVING MURDEROUS DOGS!!"

Like the nobility or their lapdogs could speak of honor.

She thought of her husband; Yisun. One of the Empress' greatest admirals, once upon a time; betrayed by bureaucrats that were never brought to justice. Forever lost to the Storm, if he was lucky.

"I am sorry, Yi," she whispered. "I couldn't take more of them."

Then a miracle came.

The largest and most ornate of the knights buckled and exploded as something bright and fiery smashed into it with the force of an artillery strike.

Before she could even process what she'd just seen, cheers went up from her men across the port, and she bellowed a command to fire. Rifle and pistol shots rang out everywhere, accompanied by the demented laughs of the looting pirates and the screams of dying bluebloods.

They weren't much for fighting, but oooh, how they bled…

-

In the aftermath, she ordered the knight be inspected. The machine was broken beyond repair, and the less said about the distressingly young pilot's remains, the better. The crew gathered what little could be salvaged; some components and ammo. However, whatever had struck the knight had gouged a large crater into the streets.

Shin had voluntold Cao to get into the crater and see what exactly had struck the thing. Yes, normally one would assume a meteorite, but she could see something glowing down there. It wasn't merely a meteor, but some sort of pod. Maybe they could hand it over to one of the tech temples, get a bit of a payday out of this mess.

Cao stared at the pod.

And stared.

And… kept staring "Look mate I'm sure it's a very lovely bit of loot but tell us what it is so we can decide whether to kill ye for it or not!"

Cao looked up at his admiral, his expression confused more than afraid. "… there's a kid down here."

Shin almost asked him to repeat himself, but it was too ridiculous to be a lie. She went up to the pod to look for herself anyway.

The pod was an impressive piece of technology, something the Kuji-Nan would surely pay for with an entire ship, or perhaps advanced weapons. She didn't understand any of the lights and symbols on it, but the machine had opened to reveal a small boy in his birthday suit. He was supremely healthy, the kind of child that would surely grow to have the strength of ten men.

"Well…" Cao's voice was hesitant, but he forced himself through anyway. "Should we shoot him?

Shin raised an eyebrow at her first mate.

Oda was more emphatic. "By the storm, Cao!!"

"Yeah I didn't think so either." He admitted. He didn't mention that this wouldn't have been the first kid any of them had killed. "Okay. So do we leave him behind?"

"That's as good as shooting him." Oda pointed out of the town, towards where the knights had retreated. "Even if they don't know he smashed through their leader, with a destroyed knight the Empress will probably bring the Staff of the Azure Sky here to make an example. This port'll be a glassy crater in a week, tops."

Shin wasn't sure the Empress would go so far, but she'd been wrong a lot, and Oda was usually not. She never asked why he could predict the Empress so readily; she'd never wanted to know.

"Then we gotta take him with us." Cao gestured to the child, who was sitting silently and observing them.

Shin almost shot him on the spot. "We aren't slavers."

"That's not what I meant. Look at him, he'll grow up strong. He'll make a good shang wei one day"

The Reaver Queen turned to look the child in the eye. Now that she got a close look… those eyes pierced her soul, in both good and bad ways. She could almost feel the danger, the power that this child possessed, and would possess. It was like looking into the eyes of a shark.

And yet… there was understanding there. She couldn't put her finger on why but she could tell the child was far, far smarter than anything that age should be.

"… you might have a point." She conceded, taking the boy's hand. The boy didn't protest and walked with them. "All hands, return to the ship. We're punching back through the blockade before those robot bastards gather their courage."

"What about the rest?" Cao asked.

"Signal to them. If they can't keep up, they can't keep up."

As she looked down at the child, she smiled as she noticed something. The boy was too young to even hold a gun, and yet… those eyes were darting around the ship, taking in every detail that they could. He focused on the crew's activities; pulling ropes, adjusting sails, yelling out directions and seeing where people went…

He would be brilliant, she could already tell. All he needed was a way to learn.

"We never did have a son…" she murmured. "Did we, Yi?"

-

Of the Reaver Queen's seven ships with her that day, only three broke out. But her survival, and the destruction of a knight, rallied pirates across the globe to her banner. Before long, her three ships became seven once more. Then twelve. Then thirty.

And one of those would eventually come under your command…

-

VOTES (yes two)

Two votes this time. Firstly! A name for this primarch (I reserve the right to veto, and please be aware Tabgach is a pastiche of China, Korea, and Japan. Also, family names first). Obviously this one's a write-in.

I will also take suggestions for your physical appearance.

[] - Write-in: A name

Submissions so far:

[] - Write-in: Takehaya Furyu (from @NinetyNineLies )

Takehaya, taken from an epithet of Susanoo, meaning brave and swift for take and haya respectively. Furyu, taken from a TCG, means sealed dragon. The brave and swift dragon under a seal.

[] - Write-in: Ching Sun-Sin (from @<o>U<o> )

To go with his perpetually searching look, Ching has striking sea blue irises, which shift like the waves. They practically glow when Ching sails. Smooth skinned, with a body sleek enough that one would think it was designed to be as streamlined as possible…

Has Korean facial features. Not a blemish or wound to be seen.

[] - Ching Long Auramite (from @yannoshka )
to
a) Keep our adopted mother's family name
b) Invoke the most legendary literary pirate - Long John Silver
c) Our name would literally be "Dragon", how cool is that?



Secondly!

You're not sure why and neither is your crew, but from an early age you've had skill that goes beyond the ability of any mortal man. Strength, intelligence, speed… and something beyond any simple explanation beyond 'your pod, maybe'. What is it?

[] – Machine repair

From an early age, you've always had a knack for the machines and technology you encounter on Tabgach. Sometimes you're able to fix the entirety of a ship or a machine's systems with a single touch, as if blessed by a divine god of the machine itself.

[] – Weather Sense

You've got a knack for navigating harsh weather, and knowing when it's going to turn. You sense storms coming hours in advance of anyone else. The winds are always at your back, and sailing is always smooth.

(Note: this will also apply to the currents of the warp and space travel when we get there)

[] – Beast Affinity

The primarchs all have naturally overwhelming charisma when it comes to other humans, but you've got the same knack for animals and beasts. Wolves, sharks, giant squid, doesn't matter, they'll listen to you as easily as any man.

[] – Write-in