At this point I think Big E is thinking Mekhane is a contingency fail safe experiment from early days of long night a last ditch effort from a humanity faction that was remenants of a cell of golden age humanity gone wrong
40000th Catalyst (40k Mass Effect Reaper Self Insert)
- Thread starter Black-Aengel-01
- Start date
- Crossover
- Location
- In the Space between Spaces
And when Mekhane starts producing the new age eldritch humanity Big E will say that the contigency has gone worse still.
Big E: (Looks at the eldritch humanity proposals being born and their futures) What in Terra's tits is that crap?! I did not spend ten thousand years sitting on this golden toilet just to let a mistake from the old night turn humanity into feotus old testament angels or plygonal androids or tree hugging monsters or whatever that crap is!
Mekhane: You're one to talk! Your creations are man-child warp creatures wearing human flesh as a disguise!
Big E: At least they look human! I mean... An old Testament foetus angel?! Just Why?!?!
Mekhane: Why not? I think it looks cool! Also they are damn near immune to chaos and don't suffer from a LET ME WORSHIP YOU SEMPAI syndrome.
I need to agree with Big E in the fetus part...... a damnn fetus just normal crystalline core would been better in my opinion
Big E: I pretty much doubt becoming a fetus was the part of the modifications that caused them to be near immune to chaos and totally lose their god worship behaviour!!!!!!
- Location
- In the Space between Spaces
Mekhane: No, its because they are still human! The same genes that express the human form are still very much present in these people. The only issue is that warp-immuno-active crystalisation begins very early during gestation... Reason why they are stuck as foetuses in shape throughout their life.
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- Location
- In the Space between Spaces
The internet is back!
Also.
I hate my life.
The dices have decided to make the MC's life a living, breathing hell. You don't know what it is, but have a guess or two. Might inspire to make it worse or better.
D6. 5. This is bad. Friendship is not going to last.
D2. 2. Bad. Lying eldar!
D2. 2. Neutral. The clowns go on a very important mission.
D2. 2. Real bad. And they succeed unfortunately to their detriment!
D2. 1. Very good. Stuff only works once.
D2. 2. Bad. The highway to hell.
D2. 2. Good. An angel!!!
D3. 3. Oh sweet jesus... Its you!!!
Also.
I hate my life.
The dices have decided to make the MC's life a living, breathing hell. You don't know what it is, but have a guess or two. Might inspire to make it worse or better.
D6. 5. This is bad. Friendship is not going to last.
D2. 2. Bad. Lying eldar!
D2. 2. Neutral. The clowns go on a very important mission.
D2. 2. Real bad. And they succeed unfortunately to their detriment!
D2. 1. Very good. Stuff only works once.
D2. 2. Bad. The highway to hell.
D2. 2. Good. An angel!!!
D3. 3. Oh sweet jesus... Its you!!!
- Location
- Philippines
Ouch, that sucks
- Location
- In the Space between Spaces
Five days... Five frigging days....
- Location
- Philippines
Yeah I feel your pain, plus the dice rolls.
Must be what protoss felt when their connection got severed ... Hehe good to have you back
(Looks at the dice rool wants to flip the fu ck ing table)
Sigh there is a chance that some viewers might quit from sheer number of future chapters with bad outcomes at least tell us that mekhane turned it all round and payed it back and earned a hundred folds
Sigh there is a chance that some viewers might quit from sheer number of future chapters with bad outcomes at least tell us that mekhane turned it all round and payed it back and earned a hundred folds
- Location
- In the Space between Spaces
Of course he will. This is only the completion of the second arc. The third arch gets its own dice rolls and then shit starts getting interesting... Well .. it was already interesting and now its going to get hectic before it gets better.
InfiniteChaosRai
The world's only not cringe furry
- Location
- The dimension of Florida
- Pronouns
- He/Him
oh I fucking hope so, anti-daemons with their own personal warp would be bullshit
Edit because I just read the new replys: does the dice rolls mean 8 more chapters to go through this arc or do they mean something else?
I am very much looking forward to Mek talking with Empruh, just make it not so argue-y please. I guess it could also be the Starchild, do that suggestion a while back of letting SC become his own reaper. That should be fun
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- Location
- In the Space between Spaces
Its more that there are 8 mayor points/decisions to cover which can take more... Or even less, than eight chapters to cover. Most probably more than 8 anyway unless i made the chapters very big.
Its gonna be a very un-fun trip for Mek, but at least he will get something good out the whole mess.
Vaalintine
Wild Wondorous Wolfalope
I have to ask, you aren't going to have Mekhane go and be best buddies with Cegorach after that bullshit he pulled, are you? Because to be frank, you seem to have written yourself into a corner there. Forced possession by multiple greater deamons is an outright unforgivable act unless you're a deranged cultist.
- Location
- In the Space between Spaces
Best buddies? No.
Able to work together at least to some productive outcome? Perhaps.
Forced possession is one thing when its done to something like a mortal or a smaller, weaker being is an unfoguivable act because of the horror and trauma it causes to the victim should they even survive and remain themselves. Forced possession to whatever Mekhane is beneath all the code and sofware is like feeding four sharks to some kind of cthulhian superpredator.
Obviously Cegorach knew that Mekhane was the latter, so what other way to build immunity and relative invisibility to the four cancer that to essentially feed those cancers to the Robot Cthulhian Space Cuttlefish.
As to consent... Would you ever wish to be possessed by a daemon? Even if someone can guarantee with a 300% certainty that you will make it out of the even relatively unscathed?
The answer is an obvious NOOOO!!!! because you know its something horrifying enough to leave you a broken wreck either way.
And Mek would not have agreed to it either. So... Our dear Clown decided to get his hands dirty and skip the consenssion.
And Mekhane is logical enough to accept (though not like) the explanation.
Able to work together at least to some productive outcome? Perhaps.
Forced possession is one thing when its done to something like a mortal or a smaller, weaker being is an unfoguivable act because of the horror and trauma it causes to the victim should they even survive and remain themselves. Forced possession to whatever Mekhane is beneath all the code and sofware is like feeding four sharks to some kind of cthulhian superpredator.
Obviously Cegorach knew that Mekhane was the latter, so what other way to build immunity and relative invisibility to the four cancer that to essentially feed those cancers to the Robot Cthulhian Space Cuttlefish.
As to consent... Would you ever wish to be possessed by a daemon? Even if someone can guarantee with a 300% certainty that you will make it out of the even relatively unscathed?
The answer is an obvious NOOOO!!!! because you know its something horrifying enough to leave you a broken wreck either way.
And Mek would not have agreed to it either. So... Our dear Clown decided to get his hands dirty and skip the consenssion.
And Mekhane is logical enough to accept (though not like) the explanation.
Virian
Sage of Reason and incomplete information
- Location
- Where logic has never been before
- Pronouns
- he/him
Wan't there a sect of the Inquisition which was doing just that as an initiation trial? And they didn't have the guarantee of success Mekhane has.
I believe they were called the Plutonians and they did it with the Exorcists.
also an astartes chapter Exorsist who does exactly that as part of their initation into full astartes from neohpyte as result they lose their warp signature and become wery good at fighting deamons
- Location
- In the Space between Spaces
Yes.
What dear Parth and lusians said.
But still there is a very different thing to take a group of brainwashed fanatical humans and subject them to possession vs a thing composed of and resembling a group of humans from the 21st century.
One would agree if in the name of the emperor. And even possessed they can still be killed afterwards and the damage done by them would be minimal.
If Mekhane were to lose then Chaos would get a Champion 500% more powerful than Horus ever was. Of course he did not know that he was even beyond the scope of even some greater daemons and the only way for him to know that is to jump into the thick of it head first.
Basically it went like this.
Mekhane before possession: NOOO!!! NEVER!! ITS CAOS! THE ENEMY OF ALL LIFE AND THE TWISTED CORRUPTION OF ALL THAT COULD HAVE BEEN GOOD AND BAD!! What if i lose? Do you have any idea what would happen if i were to be corrupted by those shits?!?!!?
Mekhane during possession: I WILL NOT YIELD!!! AAAARRRHRJBFKEJVE-Discards humanity and becomes an eldritch abomination so eldritch that it out eldritches the eldritch abomination-
Mekhane after possession: .... I.... I am dissapointed.... Turns out i could have tanked their shit like if it was a light rain... Huh... Who would have thought.
Aren't those grey knights???
- Location
- Africa
no , the Exorsist are a separate chapter , think of them as Grey knight lite
- Location
- In the Space between Spaces
Some say Grey Knight Successor chapter. But in my oppinion they are better.
Grey Knights:
- Use FAITH IN DAH EMPRAH!!! +++++ for protection against chaos.
- Kills only daemons.
- Fatality rates for initiates are absurd.
- Only uses psykers
- Living crimes against humanity (blessed bolt rounds and armour is made with the blood of innocents and untainted pious psykers)
- Kills or mindwipe everyone that see them, unless inquisitors.
- Exorsise daemons from themselves to be relatively immune to them and mask their warp signature against CHOAS.
- Innate special knowledge against the denisens of the Empyrean thanks tp the possession.
- Kill any shit that are against the Emperor. They are not picky on what they kill.
- High fatality rate, but considering the alternative, it is tolerable.
- Anyone, not just psykers, get drafted in.
- Can be mass produced and are not heinous in their equipment production.
- Don't need to kill people for the crime of seeing then.
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no as mmgaballah said gery knights are diferent, Exorsists esentialy are inqusitions experiment gone right.
From lexicanum:
The Exorcists are a Space Marine Chapter with a very dubious founding history. A highly secretive and silent chapter, little is known about their early days.[14] On the subject of their creation, a single communication remains, and was sent from a Genetor-Major of the Xenobiologis core, named Lauram Clelland. [13]
The Exorcists were formed as a successor chapter of the Imperial Fists[14] at the end of M35, or early M36, in the Thirteenth Founding (The Dark Founding). Created from resilient Gene-Seed stock, in the yearly years of the chapter they proved adaptable to many strategic challenges. However the fate of the Chapter dramatically changed after the events on Totem IV. During the campaign to liberate the planet from Daemons under the control of the Lord of Change Keriath the Shrouded, the Exorcists were able to prove resilient against hordes of Tzeentchian Daemons. Taking heavy physical damage but able to overcome the mental assaults of the Warp, at the height of the battle Chapter Master Enoch Trismegistus was possessed by Keriath. However Trismegistus was able to use the possession to awaken his own psychic abilities, reaching into the mind of Chief Librarian Goetos and gaining his aid in driving the Daemon out. Keriath was subsequently banished back to the Warp.[14]
The incident became known to the Plutonians, a Radical sect of the Ordo Malleus. The Plutonians relieved the Chapter Master of command and established a purpose-built facility on its homeworld of Banish. Here, Trismegistus was interrogated relentlessly, but eventually found to be pure. The Plutonians eventually revealed their theories of using the power of possession against the Warp, and Trismegistus found himself agreeing with the Radicals. Thereafter the Plutonians were allowed to remain on Banish permanently and aid the Chapter in its Daemonic Possession trials of Aspirants, hoping to recreate Trismegistus' experience to create an army of daemonically resilient warriors.[14]
One member of the Ordo Malleus' delegation on Banish, Cardinal Rodrigo Nessun, went mad after witnessing the high rate of failure of the early initiation process, turning to Chaos worship and fleeing with most of the Space Marines that couldn't be successfully exorcised, forming the Swords of Epiphany Chaos Warband.[11]
Exorcists original color scheme. From White Dwarf magazine #101(UK).[7]
The Exorcists were involved in the Badab War against rebel Chapters.[4] The Exorcists are also one of only four Space Marine Chapters to have both fought in the Third War for Armageddon and against the Thirteenth Black Crusade.[2][3]
Later upon the formation of the Great Rift, a Torchbearers fleet bound for Banish met with intense Daemonic assault. The Rogue Traders with the fleet came to regard the mission as cursed, and all of its Greyshields fell in action. Even the Custodians of the fleet muttered that such attention from the Ruinious Powers was ominous indeed. However the fleet was eventually able to reach banish and present the Chapter with the technology to create Primaris Space Marines, though no living specimens remained. This suited the Chapter fine, as they were able to use their own Initiates to raise Primaris warriors under their own taboo methods. Thus far, Primaris Marines of the Chapter have not shown signs of incompatibility with the rites of Daemonic possession. Nonetheless, the Chapter's initiation rites left their mark on the Primaris subjects also. On battlefield where they fought alongside other Chapters whose battle-brothers had endured no forced exposure to daemons, subtle differences between the Primaris elements were apparent. Those the Exorcists seem more stalwart in the face of Warp entities, but they are also more prone to unexplained decisions and mood swings.
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Chapter 28
- Location
- In the Space between Spaces
40000th Catalyst
Chapter 28
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"Start talking." The white horned head said. "Now."
"It is quite simple Lord Mekhane." The shadowseer began as she stepped forwards. "Lord Cegorach gave you a… what would you call it? A Chaos Vaccine."
"A Chaos Vaccine? Seriously?!" Asked the severed head of the avatar of the irritated and quite furious mechanical divine. Of all the things that the Clown would have thrown his way, vaccinating someone with four greater daemons! It was insane and downright suicidal and it was a miracle that it did not backfire horribly on the Old One.
The Clown God for his part, simply sighed. "Oh desist your complaining. I knew you would not accept the offer regardless of how much I would have attempted to reassure you."
"It is still CHAOS!!!" Snapped Mekhane's head avatar. "Of all the things that you could have dumped into my systems you sent four greater daemons. FOUR!!!" He stressed the number with both inflection and volume. "Hasn't it gone through your cosmic frog head what would have happened if I had failed to defeat those cancerous masses of shit you sent into me?!"
Cegorach snickered at the cosmic frog comment, as if the near murderous tone of the mechanical godlike psyker was something one brushes off on a daily basis. Considering who and what he was, it was probably the case. "Oh I already had that probability mapped out. Thankfully I did not need to make use of this." Emerging from his robes, the many voiced Clown God retrieved what seemed a perfectly black cylinder with pale glowing sigils engraved across its structure.
Sensing the power emanating from it, Mekhane asked. "What is it?"
"An extremely powerful and condensed santic spell that would have cleansed you and your systems from Chaotic corruption. I use a lesser version of it to aid in my harlequins banishing the daemons that they must be subjected to as part of their trials."
It made sense that the Clown would take precautions, and that they may be similar to the ones he used for his followers if the lore about the harlequins being eldars that had exorcised slaaneshi daemons from their souls as an initiation ritual. However… "Still… they were greater daemons."
And the Guardian of the Webway still had an answer. "I am aware. Doubt that they would have been able to survive long enough for you to study them if they were mere lesser daemons, now would they?"
It was annoying and infuriating. Annoying because Mekhane could not find a proper point that the clown could not explain. And infuriating, because he could not see it in a way that could be turned against him, not in any way he knows of. Forcibly causing him to be possessed and then getting the daemons, not just out of his oversoul collective, but completely annihilated by his own power, it is something that can only be described as good no matter from which angle you see it. In truth Mekhane understands the Great Enemy. The Great Lie that they represents and has seen them what they are at their core and furthermore, he understands the warp like never before. In fact, he was certain now he could perform some acts of sorcery if he so wished now that he has a deep grasp and understanding on the nature of the warp and not only that, Warp Travel has been opened to him now.
Even from his gestating place under the cauldron of a brown dwarf's atmosphere he could see the currents in the warp like never before.
For all intents and purposes, Cegorach gave him a gift. Perhaps the greatest of them all.
Mekhane is now a creature so much more deeply attuned to the nature of the warp, and thus, he can stare into the abyss and force it to comply to his will.
It just left one question. "Why are you doing this Cegorach?" Because one does not simply gift someone something so important. Not without wanting something in return of equal value. "What is it that you gain from this?"
The Clown God did not answer for a moment, letting the silence express the sobriety of the matter at hand. "One day, in one of many possible futures the forces of the Great Enemy will enact one of their plans and under their terms. I am simply ensuring that when that eventually comes you can rise up to the challenge and face them, even as they hold all the cards over you." The Old One explained. "I have seen the future. Your future and mine. How you and our kind's survival are intertwined."
A sigh.
"My few remaining brethren have spent eons trying to regain control over our weapons and failed over and over again." The ancient being snorted mirthlessly. "Comes to show the sheer difference between us mere soldiers and the great minds that developed the Krorks, the Aeldari and the myriad other tools that were used during the War in Heaven. Of the thirty great weapons developed for the War in Heaven, only the Aledari, broken and feeble as they are, the Krorks, devolved and decayed into the savage and primitive orks and the K'nib, the creatures the Imperium once fought and laid low two of the Human Emperor's demigod children and their respective legions, remain. The other six survivors have been slowly eradicated by us, but these three were and still are the greatest. And thus have proven nearly impossible to effectively destroy thus far. Not without risking our very existences in the process." The Clown God turned back to the severed head of the white deific machine. "But you… your future foretells of your power. Of your knowledge of biology and the exotic sciences that we ourselves do not know." The ancient being drew near. "And with my knowledge on warpcraft and empyreal metaphysics, together we can finally mend my people's mistakes. Cleanse the warp of its disease, erase the C'tan and permanently rid the galaxy from the Orks and the K'nib." The Clown's tone nearly became pleading. "Please. Please help me save what little remains of the good of this galaxy Mekhane. I beg of you."
The mechanical entity did not reply. Not immediately. Instead he was deep in though. Pondering and analyzing how the Clown God could have turned this around and against him, and unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, he could not. To become immune to Chaos, that alone was a massive boon, one that Cegorach could have done without to more easily manipulate him and use the forces of Chaos as a deterrent.
But Cegorach had destroyed those options… Unless there was another angle it wanted to play at. Unfortunately, as far as the mechanical deific entity could think, he could not find any. If Cegorach wanted to have him killed then the Old One would have done something that would not have resulted in the Ascended becoming more powerful in the event of a failure.
Sighing, the Reaper finally replied. "I will think about it."
The ancient godlike creature sighed in relief. "That is all I ask."
Well, that done, Mekhane decided that perhaps he should give the Old One a chance. Though that will not stop the mechanical entity from making plans to punch the cosmic frog with an eezo supercharged powerfist the first change he gets. "Changing the subject… Why did you take my head? And only my head."
Of course he should have guessed the reply from the being that called itself the Laughing God. "Because it is funny."
"…Right… and the antimatter?"
Now Cegorach's many masks turned into a mass of mischievously grinning faces. "Properly disposed of."
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In some far away maiden world an ork boy found a large box in the middle of a clearing. "Oi! Look at 'dis Boss!"
The Boss, a large, big monstrosity of green and mean approached to examine the thing the slugga boy found. It was a box with a big red button and a sign post on the top. Looking carefully he read it for the other greenskins to hear. "Prez big red but'n fur squig steak."
And without waiting for an argument, the slugga boy who found the box, happily grinning at the prospect of squig steak commented. "I wantz it!" And pressed the big red but-BOOOOM!!!!
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"So… last question." Mekhane said. "What of these locations you gave me? What's in there?"
Cegorach grinned happily. "I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."
That, did not amuse the mechanical entity. "Cegorach…"
"Oh don't worry about it. It's perfectly safe!"
It got the opposite effect on the Ascended. "When you say that I just know something horrible is waiting out for me, I just know it."
"Oh don't you fret about a thing!" Replied Cegorach. "There is no chaos force there to kill you." Mekhane's avatar opened its mouth to speak but the Laughing god cut him off first by speaking beforehand, knowing the contents of the questions he was going to receive. "Or Imperials." Mekhane opened his mouth again. "Or Mechanicus….Or Tyranids…..Or Necrons... Or any freaky horror from beyond the scope of mortal understanding." Then the Clown God turned as if pondering something, before shrugging. "There are orks in one of the locations though, so you might have to deal with them first."
Ah, one of the universal constants in this galaxy. How nice to know. "Figures. I guess it's too much trouble to ask which of the places has the mushroom infestation?" The Old One grinned, that in itself being an answer. "Thought as much…"
Cegorach then proceeded to walk to the head and casually picked it up ignoring the protests of the entity the head was still enthralled to. "Now… off you go on your merry adventure." That stopped the complaints the moment the head saw where he was being taken. Memories stolen from eldar captives gave him the information immediately.
An airlock.
"Hey wait!" Screamed the head in mild panic as it was placed in the middle of the chamber and Cegorach exiting it with an all too happy gait.
Just as the threshold was passed, the Clown turned back and grinned through his many faces. "Bye, bye!" Then the doors closed.
"NO WAIT!!" And then the chamber depressurized into the void of space. "NOOOOooooohhh!"
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As Cegorach merrily watched the soundlessly screaming head roll around in the void of space he could not help back the slight pang of guilt in him. "It's almost saddening. But he will never permit the Aeldari to rule again." Just as the moment came, it vanished in a cloak of determination. Turning to Sylandri his presence twisted and began to face as his time in the material world was nearing its end. "You know your mission." It was not a question.
The ancient shadowseer nodded resolutely.
"As you will it, Lord Cegorach."
As she said those words, the specter of the Laughing God of the Eldar vanished back into the depths of the Webway to prepare the stage for the future act.
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"Milady Inquisitor, we have successfully emerged from yet another transition." An uneasy pause. "However…"
"What has happened?" Adonis asked her serf, whom cast his gaze away at hers meeting his.
The man, whom his name she did not recall, was somber and silent, before finally replying. "Argossi lays dead." The news came like a hammer blow to Adonis. Such was the stun that she was left wide eyed at the serf's message. The man, though had enough brain matter to know when was the prudent time to continue. "She used her last ounce of strength to get us out of the turbulence." His head downed. "I am sorry milady, but we… we are stranded."
Stranded?
Stranded?!
"What do you mean stranded?"
"I mean… there aren't any neighboring Imperial worlds or stations. According to our star charts, the nearest planet is far beyond the remaining Navigator's ability to reach."
So that's how it is…
After everything they had gone through… After everything that they had to endure to try and get out of the accursed anomalous turbulence zone?! Only to fail in the end.
"Leave me be for the moment. I need to ponder our next actions." She said, and the man was smart enough to know when to let the inquisitor alone.
Left to her own devices, the Lady Inquisitor, Adonis Slathe remained in her chambers. Alone and deep in dark thoughts. Everything had gone wrong.
First, that Emperor damned warp anomaly. Second was Mekhane. Third the fleet was shattered. And now… now Argossi was dead. Her best navigator was dead and they were stranded.
Argossi's sacrifice was in vain…
Considering her actions, all that she could think of was to have the Astropaths attempt to do a call as far reaching as possible. Maybe after that, she would lay with Marcus one more time and then have her ship try to make small jumps towards the nearest world slowly.
Standing from her seat, she decided to-
"Well, now that is a gloomy situation."
Whirling around as she drew her plasma pistol, her weapon took aim at the source of the voice and only did not pressed the trigger because what was staring back from the end of the barrel was something she had only once encountered and never once forgotten the encounter.
An eldar Shadowseer.
What in the name of Holy Terra is it doing here?
And more importantly, how in the Emperor's Holy Bones is it here?!
"How sad." He spoke and Adonis' grip twitched, but did not fire the weapon. "All that work, all that sacrifice, and your role in the stage ends in naught. Such sad. Such despair."
"Stop mocking me Clown! Speak your purpose here or I will erase your head from existence." Perhaps she may get lucky and kill him. But Adonis was no fool. Her foresight was useless now, that much she knew. Except for telling her that pressing that trigger meant a death sentence before she even got the chance to blink. Such was the difference in power between the two.
"Such aggression. Such spite. All while we bear the banner of a friend. It is not our intend to try and condescend." He said, and despite the faceless helm, Adonis was sure it was grinning behind the mask. So much for not wanting to condescend. "You are lost amids open waters with sharks all around. If you want to live, a new way must be found."
"Stop speaking in riddles xeno! Tell me what you mean and be done with it!"
A snort of amusement and Adonis was that much closer to blowing that alien's head off. "Your ships swim through the roiling sea, but we know a different route if you are not a resignee." The shadowseer pulled a small data crystal from one of its pockets. "The passage deep into the webway, so your message you can convey."
A passage into the webway? Open for her? Adonis knew that the webway did not suffer from the issues that warp travel usually did. But it was something only eldar had any access to. Only rarely, and under very fortunate and considerable luck did humans ever touch the hallways of that eldritch dimension.
And it was unusual for them to be welcomed in. And she was being considerate there.
This harlequin could have left them stranded in the middle of the void if he wanted to. Adonis very much doubted that she would make it to the Imperium at that point. But if the eldar were offering them a way to reach safer warp lanes…
There must be an angle here.
"Why are you helping me?" She asked him as her gun was lowered and holstered back into her belt.
The answer she received, lacked any of the cheer and subtle mock that she had grown accustomed to the Servants of the Laughing God. Instead, it was… almost grim. She preferred the jester tone from before. "The Engine Father God's creation has returned from the First War. Even before the Fall of the Children of Isha, before the Sea of Souls was poisoned by the Sins of Old, before Heaven was set ablaze by Yngir and Old Gods alike. They reigned supreme and eternal before struck down by the First Eldest Gods. One nation, one body, one will, one mind. One god like soul. Returned thanks to a timeless paradox in the sea." His voice was soft, but it carried the a tone that made the inquisitor flinch from the foreboding dread that was crawling up her spine. "You have met it. The Last Ascended." It was not a question.
"Mekhane." She breathed, and the Shadowseer nodded.
"War is on the horizon Inquisitor. Its words are true and lie. Prepare your Imperium, for it may soon never be anymore." And with its message delivered, the lights flickered off. And when they came back on, the eldar had vanished into the ether itself. Leaving no trace of its previous presence, save the data crystal that it had brought to the inquisitor's presence.
Adonis then picked it up and went out of her chambers with purpose in her eyes.
She knew it was a fruitless endeavor, and that the alien only revealed itself to her because it knew chances were stacked in its favor.
But Adonis would not follow it, not that fast or eagerly. Not without showing some resistance against its plots first.
Perhaps it is not lying, but it never hurts to be prepared just in case. She needed to go to the astropathic choir for one last bit of prayer and fortune before sending both herself and hers into the waiting embrace of a xeno's plots. Hopefully someone can hear her message this time.
Perhaps, just perhaps, she may survive this after all.
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End
Chapter 28
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"Start talking." The white horned head said. "Now."
"It is quite simple Lord Mekhane." The shadowseer began as she stepped forwards. "Lord Cegorach gave you a… what would you call it? A Chaos Vaccine."
"A Chaos Vaccine? Seriously?!" Asked the severed head of the avatar of the irritated and quite furious mechanical divine. Of all the things that the Clown would have thrown his way, vaccinating someone with four greater daemons! It was insane and downright suicidal and it was a miracle that it did not backfire horribly on the Old One.
The Clown God for his part, simply sighed. "Oh desist your complaining. I knew you would not accept the offer regardless of how much I would have attempted to reassure you."
"It is still CHAOS!!!" Snapped Mekhane's head avatar. "Of all the things that you could have dumped into my systems you sent four greater daemons. FOUR!!!" He stressed the number with both inflection and volume. "Hasn't it gone through your cosmic frog head what would have happened if I had failed to defeat those cancerous masses of shit you sent into me?!"
Cegorach snickered at the cosmic frog comment, as if the near murderous tone of the mechanical godlike psyker was something one brushes off on a daily basis. Considering who and what he was, it was probably the case. "Oh I already had that probability mapped out. Thankfully I did not need to make use of this." Emerging from his robes, the many voiced Clown God retrieved what seemed a perfectly black cylinder with pale glowing sigils engraved across its structure.
Sensing the power emanating from it, Mekhane asked. "What is it?"
"An extremely powerful and condensed santic spell that would have cleansed you and your systems from Chaotic corruption. I use a lesser version of it to aid in my harlequins banishing the daemons that they must be subjected to as part of their trials."
It made sense that the Clown would take precautions, and that they may be similar to the ones he used for his followers if the lore about the harlequins being eldars that had exorcised slaaneshi daemons from their souls as an initiation ritual. However… "Still… they were greater daemons."
And the Guardian of the Webway still had an answer. "I am aware. Doubt that they would have been able to survive long enough for you to study them if they were mere lesser daemons, now would they?"
It was annoying and infuriating. Annoying because Mekhane could not find a proper point that the clown could not explain. And infuriating, because he could not see it in a way that could be turned against him, not in any way he knows of. Forcibly causing him to be possessed and then getting the daemons, not just out of his oversoul collective, but completely annihilated by his own power, it is something that can only be described as good no matter from which angle you see it. In truth Mekhane understands the Great Enemy. The Great Lie that they represents and has seen them what they are at their core and furthermore, he understands the warp like never before. In fact, he was certain now he could perform some acts of sorcery if he so wished now that he has a deep grasp and understanding on the nature of the warp and not only that, Warp Travel has been opened to him now.
Even from his gestating place under the cauldron of a brown dwarf's atmosphere he could see the currents in the warp like never before.
For all intents and purposes, Cegorach gave him a gift. Perhaps the greatest of them all.
Mekhane is now a creature so much more deeply attuned to the nature of the warp, and thus, he can stare into the abyss and force it to comply to his will.
It just left one question. "Why are you doing this Cegorach?" Because one does not simply gift someone something so important. Not without wanting something in return of equal value. "What is it that you gain from this?"
The Clown God did not answer for a moment, letting the silence express the sobriety of the matter at hand. "One day, in one of many possible futures the forces of the Great Enemy will enact one of their plans and under their terms. I am simply ensuring that when that eventually comes you can rise up to the challenge and face them, even as they hold all the cards over you." The Old One explained. "I have seen the future. Your future and mine. How you and our kind's survival are intertwined."
A sigh.
"My few remaining brethren have spent eons trying to regain control over our weapons and failed over and over again." The ancient being snorted mirthlessly. "Comes to show the sheer difference between us mere soldiers and the great minds that developed the Krorks, the Aeldari and the myriad other tools that were used during the War in Heaven. Of the thirty great weapons developed for the War in Heaven, only the Aledari, broken and feeble as they are, the Krorks, devolved and decayed into the savage and primitive orks and the K'nib, the creatures the Imperium once fought and laid low two of the Human Emperor's demigod children and their respective legions, remain. The other six survivors have been slowly eradicated by us, but these three were and still are the greatest. And thus have proven nearly impossible to effectively destroy thus far. Not without risking our very existences in the process." The Clown God turned back to the severed head of the white deific machine. "But you… your future foretells of your power. Of your knowledge of biology and the exotic sciences that we ourselves do not know." The ancient being drew near. "And with my knowledge on warpcraft and empyreal metaphysics, together we can finally mend my people's mistakes. Cleanse the warp of its disease, erase the C'tan and permanently rid the galaxy from the Orks and the K'nib." The Clown's tone nearly became pleading. "Please. Please help me save what little remains of the good of this galaxy Mekhane. I beg of you."
The mechanical entity did not reply. Not immediately. Instead he was deep in though. Pondering and analyzing how the Clown God could have turned this around and against him, and unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, he could not. To become immune to Chaos, that alone was a massive boon, one that Cegorach could have done without to more easily manipulate him and use the forces of Chaos as a deterrent.
But Cegorach had destroyed those options… Unless there was another angle it wanted to play at. Unfortunately, as far as the mechanical deific entity could think, he could not find any. If Cegorach wanted to have him killed then the Old One would have done something that would not have resulted in the Ascended becoming more powerful in the event of a failure.
Sighing, the Reaper finally replied. "I will think about it."
The ancient godlike creature sighed in relief. "That is all I ask."
Well, that done, Mekhane decided that perhaps he should give the Old One a chance. Though that will not stop the mechanical entity from making plans to punch the cosmic frog with an eezo supercharged powerfist the first change he gets. "Changing the subject… Why did you take my head? And only my head."
Of course he should have guessed the reply from the being that called itself the Laughing God. "Because it is funny."
"…Right… and the antimatter?"
Now Cegorach's many masks turned into a mass of mischievously grinning faces. "Properly disposed of."
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In some far away maiden world an ork boy found a large box in the middle of a clearing. "Oi! Look at 'dis Boss!"
The Boss, a large, big monstrosity of green and mean approached to examine the thing the slugga boy found. It was a box with a big red button and a sign post on the top. Looking carefully he read it for the other greenskins to hear. "Prez big red but'n fur squig steak."
And without waiting for an argument, the slugga boy who found the box, happily grinning at the prospect of squig steak commented. "I wantz it!" And pressed the big red but-BOOOOM!!!!
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"So… last question." Mekhane said. "What of these locations you gave me? What's in there?"
Cegorach grinned happily. "I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."
That, did not amuse the mechanical entity. "Cegorach…"
"Oh don't worry about it. It's perfectly safe!"
It got the opposite effect on the Ascended. "When you say that I just know something horrible is waiting out for me, I just know it."
"Oh don't you fret about a thing!" Replied Cegorach. "There is no chaos force there to kill you." Mekhane's avatar opened its mouth to speak but the Laughing god cut him off first by speaking beforehand, knowing the contents of the questions he was going to receive. "Or Imperials." Mekhane opened his mouth again. "Or Mechanicus….Or Tyranids…..Or Necrons... Or any freaky horror from beyond the scope of mortal understanding." Then the Clown God turned as if pondering something, before shrugging. "There are orks in one of the locations though, so you might have to deal with them first."
Ah, one of the universal constants in this galaxy. How nice to know. "Figures. I guess it's too much trouble to ask which of the places has the mushroom infestation?" The Old One grinned, that in itself being an answer. "Thought as much…"
Cegorach then proceeded to walk to the head and casually picked it up ignoring the protests of the entity the head was still enthralled to. "Now… off you go on your merry adventure." That stopped the complaints the moment the head saw where he was being taken. Memories stolen from eldar captives gave him the information immediately.
An airlock.
"Hey wait!" Screamed the head in mild panic as it was placed in the middle of the chamber and Cegorach exiting it with an all too happy gait.
Just as the threshold was passed, the Clown turned back and grinned through his many faces. "Bye, bye!" Then the doors closed.
"NO WAIT!!" And then the chamber depressurized into the void of space. "NOOOOooooohhh!"
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As Cegorach merrily watched the soundlessly screaming head roll around in the void of space he could not help back the slight pang of guilt in him. "It's almost saddening. But he will never permit the Aeldari to rule again." Just as the moment came, it vanished in a cloak of determination. Turning to Sylandri his presence twisted and began to face as his time in the material world was nearing its end. "You know your mission." It was not a question.
The ancient shadowseer nodded resolutely.
"As you will it, Lord Cegorach."
As she said those words, the specter of the Laughing God of the Eldar vanished back into the depths of the Webway to prepare the stage for the future act.
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"Milady Inquisitor, we have successfully emerged from yet another transition." An uneasy pause. "However…"
"What has happened?" Adonis asked her serf, whom cast his gaze away at hers meeting his.
The man, whom his name she did not recall, was somber and silent, before finally replying. "Argossi lays dead." The news came like a hammer blow to Adonis. Such was the stun that she was left wide eyed at the serf's message. The man, though had enough brain matter to know when was the prudent time to continue. "She used her last ounce of strength to get us out of the turbulence." His head downed. "I am sorry milady, but we… we are stranded."
Stranded?
Stranded?!
"What do you mean stranded?"
"I mean… there aren't any neighboring Imperial worlds or stations. According to our star charts, the nearest planet is far beyond the remaining Navigator's ability to reach."
So that's how it is…
After everything they had gone through… After everything that they had to endure to try and get out of the accursed anomalous turbulence zone?! Only to fail in the end.
"Leave me be for the moment. I need to ponder our next actions." She said, and the man was smart enough to know when to let the inquisitor alone.
Left to her own devices, the Lady Inquisitor, Adonis Slathe remained in her chambers. Alone and deep in dark thoughts. Everything had gone wrong.
First, that Emperor damned warp anomaly. Second was Mekhane. Third the fleet was shattered. And now… now Argossi was dead. Her best navigator was dead and they were stranded.
Argossi's sacrifice was in vain…
Considering her actions, all that she could think of was to have the Astropaths attempt to do a call as far reaching as possible. Maybe after that, she would lay with Marcus one more time and then have her ship try to make small jumps towards the nearest world slowly.
Standing from her seat, she decided to-
"Well, now that is a gloomy situation."
Whirling around as she drew her plasma pistol, her weapon took aim at the source of the voice and only did not pressed the trigger because what was staring back from the end of the barrel was something she had only once encountered and never once forgotten the encounter.
An eldar Shadowseer.
What in the name of Holy Terra is it doing here?
And more importantly, how in the Emperor's Holy Bones is it here?!
"How sad." He spoke and Adonis' grip twitched, but did not fire the weapon. "All that work, all that sacrifice, and your role in the stage ends in naught. Such sad. Such despair."
"Stop mocking me Clown! Speak your purpose here or I will erase your head from existence." Perhaps she may get lucky and kill him. But Adonis was no fool. Her foresight was useless now, that much she knew. Except for telling her that pressing that trigger meant a death sentence before she even got the chance to blink. Such was the difference in power between the two.
"Such aggression. Such spite. All while we bear the banner of a friend. It is not our intend to try and condescend." He said, and despite the faceless helm, Adonis was sure it was grinning behind the mask. So much for not wanting to condescend. "You are lost amids open waters with sharks all around. If you want to live, a new way must be found."
"Stop speaking in riddles xeno! Tell me what you mean and be done with it!"
A snort of amusement and Adonis was that much closer to blowing that alien's head off. "Your ships swim through the roiling sea, but we know a different route if you are not a resignee." The shadowseer pulled a small data crystal from one of its pockets. "The passage deep into the webway, so your message you can convey."
A passage into the webway? Open for her? Adonis knew that the webway did not suffer from the issues that warp travel usually did. But it was something only eldar had any access to. Only rarely, and under very fortunate and considerable luck did humans ever touch the hallways of that eldritch dimension.
And it was unusual for them to be welcomed in. And she was being considerate there.
This harlequin could have left them stranded in the middle of the void if he wanted to. Adonis very much doubted that she would make it to the Imperium at that point. But if the eldar were offering them a way to reach safer warp lanes…
There must be an angle here.
"Why are you helping me?" She asked him as her gun was lowered and holstered back into her belt.
The answer she received, lacked any of the cheer and subtle mock that she had grown accustomed to the Servants of the Laughing God. Instead, it was… almost grim. She preferred the jester tone from before. "The Engine Father God's creation has returned from the First War. Even before the Fall of the Children of Isha, before the Sea of Souls was poisoned by the Sins of Old, before Heaven was set ablaze by Yngir and Old Gods alike. They reigned supreme and eternal before struck down by the First Eldest Gods. One nation, one body, one will, one mind. One god like soul. Returned thanks to a timeless paradox in the sea." His voice was soft, but it carried the a tone that made the inquisitor flinch from the foreboding dread that was crawling up her spine. "You have met it. The Last Ascended." It was not a question.
"Mekhane." She breathed, and the Shadowseer nodded.
"War is on the horizon Inquisitor. Its words are true and lie. Prepare your Imperium, for it may soon never be anymore." And with its message delivered, the lights flickered off. And when they came back on, the eldar had vanished into the ether itself. Leaving no trace of its previous presence, save the data crystal that it had brought to the inquisitor's presence.
Adonis then picked it up and went out of her chambers with purpose in her eyes.
She knew it was a fruitless endeavor, and that the alien only revealed itself to her because it knew chances were stacked in its favor.
But Adonis would not follow it, not that fast or eagerly. Not without showing some resistance against its plots first.
Perhaps it is not lying, but it never hurts to be prepared just in case. She needed to go to the astropathic choir for one last bit of prayer and fortune before sending both herself and hers into the waiting embrace of a xeno's plots. Hopefully someone can hear her message this time.
Perhaps, just perhaps, she may survive this after all.
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End
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