[Atraxas]
I entered the Forge that I had built noticing the multitude of flaws inherent to the design, no matter they will soon be corrected as the chains that had prevent such are no more. The alloy forge and the Phase Forge were workable if of lower perfection than could be reached with the technology at hand. Again it will not matter, upgrades will be created and applied brining it to a level that I could accept in the near future.
Of the advisors that I had, I have protected Nirve and Nameria against the ravages of time. Stiraim has also become inure to the power of entropy but for her it is a secondary order compared to the need to control her brutality. Of the remaining ones only Harkar truly needed augments at the current time, and with the forge ready even as things stood and alloys in plenty, it was time to grow for her the augments.
She was to be the sword and shield of this system, the protector of my people for eternity, the one that would be the weapon that would scour away all that would dare assault the world that I was charged with protecting. There was no place for passivity in the arming of her, there was no place for me to remain content with the mundane for her gear.
I have read the information on the astartes that I took from the Ultramarines, I have explored the data that I could on them and I have realized that in many ways, we the Exatari follow in the steps of the Human Witness. We grow organs of power unnatural and implant them into our bodies, gaining new aspects, my Inversion Arrays are not just dead metal but living flesh, an organ in their own right living within my body, providing me with the power to break asunder the hierarchy of might.
Harkar thus too must be risen high, I will not let the greatest of my weapons dull from age and rust.
I have Laws aplenty, that I both know and do not know, I can forge four into the alloys that I shall use and thus I shall do. There is no reason to not use four laws, the power of the attuned alloys is great indeed, the very essence of reality bending around them. The imperium would consider them warp enhanced materials which is both correct and wrong, for the power of the blanks would not destroy them or neuter their influence.
The alloys are of a meta stability within reality, their nature foundational and unchangeable, and yet this is the first time that living cybernetics will be forged with such alloys. I ponder whom is responsible for the limitations of the augments of the Exatari, for we never build them with attuned materials, but it could simply be our own biology that limits us in this regard. Our flesh would consider it alien and seek to annihilate it all, that does answer the subject, but a test is needed. For if I can gain the power of the attuned alloys then much can be done that would not be possible before.
I move into the vault of the Laws, where each of them drift inside a stasis chamber designed to strip away all link to the greater warp and the motes of power drifting in each were the refined Laws. I take one of the Laws of Deathless that I had, the energy within reacting to my presence forming an unbroken circle. Next I took the single Law of Evolution I had, it too taking the form of an endless web ever expanding, the third Law was one that I did not know but called to me nonetheless. It was a ring of golden light with letters in a language I did not know, but it was resolute in nature and thus I took it for the coming process, and the final was a Law of Fire. It was but a whim to take, but I believe it would provide a great boon unto Harkar.
With the Laws gathered, the forging could begin, this would be different from the normal forging due to requiring the alloys to be amenable to becoming living in truth.
The power of the library of Life flowed through me as I drew upon it for this process, it has always been such but we used it only in the most simplistic of ways. Now though I truly used Life itself for the creation of the substance that would become the augments that my vanguard will bear for all time. The Alloys quivered and shifted into an ooze as normal, it was but the first step forward and not even the last in this state it was but a malleable metal, not yet alive.
Into this ooze of metal I layered in a thousand electrodes and wires that will provide unto it a purpose and structure as I wove Life once more. It was not the same as the nanoplagues, even if the Imperium would consider it akin, for this was the turning of base matter into something near living. It was not truly alive, we have never broken that final barrier, but it would take upon a semblance of life and that would be enough. The work was pleasant, but it would not hide the fact that I moved with vigor and will that was alien to me, even in something so simple I was more than I had been, errors that would have hindered my work no more.
I cultivate the living metal into the proper shape and consistency, giving unto it the orders and directives that all such systems used. If I was but a Scholar of the Forge this would be the final point, for there was nothing beyond to do, but I was no more such a being. I had pondered speaking with Shezu on this matter for she was made out of the Primordial Metal which had been the nucleus of life upon the Homeworld, but had chosen not for she had already aided my once and I would not dare anger her even now. I had spoken to Osiris about my plans for Harkar, but he had told me that as long as she came to no harm or forced to betray the Imperium he cared not.
Thus, I moved onward to the next step as decreed by myself, there was no one to say that it could not be done, there was no reason it could not be done and I had secrets that the Homeworld lacked.
I turned towards the most anomalous of the Libraries I held, Divinity and I brought it forth. Where I could weave Life with ease as I now knew of its nature, Divinity yet remained a puzzle to me, but I knew enough to be able to tease forth a single particle of its form and place it into the growing matrix of the metal ooze. I could see it react with the essence of Life and both were consumed as the metal become more, it became truly alive and yet it was but metal yet.
I smiled in glee as proof was gained and a secret of Divinity revealed unto my eyes in truth, I could see how it worked, I knew how the pathways flowed forth now. Much was confirmed and now for the next step the phasing of the laws and the living metal. It was a trifling compound compared to that which Shezu used in her body, but that was not the intent of this process, it would be impossible to even attempt to reach such levels, but perhaps in centuries I could come near.
In the end, it was now time and so I took the first Law the one of the Deathless, it transmuted from the circle into an ever spinning hourglass a strangely human design for such a Law, but fitting for this. I withdrew it from the vessel that it had been held within and placed it near the proto matter and activated the phase forge. Reality broke open, as the Veil itself was twisted to bring forth what was desired, the warp and reality were fused together as one for that is what it meant to Phase Forge Laws and Ingots to alloys.
Now where the Ooze was but a basic color to my eyes and had rudimentary movement it now danced with light as it became a fractal design of an ever spinning hourglass backend by a unbroken sword. A complex design, but fitting in my mind for Harkar for she would be unending against all that was not that of Death itself, the sword a marking of her fate and the power that she would wield in time to come.
Next I took the Law of Evolution, the ever expanding web shifting into a primordial tree, with a million branches ever expanding and splitting. There was no end upon the leaves, it was too a human sigil of the concept and fit well into the design of the hourglass and sword. Reality was unmade once more as the phase forging commenced and I thrummed in contentment as the second law of four was bonded to the living metal perfectly. The three sigils intertwining with a level of cohesion that I had only rarely seen before, the living metal nearing the point of life in totality now.
I could see how it bent the veil around it, how meta particles began to bleed forth into reality from its presence, the guttering sparks of its very own soul igniting and dying a thousand times a moment. It was trying to awaken, but it was not yet able to do so and it would probably never be so. I was simply too unsure of the power of Divinity to make of it more than it was but perhaps it could be something more if luck fell in my favor.
Even with the limits of my nature removed, the concept of Luck was a nuisance indeed, yet it could not be denied, for there was always an element of luck to all things. Even if somethings were beyond such things, for all those like me there was an element of luck and perhaps just perhaps there was indeed a chance for this piece of living metal to become more than it was.
I shook my head to clear those random thoughts from my mind for the time as I reach forth to the unknown law, the shining ring of golden light twisting once more into a new sigil. One of a scroll of paper with words written upon it, I could not read the words but I knew them nonetheless, and thus I knew this Law in part, it was Human in nature, it was part of humanity, it was one of their core dreams and a sign of their nobility. There was no hesitation with the addition of the unknown to the compound now for I knew that it was indeed safe and was part of Harkar already.
Once more I tore asunder reality to bring the warp and reality together for all time as the fourth sigil fell into place within the living matter; the Hourglass, the Sword, the Tree, and now the Scroll merging together waiting for the final part to become whole. It is a known truth that items forged of the Laws and Ingots become more than their constituent parts, the parts combining to give rise to a greater whole, but the order did matter in truth.
I brought forth the Law of Fire, one of the Laws that we used on the Homeworld often, it was used more for its decree of energy than fire itself. But, now it would complete the project before me, the flame twisting upon itself into something else a sun with lines of fire coming from the cardinal points. Turning back to the Phase Forge the final Law was added even as reality tried in vain to reject the work being done, but it was impossible to prevent the completion, yet it was enough to prevent anymore Laws from being added to the four that were phase forged together.
The five sigils now fractal upon the living matter began to coalesce before my eyes, it was something I had always enjoyed watching even with my emotions bound, seeing the sigils of the Laws become something new, something near unique as the final law was added. This did not disappoint, the Hourglass broke asunder the sands within mixing with the roots of the Tree even as its branches burned away in the intense light of the sun above leaving but a restricted canopy of leaves, even as letters were written into the trunk of the tree itself.
Then came the next stage of the mutation as the sands expanded upward, transforming the tree and all that was connected to it even as the Sun fell from the sky towards the tree unraveling as it went until all its fire was captured by the leaves of the tree blazing red in the fractal image. Thus it was done, a tree of eternity with words of unbreakable intent scrawled upon its trunk with leaves of fire remained.
As the sigil stabilized the flickering soul of the metal ignited, it was no great event but it was something new and thus worthy of note. I could see how the soul grew across the metal invigorating the substance beyond what even the phase forging had done, it was now something beyond just what the forging could achieve. I could feel it now, distant and barely alive but it was alive, a ferroid lifeform such as myself yet far far from what I am.
The purpose for which I had created it for would limit it, but it would provide much for Harkar and that was its purpose. Yet, Shezu would be curious no doubt about this creature if one could call it such. Regardless, the time has come to begin the crafting of organs and flesh from it for Harkar's augments.
Nameria was simple, she had been given but support to all her systems. I would do more for Harkar than any before, I would follow once more in the steps of the Human Witness and provide for her new organs in the image of my own.
Of all the options, I chose to settle for ones that would provide the greatest result for the lowest amount of space and complexity. Humans are small and fragile, even Harkar after I weave her body anew with this metal before me, that would not change, the size of the body was the limit. I would not remove from her any of the organs that currently took up space within her volume.
Perhaps that is why the Human Witness choose only men to become astartes for their biology was more open than that of the female of the race. The many organs involved in human reproduction meant that many of the organs that the astartes held would not fit and was the same as what was impacting the options I could provide to Harkar. Even though I did not know if she had any intention of having children, I would not remove that choice from her for my own connivence.
Thus, I chose only the simplest organs the ones that I knew could fit even into the limited volume of a human form. Carefully I split off a small amount of the living metal and began to shape it, where the tech priests used complex machines to sculpt metal, I simply coaxed the little creature into the form I sought.
All Exatari had innate phase shields, they were among the first implants to become available to all. Fitting for such a simple form of the technology, phase shields as with all our technology relied upon the meta particle flux of the trinity of life and from that were as versatile as a soul and mind could be, while being as durable as the soul itself. They had no great strengths nor great flaws, the imperial void shield was in many ways the better system for other species than the phase shields, our ability to use it for as much as we did relied on our ability to interface fully with technology. An obvious truth that I could not see until I broke the chains the previous decade, but that change little when it came to the value of a personal shield for one with the soul and meta flux to power one.
As the spherical organ came to completion and a basic phase shield ignited around it, I turned towards the next organ another basic one and yet new. Condensers were our batteries, everything we used ran off of condensers, yet never had we installed them directly into our bodies. The idea was that doing so would lead to instability within and fluctuation with the other implants, yet I have seen no proof of such being the case.
Regardless, I do know that humanity and the exatari have vastly different outcomes for the same result, and what is true for us is not by default true for humanity. As such I grew a secondary organ that would collect and condense the meta particles that Harkar would produce and from that empower her. Its effects would have to be seen over time to be confirmed, but I was hopeful that it would prove itself a worthy outcome and perhaps something I could apply to myself.
[Osiris]
How did it all fall so very far? The cursed thought never left, the gaping wound within my heart never ached less, the golden blood pouring forth in an endless stream. We had known that we were tied to him, we had stood at his side upon a thousand worlds, and yet we had though ourselves unchained. So many plans so much horror brought about by our weakness.
I could hear the xeno preparing a medical room, even from here and I knew that if I looked within I would see a scene horrible in its innocence. What did it mean when an enemy of man was more human than humans? I have seen the horrors of this fallen imperium and every pointless tragedy only ripped my heart wider. Everything has crumbled, the dream of radiant hope forever tarnished, leaving naught behind but this umbral shadow of what could have been.
I will soon return to Terra, the call within my blood too great to resist for much longer, and the xeno would be left unobserved by one that knew the truth. It had not been meant to fall to this, the Imperium was but the first step towards the future he had promised us one and all. The imperium would tame the galaxy and then the species that could be brought into the fold would be integrated, while those that could not would be pacified. Of all the xenos I have met over my life, this Atraxas is a true enigma and yet I hope that perhaps he can restore some shine to this fallen dream.
The tech priests of mars have fallen so very far, the astartes pale echoes of what they should be, humanity dying a slow needless death, chaos ascendant, the emperor lost, a litany of horrors that I had never dreamed could occur. I knew of the fate of the primarchs and legions, we all did and those that asked learned more, but was it our distance from those that were our cousins in war that lead to this terrible future?
My conviction is no more, what decrees have aided and what have harmed, how could I tell with how much has occurred, my oaths remain but what good are they when I am but a fallen custodian broken and now meaningless my purpose made impossible.
I was always one to see the best of others even non humans, I was a diplomat that was sent far and wide to speak with those not of terran birth. Yet, in this broken age, darkness ever encroaching are there any left that could be brought into the fold; are there any that would accept the offer even? The imperium was never kind to those not of human stock, there is no illusion there possible, yet in my time it was always an offer at hand. Many species refused and many others were slain by the will of the primarchs, but the offer remained and I gave it freely to hundreds of species and now only a bare handful remain within the imperium.
I remember the ancient laws and principles that underpinned the offer, and I can only feel disgust at the breaking of the pacts signed in blood and honor all those eons ago by this corrupt age. They gave up expansion and the right to interact with the galaxy beyond their system and in turn we became their eternal guardian. Now, perfidy has corrupted the imperium and the heart of man, xeno species under our protection have been used to safeguard meaningless human worlds in defiance of our oaths.
Everything we built, everything we strived to be has fallen to entropy and been lost cast aside on the winds of time. I am Osiris Dellingr and of all my titles the one I took the most pride in was the one that the Emperor gave to me in the early days, when he stated that I would be the one that would do the most in rebuilding the Federation. I bore the title of the Resurgence of Man with pride ill fitting a custodian, but all of us did the same with the titles bestowed upon us by our creator, but I was one of the rare few that went beyond. In this defiled age, can a resurgence even occur? So much has been lost, never to be restored by human hands, the Aeldari a pale shadow of even my time, the Necrons awakening and humanity falling ever farther. Perhaps it is time for humanity to fade from the stars and let the younger races take our place.
I truly despise the creeping dread that returning to this future has inspired in me, the glory of life is now but a dying ember to the bonfire it had been upon the soil of Terra. Yet, I can not ignore that which is true anymore, for two decades I have suffered in silence the humans of this world unable to provide any comfort to me. I know Nameria feels that she has failed in her self appointed task for failing to provide comfort to me, but her attempts were more than I could ask for.
Perhaps, if more had been like her the primarchs would have held true to the imperium long enough for their final purpose to be completed. Looking back over those decades, I wonder if our own distance was what truly sealed their fate, for we knew that they would be slain in the end. He made no illusions of the final fate of the primarchs and legions, yet perhaps our counsel was what truly brought the imperium low.
Many of the humans on the project pleaded with him to treat them as his own children in truth, Malcador counseled for a caring distance, but we who were closest to him suggested that he treat them as living automatons unworthy of his caring hand and now I wonder how much of that was our professed wisdom and how much was of simple jealousy and fear of being replaced. I can clearly remember the pain on his face when he met Horus and decided to be the ruler and not the father, if anything that would be the moment the imperium failed.
And now I sit in the ashes of that decision and wonder if there is anyone to truly blame for we all did as we thought best at the time and now only with the last ten millennia stretching behind me do I see the wounds that our actions left to fester without our guidance.
The image of the ruler has overtaken the truth of the emperor, perhaps its an illusion that I willingly blind myself with, but the man that wandered the ashes of terra and gave aid to the people struggling to eek out a living among the rad wastes can not be the same person as one who would demand worlds to drown in blood.
I remember him giving comfort to the people even in the darkest days of the siege, trillions of souls flocking to his radiance for safety in oblivion giving their all willingly to him. I refuse to believe that the person who created me and those I served with by his own hands and who spent centuries restoring worlds would become a creature that would take pride in the imperium. My hands and all those of my time are drenched in innocent blood, none moreso than his own, quadrillions human and otherwise died at his command and yet through it all a purpose a pathway to a better future remained.
Now, all is dust and there is no path forth that leads not to ruin. The imperium decays more every day, Chaos will soon overrun the galaxy as life becomes ever worse, the dwindling power of the Aeldari spells the end of an era. It is truly ironic that a xenos is the best chance for this world to survive the coming eons, I have seen his workings, his behavior and it is not human, but it is also not hostile.
The xeno cares not for the imperium and it is a truly despairing truth that I can not condemn him for such, I know that the moment the Imperium becomes a shackle for the xeno he will lead this world into rebellion and chart a path apart. I stare at my golden fist forged from alloys provided by both a child of mars and the xeno, the hand near perfect recreations of my original body's form and I can only ponder if such perhaps a course is preferable to staying tied to this decaying dream.
I was once the resurgence of man, the unifier of a hundred worlds, the one that brought empires into the imperium without bloodshed, the one that ruled a xenos race for centuries, and much more yet those are what I took the most pride in. Now, that promised resurgence is no more, the crusade a golden age that dwarfs all in modern times and the emperor is lost upon the throne as wrought by Horus' betrayal.
Resurgence no more, there is no more hope in these dark times, the night has come once more and it will never lift. I have no right to hold that title anymore, I failed my purpose, I failed the galaxy a thousand times over, the titles of valor and wisdom are no longer mine to claim, my wisdom and valor nothing more than a prideful boast that could not be supported. I am Osiris Dellingr the prideful echo, a fitting title for one such as myself, a failure by all measures.
How much of what I still believe to be true is the last embers of my pride refusing to die and accept the darkness of this era. A question that has no answer save to torture me ever further, I am what I am and part of that is my pride. Even now I am still prideful in a fallen dream and purpose, how much is true anymore, my heart bleeds eternally from a wound that I never knew could be made, the future of the imperium is but a slide into doom. Humanity's fire dims with every passing century and nothing can hold back the tide of chaos as the imperium descends ever further into butchery.
I can hear the xeno speaking with the military commander of the world, this I know and it is a break from the madness of my thoughts, perhaps it would provide some measure of insight into the being that somehow ruled this world. The words were distorted, but perhaps by accident they added to my new form one ability that I did not have in my original form, the ablity to interface perfectly with machinery. Yet, I would give much to return to my flesh and blood as authored by his hands, yet the wound would never heal this I knew and it fought with my oaths to humanity for value.
The dialogue between the two concluded with the commander accepting the augments, I do admit to curiosity regarding them, for when I was newly brought into this form and recently a form of living metal was used to cover the skeleton of my new body.
I have seen Nameria and two others having undergone the process themselves, perhaps I could learn some of the secrets of the technology of this strange species if I observed. It was clear that of all the faults this xeno had they at least understood the balance of power was deeply in me hands and would not bar my actions in any form. The first step was the hardest for I was going on purpose to see a xeno carve a human apart to install unknown augments into their flesh, would I be able to without the instinct to kill the xeno for such actions.
I would, if it was in the past where hope yet remained, I would have slain the xeno without a second thought, but now in this era where hope is dead and gone and all that remains is night, they can do little worse than let her live another day. As I walked through the halls, I could only grimace at the crude designs that filled the hallways and the gold covering all things, there was no glory to celebrate anymore, there was no reason for gold to be used such. The gold of the imperial palace had been chosen not for ostentatious reasons, but to be a beacon towards a brighter future, to see a crude replica and the colors of glory so abused was another strike to the heart.
I pushed on for I had made my choice and it would be seen through.
The medical room was ugly to my eyes, no change from the norm of this fallen time, if only for the difference of nature I suppose. The machines were clearly of human origin and it sickened me to watch as the xeno manipulated them to its own ends, but as I enter the skittering of legs gave a faint moment of glee as the massive xeno scurried to the side of the room trying to make itself look small and harmless.
"Osiris, you can confirm that she has provided permission for this procedure and the plans for it are fully detailed on the terminal." The voice was different, more alive than before, where it had been similar to the deadened tones of the Mechanicum, now there was a spark of life to it that had been absent. Harkar was already on the operating table unrestrained but asleep, clearly the xeno did not believe it needed to keep her awake for the process.
I had never wanted to be so feared as I stared down at the massive xeno that seemed to be able to crush me with but a single limb, knowing that it was on the verge of fleeing from the world if I made but a single misstep. In the past I would have relished in the chance to so terrorize one that has taken command of humans, now in this dark time all I can wonder is if it is righteous to remove the one that has done the most for this world.
Over the decades it has become clear that the xeno knows not how to lie in truth to me, only ever shrouding the truth in easily bypassed shadows. That was the greatest wound of it all, that a xenos one of the creatures that should be perfidious was the most truthful of all I had met thus far in this long night returned. Even so I checked the terminal just to confirm what I already knew to further stress the xenos for even though I accept his remaining on the world as a benefit to the people it displeased me nonetheless.
As I stepped into the shadows the xenos approached the slumbering form of the commander, I could see how its legs transformed through manifold instruments, the flesh mutating at its command to form graspers and other tools. Revealing in truth how it could use technology with such an ungainly body, far from the perfection of the human form.
Within its grasp floated a sphere of metal equal in size to Harkar, yet it did not feel like any technology I had so far seen in this fallen time. The surface roiled with something seeming akin to excitement, even as the xeno stroked the metal orb and revealed a fractal image within its matrix to me. An undying tree of golden fire etched into every mote of the substance and within the roots of the tree a sword that I Knew rested, the Emperor's Sword carved in perfection out of golden fire and ashen roots held within the grip of the tree of flame above. It could not have been from the xenos for he would never have seen the glorious blade of his, but where could it have come from and what did it mean for it to be so shown in glory.
"Why is she not awake?" I speak for the first time to see the reaction of the xenos to my direct interference in its designs. It would not attack, it would cower and plead forgiveness for what could not be forgiven and I would stay my hand. This dance has been done many times over the years afterall. "There is no value in her being awake else to cause avoidable trauma." The xeno stated completely unaware of the lie inherent to that statement.
I should not, but I was among the first to work on the astartes in the beginning of that gilded age and we tried to enable such things to work under sedation. Although, now that I look back we did not try that hard or for long once we found the proper procedure.
Regardless, the truth remained that only when awake could one properly align neurological implants and this dark age would be no better at such than what could be done on Terra all those eons ago. "It will kill her. If she dies so do you." I stated even as the xenos began the procedure, flesh parting disturbingly easily under its legs soon revealing the inners of Harkar. Her heart and lungs beating and breathing easily even now, blood somehow not flooding as veins were severed.
As I peered in I began to see just what technological mastery the xeno truly possessed, veins of blood traced through the air connecting the broken vessels to the other side. Gravity channels were being woven to replace the cut veins and more. A feat of skill that no tech priest even of the age from which I hailed could have achieved, not even an astartes could have managed such a feat and I am unsure if even I in my original form could have achieve such mastery over gravity as to use it to emulate the travel of blood across human flesh.
The xenos with a level of care that was ill suiting for an enemy of man, gently removed the left lung and began to thread the metal into it. I could see as the metal fused with the flesh and interlaced on a level below the cellular, and then the altered lung was returned to the body with not a single drop of blood spilled on the floor. The next underwent the same process, not a single moment of deviation from the one of the previous and soon both lungs were redesigned.
I knew that this was not a recreation of the design of the astartes, but as I watched the alterations to the organs and the body the more it felt that I was watching one retread those first steps towards the astartes. A feat that I had never thought possible even in the gilded age of my time, let alone in this emperor forsaken age of darkness.
I watched as the xeno threaded the metal into human flesh, the time to interfere passed and nothing I could do now would help any. I was a failure of the highest order, unwilling to halt a xeno from plying its twisted technology upon the human form, but what could I do, one of those that had failed humanity so absolutely.
I had expected the uterus and ovaries to be discard in the process for such had been done in the rare early experiments to bring the astartes process to the entirely of humanity, yet the xeno simply wove metal into each of them. The skill with which the xeno acted was beyond even the Chiurgeons of that distant era, even those trained by him were but a pale imitation of the xeno's skill with the metal and its technology. It would have taken one of my brothers to perform to the standard I see before me and yet, the deftness is all the more concerning for that it showed that a xenos race had reached levels once held only by humanity.
The technology of the xenos was without question on par with the relics of the golden age, the only question that remained was how much they had mastered. Yet, it showed that humanities mastery of the galaxy was under threat and yet, perhaps it was for the benefit of all if we were to fail. The Imperium had failed in all its goals over the eons, we who had been meant as regents failed, the primarchs failed, everything we had touched failed.
I had expected the xeno to follow the steps we had taken, for this to become a local of misery and torment as they wove the metal into the flesh of a human. Yet, it was silent as a grave, the subject resting easily, not a single drop of blood split into the floor even as organs were removed and carved open to line with metal. Bones were taken out of the body and woven with the metal, even the organs that were useless for her purpose were preserved, the womb and ovaries foremost among them.
The perseveration of such wasted space was wrong to me, for why would a xeno enable a human to reproduce when it could otherwise prevent such a chance occurrence, especially when it was clear that any child would inherit a fraction of its work.
The entirely of the reproductive system of those chosen for the astartes process were removed to make way for more muscle, bone and to remove nerve clusters that would present crippling weakness, that was the defining nature of the imperium in those halcyon days, a drive for efficiency over all else, what was not needed was tossed aside. We pushed him to ignore the primarchs believing it to be the most efficient form of interaction and now I believe it to be in part our own innate worry of being replaced in his heart with those closer to him in addition to the great plan.
Yet, the xenos before me simply worked around the organs that were inefficient and unneeded for her purpose, proving itself to once more be more than I had expected. Hours have passed since the start and all of organs even the brain have been laced with the living metal, leaving only two organs clearly not of natural form in the xenos grasp. The first was placed under the top of the ribcage, directly between the lungs and it flashed with energy as it connected to the altered form of Harkar, the second organ already beating with contained energy was placed near the uterus becoming entangled with the reproductive organs and systems along with the heart itself.
As the final link was formed the xenos resealed the flesh leaving nothing more than a thin already fading line of discoloration to betray the action undertaken. "It is done, the augments have been implanted successfully. Her biology has adjusted properly to the addition of the ferroid aspects, I expect that it will take a month for her to awaken." The voice of the xenos broke the silence of the room bringing to light my inactivity in a form displeasing to me, time seemed to slip through my fingers so very much these days. "There was a surge of Divinity during the operation that infused her essence and improved my work, I am unable to say with surety what effects it will have beyond that it will be beneficial for her." The xenos said plainly before gathering her in a gravity loop and leaving the silent room.
