- Location
- North America
They don't need that caff. The administration needs it more to get more caff.
The Exiled Blade [40k: Eldar Rogue Trader Edition]
- Thread starter Kerashana
- Start date
- Location
- East of Sun, West of Moon
Think of it as... Investing. You need to spend caff to get caff, savvy?
And if nothing else, the good captain is clearly enough of a trader that he can find his own. Looking for it ought to keep him out of trouble as well.
Well...
... Unless he manages to invade an Ork world looking to squeeze some Zzap-juice out of roasted squigs or something.
But that would never happen! ... Right?
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Ah, Maiden Worlds. The Exodites there might look primitive but do not be fooled; they have very big guns. You won't see them, because they're invisible and hidden, but if you piss them off they will use them.
Be polite.
Also nice to see Arashi is enjoying her unexpected freedom from She Who Thirsts, the Lord Captain could probably acquire dozens of fanatically loyal Dark Eldar followers just by recruiting any raiding or pirate groups they come across.
Hell, if Commoragh hears about this I wouldn't be surprised to see Vect show up out of nowhere, demanding a spirit stone in exchange for some ridiculously powerful War In Heaven era tech and an agreement to inform him of any rivals who acquire one in the future.
And a Forge World near Kronos? Well that will get interesting when the Dark Crusade happens and the Necrons wake up.
Be polite.
Also nice to see Arashi is enjoying her unexpected freedom from She Who Thirsts, the Lord Captain could probably acquire dozens of fanatically loyal Dark Eldar followers just by recruiting any raiding or pirate groups they come across.
Hell, if Commoragh hears about this I wouldn't be surprised to see Vect show up out of nowhere, demanding a spirit stone in exchange for some ridiculously powerful War In Heaven era tech and an agreement to inform him of any rivals who acquire one in the future.
And a Forge World near Kronos? Well that will get interesting when the Dark Crusade happens and the Necrons wake up.
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Kerashana
Warden
- Location
- The Outer Gate
Wrong kronos. The Kronos Expanse, not the planet, which in on the other side of the Galaxy. But that would be amusing to see.
Holiday: Valentines Day
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Ah, yes that makes a lot more sense.
Chap 14
Kerashana
Warden
- Location
- The Outer Gate
A/N: So, this will be my last post for a week or two as I (A) deal with being sick. (B) Deal with RL. And (C) Dealing with my Muse saying 'Hey, go look at these two abandoned scraps. Yeah? Go do something with them.' So, at some point I'll have some Angel!Taylor, though probably not a full fic for it. And some SuperScience!Taylor [Non-Parahuman] Maybe a fic from it. Really, I don't want to stop working on this, it's quite fun and all, but I guess I just need a bit of a break, and since I'm sick and all, I figure I'll give it a week or two.
It had been good to get away from the Lost Ground for the two months they had been gone. But that had been more than half a year ago. And the fleet, such as it was, was still trying to sort itself out with what Zigg had procured. Six damn frigates? On the other hand, the Lord-Captains seeming obsession with uniformity within a class meant logistics were easier. Poor Ooyodo.
Even the 'Exodites' were fitting in well enough. The crew was wary of them, even now, but that was natural. Especially after seeing what a few of them did down in the Pits… or what happened to the poor sod who thought it was a good idea to try and rape one of them. He hadn't been killed… well, not until Marcus got his hands on him, but he had been a broken man.
"Ah, Roth. I didn't realize it was so late." The Lord-Captain said from behind him and Emperor damn it! Could they get some damn bells for her ears or something! "Come help me finish up the fleet dispersion. I think I have it but want input from Navy."
Looking around he sighed and stood, heading to the Captain's ready room in back. "Helm, you have the Bridge."
"Aye, sir. Helm has the bridge." Echoed back to him.
In the small conference room, more a lounge for if senior staff needed to get some sleep but had to stay on hand. Roth looked over then Hololiths representing several groupings. The first and more important, also the only one that didn't need changing, was the Transports? And maybe Task Force Aiges.
"So, We have Task Forces Gladius and Aegis, along with the Flag Group." The Lord-Captain explained needlessly, but went on to specify tasks. "Aegis is the Transport guard. While Gladius is for strike missions and flanking attackers. The Flag Group, is of course, the main battle elements… such as I have them."
Frowning, he nodded and started thinking it over. Aegis wasn't optimal, but it was functional enough. Gladius had muscle, but… and the Flag Group… yes, if you switched those around, and used the Swords as dedicated escorts for the Savannah… yes, that would be far better.
"Well, first off, you should move the Cobras into DesRon Pride and the Tempests to DesRon Annwn." as Roth spoke, the holo representations of said ships moved around. "Raiders have no place in a proper line of battle. It's best to use them for harassment and holding flanks." As he spoke, the Lord-Captain nodding along, seeming to be thinking upon his words. "As for the Swords, The Savannah is going to need the support as the Raiders will often be doing their best to avoid fire."
Doing that weird hum thing she did, the Lord-Captain spoke. "So, basically, Raiders are only really useful for pirate hunting and patrolling?"
"Well, that's my belief anyways. But it has some supporting evidence. On the other hand, they also make good ambushers." Roth explained as best he could. But how do you explain how effective a good surprise torpedo volley was?
"Thank you, Roth. Now let's just hope nothing serious comes at us… till Sol at least." The Lord-Captain said with a sigh and more than a bit of bitterness. And he just won the bet! Ha! Of course she knew someone was planning to fek her over.
As for weapons, aside from the plasma cutters, she built something that was… extremely rare! At first Amelia had boggled that the other Priests weren't making a fuss about it. But then she realized these schema were in Jaeda's private library. Volkite. A complete dissection of Volkite weapons and how they worked. Including how to build them.
The thing is, with Wraithbone she was able to make them better than previous human made versions. Able to make them smaller, with better heat management. The Volkite Carbine she had designed was the end product.
That was her combat kit, and if she ever finished it, she would have very little to fear… she hoped.
As for her standard mechadendrites, she had a plasma torch, and the rest were manipulators. Well, once she built them!
Humming contentedly, Amelia made her way out of her room and to the common room. Taking a seat on one of the sofas that looked out over the Arbor.
She smirked as she watched Arashi and the Exodite tenders harass two platoons of troopers training down there. Capture the flag from the looks of it, something that was always amusing to watch.
As the blue team struggled to get red teams flag back to their camp, Ooyodo collapsed on the sofa. "Oh, how are they doing?"
Flopping the vaguely… lewd mechadendrite base at the window, Amelia replied. "Better than last time, but the Eldar aren't pulling any punches."
For some reason Ooyodo was starting to blush, but nodded. "So both teams will time out without making a score."
Returning to crafting the Mechadendrite, Amelia hummed in agreement.
As the hours passed, other teams made attempts at the game. Yellow and Black, Purple and Green. None of them succeeded, but they all tried. Besides, they all knew the game was rigged, that was the point. They would have to overcome their disadvantage, and in doing so they learned how and what the Oracle could detect.
All in all though, it looked like the Aquil Lejen trainees were coming along pretty well.
Looking down at the Mechadendrite she had just finished, Amelia frowned. A repeating pattern of threes forming a piramidal link pattern? It looked functional and after a bit longer inspecting it she nodded in satisfaction. It would do nicely.
Then she started on another. Setting them into permanency would take longer, but she could at least shape them now.
So, by process of elimination, it wasn't the Lord-Captain or Captain Hardy. So, the only other person it could be was… Ooyodo, the Lord-Captains 'Chief Logistics Officer'. And what was up with that title? It was old, truly ancient, only spoken of in the oldest of ledgers he had… acquired over the years.
But his hold was full of reprocessed metal, waiting to be put to use, whole ship systems packed away, and nicknacks that had been found among the scrap out there. The Lord-Captain was going to make a profit, but he and his crew would too. One for the Lord-Captain, one for the ship.
The day her father died, his ship lost with all hands. The day she had been promoted to First Officer. The day she was exiled from the Navy to serve a Xeno.
It was funny actually, only that last one was different than it seemed. Ambera had feared that the Xeno would micromanage every little thing. Or that she would be some aloof untouchable thing. She still wasn't sure on the Farseer aspect. The Lord-Captain, just as the brief and scuttlebutt said, loathed that title. More she denied it. But perhaps it was something similar to calling a Commodore, an Admiral?
Probably. Though with the amount of disdain the Lord-Captain had for Farseers, let alone the disdain the Exodites she had picked up showed, well, it was telling. She hoped she would never live to see the day that she began to see people as just numbers in a report.
Her orders had come down a week ago, the DesRon Annwn being reorganized to be a 'heavy' DesRon. Which of course meant she had fights that no Frigate belonged in to look forward to.
On the other hand, for a Frigate, for a Strike Frigate, the Lord-Captain's Tempests had both reach and armor. She didn't want a Stand up fight, but she wouldn't have terrible odds in one.
Then you had the fact she was being trusted to screen the Flagship. It was an honor, one she had carried once true, but the Annwn had yet to prove her worth. But Emperor was the Vivian a beauty. It was almost like seeing a new Lunar-Class, almost, but not. She had that Gravity about her that only old ships had.
Clenching and unclenching her arm again, she sighed. Two more weeks and the Light of Terra could take a test jump. If everything went well… then they would be underway.
It would be good to see what the Lord-Captain had planned for the future, she sure as hells wasn't telling anyone.
The ship was far from repaired, only one Lance battery functional as far as armaments went, but they had replaced the Void Shields, the Gellar Field, even the Warp Drive! Then they installed redundancies of the first two. Because it's not paranoia, there really are monsters out there waiting to bite your face off!
As the fleet started to form up around him, he took the time to examine it. The transports were typical of a Rogue Trader, though better quality. The actual distribution of the fleet was fairly good. The Lunar had Strike Frigates escorting it, the transports and his own ship had two Light Cruisers and five Raiders guarding them, not optimal, but it would have to do. Then there was the there was the third Light Cruiser. It had an escort of two Sword-Class Frigates and four Cobra. That was actually pretty smart. Having a detached attack squadron that is.
Then, with the Lunar-Class leading the way, they slipped into the Immaterium as a single fleet.
But Tobius had been giving her more and more of it, saying that she needed to learn how to do this. But why? He had just taken the job but was training her as his successor? Why did he bother to take it then? To be sure it was done right?
No, there had to be something she wasn't seeing… seeing. She bit her lip and started thinking about it for the hundredth time. Seeing. She and every other Astropath under the Lord-Captain's command had been offered it, Augmetic eyes. Simple, eyes that would allow them to see once more.
No one had taken the offer yet, but it was always there.
Sighing, Luara put down her quill and left to find a Medicae, she had a headache… and a few questions.
It was with his damnedable tank crew!
They were lazy, then shirked drills and ignored his authority! He didn't give the ass end of a Grox if they were Engineseers, they would soldier!
Sure, part of the problem was that they couldn't practice with the tank, but…
"Hey Shep! What's got you down?" The voice of Arashi cut into his frustrated thoughts and… things began to click into place. A plan so utterly devious it was brilliant!
"Arashi, I think I need your help with something. You see, I have this lazy tank crew who just wo-"
My praise drew a frown out of Amelia, but why would… ah, maybe she's misunderstanding? "It's fine, I have a tendency to gild everything I make. My teacher had a tendency to give things the texture of chitten."
Her frown turned thoughtful, and she asked, "How do I improve?"
Looking over the Mechadendrite again, I shrugged, "At this point, practice, to study, grow your power, and improve your fine control. But that's true for all Bonesingers. You need to know more than just what pieces make something work."
I brought my tail around and poked her with it. "You need to understand the why and how."
Smirking, Amelia nodded. "I can do that… is that why you keep such a large archive of schema?"
Well, kind of? But that wasn't what she needed to hear… "A bit, but more than that, it's why I have texts that go on about the sciences, about engineering and so on. The Schema are shortcuts, but they aren't the answer. You use them when you need to build something you know how to build already. But you need to know how to innovate. Problem Solving and Lateral Thinking are important skills for anyone. But for those who build they are the lifeblood of our work. The galaxy can exist in only two states. Stagnation, where you try to hold onto everything and slowly lose it. Or; Advancement, where all things spiral every outward. The Heavens are there for the taking, but only those who can adapt and grow will ever attain such heights."
Amelia had a look of deep thought on her face but… but…
Looking out the window, down at the Arbor, I couldn't help but ask, "What the fek is Arashi doing?"
It took a minute, where the Xeno obviously had to think it over, but moments later he burst into laughter. "Though- Thought he'd be taller! That's- God's but I almost feel bad for that Guardsman."
Smirking, Marcus nodded, "Yeah, Smalls as he was called from then on never really lived it down. The Head Commissar at the time didn't even shoot him for abandoning his guardpost to go to the whore house. But I'll tell you this much, Smalls was alway the first to charge the enemy from then on."
"So-" The Exodite was cut off by screams of terror and the sight of three naked Tech-Priests running in terror from the resident Drukhari… who was dressed as a Sister of Battle? A Hospitalar… with a massive syringe.
"Ok… then… that just happened." Marcus commented, blinking in incomprehension.
The Exodite on the other hand looked warily confused. "I'm not sure if I should pity the… Tech-Priests you call them?" At Marcus's nod, the Exodite continued, "Or whoever the Drukhari is helping."
Rolling his eyes, Marcus sighed, "Tell me about it. The Wych has been lurking around Shepard ever since he beat her in the Pits."
Wide eyed the Exodite asked, "The Mon- Ah, Human… General? Beat her in a fight? And in an arena you say?"
"Yeah, it was when she was 'Proving' her prowess and worth as the Arena Mistress or something." Marcus explained with a shrug.
Shaking his head, the Exodite turned and walked away, leaving Marcus with a confusing parting comment. "Ah, to be young again. Better him than me though."
Frowning, Marcus shook his head, and grumbled about Xenos and their inability to make sense.
She did not however realize she was being watched. The footsteps behind her unheard, and unnoticed.
It was as she was coming up upon one of the earthworks the Troopers used for their training that she found herself assailed but grabbing hands. "D'aww! Shaila! Shaila! Look at the human child! Look!"
Confused and a little afraid, Myra found herself pulled into a hug by- by- by a Xeno Elder thingy! Like Big Sis Jaeda, but… weird! It, she? She had twigs and bones in her hair!
"So cute! I didn't know humans could have three eyes, it's so weird, but cute! Hey, little one! Why are your eyes black? You're not possessed are you?" The Elder woman babbled as she held Myra like a big teddy bear.
There was a long suffering sigh, and another Elder woman walked up and smacked the first over the head. "Quit it, Morra. You're scaring the poor thing. What have I told you about Humans?"
"Um? Not to bother the soldiers while their on duty? Even if they're really yummy!" Morra chirped, leaving Myra wondering… what did the strange Elder mean by yummy?
Eye's going wide, Myra began struggling, she wouldn't let the strange Xeno eat her!
Glaring at Morra, the other Elder, Shaila, growled, "No. And look what you've done, you've scared the poor girl! Don't be so clingy! Why can't you get it through your thick skull!"
"Mmh… Because that's no fun!" Morra replied happily.
Then Morra held Myra out to Shaila and Myra got her first good look at the Elder Xeno thingy.
She was… um? Pretty? She had her hair done up in cornrow thingies with vines woven into them. He skin was a dusky tan, and she wore the armor the soldiers wore! But it was blue and white!
To Myra's surprise, the Elder Xeno took her from the other and set her down, saying. "It's ok little one, no one's going to hurt you." She even gave Myra a headpat! "You're one of those human… what was it, Navigator? A human Navigator?"
Fretting at her lip, Myra nodded. "Yes, miss Elder, Ma'am."
Smiling, the Elder lady shook her head. "It's El-dar. Not El-der. Eldar. So, why are you out here? Where are your parents?"
Looking down at her feet, Myra whispered, "Dead… Heretics killed them. But sis is here, she helps fly the ship."
"Oh! You poor thing!" Morra proclaimed swooping in to hug Myra close. "Don't cry!"
Morra was… kind of scary, she had bright yellow hair, plump expressive lips and the same tanned skin as Shaila. But unlike Shaila, she didn't wear the soldiers armor. Instead she wore clothes made from animal hide. Twigs and shards of bone artfully woven into her hair.
Gulping, Myra forced herself to ask, "A-are these really trees? I've never seen one before."
Morra breathed in sharply, and with wide eyes asked, "What! But… Shaaaaiiilllaaaa!"
The Exodites were definitely odd, but not suicidal. So, she headed off to find a different member of their numbers. So far they had been fascinating to speak with, each having their own views. The Exodite Calrik had found some common ground with the Mechanicus and seemed to spend all his time learning or teaching about metalwork. He had talked of Vaul, and the works he had made.
To think the Blackstone Fortresses were made by an Aeldari god!
And that was only one of the gods she had spoken of with them. Asuryan, the Phoenix King. He was the one she found oddest, he was… there were similarities between him and the Emperor. Where they the same? No, she did not think that was so, but they shared at least some aspects. It was Isha she wanted to know more about though! The 'Mother' of the Eldar race, goddess of fertility! Goddess of healing! Many things were needed. Needed to happen!
But she was so powerless… if only they could free Isha, she could hopefully restore the Emperor! If they could pull the fragments of Khaine back together they might be able to restore him? Would any of this work? Could it save humanity? The Eldar?
Walking into the small clearing where an old Eldar man sat, meditating, she pondered what would happen if only they could bring such disparate powers into alignment. Could they… kill the Gods of Chaos?
Sitting on the ground across from the Eldar, Valera ignored the fact her robe was getting dirty and waited, falling into prayer and self reflection.
Finally, the Eldar spoke, "Young one, tell me, what troubles you?"
I looked out over the Hermitage, the station in ruins, and even then I could see at least one ship here that was not mine. A Sword-Class frigate doing it's best to go unremarked, but…
Activating my Micro-bead, I asked, "Hardy, what can you give me on that frigate?"
I was currently in my Common Room, using a Hololith to get a view of the area, ideas floating through my head. Ideas attached to a name I didn't know Wrath Umboldt. Nothing I could do now, but it meshed with my other plans well enough. So perhaps, perhaps.
"Ma'am. It's the Ardent Blade, and the Flagship of a fresh Rogue Trader." I found myself actually a little worried. I had hoped to make it to Port Wander before things got complicated.
But perhaps they haven't quite yet. "Do you think that the Arch-Magos could scare them off?"
"No Ma'am, they're going to go to Footfall and… well, you know sailors." Hardy replied.
I didn't, but I could imagine, and I was starting to get an idea. "Then… keep our eyes open I suppose. Let me know if any one important wanders through.".
"Of course Ma'am."
Part of Kiki worried about this, but it was a small insignificant part, and for once… she knew she was loved. No doubts, no questions. The Vivian loved her.
With one last shuddering cough, she forced the last of the LCL out of her lungs, then slowly stood. From there she took her time cleaning off the orangish red liquid and stripping out of the Plugsuit. Then she made her way to the small shower that had been installed.
It was… a nice feeling, to have hot water running through her hair, LCL slipping down her body. But it never lasted long enough and she was drying off and pulling on normal clothes before she knew it.
It was only a matter of time from there before she found herself on a shuttle headed for Port Wander. Of course she was not alone, Ooyodo, the Lord-Captain, and Shepard were also present, along with a squad of veteran troopers. Everyone was, of course, armed, even her. The Las pistol at her hip a reminder of how dangerous it can get off your ship.
"Alright, Ooyodo, you'll take two of the Troopers as guards and get us a fair price for the components, and processed metal you want to sell. We'll be here for roughly a week as the ships resupply and the crews get a little shore leave." The Lord-Captain was saying. She was in her full Power Armor, the shape changed again, and with a mechanicus like robe added. The robe being distinctive for being white with gold symbols forming a cog like border.
Ooyodo on the other hand was in her Dress uniform, with her saber, handcannon, and Cogitator setup. "I'll see what I can do, but how should I handle inquiries about the Light?"
The Lord-Captain seemed to think on it for a moment, and even Kiki wondered what the best way would be. But the reply surprised her. "I leave it to your discretion, but lying will gain us little." Then the Lord-Captain turned to her, "Kiki, your Novator will wish to speak with me correct?"
"Yes Ma'am, the Novator will be waiting for us at The Blind Eye." She replied, feeling oddly uncomfortable out of her Plugsuit. Kind of like an itch that wouldn't go away.
With a nod, the Lord-Captain agreed, "Alright, I just hope no one feels they must make themselves more important."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Roth Harrington yawned, looking out at the various Hololiths. Night watch was always boring, more so than it really should be on a starship. But on the bright side, the Vivian's bridge made it easier.It had been good to get away from the Lost Ground for the two months they had been gone. But that had been more than half a year ago. And the fleet, such as it was, was still trying to sort itself out with what Zigg had procured. Six damn frigates? On the other hand, the Lord-Captains seeming obsession with uniformity within a class meant logistics were easier. Poor Ooyodo.
Even the 'Exodites' were fitting in well enough. The crew was wary of them, even now, but that was natural. Especially after seeing what a few of them did down in the Pits… or what happened to the poor sod who thought it was a good idea to try and rape one of them. He hadn't been killed… well, not until Marcus got his hands on him, but he had been a broken man.
"Ah, Roth. I didn't realize it was so late." The Lord-Captain said from behind him and Emperor damn it! Could they get some damn bells for her ears or something! "Come help me finish up the fleet dispersion. I think I have it but want input from Navy."
Looking around he sighed and stood, heading to the Captain's ready room in back. "Helm, you have the Bridge."
"Aye, sir. Helm has the bridge." Echoed back to him.
In the small conference room, more a lounge for if senior staff needed to get some sleep but had to stay on hand. Roth looked over then Hololiths representing several groupings. The first and more important, also the only one that didn't need changing, was the Transports? And maybe Task Force Aiges.
"So, We have Task Forces Gladius and Aegis, along with the Flag Group." The Lord-Captain explained needlessly, but went on to specify tasks. "Aegis is the Transport guard. While Gladius is for strike missions and flanking attackers. The Flag Group, is of course, the main battle elements… such as I have them."
Frowning, he nodded and started thinking it over. Aegis wasn't optimal, but it was functional enough. Gladius had muscle, but… and the Flag Group… yes, if you switched those around, and used the Swords as dedicated escorts for the Savannah… yes, that would be far better.
"Well, first off, you should move the Cobras into DesRon Pride and the Tempests to DesRon Annwn." as Roth spoke, the holo representations of said ships moved around. "Raiders have no place in a proper line of battle. It's best to use them for harassment and holding flanks." As he spoke, the Lord-Captain nodding along, seeming to be thinking upon his words. "As for the Swords, The Savannah is going to need the support as the Raiders will often be doing their best to avoid fire."
Doing that weird hum thing she did, the Lord-Captain spoke. "So, basically, Raiders are only really useful for pirate hunting and patrolling?"
"Well, that's my belief anyways. But it has some supporting evidence. On the other hand, they also make good ambushers." Roth explained as best he could. But how do you explain how effective a good surprise torpedo volley was?
"Thank you, Roth. Now let's just hope nothing serious comes at us… till Sol at least." The Lord-Captain said with a sigh and more than a bit of bitterness. And he just won the bet! Ha! Of course she knew someone was planning to fek her over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amelia looked over her plans. There were things she could improve, plenty she could do, but this was only the first iteration. The armor was the same pattern of Power Armor as Jaeda used, though modified for more than the single tail Mechadendrite she used. Instead of having the ability to charge forward, Amelia would have Mechadendrites built into the armor. Heavy Mechadendrites. Four manipulators, two plasma torches, and a small manipulator. The armor was also equipped with a tool apron, and finally white mechanicus robes with golden cog trim.As for weapons, aside from the plasma cutters, she built something that was… extremely rare! At first Amelia had boggled that the other Priests weren't making a fuss about it. But then she realized these schema were in Jaeda's private library. Volkite. A complete dissection of Volkite weapons and how they worked. Including how to build them.
The thing is, with Wraithbone she was able to make them better than previous human made versions. Able to make them smaller, with better heat management. The Volkite Carbine she had designed was the end product.
That was her combat kit, and if she ever finished it, she would have very little to fear… she hoped.
As for her standard mechadendrites, she had a plasma torch, and the rest were manipulators. Well, once she built them!
Humming contentedly, Amelia made her way out of her room and to the common room. Taking a seat on one of the sofas that looked out over the Arbor.
She smirked as she watched Arashi and the Exodite tenders harass two platoons of troopers training down there. Capture the flag from the looks of it, something that was always amusing to watch.
As the blue team struggled to get red teams flag back to their camp, Ooyodo collapsed on the sofa. "Oh, how are they doing?"
Flopping the vaguely… lewd mechadendrite base at the window, Amelia replied. "Better than last time, but the Eldar aren't pulling any punches."
For some reason Ooyodo was starting to blush, but nodded. "So both teams will time out without making a score."
Returning to crafting the Mechadendrite, Amelia hummed in agreement.
As the hours passed, other teams made attempts at the game. Yellow and Black, Purple and Green. None of them succeeded, but they all tried. Besides, they all knew the game was rigged, that was the point. They would have to overcome their disadvantage, and in doing so they learned how and what the Oracle could detect.
All in all though, it looked like the Aquil Lejen trainees were coming along pretty well.
Looking down at the Mechadendrite she had just finished, Amelia frowned. A repeating pattern of threes forming a piramidal link pattern? It looked functional and after a bit longer inspecting it she nodded in satisfaction. It would do nicely.
Then she started on another. Setting them into permanency would take longer, but she could at least shape them now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zigurance looked over the orders and frowned, read them again, then shrugged. They weren't terrible. He was in charge of a Task Force, and was tasked with defending the Transports. Guard duty was hardly what he wanted, but it was better than leading an attack. Once was enough thank you very much, on the other hand, he had to have pissed someone off. His squadron was getting no Caff of any kind.So, by process of elimination, it wasn't the Lord-Captain or Captain Hardy. So, the only other person it could be was… Ooyodo, the Lord-Captains 'Chief Logistics Officer'. And what was up with that title? It was old, truly ancient, only spoken of in the oldest of ledgers he had… acquired over the years.
But his hold was full of reprocessed metal, waiting to be put to use, whole ship systems packed away, and nicknacks that had been found among the scrap out there. The Lord-Captain was going to make a profit, but he and his crew would too. One for the Lord-Captain, one for the ship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Captain Ambera clenched and unclenched her right arm. It had long ago been replaced with an Augmetic, and replaced again more recently with an Archeotech version at the offer of the Lord-Captain. Just like every Augmetic or Bionic in the fleet. But as she clenched and unclenched it, she still experienced the pain of losing it. Warp Travel was always odd, and losing a limb during it can do strange things. Her arm always hurt before something significant happened.The day her father died, his ship lost with all hands. The day she had been promoted to First Officer. The day she was exiled from the Navy to serve a Xeno.
It was funny actually, only that last one was different than it seemed. Ambera had feared that the Xeno would micromanage every little thing. Or that she would be some aloof untouchable thing. She still wasn't sure on the Farseer aspect. The Lord-Captain, just as the brief and scuttlebutt said, loathed that title. More she denied it. But perhaps it was something similar to calling a Commodore, an Admiral?
Probably. Though with the amount of disdain the Lord-Captain had for Farseers, let alone the disdain the Exodites she had picked up showed, well, it was telling. She hoped she would never live to see the day that she began to see people as just numbers in a report.
Her orders had come down a week ago, the DesRon Annwn being reorganized to be a 'heavy' DesRon. Which of course meant she had fights that no Frigate belonged in to look forward to.
On the other hand, for a Frigate, for a Strike Frigate, the Lord-Captain's Tempests had both reach and armor. She didn't want a Stand up fight, but she wouldn't have terrible odds in one.
Then you had the fact she was being trusted to screen the Flagship. It was an honor, one she had carried once true, but the Annwn had yet to prove her worth. But Emperor was the Vivian a beauty. It was almost like seeing a new Lunar-Class, almost, but not. She had that Gravity about her that only old ships had.
Clenching and unclenching her arm again, she sighed. Two more weeks and the Light of Terra could take a test jump. If everything went well… then they would be underway.
It would be good to see what the Lord-Captain had planned for the future, she sure as hells wasn't telling anyone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lord-Captain Draken Roth cackled. They had jumped, and come out just as planned! So the strange Eldar would lead him and the Light home. Home to Terra. Home to the cradle of Humanity. If he could not die spreading the Light of Terra, then he would do so in the presence of Terra itself.The ship was far from repaired, only one Lance battery functional as far as armaments went, but they had replaced the Void Shields, the Gellar Field, even the Warp Drive! Then they installed redundancies of the first two. Because it's not paranoia, there really are monsters out there waiting to bite your face off!
As the fleet started to form up around him, he took the time to examine it. The transports were typical of a Rogue Trader, though better quality. The actual distribution of the fleet was fairly good. The Lunar had Strike Frigates escorting it, the transports and his own ship had two Light Cruisers and five Raiders guarding them, not optimal, but it would have to do. Then there was the there was the third Light Cruiser. It had an escort of two Sword-Class Frigates and four Cobra. That was actually pretty smart. Having a detached attack squadron that is.
Then, with the Lunar-Class leading the way, they slipped into the Immaterium as a single fleet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luara sighed as she went about the daily paperwork of running a ship board Choir. It was maddening!But Tobius had been giving her more and more of it, saying that she needed to learn how to do this. But why? He had just taken the job but was training her as his successor? Why did he bother to take it then? To be sure it was done right?
No, there had to be something she wasn't seeing… seeing. She bit her lip and started thinking about it for the hundredth time. Seeing. She and every other Astropath under the Lord-Captain's command had been offered it, Augmetic eyes. Simple, eyes that would allow them to see once more.
No one had taken the offer yet, but it was always there.
Sighing, Luara put down her quill and left to find a Medicae, she had a headache… and a few questions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For all the progress the Tribals were making towards becoming Troopers, Shepard was at his wits end. Not, it should be noted, with the Tribals. Not even the Exodites, though they seemed to enjoy helping with the wargames far too much.It was with his damnedable tank crew!
They were lazy, then shirked drills and ignored his authority! He didn't give the ass end of a Grox if they were Engineseers, they would soldier!
Sure, part of the problem was that they couldn't practice with the tank, but…
"Hey Shep! What's got you down?" The voice of Arashi cut into his frustrated thoughts and… things began to click into place. A plan so utterly devious it was brilliant!
"Arashi, I think I need your help with something. You see, I have this lazy tank crew who just wo-"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looking over Amelia's work, I hummed in thought. It was pretty good actually. I could see where it used human sensibilities as opposed to my own peoples, but that didn't make it wrong, just different. "This is good work. Your doing far better than I had expected, though you seem to have a plant theme that creeps into all of your work."My praise drew a frown out of Amelia, but why would… ah, maybe she's misunderstanding? "It's fine, I have a tendency to gild everything I make. My teacher had a tendency to give things the texture of chitten."
Her frown turned thoughtful, and she asked, "How do I improve?"
Looking over the Mechadendrite again, I shrugged, "At this point, practice, to study, grow your power, and improve your fine control. But that's true for all Bonesingers. You need to know more than just what pieces make something work."
I brought my tail around and poked her with it. "You need to understand the why and how."
Smirking, Amelia nodded. "I can do that… is that why you keep such a large archive of schema?"
Well, kind of? But that wasn't what she needed to hear… "A bit, but more than that, it's why I have texts that go on about the sciences, about engineering and so on. The Schema are shortcuts, but they aren't the answer. You use them when you need to build something you know how to build already. But you need to know how to innovate. Problem Solving and Lateral Thinking are important skills for anyone. But for those who build they are the lifeblood of our work. The galaxy can exist in only two states. Stagnation, where you try to hold onto everything and slowly lose it. Or; Advancement, where all things spiral every outward. The Heavens are there for the taking, but only those who can adapt and grow will ever attain such heights."
Amelia had a look of deep thought on her face but… but…
Looking out the window, down at the Arbor, I couldn't help but ask, "What the fek is Arashi doing?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And then she said, 'Is that all? I thought you'd be… taller.'" Marcus told the Exodite.It took a minute, where the Xeno obviously had to think it over, but moments later he burst into laughter. "Though- Thought he'd be taller! That's- God's but I almost feel bad for that Guardsman."
Smirking, Marcus nodded, "Yeah, Smalls as he was called from then on never really lived it down. The Head Commissar at the time didn't even shoot him for abandoning his guardpost to go to the whore house. But I'll tell you this much, Smalls was alway the first to charge the enemy from then on."
"So-" The Exodite was cut off by screams of terror and the sight of three naked Tech-Priests running in terror from the resident Drukhari… who was dressed as a Sister of Battle? A Hospitalar… with a massive syringe.
"Ok… then… that just happened." Marcus commented, blinking in incomprehension.
The Exodite on the other hand looked warily confused. "I'm not sure if I should pity the… Tech-Priests you call them?" At Marcus's nod, the Exodite continued, "Or whoever the Drukhari is helping."
Rolling his eyes, Marcus sighed, "Tell me about it. The Wych has been lurking around Shepard ever since he beat her in the Pits."
Wide eyed the Exodite asked, "The Mon- Ah, Human… General? Beat her in a fight? And in an arena you say?"
"Yeah, it was when she was 'Proving' her prowess and worth as the Arena Mistress or something." Marcus explained with a shrug.
Shaking his head, the Exodite turned and walked away, leaving Marcus with a confusing parting comment. "Ah, to be young again. Better him than me though."
Frowning, Marcus shook his head, and grumbled about Xenos and their inability to make sense.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Myra walked through the forest wide eyed, she had never seen so many plants! It was pretty! So much green and brown, and it all smelled kind of funny. But it was nice though, kind of like the soap Sis liked!She did not however realize she was being watched. The footsteps behind her unheard, and unnoticed.
It was as she was coming up upon one of the earthworks the Troopers used for their training that she found herself assailed but grabbing hands. "D'aww! Shaila! Shaila! Look at the human child! Look!"
Confused and a little afraid, Myra found herself pulled into a hug by- by- by a Xeno Elder thingy! Like Big Sis Jaeda, but… weird! It, she? She had twigs and bones in her hair!
"So cute! I didn't know humans could have three eyes, it's so weird, but cute! Hey, little one! Why are your eyes black? You're not possessed are you?" The Elder woman babbled as she held Myra like a big teddy bear.
There was a long suffering sigh, and another Elder woman walked up and smacked the first over the head. "Quit it, Morra. You're scaring the poor thing. What have I told you about Humans?"
"Um? Not to bother the soldiers while their on duty? Even if they're really yummy!" Morra chirped, leaving Myra wondering… what did the strange Elder mean by yummy?
Eye's going wide, Myra began struggling, she wouldn't let the strange Xeno eat her!
Glaring at Morra, the other Elder, Shaila, growled, "No. And look what you've done, you've scared the poor girl! Don't be so clingy! Why can't you get it through your thick skull!"
"Mmh… Because that's no fun!" Morra replied happily.
Then Morra held Myra out to Shaila and Myra got her first good look at the Elder Xeno thingy.
She was… um? Pretty? She had her hair done up in cornrow thingies with vines woven into them. He skin was a dusky tan, and she wore the armor the soldiers wore! But it was blue and white!
To Myra's surprise, the Elder Xeno took her from the other and set her down, saying. "It's ok little one, no one's going to hurt you." She even gave Myra a headpat! "You're one of those human… what was it, Navigator? A human Navigator?"
Fretting at her lip, Myra nodded. "Yes, miss Elder, Ma'am."
Smiling, the Elder lady shook her head. "It's El-dar. Not El-der. Eldar. So, why are you out here? Where are your parents?"
Looking down at her feet, Myra whispered, "Dead… Heretics killed them. But sis is here, she helps fly the ship."
"Oh! You poor thing!" Morra proclaimed swooping in to hug Myra close. "Don't cry!"
Morra was… kind of scary, she had bright yellow hair, plump expressive lips and the same tanned skin as Shaila. But unlike Shaila, she didn't wear the soldiers armor. Instead she wore clothes made from animal hide. Twigs and shards of bone artfully woven into her hair.
Gulping, Myra forced herself to ask, "A-are these really trees? I've never seen one before."
Morra breathed in sharply, and with wide eyes asked, "What! But… Shaaaaiiilllaaaa!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sister Valera blinked at the whole thing she had just watched, and honestly didn't know how to react to it. The poor Navigator child, but also poor Shaila, putting up with Sisters like Morra was… a challenge, willingly associating with someone like that as a friend was… she shuddered and quickly made her way away from them, the child was safe. And if anything she had learned about the Lord-Captain was true, harming a child who lived in her household was tantamount to creative suicide.The Exodites were definitely odd, but not suicidal. So, she headed off to find a different member of their numbers. So far they had been fascinating to speak with, each having their own views. The Exodite Calrik had found some common ground with the Mechanicus and seemed to spend all his time learning or teaching about metalwork. He had talked of Vaul, and the works he had made.
To think the Blackstone Fortresses were made by an Aeldari god!
And that was only one of the gods she had spoken of with them. Asuryan, the Phoenix King. He was the one she found oddest, he was… there were similarities between him and the Emperor. Where they the same? No, she did not think that was so, but they shared at least some aspects. It was Isha she wanted to know more about though! The 'Mother' of the Eldar race, goddess of fertility! Goddess of healing! Many things were needed. Needed to happen!
But she was so powerless… if only they could free Isha, she could hopefully restore the Emperor! If they could pull the fragments of Khaine back together they might be able to restore him? Would any of this work? Could it save humanity? The Eldar?
Walking into the small clearing where an old Eldar man sat, meditating, she pondered what would happen if only they could bring such disparate powers into alignment. Could they… kill the Gods of Chaos?
Sitting on the ground across from the Eldar, Valera ignored the fact her robe was getting dirty and waited, falling into prayer and self reflection.
Finally, the Eldar spoke, "Young one, tell me, what troubles you?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We skipped over Footfall, and came out at our first Station of Passage through the Maw. The Hermitage. We would hold here for a day as the Navigators got a feel for the Maw and if we would need to jump through it in small jumps, or if we could make it in a single leap.I looked out over the Hermitage, the station in ruins, and even then I could see at least one ship here that was not mine. A Sword-Class frigate doing it's best to go unremarked, but…
Activating my Micro-bead, I asked, "Hardy, what can you give me on that frigate?"
I was currently in my Common Room, using a Hololith to get a view of the area, ideas floating through my head. Ideas attached to a name I didn't know Wrath Umboldt. Nothing I could do now, but it meshed with my other plans well enough. So perhaps, perhaps.
"Ma'am. It's the Ardent Blade, and the Flagship of a fresh Rogue Trader." I found myself actually a little worried. I had hoped to make it to Port Wander before things got complicated.
But perhaps they haven't quite yet. "Do you think that the Arch-Magos could scare them off?"
"No Ma'am, they're going to go to Footfall and… well, you know sailors." Hardy replied.
I didn't, but I could imagine, and I was starting to get an idea. "Then… keep our eyes open I suppose. Let me know if any one important wanders through.".
"Of course Ma'am."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Maw was… beautiful! It pulsed and sang in a way that… to see if like this, from inside the Sync-Plug was… amazing. But finding a path was… interesting. She could see the possible ones, but they were sticking to well know paths. One jump, and they would be through.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kiki knelt, vomiting the LCL from her lungs. She had changed, even from just her first time 'Syncing'. Emptying her lungs of LCL was becoming easier with each time she guided Vivian, breathing it less and less uncomfortable, and the ship! She could feel it. Even now, the pulse of power flowing through conduits and people through halls. The bundle of tightly controlled thoughts and rampant emotions that was the Lord-Captain. It was dulled now, and fading away, but it was stronger than last time.Part of Kiki worried about this, but it was a small insignificant part, and for once… she knew she was loved. No doubts, no questions. The Vivian loved her.
With one last shuddering cough, she forced the last of the LCL out of her lungs, then slowly stood. From there she took her time cleaning off the orangish red liquid and stripping out of the Plugsuit. Then she made her way to the small shower that had been installed.
It was… a nice feeling, to have hot water running through her hair, LCL slipping down her body. But it never lasted long enough and she was drying off and pulling on normal clothes before she knew it.
It was only a matter of time from there before she found herself on a shuttle headed for Port Wander. Of course she was not alone, Ooyodo, the Lord-Captain, and Shepard were also present, along with a squad of veteran troopers. Everyone was, of course, armed, even her. The Las pistol at her hip a reminder of how dangerous it can get off your ship.
"Alright, Ooyodo, you'll take two of the Troopers as guards and get us a fair price for the components, and processed metal you want to sell. We'll be here for roughly a week as the ships resupply and the crews get a little shore leave." The Lord-Captain was saying. She was in her full Power Armor, the shape changed again, and with a mechanicus like robe added. The robe being distinctive for being white with gold symbols forming a cog like border.
Ooyodo on the other hand was in her Dress uniform, with her saber, handcannon, and Cogitator setup. "I'll see what I can do, but how should I handle inquiries about the Light?"
The Lord-Captain seemed to think on it for a moment, and even Kiki wondered what the best way would be. But the reply surprised her. "I leave it to your discretion, but lying will gain us little." Then the Lord-Captain turned to her, "Kiki, your Novator will wish to speak with me correct?"
"Yes Ma'am, the Novator will be waiting for us at The Blind Eye." She replied, feeling oddly uncomfortable out of her Plugsuit. Kind of like an itch that wouldn't go away.
With a nod, the Lord-Captain agreed, "Alright, I just hope no one feels they must make themselves more important."
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Are they becoming addicted to being in the plug ? I seem to remember some Titan pilots after a while just stopped decoupling from the Titan. It might be mixing it up with chaos pilots though.
Hope you get better soon !
Hope you get better soon !
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Kerashana
Warden
- Location
- The Outer Gate
@lucarionape :: Thanks, so do I.
As for the Plug. It's ~not really addiction~ so much as causing a resonance between Kiki and the Vivian. How that plays out in the future is... well, we'll see, now won't we?
As for the Plug. It's ~not really addiction~ so much as causing a resonance between Kiki and the Vivian. How that plays out in the future is... well, we'll see, now won't we?
- Location
- East of Sun, West of Moon
No, you're right @lucarionape - Titan Princeps' do indeed get addicted to the Manifold.
No surprise either; when you are used to seeing every wavelength of light, of making out the mites crawling in the dust at your feet as easily as the enemy scout buried under a bush five kilometers away; of feeling the power of a captive star thrum in your chest and the power to smite a greater daemon with but a single blow; of striding the world as a God-Machine, towering above all, the cheer of the masses; everywhere you go is a parade in your honour, because witnessing your passing by will be the greatest day in the lives of the people you walk by...
... No, I am not at all surprised that they get addicted.
No surprise either; when you are used to seeing every wavelength of light, of making out the mites crawling in the dust at your feet as easily as the enemy scout buried under a bush five kilometers away; of feeling the power of a captive star thrum in your chest and the power to smite a greater daemon with but a single blow; of striding the world as a God-Machine, towering above all, the cheer of the masses; everywhere you go is a parade in your honour, because witnessing your passing by will be the greatest day in the lives of the people you walk by...
... No, I am not at all surprised that they get addicted.
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Yeah, it's not even remotely surprising that a being would get addicted to literally being more in every possible aspect. Amongst other things, when you're directly connected to a near-AI supercomputer like that, you're orders of magnitude smarter than normal and so disconnecting and thus diminishing yourself would likely be an incredibly unpleasant process. Especially since when you're back to using just conventional brainmeats to think, you can probably sort of remember what it was like to be so much more than you are now, which would be understandably depressing.
Chap 15
Kerashana
Warden
- Location
- The Outer Gate
As we walked into the Tavern, it fell silent. Everyone's eyes falling onto me, then my troopers, and finally Kiki. The person she led me to was in nice if simple clothes and from the feel of it was only an intermediary. This was proven true when they led us into one of the private rooms, Shepard and my troopers taking a table near the door.
The amusing part of that was the shear amount of warryness pooling off of the taverns occupants. Oh, there was greed, but it was tempered by what was apparently common sense! It was like finding a diamond in your shit, you don't expect it. You don't even look for it.
As for the Novator, he was an old man with white hair and tired eyes. A man ready to give up, but finding himself surprised by the life line he had been given.
"Ah," He spoke in a dusty voice, "You must be Lord-Captain Fairdwin. When I had heard you wished to give us a ship, to give us a place in your Dynasty, I will admit I was warry. To be honest, I still am, but we are left with few choices."
"True enough, but at least it's a way forward." I offered, but what was there really to say? "Now, I will need you to sign a number of documents for the transfer of the ship to your family…"
"What do you mean 'No', I have the authority to requisition whatever I deem necessary." The man growled back.
"No you do not. That Battleship is on its way to Mars for refit. The only ones with the authority to change that are the Primarchs or the Emperor himself." Ooyodo replied, keeping her back straight. To be honest she was terrified, but such things were inconsequential when doing one's duty.
"And were are these Orders?" Commander Sans grudgingly asked. He had ambushed her shortly after she had left the company of the Lord-Captain, fool.
"It is one of the parts of the Lord-Captains Warrant of Trader, Signed by the Emperor himself." Ooyodo told him, fighting down a grin. It was kind of nice to not fear lashings from the officers for being 'uppity'.
"I see, and what do you have to trade then?" His next question got a raised eyebrow from her, but he waved it off. "I'll see it in reports eventually, and if it's something the Navy could use I will see you get fair trade."
Ooyodo pondered that for a time. He could just requisition it from them, but that would burn a lot of his credibility. It also fit her sensibilities to trade to the Navy first… perhaps a more long term contract could be formed?
Looking around the Commander's Office she sighed, yes… perhaps indeed. "As you wish, but perhaps we can work out a more… long term contract between House Fairdwin and the Imperial Navy?"
"I'll be back." He told his men using the subvocal vox, then got up and headed over to the bar, taking the seat next to the famed, if possibly cursed, Rogue Trader.
"What d'ya want kid?" The surly man asked, not looking up from his drink.
Pulling out some Thrones Gelt, Shepard called over to the Bartender, "Get everyone a round, will ya? Just leave me and my boys out of it, we're on the clock."
That got odd looks and chuckles from most people, but they mostly ignored him after a toast.
"Wrath Umboldt, Lord-Captain Fairdwin wanted me to give this to you, if I saw you." Shepard said, pulling out a letter, "She would appreciate it if you read in alone, but understands if you decide not to do so."
Looking up from his drink for the first time, the old man frowned at Shepard, then took the letter, tucking it into his coat. "Aye, you've delivered your letter, now scram."
As he stood, Shepard felt something that had him grabbing for his Las-Pistol. The brush of a Psyker attempting to peer into his mind. It was something the Lord-Captain had taken time to teach him how to recognize, and defend against.
However, he went stiff when he found the person responsible. Ordos Xenos… an Inquisitor. She was surprisingly short, and wore a ridiculous hat. Interestingly though, she was unaccompanied and armed with only a Power Sword. But then Psyker and Inquisitor. So probably Warpy stuff and maybe a digital weapon or two.
The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow at him but headed for the table where all of his men were.
"Hehehe, good luck kiddo, you're going to need it." Wrath chuckled into his drink.
Shepard almost left without saying a word, then he opened his mouth and spoke. "Don't be so sure old timer." The Lord-Captain was rubbing off on him, her and those she kept around her. Taking evening meals with them all seemed to be having odd effects on his personality.
Walking over, Shepard took his seat and glared balefully at the Inquisitor. If she decided the Lord-Captain had to be killed… well, everything would go to the Warp. To think he had hated her for being a Xeno. Not he just found that aspect to be an oddity, not worth the time of day to bother with, and…
The Lord-Captain stormed out of her meeting room and stood over the table, her presence suddenly a weight he could hardly bare, his men were obviously feeling the same. The other patrons were not so luck. No one died, but you could see them having trouble even sitting up straight.
"I will kindly ask you to not try to go poking around in my Troopers heads again." The words came out with a weight of authority that Shepard hadn't ever heard from the Lord-Captain. The jovial, kind if odd, Xeno who watched over them all.
But she was having trouble breathing simply from the mere aura the Xeno had chosen to stop suppressing! Worse, far worse, was the presence almost hidden behind her aura, her presence. The Emperor, and he was displeased.
She had erred. She had thought it all a clever deception, a trick, but here and now… she could not believe that. A Piece of the Emperor was in this Eldar, and it was furious with her.
Yet… neither were planning on killing her. No, this was a lesson, a valuable one too. She like so many of her brethren in the Inquisition had become too arrogant, too rooted in their ways. How many out there actually cared for the Imperiums stability and security?
"I will kindly ask you to not try to go poking around in my Troopers heads again." The Xenos spoke, then after another moment… it was just gone and the whole of the room took a breath.
The problem now was that they were all focused on this confrontation, one that Linetta couldn't afford to appear weak because of, but couldn't…
"I will bear that in mind, Lady Fairdwin." And wasn't that Power Armor terrifying. "If you are through with your meeting, perhaps it would do us well to speak in private?"
The Eldar Rogue Trader seemed to weigh that, even as the Novator of the insignificant Navi's House made his way out, seeming unaffected by the whole thing. The Navigator though was standing at the Eldar's side, glaring at the Inquisitor.
"Agreed."
To be honest… that stunt I pulled in the Tavern surprised me. I mean, yeah, I had been angry, but I hadn't ever woven my anger and displeasure into a shroud like that… it was a neat trick. One to remember.
The Inquisitor, Linetta Res, finally returned, the Deathwatch Marine, a Black Templar, following behind her. "I understand you are headed to Terra. I will not cause you anymore problems, but I would ask that when you return you come see me. The Ordos Xenos has a number of questions you may be willing to answer, and we have need of eyes and ears in the Expanse."
Nodding slowly, I frowned safely inside my helmet, then spoke. "I have few qualms about doing such and I'm sure we can come to some agreement when I return. However, Astartes, I am on my way to Fenris to return recovered Power armor to the Space Wolves. Unfortunately the Ultramarines are too far out of my way to justify a visit to their homeworld. I would appreciate it if you informed them that I have a suit of Terminator Armor that belongs to them."
The Astarties stilled before grunting, "I will pass your messages along." Let me tell you, the amount of contempt coming off of that man could drown someone.
From there I found myself having a short but amicable chat with Station Commander Larius Sans. Ooyodo apparently managed to work out a fairly good deal with the Imperial Navy. While the contract I now had limited me in some ways, I was obligated to offer supplies and what have you I was selling to the Imperial Navy first, it also insured that I would always be compensated fairly, if not quite as well, when dealing with them.
It would hopefully play well into my later plans… well, as I said, hopefully.
As for proper supplies, the Mechanicus was able to requisitions everything we needed and we were back on our way, jump for jump, headed for Cadia, then Fenris.
This test type was also made from a stronger, armored material, or so she had been told. It really wasn't very armored. Not armored really, just two cup like plates holding her breasts and a… well, it was something, and helped.
On the bright side, she was being asked for input on what she wanted the production suit to look like. A question that had given her pause and was why she was here, lounging around, thinking.
"Sis!" Came Myra's voice… then her little sister landed on top of her and gave her a hug.
Myra had… changed a bit since they had joined the Lord-Captains crew, but she had changed further recently. Ever since she had started spending time in the Arbor.
Myra had her raven hair in cornrows, twigs and flowers woven into it like ornaments. She wasn't wearing her robes either, but instead brown tights and a grey tunic. More importantly though… she was smiling more often. "Hey Myra, what have you been up to?"
Looking up, Myra grinned. "School and learning from the Elde-Eldar! Morra! Shaila! This is my sister Kiki!"
Sitting up on the Sofa, Myra on her lap, Kiki blinked at the two Eldar. Morra and Shaila were… um… wow… Kiki didn't realize Eldar could have breasts that large! Shaila was well endowed, for an Eldar and wore the Valiant-Pattern Oracle Armor, an Eldar Power Sword at her side. But… well, Morra was well endowed, very well endowed, enough so to make Kiki's modest bust seem tiny! It was no fair! And what was up with that 'savage' outfit she wore! It was completely inappropriate!
Swallowing, and beating down her envy, Kiki smiled and greeted them. "Hello, so you've been… teaching my sister?"
"Yuppers!" Morra chirped, then went on to add. "All kinds of things about plants! She's even starting to pick up how to track people!"
With a long suffering sigh, Shaila put in, "We've been keeping her company and teaching her what we can. It's odd to meet someone who can interact with the Immaterium but isn't a… you call us Psykers?"
"Yes… um, well… as long as you aren't teaching her anything… inappropriate." Kiki said, attempting to be diplomatic about it.
"Don't worry Kiki," Came the Lord-Captains voice as she walked into the common room, "They'll wait until she's at least started puberty. A bit longer if they know what's good for them."
"Honored Seer." They both said in tandem bowing ever so slightly.
With a put upon sigh, the Lord-Captain replied, "Peace, there's no need for formalities here. Kiki, I do hope you're ready? This will be a long one."
While the two Exodites just silently watched on, much to Kiki's confusion, she nodded. "I know, things will have hopefully cleared up enough for to get us as far as the Medusa Sector, by tomorrow, then travel will slow down a bit while we make our way to Cadia, then Fenris. But once we're back on track for Terra it will hopefully be an easy ride."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cornelius watched as the arm moved in perfect fluid motion, the fingers following his direction perfectly. Thumb to little finger. Thumb to ring finger. Thumb to middle finger. Thumb to index finger. Make a fist, then an O, then relax.
Project Jaeger was… fascinating.
What makes the Knight a steadfast Warmachine? Was it the human likeness? Was it the armor? Or… was it the adaptability?
Well, that was part of what Project Jaeger was about. But the Lord-Captain wanted it kept low key until they had left Sol… they hadn't even reached Sol yet! But he knew why. An AI hardwired into a single platform, built from the ground up to be paired with a human Pilot? Or Eldar he supposed. Not as a slave but as a partner, a symbiosis of man and machine.
It had potential, but was being watched, very carefully. No actual production, no programming yet, even work on the body and designs for the frame were extremely limited.
"I believe there is potential in this, we will have to construct a test model before a conclusive hypothesis can be reached." He explained over his shoulder.
"Understandable. Now, about the Plugsuits? I understand there are some ideas your colleges are putting forward?" The Lady Fairdwin asked as she looked over a few other projects.
The Plugsuit… such a fascinating idea! That along with the Bionics the Troopers and Armsmen were even now getting opened some interesting possibilities the Mechanicus ignored simply because further Augmentation was preferable. "Yes, the primary projects being worked upon by teams are; Glove and 102937."
He didn't even need to look to know the Lady was frowning. "Project Glove is focused on improving the Plugsuit. Or, more realistically, redesigning it to be useful for your soldiers. They also are working on improving the one designed for Navigators. The second part of the project is seeing more success than the first. However the general use version is coming along nicely, or so I'm told."
It was too, Void sealed and lightly armored, it had a small backpack like structure on the upper back that contained a small air tank and filtration system. It was already looking to be a vast improvement over the standard skinsuit uniforms were using.
"Now, Project 102937 on the other hand… is more of a study group. They have taken my own projects, both Lexis and Warder, and are slowly going over everything with the intent to overhaul the entire dynasties holdings with them. However, that is more of a secondary concern for them as they have taken to studying Warp phenomena and ways to harness it. I have taken the liberty of stationing a number of the few Skitarii I have under my command to watch for signs of Heresy. Should any be found, they will be purged and there work will be reviewed with the utmost caution."
This time he did turn to see the Lady grimace, but she nodded. "You know your people… have them focus on the transition to warded circuits for now. Once that is taken care of they may return to their experiments. Now, tell me about the Project Lightsaber?"
Ah, yes, that. He was fairly proud it had worked out so well actually. "The Plasma Saber is… done. It requires special focusing elements, a crystal, diamond, or even gemstone with certain properties to stabilize the matrix. Depending upon what is used, the field generated will tint the plasma in a variety of colors. It is quite fascinating actually. The easiest to produced synthetically are Rubies and Sapphires, followed by Emeralds. As for Crystals, you need to painstakingly craft them, shaping every part of it as it forms. Crystals will produce a stronger field, gemstones are the baseline, and diamonds… Well, they are the best to use if you can create one from scratch, but they are generally unstable because of micro imperfections. The Psi-Diamond you left me for other projects actually proved fairly good. I would however, suggest making a diamond for one of these sabers from scratch if you use one of them."
The Lady Fairdwin just stood there wide eyed, staring at him. Then she started laughing, and laughing, and laughing. Then finally after an hour of laughter, she spoke. "Oh, this is rich! This is perfect! Humanity has finally managed to replicate one of their favored weapons in truth, and they don't even remember what it was from! Worse! They would be mortified by the source content!"
It was a while longer as she laughed, then finally, still grinning, the Lady Fairdwin spoke. "Ok, give me the schematics, then go and get a few of your more open minded brethren… I have to go collect a number for people for this… this… oh, this is going to be great!"
Once everyone was settled in, I started the Movie marathon. Star Wars. The original six films… the ones that came after were unfortunately corrupted in almost every instance I could find.
As the first movie started I couldn't wait to see how things would go… and the heckling! It was why I had included so many Tech-Priests!
"Star Destroyer? But it doesn't even destroy stars!"
"Death Star? Well, we could probably make something like that."
"What is up with all these Xenos!"
"Palpatine? Wish I could shoot that traitorous-"
"Fool Jedi!"
"It pains me to say this, but I am awed that Lightsabers actually work like that." One of the unnamed Tech-Priests put in. Then another asked, "Did anyone else find the Ewok Xenos disturbing?"
Smiling, I spoke, finally. "And that's from M1.977."
Sitting in my room, I slowly began to shape my Plasma Blade. I will admit, it was tempting to go with the style used in the movies. A simple tube. I could make it a work of art, besides, you don't need a wide blade when it's just a beam of plasma. But I instead went with a different design.
The hilt, the whole weapon, was modeled after Human Power Swords. Thick, good hilt, the grip wrapped in lapis blue cloth, everything for the Stabilized Plasma Matrix was solid state within the hilt and guard, well except for the Focus. The guard itself was an Aquila, the wings designed to fold up when the weapon wasn't in use. More of an aesthetic choice, but it looked nice enough. When the wings were down, and the projector was active a blade would be projected, not as a small round beam… but a true blade.
Or, that was the plan. Looking over the golden Aquila, and the rest of the blade, I frowned. I needed to make this blade… me. Not Imperial, or Eldar… but me. I needed to do something to make it my own.
With a sigh, I activated the blade. I had crafted a clear Psi-Diamond, and… It worked. The blade was a glowing white, and came out just as I had wanted. This was merely a prototype. Something I hadn't planned when I had made it, but now I knew. This was not the blade for me. I needed to make something that would stand out.
Removing the focus, I pondered my thoughts, and what I wanted in a blade. I wanted it to be the same type, the thicker blade was something I was going to keep. The folding wings too, but perhaps a more Eldar touch to them? Between the two wings… A gear? Yes, a gear to represent my ties to the Mechanicus, and… I guess the distorted skull that was my House heraldry.
At the other end of the hilt, the pommel I could… ok, put a ring their, but… hmm, no not eight spikes, but if I… Ok, the ring will be imbedded a quarter of the way down, spike at the main cardinal points, two smaller spikes between each of the main ones… can I make this do anything? No. Ok, so aesthetics only.
Still, the blade weapon as a whole looked… nice actually! I would need to try it in combat, and make adjustments as I felt the need.
Giving my Power Armor a once over, I nodded. I had a few ideas on that, but they could wait. I still had to make that for Ooyodo.
We were due to dewarp soon, partially to get a feel for the routes… and mostly because we were getting close to the Eye of Terror.
The amusing part of that was the shear amount of warryness pooling off of the taverns occupants. Oh, there was greed, but it was tempered by what was apparently common sense! It was like finding a diamond in your shit, you don't expect it. You don't even look for it.
As for the Novator, he was an old man with white hair and tired eyes. A man ready to give up, but finding himself surprised by the life line he had been given.
"Ah," He spoke in a dusty voice, "You must be Lord-Captain Fairdwin. When I had heard you wished to give us a ship, to give us a place in your Dynasty, I will admit I was warry. To be honest, I still am, but we are left with few choices."
"True enough, but at least it's a way forward." I offered, but what was there really to say? "Now, I will need you to sign a number of documents for the transfer of the ship to your family…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ooyodo looked into the eyes of Station Commander Larius Sans. Her eyes unblinking, then she shook her head. "No.""What do you mean 'No', I have the authority to requisition whatever I deem necessary." The man growled back.
"No you do not. That Battleship is on its way to Mars for refit. The only ones with the authority to change that are the Primarchs or the Emperor himself." Ooyodo replied, keeping her back straight. To be honest she was terrified, but such things were inconsequential when doing one's duty.
"And were are these Orders?" Commander Sans grudgingly asked. He had ambushed her shortly after she had left the company of the Lord-Captain, fool.
"It is one of the parts of the Lord-Captains Warrant of Trader, Signed by the Emperor himself." Ooyodo told him, fighting down a grin. It was kind of nice to not fear lashings from the officers for being 'uppity'.
"I see, and what do you have to trade then?" His next question got a raised eyebrow from her, but he waved it off. "I'll see it in reports eventually, and if it's something the Navy could use I will see you get fair trade."
Ooyodo pondered that for a time. He could just requisition it from them, but that would burn a lot of his credibility. It also fit her sensibilities to trade to the Navy first… perhaps a more long term contract could be formed?
Looking around the Commander's Office she sighed, yes… perhaps indeed. "As you wish, but perhaps we can work out a more… long term contract between House Fairdwin and the Imperial Navy?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shepard smirked when he saw the old codger that was Wrath Umboldt enter the Tavern. The man was on the Lord-Captains 'Persons of Interest' list for Emperor knows why, but that mattered to him about as much as the fools staring at their armor and weapons."I'll be back." He told his men using the subvocal vox, then got up and headed over to the bar, taking the seat next to the famed, if possibly cursed, Rogue Trader.
"What d'ya want kid?" The surly man asked, not looking up from his drink.
Pulling out some Thrones Gelt, Shepard called over to the Bartender, "Get everyone a round, will ya? Just leave me and my boys out of it, we're on the clock."
That got odd looks and chuckles from most people, but they mostly ignored him after a toast.
"Wrath Umboldt, Lord-Captain Fairdwin wanted me to give this to you, if I saw you." Shepard said, pulling out a letter, "She would appreciate it if you read in alone, but understands if you decide not to do so."
Looking up from his drink for the first time, the old man frowned at Shepard, then took the letter, tucking it into his coat. "Aye, you've delivered your letter, now scram."
As he stood, Shepard felt something that had him grabbing for his Las-Pistol. The brush of a Psyker attempting to peer into his mind. It was something the Lord-Captain had taken time to teach him how to recognize, and defend against.
However, he went stiff when he found the person responsible. Ordos Xenos… an Inquisitor. She was surprisingly short, and wore a ridiculous hat. Interestingly though, she was unaccompanied and armed with only a Power Sword. But then Psyker and Inquisitor. So probably Warpy stuff and maybe a digital weapon or two.
The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow at him but headed for the table where all of his men were.
"Hehehe, good luck kiddo, you're going to need it." Wrath chuckled into his drink.
Shepard almost left without saying a word, then he opened his mouth and spoke. "Don't be so sure old timer." The Lord-Captain was rubbing off on him, her and those she kept around her. Taking evening meals with them all seemed to be having odd effects on his personality.
Walking over, Shepard took his seat and glared balefully at the Inquisitor. If she decided the Lord-Captain had to be killed… well, everything would go to the Warp. To think he had hated her for being a Xeno. Not he just found that aspect to be an oddity, not worth the time of day to bother with, and…
The Lord-Captain stormed out of her meeting room and stood over the table, her presence suddenly a weight he could hardly bare, his men were obviously feeling the same. The other patrons were not so luck. No one died, but you could see them having trouble even sitting up straight.
"I will kindly ask you to not try to go poking around in my Troopers heads again." The words came out with a weight of authority that Shepard hadn't ever heard from the Lord-Captain. The jovial, kind if odd, Xeno who watched over them all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inquisitor Linetta Res of the Ordo Xenos found herself having trouble breathing. It was unthinkable! All the reports she had on the Lady Fairdwin suggested that she was nothing but a kind hearted and slightly odd Eldar. Maybe a Farseer, maybe not. Powerful sure, but hardly a true threat.But she was having trouble breathing simply from the mere aura the Xeno had chosen to stop suppressing! Worse, far worse, was the presence almost hidden behind her aura, her presence. The Emperor, and he was displeased.
She had erred. She had thought it all a clever deception, a trick, but here and now… she could not believe that. A Piece of the Emperor was in this Eldar, and it was furious with her.
Yet… neither were planning on killing her. No, this was a lesson, a valuable one too. She like so many of her brethren in the Inquisition had become too arrogant, too rooted in their ways. How many out there actually cared for the Imperiums stability and security?
"I will kindly ask you to not try to go poking around in my Troopers heads again." The Xenos spoke, then after another moment… it was just gone and the whole of the room took a breath.
The problem now was that they were all focused on this confrontation, one that Linetta couldn't afford to appear weak because of, but couldn't…
"I will bear that in mind, Lady Fairdwin." And wasn't that Power Armor terrifying. "If you are through with your meeting, perhaps it would do us well to speak in private?"
The Eldar Rogue Trader seemed to weigh that, even as the Novator of the insignificant Navi's House made his way out, seeming unaffected by the whole thing. The Navigator though was standing at the Eldar's side, glaring at the Inquisitor.
"Agreed."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I frowned as I looked around the well appointed chamber. It was obviously a lounge, nice even, but it was hard to care when the Inquisitor and the single Deathwatch Space Marine were arguing in the other room.To be honest… that stunt I pulled in the Tavern surprised me. I mean, yeah, I had been angry, but I hadn't ever woven my anger and displeasure into a shroud like that… it was a neat trick. One to remember.
The Inquisitor, Linetta Res, finally returned, the Deathwatch Marine, a Black Templar, following behind her. "I understand you are headed to Terra. I will not cause you anymore problems, but I would ask that when you return you come see me. The Ordos Xenos has a number of questions you may be willing to answer, and we have need of eyes and ears in the Expanse."
Nodding slowly, I frowned safely inside my helmet, then spoke. "I have few qualms about doing such and I'm sure we can come to some agreement when I return. However, Astartes, I am on my way to Fenris to return recovered Power armor to the Space Wolves. Unfortunately the Ultramarines are too far out of my way to justify a visit to their homeworld. I would appreciate it if you informed them that I have a suit of Terminator Armor that belongs to them."
The Astarties stilled before grunting, "I will pass your messages along." Let me tell you, the amount of contempt coming off of that man could drown someone.
From there I found myself having a short but amicable chat with Station Commander Larius Sans. Ooyodo apparently managed to work out a fairly good deal with the Imperial Navy. While the contract I now had limited me in some ways, I was obligated to offer supplies and what have you I was selling to the Imperial Navy first, it also insured that I would always be compensated fairly, if not quite as well, when dealing with them.
It would hopefully play well into my later plans… well, as I said, hopefully.
As for proper supplies, the Mechanicus was able to requisitions everything we needed and we were back on our way, jump for jump, headed for Cadia, then Fenris.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kiki sprawled out on one of the Sofa in the Common room. It was good to be back on the Vivian… and it was good to be in a Plugsuit again. This model was an upgrade from the first prototype. Mind you, she wasn't sure what the upgrades were, but it had tupe like runs all over it, and for reasons she couldn't figure out, great swaths of it were clear! The only good part were the A10 clips. Clips that helped keep her hair under control and did… something when she was in the Plug.This test type was also made from a stronger, armored material, or so she had been told. It really wasn't very armored. Not armored really, just two cup like plates holding her breasts and a… well, it was something, and helped.
On the bright side, she was being asked for input on what she wanted the production suit to look like. A question that had given her pause and was why she was here, lounging around, thinking.
"Sis!" Came Myra's voice… then her little sister landed on top of her and gave her a hug.
Myra had… changed a bit since they had joined the Lord-Captains crew, but she had changed further recently. Ever since she had started spending time in the Arbor.
Myra had her raven hair in cornrows, twigs and flowers woven into it like ornaments. She wasn't wearing her robes either, but instead brown tights and a grey tunic. More importantly though… she was smiling more often. "Hey Myra, what have you been up to?"
Looking up, Myra grinned. "School and learning from the Elde-Eldar! Morra! Shaila! This is my sister Kiki!"
Sitting up on the Sofa, Myra on her lap, Kiki blinked at the two Eldar. Morra and Shaila were… um… wow… Kiki didn't realize Eldar could have breasts that large! Shaila was well endowed, for an Eldar and wore the Valiant-Pattern Oracle Armor, an Eldar Power Sword at her side. But… well, Morra was well endowed, very well endowed, enough so to make Kiki's modest bust seem tiny! It was no fair! And what was up with that 'savage' outfit she wore! It was completely inappropriate!
Swallowing, and beating down her envy, Kiki smiled and greeted them. "Hello, so you've been… teaching my sister?"
"Yuppers!" Morra chirped, then went on to add. "All kinds of things about plants! She's even starting to pick up how to track people!"
With a long suffering sigh, Shaila put in, "We've been keeping her company and teaching her what we can. It's odd to meet someone who can interact with the Immaterium but isn't a… you call us Psykers?"
"Yes… um, well… as long as you aren't teaching her anything… inappropriate." Kiki said, attempting to be diplomatic about it.
"Don't worry Kiki," Came the Lord-Captains voice as she walked into the common room, "They'll wait until she's at least started puberty. A bit longer if they know what's good for them."
"Honored Seer." They both said in tandem bowing ever so slightly.
With a put upon sigh, the Lord-Captain replied, "Peace, there's no need for formalities here. Kiki, I do hope you're ready? This will be a long one."
While the two Exodites just silently watched on, much to Kiki's confusion, she nodded. "I know, things will have hopefully cleared up enough for to get us as far as the Medusa Sector, by tomorrow, then travel will slow down a bit while we make our way to Cadia, then Fenris. But once we're back on track for Terra it will hopefully be an easy ride."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cornelius watched as the arm moved in perfect fluid motion, the fingers following his direction perfectly. Thumb to little finger. Thumb to ring finger. Thumb to middle finger. Thumb to index finger. Make a fist, then an O, then relax.
Project Jaeger was… fascinating.
What makes the Knight a steadfast Warmachine? Was it the human likeness? Was it the armor? Or… was it the adaptability?
Well, that was part of what Project Jaeger was about. But the Lord-Captain wanted it kept low key until they had left Sol… they hadn't even reached Sol yet! But he knew why. An AI hardwired into a single platform, built from the ground up to be paired with a human Pilot? Or Eldar he supposed. Not as a slave but as a partner, a symbiosis of man and machine.
It had potential, but was being watched, very carefully. No actual production, no programming yet, even work on the body and designs for the frame were extremely limited.
"I believe there is potential in this, we will have to construct a test model before a conclusive hypothesis can be reached." He explained over his shoulder.
"Understandable. Now, about the Plugsuits? I understand there are some ideas your colleges are putting forward?" The Lady Fairdwin asked as she looked over a few other projects.
The Plugsuit… such a fascinating idea! That along with the Bionics the Troopers and Armsmen were even now getting opened some interesting possibilities the Mechanicus ignored simply because further Augmentation was preferable. "Yes, the primary projects being worked upon by teams are; Glove and 102937."
He didn't even need to look to know the Lady was frowning. "Project Glove is focused on improving the Plugsuit. Or, more realistically, redesigning it to be useful for your soldiers. They also are working on improving the one designed for Navigators. The second part of the project is seeing more success than the first. However the general use version is coming along nicely, or so I'm told."
It was too, Void sealed and lightly armored, it had a small backpack like structure on the upper back that contained a small air tank and filtration system. It was already looking to be a vast improvement over the standard skinsuit uniforms were using.
"Now, Project 102937 on the other hand… is more of a study group. They have taken my own projects, both Lexis and Warder, and are slowly going over everything with the intent to overhaul the entire dynasties holdings with them. However, that is more of a secondary concern for them as they have taken to studying Warp phenomena and ways to harness it. I have taken the liberty of stationing a number of the few Skitarii I have under my command to watch for signs of Heresy. Should any be found, they will be purged and there work will be reviewed with the utmost caution."
This time he did turn to see the Lady grimace, but she nodded. "You know your people… have them focus on the transition to warded circuits for now. Once that is taken care of they may return to their experiments. Now, tell me about the Project Lightsaber?"
Ah, yes, that. He was fairly proud it had worked out so well actually. "The Plasma Saber is… done. It requires special focusing elements, a crystal, diamond, or even gemstone with certain properties to stabilize the matrix. Depending upon what is used, the field generated will tint the plasma in a variety of colors. It is quite fascinating actually. The easiest to produced synthetically are Rubies and Sapphires, followed by Emeralds. As for Crystals, you need to painstakingly craft them, shaping every part of it as it forms. Crystals will produce a stronger field, gemstones are the baseline, and diamonds… Well, they are the best to use if you can create one from scratch, but they are generally unstable because of micro imperfections. The Psi-Diamond you left me for other projects actually proved fairly good. I would however, suggest making a diamond for one of these sabers from scratch if you use one of them."
The Lady Fairdwin just stood there wide eyed, staring at him. Then she started laughing, and laughing, and laughing. Then finally after an hour of laughter, she spoke. "Oh, this is rich! This is perfect! Humanity has finally managed to replicate one of their favored weapons in truth, and they don't even remember what it was from! Worse! They would be mortified by the source content!"
It was a while longer as she laughed, then finally, still grinning, the Lady Fairdwin spoke. "Ok, give me the schematics, then go and get a few of your more open minded brethren… I have to go collect a number for people for this… this… oh, this is going to be great!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Getting everyone to come to watch the movies was… not too hard. Still, it was going to be great, Hardy, Roth, Valera, Myra, Kiki, Balmer, Arashi, Amelia, Reu and his entourage, Shepard, Marcus, Luara, Tobius, Ooyodo, even Shaila and Morra! And then a number of the help.Once everyone was settled in, I started the Movie marathon. Star Wars. The original six films… the ones that came after were unfortunately corrupted in almost every instance I could find.
As the first movie started I couldn't wait to see how things would go… and the heckling! It was why I had included so many Tech-Priests!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That is not how a Void shield works!""Star Destroyer? But it doesn't even destroy stars!"
"Death Star? Well, we could probably make something like that."
"What is up with all these Xenos!"
"Palpatine? Wish I could shoot that traitorous-"
"Fool Jedi!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the sixth movie came to a close, Morra of all people seemed to sum up everyone's feelings. "Well… it was good… I guess, but Space doesn't work like that!""It pains me to say this, but I am awed that Lightsabers actually work like that." One of the unnamed Tech-Priests put in. Then another asked, "Did anyone else find the Ewok Xenos disturbing?"
Smiling, I spoke, finally. "And that's from M1.977."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been amusing watching those movies with people. With humans at that! They had taken the Xenophilius overtones rather well and instead focus on heckling every military action, or just the aim of the stormtroopers.Sitting in my room, I slowly began to shape my Plasma Blade. I will admit, it was tempting to go with the style used in the movies. A simple tube. I could make it a work of art, besides, you don't need a wide blade when it's just a beam of plasma. But I instead went with a different design.
The hilt, the whole weapon, was modeled after Human Power Swords. Thick, good hilt, the grip wrapped in lapis blue cloth, everything for the Stabilized Plasma Matrix was solid state within the hilt and guard, well except for the Focus. The guard itself was an Aquila, the wings designed to fold up when the weapon wasn't in use. More of an aesthetic choice, but it looked nice enough. When the wings were down, and the projector was active a blade would be projected, not as a small round beam… but a true blade.
Or, that was the plan. Looking over the golden Aquila, and the rest of the blade, I frowned. I needed to make this blade… me. Not Imperial, or Eldar… but me. I needed to do something to make it my own.
With a sigh, I activated the blade. I had crafted a clear Psi-Diamond, and… It worked. The blade was a glowing white, and came out just as I had wanted. This was merely a prototype. Something I hadn't planned when I had made it, but now I knew. This was not the blade for me. I needed to make something that would stand out.
Removing the focus, I pondered my thoughts, and what I wanted in a blade. I wanted it to be the same type, the thicker blade was something I was going to keep. The folding wings too, but perhaps a more Eldar touch to them? Between the two wings… A gear? Yes, a gear to represent my ties to the Mechanicus, and… I guess the distorted skull that was my House heraldry.
At the other end of the hilt, the pommel I could… ok, put a ring their, but… hmm, no not eight spikes, but if I… Ok, the ring will be imbedded a quarter of the way down, spike at the main cardinal points, two smaller spikes between each of the main ones… can I make this do anything? No. Ok, so aesthetics only.
Still, the blade weapon as a whole looked… nice actually! I would need to try it in combat, and make adjustments as I felt the need.
Giving my Power Armor a once over, I nodded. I had a few ideas on that, but they could wait. I still had to make that for Ooyodo.
We were due to dewarp soon, partially to get a feel for the routes… and mostly because we were getting close to the Eye of Terror.
Kerashana
Warden
- Location
- The Outer Gate
State of the Fic!
So, I have a few more chapters to post, but unless I get inspiration we're looking at a hiatus coming up quick. So, for those of you who enjoy this and want me to keep going? I would love some rec lists for 40k fics. Otherwise, I'm working on a RWBY fic right now, but am unsure were that will go.Cheers!
Have you watched TTS (text to speech, a sort of crack take on the setting) on YouTube ? There's also the Weaver option (a warhammer worm crossover). Other good reads are the cain series of books, a fan fiction called the Lupercal redemption and one that I haven't read but is highly suggested, the Robutian Heresy.
- Location
- England
I like it, but it does seem to be going a bit 'limp'. The various cameos like Kiki, plug suits, Star Wars and such would be more suited to a full-on crack fic, IMO. I think it was better when there was a bit more serious stuff going on. It feels odd not to have some faction of the Imperium / Inquisitors having a hate-on for them. I would be expecting intrigue, assassination attempts and riots by now.
Or, as suggested in some source material, the echlisiarchy pestering her for her warrant of trade because it has the emperor's signature. I know the in universe example is sealed with his blood but still, more could be made of that.
- Location
- India
This three i think still best fic i ever read on 40k
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/the-evil-that-men-do-–-story-only.368801/
Exploring Hell (40K SI)
Wishful Thinking (40K SI)
Also these two
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/out-of-the-dark-dao
A light flung into the dark. (40k fanfic. DaoT survivors.)
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/the-evil-that-men-do-–-story-only.368801/
Exploring Hell (40K SI)
Wishful Thinking (40K SI)
Also these two
https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/out-of-the-dark-dao
A light flung into the dark. (40k fanfic. DaoT survivors.)
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- Location
- England
Yeeaah, that forum is a pain. The fanfiction stuff is hidden in a forum that you don't get access to by default. I'm not even sure how you are supposed to be able to go there even after signing up.
[EDIT] Turns out you just have to wait a day or so for your account to be extra confirmed.
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- Location
- Pale Blue Dot
Kerashana
Warden
- Location
- The Outer Gate
I like it, but it does seem to be going a bit 'limp'. The various cameos like Kiki, plug suits, Star Wars and such would be more suited to a full-on crack fic, IMO. I think it was better when there was a bit more serious stuff going on. It feels odd not to have some faction of the Imperium / Inquisitors having a hate-on for them. I would be expecting intrigue, assassination attempts and riots by now.
Yeah, I'm aware of the problems, but one of the biggest was that I piggonholed myself into having to workout ten years in Sol. Once that's over things start getting better... hopefully. But I'm stalled out halfway through ten years of Terra. looking at two or three-ish chapters to go and they're better? I hope, but I really just need to get back to the Kronos Expanse for things to be easier. Something proving harder than I want.
As for Imperial factions doing... things. that is again the Expanse.
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Edit: Thanks for the Rec, I'll see if I can't get to them.
Cheers.
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- Location
- zwolle
nice chapter thx for writing it loved the light sabers and the reaction to the ewoks guess the notion of xeno and exterminatus came from that
as for 40k fic's got a couple not sure how usefull they will be but inspiration can come from everywhere
Imperium Ascendant (Heresy-less 40k) | Page 231
Rip and Tear (DOOM/Warhammer 40k) | Page 85
https://forums.spacebattles.com/thr...upreme-commander.681733/page-83#post-55099693
Bastard Son (Star Wars/40k) | Page 43
Adamantine Will (40K... SI-OC)
Hexagram ( WH40K / SI /???)
Exploring Hell (40K SI)
Second star to the right and straight on till morning Chapter 1, a warhammer fanfic | FanFiction
Dreadnought of the Omnissiah Chapter 1, a Warhammer + Pacific Rim Crossover fanfic | FanFiction
as for 40k fic's got a couple not sure how usefull they will be but inspiration can come from everywhere
Imperium Ascendant (Heresy-less 40k) | Page 231
Rip and Tear (DOOM/Warhammer 40k) | Page 85
https://forums.spacebattles.com/thr...upreme-commander.681733/page-83#post-55099693
Bastard Son (Star Wars/40k) | Page 43
Adamantine Will (40K... SI-OC)
Hexagram ( WH40K / SI /???)
Exploring Hell (40K SI)
Second star to the right and straight on till morning Chapter 1, a warhammer fanfic | FanFiction
Dreadnought of the Omnissiah Chapter 1, a Warhammer + Pacific Rim Crossover fanfic | FanFiction
- Location
- India
Hexagram ( WH40K / SI /???) is worst 40k fic, the grammar and writing style both are horrendousnice chapter thx for writing it loved the light sabers and the reaction to the ewoks guess the notion of xeno and exterminatus came from that
as for 40k fic's got a couple not sure how usefull they will be but inspiration can come from everywhere
Imperium Ascendant (Heresy-less 40k) | Page 231
Rip and Tear (DOOM/Warhammer 40k) | Page 85
A Nation Reborn (40k/ supreme commander) | Page 83
Bastard Son (Star Wars/40k) | Page 43
Adamantine Will (40K... SI-OC)
Hexagram ( WH40K / SI /???)
Exploring Hell (40K SI)
Second star to the right and straight on till morning Chapter 1, a warhammer fanfic | FanFiction
Dreadnought of the Omnissiah Chapter 1, a Warhammer + Pacific Rim Crossover fanfic | FanFiction
There is the fic series that starts with Inquisitor Carrow and the GodEmperorless Heathens Chapter 1, a Harry Potter + Warhammer Crossover fanfic | FanFiction. Featuring the Emp-man himself... trying reign in an Inquisitor that got eldar'ed back into the 1990's. Of the Harry Potter verse.
From AH we have: https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...of-the-senseless-a-40k-story-complete.412449/ A OC Perpetual gets a little task in an AU 40k
And from Stardestroyer.net comes: https://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?t=148975 Knight Errant - what happens when a Grey Knight has an unsupervised adventure?
Neruz
Rogue Spiderbanana
- Location
- The Land of Fire and Poison
Honestly, I'd say you can timeskip the majority of the time at Sol. With an undeniable writ from the Emperor and a piece of his soul inside her, no-one is going to dare attempt any funny business while Jaeda is out in the open in Sol where everyone (including the extremely pleased Mechanicus) can see her. Especially since the Custodes are likely to demand she shows herself before the Golden Throne ASAP, and may even break their millennia of isolation to send one of their ridiculously blinged out cruisers to retrieve her. No-one, not even the real crazies, are going to be stupid enough to annoy the Custodes by meddling in their affairs, so no-one is going to do anything overt to Jaeda while she's in Sol.
You can probably do most of the stint at Sol as a highlights reel of intermissions, actually it would be a good spot to take some time to show how the various Imperial factions are reacting to the events thus far and perhaps drop some foreshadowing on future plans to cause trouble.
Never be afraid to timeskip in 40k, despite the grimdark nature of the far future, sometimes nothing interesting happens for years at a time just because everyone is too busy positioning their pieces to actually make a move.
Of course, if you get bored you can always have a Necron Lord show up and shake its metal fist angrily at Jaeda for a bit: there's probably at least one Dynasty that would be offended enough by the idea of an Eldar working with the Imperium to try and do something about it. And of course Jaeda does have a bunch of interesting and rare archaeotech databases and is developing new and original hybrid Imperial\Eldar tech, so there's always the possibility that Trazyn will suddenly come striding through the door to her personal chambers (despite not having actually been behind said door before walking through it) and start stealing everything that looks interesting. Or worse, greet Jaeda jovially and cut some kind of deal.
Because you can never be sure with Trollzyn, sometimes he acts contrary to type just to confuse people.
e: Actually, I forget. Have we been given a current galactic calendar date? Because depending on when exactly it is during the timeline there might be some canon events you can springboard off of. Presuming that it is well before the end of the 41st millennium and the shitfest that goes down then. It might actually be a bit early for the majority of the Necron Dynasties to have woken up, though Trollzyn will still be out and about and doing his thing regardless.
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