(Edits for Quality.)
It started as a blinding flash. The moments before being consumed by nuclear fire was a single thought. 'Alex failed us. We were his creations and he let us die.' I know it's strange to blame him, but it was his choice to turn Heller. Now we're all dead, they're cleaning the island with nuclear fire.
I woke up, which was in and of itself a shocking but pleasant turn of events. I'm a liquid there's not much of me from the shape I'm being held in I would say that I am in a test tube not exactly the best way to wake up. There's not enough room in the tube for me to make any useful sensory organs and nowhere near enough space for me to attempt to break the glass. 'I guess let's hope for a lazy lab technician. Hell, maybe some idiot will drink me...here's to hoping at least.'
That was my existence for as long as I can remember, just some black sludge in a glass vile. Then one-day vibrations rocked me at first soft almost distant, but soon they were ever growing closer. Then it happened I was knocked off wherever I was being stored and for the first time in a long time I was able to move, and move I did. Quickly growing the most basic of sensory organs I was shortly stunned by the information overload lights and color were still lost to me but I could see shapes so I moved quickly as what is effectively a small slug could, soon finding a corner. Making my way to the ceiling I change form again taking the shape of a single human eye with a few connective tissues holding me to the wall. What I saw was interesting, to say the least. I was not in a lab but instead a very large and ornate office there was debris everywhere and a body on the floor. Whatever had happened here it was over now. I return to my slug-like form and slowly make my way to the body. 'Is anybody gonna eat this? No? Well, don't mind if I do.' I quickly burrow into the very portly and flashily dressed man absorbing biomass all the way. I feel better than I have in a long time. Soon I finally make it to the brain...or what's left of it. The man's early life is completely lost to me but that's not what I need. I learn his name… or rather my new name Gaius Torwinnis Lord Governor of the Torwinnis system of the Imperium of Man. 'Well then...that's quite the mouthful.' I take a moment to absorb the leftover blood on the ground I stand slowly and take in my surroundings. Now from what my memories tell me I was just assassinated by my assistant after my discovery of… and that's it. That part of this poor bastards brain was mush when I got here. It was not soon after finishing my thoughts that a group of armed guards charged into my office the lead guard is one of 'my' personal honor guards.
"My lord what has happened there were reports of gunshots." Quickly assuming the role of the injured victim my arm out of their view covered itself with blood and a fresh and painful looking hole using the earlier hole in my head as a reference. Thinking quickly my response came to sound like barely controlled anger and pain.
"It was Dominus, My secretary tried to assassinate me! Hunt him down this instant!" The roar of righteous fury was perfectly executed the honor guard, Captain Juris if memory serves quickly turned to those following him gesturing wildly and very angrily might I add.
"Lord Gaius has been assaulted capture Dominus he is not to leave this tower alive!" So far so good I must say. I go to my desk nursing my arm in false pain as I shout with great indignation.
"Quickly Juris summon a medicae!" The aforementioned soldier spoke quickly into a com-bead soon followed by the sounds of rushing feet. The medicae rushed into the room as if his life depended on it, which looking back on it his life probably did. His speed and efficiency in treating my 'wound' were nothing to shrug at. While this was going on I turned back to the good captain.
"I want him found and killed captain he assaulted his lord with the intent to kill! I can not and will not let this stand!" I received a curt nod from the captain again routing my wishes through his comm.
"Understood my lord it shall be done." He stands by the door at attention in case of a second attempt. I would prefer privacy but I know that is what the 'old' me would want right now Gaius, however, the paranoid fat bastard that he was would want every guard that wasn't currently searching the spire to be protecting him. And if that's the way he would act that's the way I will act...for now.
Two weeks, I've been Gaius for two weeks, and I must say I'm impressed the man didn't blow his own brains out. The sheer amount of bureaucracy within the Imperium of Man is nothing short of appalling. So far the only changes I've made were slight cuts to taxation due to how ridiculously exorbitant they were and a very serious cleaning of the house. There are so many corrupt officials that I've slashed my cabinet in half and replaced them a dozen times over. Worst than that there are probably still hundreds of them from bribery at all levels of government to lords and major landowners that maintain private armies approaching if not equaling my own. The only way I maintain my authority is by using the PDF as part of my personal army and several under hive gangs in my pocket. While yes it seems rather hypocritical to fight corruption by doing things that a corrupt man would. It will take months to straighten this place out, however, I feel like I'm acclimating well to this life, I've definitely eaten enough politicians and lawyers for it.
A month passes in much the same way fighting within the cutthroat politics of the Imperium. As time passes I find myself getting used to it, Not a great job to have if you give a damn. It's more a job to lounge in the benefits of and slowly watch as your power is subsumed but competing for minor lords and other such self-centered officials. Not me sadly no, I decided to be the one in a billion. On the bright side, I'm now down two of my greatest competitors for control of this sector. They both under fell terrible accidents, one a hunting accident on one of these planets forest moons he was brutally mauled by an 'animal' the other was ambushed by criminals during a visit to one of the seedier parts of the hive he governed. Both have been replaced by two who are well and truly loyal, well at least as loyal as humans can be. It's not too bad people seem to be liking me. It's a great thing feed some starving peasants provide for their basic needs and suddenly there singing your name in the streets. I've changed physically as well the slouch of a portly man I used to be is gone. I've 'lost' a lot of weight slimming a little bit at a time over almost two months. I'm not exactly a powerlifter yet but I'm slimming, and in some part of my memory storage that's still kinda human is pleased by that.
Three months later and I'm not feeling great starving yourself that long is never a good idea. I look trim enough but it's mostly because I'm running low on biomass. My rate of cell decay is stable and I've taken minimal damage the only issue is at the current state of cell death coupled with the low low amount of biomass that was one fat guy supplemented by the odd feast or two but I've just been so busy trying to fix things and I've been shot, stabbed, and generally damaged so many times that I'm running low. On the other hand, I can't just go eat whatever, well… more whoever I want. The issue is that the fear that spent the most time at the forefront of his mind was the Inquisition and to have a run-in with them is much worse than any other fate. Moving past that unhappiness. I'll have to hunt… the underhives will supply many prey items granted they are not going to be very high in quality, eating better or not they're still mostly skin and bones. I've recently promoted the good captain to my head of the guard and I've been thinking about getting up to my old ways. Especially when it comes to the Evolved a lesser form of what I am. When night falls I enter the under hive in my old form in the clothes of the region. Nothing too special a little on the taller side shaggy brown hair I honestly look like another one of the people. Which the small human part of my brain finds somewhat insulting. Finding people alone will be nigh impossible. This conclusion leads me to a change in tactics. I slip behind a blind corner and freshen up a bit aim more for lesser noble's son clean myself up a bit appearance wise a fresh 'haircut' and wearing a mask of uncertainty I begin to wander back alleys it wasn't long before would be predators thought they smelled blood in the water.
"You lost boy?" I will admit he is a rather large gentleman. Well fed strong not very fast just a low-level bruiser just here to look strong. He had a few lesser street runners...most of these kids are probably more afraid of me than I of them… even if I were still human. Well time to play my part.
"If I a...am?" Let's try to keep it scared but unafraid. Just a bit of a stutter makes it seem like I'm putting on a brave front. From what I can tell it's working they continue to approach slowly but surely.
"Then ya' should let me an' my boys here help ya' find yer way back yeah? For a price of course." He straightened his tattered suit as if this lowly thug was some honest businessman. This filth thought me sheep, interesting to say the least. He was still walking slowly towards me they were close enough now. To pounce or not to pounce let the farce continue or butcher them now. The choice is made and I erupt, tendrils ripped from my body each one was an inch thick hundreds of them. If someone walked into this alley it would look like someone was tracking the trail of shrapnel from an explosion, and then they were gone seven men consumed in an instant. I felt strong better than I had in days seven full-grown humans should keep me going for quite a while. Who knows maybe I can use the minds of those I took for my experiments later. For now back to business I must return to being the lord governor.
In the following three months I've placed this world under my iron grasp. The dissenters faced many accidents it's commonplace for politicians to face 'accidents' in the Imperium at large. So no one really questioned it but now all of the personal armies have been redistributed and combines this the various PDF's of the system. The tithe is primarily paid in lives and food from this system sadly we have no major representative from the Cult Mechanicus in this system only a couple forge hives.
But now that I'm on the top of things here I can't help but wonder what the point in all of this is. I have all of the power the ruler of a world should have but none of the drive. I lack the greed that drives most in this empire. I have no interest in bettering this galaxy in the name of a united and powerful humanity like the worshiped Emperor. At best I have a passing interest in some of the mutations that have come about from humanity that has been around for tens of thousands of years. So I've decided to leave.
I've been looking into what I can make. So far the best I've done In recreating a weaker form of my strain. The weakest form or 'Drones' as I call them are almost completely empty-headed relying almost entirely on the hive-mind for completing most functions. They Can blend in locally for the most part maintaining just enough individuality to hold conversations and maintain their cover. Next, are the 'Warrior' Mostly just a step above 'Drones' independence wise. However, they have access to most if not all of my combat abilities allowing for limited personal customization. The final version is an upgraded version of the 'Warriors' I've taken to referring to as 'Sergeants'. The 'Sergeants' are greatly superior to the 'Warriors'. I've given the most free will I feel safe giving them, their primary purpose is to lead the 'Soldiers' so giving them enough individuality to make tactical decisions is of paramount importance. They have a secondary purpose in acting almost like synapse nodes in the hive mind distributing strain across multiple minds for processing power.
The only one of these three that exists is the 'Sergeant' I turned the good captain Juris into a 'Sergeant' when I finalized the design leading us to now I've given him permission to turn a fair dozen of his captains into 'Soldiers' for the sake of testing. I made a 'Drone' of a minor lord in my court but there was nothing to be impressed by I mostly did it to prove the point.