The Warp, time does not rule here for whatever values of "here" apply

The beings in front of Tzeench were as different as they could be. Their origin, their abilities and their thinking was at polar opposites, their aims mutually exclusive and they viewed each other with distrust. That was as thing should be. That the only things these beings had in common was power far beyond their station was unfortunate and presented a challenge. They had all been Greater Demons before and had been the best at the free-for-all buffet that had ensued when the Horned Rat had be cast back into the Warp in pieces. They had fed on the fragments with ruthless efficiency and desperate hunger, had used their power to devour their peers which had done the same and had gone to drain those who had taken the same path as they. Now they were something new-no God, no Greater Demon-maybe the human idea of half-god applied?
The great feast had left three of them.

Linderex had been a disciple of Khorne before he took in so much power and magic that his chosen God no longer recognized him.
Kochnius had been affiliated with Nurgle before, yet now his abilities went into making things as well, not just rotting them.
Zuseranz had been one of his Keeper of Secrets, but now he wanted to be the events in the forefront, not just influencing them.

Together they would be powerful enough to rip him or one of his brothers apart. Even if one of these three managed to overwhelm the other two the result would be a dangerous rival-so something had to be done. Something that furthered his plans of course.

"So you all want to ascend? To be rewarded for your aggressiveness, your cunning and your stamina? You want to claim the prize of your victories, but do not want to be ripped apart by it?"
All three gave various signs of approval.
"And you expect to help me, just like that-or do you want to entice me with a morsel of your great new power, a leftover of that overgrown pest?"
Now they were all trying to squash that notion.
"Then you need to impress me. Show me that you have the mind that matches you appetites, the courage that matches your ambition and the stamina to see a plan through. Are you up to that?"
Oh yes, they were.
"Then I have prepared a battlefield for you, one none of you is familiar with. And you will not fight each other-you will have to show what you can do in a virgin world that has never seen the likes of you-and where you have to adapt to what is possible. Because that is what you will have to do if you want to ascend-adapt. Show me you can do that and I will aid you-fail and will have no need to do so."
And they all agreed, one after the other .

Tzeench gathered power-a great lot of it, impressing even these beings. He manipulated the warp in ways none of them had ever seen and opened a portal to..somewhere.
They all went-and when they were in the portal, they felt the push and the pull. The push that forced them through the portal and the pull that stripped them of whatever bodies they had in the warp.
They all arrived above the world they had never seen before as energy-as the potential to pin down and move quantum as they wished, as discrete folds in spacetime and as wisps as insubstantial as any imagination.
The world below them was like the one they had seen and visited so often-and it was not at the same time. It was smaller and yet the land masses were nearly the same with few exceptions. There was nearly no magic here but for a slowly expanding potential in one landmass that looked a bit like the Old World-but there were seas of light in the parts shrouded by night. There were no magic users but their newfound senses showed communication in ways they had never imagined. There were no Dawi, no Greenskins, no Beastmen, no Monsters-but Humans in incredible amounts.
This was their canvas, their arena and their destiny. The three half-golds watched Earth with awe while they fell towards its surface, looking for suitable resting places and foci all the while.

Linderex found a weapon of immense power that spoke to his warrior self, an old weapon full of memories, deeds and death-he called it the Nightmare when he started to inject himself into it.
Kochinus elected a host that was many times smaller than this artifact, of natural origin and speaking to his former self, it would be known as the Plague.
Zuseranz needed more magic for what he was about to do and found a focus in the part of the world that started to know magic-he found the Well.

All of them watched and experienced and waited. They adapted and they hatched plans for their deeds. Deeds that would impress Tzeench, that would show their mettle and which would cut the heart out of the inhabitants of this world.

University of Technology of Compigne, 19th Febuary 2016

The University had mostly shut down for the evening already and so Yvette had to walk corridors that lit up only when she walked down them-if the lamps lit in time and by numerous closed doors that led into offices and laboratories. Marie had called her and asked for a meeting. She had not one into any specifics but had been nervous if not distraught. As Yvette knew her normally bright friend she was quite curious about what she was about to see, especially as her fellow doctorante had asked for discretion. She knocked before entering the lab and then went towards the far end where Marie and her colleagues kept the cages for the lab animals. She found Marie who was just donning heavy gloves which kept none of them from a hug and a peek on each cheek.

"Ca va Marie?"
"Ca va-I do not know Yvette, I really do not."
"What is up my friend."
"Better I show you."

Marie went to a cage in the far end of row, where it was bordered by several empty ones. The cage in question was covered by a cloth that was mostly white and Marie stepped aside when she lifted it up.
Nothing happened for a second before something too far to make out clearly went from a pile of sawdust against the bars. The small, white thing screamed like an angry kettle and bared several rows of needle sharp teeth. Only the fact that the thing was no bigger than Yvette`s hand and the distance from the cage kept her from having an "accident". Even at this small scale and blocked by the cages bars the raw aggression of whatever animal was there impressed Yvette.

"Sacre bleu-what is that?"
"That is a Rattus norvegicus forma domestica-a common lab rat. Well after I fed her mother a bit of that green stuff you shared with me."
Yvette had a second look. The eyes were a deep bloody red, the teeth far too many for any mammal, the claws so long they were impractical for anything but rending down things to bloody scraps and there was something on the brow of the animal that looked suspiciously like horns.
This was like a caricature of the docile lab rat she was quite familiar with.
"Impossible Marie-it must be something else. How could a rat change so quickly in just one generation and all features are fully functional? Somebody must have played a bad joke upon you surely."
"That`s what I thought too-until I watched the birth of a second clutch. They were the same and nearly ate their mother before I could keep them from doing so. Then I checked their DNA as much as I am able with this equipment, and these ARE rattus norvegicus, just with some little changes."
"How is that possible?"
"I have something of a hypothesis. You know that the genetic blueprint for a tail is in both of us, right. Same as the blueprint for webbed hands and feet, fur all over and much other stuff."
"Oui."
"Well, normally this stuff is not used, but closed from acting on the cell`s proteins by "chaperones"-proteins that attach themselves to these parts of the DNA. My best guess is that the green stuff rips them off and let them do their job, selectively. I have no idea how it does that, but it does."
"Merde. So this stuff is dangerous?"
"Probably, actually likely."
"Oh my, whom do we approach about that?"

Karak Eight Peaks, Bäckertag, Sigmarszeit

The Longbeards and the Hammers were there again, in the same hall they had used for the celebratory binge-drinking, as was Kargan and some of his Thunderers. And while there was no ale there was headache.
"Ok, again. First step-off with the helmet. Second, pull the mask out, hold it downwards and make sure the straps fall forward. Grip to the sides-so-and then pull against your face.
Forth-put the straps behind you mask and pull till tight. Now put your hand in front of the filter and draw in breath. If the mask gets tighter and you cannot draw air all is fine. If not you need to check where the leak is.
Finally put the helmet back up. Have all understood?"
"Aye."
"Then let`s go this by the numbers. One-take off the helmet, two grip the mask. Three Grip the sides. Four put in the straps and pull. Now check for tightness-good."
"Well, that was not too bad, but please remember you have to do this in the time you can hold your breath-and you have to be able to do this with your eyes closed within 10 seconds. Elder Lars-please remember to put the straps forward, not inside the mask. Honored Hangulf, please pull the straps tighter next time….

Kargan had to be very very careful in his instructions and the Longbeards were doing their level best to remain calm. Still the air was rife with tension and everybody was sure to be a millimeter from a violet argument. All of these sessions were like this and if there was any improvement it was very gradual at best.
The young were teaching the old-the natural order of things had turned on its head. It was very hard to bear for the Longbeards who were revered for their wisdom which was obviously worth less now-and hard for Kargan who was not allowed to chew out some of the more oafish elders. So far two of the Longbeards had already dropped out of the program and the Thunderer was pretty sure they would not be the last.

The Wasteland, 50 Kilometers from Esh-sur-Alzette, 3rd April 2016

The Fortress had appeared together with the Wasteland. Whether its inhabitants had been left behind or it had been empty before the Weltensprung was not known and after a very short survey a couple of months after the Event it was left fallow. Positioned on a high plateau and surrounded by wilderness it was hard to say why it had been built here as it seemed to guard nothing. There was no important road, no river, no center of trade and certainly no clue on its former purpose could be gleaned from its interior. What was obvious was that the fortress was old, having been restored and enlarged several times. Most of the building material seemed to be a grey granite that was so hard that it was anybody's guess how the builders had shaped them and a lot of anthracite-colored slate. The interior was simply empty-no furniture, no artwork, no coat of arms nor anything else gave a hint on the formers owners of the edifice. What it did have was a maze-unending corridors which led from one part to another, sometimes blocked off or leading into parts that nobody suspected that should be there. Differences in stonemasonry and weathering also indicated that the fortress had been built on top of an older one-and there was a suspicion that even that was not the oldest layer.
The fastness itself had multiple facings that conformed to the hilltop on which it sat. An outer wall surrounded several small buildings, a courtyard and a huge central tower

Now it had new owners which struggled to make it usable for them. The fortress itself did not pose a problem, it was in remarkably good condition for a building that had not been maintained for a time. Yet the new inhabitants had very different requirements from the old ones and they found that the secluded location posed its own problems. A loggers road had been improved, something that looked like an old roman road cleared and a kilometer-long aisle been cleared through the forest. Several Renault and Tatra offroad-trucks were making their way from the next highway that crossed what had once been Germany. They brought everything because the wilderness around the fortress yielded nothing. The humans that offloaded the trucks and used their cargo to covert the enclosure of stone into something useful were of different ages, had different countries of origin and fitness, yet they all had one thing in common. Whether they had an armband or a vest that went over their coats, they all displayed the Cross Patee-the Knight Templar`s Coats of Arms.

Henrik Van Meert was considered one of the best catches by Alan Crowlair. A former engineer in the Dutch armed forces and having worked in construction ever since his stint he had compensated the pains of a messily failed marriage with the sense of belonging and purpose the Templars offered. Bald as an egg and powerfully built he tried to be everywhere at the same time to make sure that the overworked professionals and enthusiastic amateurs under his command did not screw things up too badly. Currently he was inside the courtyard and watched a group of people who shook their heads and recovered a long cable from the well that was in the center.
"I know that some of the old castles wells are deep, but this is ridiculous. This was 400 meters worth of cable and we did not hit the bottom or water. I urgently suggest we drill a new well elsewhere and pump the water in. The trees in the other die say that there should be some water, but this thing is a nonstarter."
"The Grand Master told us to get the water from inside the Karak so nothing from outside can contaminate or cut us off entirely. We are in the wasteland after all."
"I would not dare to gainsay the Grand Master, but we have to do it somewhere else in the Karak then-this thing has no bottom."
"Let me check that-I have a range finder."
Half an hour later Van Meert aimed his old Zeiss laser range finder down the well. He had heard about such wells before, some of them had been more than 500 meters deep, especially when the fortress had been on a mountain top. Aiming the laser downwards into the well he got a quick reading of 730 meters. Knowing just too well that he could have hit the walls he repeated-820. Again-790, ah he probably hit the walls.
Getting an aide to secure his legs he bent forward and made sure that he aimed straight down he engaged the range finder again.
"Error 01"
This was repeated three times and left the engineer at a loss. His range finder had just told him that the target was out of range-which meant that the bottom was at least 2500 meters down. What the bleeding fuck….

BB-64 Wisconsin, Aft Enlisted Crew Mess, 1.5.2016 evening

Coenraad van der Schroeff watched the room around him with interest. The mess was huge but had a low, cluttered ceiling and had room for hundreds of people who wanted to eat their chow at the same time. A gleaming galley of stainless steel gave off appetizing smells again. A few banners and other adornments had been added for this occasion, but it did not detract from the functional look. It had been a very long time he had been in here and the room rekindled a lot of old memories. Three years ago a volunteer group had restored the mess to its former glory and now it looked like it had done when he had left that ship 25 years ago upon her final decommissioning. She had been a proud warship with a long and distinguished career and did not have to take second place to any other.
During his time as her Captain she had been a mighty ship indeed-9 16" guns that fired shells of a ton apiece, secondary guns with the same caliber as the main guns on nearly any other ship afloat, more than two dozen cruise missiles were protected by thousands of tons of steel and could be propelled to more than 30 knots. Alas, now her services were no longer needed, or so the political masters in Washington and the new Naval Brass said. He did of course understand all the power and range, the sophisticated sensors and finesse the newer ships had-but also their vulnerability when all these wonderful systems did what they were apt to do at the worst time-fail. There was simply no substitute for a good feet of Class B armor between you and something that wanted to harm you.
He politely listened to the speech given by Ranzy Weston, the President of the ship`s association, saluted when his time came and took the podium.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you once more. We are all former members of Wisconsin's crew-a proud and capable ship which had a crew to match. Wisconsin has served in four wars and as many generations of officers and seamen have served this ship in turn. Wherever she went she has sent fear into the hearts of her enemies instilled confidence to those she supported. Like this ship our services are no longer needed by our country and yet we can keep the memory alive of the ship and those who made her alive.
"Forward for Freedom" was this ships motto-it was our motto-and by God we did what was necessary to fill it with life. Thank you all for being your Captain while it lasted and thanks for inviting me to this celebration."
The old men and few women made a line for the galley which dispensed food that she had rarely gotten up to during her service. Several courses of good healthy food and beverages made the veterans believe again in the good old days of their service, hiding the experience of long hours, lack of sleep and spare time behind fonder memories. The meal did also dispense something else that was less benign but at least as interested in the memories of the participants. While the foodstuff that had been brought in was quite healthy it had been prepared in gear that had been occupied by a new owner. An owner who basked in what he saw in the old men`s minds. Such power to be had just for the taking.

Peenemünde Nord, Festtag 4. Sommerzeit

watch?v=tIqG...w6AOlg8qpm7R21

From the outside Nathan Alpers`spaceship was about as concentional as could be. A cone on top of a cylinder, currently still crowned by the rescue tower. The inside was also not so different from an Apollo capsule at first glance-three side-by-side acceleration couches in the same space that a decent car offered for two in the front row. Yet the instrument panel in front of the mission commander was far different from most spaceships. As it had to be built from ground up several TFT-displays replaced nearly all of the analog gauges that had graced the counterparts in Apollo or Soyus. His gloves were specially equipped so he could manipulate the touch-screens with or without them.
Currently he was just watching them as foe the time being he was more of a passenger in his own spacecraft. His fate was in the hands of a dedicated team in the command center who chewed their nails and several computers who did the real work and could care less. The only decision he could make would happen via a very analog switch that was next to his right hand.
The countdown was watched by many, including several ambassadors who had taken the pains to meet and greet the astronauts before their launch now that they could believe that this was a survivable adventure. Nathan had been quite impressed by Tehenhoto, the Lizardman ambassador. When one faced him one could nearly smell the jungle and the magic about him.
And then all the training, hope and work came to a point. Below Nathan and his crew many tons of water were pumped over the ramp, the 5 engines of the first stage ignited and shook the massive rocket.
"5..4..3..2..1..0"

And then it begun. The vibrations increased tenfold as did the noise level when the powerful solid fuel boosters cut in. The acceleration ramped up from sports-car level to "an elephant sits on my chest" in less than 30 seconds and the great rocket by then pierced the scattered clouds. Nathan had taken his finger off the switches cover by then. Had he removed it and pressed the button below a powerful rocket on top of the rescue tower would have jettisoned the capsule away from some disaster-now they had enough attitude for a separation anyway. Instead now the tower was jettisoned with a roar that was even audible over the clamor already there. The boosters burned out next and an noticeable shudder went through the rocket when they were dropped. And then there was silence-the engines of the first stage had burned what fuel there was. Everybody held his breath until separation and a clean ignition of the second stage that burned even longer and put "Merkur 3" into a low orbit around the Warhammer World.

The first minutes were busy ones-the orbit had to be verified, the systems to be checked and communication channels established. Then came the cheering-Nathan Alpers, Erik Bär and Manfred Bettin were in orbit and by the looks of it their mission was a go. Now that Nathan had a second to feel instead of going through drills he felt that his inner ear tried to convince him he was falling. His stomach did not even think about getting upset-Father Hark had done a swell job there-and when he lifted his arm it did not drop at all. Somebody had to do it, might as well be him. Taking one of his water bags from its place he put it before its place and let go. And unlike any other time he had done such a thing in his life, it did not drop but stay where it was. It was a marvel and a joy to behold-at least for the few seconds he allowed himself to do so.
He watched the slightly tumbling bag that was the symbol of so many of his dreams with joy and a big grin. He was not the only one watching that bag through his eyes-a being as old as it was inhuman did so as well.

"Merkur 3" stayed in the low orbit for two complete turns around the world till all systems were checked and the right moment was there. Nathan Alpers rocket was unlike the one that had carried "Merkur 2" aloft-there was a third stage that had so far not been used so far. Nathan told the computer to fire which did this after deliberating whether its user had the right of it. Firing for a minute in one go the stage changed the so-far nearly circular orbit to a highly elliptical one. Half an hour later a second burn established the spacecraft into a much higher attitude. There had been 20 tense minutes when "Merkur" traversed a belt of high radiation like the Van-Allen belt around Earth. The capsule and their spacesuits were both meant to absorb most of it and in the end the crew got a dose that was the equivalent of three intercontinental flights. Still everybody relaxed when the Geiger counter stopped its high pitch.

Once the new orbit was established the now burned-out third stage was jettisoned. A short burn distanced them from the rocket part and the waiting begun. Deploying solar panels and running various tests Nathan passed the time till a small icon at the top of a TFT indicated a radar contact. Aiming an optical telescope at the same bearing got them a first glimpse at their target-and a surprise.
"Mission Control, this is Merkur 3, we have Sage 17 in sight. There is one development Control-Sage 17 is not just one satellite-it has company."
It took the signals at least one full second to make its way through several satellites to the control center, but when it got there a lot of indrawn breaths indicated the surprise. Sage 17 was indeed the fat off-white cylinder that had been visible from the ground. Yet on top of it was a sleek silvery shape that looked a bit like a chisel that had partially melted. Merkur 3 was looking at an Old One spaceship, something that had not been anticipated in the mission planning.

"Control to Merkur 3-circle around Sage 17 and get as many pics as possible-especially in the infrared. Pay attention to any radio frequency as well. "
"Merkur 3 acknowledges."
Nathan felt something akin to frustration well up inside his mind. It might well be that Mission Control would decide that a closer look would be too dangerous in the light of their discovery and scrub any EVA on the Sage object.
Many kilometers below Nathan a being saw the same things he did and gave off a hiss like a steam locomotive.
The next hours were certainly not boring-they did things that nobody ever done before-but all three asked themselves over and over whether they would be allowed to do their jobs. All infrared pics, all radio scanners and anything else agreed-both objects were as dead as anything could be. While the fat cylinder seemed basically intact the silver craft had at least one hole in it left by a meteorite-and some damage that might have come from within. Nathan was trying to get a nap when the wireless cut in.
"Merkur 3, this is Mission Command. We have decided that the EVA is still a go. We cannot detect anything active in both objects, so go ahead."
"Mission Control, this is Merkur 3-copy that-and thanks."

The mission was flown in space suits anyway, so Nathan did not have to don that. Yet he had to wedge himself into the tiny airlock without kicking his comrades too badly and put himself into an "oversuit" while he was doing so. If not for the lack of gravity he could not have done so, even so it was awkward. When the last Velcro strip was fastened the airlock could be evacuated. This moment was hard for anybody with even a hint of claustrophobia-the airlock was small, the suit became even less mobile once the outside pressure dropped and the sound inside Nathan`s helmet changed when outside noise could no longer be transmitted.
And then the outer door opened and it was all worth it. The hard training, the times when he was separated from Ermine, the waiting-it was worth it all. For the first time Nathan was separated from the stars just by a few millimeters of visor glass and the view was glorious. With the naked eye he could see more stars than ever before in their cold, unblinking beauty and they called to him as few other things in his life. His crew and mission control were nice enough to give him a minute or so before he had to get back to getting things done. He anchored himself with a lifeline to the little spaceship and got back to the equipment locker in the back of the spaceship while Manfred Bettin went through the airlock cycle. When he was out and had his moment Nathan presented him with the two maneuvering units. They would not have fitted into the airlock and so the two astronauts fixed them to their backpacks. One arm extended itself forward and presented them a joystick to guide their flight.

Nathan extended the line that connected him to "Merkur 3" and nudged the joystick a bit forward. A slight "whoosh" was transmitted through the suit while compressed nitrogen was ejected from several nozzles. He started to move away and for a second he nearly chocked-he was as alone as any human could be, in his own orbit around the world while his inner ear again told him to be falling. He managed to reign himself in before the line played out and stopped his movement with another burst of gas. A little more testing confirmed that the suits and the packs worked and it was time for the real mission to begin. Clipping their lines together the two astronauts got enough room to make it for the Sage object. From up close it was finally obvious how big this thing was-a cylinder of at least a hundred meters length and more than 30 meters in diameter it was mostly featureless except for a couple of openings that looked like nozzles and some hatches.
Fastening their lines to one of the external pipes the two made their way to one of the hatches.
"Mission Control, this is Merkur external-we have reached a hole that looks like a meteor strike. Outer skin of sage seems to be a something in comparatively thin sheets-could be some sort of metal. Then there is some sort of foam and then something more resilient. There is a long dent but no breach."
"Merkur external-can you retrieve samples?
"Yes on the foam-we will have to try for the outer skin."
Scarping some foam into a bad was comparatively easy once Nathan had wedged his feet between the two layers. The Jagged edges of the outer shin was a different matter as they cut possibly cut through his suit. In the end he clamped an adjustable wrench to the metal and bent a piece that was attached only by a small strip again and again till it broke off and went into another bag.

"Mission Control, this is Merkur external, samples retrieved. We are in front of a hatch, we propose to open."
"Go ahead"
The hatch was round and had a lever that yielded after Manfred struck it with his fists. The astronauts attached a line, retreated and pulled the hatch open from a few meters. When nothing happened they approached and found another hatch half a meter below that opened far easier. This time there was a whole lot of blackness beyond the meter-sized hole. The lights revealed that the huge tank beyond the hatch was practically full of a mass of something reflective that glittered in the light. Some of the crystals hovered in the few empty spaces and provided an easy access to samples. From there the mission was mostly taking pictures of everything that could be seen only from the EVA team and the trip back to the spaceship.
The samples were placed into a sealed compartment accessible only from outside the capsule, the outer suits got into the trash and then both astronauts went back into their small cabin.

Twelve hours later they were at it again, this time Nathan took Erik Bär outside. When the hassle of getting out was done the two made their way to the second ship that was docked to one end. It looked sleek, provided no sharp corners but those left by meteor strikes and looked strange. Nathan thought it possible it would look quite striking to it builders, yet for a human it looked off. There were no clues as to what the exact purpose of this spacecraft had been, yet size alone made Nathan think it had to be some sort of shuttle. Both astronauts circled the small craft to get as many pictures as possible before closing in to a gap left by something. Having secured himself Nathan pulled an endoscope from his pouch, coupled one end into a USB-port ion his suit and then pushed the other end into the crafts interior. The picture was displayed in his helmet as well as on quite a few monitors in Mission Control. At first the picture was just showing floating debris before he could point the camera elsewhere. It was then that everybody watching stopped breathing-except for one who had stopped regular breathing quite some time ago.

The camera showed two corpses. They were still secured to the seats they had kept since whatever accident had befallen them. One was in something that was probably a spacesuit, the other wore the strips of a harness and some cloth strips. They had dried in the vacuum that surrounded them and had been preserved better than any mummy. Skin was peeled back and wrinkled, colors had changed and eyeballs shrunk to nothing, but the overall picture was clear enough. Their bodies seemed to be broader and both had a pronounced belly, there was nearly no neck and the heads were round and hairless, with big eyes. There were the remains of something that could be nictitating membranes and the hands of the nonsuited body had webbed fingers.
If the beings in the craft were not Slann they were at least very close relatives. Nathan Alpers looked at two Old Ones.
"Mission Control-this is Merkur external-are you seeing what I see?"
"Merkur external-yes, we do. What a find Oberleutnant, what a find."
"Any change in orders Mission Control."
"Proceed as planned for the moment. We will contact you soon."

Nathan and Erik made more pictures and managed to grasp several pieces of the debris for sample when mission control was back.
"Merkur 3 external-can you gain entrance into the craft without endangering yourself?"
"Yes, we can Mission Control."
"Then you are authorized to do so. Try to gain samples but leave the bodies alone except for a skin sample. We cannot transport them and we will not disturb their piece."
"Acknowledged"
Both Astronauts went through a molten-looking hole and moved very deliberately inside the craft. A small scratch with a spatula gave them the skin sample Mission Control wanted and then it was time to decide which things were interesting enough to use up the mass budget for them. The controls in front of the space suited Old One provided parts that looked they could be electronics, a shorn off piece of support gave them a chance at metallurgy, several devices looked like they could be Data storage went in as well. Erik Bär was already packing a retrieval bag outside of the derelict and Nathan looked around for a last sample when the watcher took command.

Nothing obvious-no suspension of awareness, no jerky movements-just eyes that moved to a place where they would not have done on their own, some neurons that fired when they should have not and some endocrines released at an unusual time. Nathan looked past the second corpse that was in its seat already when Sigmar wielded his hammer. In front of his seat was a small container with a silver surface. It might have been anything from a business case to a lunchbox, but the astronaut decided that it was a good sample and wrapped it into another bag before pushing himself outside. He was looking forward to the close confines of the Spaceship again-at least it was no mausoleum.
Far below Nathan a lot of Skinks and Saurus warriors were looking at the being in the throne at the center of their room with awe. They saw something nobody in living memory could remember-Lord Mazdamundi was smiling.