Xander Harris, Rogue Trader of the Multiverse

By: Bubbajack

Beta: Icysnowsage

Disclaimer: I do not own BtVS, Warhammer 40k, or anything else that shows up in this fic.

Ch.4: Change in Management (Revised)

AN: Hey guys Snowy here. I am just letting you all know that this chapter has the least new material added to it of all the chapters I revised. Thank you for your patience as I continue to work on the story and update it. Expect major changes in the next chapter.

(…)

Segmentum: Obscurus/ Planet: Eustis Majoris/ Location: Capital Hive City of Petropolis, Underhive Sector/Time: Error / Date: 21-04-960-M41

Xander was sitting within the charred and broken remains of Zael's bar, sitting on a group of overturned fridges in the rough shape of a throne and sipping a can of caff as a drop-ship landed on the scorched earth that once held a now non-existent army and daemon of slaanesh. Once the hatch opened, a group disembarked. Leading them was a woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat, with strands of dirty-blonde hair framing her face and cascading down her back in a sheet, while wearing the trappings of an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus sect. The next to come made those around Xander bow in submission for he was a hulking Grey Knight carrying a Power Stave the size of a small tree topped with a spiked human skull. He followed the inquisitor while scoping out the area for any possible hostels that may be present. One cannot be to careful this close to the Eye of Terror after all. Behind him, silent as the grave and black as the void with an overly large rifle resting on his shoulder, came the distinct form of a Vindicare Assassin. Xander had to admit that he fit the perspective of the silent slayer of the living. The skull helmet he wore brought to mind how many deaths were probably served thanks to that rifle.

Bringing up the rear were a pair of Adepta Sororitas, the first older than the second, her features stern, and clad in pale and gold gilded armor, her shock-white hair in a bob cut, her right eye replaced by a bionic, her left an icy cold, unforgiving blue. The second younger Sororitas had hair that shined like flaxen gold tied in a bun behind her head. Her skin was like ivory, eyes that shined like light-green peridots and witht the innocence of a doe looked at him with a mixture of awe and wonder, and her armor was primarily colored black with golden vine-work and crimson steel depicting a rose on her right breast. She had a prayer book chained to her left hip, with a bolter-power sword combi-weapon strapped to her right. A white fur trimmed half cape on her back topping off her ensemble. Xander was awestruck by how familiar she looked to a certain someone.

'Buffy?' He thought once the girl drew close, for a moment paying no mind to the fact that all save Chandra slunk back into the shadows, hoping to remain unseen by the approaching party. They knew these were people of the emperor. To the soldiers of the God Emperor, they were just gutter trash in their eyes.

The young Sororitas looked at him curiously before she spoke in a hesitant chime-like tone that put even the most hardened gangers in hiding at ease, "E-Excuse me? Is there something wrong with my appearance Milord? Have I offended you in some way?"

Before Xander could so much as say anything, the elder Sororitas turned to the younger and lashed out intending to backhand her into silence…only for her hand to be stopped by the Rogue, who was staring at her coolly with his remaining eye glowing slightly with power as he started to feel his chest heat up just a little.

'I didn't even see him move!' Was the thought running through everyone's mind as he held the Adepta's power armored wrist with his own arm. The look of strain on the Adepta Sororitas face showed she was trying to move her arm out of his grip but couldn't.

After a moment, he spoke, his tone as cool as his gaze, "I realize she spoke out of turn, but I would appreciate it if you didn't hit a woman in my presence, even if she is your subordinate. Are we clear on this, Canoness?"

The two stared each other down for a moment, until finally, the Canoness nodded, just once. That was all Xander needed as he let her wrist drop before turning to said subordinate, who had a dumbstruck look on her face, and saying in a much kinder tone, "Hi there, I'm Xander. What's your name?"

As if his words snapped her out of some kind of trance, the younger of the two Adepta Sororitas fell to one knee, left fist planted into the ground, the right against her heart, and head down as she replied with complete reverence, "Battle Sister Elysia Karamazov, if it pleases you, milord I will be at your service in mind, body, and soul unless it goes against the tenants of the Emperor."

The sound of Adamantine steel and leather of unknown origin thudding against the ground hit his ears and briefly glancing around, he found that all the others too had hit their knees in subservience to him. Blinking in surprise, the young boy scratched his head in utter confusion before muttering to himself, "Is it something I said?"

"Hail Alexander Lavelle Harris, First of his name, Heir to House of the Sigilate, and Scion of Malcador the Hero," Abfequarn intoned solemnly.

"Hail! Hail! Hail!" the others replied as one after a moment's pause.

Laughing awkwardly, he said, "Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week ladies and gentlemen. Now seriously, pick yourselves up off the floor. You have no idea what happened there a few minutes before you showed up. There are somethings that should never touch you on that floor."

They did as he bid, and Xander finally paid attention to the rest of the group. Turning to the Inquisitor, he greeted her good-naturedly, "Lilith Abfequarn, I presume?"

She nodded curtly in respect to Xander, "Indeed Lord Alexander. I am here to answer the summons given to me by the emperor. Your will is my will."

Sighing a little, he requested, "Just call me Xander, please."

The black bodysuit and crimson visor helmed Vindicare replied, in a voice like chilling response to what Xander said. The confusion was heavy and very evident, "Xander?"

"It was a nickname given to me by a dear friend. I lost her to the warp sadly," The Rogue replied somewhat defensively, giving a skewed version of how he got such a nickname that seemed awkward to those of the imperium.

The Vindicare lowered his head in silent apology for the loss the scion of Sigilate suffered, before introducing himself, "Kain Solicius, of the Vindicare Assassinorum Temple at your service milord Harris. My rifle is yours. Do you need an enemy taken out? I will make sure my bullet is in their head and they don't get up."

The Canoness stepped forward next, doing the same, slamming a fist against her heart, she said curtly, "Selena Agna, Canoness Preceptory of the Order of the Sacred Rose."

Then the Grey Knight spoke, his voice stoic, "Hyperion, Pyrokine of Interceptor Squad Castian, of the 8th Brotherhood, sir."

"I do b-believe that's everyone t-the Emperor appointed and a c-couple he didn't," spoke up in a jittery voice that showed how nervous he really was.

Lilith's head snapped to the voice, and out of the shadowy remnants of the building came the Heretek, "Fieri," She said with a hint of distaste.

"L-Lady Abfequarn, It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person," He replied, giving her a polite nod, while ignoring her tone.

"What are you doing here Fieri? You told me you were under the control of a drug kingpin. Unless you were lying to an Imperial Inquisitor in front of the Emperor," was the controlled, tempered, but just as deadly tone Lilith had while questioning the Mechanicus.

"He was. There were no lies spoken before the emperor and no half truths given," Xander butted in, defending the Heretek, and causing the Inquisitor to look at him questioningly, "Until I killed him a few minutes ago before you all arrived."

She pursed her black painted lips for a moment before she merely said, "I see." She then turned and began heading towards the drop-ship saying, "In that case we can leave imminently seeing as we've located you both-"

"No," was the immediate but firm answer Xander gave.

Stopping mid-step, the Ordo Hereticus agent turned and echoed questioningly, "No?"

Shaking his head, Xander repeated, "No."

He then gave a shrill whistle before calling to those behind him, "C'mon out everyone."

Slowly out of the scorched skeletal remains of the bar the Underhivers came, looking like rather subdued and frightened cattle in presence of the Imperium's military. Chandra however, boldly marched right up to him and possessively put an arm around him before planting a kiss on his cheek that seared his flesh before glaring at the group defiantly, a smirk on her lips. Thankfully it healed over right away due to Xander's regenerative abilities thanks to Avalon.

The Ordo Hereticus agent, however, drew her Condemnor Bolter in a blur of motion and barked out, "Release the Heir of the Sigilate at once psyker and face the Emperor's Mercy!"

"Emperor's Mercy?" she inquired confused as she wasn't up to date on some of the terms used by the military in this plane.

"A quick death," Xander replied dryly wondering how he could diffuse this situation without cause unneeded blood shed.

The Pyrokine nodded before letting go of the object of her passion and facing off against the Inquisitor, her hair, hands, and eyes now ablaze. Tension thickened in the air as the two warrior women squared off…only for it suddenly to deflate when Xander stepped in between them and said quite plainly with a voice of authority that allowed no nonsense whatsoever, "That's enough ladies!"

Turning to the inflamed Pyrokine first he said, "I know you're impulsive and don't like being told what to do Chandra, but you can't fight her here."

"Why not?" she all but growled out as her flames raged. However the imposing presence Xander gave off was still seen as superior by her own powers and cowled them just a little.

Xander nodded behind her to the downtrodden humans who were backing way the hell up upon seeing her ignite like the Human Torch again and saying, "If you fight her here, innocent people, people you helped protect, could die needlessly. You enjoy making your own decisions, and you think everyone should make their own…so tell me, are you going to take away their right to decide when and where they die from them? Because if you fight Lilith right here right now people are going to die."

The Mistress of Red Mana looked back and forth from the frightened people to Xander, then to the cocky bitch who thought she could kill her with just a gun, before finally raising her head to the sky and letting out a primal roar while simultaneously unleashing a gout of flame from her mouth worthy of a dragon into the air. All who watched had some kind of reaction, some were amused, some were scared, and Xander just thought she was dramatic. When it passed, she was no longer in her ignited state, looking the younger pyromaniac in the eye she pouted, her lower lip trembling slightly, "That was a damn dirty trick, making me feel guilty like that Xan."

"Sorry, but I'd hate to do something in the heat of the moment, look back on it, and regret it. Especially since any decisions you make would have long term consequences for not just you but my own judgment calls for being associated with you," He replied, not sounding sorry in the slightest.

Turning to the dirty-blonde haired Inquisitor, he said firmly and with authority that denoted his station, "Stand down. Or better yet, make a call and bring down some carrier ships, because I'm not leaving without these people."

"But sir, they're just a bunch of Underhivers-" Lilith tried to start.

She was cut off when Xander shouted over her, "EXACTLY! These people's lives are already at rock bottom, they can't get any worse…no offense meant," He said apologetically to those behind him. Ironically a few of them laughed

"None taken!" A voice that sounded like Kat's replied as others joined her in uproars showing pride from where they came from.

Turning back to the Inquisitor and coughing awkwardly, he continued, "Right, well anyway, that's exactly why I want them on the crew. Some will train their entire lives to hold a position, or are born into it but these guys?" He paused, jabbing his thumb behind him before continuing, "They'll gladly do whatever you tell them, and give one hundred ten-no one hundred twenty percent. They will put their heart and soul into the work we give them and not a single one will complain or quit. Do you know why Lil?"

Lilith Abfequarn blinked at her nickname for a moment before inquiring still with respect, "Why, sir?"

"Because anything has got to be better than this. That is something that goes through their minds. That small glimmer of hope that anything this man offers me has to be better than what I am currently living right now," He waved his hands around the putrid scenery that was the day to day of the Underhive before carrying on, "That's why. If you're concerned about giving them difficult jobs, have someone show them the ropes. It's this little thing called on the job training, it works wonders I assure you. In my experience giving some a chance to rise to the occasion and they might just surprise you. That is the unbreakable spirit of man my father saw in humanity. The same spirit I have been tasked by the Emperor of Mankind to save."

Again the Rogue paused, this time, donning a smirk before he delivered what he believed would be the finishing blow in the conversation, "Besides, I gave them my word. Now, you're not gonna make a liar out of me are you? For the heir of house Sigiliate shall not be seen as a man who cannot keep his word."

Xander watched as the Inquisitor looked conflicted, wrestling with her own inner turmoil with the codes of conduct she had ingrained into her very being. She opened her mouth to protest several times only for no sound to come out. Finally, she sighed and, hitting a button on her wrist, spoke into a receiver, "Come in Imperial Xiphos, this is Abfequarn."

"Inquisitor Abfequarn, this is Xiphos, what do you need?" was the clipped answer she got from the pilot.

"Send down a transport freighter, we have acquired both Primary and Secondary targets. However, Primary Target has done some recruiting and insists on a pickup. Make sure you send a freighter to hold plenty of people."

A chuckle could be heard over the com-line before, "Roger that Inquisitor, freighter inbound on your position t-minus fifteen minutes. Standby."

The people cheered while Xander just smirked silently before calling out to Lilith over the din, "We're renaming the ship the Mysterium Machina."

The look of pure confusion on her face made Xander chuckle.

(…)

Xander could not help but give a shrill appreciative whistle as he gazed upon the Oberon-class Battleship for the first time. It towered over the planet. A mass of steel that was twelve kilometers long, a whole four kilometers longer than Mt. Everest, and was his and his alone to command. It was a symbol of change coming to the Imperium, and his newfound power that he had to wield wisely or risk the collapse of the Imperium and the loss of humanity as a whole. The behemoth was outfitted with Lance Cannons, several Laser Batteries built into its hull, an all-encompassing Void Shield, and a massive sensor array on the tip of its nose that could detect all kinds of ships whether they be xeno or human in origin. The docking bay they were heading towards likely held a dozen or so fighter craft waiting in the wings. He was proven correct; there were indeed several dozen fighter ships, all of them painted with the Fleur de Lis symbol of the Adepta Sororitas. Off to one side was a machine holding several pyramid shaped drop-pods for use by Adeptus Astartes.

As he disembarked from the freighter, he made his way over to the Drop-ship where Abfequarn and the rest of his Emperor-appointed councilors were disembarking. He jogged up to them and said, "So, all this, is mine to command huh?"

"Indeed Alexander," Seeing the look of distaste she was being given, she shook her head. Thus causing her dirty-blonde locks to sway slightly before putting her hands on his shoulders prompting his still working eye to meet hers as she continued, "I call you by your full name as it is a regal, strong name, fit for the noblest of courts. Your proffered nickname makes you appear lowborn. It would be unseemly for the Heir of the First Lord of Terra, First Grand Master of the Grey Knights, Founder of the Inquisition, and First Lord Assassin to be addressed as such. Especially since your name means Defender of Mankind in low gothic."

Slumping a bit Xander ground out, "Ok, ok, I get it. I have some big shoes to fill. I can understand how you have to show respect for my father and me. I have a larger burden on my shoulders to carry now. I am getting used to this is all. This is a lot to take in especially since things are so different from my own time."

Tilting his chin so that he was forced to look at her, Lilith continued, in a kinder, softer tone than she had previously used, "I say this not to discourage you but to impress upon you the power your position holds. Malcador the Hero was more than just a powerful Psyker, but a shrewd diplomat, politician, and master tactician. As word of you being his heir spreads, enemies shall array themselves against you from within the Imperium, as well as without. For those who possess power are loath to give it up without a fight. You need to be ready for this, you must be prepared to fight tooth and nail for even a scrap of power, and then fight even harder just to hold onto whatever foothold you might gain. That is the least you can do to honor your father."

Xander just smiled at the Inquisitor gently with the affection and care offered to him that his own mother could not give and replied, "Don't worry, I know I come off as young and immature, but I think I've got this. Besides, you're all here to stop me from fucking things up too badly, right?"

"Eh, it's more like we give you advice, and you can choose to follow it or not. We have no control over you at all, you have overall command over what happens here. It is your lead we are just here to offer you the courses or options at your usage," Kain corrected.

That set the young Californian to silent contemplation for a time before he finally said, "Is there someplace I could address the whole crew, Astartes, Sororitas, and ordinary man alike? I feel this will be important."

"The Chapel," Hyperion said. "It is the one place all congregate beside the mess hall. But the mess is divided into shifts, one for each group, even though it can seat all of us at once."

"Okay well, the first order of business is we're getting rid of that. I could understand if we had too many mouths to feed at once, but we don't so it's pointless. Secondly, have everyone congregate in the chapel ASAP, I have something to say…oh, and you might wanna keep your hands near your weapons. They're probably not going to like what I have to say. If things get too chaotic we need to bring order."

The counselors looked at each other, then at the Rogue Trader whom they were supposed to advise who continued to walk away marveling at this or that. Turning to the Inquisitor, the Heretek among their number said, "He's not going to make this easy on us is he lady Inquisitor?"

Sighing, the buxom blonde inquisitor shook her head before she replied, "No, it doesn't look like it. Come, we've been given orders, so spread the word and gather all in the chapel, and let's see what he has to say…"

She trailed off thinking, 'I hope he's not going to get himself killed by his own crew on their first meeting. That would be bad not only for Alexander but the Imperium as a whole.'

(…)

Xander stood behind the pulpit as his forces shuffled into a chapel twice the size of Tiger Stadium, colored primarily gold and black. The scent of cedar hung heavy in the air from the burning incense. Behind him, made out of solid gold, was an imperial cross with a gigantic human skull masterfully carved out of solid diamond placed in the center of the crucifix. Surrounding it, four on either side, were stained glass windows. The closest two depicting the Emperor standing victoriously in his golden armor surrounded in holy golden light. Next to them was the open eye in the middle of a Roman numeral one, the sigil of Malcador the Hero. Then came a similar sigil symbol to Malcador's. It was a Roman numeral one with a skull in the center and three bars running through it. The symbol of the Inquisition. A book pierced by a flaming sword came next, symbolizing the Grey Knights. Lastly was the Fleur de Lis of the Adepta Sororitas. Xander felt a good amount of pressure standing in the presence of all these mighty symbols and who they represented.

As he waited for everyone to get seated, he took note of something. The Grey Knights automatically took the front most seats, behind them came the Adepta Sororitas, and crammed into the back, in the nosebleed seats, were everyone else. Now, he knew the Space Marines were superstitiously viewed as demigods by mortal men, and that the Sororitas were feared for their zealotry. He could feel the fear and awe from here. And he hated every bit of it. He knew that if things were to change, it had to start right here, right now, on his own ship. As things stood now, there was not a chance in the Imperium that this would work.

'No, for us to move forward, I need to change them. In order to change them, first, I must shatter their perceptions, their preconceived notions of belief, utterly and comprehensively. Then, after I do that, I will build them back up stronger than ever before. Fide Veritas, et Veritas in Fide,' He thought with a slight grimace.

He looked behind himself and to either side, noting that all of his advisors, sans Hyperion, were present sitting in high-backed thrones and discreetly fingering various patterns of bolters. Said Grey Knight stood off to the side, looking more akin to a knightly statue holding a massive polearm, a golem, or a bodyguard rather than an advisor in any capacity. His head swiveled back and forth looking for potential threats. Shaking off his nerves Xander cleared his throat before speaking into the vox, "First off, let me say that it's a pleasure to meet all of you today. Secondly, let me express my thanks for coming on such short notice, but I have a few important things I wished to address before we got under way. This will be important not only for the crew of this ship but to raise the stature of the Imperium to new heights."

He then paused for a moment thinking, 'Knowledge of 40k lore, don't fail me now.'

He then continued, "I have come to speak to you today as someone who fought through the Great Crusade about the Imperial Cult…And the fact of the matter is, the Imperial Cult, was founded upon the ideas of Lorgar, Primarch of the Word Bearers who penned the Lectitio Divinitatus in which, the Emperor was viewed as a God. As you know Lorgar was the first to fall to chaos and lead events that started the Horus Heresy."

Angry mutterings, like the buzzing of a billion bees, spread across the chapel hall like wildfire. Xander spoke over them, however, and carried on, "This went directly against the Imperial Truth, which espoused Logic, Science, and Provable Truth, over Faith, Religion, and in the Emperor's own words' 'Barbarous Superstition.' The Emperor, unhappy with the progress Lorgar and the Word Bearer Legion were making in the Great Crusade due to the temples they erected in his name on each planet they conquered, had an example made of the paradise city of Monarchia. He had it burned to ash by Roboute Guilliman and his Ultramarines. And in the ashes of a perfect metropolis, he had Lorgar kneel and pledge himself to the Imperial Truth renouncing his faith in the Emperor as a god."

Xander's voice became solemn as he continued, "It was this act that caused Lorgar to turn to Chaos. This was the second of many mistakes that the Emperor made that led to Horus Heresy and from that the decline of the Imperium of Mankind"

"How dare you, you heathenous heretic!" A Sororitas yelled out bolter raised in his direction, "The Emperor is God, he is infallible. To say any less is Heresy! How dare you stand before and say it was the Almighty's fault for those traitorous wretches turning to the ruinous powers!"

Calling upon the Warp to magnify and deepen his voice, Xander replied in kind as his eyes glowed with power, "YOU IGNORANT FOOL! USE YOUR EYES, USE YOUR BRAIN! IF THE EMPEROR WERE ACTUALLY INFALLIBLE, THE HORUS HERESY WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED! AND HUMANITY WOULD BE IN A GOLDEN AGE, INSTEAD OF THE ROTTING STAGNATION IT CURRENTLY LANGUISHES IN!"

The thundering boom of his voice silenced the Battle Sister and also knocked her back into her seat, and Xander needed to take a couple of moments to catch his breath, doing that took an emotional toll on him more than anything. The presence he emitted was simply divine and called to respect, subservience and most of all servitude. Little did Xander know that his own advisors felt they stood before the Emperor with his presence that emitted power beyond Imagination. No one spoke, and the silence was heavy for a time. Until finally, a familiar voice called out, "Lord Alexander, I-I have a question. If you are willing to answer, that is."

Looking over at the young battle sister who accompanied the Canoness dirtside, "Yes Elysia, what is it?"

Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, the "You said that burning down Monarchia was the Emperor's second mistake…what was his first?"

The Rogue Trader nodded and smiled at her making her feel as if her heart had just jumped into her throat for being smiled at my a man of such renown. 'What was that?' was the thought Elysia felt at the foreign emotion stirring in her chest and making her feel whoozy. Something no heretic or daemon could have done to her.

"That's an excellent question, Elysia. And to answer you, the Emperor's first mistake was that he tried to wipe out faith in the first place," answered Xander as the whole chapel when silent.

"What?!" This came from the Canoness herself who stood now, addressing Xander directly, "You've just given a heretical speech about how the Lectitio Divinitatus was written by a Traitor Primarch and a Daemon worshipper. Making ten-thousand years of faith amount to a Chaos Cult, and that the Emperor wanted science and logic to prevail above all else. Then you go right around and say that it was a mistake to denounce faith, so which is it? Surely you are not talking madness to try stir resentment amongst us are you?"

Xander took a deep breath knowing that now, he was going to stray outside of canon information and into his personal theory concerning the 40k universe. He felt he was right, though, now it was time to prove it. Releasing his breath, he spoke, "It's both. We as humans have used faith to explain the unexplainable for millennia uncounted. Faith gives solace in dark times and can even ward off creatures that thrive off of desperation and fear in the darkness. Faith is a weapon for those who strive for greater purpose. Sometimes faith is all we have."

A pause before he continued, "The Emperor believed that if religion were gotten rid of, the Chaos Gods would fade from existence. However, the Warp doesn't work like that. It is reactive to the collective will of a group of people meaning, in layman's terms he was not weakening the Chaos Gods' but slowly giving rise to a new Chaos God…one symbolizing Unbelief. This entity, had it come to fruition likely would've changed things, but whether for good or ill, I can't say. In ancient times there was a God of unbelief that roamed Terra he destroyed all religions even the Imperial truth was not immune to his cultist's rampage. I fear what could have happened if a Chaos God of Unbelief was born in the modern Era with an entire universe as his target."

The Chapel was struck silent, sent reeling from this revelation, giving the teen ample time to continue at his leisure, and give a more practical example, "You all pray to your weapons, and coat them in holy oils believing this makes them more efficient correct? That is the power of faith at work right there"

"But it does! It's been proven many times that our prayers reinforce our ability to strike against the Ruinous powers!" Elysia retorted.

Smiling at her kindly, Xander shook his head and shot back, "No I told you already the Warp is reactive to the collective belief of a group. The reason oil and prayer works is because hundreds of human beings believe it works. It's the same for a lot of things in the Imperium. The Mechanicus and their rites only work because they believe in them so strongly. It's the same for the litanies and sigils on your Aegis Armor Grey Knights, it works because you have faith in it. Ironically the green skins have a similar group think ability that coalesced in them being able to manipulate the warp subconsciously."

In a timid voice, Elysia asked one more question, "Alexander…what do you believe in?"

This caught him off guard and then, caused him to become pensive for a time before he finally answered her, in "I can say is this in complete confidence, I don't accept the Emperor as my God. But I do have faith in something. Something the Emperor in all his might overlooked. Something that is just not if not more important then the faith in the Emperor."

Selene scoffed, "And what wisdom do you claim to possess that the Emperor lacks?"

"Faith in humanity itself," This proclamation stunned her into silence at how simple it was.

"Shocking right?" Xander replied with a smirk, "Yeah that's right, I believe in humanity as a whole. Something the Emperor gave up on at some point, seeing as he saw fit to step in and dictate everything. But I personally think that, if we try hard enough, there's nothing we can't do…and I have absolute faith in each and every single one of you. Together we can do something that even the Emperor himself was unable to do. That is to bring Humanity into a Golden Age."

A look of stunned awe appeared on all visible faces in the audience. Their young leader took this as the opportune moment to unveil his most holy of weapons. Those present covered their eyes as the sudden wind swept through the vast hall, kicking up untold eons of dust and blowing out the incense burners in one smooth motion. Once the gale died down, they gazed enraptured at the crystalized miracle he held. Holding it aloft with one hand Xander declared, "This is the symbol of my belief! Of humanities hopes and dreams! With it, as long as you believe in me, as strongly as I believe in each of you, there is no enemy we can't defeat, no obstacle we can't overcome. I'm not saying it will be easy. Doing what is right is often far harder than what is easy most of the time. If you follow me down this road, you could all very well be labeled Excommunicate Traitoris. Knowing this, ARE YOU WITH ME?!"

Xander was proud to see that Elysia was the first to raise her blade in the air, without even a moment's hesitation. Others soon followed, the Grey Knights, who didn't bring their Power Glaives into the chapel, raised a power armored, twin-bolter clad fist. As one, they all cried out, "SIR YES SIR!"

"THEN LET'S GET TO WORK! FOR THE IMPERIUM!" yelled Xander commanding his new army.

They cheered borderline fanatically as Xander left the dais on which the pulpit stood. Exiting stage left, behind an ancient tapestry that held a hidden exit. He was swiftly followed by his entourage. After walking for a time down the dark tunnel, he asked, "So, what did you think?"

"I…I have no words," Lilith said after a moment, before adding quite compassionately, "Except that I too, am with you."

"Here, here," Kain added.

"I too, am with you A-Alexander," Fawkes replied in the dark.

"I am Your Right Hand, the Instrument of Your Will, the Gauntlet about Your Fist, the tip of Your Spear, and the Edge of Your Sword," was the sacred pledge Hyperion made to Xander.

The Californian faltered in his step for a moment, as the Battle-brother just swore his fealty to him. He then chuckled and spoke into the dark, "I'm touched Hype-train, I accept your oath, and will return one in kind. As you claim to be my instrument, armor and weapon so to do I promise to take good care of you. I shall keep you on your toes. I shall be your mentor, teacher, instructor and even sharpener. After all, what good is rusted Armor, a Spear with a bent point, or Blade with a dull edge? Take care of me Hyperion, and I promise to do the same for you. This I swear on the house of Sigilate."

"Yes, sir," was the respectful reply Xander got from his new right hand.

Xander then clapped his hands and said, "Good…now could somebody tell me just where the hell we're going? Or at least turn a light on, I hate fumbling around in the dark."

"Just a little bit further Alexander and we should hit a wall after that go left and we should soon arrive," Lilith supplied helpfully.

Sure enough, Xander took two steps and smacked face first into a wall he felt around and hit a switch which opened a hidden door, temporarily blinding him with light. Once he adjusted he found he was now around some kind of round table with what looked like a projector in the middle surrounded by high-backed chairs. Around the room were various computer monitors and screens that surveyed seemingly every part of the ship. After looking around for a moment, he asked, "What is this place a war-room?"

Taking one of the seats, the Inquisitor replied, "Quite an apt description milord. Yes, this is where we'll congregate to discuss what needs to be done about the ship and carry out any orders you may give us."

"Uh, shouldn't Selene be here, since she's the Canoness of the Sororitas?" He pointed out.

Shaking her head, Lilith replied, "No need; in the end, the Ordo Militant answers to me, as a member of the Ordo Hereticus and I, to you. So the chain of command is still intact."

"Right. So does anything need to be taken care of at the moment?" the young lord commander inquired.

"We need to do something with all those people you insisted on bringing with you," Lilith replied. "We have plenty of provisions and rooms as we were understaffed and assumed you would like to build your own forces."

"You're not wrong, and a lot of those guy's from an Underhive gang called the Blood Claws or something like that, so they'd make good infantry but they require proper training…and a Commissar or two to keep them in line," Xander muttered to himself while stroking his non-existent beard in thought.

"We're near Cadia right?" he asked after a moment remembering one of the greatest tragedies in the Imperium.

They watched as their young leader nodded to himself as if making up his mind, before he said, "Set course for Cadia, we have some recruiting to do."

"Yes sir, I'll let the navigator know, and we'll be on our way. It shouldn't take us any more than a few hours to get there via Warp-travel,"was Lilith's reply to Alexander's command.

Hyperion spoke up, "Lord Alexander, a question if I may?"

Nodding towards the gray centurion, "Yeah Hype-train, what is it?"

"Have you thought about where we're to go after Cadia sir? There are plenty of places of the Imperium that could use your aid," questioned Hyperion.

Tapping his chin in thought, this time, Xander replied, "Titan. We'll go to Titan. Having two-hundred Grey Knights is good, having an entire Chapter? Even better. Then I guess we should swing around Mars for a bit."

"M-Mars sir?" Fawkes squeaked out in fear of what the order would do if he appeared near their doorstep.

Seeing his nervousness, Xander told the Heretek calmly, "Don't worry Fawkes, you'll be okay. I promise. Besides, I need to know what kind of security the High Lords of Terra possess, and if anyone would know…"

"It would be the Tech-priests of Mars," The visored Mechanicus finished knowingly. "They keep records on everything. Belisarius Cawl has kept records longer than anyone else in the Mechanicus can remember."

"You're planning on confronting the High Lords aren't you?" Kain asked quite energetically at the idea of making those upstart nobles be taken to task.

"Yep." He replied, not bothering to try and deny it.

Lilith stared at him incredulously, "You can't be serious?" she stared at him a moment before she exclaimed, "You are, aren't you? Why on Holy Terra would you wish to challenge the High Lords? They have ruled the Imperium while the Emperor was interned on his throne. To go against them is to go against the Imperium."

Giving the Inquisitor a deadpan look, Xander replied, "Isn't it obvious? We're going to change things. They aren't going to like this and will do everything in their power to stop us…Unless, of course, we take action before we even show up on their radar. Besides, it's my right to sit on the Council of Lords as Malcador's Heir, and by the power vested in me, via the Warrant of Trade granted by the Emperor, I can do whatever the hell I want," He finished with a smirk. "So, to Cadia then?"

Lilith sighed before nodding and saying, "I'll inform the Navigator. Hyperion, please see Lord Alexander to his quarters if you would? No doubt he would like to get a decent night's sleep, seeing as we will be in Cadia by morning."

The Grey Knight nodded, silently motioning for his liege lord to follow him out a different door. They walked to the end of a gray hallway which was lined with rooms, each bearing a name of one of his advisors before coming to the one at the opposite end of the hall. It bore only the sigil of Malcador on its face. Turning to him, Hyperion said, "These are your personal quarter's sir. I am right next door on the left if you need anything."

"Right, thanks, Hype-train. Goodnight," was the tired thanks and farewell Xander gave to his companion.

"Sir," He said with a slight nod before heading into his own room.

Suppressing a yawn, Xander headed into his own room. Looking around, he whistled. What they called a room here, back home would be called a large apartment. It was open and spacious, possessing a kitchen, which led into a sitting room that had an overstuffed loveseat and several leather armchairs sitting in a semi-circle around a crackling fireplace that was flanked by twin tapestries. One depicting the Imperial Aquila, the other the symbol of Malcador. The fireplace itself was made of white marble fire, with twin Grecian pillars carved into its sides, into which both held human skulls.

Upon closer examination Xander muttered to himself, "Are those servo skulls?"

Sure enough, two servo skulls that looked to be massively augmented were embedded into the wall. Each had what seemed like a chakra diamond embedded into their heads. Pressing it on a hunch, an almost imperceptible click was heard, and then the servo skulls sprang to life. Floating up to eye-level using their integrated anti-gravity field generators, then one of them spoke!

The one on the left proceeded to talk in a slightly snooty if jovial English accent from the Land of Tweed, "Hello there, sir! I am Jeeves, esteemed Butler to Malcador the Sigillite, confidant, and friend to the Emperor of Mankind," Said servant, who then noticed that the other servo-skull was flitting around excitedly gave a long suffering sigh and before he all but shouted, "MATILDA! Get over her and introduce yourself as is proper!"

Letting out a girlish giggle, the other servo-skull zipped around the room for a moment before it came to a stop in front of Xander before giving a mid-air curtsy and speaking in a bubbly ditzy tone, "Hi! I'm Matilda, I'm the maid."

Xander said the first thing that came to his mind, "How can you talk?"

Somehow managing a nod, the butler spoke, "From how I come to understand it, Lord Malcador found a way to bind the soul into a gemstone that was then embedded into the head of the subject. I do believe he took the idea from those blasted elves."

"I see…Well, I am Xander, I'm Malcador's son and heir I guess?" the Californian introduced himself awkwardly.

The two servo-skulls floated silently in the air for a moment before… "GOOD LORD! OHMYGOSH! OHMYGOSH! OHMYGOSH!"

Xander sighed, feeling a headache coming on, "Ok, guys calm down and let's have a little pow-wow…"

(…)

One explanation hour long later and Xander was dragging his feet towards his room. 'That bed is gonna be heaven.'

When he entered his room, he stopped dead. For seductively splayed out on top of his four-poster king-sized bed was Chandra. She was wearing naught but crimson colored strips of cloth around her breasts and privates which he supposed functioned as a primitive thong and bra. Her hair was all a mess and her eyes shut, her full lips parted as she moaned softly in her sleep. All in all, Xander was pretty sure he had never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life. It took all his sixteen years' worth of self-control not to misinterpret the situation and think she was trying to seduce him.

'But, if she actually is trying to seduce me, she's doing a damn fine job,' He thought as he made his way over to the half-asleep Pyrokine, and gently shook her awake.

He barely managed to avoid the jet of condensed flame she sent his way when she woke up. "The hell Chandra? I wake you up after I find you in my bed, and then you try to set me on fire?"

"Shit, sorry Xander. You startled me. I thought you were someone else" She apologized after she realized what she had done and quickly smothered the flames with a wave of her hand.

"What are you doing here Chandra?" The beyond Alpha level psyker deadpanned, in no mood to put up with any more shenanigans. At least not for the next eight to ten hours anyway. He did wonder what man would be dumb enough to mess with the pyrokine while she was sleeping though.

"Well, I decided to wait here for you because I wanted to talk to you about something important. But it took you forever to show up. So, I decided to get comfortable and relax a bit on your bed," She told him matter of factly.

"I can see you made yourself very comfortable," He replied dryly, doing his best to keep his eyes on her face.

Noticing his discomfort, she smirked playfully and asked in a soft, seductive tone, "See something you like Xan?"

"I'd be lying to both you and myself if I said no," he replied honestly, doing his best to ignore a 'growing problem down south.'

Glancing down, Chandra gave a seductive giggle, before commenting offhandedly, "Your body is just as honest as you are Xan."

"Sorry, teenage hormones ya know?" he apologized in a tone full of embarrassment as he looked away in shame.

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about," the Mistress of Red Mana told him, causing him to gape at her in shock, "What, you thought I'd be offended by a natural reaction? If anything, I'm flattered you think of me that way," She said before she fluttered her eyes at him and continued, "So are you just going just going to continue to stare at me, or are we are we going to have wild passionate sex?"

"Huh?" he squeaked out.

Sighing, Chandra stated bluntly, "Don't tell me you haven't gotten the hints I've been dropping that I'm interested? And it's pretty obvious what you wanna do so…So? Are we, or aren't we?"

Xander froze. His mind's eye flashed through every girl he'd tried to get close to… Mrs. French, Ampata, Buffy…Then he backed way the hell away from the Pyromancer until he hit a wall, his face white as parchment, almost as if he'd seen a ghost. Immediately concerned by his reaction, Chandra carefully slid off the bed. She slowly made her way towards him making no sudden movements as he was acting like a frightened rabbit. She expected anger, lust, or something adorable/ sexy. Fear was not one of them.

Bending down till she was eye-level with him she cooed as if talking to a small child, "Xander, what's wrong?"

Hearing her voice seemed to snap him to his senses. Shaking himself like a wet dog, the boy attempted to play it off as nothing. "I-It was nothing. Forget about it."

A stubborn look overcoming her beautiful face, Chandra replied, "Hell no I'm not going to forget about it. You backed away from me like I was Nicol Bolas himself."

"Who?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

Shaking her head, causing her mane of auburn hair to fly wildly, Chandra replied sharply, "Never mind that right now, just tell me what I said to freak you out like that."

Sighing in exasperation, he said, "Chandra I don't want to-"

She cut him off by lighting her hair ablaze and saying in a too sweet tone, "Xander, if the next words out of your mouth aren't an explanation, I'm going to be upset…you wouldn't want to upset me, would you?"

After letting out a groan that made it sound as if he were in physical pain, the teenager relented, "Fine. Every time I try to get…intimate with a girl, I either end up nearly getting killed by them, maimed, or hurt them in some way whether it be emotional or physical damage."

Her inferno of hair dimmed somewhat, but she still demanded in a tone like iron, "Explain."

Sighing again, he did just that, "The first woman to ever take an interest in me was my substitute biology teacher, Mrs. French. Turns out, however, that she was a praying mantis demon that wanted to eat me for being a fresh virgin."

Her flames went out with an audible 'fwoosh', and her own mouth fell open much like his earlier before she asked the million dollar question, "A…Praying Mantis…Demon?"

He gave a curt nod, "Yes, in other words, she tried to eat my head after…you know." A sigh before, "And that was my first time too."

"By Mana," Chandra breathed in slight horror in what that must have done to Xander.

Giving a hollow mirthless chuckle, he continued, "Oh, that's just the tip of the iceberg. See next, came the foreign exchange student named Ampata. I should've known something was wrong the moment she laughed at my corny jokes. She was in actuality, a mummy who needed to suck the souls out of other's through their mouths to sustain her own life-force. I found out later she cared enough about me to starve herself to death instead of killing me."

"Oh, cmon," She said all but feeling like fate had it out for him at this point.

"But wait," He said in faux cheer, "There's cherry to go on top of this shit cake, and it comes in the form of me trying to rape the girl I had longstanding feelings for after I got possessed by a primal hyena spirit."

All Chandra could do was shake her head now, numb to it all. She said at last, "Your love life is like something out of a horror tale that would be told to the whores of innistrad you know that."

"You're preaching to the choir," He told her before continuing in a morose, tired, and crestfallen voice, refusing to look her in the eye, "So, now you know. Pretty lame huh? For a teenager to wuss out when it comes to intimacy of all things."

"No, I don't think that," His head snapped up so fast you could hear a crack, "In fact, I can't blame you for reacting the way you did at all…so we'll take it slow."

"Okay-wait what?" She'd lost him again with her response and seren smile she had on her face.

"I said, we'll take it slow. It's obvious there's something between us, a spark if you will. Usually as a Pyromancer, sensing even that much I would grab it and consume it…wanting to feel. As fire is driven by emotions such as Passion, hatred, lust…but then again, if given enough fuel to properly grow, even a spark…can become a raging inferno. Or build till it explodes like a volcano. Into love that is," She finished, her voice all but purring with wanton desire.

"Chandra I…thank you, for being willing to put up with me," Xander said at last.

Darting in as quickly as a snake, she planted a peck on his cheek before saying, "No worries," She then became solemn and uncomfortable as she continued, "Hey Xan, since we're sharing, do you mind if I tell you something?"

Not liking seeing her like this, he replied, "Sure, what's wrong?"

"Remember when we first met and I told you I was waiting for someone at that dive of a bar?" she offered the question to him.

He nodded. 'Now that she mentions it, I do. But if that's the case, then why did she come with me?'

Asking her as much, she replied, "Well, that's because I think you were the person I was supposed to wait for."

The Rogue blinked in surprise, "Me? How did anyone know about me or have any idea where I was going to show up? The others only found out from the God Emperor of Mankind of all people."

Huffing in apparent annoyance and causing a plume of flame to escape her mouth, the Pyrokine replied, "I don't know how the Old Man knows what he knows. Just that he does, and he's an ass that can't be killed…No matter how hard you try. He gave us your general description and said we would be able to identify you by that."

The 'that' in question was his Phoenix Gate brooch. 'Ok, whoever this 'Old Man' is, he knows something about the Phoenix Gate…that could be bad. But Chandra doesn't seem like the villainous type so…who knows?'

Continuing cautiously, Xander asked, "Did this old guy say what he wanted you to do once you found me?"

"We were to ask you to come meet with him. He intends to talk to you about something important. He wasn't specific about it. Really annoyed me since I don't know how I would convince you if you didn't believe me otherwise," muttered Chandra in annoyance of the old man's antics.

Rubbing his tired eye, he told her, "I'm too tired to deal with shit right now. I've got recruiting to do tomorrow and…other things. Let's just go to sleep and I'll worry about meeting this guy later, ok?"

Chandra blinked in surprise, "You're ok with that?"

Nodding sluggishly, he replied, "Yeah, mostly because I'm too tired to care, and I don't think you're gonna try anything now right?"

"No, of course not," She replied while rapidly shaking her head as Xander proceeded to take off his mantle armor and boots leaving him bare-chested and in his pants. She noticed really for the first time, how heavily modified he was. His arms were completely mechanical, and he had nine ports in a crude 'M' shape embedded into his chest, above his pectorals. Even his skin seemed to have a strange luminance to it that went beyond physical exertion.

"How much of you has been…replaced?" she asked softly.

'Jensen?'

[Somewhere between sixty and sixty-five percent. But you're still anatomically correct and fully functional in between your legs, in case you were curious,] The cyborg replied while chuckling at the horror he felt coming from Xander.

'Thanks,' "More than half," He had told the Pyrokine before he hopped into the bed with his pants on, his back to her.

He felt weight pressing down on the other half on the bed, and after hearing and feeling the sheets ruffle for a few moments, felt her bosom pressed against his back, as she whispered softly, "Are you going to be comfortable wearing those pants to bed?"

"Chandra. Your chest…" Xander said, starting to feel nervous as her warm body started to spread to his. It felt very very nice to him but he was nervous none the less at the undertones given.

"Is pressing against your back, yes. There's nothing sexual going on here Xan, I'm just getting comfortable. Is that a problem?" questioned Chandra with an eyebrow raised.

'Apparently, she has no idea what spooning is,' He thought dryly before he calmed down enough to reply, "No, of course not, and I'll be okay. You've already stripped down enough for the both of us. Night Chandra."

"Night Xander," She replied from behind him. Since he wasn't facing her, he couldn't see her victorious smirk, and she kept it out of her tone. Though she may be impulsive and emotion driven, she was far from stupid. After hearing his story, the Mistress of Red Mana knew the boy needed to know what a 'normal' relationship was like. Or more accurately, what reasonable physical contact in a relationship was like.

She would've liked to skip straight to the more pleasurable physical aspects, but doing that too soon would've had an adverse effect on him. So she'd wait, throw kindling on the fire a little at a time until the small spark they both felt…became a raging inferno of passion.

'He didn't ask me to turn around, it's a start. Baby steps,' She had told herself before she drifted off to the land of Orpheus.

(…)

Word Count: 9,376 Page Count: 22 Date Completed: 6/24/2022

(…)

AN: By the Emperor we are back! My Transcribe and I have just survived a run in with some Orks, their leader was rather odd it looked… dare I say feminine and kept chanting "Kawaagh!" Clearly Ork madness was at work here. Thankfully my faith in the Emperor was backed up by my combi-lasgun… Now I do believe my transcribe has something to say.

Snowy: Oh you mean Orkette. She has a nice singing voice. She will still kill you though. Anyways thanks for all our readers and I ask for your patience as we work on the upcoming chapters where the big changes will occur.

What heresy was that at the beginning Transcribe? Do you wish to be granted the Emperor's Mercy?

Snowy: No sir.

Then back to work before the Inquisitorius declares exterminatus on this planet! Remember good citizens of the Imperium, it is your civic duty to REVIEW! For the Emperor!