I groaned as I heaved the trap Imperial Pilot out of his craft as whilst his passengers opened fire on the Combine forces who happened to encounter us. Though mostly in the form of manhacks, a hunter had shown up to further ruin our day, though one lasgun volley had been enough to down the beast.

'Celm,' I thought, reaching out with my psychic powers to the worlds beyond this one, 'why are things from so many universes appearing here?'

'Unknown, thugh it is possible the death of the immature Xeno'Jiiva caused the portals created by the Aetherite and the Leshen to open and close uncontrollably. Also, enemy forces headed your way.'

'Ugh, just great. Can't I teleport in forces to assist us.'

'Not in the immediate area. However, you could teleport forces outside the planet's atmosphere and use drop pods to send them to ground level. I'm sure that Astartes would help to calm the Commissar. And to answer your incoming question, you never asked.'

...Man, he's good at thinking things out. 'Alright, sending out a request for Space Marines. Here's hoping things work.'

XXXXX

It took about a minute for the Astartes to answer the call. A Deathwatch Kill Team, composed of ten members (one marine from each of the Loyalist Legions plus a Blood raven) had been waiting for an assignment, and while their eagerness to assist me was surprising, it was not unwelcome. Within seconds of their assembly, they were hastily teleported to my fabbers, then loaded into drop pods and sent down to Earth. They ended up crushing another hunter synth before emerging and opening fire on a bullsquid that thought we were crunchy.

Once the remaining combine synths were down, the squad's attached commissar turned to face me. "I thank you for your assistance. Now, identify yourself."

"Can we save introductions for later? I'd like to get you to safety before we get attacked by another group of people/beings that just showed up here. Especially Norscans - those guys are dangerous. Bunch of crazy axe-wielding savages."

The Commissar actually laughed at this. "How dangerous could men with axes be against the Hammer of the Imperium."

"They worship the Eight Pointed Star," intoned the Iron Hand amongst the Kill Team.

That got the point to the Commissar. Hastily, he ordered his men to form up and evacuate the crash, with the added warning that any who failed to keep up would be flogged and/or shot. As expected from the average commissar.

Once we were far enough away from the battlefield, I hastily called in a transport to evacuate my newfound companions to my orbital fabber, then had them teleported to my hub for additional treatment, as well as try to get the Imperial Forces to calm down. I'd eventually have to them home, but for now, I wanted them to enjoy a little relaxation while they had the chance.

Of course, I'd be lying if I wasn't looking forward to some R&R after I sorted out this mess. Preferably a nice hot shower, or maybe a bath.

"If you want one of those, why not build a bathhouse?" questioned Viv. "I mean, people do seem to like them."

"Why'd you jump to a bathhouse for relaxation?"

"My father's lands included some, and they were very relaxing. Besides, how else does one show off their form fully without any prejudice or accustaions of indecency, or worry of unwanted stares?"

"...You do realize I made xenomass bathhouses for all of my protectorates to enjoy, right?"

Viv opened her mouth to speak, only for the words to die in her throat as her expression turned from one of triumph to one of surprise. "...What?"

"Yeah, I did that five months ago. Pretty sure I told you, too."

"B...B...bu...bu..but...but...YOU HAVE TO LET ME USE ONE!"

I couldn't help but let out a grin at how she practically begged for that. "Okay, I promise."

"Good. Now then, any idea what's causing the portals to open up?"

"Beyond Xeno'Jiiva causing them when it died? Nope...but I still think whoever the weird artifacts I keep finding warns me about are the ones responsible."

I mean, I did get signals similar to what I saw from those artifacts when examining the first anomaly.

"...Do you honestly know anything about those machines?"

"...Not really."

"Well, I hope that changes soon. Now, what next?"

"...Look for Eclipse Gathering Sites and try to ruin their plans?"

"...Good enough for me."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Of course, taking down the Shadow Carja wasn't the only thing I was going to do - there are perks to being a Brutally Efficient Self Replicating Engine of War.

At my hub's biological research facilities, I pulled up my technocyte cultures and started experimenting - designing creature that could wield powers like my machines, but without risk of being hacked. The cultures had bene acquired from a Nidus frame, ensuring they would have loyalty to me, or, failing that, the Tenno. I started small, of course - only creatures in the size range of dogs and cats were created at first, though an occasional humanoid also joined their ranks. I made sure to provide them with plenty of toys, food, water, and interactions with myself, if only via holograms and robotics - I am not repeating the I-rex incident.

You wanna do that, then go to Jurassic World.

Yeah, well, maybe if the gate sends me there.

Or I could send you there and have Masrani make you head of operations.

What are you, majority shareholder of Masrani?

In one universe, yes.

…...Oh...Okay, I'll take you up on that offer.

"Hey commander, this is Synais. We've got something you might want to look at."

"Does it involve the machines helping out the Shadow Carja?"

"...Yes, actually."

"What?! What are you waiting for? Send me the data!"

"Well, here it comes!"

Examining the data, I found out that one of the machines had been sighted near a Shadow Carja camp. Said camp appeared to be massing up for a raid, though there were enough potential targets nearby to make figuring out the specific target a pain. Still, a lead was a lead.

Maybe this would finally tell me why these guys were so feared by the Artifacts...well, by their creators, at any rate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!