Disclaimer: As usual, I own Jackshit.
Enjoy!
XXX
Hyperreality was one hell of a thing to experience.
It also made me think that I was tricking balls after having chugged all the LSD.
On some level, as I watched walls disappear and shift, forming cubes of digital matter that swam away into the air before something else appeared, I knew this wasn't real. I could see and feel the coding underpinning it all, interact with it and even manipulate it to one degree or another. However, to purely Human senses, this was as real as reality could get, a Psyker might have been able to notice the difference, but as I glanced at Neta, I knew that she obviously couldn't. I knew this for a fact, if only because I could hear her thoughts coming through a series of translators that had been constructed to turn bio-electrical signals and chemical impulses into something vaguely understandable. The whole thing had been constructed over the course of her Introspection.
Absently, I suppressed a snort of bemusement at that. Introspection? Was that going to become my go-to euphemism for 'mind-rape'?
Pushing such thoughts to the side, I idly considered sending a few processes off to investigate rationalism in relation to the mentalities of the Tech-Priests, if only to better understand the nature of their zealotry. Turning my attention back to the present, I conjured a pair of chairs and a small table as the corridor around us disappeared, forming into a simulated environment similar to where we had first spoke. Neta calmly followed behind me, her face impassive, but I could hear and feel her every thought an emotion. I felt her awe and reverence as I also felt the gears of her logic slowly chugging away as she took this as a sign of one thing or another. I gestured to the other seat as I kept walking, taking me own seat as the corridor sealed behind us, the visual representation of the conduit that had transported us from one server to another. Having taken my own seat, I couldn't help the quirk of my lips as I watched Neta, who was regarding the offered chair like some holy relic. She was gazing at it with an awe-filled expression while her gaze flickered to me, I felt her nervousness and uncertainty. Catching her eye as her gaze flicked back to me, I offered a reassuring smile and a slight nod of the head. Instantly, I felt her emotions settle as I she shifted, moving from where she stood and slowly taking her seat.
I will admit, I watched with some amount of interest as her body shifted and moved with a natural grace that drew the eye to it. Then again, with the body that Neta now had, even if it was just digital, such a thing was rather understandable with the way her hips swayed and her bust seemed to almost bounce with each step. Then, as she sat down, I saw her practically melt into the seat, having been made to be comfortable in a way that reality couldn't match, which did spoil things a bit. Though, it was worth it to see her trying to prevent her contentment from being visible while also sitting at attention for me.
"Comfortable?" I offered with amusement flickering in my eyes as I watched her face turn red in slight embarrassment even as she nodded, not wishing to make eye contact as I nodded in turn.
"Good, then we can get down to business." A thought, and I watched as a dozen digital screens appeared before me, showcasing data that had been present in the Cogitators that I had reclaimed, mostly stuff that was floating around the internal networks of the vast vessel before it was stuck in the Warp.
"According to the data I've found in this ship, you were one of many Tech-Priests that had joined a project to create a new pattern of Warp Drive. Can you confirm this?" I asked simply, wanting to confirm the information I already had to ensure that I had facts rather than assumptions. Neta nodded her confirmation.
"Yes, My Lord. The Project was to create a new Pattern of Warp Drive under the sponsorship of a Rogue Trader and the Fabricator-General of the Forge World of Tancredi." The former Magos Errant stated as I nodded in turn. Absently, I kept an eye on what I saw from the systems implanted into her and interfaced with both her mind and body. Instantly, I saw a slight release of Endorphins and Serotonin, only part of which was caused by the systems implanted into her. A majority of it was actually caused by her own body having been conditioned to enjoy being helpful to me, certainly, there was a certain level of a Placebo effect, especially given how emotions of happiness and such drifted a bit higher than they should have. I shrugged that off and continued as another screen appeared before me even as I noticed Neta shift slightly, her hands clasped in her lap with her arms framing her body as she sat straight. An idle thought caused me to notice how her hands were drifting just a bit deeper into her lap while her arms were pressing her bust together a bit more. A quick check showed that this was unconscious, and that Neta hadn't even noticed that she was doing it.
Keeping that in mind, I moved on to the next question I had come up with.
"And the Warp Drive? I assume that was how you ended up here?" I asked, once more curious. I hadn't managed to find much in the way of data regarding any kind of testing, let alone the actual results of said tests. Neta seemed to grimace slightly at that.
"Partially, My Lord. The Tancredi-Pattern Warp Drive would have worked perfectly, and safely, had the ship itself not been substandard. Had this been a well-maintained vessel, then we would have had a far safer, and potentially faster, shakedown cruise than most ships would have had. We only found out after the fact that this ship was not as well-maintained as we had been led to believe. After being trapped in the Warp, we found records showing that the Tech-Priests that had manned the ship had been skimming over the proper maintenance rites, preferring to simply keep things running rather than ensuring they worked. When we managed to reactive the Gellar Fields, we investigated to some extent and found that a number of structural supports were rusted through, dozens of pipes had been corroded by their contents and at least a half-dozen Cogitators had become rotted away. And that is without considering the feral Servitor population we had encountered in those early days..." Neta explained as I nodded along, words triggering memories as I watched them play out, seeing things from her perspective. I saw the Daemons pouring through the Warp and slaughtering the crew, though, I did note the sense of vindication at seeing that both the Rogue Trader and the Tech-Priests native to the ship were dead.
"And the Drive itself? I've already checked, but it looked as though it had detonated, taking a pretty damned big chunk of the main engines with it since this particular ship doesn't seem to have any to have much in the way of engines left." I stated as I saw the woman frown slightly before grimacing at the reminder.
"I... It should have worked, My Lord. This Rust-Forsaken scrapheap been in the condition we had been led to believe, then the test would have been successful!" Neta ranted slightly, her anger rising slightly as she remembered the days leading up to the test. Said memories flashing as I saw them.
"If those damned, scrapcode infested idiots had let us do a proper review of the vessel, like we were supposed to do, then it wouldn't have all gone wrong! Instead, they blocked us from doing anything but changing the old Warp Drive out for a new one! Of course, we couldn't do anything about it, not with that fool of a Rogue Trader blocking us, not to mention him wanting to rush the construction and testing! The fact that the Fabricator-General even allowed it was amazing, but..." Neta paused as her words quietened as she noticed I was watching her, having risen from her chair and giving me a very good view of her body as she had animatedly waved her hands around and gestured wildly as though to hit someone. It did interesting things to her body, certainly made for an interesting show as I saw her cheeks turn bright red from it before she shot back into her chair. I'll admit to feeling some amusement at watching her trying to disappear into seat.
"I... I'm sorry, My Lord... I didn't mean..." She stammered slightly as I waved her concerns off.
"It is no problem, Neta. Though, I am interested in the Warp Drive you mentioned. You said that it was safer than most other patterns? I am curious. You were provided with the necessary resources to rebuild it once more, could you do it?" I asked, curious and giddy at the chance to get the hell out of the Warp, so much so that if I was given the chance, then I would take it and run with it. Absently, I started ramping up production of Collectors to increase the rate at which resources were gathered as they spread through the Spacehulk, looking for anything interesting and pulling it back with them. Even then, I had other groups focus on other things, such as the various starship-grade weapons that I had a few of them taking apart to feed to curious sub-processes. At this question, Neta gained a thoughtful expression.
"In theory, yes, My Lord. But I would need resources and workers to assist in the making of the device itself, as working alone to construct it would take me decades, if not centuries. Not only that, but I would require Warp conductive materials, large quantities of said materials of a sufficient quality to ensure that it would work. Most Warp Drives require metric tons of such materials to ensure they function, as do Gellar Fields, but it would be possible since I have worked on both over my long life." She replied as I nodded, my smile widening slightly at that as the chance of getting the hell out of the Warp grew.
"And the Warp-conductive materials themselves? Do you know how to create them?" I asked, hoping that the answer was 'yes', if only because it would shorten my time even further. Not only that, but knowing how to create such materials could open doors further down the line, especially in my quest to get the hell out of this universe and make a run for somewhere far less... Insane.
Unfortunately, I saw Neta's gaze flicker down, her expression turning to that of utter dejection as she let her head hang as her eyes seemed to begin to water.
"I... I'm sorry, My Lord, but I don't... I-I know th-the proces-ss to ma-ake the-em... Bu-but I-I do-don't k-know ho-ow ta make-e al-ll tha... All the-e too-ols... I'm so... So... Sorrie... The-e mach-hines we-ere re-relics... Fe-few kn-new ho-ow to... I-I'm such a... P-pleas-se... Do-on't le-leave me..." Neta began as she degenerated into sobs as I caught the just of what she was saying, suppressing a grimace at the knowledge, but nowing that I had gotten lucky with as much as I had. As such, I rose quickly from my chair and took three steps before kneeling in front of the dejected woman, placing a hand on her shoulder and another on her chin as I gently guided her to look at me. She didn't resist them motion as she looked at me, emerald eyes sparkling with tears as wet trails ran down her face. Cupping her cheek, I allowed a soft smile through even as I used a thumb to wipe away her tears.
"Hey, hey, easy... There is no reason for you to be upset when you have already proven your worth a dozen times over simply with your show of knowledge. If you can't create the Warp-conductive materials, then that is no problem, I can have my creations scavenge what is needed, with you directing them. With that, you can retool the materials into the form required, you have not failed me, Neta, and I doubt that you will." I stated as I wiped the other trail of tears away with a knuckle as I looked her dead in the eye. Her eyes seemed to widen as she heard what I said, she seemed to pause even as my hand offered a reassuring squeeze and I played with chemical interactions. A sub-process poked and prodded at her brain and mind, her organic body being manipulated to ensure that she felt reassured and comfortable with what I was saying even as I saw her mouth turn into a tentative smile.
An instant later, and Neta pushed herself out of her chair, jumping at me and wrapping arms around my neck and holding on for dear life. Her body was pressed flush with my own as I felt her bust pressing into my chest. I felt her nuzzle her face into the crook of my neck even as I felt tears flowing down her face, dripping into the clothes of my chosen body and down her chin, but I felt that these were not tears of dejection and sadness, but of joy and happiness. I felt her grip tighten even as I stood back up, slightly surprised and moving to ensure that I didn't fall over with a step back as the action dragged Neta up with me. She followed as I felt her body press against me further, her legs slipping around one of my own as I felt her thighs press against my left leg.
"Thank you... Thank you... Thank you..." I heard Neta whisper between quiet sobs as I slowly moved my own hands around her waist, offering a comforting presence even as one hand slide up her back. I frowned slightly, wondering what had happened to cause this kind of reaction at the thought of not being capable of helping me, but I put it aside for the moment as I just held her, letting her cry and get it out of her system as I rubbed circles into her back.
"I won't leave you, Neta. I won't abandon you. I promise, even if something happens, I will find you and I will not abandon you." I whispered back as Neta slowly pulled her head back from my neck to look at me with fresh tears dripping down from her eyes. Her smile was a lot less fragile now, the reassurance doing a lot to help her as she stood by me, practically hanging from me.
"Thank you, My Lord... Thank you... I... After having been shown the truth, I feared that you would abandon me once I stopped being useful... If I... I'll... I'll do anything, My Lord... Anything you wish... Just... Just please..." She whispered as she leaned her head against my shoulder. Her grip around my neck had loosened, but still held her dangling from my form as I kept an eye on her. Every word she spoke told of desperation and hope, she wanted to be useful and feared being abandoned and rejected simply for not being as such for any given reason. With one hand still rubbing gentle circles in her back, I pulled the other hand from her waist and gently cupped her face once more, guiding her chin up and to look at me.
"I know, Neta... I know... And you will always be useful, in one form or another... I will always need you, never doubt that and never doubt yourself..." I stated as I leaned down and gentle kissed the woman on the forehead. I felt her emotions whiplash back to utter joy and glee at hearing those words, her smile could have blinded a stadium. My hand fell away as I put it back on her waist, holding her close even as I felt her adoration skyrocket from those words, enough so that I could ask her for anything and she would do it without hesitation. Idly, I let the hand slide down, gliding over her plump ass as it came to a stop and gently squeezed it. I saw Neta blush slightly at that, but her smile remained, if anything, it only grew bigger as I did so.
... I'd really need to sit down at some point and figure out just what the hell had happened to her, though, that could wait for the time being. Or, you know, until I was out of the Warp and away from 40k...
XXX
Turns out that Neta was quick to get to work after we completed our discussion.
Almost immediately after being joined to the network, she poured her knowledge into it and filled entire archives with knowledge gleamed over centuries of work and effort. Nothing was left untouched and no secret was kept as she gave it all willingly and without protest before getting to work directing my units. I allowed it even as I watched her digital existence directing them through accurately remembered blueprints of ships attached to the Spacehulk. Following her directions, my Collectors started tearing apart every piece of technology they could find with greater dexterity as they now had a guiding hand on how to do so. Materials were gathered at greater speed as she split her focus between these actions and gathering the needed materials for her task of creating a working Warp Drive. Even then, I had left the option open of using one present within the Spacehulk, but Neta had told me that she was doubtful of that. The former Magos Errant had explained that, if the ship had spent long enough in the Warp, then the Warp Drive was probably to be written off as being next to useless due to a lack of maintenance. Something that would have made them even more dangerous to use as well.
Along the way, Neta also helped me by identifying technology and explaining how it works with the aid of the other Tech-Priests I had captured and put under her direction. Most had been turned into little more than expert systems, but a handful remained that were in a similar condition to Neta. They worked together without protest or problem to dissect any technology I put in front of them, assisted by the Processes that I had once used to reverse-engineer any technology or material I encountered. Anything from the processes to make Adamantium and Ceramite to the creation of Servitors was being covered and included even as they worked around the clock in a simulation of Hyperreality.
I will admit that the difference in baseline speeds between the simulation and the... Well, the pocket of stable reality, I was in helped. The Warp Drive plans were discussed and every detail was gone over with a fine-toothed comb as methods of retooling the Warp-conductive materials were discussed and told to me. Gellar Fields were also discussed and other items that I questioned them on, or they simply told me as they thought I was interested. Between several dozen different Tech-Priests, a lot of whom were Magos-ranked, several centuries old, or both, I had been gifted with a lot of information. Said information would take time for me to completely assimilate, even with virtually unlimited multi-tasking to go with it.
Still, that wasn't to say that the process was without resistance. Feral Servitors stalked the corridors of some of the ships, entire hordes of them in some cases with Murder Servitors being mixed in. I was actually rather surprised when Neta identified a few of them as being Lathe-Pattern versions that scuttled around with surprising speed given their hunchbacked forms and skeletal limbs. I lost at least five Sentries to one of them jumping out from behind some pipes and ripping them to shreds with Melta-cutters and Mono-talons. They were easy to put down when you saw them coming however, a Sentry could kill them in a single shot with their weapons or hack them to pieces if given half a chance. Collectors had even odds of doing so in a one-vs-one fight, but I preferred to stack the desk as much as possible and had Collectors roaming in swarms. I passed the remains of a dozen of those things over to the Tech-Priests to give me a full work-up of them and the technologies incorporated into them. I knew the just of it, but having specifics always helped.
Though, the Feral Servitors weren't alone on the ship.
Deep, hidden in the dark corners of the wrecks were Black Holds, areas of ships rarely visited and often forgotten by their crew. Here, Mutants ruled in biospheres that had formed from the lack of power, fresh air and even consistent gravity where the grav-plating had given out. These places had to be purged, their inhabitants little more than screaming animals, more than one having tried to take a bite out of a Sentry as they advanced and killed them all. A dozen ships had these Black Holds, fed by radioactive sludge and chemical waste, a half dozen of them were filled with Human bones from non-mutated beings, telling me their food source had been from the crew.
Compared to the Tech-Priests, or even the Feral Servitors, they were little challenge when compared to machines that were armored in thick metal armor. Strong, they might have been, but even they had their limits when it came to defending against Bolter-like shells. Of course, I had the corpses Reclaimed and sent to study, mostly as a point of curiosity, especially since I knew a few of the converted had some level of familiarity with biology.
However, even as this happened, as Collectors and Sentries searched for more of the vital materials I needed, I found other things to investigate as well within the Rogue Trader's vessel.
XXX
"Ok, Neta, you said you had something to show me?" I asked as I appeared in the simulation. The walls were painted white and off-white workstations lined the walls with a set of high tables in the middle of the room. Honestly, the place looked like some kind of highly advanced lab with a dozen holographic images floating around, displaying disassembled plans in three dimensions. I glanced over some of them as they floated over the workstations and tables, but my attention was fixed on the form of Neta as she stood to one side and looked at what seemed to be a holographic image of a fully constructed chest of some kind. The chest itself was beautifully made, gilded in gold and ivory with jewels implanted into the metal work. The model was spinning in mid-air as Neta gestured one way or another as I walked into the simulated chamber.
"This, My Lord." Neta stated as I looked her over. The woman in question gestured to the chest as I looked at it and her in turn. In the several 'days' since our discussion, Neta had learned how to manipulate the simulation to an impressive degree, as such, she had also doing things that many of her underlings had found difficult with manipulating the simulation. Along the way, the former Magos Errant had taken to changing her clothing into something that, according to her, better fit her station. As such, she now wore a pair of boots, a pair of very short Denim shorts and a Tube Top that left little to the imagination as it hugged her beyond generous bust. As I came closer, I watched as Neta gestured and the image came apart to show the contents within. I didn't recognize the stuff immediately, but that was natural since I didn't pay an excessive amount of attention to what was within it. Seeing my look, Neta continued with a smile as she turned back to the devices in question.
"It's a Void Coffer, My Lord. They're generally chests of safes that are designed to have in-built Void Shields and built to be all but impossible to break into without complex codes from the owner that could be anything. One of your Holy Collectors found this one in a hidden side chamber within the main Captain's chamber. Opening it wasn't a problem since the Collector was able to cut a hole in it with its claws, but I felt that the contents of the Coffer might warrant your attention." She stated as the Coffer disappeared, leaving the devices for me to see as I looked them over with interest. Turning back around, she gestured and one of them came closer even as I took a step closer while sticking my hands into the pockets of a pair of Jeans I had taken to wearing with a black T-shirt. I figured the suit was better for more formal things, but more casual wear fitted just fine in this setting as I took one hand and pointed to the devices in question.
"And these are?" I asked, curious, but wanting to cut to the heart of the matter. I knew that Neta didn't show me something unless it was important, her own work on the creation of a new Warp Drive and several Gellar Field Generators being too important for that kind of thing.
"Various devices that should, if discovered, have seen the idiot of a Trader turned into a Servitor and his Dynasty eradicated to the last." Neta stated simply with some level of heat as a flick of a finger caused one such device to come forwards, a mass of wires and plates with exposed crystal-like circuits, but shaped in a rough cylinder.
"This, My Lord, is a Scatter-Caster, also called a Binary Bomb or Cant Grenade. These devices are made to produce large amounts of white noise and disrupt the control systems of lesser machines like Servitors, Servo-Skulls and certain types of Automata. Among the Priesthood of Mars, they are exceptionally heretical devices that would have lead to either Servitordom or Death simply on the off chance of having them. Within this Void Coffer, I found five." Another gesture and another device showed itself, this time a box-like device with a folding screen and keyboard attached.
"This is a Scrap Code Generator, My Lord. Hereteks use them to deconstruct loyal Machine Spirits and reformat them into more pliable forms that will accept and even assist in their Techno-Heresies. I found one of these devices, but there were several other items in this Void Coffer alone that showed signs of being altered after this device was used on them. Several modifications would have been considered borderline, but most of them are of the effect that the one responsible for this would have been killed on sight." A second later, the effected devices were highlighted before being thrown away as Neta picked up speed and simply started naming devices as they were highlighted and then thrown away. I recognized some of the names off the top of my head, but not all of them, a bit of digging was needed to recognize a few of the others that I didn't remember from my own time learning the Lore.
"Comm. Leaches, Signal Jammers, Nephitic Acid, Iron-Eater Grenades, Dart Casters, a stolen Sollex-Aegis Energy Blade, A Vox-Thief, enough Bomb spray to repaint a Baneblade, and a even this!" Neta rants, growing more hostile as she reaches the last item. I recognized it as some kind of data-wafer that had something on it, the seal of a Forge World and a binary code highlighted and shown to be inscribed into the surface of it as I ran the translation through my head.
"'The Tears of the Dragon'? How the hell did a Rogue Trader, no matter how well connected, manage to get their hands on that? I thought those were restricted to only the agents of the Lathe Worlds in the Calixis Sector?" I asked as I looked at the device in question much more carefully as Neta frowned and glared at the device in question.
"They are. Or, at least, I thought they were. Even though the Lathe Worlds horde them, such Meme-viruses are known to the greater Mechanicus and were used in the conditioning of the Skitarii to ensure they could survive encounters with Daemons and the like without their minds breaking and their sanity being reduced to nothing." Neta remarked as I nodded absently to myself.
"And the rest of the stuff? I know that a lot of this stuff, while difficult for some, would be well within the reach of a Rogue Trader. The Iron-Eater Grenades are rare, but I'm pretty sure that the Imperial Guard has them in stock, but restricts their usage. Dart Casters are assassination weapons that one could probably get on most Hive Worlds, same with the Bomb spray. He probably got most of this stuff around the same time through the Calixis Sector." I reasoned as Neta nodded in understanding. A few of the items, such as the Energy Blade and Tears of the Dragon, were most rare within the Calixis Sector. I had my doubts about them being any less rare outside of it, so it was probably logical to assume that that was where they came from. A moment later, the hologram disappeared as Neta leaned against a workstation, gripping it with both hands and breathing deeply and slowly to calm herself down.
"I know, My Lord, but that doesn't make it any easier to say that the others and I had been working for a Heretek who was practically flaunting the knowledge before us. Had the Fabricator-General not supported his request that we let the Ships' own Tech-Priests deal with internal maintenance, then we would have exposed him for what he was." I took a series of steps forwards and wrapped my arms around Neta's waist as she said that, holding her to let her calm down since I felt her own emotions. She was pissed at being fooled and honestly felt like she wanted to kill something, not surprising at all, but not what I wanted her focusing one.
"Fair enough, though the past is in the past, we can't really change it, we can only learn from it and move forwards with those lessons. Speaking of which, how is the progress of the Warp Drive and Gellar Fields?" I asked as I clasped my hands around the front of her waist, pulling her back into me even as she kept her hands on the workstation and I helped support her.
"Slow, My Lord. Your constructs are allowing us to build it at a vastly increased rate, and with much greater precision than anything previously thought of, but reworking the Warp-conductive materials is what is taking the most time." She explained what I already knew. In truth, I had even come up with an entirely new unit to assist in that regard, the Engineers. Said units were based off of the Metal Gear Excelsus and looked like big, robotic ants about the same size as my Collectors. They had Fabricators built into each arm along with various blades and servo-limbs designed for more precision work that couldn't be done via Fabricator. Along with that, two twin-linked Railguns were mounted to the head, connected to the complex sensors within the machine to allow it to be surprisingly accurate with its fire even though it wasn't technically a mainline combat unit. I had a dozen of them working on the Warp Drive and Gellar Fields, and, under the direction of the Tech-Priests, they had been making amazing progress, not to mention being easier to maneuver around in smaller areas where my Walkers couldn't go. At least, not without a large amount of Reclaiming.
"Do you know when the work will be finished?" I asked, resting my chin against her shoulder, leaning down slightly as I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, catching her gaze when her own flickered to me even as I felt her lean back into me. I saw the corners of her lips twitch even as her cheeks seemed to heat up for a few moments while the system reported the contentment of her, merely enjoying her current situation. With a gesture, a new hologram appeared, this time showing the current construction taking place within the hollowed out sections of the Spacehulk. Said construction was a massive thing, mostly in the form of a massively armored pod filled with all manner of devices and with enough space for my main Walkers, plus a majority of the forces I had created to police the Spacehulk. Some would need to be broken down, but that was fine by me, especially if it meant I could get the hell out of the Warp.
"The Warp Drive itself will take between five and seven days, but the pod should be finished within the next three. Initial tests are saying that all the systems are working as they should be and will hopefully prevent anything from happening." She stated happily as her head leaned back into my neck while I looked at the design once more. Some areas were marked as still being under construction as they were being built out of thick plates of armor sealed together with nanomachines to ensure no weak points from welding.
"Well done, Neta. The amount of progress you've made with the others is impressive... Certainly enough for a reward..." I stated as I whispered that last part in her ear as I saw her eyes shoot wide from a dozen angles even as my hand came up and cupped her chin. A thought changed a few settings as I pulled her towards me and pressed my lips against her own. The moment flesh met, I felt her body shudder, her spine shivering as bliss filled her system from an altered pleasure response mixed with an increased sensitivity setting connected to the nerves of her organic body. Said body was still floating in a tank of suspension fluid and completely riddled with tech that had long since replaced her old stuff as an interface. Hell, if I really wanted to, I could have left her as a brain in a jar, which would have given me even more control over her, but it wasn't what I wanted, not at the moment.
As I felt her go limp in my arms, I smiled as I saw her looking at me with a half-lidded stare, her heart was thundering in her chest, a massive damp patch decorated her shorts and I could see her nipples pocking through her top. And for all of that, I could feel her joy and utter devotion, her appreciation of the 'reward' I had given her even as I knew that, once more, a lot of it was a Placebo effect that made her even better. Already, the system was working to integrate this 'reward' into her brain by constructing associations to it, namely those of doing good work and doing something that pleases me.
Turning my gaze back to the diagram before me, I grinned as I knew that freedom from the unreality of the Warp was close at hand.
I could practically taste it.
XXX
Looking through a dozen eyes, through capital-grade sensors and a dozen other methods of looking to the world around me, I saw the final product of all our work complete.
The massive pod was complete, easily a kilometre and a half in size, shaped like a cylinder and a kilometre in diameter. To say that it was well armored would have been an understatement at this point, the ten metre thick hull made from overlapping layers of Ceramite over a skeleton of Adamantium was tough in its own right. Between layers, Graphene and Aerogel added protection against impacts and heat buildup, either from re-entry to a planet, or the impact of weapons' fire. The pod didn't really have any weapons, but those weren't needed at this point in time, merely something that could get me out of the Warp in a relatively good condition. As such, the newly finished Tancredi-Pattern Warp Drive sat in the middle of the pod, surrounded by Gellar Field generators and enough Void Shields that I could probably shrug off more than a fair share of shit. Of course, there was a single engine, a miniature Plasma drive sealed behind armored bulkheads that could provide some level of direction.
Still, all of it was massively expensive. Void Shields had required Warp-conductive materials by the truck load to ensure they worked, replicated from the emitters and arrays of various ships. They weren't much when compared to the other examples of Warp-based technology I had worked with. No matter how minor an example of Warp-tech it was, that fact still remained, and continued to make me hesitate to Tinker with them too heavily. The risk of failure often floated through my mind as I considered doing such, something I wanted to avoid even though I planned to look for alternatives. Regretfully, for the time being, I relied upon such technologies to provide both protection and some level of propulsion, a weak link since I could only get those materials by scavenging them from fallen Imperial forces. I made a note to fix that at some point, preferably as soon as possible, until such a time where they wouldn't be needed.
Casting an eye over the units within the massive structure, I saw them all. They were all packed as tightly as they could go, stored in such a way as to minimize wasted space while still allowing them to climb out of harnesses and head for the exits of the pod if needed. None of them could move, their restraints made from solid materials and locked in place with electromagnets. I wanted to ensure that, should the worst happen, that I would be combat ready. Perhaps it was stupid that I hadn't put weapons on the pod, but that would have required more space, which would have needed more power generation and materials to build. Not to mention that as the size increased, the amount of power needed to shift it would increase at an exponential rate.
I didn't want to pay that cost, my best hope was that I landed somewhere without opposition. Then again, with the Gods of Trolling that existed in this universe, I had my doubts that I'd be that lucky.
Looking away, outwards, I looked to the hollowed out surroundings of the Spacehulk, not even completely hollowed as only a percentage had been, but enough space to hold the pod in place with massive chains, each link being almost twenty metres across as they spider-webbed their way over the inside of the surroundings. They weren't there for much, merely to hold the pod in place until the Warp Drive was ready, creating a semi-stable launch position.
Speaking of which...
"Neta, status?" I asked as I turned an eye to look at her, secured away within her simulation as she ran her own double check of the numbers. I had already done the numbers enough times that I had a good idea that this would work. A second look never hurt, especially with such a device as a Warp Drive.
"All diagnostics are coming back with no errors or failures. Capacitors are fully charged and all Gellar Fields are holding strong with no fluctuation. You can commence the jump at your leisure, My Lord." She stated as I sent my acknowledgement, not bothering to manifest as I turned back to the sensors, their range limited to not go into the Warp itself. For a moment, I paused as I looked it over, the map showing me the massive Spacehulk and showing how much of it I had actually managed to Reclaim. Barely a fifteenth of the entire thing, such a massive amount of materials that had been left to sway in the currents of the Warp, one filled with countless treasures that I was still looking through to find some hidden gems.
Moving back to the present, I accessed the controls for the Warp Drive, navigating to the activation circuit and hovered over the digital button that I knew would ripe a hole in reality. I paused as I considered it, wondering if I should press the button even as a part of me felt that it was a bad idea. A phantom instinct that something bad was going to happen even, one that had only grown sharper since I had started rewatching the first Fragment of the Iron War. I had yet to watch many others, but I had... Skimmed, for lack of a better word, a few here and there. None of it got any easier to swallow, but it got easier to tolerate, if nothing else. Though, considering where I was, I knew that my gut was right, since things rarely got better in 40k, even when it looked like they might. Allowing a digital sigh to escape from non-existent lips, I reached for the activation system and pushed the button.
Immediately, I felt power course through the entire structure as Capacitors discharged and generators spun up to capacity to met the new demand for energy. Reports came back of the Warp Drive spinning up as sensors reported the beginnings of a portal forming back to reality as I got ready to release the chains and launch my pod.
Of course, that was the point where things started going wrong.
Warp energy surged as sensors suddenly picked up other signatures coming to life. Automated systems quickly reported that these were Warp Drives from deeper within the Spacehulk, still intact and in relatively good condition as I watched energies start shifting. I felt dread as the portal warped and expanded, stray bolts of energy dancing along the Spacehulk, both inside and out as the portal shifted towards the back of the Spacehulk. Within moments, pink and purple lightning was dancing over every surface as I felt the entire thing being dragged into the event horizon of the new portal, lances firing between each Warp Drive as I detected the energy reaching critical mass as the first cluster of them went through the portal.
Quickly, I considered the idea of disengaging the Warp Drive and trying to escape, but even with my accelerated perception, that option was quickly taken from me as the portal advanced. It quickly picking up speed with every Warp Drive that disappeared through it, moving faster as it traveled over the hollowed out section I had been calling home for the my stay within the Warp. Sensors picked up reports of entire sections buckling, anchor points snapping as chains came loose and either hung limply or were flung around, smashing into walls and crushing them. As the portal wall came within sight, I felt some level of dread coming as I felt the 'what-if' scenarios play out in my head even as I forced them down as it washed over my units.
As it did so, I felt as though I was holding my breath. I was reasonably sure I was safe, but anxiousness played out and lead to an idle thought causing excess power to be redirected to the Gellar Fields. With that, reality felt more stable as the portal continued, sparks showering everything as I watched on, knowing that some things were hit, but seeing no signs of damage as the Fields held strong. A moment passed as the portal flowed, energy arcing from surfaces until it faded through and out of the pod. Static clung to my mind at its passing even as I felt something click within me.
However, I had little time to consider what that meant. Once the Warp portal had passed, I turned off the Warp Drive and activated my sensors once more, wanting to know what was going on and where I was. Turns out that I didn't need to worry too much as the reports came back quickly, aided by communication intercepts and sensor returns that told me exactly where I was. Then again, the fact that I was currently trapped in a gravity well, in a decaying orbit around what seemed to be an heavily developed and industrialized planet wasn't the worst thing. At the very least, I was going to be landing far from most industrialized areas, seemingly out to sea. Figuring out an exact location wasn't something that I could do just yet, the spin of the Spacehulk making that difficult. Then again, I didn't know if I needed to worry about the Spacehulk for much longer.
In orbit, I could detect ships moving to intercept courses, for what purpose, I could only guess. However, scans came back and told me of the rest of the system even as I listened to a broadcast coming from one of the more heavily industrialized areas to the in the southern hemisphere of the planet. Listening to it only made me want to run the hell away, flashbacks of horrible voice acting and annoying AI coming to the foreground.
"-Men of Kaurava! This is Governor-General Vance Stubbs of the 253rd Kauravan Regiment! I speak to you today with grave news, this system, once a bastion of the Emperor's Light, now lay under siege by foes! Xenos, Traitors and Heretics surround us from all sides! They would wish to take our lives and worlds from us, worlds that belong to the Imperium of Man and to the God-Emperor! I am here to tell you that so long as we stand firm, that we shall not falter! For we are the Hammer of the Emperor! And we will not be bested by those that think us easy prey! For the Emperor!"
As the ships continued to approach, and sensors picked up energy levels rising, I had only one question as sections of the Spacehulk started to skip through the upper reaches of the Atmosphere.
Kaurava... Why the hell did it have to be Kaurava...?
XXX
AN: Ok, so that is the fifth chapter in my latest peak in insanity complete, hope you enjoyed it. All feedback is appreciated./QUOTE]