Disclaimer: I own jackshit.
AN: First of all, I wish to thank Vladicus for proofreading this for me, as to ensure that it was good enough to post without worrying about mistakes every other sentence.
Next, I just want to say that this chapter was an absolute pain in the ass, for multiple reasons. One of those was to do with just how busy my life is right now, but that's besides the point.
Anyway, enjoy!
XXX
Neta Alkins stopped in her work, hands freezing in the air as she shifted an image around to get a better view of her latest project. Around her, other projects run by automated sub-facets of His being continued onwards, uncaring of her lack of continued work, merely logging it and carrying on in their own work as her mind absently reviewed what each facet was working on. However, before she could get too far, she stopped again as hands slide over exposed skin from a presence that had not been present mere moments ago. The former Magos shivered at the contact, the hands moving over her, doing as they pleased even as she made no effort to stop them.
Even if she did, she knew that such efforts would be wasted effort at best, given that she was in His realm, the realm where He ruled supreme. If He wished something happen then it would happen as He wished it to.
As such, she relaxed into His grasp as her body was pulled back, pressing into His chest even as she felt His chin rest on her shoulder. Neta shivered slightly at the contact, always enjoying it and enjoying it even more as His hands stopped moving as they approached their destinations. She felt His right hand sliding down, tracing a line of quiet bliss down her navel and over her shorts before sliding down the inner thigh of her right leg, nails tracing over skin that felt far too sensitive. Neta felt a soft moan escape her lips, accompanied by her panting breath as the other carried on moving, leaving a pass of bliss up from her navel and up to her chest. As it reached her chest, fingers slipped under her tight top without difficulty, the material practically re-molding itself to fit His hand under her top, regardless of how tight it originally was. Neta felt her breath hitch as those same fingers pressed into her right breast, cupping the mound of flesh as it squeezed gently into the flesh.
Without thought, her own hands sought out the hands of her Lord, one being placed on the hand that continued sliding up and down her thigh, while the other laid itself upon the forearm of the other. She felt the warm in both limbs, just as she felt the hot breath tickling the side of her neck, causing hairs to stand on end while her toes curled in delightful satisfaction. No words were spoken by Him, but Neta didn't mind or care about that. If her Lord didn't wish to speak, then she was not going to demand that He did, especially not when it might interrupt the beautiful experience of being held in His arms, of knowing that she was wanted, valued and even trusted to remain in His embrace.
Time passed, it not being constant within His realm as time could pass at the same rate as what had been termed Base-reality, or it could pass faster or slower. It all depended on the whims of her Lord, making accurate timekeeping difficult for those without access to the systems that He had created to govern His realm when His attention was focused elsewhere. It was only absently that she noticed her access to such systems having disappeared at the same moment that He had appeared in the sub-realm that He had created as her lab. As such, Neta had no way of knowing just how much time had passed even if she had the inclination of checking it, if only to check both the internal and external times of His realm and Base-reality.
Subconsciously, her hips and chest pushed out a bit, wanting for her Lord to squeeze harder into her soft flesh and slide His fingers over her slick core. She wanted Him to know that He owned her and could do anything to her, knowing that she would eagerly follow His commands to the letter, no matter what they were. As those thoughts flew through her mind, her world exploded into bliss as she felt His lips press against the side of her neck, His arms being the only thing to prevent her from falling to the floor in a boneless heap as the raw rapture hit her like a Baneblade charging through fortifications. Her mind was caught in that timeless moment as her brain reminded her of what this could mean, of what this could be a reward for while also considering hypotheticals of other meanings, ranging from simply wishing to use her for more than just her experience and knowledge, to more... Involved purposes.
As the moment passed, Neta felt the lips leave her skin, still riding the afterglow of the experience as she felt a chin pressing into the crook of her neck, hot breath once more teasing at her skin as He spoke in her ear.
"You do good work, Neta. The Paralyser Bolas and Disabler Bolts worked exactly as you promised... Not only that, but the work you've done on the Banshee Blades has made them all the more impressive... Don't you feel so proud of yourself for making such devices...?" He whispered to her as she felt his hands moving around, growing just a bit closer to her leaking core, where a stain was showing through her shorts, while his fingers pressed just a bit deeper into the flesh of her breast, His thumb flicking her hardened nipple. A soft gasp escaped her lips even as she tried pushing herself up, wanting to feel His lips press against her skin even as she absently remembered the devices in question, the upgrades done to pre-existing works to increase their strength.
The Paralyser Bolas and Disabler Bolts were just two of many such things. Modifications of technology based on Electoos used by Electro-Priests, and in lesser forms in every Tech-Priest to ever join the Cult of Mars. They were designed for the purpose of inducing an EM field, not to act as an interface, but to burn out circuits and components as a way of disabling Power Armor, rendering any wearer not a Space Marine completely paralyzed and unable to defend themselves. A secondary system had also been included, one He had requested of her, to also produce a field that was modulated to cripple the wearer, rendering them unconscious through a similar method as those used by a Shock Maul. Disabler Bolts, likewise, used a similar system, but lacked the space to fit the added Shock Maul-like functionality, still working to disable a suit of Power Armor. Likewise, the upgrades to the Blessed Banshee Blades of the Holy Sentries were merely the inclusion of a number of technologies she knew of, the most notable being the functionality of Transonic weaponry included in each tooth of the chain.
So to ask her if she was proud of her work was a given, that she put pride in what she made was to be expected in the same way that an artist would take pride in their art, or a craftsman might take pride in the quality of their work. Knowing such, she still felt her pride in herself as she preened at the complement of her efforts, a certain pride in knowing that unlike under the services of Mars and Terra, she was valued by her Lord.
"... Yes... So proud..." Neta gasped as enterprising fingers continued to explore her flesh as she felt her body slowly go numb from the bliss she was experiencing at the hands of her Lord. Unconsciously, she felt her head lull back, resting against her Lord's own body, as she felt his chest press against her back, having been pulled in by strong arms. Her mind spiraled with thoughts of how proud she was for her work to please her Lord, of knowing that she could always find a shelter in the arms of her Lord. And on some level, she knew this all too well, knowing that she had no other place to go but into His waiting arms, no matter what happened.
"And, you must be so of happy, knowing that those same devices were used to capture 36 members of the Sisters of Battle...? Sisters who have yet to see the Truth as you have... Sisters that still follow the corrupted faith of a corpse on a throne..." He whispered to her as she felt the joy of such an achievement, heat building at her core at the thought of seeing those Sisters free from the shackles of their old dogmas, and seeing the light of truth, as she had. Another kiss, and that heat only grew as the former Tech-Priest felt something dribbling down her legs.
"... So... So... Happy..." Neta breathed out as she felt her limbs collapse, going boneless from the ministrations of her Lord as hot breath tickled her ear. She gasped as her breast was squeezed tight, a thumb pressing down against her diamond-hard nipple even as she panted for air that refused to stay in her lungs. More so, the hand that had slipped under her shorts didn't help matters even as it traced a line over her dripping slit, the nails biting into her sensitive clit with every pass. She felt so sensitive to the world, her heart thundering in her ear even as her vision remained a haze of bliss and a knowledge that she was safe within the arms that held her bound form. Teeth scratched against one of her ears, a light nibble that sent her over the edge, a flood escaping from within her core and drenching her shorts, her legs, the floor below her and His hand with her warm juices. It was only His grasp of her chest that kept her upright, pressing her into His chest in turn. Absently, she felt the hand leave her waist. Through half-lidded eyes, she saw the drenched hand floating before her as a finger pressed against her lips.
Immediately, she opened her mouth as her lips molded around the soaking finger that slid in, her tongue licking at the flesh of her Lord, refusing to leave a single square centimetre untouched as she lavished her adoration onto the appendage before it was pulled away from her and a new one was inserted. Neta felt her eyes roll up from the paradise she found herself in, eyelids closing even as she continued to lick and suck on the intruding digits, enjoying every moment even as the whisper of her Lord spoke to her through the haze of pleasure, as clear as day to her.
"Then... If you're so happy to see them free... I think you can already tell what you're next task is to be, yes...? They have been freed in body, but their minds and souls still remain bound... Your task shall be to enlighten them to the Truth... Just as I did to you..." Even as the grip on her body grew tighter and fingers slowly started to press into her glistening slit, Neta heard these words as clear as day, not obscured by her wanton moans and cries of bliss. She heard the words of her Lord as she felt the now-familiar sensation of new information leaking into her mind, adding more detailed instructions to His Command. Even so, it didn't stop her from being unable to reply, her body numb in all the best ways even as her eyes rolled up into her skull, yet her mind and body refused to surrender to the bliss of unconsciousness. The former Magos could guess that was His doing, but found herself unable to care as another strong squeeze sent her thoughts away from her as she felt the climax of her ecstasy approaching.
"Do this well... And I'll be sure to reward you." Was the whisper left in her ear a moment later. Suddenly, Neta felt all support drop away from her as she landed on the ground, stars in her eyes as she looked to the ceiling, having not reached her Nirvana, but still feeling that pleasant afterglow that her Lord had gifted her for her services. The former Magos didn't even care that she was lying in a puddle of her own juices, said juices soaking into her cloaks and hair, the smell filling the air.
All she knew was the Truth, and that was enough for her...
XXX
Watching Neta as she collapsed onto the ground in the Simulation, I couldn't help but marvel at just how utterly gone she was.
I mean, I knew that I wanted her hooked and loyal to a fault, but the extent of it was something else. Looking at her now, however, I knew that I had gotten my wish in truckloads as I viewed the woman who had once been a centuries-old Magos Errant, now reduced to little more than a willing slave to do as I wished. The ability to alter the speed at which time passed relative to Base-reality helped, not to mention root-access to every corner of her mind, but I doubted that I would ever really need to use any of that on her again.
Oh, sure, I'd probably do it every once in a while to ensure things were going well, but her operant conditioning and the Placebo effect that had been ingrained into her were now pretty self-reinforcing and self-sustaining. Anything more than a quick 'refresher' course would be needed, if it ever truly came to that.
Still, I considered the orders I had just given her for a second, even as I looked back at other reports and statistics. Considering what the consequences of those orders could be, both for myself and the wider galaxy. I felt it was something that needed to be done, if only because if I wanted a shard of Humanity to be willing to follow my lead, then they needed to not be shackled down by the Imperial Creed. Exposing them to what I called the 'Truth', showing them just what the universe was really like than the 'rose'-tinted view that they had forced down their throats. Mind you, calling it 'rose'-tinted was a bit of a joke, since it was less about the reality of the situation and more about showing just how bad it was. Based on what I had learned from the Magos and the other former Tech-Priests, most of Humanity was kept blissfully unaware of just how sharp the knife's edge was, or how close to falling off it everyone was. Not only that, but constant censure and outright removal of history meant that very few groups even knew the full past of Humanity.
I only counted the Inquisition, the Mechanicus and the Custodes as the groups that might know enough to have a good grasp of the current situation on more than a tactical level. Mind you, I still felt damned strange saying 'tactical' in reference to an area of space that could probably cover anything from a single solar system, to multiple Sectors.
Regardless, I had my doubts if any of those three organizations would be willing to give out such information. Not only that, but I was suspect of any information that could come from the Administratum in general, especially with their Historical Revision Unit destroying anything that doesn't sing the praise of the Emperor's achievements. I wasn't even joking when I said that those same units were probably behind the jokes of the Administratum losing entire systems, since they also worked to turn 'defeats' into 'tactically loses, but also erased strategic defeats' and even 'tactical withdraws'. They were literally re-editing Human history in such a way that made it impossible to learn from mistakes, something that I knew would cause them problems further down the road. Especially if enemies that had already been sentences to Edicts of Obliteration came back and no one would be able to fight them as effectively, because no one might have the first clue about how to fight them.
Such was just one of many things I was hoping to avoid with my actions, along with making Humanity able to actually fight on a more level playing field with my Transhuman aspirations...
Speaking of such...
XXX
I honestly didn't know whether to be amazed or mildly disturbed by the genetic information that I had gained from the Sisters of Battle.
Even if they were the descendants of Humans, and their ancestors were what I considered human, somewhere in the far, far distant past, calling them Human might be a bit of a misnomer since, genetically, they were more like a sub-species of Humanity. I'm not even joking about that, since I've seen the DNA and I've got a copy of the DNA of a normal Human in my database...
Somehow...
Still, the facts stand that calling the Sisters, or anyone in the Imperium for that matter, a 'Human' is a bit misleading since the genetic data says otherwise. Not only that, but it's an utter fucking mess of random sequences of DNA that someone or something seems to have tried bolting on at some point in the past. What might have been a normal DNA strand had long since been butchered beyond the pale. Junk sequences were all over the place and proteins were used to attach other segments on to the strands in a haphazard manner, at best. I could see how it had built up over time, but the end result was still a mess that no one had bothered to sit down and clean up.
When I had first seen the DNA of the Tech-Priests, I had thought that it was just them screwing around with genetic modifications, especially since they tend to favor all kinds of modifications, Genetors being the best example since a lot of them used purely organic modifications. The Admech attempts were easy to see, since they were even worse than the already present hack-jobs done to the brutalized DNA strands, and even the understanding that I lifted from the captured Genetors made me wonder just what I was looking at with half of them. Hell, even Neta's DNA was an utter mess of shit with almost none of the additions even doing anything, some of it looking to having just been added for the hell of it.
Already, I had a dozen former Genetors working through every single segment of the DNA strands I had acquired with strict orders to figure out what everything did. I gave them the processing power, all the information on genetics I had, along with a copy of non-butchered Human DNA, and told them not to talk to me unless it was to give me a report on what a given series of sequences did. A rather tall order I admit, considering that the DNA taken from the Sisters looked to be almost three times as long as that of a normal Human and, at some points, looked as if it was made from as many as nine strands of DNA all lined parallel to one another, held together by more protein chains and ad-hoc genetic glue. Probably didn't help that a fair number of those same sequences were also corrupted or having mutated in some fashion after millennia of disregard and no upkeep.
It still didn't stop the former Tech-Priest from taking to their task with enthusiasm, especially after basically re-learning everything they knew before applying it within their Lab simulations, running several times the speed of Base-reality.
It was barely five minutes before I got the first reports back from them about what sequences did what and how they affected everything else in that cluster fuck. I got the next report ten minutes after that, with another one following on exactly ten minutes later, with a forth one coming in another ten minutes after that. Now, it was like clockwork as reports came back every ten minutes of how their progress was going in mapping out the absolute mess their DNA had become without any effort at upkeep. A lot of progress was being made, and I mean a lot, so much so that I could actually now pick out the specific genes that were triggered to cause what the Imperium had called Abhumans, such as Ratlings and Ogryns.
Along with that, other genetic codes had been identified that could cause a number of things, ranging from scale-like bone plates replacing the normal skin of a Human, to additional limbs and sensory features. With a bit of work, I could even create a retrovirus that could trigger these features in an Imperial Human and cause them to mutate over the course of several days into a new form. That thought actually had some interesting implications, especially if I wanted to create a terror weapon within highly populated Imperial Hive Spires...
Another idea to consider at a later time, among many others. Certainly, it wasn't the only idea that had come from that sub-set of the Coven, as I had taken to calling the captured Tech-Priests, let alone the entire Coven itself after getting a good look at the vast databases I had given them access to. Ideas ranged across the board, from minor tweaks to building entire units and structures from scratch, from bizarre to utterly brilliant. Often times, such ideas came with entire reports detailing the pros and cons of such ideas, material cost analysis of mass production, hypothetical situations where they could be deployed, and a dozen other documents besides that. If I hadn't been turned into an AI, then I would have probably been drowned in alerts of new idea submissions within the first five hours. I hadn't even been on Kaurava I for a day and I was already being swamped with ideas from overly enthusiastic Coven members looking to do one thing or another.
Admittedly, there were a lot of good ideas, and ones I certainly had ear-marked for further investigation, but all that came a distant second place when it came to matters such as survival.
XXX
Exponential growth was a beautiful thing.
In just an hour I had already created a foothold that I was reasonably sure could hold off entire armies. Just a day had passed and I had my doubts about whether something could dislodge me from my current position as I had already doubled the amount of land that I had under my control, and tripled that under my direct surveillance. My industrial base had grown and I was pumping out units in a near never-ending literal tidal wave of metal that came pouring out of Foundries that lined the massive tunnels that stretched throughout my territory. I had even gone so far as to create a second layer in some places as I continued to expand in all directions
Along with that, my central territory was starting to really grow upwards, forming an even thicker layer that was slowly growing into what was looking like a miniature Hive Spire made out of Hex-blocks. More Foundries, Bastions and Citadels were being built on to these massive structures as they continued to grow taller and taller with every minute that passed as Engineers finished one block before moving on to the next. In the higher sections, I had even made larger caves not directly linked to the ground networks for the purpose of creating and launching air-based units from within these locations. Already, I had a few dozen of them queued up and I could see them being constructed in these larger, Wing caverns, as I had called this specific formation of blocks. Mechanical arms extended from individual Foundries, linking together to form a stable platform to hold the assembling units until they were fully constructed.
Said units pretty big, all things considered, with a wing span of about nine metres, a height of about two metres, and a length of just over fifteen metres in turn. However, that didn't mean much when their actual volume was rather small for a craft with similar dimensions, mostly due to the various limbs attached to the six metre long body. The main body itself was triangular, shaped like the blade of a dagger and rather flat with a near-bladed edge running along the front while a twin pair of wings extended out from the back of the main body like the guard of the dagger. The wings themselves were each three metres across and fully capable of retracting into the main body when not in use, as a way of conserving space. Aside from that, there were no engine nozzles, no visible sensors and no signs of any muzzles escaping out of what looked like a near pitch-black, non-reflective paint job that was standard for my units. The only thing that really stood out on these things, was the mess of nine metre long tendrils that trailed behind the main body like a massive tail. A total of twenty-five tendrils were attached to the machine, each covered in the same finish and looking just as deadly, tipped with the same technologies as the legs of a Link, plus a bit extra.
I had called them Wardens, specially designed Aerospace fighter drones capable of fighting in space, in atmosphere and even underwater, making them even more lethal than one would think. They were stealth fighters built to be near impossible to spot by any means that most races had, with a few exceptions, and could probably outdo just about every single Ace they had while doing it. For engines, they used four re-worked Anti-Grav Impulse Drives that could let these things fly with no regard to aerodynamics or gravity, letting them pull off maneuvers that simply laughed in the face of conventional fighter craft, even VTOLs. For weapons, they had their tendrils as weapons, tools and a form of ground-based movement if needed, each one not only tipped with their claws, but a Smart Cannon, which was an upscaled, vehicle-mounted version of the Fab-Launchers that was mounted on my Sentries. Four retractable turrets hide within the front edge of the craft and could fire anything that approached it from any angle, while also mounting a similar Smart Cannon themselves. Finally, they were armed with a fabrication bay in their core that could be used to manufacture anything from Missiles, to Bombs, to wet-naval Torpedoes, to Void Torpedoes before launching them through a series of hatches located between the wings of the vessel. Other systems included a small cargo bay similar to that of a Link, reasonably durable shields and armor, colour-shifting skin, ECM, ECCM and a good mix of sensor systems to ensure that almost nothing could take it by surprise.
The end result was a massively potent fighter craft capable of functioning in nearly any environment while also being able to serve in virtually any fighter-type role one could envision. Admittedly, it probably worked best as a general Void or Air Supremacy Fighter, but it could probably work well enough as a Bomber and Scout while doing decently well as an Interceptor. Mind you, building units that filled each role individually probably would have resulted in something that excelled in each given role rather than something that was just 'good enough' at each, but meh. I could mass produce these things at a rate that meant I could get away with it in combat. And I already was as the first few thousand of them came online before being dropped from their Foundries before Anti-Grav systems kicked in and they flew out of the Wing caverns.
Of course, considering the amount of effort I had put into the Wardens, I figured that adding a few ground units was only right, as such, I added three, along with two other entities that technically both were and were not units in the typical sense of the word. I'd leave that for later, so on to the units.
The first ground unit I had created was called the Legionnaire, a near one-to-one replica of the Legionnaire from Splice. Notice, I said 'near', meaning that it wasn't the exact same right down to the smallest detail. That mostly came from the fact I had added a few other things to the mix. For starters, it looked like the Sentry's bigger brother, standing at three metres tall and one point four metres across the shoulder. It was strong, tough and armed with a double-barreled Particle cannon like those my Collectors were armed with while a Banshee Blade was present on the opposite arm. On its back was a backpack-like system that worked as a four-barreled series of mortars connected to an ammunition fabricator that could produce bigger shells than those in a Fab-Launcher. Aside from that, they also came as part of a set that included four Gun Drones and a Wing Board that they could stand on. The Gun Drones could be used as Spotters for the mortar shells, along with being armed with a mix of a re-designed Lascannon and a pair of Mini-missiles, all of these drones also came with a connection point, so that they could also attach themselves to the back of the Legionnaire for transport purposes. The Wing Board was basically a manta ray-shaped drone that allowed the Legionnaire to fly over a given battlefield in style. The Wing Board was armed in turn, and still very dangerous even without the Legionnaire and Gun Drones in support, especially since it had two Lascannons, three Mini-missile launchers, three Banshee Blades, and an upgraded, tail-mounted Transonic Blade that could cut through Power Armor.
If that was it, then Legionnaires would have been dangerous in their own right, serving as a kind of air-mobile heavy infantry unit that had mobility that could probably match that of any group of Assault Marines. Probably better, since each one was equipped with a crude imitation of a Refractor Field. However, that was only part of what made a Legionnaire dangerous, the other part was its ability to connect to units in the immediate area and link them in a network to streamline coordination between units. Not only that, but a Legionnaire was loaded with a smarter AI than was standard for most units, equipped with a mix of more potent learning algorithms and a vast database of tactical information. The combination of this meant that it could also act as an officer in the field that could micromanage units for me, letting me designate objectives and let these things worry about the details. An example of that might be clearing a building, I set that as an objective and then the Legionnaire would command the lesser units in how to get it done.
Simulations had already shown promising results from it, especially since the machine was as large as a Space Marine and probably had the strength to stand a decent chance against them in a one on one fight. Mind you, I'd probably get the chance to test that given the Blood Ravens in the system.
The second ground unit I created wasn't as smart as the Legionnaire, but I still considered it important. I called it the Templar, a four point five metres tall assault bot with reverse-jointed legs, a high collar covering most of the lower-half of the head, no neck, and a hunchback-like stance to give it both excellent mobility and a much smaller target profile. Two metres across the shoulders, with four arms coming from said shoulders and a pair of Fab-Launchers reworked as Heavy Weapons mounted on each shoulder along with a massive backpack that functioned as a six-barreled Plasma mortar. Each arm ended in a hand with four fingers and a thumb, all of which were tipped with Transonic blades and acted like a Power Fist while each forearm was armed with both a Fab-Launcher and a Flamer for further combat needs. Added to this was the hidden pair of Mini-Missile Launchers built into the chest of the machine, protected by thick armor plating and enough self-repair systems that the Templar could be seen visibly healing from attacks that would have killed a lesser unit. These things were my true heavy infantry, not too much smarter than a Sentry, but just as capable of learning from experience, and a dozen times more difficult to put down. They were designated for line breaking and breaching, not to mention the added bonus of being heavy-duty shock trooper-style units. Once more, simulations had shown that these things would serve well in their current roles, especially after some destructive testing was carried out to see just how tough I could make them.
Needless to say that I was happy with the results.
Lastly, the third ground unit I had created was a step beyond infantry units: A tank. The tank itself was actually more of a walker-tank mounted on six triple-jointed legs that each ended with a six talon-tipped toes that were both Transonic and Power weapons in function and form. Above the legs, was the main body of these machines that housed the primary and secondary weapons of these machines, along with a number of other systems designed to make them utter terrors on the battlefield. Their primary weapon was an upscaled, heavy Smart Cannon that was mounted on a rotating turret on the upper part of the main body, usually rotated to look like some kind of horn facing backwards unless in use. Admittedly, that seemed like an odd choice, but it wasn't in practical terms when you were talking about a weapon with a barrel length that was more in line with most artillery pieces, at six point five metres long and a minimum shell diametre of one hundred millimetres. These things wouldn't be all that effective in terms of anything but long-distance tank hunting, artillery duels and shooting directly at enemy fortifications. Trying to use them in an urban situation, against mobile forces, would be pointless.
Of course, this was why the machines had secondary weapons, which were meant to do most of that work. Twelve gimbal-mounted weapon arrays dotted the sides, front, back and top of the massive machine with the ability to fire in any direction, even near-directly down, and all armed with either rotary Heavy Fab-Launchers or twin-linked Smart Cannons. Additionally, six massive optical sensor clusters, acting like oversized eyes, could double as variable yield Laser weapons, capable of incinerating anything that came within the line of sight of them. Not to mention the addition of several area denial and anti-infantry systems to keep enemy boarders away. For protection, these large, eight metre tall machines were loaded out with thick armor plating that was solid Ceramite no less than twenty centimetres thick at the weakest point, laid out over Adamantium bracing that connected to a skeleton made from the same impossibly strong metal alloy. To make things even worse for any opposing force, laser point defenses were dotted over the hull in recessed locations, combined with VLS missile fabbers mounted on top of the eight metre tall machine. Further, I added no less than five self-repair systems, plus redundant backups, and another four Refractor Fields over the top, turning the walking tank from 'durable beyond reason' to 'By the Emperor! Why won't it die!?'.
Admittedly, I probably could have given it proper Void Shields if I had access to more Warp-conductive materials, but the Refractor Fields were the next best thing. They didn't need Warp-conductive materials and just used advanced gravity manipulation tech to do their job, which worked for me fine since I could mass produce them like they were going out of fashion. Not only that, but even given the massive cost of one of these tanks, I had already started rolling them out from my Foundries with glee, enjoying the sight of the weapon platforms striding forth.
Given all that, I decided to name them Maulers, for the simple fact that anyone that might face these in battle was going to come out of it with far few pieces than they went into the fight with. Well, either that, or they just weren't going to come out of said fight alive. Both outcomes were fine by me.
However, even with these units being pumped out, I still felt the need to create two additions to my forces. These new creations wouldn't set foot on the battlefield, for that wasn't their role, rather, they were designed as digital intelligences and overseers of my forces. I called them Battleminds and Warminds, respectively, both being upscaled versions of the same 'Officer' programming that I had gifted to the Legionnaire, but bigger. The smallest of them, the Battleminds, were designed to command and coordinate efforts across a tactical scale, ranging from a single city, to an entire solar system. Warminds, as a result, were designed with a far greater scope than that. A Warmind, was designed to be able to command war and battle over a scale that, I hoped, would let it fully command forces across a Segmentum, with the smallest scope of its abilities being that of a single solar system. Of course, this was how things varied as they went up, as I followed the old saying that I remembered: "Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics".
For that reason, it followed that while a Legionnaire might command a large group of units, a Battlemind would command all those Legionnaires in a given combat zone, plus any other unit of sufficient intelligence, and direct the course of battles to victory. Likewise, Warminds commanded Battleminds to direct the course of entire wars across massive scales, with me controlling the Warminds in turn.
I had already run a few experiments and seen the results. They showed promise and allowed me to focus less on the smaller details and more on the bigger picture, like a Captain commanding a ship, setting the course and letting the officers command the crew to get it done. Of course, I still remained in control of everything, with multiple kill-switches built into all Battleminds and Warminds, but the ability to focus on less things meant that those things that I gave my attention to could potentially done faster. It all came down to efficiency, war was no different since it was just a contest between who was more efficient in killing their opponents while losing the least amount of assets.
And, as I watched my forces grow in number with every passing second, I could honestly say that I had a lot of assets that I could afford to lose...
XXX
Bound within the cold grasp of the Xeno, Palatine Jenatea could only glare impotently into the darkness that obscured her vision. Metal-clad limbs held her body firmly, preventing her from even moving while she felt the bite of appendages that defiled her body for their own ends, just as they had with the rest of her Sisters. Jenatea had been forced to watch as the rest of her Sisters were stripped of their Holy Power Armor, bound and gagged within the confines of some Xeno-construct. She had screamed and raged and tried to offer as much resistance as possible, but it was for not as the Xenos had simply ignored her words and carried on violating the bodies of her unconscious Sisters.
When her turn came, she had continued doing just that, struggling every step of the way and trying to put up a fight with all the strength she could muster. However, against limbs that could overpower her even in Power Armor, it proved no contest as her struggles remained in vain even as she was forced to view what had become of her Sisters before she joined them.
Jenatea had never felt such shame, nor so dirty, in her entire life of service to the Golden Throne. Lightning-fast limbs had restrained her own body and tying it down just like her other Sisters while things attached over her body, blocking out sight and sound even as they further defiled her by attaching two more limbs to her chest. The Palatine had felt them attaching, squeezing over her exposed breasts and swallowing them whole. Even now, she could feel the large cups kneading into her breasts, her rage and indignity only growing with each action while she her muffled cries of swift retribution fell silent thanks to the extremity lodged down her throat. Jenatea knew that even without it, she still wouldn't have been able to even hear her own voice thanks to the limbs pressing into her ears, but that didn't matter to her.
Time had become meaningless to her, having lost all reference for it after being submerged in darkness with nothing to work with. As a result, the Palatine had no way of knowing just how much time had passed, nor did she know what had happened around her as she was further dirtied by the Xenos that held her captive. Already, they had dirtied her too much for her to voluntarily remain silent on the matter, violating her two of her lower entrances, but not claiming her in totality. Her core remained, as of yet, untouched by their foul machinations, but the Sister of Battle had no idea how long that would last for, nor did she wish to find out. The mere thought of it, however, was enough to cause her rage to spike, raw indignation and fury for the treatment of her Sisters following as metal limbs offered no meaningful reaction to her struggles.
In a small fragment of her mind, Jenatea noted that it was perhaps the only thing she could do; To struggle fruitlessly against bonds capable of overpowering a Space Marine. However, fueled by her rekindled fury, she hardly cared as she threw herself against what restraints held her, getting nothing, but hoping for the chance to kill even one more Xeno that might come for her.
That, of course, was when things suddenly changed as she felt all sensation in her feet disappear.
Alarmed by this, Jenatea cried into her gag as the numbness crept up her legs, washing over her lower body as it climbed higher and higher. As it did so, she felt all sensation in her body disappear giving her a feeling of simply floating as nothing within a void as the numbness climbed up her chest. She shivered in disgust at the contact even as a spark traveled up and down her spine in revulsion at what was being done to her as she felt something forcing itself into her nose before the feeling of weightlessness overcame her. When it did, she could feel nothing, neither the familiarly tug of her own skin, nor the bite of cold metal on her flesh. It was as if her very soul had been stripped from her body, leaving her in some empty void in which she would remain. Such a thought was one that would have made her shudder, unsure of how to feel as she considered what violations might be visited upon both her body and her Sisters. Jenatea felt sick, unsure of what to expect from this change of events even after being defiled as she had been.
Certainly, she didn't expect what happened next.
From out of the darkness, a mote of golden light grew and grew, growing brighter until it felt like she was looking into the very heart of a star. Bathing in that same light, she felt her worries melt away as the light comforted her with its gentle radiance as a something stepped from the very core of the light. Looking at it, Jenatea wanted to kneel, to prostrate herself in awe and submission before the awe-inspiring figure of the God-Emperor of Mankind stepped forth from the light, clad in master-crafted, golden armor that she knew had no equal. The Palatine couldn't look away from the sight before her, there were a dozen things she wished to say, to offer her prayers and beg for forgiveness, but her voice remained mute even as the God-Emperor came closer and closer until He was looming over her. As He walked, silence reigned as He continued to gaze down upon her, judging her actions with wisdom only He could carry.
And then the moment was broken as He spoke words that shattered all she had built her life around.
"My Daughter... Once, I Looked Upon You With Pride, Knowing That You Would Stand As A Pillar For Your Fellow Man... Now, I See That I Was Mistaken..." He spoke, His words hitting Jenatea like a Thunder hammer and causing all her thoughts to come to a crashing halt. The Palatine couldn't believe her ears, couldn't believe what she was hearing from the very God she worshiped with every ounce of her being. Had she the ability to speak, Jenatea would have begged and pleaded for the God-Emperor to reconsider, to know that it was not a mistake, that she wasn't a mistake. Alas, she couldn't speak in the presence of her God, nor could she even feel her body, making such actions impossible for her to carry out, only making her more frantic as the God-Emperor continued.
"I Misplaced That Pride, Believing That You Would Not Fall To The Temptations Of The Xeno, The Traitor, Or The Heretical... That You Gave Yourself To The Xeno, Rather Than Staying True To The Spirit Of Man, Was Perhaps The Most Unexpected Eventuality. It Is Disappointing To See One Such As You To Fall So Far..." The God-Emperor stated as Jenatea felt herself breaking with each new word, despair growing in her gut as her body went cold, freezing in her veins even as she tried to force herself awake from what must have been some kind of Xeno-induced nightmare through sheer force of will. Such a hope proved to be false as her perception of the world remained the same, remained fixed on the Golden body of the God-Emperor.
"However, You Had Such Potential... Potential To Lead Your Fellow Man To Greatness, Had You Stayed To The Path I Had Laid Out For You... Now, All I See In You Is A Disappointment And A Waste Of Such Potential. Potential That Could Have Been Used For Something Beyond Submitting To Xenos And Dragging A Dozen More Along With You..." Had she been able to feel her face, Jenatea was sure that she would have cried in and sobbed in misery from the words of her Emperor. Self-denial flared, trying to affirm her belief that she was still loyal to the Imperium and the Emperor, still faithful to the beliefs of the Imperial Creed, still Pure. It hardly mattered in the end, her voice was silent, and the Emperor had judged her unworthy of any more of His time, as he turned around and started walking away, back into the darkness. As He turned his back to her, the Golden light becoming less welcoming as looking directly at it started to hurt her eyes. Slowly, steps were taken as He started walking away from her, disapproval and disappointment oozing from His Golden form as He called back to her over a shoulder without bothering turn to look at her.
"Do Not Return, Jenatea Alon, For One Who Consorts With Xenos Has No Place Among The Ranks Of Mankind..." And with those parting words, Jenatea felt her world finally shatter in its totality. The cold light of His Grace slowly disappearing into the distance with him, turning into a pinprick of light before being subsumed by the comforting darkness once more. The Palatine was left to her thoughts, unsure of herself as her convictions were shattered, leaving her with traitorous thoughts even as the cool embrace of darkness coiled around her, soothing her.
In the end, Jenatea Alon didn't know what to think about anything, having been broken to her core and left as little more than the bare foundations of a person.
XXX
Neta grinned as she watched the simulation come to an end.
The work of weeks within His Holy Realm allowed complex problems to be solved within what could have been minutes or even hours outside of it. Looking at the broken mental-diagram of the Sister of Battle, Neta found herself looking at just one more example of this in action.
Admittedly, the work hadn't been difficult, but iterative work had provided better and more efficient solutions that had then been tested further. Reverse-engineering of the Meme-virus known as the 'Tears of the Dragon' had allowed such to work. Scans had been taken from the various captured Sisters of Battle as they were submerged in a liquid solution laden with the Divine Nano-machines of her Lord. Neural architecture had been mapped down to the smallest detail and placed within multiple simulations, accelerated far beyond the normal levels of His Holy Realm to rapidly get results from various tests. Each test granted them more and more date of not just their work on what He had called 'Basilisk Hacks', but also on the psychology of those that had been captured, and how best to Enlighten them to the Truth.
The first two hundred and sixty three runs had been as such, with this being the first time that Neta had allowed this particular Basilisk Hack, dubbed The Enlightener, on an organic subject.
And Neta could only preen in pride at her work, at how well it worked as predictive algorithms parsed new data and showed that the Sister of Battle in question was utterly broken. Now, she was an empty husk of a woman without direction, her faith shattered and ready to be replaced by something far grander than the worship of a long-dead corpse on a throne. The reason The Enlightener even worked so well was partly due to that, because the Battle-Sisters were fanatics and couldn't truly function without their faith to support their world views. Take that away from them, and what was left? Only a broken husk of a person, that's what.
Still, even with them reduced to such a state, it would take time to rebuild them to serve a far more deserving Lord, her Lord. Already, the work had begun as soon as the Nanite-ladden liquid had made contact with their bodies, severing sensation and disconnecting their brains from the rest of their bodies, effectively hijacking all those connections to create a Blessed Interface not unlike the one that she now had with Him. Even as that was going on, the Nanites were working on the women. DNA was being pruned and cleansed of junk strands that weren't needed, returned to the bare origins of Humanity's true lineage, rather than the distorted mutations of the present. From there, Neta had commissioned the Gene-wrights of the Coven to begin work on these women, both cleansing them of their taint, and giving them gifts that He wished to grant them.
Peering at their work with an idle thought, the High-Priestess of the Coven could see how the work was going. Tissue was being redone at the genetic level as bones and organs were disassembled and rebuilt to fit these new blueprints. Complex and mythically advanced cybernetics were mixed with genetic augmentations that often defied belief, only possible through His Grace and Indulgence in them, allowing them to create something new. Just looking at their progress, Neta went from proud to overjoyed to be a part of what she, and the others, believed to be the greatest endeavor in Human history: To create a new, true Human race worthy of following Him and His will.
For that reason, no mistakes would be tolerated. They would do this correctly, as no other option was something that any of them were willing to tolerate as they recrafted the DNA of their subjects with utmost care and attention to detail. Every change was checked thousands of times, by multiple subject-matter experts and tested to the point of destruction in simulations and against their already extensive library of gene-sequences. Such measures were replicated for even individual components of cybernetic implants and even further for those genetic sequences that were crafted from scratch rather than replicated from their data-archives. Their minds were also being crafted in a similar way, with Neta directing each change and subjecting it to the same, or harsher, standards as with the rest of the Coven's work. Neta had resolved that these thirty six women would be masterpieces worthy of her Lord, and nothing would change that fact. Not only that, but if he approved, then they might yet be able to enlarge the scope of the project, especially since they had already started applying select changes to themselves, after getting His approval for such an undertaking. Already, several dozen Eggs had been collected from the captured women and were being cleansed and studied in a separate space, away from them as their minds were refined, their bodies sculpted and their very souls cleansed and turned to a better purpose.
Even so, Neta kept a special watch out for any potential mutations that could form. The last thing that she wished for was that her Lord was reduced to commanding the like of mere mutants.
XXX
AN: And there you have it! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and feel free to comment and offer feedback. I'll try and take anything onboard and improve as I go.