The smell of baking sweet breads made my mouth water as I walked into the galley. Morai and Ennoia were already present, and the Blank women greeted me with crossed arms and short bows. Morai's arm was now properly bandaged, and now that I could see her more closely, I noticed that she was moving with a strange stiffness. It was then explained that she had actually been injured with more severity than I had initially realized, and had suffered multiple broken ribs, a lacerated liver from a stabbing Necron talon, and a bruised lung. When I expressed shock at why she did not complain, Morai gently laughed, and explained to me that as the sacred guardians of the Heart of Worlds that she had been trained to disregard pain that could be regenerated from, which encompassed everything that wasn't immediately life threatening.

"Recovery, five days," Morai replied in stilted English. I was happy that the sisters were continuing to pick up the language.

"Well, don't overextend yourself," I said as I sat myself down on my large wing-backed captain's chair in the corner of the room. "We always get into trouble, so having you both around is essential." The Blank women nodded with another bow, and went to sit down at their own table.

Alberich walked into the galley shortly after I entered, and sat down to my right. The German psyker was wearing another crisp (and decidedly evil) black military style button down shirt and trousers, and his blond-white hair was combed and neatly parted. The fact that he looked exactly like Tzeentch's male humanoid avatar was extraordinarily upsetting, and I wasn't sure if I would ever get over it.

"Good morning, my-" Alberich began speaking until his eyes went to my neck. "Oh! What has caused this?! And your skin is burned again!" the psyker asked in shock. He reached forward, and I reflexively cringed away.

"I had a dream. My dreams are getting pretty intense," I replied. "Please don't make a big deal out of it."

"I also experienced bad dreams last night," the German psyker offered with a concerned expression. "We can speak of such things later, but I worry that this world is not as abandoned as it seems, as I have an intuition that I cannot shake."

"Well, there's that other Tech-priest here at that little research tower nearby. His name is Magos Jinnicky. He's one of Nimmie Amee's friends, and he was stationed here awhile back, I think. Null found one of his courier drones this morning."

"Aside from Jinnicky," Alberich elaborated, tapping against the gold metal of the tabletop before me. "I had some unusual dreams last night." The German psyker closed his eyes, and it appeared as if he were desperately trying to remember something as he shook his head. "I don't know. I-I have a feeling that this world is not empty. We should be on guard when we go outside."

Well now, this certainly wasn't a good development, I thought. I wanted a vacation from people, and if it turned out that this world had a secret population of troublemakers, cultists, or any other weird twists, I'd definitely be upset.

After a few moments of emotional irritation, Zok appeared from the kitchen to ask if I wanted anything before the meal was finished baking, which would be within ten minutes. I settled on a cup of recaf as I waited for my other crewmembers to arrive. Recaf was a pretty good chicory-scented substitute for coffee, and I was beginning to enjoy it.

The rest of my crew gradually began to file in, and I watched as they entered the dining area. While everyone had crowded themselves around the long table directly before me last night, everyone was now beginning to spread out through the dining room, claiming their own spaces. The tall Skitarii woman named Kaas appeared just before Lian, and she sat herself at a square table by herself. Lian wore loose black fatigues to brunch, and he bowed respectfully as he saw me, his massive fist to his heart. I inclined my head in greeting. The Fallen Paladin seated himself to my right, pushing his giant frame into a chair that was slightly too small for him. Rasputin then arrived. The Mad Monk did not look good; he was wearing a very loose-fitting dark robe that appeared a touch too large on his wiry frame. His long hair was greasy, newly grey, and his skin glistened with sweat, making him look particularly "Rasputin-y" this morning. When the infamous historical monk saw me, his blue eyes widened in delirium, and he prostrated himself before me on the metal floor while muttering prayers in Russian.

"Just go sit somewhere," I said dismissively, not in the mood for this right now.

"Yes, my beautiful tsarina, light of the sun, burned queen of heaven. The one who has seen-"

"Just sit down. Relax," I interrupted, and pointed to a table a little further away from me.

Ennoia stood from her seat, and decided to help. The Blank touched Rasputin's shoulder with her pale hand, apparently frightening the lost Russian, who startled and swore with a thick "blyat" at seeing Ennoia's placid gold mask. Despite this, he soon calmed down as Ennoia gently guided him to sit at another table by himself near the door. Even from here, a faint whiff of sour body odor could be smelled wafting from the psyker. Rasputin needed a shower, and he appeared entirely freaked out.

And why was Rasputin here anyway, I grumbled to myself. Since when was there a Rasputin analog character in Oz? I'd have to have a little chat with Tzeentch concerning his plans when I inevitably saw him again. This was seriously deviating from canon.

Null was last to arrive, and a floating servo skull trailed behind his left shoulder with a low hum along with the 99-Z lady servitor. Jiminy, the gold mantis drone, was perched watchfully on Null's shoulder like a pet bird. The Tech-priest observed where we were all sitting, and decided to seat himself at Kaas' table, leaving 99-Z to stand motionlessly near the galley entryway.

Everyone was now here, and the room was quiet as I noticed that everyone was looking at me. Oh, I'm the captain, right. "Thank you all for coming," I said, lounging back in my chair. "So, we're here for a week or two, if I remember what the ship told us. We need to regenerate before heading south toward Molech. After the last world, I'm putting a moratorium on causing disasters, coups, and apocalypses. We haven't been very lucky lately. No trouble, okay?" My remarks were punctuated with a half-hearted chuckle from Alberich. I watched as Zok appeared from the kitchen wearing his black apron. The Tzaangor made eye contact with me, waiting for my instruction. "So, let's have brunch first before any serious talk. We've got a few things to go over."

The Tzaangor nodded in response, and walked back into the kitchen with a short bow. Whatever he was cooking smelled great, and as long as Rasputin didn't raise his arms or sit directly next to me, it was very pleasant in here.

This meal consisted of little freshly-baked pastries that looked like flaky fruit tarts, a platter of cheese, fruit, and dried meats (which included a sliced rack of ribs from a mystery animal). All foods were served on large gold platters that Zok wheeled in, and we were welcome to serve ourselves. After all the food was presented, Zok settled down at a nearby table to enjoy brunch with us. The meat was excellent, and included a finely filleted pink fish similar to smoked salmon. The Tzaangor announced proudly that he had sliced it himself. Getting a cook was the best decision I had made so far coming into this universe. It was incredible for morale, and the food we had been supplied with by Nimmie Amee was extremely high quality.

Brunch, like dinner, was spectacular, and I was amused when Lian and Null both asked me what "brunch" was, which was apparently not a thing at all in the Imperium. Both Alberich and the two Blank sisters raved over the quality of the fruit pastries. The sisters apparently had serious sweet tooths, but sugary foods were not a frequent staple of Nubuan cuisine. The Skitarii woman sat straight backed and robotic while she consumed food with no emotional response whatsoever as she sat at a small table with Null, who nibbled on fruit and cheese. Watching Null interact with Kaas was interesting, as even though Null appeared to have even less flesh on his body than the Skitarii, Null was far livelier and "human" in his body language. Rasputin, being himself, drank what smelled like vodka from a metal flask, and messily ate pastries as he got steadily more intoxicated.

Lian ate a nutrient loaf that had been placed before him by a servitor along with a large platter of sliced cold meat and ribs. Alberich, being ever polite, continued to attempt to be friendly with Lian, who was somewhat brusque this morning. Questions were asked concerning the nutritional requirements of Space Marines, and the Fallen Paladin explained that he typically consumed the caloric intake of three and five baseline male human soldiers when he wasn't engaged in battle, and that his nutrient loaf, if given to normal humans, would kill them because of its intense density of calories, vitamins, and sugars. Because I enjoy being socially inappropriate, I impulsively asked Lian about his "acid spit gland" (I couldn't remember what it was properly called) as we ate. Lian offered to demonstrate it for us, and picked up one of the rib bones from the meat platter, already picked completely clean. He said, "Watch."

The Fallen then placed the end of the bone in his mouth, and held it there for a few moments before removing it. When he removed the bone, it had been visibly dramatically eroded, and it had deep marks where his teeth had held it! Woah!

"You are far more dangerous every time I learn more about you, friend," Alberich had replied, impressed. Lian even smiled for a second, which was actually somewhat adorable.

At some point in the middle of the meal, Virgil, who was seated at the end of my table, quietly complained that he could not enjoy meals anymore considering his holographic nature. Null, overhearing this, called out that he might be able to come up with some sort of energetic imaging to give the hologram the sensation of being able to consume food. While Virgil was still very understandably upset with the Tech-priest, at the very least the hologram offered that he would appreciate such an action.

The Mad Monk ate messily and drank constantly, getting crumbs all over his beard. After seeing the smoked "salmon", he began to complain that he had not yet found any good caviar in this universe. Rasputin was honestly a train wreck, and with his new grey beard and hair, I realized that he now looked more like a drunk Russian Gandalf than a Malcador. But, at the very least, we now had a third human battery in order to keep the Divine Retribution topped off with energy and to power our Parson Shield. As he ate, Rasputin also had the habit of staring unblinking into space which made him very disconcerting.

Our brunch concluded after about 45 minutes, and Zok cleared our tables along with help from two of Null's servitors, which were now wearing black shirts that covered their unsettling torso implants. It made them look like Borg waiters.

"Pardon me, but I do have some announcements," Null spoke up after raising his gold arm.

The Tech-priest and historical genocidal monster from the Horus Heresy gently offered a short and succinct report on the finding of the courier spider drone outside, and that he suspected that the machine had been built by a contemporary and friend of Nimmie Amee.

"This man, Magos Jinnicky, is a Magos Explorator from the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars. He is loyal to the Imperium, but at the same time, holds a forbidden interest in the subject of Travelers. I know very little about him aside from Nimmie Amee's trust in him, which can be seen as considerable as she left this Magos to guard an archaeological dig apparently by himself. This dig, from what I understand, has yielded valuable information concerning the natures of Travelers. Incredibly rare information of at least one earlier Inheritor or Emperor was uncovered here."

"We're also in a dangerous galactic area too," I added. "I've been told that we're only two light years away from a Hell-Forge."

Lian's head whipped toward me, his green eyes shining in alarm.

"This is true," Null sighed, and shook his head. "If any of you are knowledgeable of the current state of the world known as Cyclothrathe, do speak up. I unfortunately do not hold a comprehensive knowledge of this world's current population, armaments, and current conflicts associated with it. It has remained an black spot of ignorance since the events of the Horus Heresy damned it."

"We're that close to a Hell-Forge?" Lian gaped, obviously disturbed.

"What is a Hell-Forge?" Alberich asked.

"Nowhere even you would wish to be, German," Rasputin murmured. "I've only read of them. They are machine worlds populated with machine people like Null here, but instead of worshipping their Omnissiah in the form of the Emperor of Mankind, they just-" the Russian turned toward Null and squinted as if considering how to properly describe Chaos-corrupted Tech-priests. "-they descend into mutation and depravity, worshipping themselves and the power of evil. They are utterly damned."

Lian added, "Correct. Denizens of a Hell-Forge have turned their back on the divinity of the Emperor and his light." The Fallen Paladin then blinked repeatedly as he glanced at me. "A Hell-Forge is a machine world devoted to twisted sciences and wholly stained by Chaotic winds. Their corrupted exploration of the machine has no boundary or moral, and the world is a damned place. I know nothing of Cyclothrathe, and simply knew it as a place my Brothers and I knew to avoid."

"Cyclothrathe, designation: Perdita. Classification: confidential," Kaas replied in her monotone voice.

"So no one knows anything about it," I observed. "Well, if all goes well, we'll be out of here soon. Right now, we're a bit stranded, so let's just try to lay low."

"There's something else," Null added as he clenched his four metal hands nervously. "I have been scouring my memories concerning any knowledge of both Ix and Cyclothrathe. And, I discovered something unwelcome that I had initially overlooked when I was speaking with Magos Amee concerning this world. Very recently, as a matter of fact."

I turned toward Null, worried. The Tech-priest looked away from me in fear. This couldn't be good...

"Magos Nimmie Amee, when she spoke to me about Ix and its orbiting Warp Gate, revealed that this world was close to Cyclothrathe, but she also said something else that now plagues me with worry."

Lian continued watching me, and I got the impression that he was looking for my instruction in case Null said something heretical.

"She told me that this Warp Gate had only been newly discovered, and that it had been mentioned that the adepts of the Tower of Reason had hoped to use this new Gate as fast travel between Tar Vigaz and Cyclothrathe. The Magos also said that those of Cyclothrathe were likely aware of this Warp Gate, but since it was only truly discovered mere weeks ago, the hereteks had not had enough time to set up a formal garrison to claim it. In a way, I suppose it is good that the Warp Gate has been destroyed."

"Wait, wait," I anxiously interjected. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but this makes it almost sound like Magos Amee was friendly with Cyclothrathe if her and her adepts were talking about using the Warp Gate to visit that Hell-Forge. Are you sure she didn't say 'Ix' instead?"

"Absolutely certain. She clearly mentioned that it was being discussed that the Gate would be used to visit Cyclothrathe." Null slouched heavily in his seat.

"But, Nimmie Amee, she wasn't a-" I flashed back to the Magos' monstrous spidery appearance and her general deviance from Mars in general. Woah. Was that nice spider lady actually a fucking heretek?

The Tech-priest shook his head. "No, she is not a heretek, at least not a Chaos-corrupted one. She is-or should I say was- an unorthodox Magos of innovation who studied dimension travel. It could also be that my information of Cyclothrathe is incorrect or flawed."

"Cyclothrathe, designation: Perdita. Classification: confidential," Kaas simply repeated in monotone again.

Rasputin groaned at the table as he wiped his nose with his sleeve. I realized that the sour odor coming off of him was now also tinged with liquor. Was he drunk already? "Governor Langwidere had a small group of those mutated metal men called hereteks. Kept them secret from most of the court because they stank and they disturbed the other gentry. She nicknamed this one man 'Sparky' because his name was completely unpronounceable. I always wondered where those mutant people came from."

"And knowing this, you continued to follow her," Null snapped at Rasputin who merely shrugged and said nothing. The atmosphere in here became tense as I sensed Lian's disgust well up within him.

"No, no fighting," I instructed, leaning forward and holding a hand to my head before giving the broken skin on my neck a light scratch. "Null, you've done worse than anything Rasputin could possibly have done. Stop fighting. Get along."

Virgil, who sat on his own near the end of the long table, continued to glare at the Tech-priest, but said nothing.

Null, feeling suddenly defensive, briefly glowered at both Lian and Rasputin (who still seemed completely nonplussed). Unconcerned, the Mad Monk coughed, retrieved a small flask from within his robes, and took another long drink.

Huffing with exasperation, Null then began to speak again: "I only wish to help us, and I hold full and unquestionable loyalty to the light behind the Omnissiah, unlike some individuals here. Truthfully, I do not know why Nimmie Amee said this, and I may simply be somehow misinterpreting her words. Or, maybe the world of Cyclothrathe has somehow been misrepresented by history, and something has since changed, I am still unsure. But, I say what I say to you all for full transparency and as a precaution before someone, or all of us, decides to blunder into trouble outside. At this point, this vessel is more dangerous to a world than a barrage of cyclonic torpedoes."

I angrily leaned back in my chair as I felt the warmth of my gold Corona briefly lick across my shoulders. It felt uncomfortable against my tingling skin. I began again. "So, this segues into my question: Does anyone have any other suggestions on what we should do here other than just sitting aboard here until the Divine Retribution heals up?"

I observed the galley as no one said anything, but then, Null raised his gold hand again to speak. "Go."

"I would, if possible, be interested in meeting with Magos Jinnicky. I have my servo skull here monitoring for any incoming remote communications from him; his tower is about twenty kilometers away into the mountains. Once the Divine Retribution regains its full mobility, I suggest we fly for an in person visit. I'm curious about this dig site. It might contain information that could help you here in this universe, Inheritor."

"Oh!" Alberich abruptly cried out beside me, suddenly appearing excited. "We now have the Horse of a Different Color! The flying car from Evna!"

"Ah, yes," Zok rumbled with a nod of his beaked head. "Horse of a Different Color is a small flyer, and her typical range, from what I remember, is fully interplanetary on a full charge. But, she can only fit two to five passengers, depending on weight."

"That new flyer will need to be investigated for any taint before I feel confident using it, mind you. The fact that it flew with no pilot and little fuel is evidence of a particularly willful machine spirit, or something darker," Null explained.

"She's a wonderful little flyer, and I'm sure she's well. She's just a little damaged from her recent adventure," the Tzaangor added, his beak twisting into a smile. "I remember seeing her fly during the Parade of Champions earlier this year. The announcer said that her machine ghost is unique and spirited, much like that of a normal horse." Zok then turned toward me, and stood from his seat. He swept into a bow before asking: "Permission to be given the responsibility of watching over the Horse of a Different Color, Captain."

"I second Zok be given responsibility over that splendid little car," Alberich added happily with a nod. "He is quite the driver! For those who do not know, Zok was the reason we were able to get to the port. He stole the car, and drove it masterfully down through the city, evading all the authorities!"

I smiled. "Okay, Zok, you can watch over the Horse of a Different Color. That's fine. I doubt anyone else here knows how to drive like you do, anyway."

"I'll still need to examine it before anyone takes it flying," Null instructed, his voice curt.

"Of course. After this meeting, if Magos Jinnicky hasn't gotten back to us yet, how about you go into the hold to check the flyer? It's a really neat machine, and I'm sure you'll appreciate it."

"Helpful information. Rahm holds skill in various flight protocols including various models of small interplanetary flyers," Kaas added to this discussion in her inhuman voice. "Status concerning Skitarii unit Rahm?"

"Rahm will live," Null offered. "I have finished his new heart, but he will have to remain in a coma for at least another day. Because of this, I'm going to require that you hand over your xenos-crafted rifle. It needs to be further studied before usage, and I do not want it to explode on anyone else in the middle of combat again."

"Expression of gratitude. Expression of goodwill. I obey," Kaas responded with a flat voice.

"When I heard what happened to that man, I doubted that he would live. This is some impressive medicine, Null," Alberich responded with a friendly tone toward Null, who, like normal, looked away coldly. Once a mutant always a mutant to that Tech-priest, I guess.

Rasputin snorted and turned to Alberich again before laughing. "I can't get past that you're not actually governor Langwidere's missing lover. I mean, look at you. Heinrich took your old body and used it to flee the system, probably expecting you to be captured by the Evian security. You're lucky that you're even here at all," the Mad Monk chuckled with a retch. "I have a warning for you, lost little German. If Lady Langwidere managed to survive the ruination of her planet, rest assured, she's never going to stop looking for you. The woman holds a grudge like no other I have ever known. She will bend heaven and earth to hunt you down, so hope that she expired with the alien invasion!"

Alberich shifted uncomfortably in his seat before turning to the Mad Monk, angling his chin upward before he responded. "But now, we're thousands of light years distant from Langwidere, the Nome King's army, and the Imperium. Surely we are out of their reach now."

Rasputin laughed heartily. "Oh, the ignorance! How long have you been in this universe, kolbasnik? Did you just wake up here yesterday?"

"What does 'kolbasnik' mean?" Virgil quietly asked the room as Rasputin continued to laugh rudely, almost braying like a donkey.

The Mad Monk shook his head. "Ignorant German, the Imperium's reach is vast. It spans the entire galaxy. We are over forty thousand years into the future, and mankind has been ambitious. The enemies of mankind are as numerous and as widespread as humanity is! At the very least, this vessel and the tsarina piloting it is anointed by God, and I am ever so excited to finally see what wonders the galaxy holds! Spasibo!" Rasputin held up his flask, and began to drink again.

"The drunk is right," Lian answered with a scowl. "We're in a more crowded galactic area now as well, but at least our vast distance from Tar Vigaz offers some security."

"I sure hope so," I offered. Suddenly, I remembered something important concerning our confrontation in the Vigaz system, and I cringed. "So, everyone, I'm pretty sure an Inquisitorial warship saw us right before we hit the Warp Gate. Is there a way for them to hunt us down using what little they saw?"

Null's animated eyes registered surprise. "They did? I thought we evaded them. Are you certain?"

I nodded.

"It was bound to happen one of these days, I suppose," the Tech-priest sighed dramatically. "Depending on how much of a look the Imperium got, the information might be seen as some kind of technical glitch or a Warp-induced hallucination from the presence of the Warp Gate. Do you happen to know if we were comprehensively scanned? And, how long did the scan last if you know?"

"Just a moment," I replied, thinking back. "Right before the beak of this ship touched the Warp Gate, we were seen."

"It is fortuitous that the Warp Gate was destroyed, if tragic for future travel," Lian remarked. "Without proper study, it is likely that even if they confirmed your presence as a voidship that the Imperium would remain ignorant of our currently location."

"It seems the xenos did us a favor destroying it," Virgil laughed dryly.

"But, there were other parties that saw us as well using metaphysical skills," Alberich added, worry now emanating from his soul. "Not just the Imperium. The machine aliens, the Necrons, they saw and sensed us enough to chase after us and find us! Who is to say that they would not continue to hunt us? And, those wicked red Chaos Space Marines and their sacrifices to the Inheritor aboard the other human ship in the spaceport. Will they all eventually catch up to us?"

At hearing this, the room was shocked into stunned silence. Oh, right, Alberich had also somehow seen Word Bear's human sacrifice ritual! Before I could sputter out some kind of explanation on what I had seen, Lian quietly spoke, "For all who do not know, there were several Word Bearers inexplicably present during the battle of Port Aubergine, one of whom I recognized as Evna's resident Astartes villain, Harry Smith. Or, as he goes by his nickname, 'Word Bear'. Strangely, these Word Bearers seemed to wish to aid as in our escape against Langwidere's forces. And now they're engaging in sacrifices? Inheritor, is this true? When did you and Alberich see such things? Do you have any explanation for this?"

Everyone was looking at me, and I felt put on the spot as my Corona emerged again, causing a few eyes to shift away in submission. "It's true. It happened. Both Alberich and I had a vision as we were passing the spaceport that Word Bear and his Brothers were engaged in some sort of ritual." I took a deep breath as I began to attempt to explain the disturbing scene. "So, I sensed that the Word Bearers had hijacked a merchant ship to flee the system. When our shields were low, and almost gone, I-" I paused, cringing heavily. I hope what I said next didn't get me purged by my present company, despite my status as an Inheritor. "I sensed that Word Bear and his Chaos Marine friends were holding some kind of sacrificial ritual on their ship. The goal of this act, and I might be wrong about this, was... was to 'honor' me and help me. During the ritual, Word Bear was calling me 'God-Empress', 'Star-Child', and 'Dark Queen'." I turned to Virgil, who stood watching me with horror. "Remember when our shields were at 2%, and then they suddenly went back up to 60%? That happened right after Word Bear sacrificed part of the merchant ship's astropathic choir to... to me. It saved us."

No one said anything. This was bad.

"Well now, this is certainly a development," Null responded with a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "There is an old saying by an ancient Terran philosopher that states: 'History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes'." The Tech-priest then began to laugh nervously. "Perhaps this sort of behavior is truly genetically inbred into the Word Bearers traitor legion. Maybe they have a instinctual need to seek and worship what they perceive as divinity."

Lian growled. "Word Bearers are treacherous. Even if given the opportunity to praise the light, they will certainly pervert it to their own means. This legion venerates the Chaos Gods with religious fanaticism. Are you certain in what you beheld, Inheritor?"

"Yes," I answered sadly. "They were very clearly referring to me as God-Empress. I- I'm not-" this was upsetting, and I found myself stumbling over my words.

The Fallen Paladin's expression softened, and he began to reassure me. "Do not concern yourself too much with this. The manipulations of Chaos take this ancient legion to places of irrational delusion. Even if you hold the mantle of Inheritor, it doesn't meant that you are expected to smile upon their wicked, twisted worship. Are you familiar with the Word Bearer legion of traitor marines?"

I nodded. "Yeah, actually. From what I remember, the Emperor got very upset seeing Lorgar obsessively worshipping him, and by also seeing the Word Bearers spreading around a new fanatical religion centered around him. Eventually, the Emperor snapped, and formally rebuked Lorgar, but I don't remember specifically how."

Another quiet moment filled with tension, and Lian cleared his throat. "Our histories teach us differently, but know this: the Word Bearer legion has betrayed mankind, and is now no longer on the side of the righteous. While we should disregard them, I am admittedly disturbed that a splinter cult of these marines are now behaving as if you are their new living divine Dark Queen. You have done nothing to court them, yet they still do this. They appear deluded, completely deranged."

"I would also heavily advise staying away from them, even if they display devotion, Inheritor," Null cautiously spoke up. "Even if they seem that they venerate you, their devotion is not pure, and as before, will likely corrupt into poison, as is the way of their nature."

I shook my head. Fuck, now I had Word Bearers worshipping me! First the world of Rhadabus, now this! "Yeah, no problem there. I'm not interested in a bunch of crazy Word Bearer followers."

Sighs of relief passed through this room.

"But, there's also something else that's been bothering me about Word Bear. Alberich and I ran into him randomly outside of his bookshop in Evna when we were out getting fitted for costumes the other day. The Family of Liberty decided to try and kill us in an ambush, but Word Bear stepped in and quickly killed every single cultist in a few seconds. He then told us that he knew about the Wizard of Molech, and that I was a Traveler. How would he know these things? We still don't know much about whoever this 'Wizard' is that guards the Warp Gate, but this random Word Bearer knew about it?"

Null quickly answered, "Chaos Marines lie, and will lie to bring any sort of advantage to themselves. Certainly, this was some sort of deception. Word Bear did attempt to get you to follow you back into his shop, as I recall overhearing through local surveillance. You never would have left!"

"Yeah, but..." I trailed off, remembering what the Chaos Marine had said. "I never mentioned anything about the Wizard or Molech and what we're doing. He just... he just knew all this and offered this information freely! How did Word Bear know this?"

Lian's soul was now bright with revelation, and I heard him gasp deeply. "He has a book! A book with that very distinctive name! I recall this now!"

"A book?"

"Yes! The Great Brotherhood of Light in Evna has a very reluctant diplomatic tie with this scurrilous individual. A day before Langwidere's party, Word Bear used a communication mirror to speak to Master Foras, Librarian Rezel, and myself. He requested passage aboard our voidship in order to depart Tar Vigaz, and suggested that we also leave, hinting that the world was now in danger. This was before any revelation of the full extent of Langwidere's corruption and the Necron menace! Word Bear knew, and while Master Foras informed me that Word Bear was skilled in divination, he also said that he deals in Traveler artifacts, objects from other dimensions. He offered to trade some of his valuables for passage aboard, but we declined. One particular object he displayed to us was a large blue book with gold lettering. It was titled 'The Wizard of Molech!' It had a profane symbol of the God of Fate across its cover."

I paused, now remembering just how uncanny our confrontations with Word Bear had actually been. "Oh man, I remember now! I also saw him at the palace masquerade party, and he told me that he sells trans-dimensional objects to the rich of Evna. The reason Langwidere and the people at her party knew all about The Wizard of Oz was because Word Bear somehow got a hold of that movie, the same one given to us by Orikan! I don't know how or where, but this is very strange!"

"Yes! I remember as well!" Alberich chimed in. "There is also a spiritual strangeness around this giant man. I've never liked him. His soul is dark, and he is uncomfortable to be close to. He even implanted a suggestion into me to have me drink at the bar instead of remaining by my Leader's side!"

"And that's where you met Luukai, the Tzeentchian cultist! Did Word Bear actually set all this up? Did he somehow set up that whole thing with you changing your body with Heinrich?" I asked.

Rasputin groaned dramatically. "You see, this is why you should never even tangentially associate with Tzeentchian cultists. This sort of coincidental 'just as planned' nonsense seems to happen even if you just simply talk to someone associated with that Chaos power. That god will destroy you for his own amusement, ensnare you in his complex plans for his entertainment, and he'll do it so well that you won't even know it's happening."

The uncomfortable atmosphere grew heavy in the galley at the mentions of a Chaos God's name, and nervous glances were now being exchanged by Kaas and Null. Alberich sat beside me wearing a concerned, but stoic face. It appeared that he was trying his best not to show emotion as this very sketchy topic was discussed. An internal sense suggested to me that I would have to keep a very close eye on him. In addition, I really didn't want to go into how Alberich got body-swapped. Luckily, no one was presently asking about the former beastman's new body, so I kept my mouth shut for now.

"Okay, you know what, this is complicated and it's making my head hurt," I observed, now disturbed. I reached up with a hand to massage one of my temples. Internally, a brief flash of absolute hatred of Chaos welled through my being before I quickly calmed myself down again. "As a rule, no one is allowed to worship Chaos aboard this ship. Lian, did Word Bear ever tell you what was in that Wizard of Molech book? That sounds almost way too coincidental."

"He was vague when he described the book to us, and he has been known to lie, so I do not know much. Word Bear did say that it came from another dimension, and that it was currently 'writing itself', whatever that could mean." Lian leaned back in his too-small chair, his brow furrowed. "As I sit discussing this, there does seem to be a particular strangeness about this situation, this book, and the man who owns it. I sense that there is something powerful afoot here, almost like seeing the brief shadow of a great whale moving under a deep ocean, or the sensation of the passage of a vast unknowable spirit through the depths of the Warp on a long voyage. It feels as if I am being watched, studied by distant eyes who see all and hear everything we say." The Fallen Paladin closed his eyes and shook his head. "Aside from this strangeness, I suspect Word Bear is deeply involving himself in your business from afar, and his involvement has now somehow escalated into him sacrificing innocents to you."

"You know who he is, right?" I asked cautiously, glancing about the room. My eyes caught Null's gaze, who quickly looked away. I also briefly observed Rasputin, who actually just seemed to be zoning out and observing the new grey in his long hair. "Word Bear is a relic from the Horus Heresy. He's Kor Phaeron's grandson."

Gasps echoed through the galley. "Are you certain of this?" Null quickly asked.

"Throne!" Virgil exclaimed.

"He says he is," I replied. "His name is Dralthus Phaeron, and he actually met the Emperor."

"That's ridiculous," Rasputin laughed loudly. "It sounds like old Harry was playing a trick on you. He's a Space Marine, but he's not ten thousand years old. Word Bear loves to tell stories."

Null did not respond, and I could see that his animated eyes were rapidly moving. Had Null... actually met him?

"That's his name. I saw inside his mind when I first met him. He even let me do it, and even encouraged me to 'use my gold light' as he said, to see into his intentions," I responded. Thinking back, every single confrontation with Word Bear was now suspicious. This guy seemed to know things he couldn't possibly know, and he often just happened to be in places we happened to be present. All of these strange occurrences on top of the obvious inexplicable interlacing of The Wizard of Oz into my new life as a God-Empress Warhammer 40k Dorothy, were beginning to make it extremely obvious that Tzeentch was still heavily interfering in my life, and this Tzeentch-decorated interdimensional book was a part of it.

"I've heard the name Dralthus Phaeron used in reference to Word Bear before by Master Foras," Lian added in a contemplative tone. "I never connected it with Kor Phaeron, but Master Foras did mention that Word Bear and his 'grandfather' were foul individuals."

Null lifted his head, and his eyes were twisted into an expression of conflict before he spoke again.

"Kor Phaeron. First Captain under Primarch Lorgar... Kor Phaeron was often accompanied by an Astartes with long black hair. Old records state this," the Tech-priest quietly replied. "This attending young marine was noted to to be shadowing the First Captain at times, perhaps learning from him directly in an unofficial manner with no formal legion assignment. According to old records, of course, I believe."

Both Lian and Virgil glanced toward Null with justifiable suspicion. I decided to quickly telepathically rebuke the two suspicious crewmembers before anyone could say anything: Don't fight with Null. Let me judge him. If he fucks up, I'll give him the Horus treatment, okay? Hearing this, both men momentarily flinched as if struck, and Virgil nodded with a sigh of relief before looking back at me.

Rasputin continued laughing, oblivious to the tense atmosphere. Now that he was somewhat drunk, his anxiety had abated, and the Mad Monk was now inappropriately relaxed. "That's his real damn name? Really? I'll have to shame him if I see him again. What sort of nonsense name is 'Dralthus Phaeron' anyway? It sounds as if it came from a bad writer of fairy tales."

"Welcome to the fucking 40k universe," I choked a laugh that was not well received by natives of the Warhammer 40k universe sitting around me. After another cool moment of being awkward, I watched as Null's servo skull then leaned inward, and seemed to be offering him a long line of spoken code.

"Ah, we've received a response from Magos Jinnicky," Null informed us. "It is encrypted. The Magos is using heavy amounts of security, so I will need to take a short time in deciphering what has been said to us"

"Why would he need to encrypt something like that if we were on an unpopulated world?" I asked as I watched Null stand up. Something didn't feel right here.

"I don't know," Null answered in an unsure tone. "It could be our proximity to Cyclothrathe, or something else, but I will respect this Magos' desire for security. It will take a little time to decrypt this message, so I will ask the Inheritor to meet me on the bridge in one hour to discuss what was communicated."

"I think this concludes our brunch meeting, everyone," I announced to the room, and everyone present nodded. "And Null, is this later meeting just for me, or can everyone else come too?" I asked.

"This is your vessel, Inheritor, so you can call us all to the bridge if you please," Null responded with a bow as he stood up. Still curious, I began to follow the Tech-priest as he quickly departed the galley on his way to his workshop. His servo skull floated eerily nearby at about eye height to me as I walked, and I could not get over how creepy these things were. Behind me, Alberich also hastily stood to walk beside me, also seemingly curious.

"So, now we know that there are Word Bearers running around out there who think I'm their new god, or they're acting that way. And Word Bear, Kor Phaeron's grandson, has a book called 'The Wizard of Molech'. Would you happen to know what it could be about, like at all? Maybe any especially old memories? I remember seeing Word Bear reading a book right before the battle of port Aubergine. Maybe it was the same one?"

Null shook his head and continued to walk ahead. "I do apologize, but I have no knowledge of such a book in any fashion, and I will readily admit that the circumstances around this Chaos Marine and this strangely named book are peculiar. Word Bear always seems to be in the right place at the right time," Null offered. "Very few know of the Warp Gate of Molech, and fewer still know of the Wizard. The book, if I had to postulate, might have to do with interdimensional travel and fate, considering its topic and profane decoration if what Lian says is true."

"I wonder who wrote it?" Alberich mused as I stopped, letting Null walk ahead to his workshop.

"Probably the Architect of Fate himself, seeing how weird shit is getting around here lately," I responded with a shrug.