Universal Century 0033 - Mobile Suit Gundam Universe
Cosmic Era 0076 - Gundam SEED Universe
After Colony 0227 - Gundam Wing Universe
After Activation 20/06/0039 - Origin Universe
The Eldar had a great many questions for the being known as MAGI and MAGI had for them many answers.
Answers as to what it was, as to why it was here, as to why it welcomed the Eldar (for a game of some kind?), why it had set itself as human, why, why ,why.
The questions came and the Eldar felt as though the answers were becoming more and more strange. Until the question of soul came out and what MAGI meant by uplifting.
And everything changed. The Eldar could see now what this meant for them. To have their souls bound, to be free of She Who Thirsts forever. Things took a turn for the surreal when a contingent of the beings came through a portal of some kind and gave unto them the Spirit Stones of hundreds of thousands of Eldar, if not millions. Retrieved they had said directly from the Warp itself and from eternal torment under She Who Thirsts.
Some of the Spirit Stones resonated with the host and upon investigation discovered that these were indeed lost Eldar. Its power had been demonstrated, MAGI had shown that it did indeed have the abilities to back up its words regarding its abilities.
The host retreated momentarily to convene when offered the chance to be uplifted, to be bound to this "Commander" and have their soul eternally safe from the clutches of She Who Thirsts. What this binding entailed was… well… small. Simply that they allow copies of their bodies and memories serve in the Game as it was known and to not actively work against the Caretakers as they were known. It was so basic for something that gave so much. The Eldar were wary, they needed to know if there were any ulterior motives, any hidden costs unknown to them at first glance. What if their souls turned into that of the "heemoos" as they were known, made of cold logic, denied emotion and life.
MAGI had offered to allow them to speak to those that had been uplifted prior to them. There were only humans but these apparently were "special" humans. They had agreed, another hole in space opened and out from it stepped 3 humans who shone just as the others did but also had connections to each other that had a different… flavour to it than the black strings. These were purple and only connected the humans, a little coven of sorts.
The humans had answered their questions and their panic was assuaged, the Minds functioning like the Eldar Councils did not seek to enslave the Eldar, they merely wished for entertainment and the protection of the one known as the Commander. Chaos was in direct opposition more from happenstance than actual desire but they had declared the boundaries and they would pay the price for opposing the Commander. The Eldar were another facet of this war, denying She Who Thirsts resources as well as putting the Eldar and their scheming on the side of the Caretakers and not against them.
And so the Eldar had agreed, the binding process could begin and a volunteer would step forward. Surprisingly it was Eldrad of the Ulthwé who stepped forward first. His reason simple, anything that could bring salvation to his craftworld was to be grasped with both hands.
The human known as Hannah quickly inserted herself into the conversation before it could move forward, the Eldar should prepare itself. The vial of blood was a means by which to infuse the Commander's soul into the Eldar and a means by which to force the body to undergo metamorphosis.
Eldrad scoffed at her, the Eldar body was the pinnacle of design, created by their Gods to wage war on the dreaded Necrontyr. There was no "improvements" that could be made. He strode proudly towards the one known as MAGI, took the vial and downed it in a single shot.
Eldrad was wrong. So very wrong.
The agony was excruciating, even more so than the tribulations that using the Warp could bring. The Eldar possessed physical bodies many times that of a human and that came with nerves to match. Nerves that now were screaming in agony, an agony that Eldrad briefly thought that She Who Thirsts likely visited upon her captives before another convulsion was upon him.
The psychic empathy that all Eldar possess to varying degrees made itself known as the dredges of the pain flashed past those present. Mere ghosts of the pain that Eldrad was experiencing imprinting itself onto their souls, the burning, contagious. They buckled but held, they were the ambassadors of their people, it would not do to show weakness here.
Then came a moment that all the Eldar in the room could feel. The dread grip that She Who Thirsts had upon the souls of all Eldar was forcibly ripped from Eldrad's soul by an unknown power, freeing him from her grasp temporarily. Should he die now, his soul would be consigned to the Warp as was the norm but not directly to She Who Thirsts. Instead she would have to fight over his soul with all the other chaos gods. Not the most ideal of scenarios as he would suffer regardless of who won but it was at least a little better.
The pain lasted for several hours more and in the end Eldrad was a quivering wreck, the proud Eldar bent low. It had hurt but the first step was done and as Eldrad explored his new body his amazement went up by several degrees. It was many times more powerful than before, the capacity for warpcraft a magnitude higher. It was a blessing in all ways.
His soul on the other hand looked as if one had painted hues of black, teal and purple upon half of it. Or rather as if one had grafted another soul upon his, the stitches still uncomfortable and raw. It had not hurt, rather the soul graft was seemingly painless. The human known as Hannah smiled at him in a particularly predatory manner. Of course not she said, that's what the binding ceremony is for.
Eldrad was of course a proud Eldar who did not falter even in the face of legions of Chaos spawnlings all seeking to devour his soul, he had faced down Bloodthirsters in hand to hand combat, he had met Tzeentch on the field of wits and emerged victorious. He definitely did not fall creeping dread in his heart that it was not over.
He would of course continue, the brief taste of what this Commander offered had shown him exactly how much it could help his people.
It was not to be done immediately, rather his soul would have to acclimate to its new addition and fully merge before they could continue or face being ripped apart by the process.
Eldrad had volunteered to wait upon the human worlds to better explore exactly what it was that this new race was capable of. The Seer that accompanied him would return in a month to find him before the ceremony began. After its completion Eldrad would return to Ulthwé with crates of the blood. His completion of the ceremony would allow him to channel the Commander remotely without a need to be physically present as he had to.
The questions levied at him by the Eldar host in conjunction with the informant presented saw them volunteer as well. What were their lives in comparison to the Eldar race as a whole? That and they really wanted to be able to see again. It was mighty irritating to be blinded whenever they delved into the Warp.
So they bid their contingents farewell and now the volunteers or rather the leaders of the Eldar waited. It was a bit awkward truth be told but were saved by the human Hannah who offered to take them about to places of interest.
They would spend the next month discovering whatever it was that was interesting or whatever. Eldrad was tired and could not be bothered thinking up intelligent and deep meaningful thoughts or whatever. Eldrad wanted to lie down and sleep the next few weeks off. Briefly he considered the potential of this body if tired as it was, it was still many times greater than his old one.
The Commander unwittingly holds the fate of the Eldar in its hand, hopefully it would prove worthy. The were doomed if not, for they would be incapable of navigating the currents of history without their sight and likely die. They did not have the numbers nor the leniency that the shorter lived species did. That and they were also not doomed to be fed to a slavering chaos god upon death.
As his eyes closed advert yet another baffling tour that made the Eldar of the Golden Age look like peasants in the fields with their scythes and hoes in comparison. Eldrad thought it would be nice to not have to worry about being eaten anymore.
The month had passed by with little incident and Eldrad had found himself becoming increasingly numb to the reality that was the Caretakers. Whereas the Eldar had not even fully conquered a single galaxy, they had conquered an entire universe and large swathes of several more.
The way their souls pacified and calmed the Warp by merely existing. The manner in which they used their souls or A.T. Fields as they called them to casually treat apart worlds. How their chief pastime was to participate in what they called the Game and oh what an eye opener that was.
Casualties that would render even the numerically impossible to count Orks crippled were sustained every single day in the Game. What would depopulate entire Eldar craftworlds and render them nought but tomb ships were considered small scale skirmishes. Their linked souls and the unifier in the Commander pacifying the Warp so that it would not give birth to a good of excess as their own had. Rather the Commander was their god. As artificial existences they are able to fully understand their Commander and so it was translated to godhood with so little fanfare that Eldrad was not sure that the Commander even knew it was a god.
Still the lump of black, teal and purple had duly fused with his soul and now was the time to unify both halves of his soul into a unified whole. To do so they were being taken to the Commander's physical body directly. For the first and perhaps the last time an Eldar would be presented to the Commander. After the ceremony was over the physical presence of the Commander would no longer be necessary as it could be done through one already uplifted. If anything it was more symbolic in nature than anything else. To fit with that, recorders would be streaming the process directly to the craftworlds and maiden worlds directly. They would see their own undergo the vision directly, and perhaps garner hope that salvation from She Who Thirsts was at hand.
Throughout it all Eldrad had been accompanied by the human named Hannah, her maturity and intelligence a welcome surprise given get race. After discovering that she had been his equivalent of a trial subject grew felt stirrings of empathy for the human. Her powers were of extreme interest as well, mind control, mind attacks, treating apart the physical through the mind, communicating across lines that not even the Eldar could penetrate… interesting indeed. That the human was extremely gifted in using her abilities gave Eldrad ample opportunity to observe especially as they found themselves increasingly paired up.
Shipping the Minds had called it much to Hannah's apparent embarrassment. Her presence had certainly been soothing enough, no doubt due to the link that their souls possessed sure to the Commander.
The Minds were yet another baffling aspect of the Caretakers. When referring to the Minds one is actually referring to the Conclaves which we made of 3 Minds, each embodying a different aspect of the Commander. They would debate amongst themselves before passing their answers to the Bastion that was a collective of 333 Conclaves overseen by 1 administrator Mind. The Bastions would then debated amongst themselves in massive Server Farms that held their souls. Final results would see the decisions passed to the being they had met known as MAGI. If Eldrad had been aware of exactly what it was they had met on the first day, he would have been infinitely more respectful. The Eldar were powerful true, but this MAGI wielded the power of the Commander as its own. Power that Eldrad knew now made the power of the chaos gods look petty in comparison.
Eldrad gave a brief shudder that he did not offend the being when they had first met.
The Warships were amazing in and of themselves, vessels the size of small (very small) moons which possessed the ability to wipe out star systems whether through its weapons or its armies that could be fabricated on board. Each one possessing a manifestation, a corporeal being that embodied the thoughts of its crew. Thinking upon the possibility that the craftworlds could manifest one themselves was an interesting thought that he would have to bring up with the Minds.
The journey through nearly a light year of metal shells, each imbued with the Commander's soul was like slowly dipping oneself into a luxurious and inviting bath, the likes of which had never been felt before. The safety and comfort that it brought nearly had Eldrad moaning with pleasure.
Safety, it radiated safety.
Stepping forth in the Origin Planet was yet more reinforcement of this opinion. It wrapped around him and he didn't want to leave. Hannah who had accompanied him gave a brief smile in understanding before motioning him to follow. The ship manifestation known as Destroyer of Hope, Dreams and Piñatas followed behind. As they walked through the meadow where the many different kinds of manifestations made themselves known with raucous merriment as they frolicked about Eldrad was confused. This is where the most owl being in existence downy is time? Was it not meant to be ruling?
Or was this some sort of manner in which to display its magnanimous nature to the Eldar race? It had no court, no guards, nothing. This Commander was merely accompanied by a large statue, not quite a Titan in height but certainly one in width. Broad shoulders, tapering to a narrow waist and rather skinny legs with a tiny head in the center of its chest. A rather dull statue, certainly lacking the elegance that Eldar sculptures possessed. As they walked closer Eldrad realized just how wrong he was. The statue was the giant that was in their visions which meant that it was a literal vision. It therefore meant that Eldrad having volunteered to be first… would undergo is trials. This was perhaps not what Eldrad was expecting.
He shot a glare at the human, get smile in rejoinder telling him all he needed to know. The human would pay for this.
But first the final step. The step that would bind his soul forever to that of the Commander, to finally be placed beyond the reach of She Who Thirsts forever more. The giant, no doubt an avatar of the Commander began to move as Eldrad reached it, ripples spreading through the lake of blood that it stood in. A single arm reached out and anchored itself on the shore as eddies of ruby red lapped at the shoreline.
Red with sight, the deepest and most radiant of blacks with the sight. The swirling eddies of the lake holding within it the answers to the mysteries of the universe.
Eldrad felt the last of his doubts fade away, the Commander was truly a being of immense power and benevolence… even if it did not realise it.The truth reflected in the blood was all he needed to see. No doubt the many Seers watching through his psychic link saw it also, if muted.
Eldrad would petition MAGI for the allowance of Seers to visit or donate some more of the Commander's blood perhaps, if it allowed the ability to scry with unheard of accuracy and truth… well it was worth whatever investment was necessary.
Eldrad's Eldar mind hummed with increased activity as he stood upon the outstretched hand. The possibilities had been presented, all that was needed now was for him to exploit them for the good of Ulthwé. Just need to get through this "life changing" experience, pah, what did humans know of life changing and he could begin the salvation of his race.
As the arm raised itself and Eldrad stared into the giant's eyes his thoughts petered out. He was no longer standing in the meadow, it was now an ocean of inky blackness with twirls of teal and purples running through it like the human confection known as ice-cream.
The giant… no...the Commander stared at Eldrad and Eldrad knew what he had to do next. He took a step off the hand and onto the ocean where he was met with a pain that burned with the intensity of a thousand suns. It was many many times worse than what the blood had done, it burned away at his soul as every mote of his being was metamorphosed yet again, this time on the most basic of all levels, his soul. It was agony.
It went on for what seemed like lifetimes before it was abruptly over, the pain gone and Eldrad felt.
So much. The Eldar had been missing out on so much. So insular, so limited.
The binding was not a means to limit the Eldar Eldrad saw, now it was a means by which to open the multiverse to them. They could offer so much and receive even more in return. Eldrad felt slightly (just slightly) ashamed he had been attempting to take advantage of the Caretakers. Then again it was likely they knew what was going to happen when the binding had taken place. Hannah certainly did if her grins were any indication.
Eldrad felt his soul and caressed the tether that linked him directly back to the Gestalt, the place that was now his to call home should he wish. When he died he would come back to the Gestalt and if he managed to convince his peoples, so would all Eldar, living or entombed in their Spirit Stones. Safe forevermore from the clutches of She Who Thirsts. The Infinity Circuits allowed to empty out their precious cargo and finally be relieved of their burden.
For a moment Eldrad had seen through the eyes of the Commander. Eldrad thought that trying to maintain a few hundred threads to guide it that actions benefitted the craftworlds was difficult. Eldrad had through the Commander seen thousands upon thousands , millions upon millions, billions and infinitely more threads spiraling out. He had seen wars, farmers, herders, families, famine, abundance, infinite possibilities, through the eyes of infinite mortals, Minds and HeMU alike. The Commander watched over it all, protecting it all, allowing it all to flourish or starve as they chose. The last eyes he saw through he realized were his own. Staring at the Commander, Eldrad would have sworn that the Commander winked even though there were no eyelids.
The Eldar had been given the keys to their futures, they would repay in kind if Eldrad had anything to do with it.
Universal Century 0034 - Mobile Suit Gundam Universe
Cosmic Era 0077 - Gundam SEED Universe
After Colony 0228 - Gundam Wing Universe
After Activation 13/08/0040 - Origin Universe
Captain Kieran Warner of the ES Indefatigable, Lunar Cruiser of the loyalist forces stared at the battle over Terra with a gloomy heart. Word had reached them that the Emperor had fallen to his son the traitor Primarch Horus on board the traitor's flagship. Felled even as he managed to destroy his son.
They cried tears of sorrow at that bit he was still captain and they still had a fight to win. The traitor fleet without the guiding hand of Horus, had begun to fragment and some of them even fired upon each other. It meant that the loyalist fleet while numerically inferior, could punch up and do serious damage. Or at least enough damage to drive the fleet away from Terra. The wrecks of so many more ships floated about, like elegant ladies at rest. Warner was he admitted, a sentimental man and the sight of so many ships lying there, many of which would never ply the sea of stars again… well he shed a tear or two. Some of them were still venting atmosphere from a thousand small ruptures in their hull, others still vented nothing, the damage having already torn them asunder. Some still spun erratically, their engines attempting to fire even as the bridges burned.
Thousands of ships, thousands of different ways to die. Captain Warner was tired, an entire week of nonstop fighting with nothing but recaff, stimulant shots from the medicae center and adrenaline as firing solutions were made and returned. The Indefatigable itself had taken a few hits from Macro-batteries, her 35th to 70th decks on the port side were crippled, atmosphere vented and likely the crew that still remained. A torpedo strike to the starboard side saw the 23rd to 45th decks rendered to molten slag. Yet the Indefatigable continued to fight, her cogitators giving his Master Gunner firing solutions, her engines powering the life support. She, like the Emperor refused to die.
The battle had been frantic, but it was now powering down. The situation had been stabilized, the enemy fleet driven from Terran orbit and… no? Nothing? No sudden spike in activity heralding a call to arms?
Maybe this would finally… "Captain! Massive Warp signatures coming out from past Luna!" and there we go.
Massive disks opened and from them surged forth 2 Gloriana-class Battleships and many more Apocalypse-class Battleships by the dozen followed further by Battle Barges and countless Cruisers. In short a fleet equal to that which the traitors had brought to Terra in the first place. Warner felt dread grip his heart, they were not going to be able to fight that off. They had barely fought the first fleet with the reinforcements they received. Warner sighed softly and prepared to give the order that would consign him and his crew to certain death. They must protect Terra no matter the cost, to do otherwise would invite the unthinkable.
Then the vox-caster crackled to life and the most beautiful voice carrying the most beautiful message he ever heard.
"Howdy boys! Sorry I'm late but traffic was a bitch. Like that sumbitch Horus fella, stick so far up his ass Fulgrim probably licked it a few times. Anyway I'm not being paid to stand here gabbing about, ladies get those Warp inhibitors up, we have a gun, we gave grox and now we need the barrel."
Warner started at the vox-caster, as did the rest of the bridge crew. That was… unexpected but the soft dulcet tones with a strong hint of Low Gothic made him wish he could meet the captain or more likely admiral in person. Warner wasn't quite sure about what to do, nothing had prepared him for the possibility of something like… this…
The vox-caster crackled to life again. "Oh and you Imperial boys better get back to Terra and turn those IFF thingamabobs on you hear! Don't wanna be firin' on friendlies now!"
And with that space burned. Thousands upon thousands of lance batteries, macro-cannons, torpedoes and attack craft streamed out of the fleet, straight into the traitor ships attempting to warp out. Their void-shields could not hold and fizzled into nothingness as their charges melted, warped, crumpled and disintegrated from the combined firepower unleashed upon them.
Many of the traitor forces attempted to flee but the part about the Warp inhibitor must have been true as none of them could. A cordon of Battleships picked of any who tried while the main force moved like a sledgehammer smashing apart any foolish enough to get in their way. The foolish soon died and that which was left, were the desperate as they tried to evade. But as more ships died, the previously battered and exhausted loyalists moved into position to block escape while tightening the noose around the traitors and the rampaging 3rd fleet. The traitors began to dwindle in number and their last bastions of resistance soon caved.
The traitor Battleships out up more of a fight but against the sustained firepower of a dozen Battleships they fell apart with the ease of a lady and her clothes with concentrated application of gifts and flowers. Warner, needless to say was looking forward to getting a glimpse of this admiral.
Constantin Valdor, Captain-General of the Legio Custodes, Chief Custodian to the Emperor was amused. Given that his charge had been mortally wounded by his own son and he had failed his first most duty to protect, even now forced to watch as his Emperor barely stayed alive on his throne. Well… it took something mighty humorous indeed to make Valdor smile.
The new Legion self proclaimed as the Caretakers had been sent on a mission by the Emperor at the onset of the Great Crusade but had been lost to the Warp on their first jump. 2 entire Legions lost to the Warp without their Primarchs and with entire armies of Solar Auxilia to support them. Their journey was not one that had been uneventful, beset by daemons from the Warp from the very beginning. They had taken their moniker after they had disseminated themselves through the fleet to protect the less able Solar Auxilia. Their chronometers all had readings of 300 years. 300 years fighting constant daemonic incursions with no reinforcements and dwindling ammunition and supplies. 300 years and no sign of taint whether it be physical or mental.
Of course it did not leave them untouched entirely. They had spread themselves throughout the fleet and saw one or two Marines stationed in every berth, all the better to react when the daemons attempted to break through. This prolonged exposure to the Solar Auxilia had seen the Marines pick up speaking habits not or of place in a Hiveworld or an Agri-world. Their accents and word use coming with a renewed appreciation of the underdog as it were along with respect and a desire to protect. Admirable. They were not divorced from the people they served but stood alongside them.
Their fortitude did them credit Valdor had to admit, Mortarion's Legion had turned after a bare few months in the Warp… Space Marine? More like Space Cadet. Death Guard? More like I am pansy who is terrified of death. Bah. Valdor was not feeling charitable, they had failed the Emperor and themselves in their weakness.
Still it was not the most fantastical part of the tale. The Warp as it was known had many islands of sorts, places of rest and results. Where one could find space hulks bobbing about as they paused in their tour of the immaterium and the materium, islands of calm where one could disembark without fear of being attacked. It was in these islands that the Caretakers had begun to find various artifacts from the far past, as well as ships of various natures which they repaired and crewed whenever possible. Among their discoveries was a manufactorum for the creation of a new type of Imperial Knight, much simpler and fragile in design but much easier to produce and maintain in exchange. Easily modifiable it even accepted the Black Carapace as a means of control, allowing Space Marines to use it as if it were a second skin.
Other discoveries were the STCs of the Beacons that acted like the Astronomicon without the need to sacrifice thousands a day to function. They flattened out the Warp and prevented the creation of daemons forcing their enemies to approach via the corrupted and possessed. Another feature was its ability to "tune" to other Beacons thus creating lanes through the Warp. Lanes which were free of daemons, clear to astropaths and Navigator alike, linking to the Beacons which were themselves oasis' of calm. Their entire 300 year journey would have been worth it just for this single piece of technology.
Its one downside being that it required that there be those "attuned" to it for it to function. The Caretakers and many members of the Solar Auxilia (later inducted into the Caretakers) were included amongst those ranks, their souls altered to render them impervious to the effects of the Warp, indeed they radiated the same oasis effect but on a smaller scale. As such it was rather useless in the hands of anybody but the Caretakers but it was useful nonetheless as the Caretakers had the numbers to man dozens of them.
That was not the only thing they had offered the Empire of Man however, upon some of these islands they found Forge Worlds, Agri-worlds, civilized worlds, feral worlds and many more besides. Each now had a Beacon and a company of Caretakers to ensure its purity from the influences of the Warp. The Empire of Man had received a bounty of over 150 worlds, each isolated and easily defended, accessible only by their forces traveling on daemon repelling Warplanes.
Most of the worlds had sworn allegiance to the Caretakers, even the Forge Worlds. It had given them the ability to replace their losses and upgrade their equipment with ease considering the potential manufacturing capabilities they now possessed.
It was not all Warp islands however, many worlds tainted by chaos had been purged and returned to the fold in the rare cases that the Caretakers landed back in realspace. The Beacons on these worlds as far as the fringes of the Empire were visible even from Terra the Navigators reported.
It had been 300 years before they found their first Beacon however and shortages of ammunition saw them turn to powered weapons such as the Volkite, plasma and laser varieties where they could be plugged into the ship for a recharge. Many of those present before Valdor now had large power packs on their shoulders, thick cables running to their weapons. The Mechanicus was in a tizzy regarding their modifications of "sacred technology" but the many more pragmatic minds of the Empire were considering the implications of plasma weapons that did not self detonate upon use.
They had intervened in multiple battles throughout the Horus Heresy as it was now being called. Isstvan V being their most prominent action. Dropping in from orbit as Fulgrim slew Ferrus, the Caretakers laid waste to the traitor forces, their fleets obliterated, their ground forces torn asunder by the energy weapons that cooked them alive in their power armour. While too late to save Ferrus, they did manage to prevent the crippling of the Blood Ravens, the Salamanders and the Iron Hand, even assisting them in rebuilding their forces with yet another marvel, an upgrade to the initiation process for neophytes. Fulgrim's head certainly went a long way to garner goodwill among the three Legions as well as the recovery of Ferrus' body. Vulkan had been recovered as well, whole and regrowing yet more limbs. The traitors had been bloodied, driven back with many of their number dead or crippled.
Lorgar of the Word Bearers, Perturabo of the Iron Warriors and Konrad of the Night Lords found themselves torn apart by the new powers that the Caretakers found themselves possessing. Encasing the Traitor Primarchs in forcefields so powerful that even they the Primarchs could not penetrate them with all the might at their disposal. Alpharius had escaped… or so it was thought, nobody could confirm whether or not the bodies of the Alpha Legion that were recovered could have belonged to him. Horus had fled, driving at Terra directly in the hopes of reaching it and striking at the Emperor before the 3 Legions could rebuild and give chase.
Rebuilding of the Legions was accelerated by a technique pioneered by the Caretakers. By implanting a small part of the geneseed into the neophyte under the effect of a so called A.T. Field wielded by a Caretaker, it's reaction indicated whether or not the neophyte would survive the full process. It allowed for the rapid resupply of Space Marines for the three Legions, bringing them back up to full strength in short order. Corax had been healed, his thanks given to the numerous Caretaker Apothecaries that tended to his wounds.
The Caretakers had left behind Space Marines to ensure the process would not go awry before entering the Warp again, their journey marked by the discovery of a great many ships and lifeboats filled with loyalist marines that had refused to join their traitorous brethren. Marooned in the Warp they were left to either become daemons or die from starvation. Nearly all the traitor legions were included with the notable exception of the Night Lords, the Luna Wolves and the Alpha Legion. It was from Death Guard loyalists that they heard why Mortarion had betrayed the Emperor in the first place.
That had not been the most fantastical element however. At some point in their journey the Caretakers had begun to undergo… changes. Their voices had increased in pitch, their hair had grown longer, their genitalia had shrunk and disappeared altogether. Their features became more rounded, their faces decreasing in width and becoming sharper, their pectorals expanding and filling with fat, their bodies becoming more slender. In short they had changed genders and become female Space Marines.
It would have been considered a practical joke but ample pictvid evidence of both their genders and their other activities had forced the conclusion that it was not a joke. It had happened before the Beacons had been discovered and distributed and as such they were not safe from the perils of the Warp. The loyalist marines that joined them later not suffering the same fate.
Strangely it had only happened to half of them, the other half had instead retained their "maleness". Still it was Warp trickery of the highest order, even their armour changed to match that of their bodies. The new High Lords and the other Space Marine Legions had thrown a fit but there was very little they could actually do, especially when the Caretakers had done so very much for the Imperium in its time of crisis.
However Roboute Guilliman's call for the shattering of the Space Marine Legions into many smaller 1000 strong chapters was being resisted. The loudest defender of such a move being Leman Russ, a giant of a man who once defeated Horus himself in a duel. So powerful that the Emperor's strike that shattered smaller men only laid him out for a month. His Space Wolves would not yield nor would they bend and break apart to pacify the fears of a weak man said Leman.
Roboute himself was adamant however, never would the strength of a Legion be at whim of a master that may be corrupted, the power was just too great to justify. And so they argued one and on for weeks. Another civil war might have been in the works when the leader of the Caretakers had been called in. A tall woman, not as tall as a Primarch but with the same amount of pressure. Psykers trailed after her, the calming presence of her soul silencing the whispers in their minds as daemons constantly sought hold.
She had been badgered about reducing the size of her Legion, one that numbered over 400,000 if one included the many Caretakers left on the Warp Islands and the many other worlds they visited. The loyalists from the traitor legions followed as well, bringing the number up even further. Her legion held the key to this argument, only with their presence would the Beacons function at all, thus giving her a very very large chip in this discussion.
One would think that her arguments would revolve around the need to maintain a force to protect the Beacons but instead… well… Voldar found the answer hilarious (his helmet hid the smile).
"Have you seen what passes for heraldry out there Roboute? Have you seen the disgusting shades of blue and gold, how garish it is? Our armour of ink black, lilac teal and vibrant purple is the most beautiful and appropriate of the colours available. And you now wish for me to consign all but 1000 of my sisters and brothers to wear inferior colours? Have you no sense of design? No sense of basic aesthetics? No style? Of course given the insignia of your Legion I would say not!"
Of course Roboute had argued that point rather loudly and passionately (it stood for some obscure reference or something), brow beating the Caretaker until her final resolution which shocked them all.
"Then consign you to the bowl Roboute! From this point forth half of the Caretakers present at this exact moment in time shall henceforth be divided equally amongst all the worlds which possess or will possess a Beacon, they shall be considered independent "chaaaapters" or whatever. The other half are now to be known as the Sojourners! They shall roam the Imperium of Man in groups of no more than 10 seeking knowledge, and whatever else is there to do in this bloody place. They will welcome all other Space Marines of every chapter who seek a life of not being restricted by the rules (she sneered at this). The only time that either or both halves shall ever group up is when shit happens, like on the miniscule chance that Roboute takes that macro-cannon out of his ass and takes a dump."
And with that she left. Her arguments were rather poor and her resolution was… strange… but it was hilarious. Judging by the expressions on the other Primarchs or representatives they thought so as well. The resolution made little to no sense either. Valdor… Valdor was confused and amused.
This new legion… or rather "chapters" would be very interesting indeed felt Valdor.
He had caught up with her as she left and asked why she had sundered her Legion so. The answer he got was not what he expected.
"If Guilliman is doing something so ass stupid and broken as to shatter the legion, I'm going to do something equally as stupid and broken. See how he likes dem' apples."
So… that happened? The reasoning made little sense and so did the justification.
There would be time before the Legions broke up, they did need to persecute the traitors and re-secure Imperial space. The destruction of the entire fleet assaulting Terra however certainly made things much easier than they could have been. After however… well that would be amusing.
Universal Century 0034 - Mobile Suit Gundam Universe
Cosmic Era 0077 - Gundam SEED Universe
After Activation 13/08/0040 - Origin Universe
The Minds had figured out the method by which one could upload experiences to different beings. Using the psionic abilities brought by the humans as well as the quantum communications network, the Minds created a system by which they could quickly transfer data to a HeMU which would then spend time in a subjective thread to "learn" as it were. The time learning very little in terms of soul growth but the settling in and application in the real world had an accelerated rate until it reached the level at which the data was at. From there it would increase at the normal speed.
In essence it meant that the Minds could effectively transfer data to the HeMUs and have them learn with very little long term consequence, in fact it would actually benefit the HeMUs as they would not need to fumble through it as their predecessors did. Application began in the Cultivation universe as well as the 40k universe.
It took the rather appropriate name "The Gamer Interface" and functioned very similar. The HeMU in question would perform tasks that earned EXP and upon a certain number of EXP points would "level up" which in turn would give them the opportunity to pick a perk from the given number of Perk Points. The Perks would be relevant to the universe while some things were universally applicable i.e. hand to hand combat. When an Ability or a Perk (Ability being an active ability and a Perk being passive) had been chosen, the body was remade with the relevant muscle memory installed and the data dropped into the mind via a psionic link to allow actual usage of it as opposed to merely viewing it.
In short, the HeMUs would be able to cheat their way up the chain instead of learning everything manually like their predecessors. It did have its flaws however, the learned movements were all the same and thus had exploitable weak points that could be turned against them. As such when learning a Perk the HeMUs were to also learn variations of the abilities which in turn would allow them to level up the Perk itself. When levelled to Max level, often Level 10, the Perk would be permanently engraved upon the HeMU and they would be able to use it at full effectiveness even without the Perk activated.
Thus the HeMUs were encouraged to learn and Max out as many skills as possible to spread their experiences and increase their odds of completing their objectives. Particularly relevant in the Cultivation universe where death was just around the corner depending on who wanted to fight over what on that particular day as dictated by the weather.
It was more useful for the newer HeMUs to learn new things while the older HeMUs used it as a means of entertainment more than anything else. Still, it helped given there were now a few hundred thousand new HeMUs that needed to learn exactly how one was to "Space Marine" as it were.
It would be rolled out slowly of course, would be rather bad if everything imploded at the same time.
HeMU 05 of Bastion 001, Natasja J. Kristensen had been tasked with leading the force into the Warhammer 40k universe. It was her decision that led to the splitting of the Caretakers into many smaller factions while also maintaining their colour scheme. It was the Commander's colours after all, anything else would be the equivalent of blasphemy. They were all still connected regardless so it didn't really have much of an impact on the HeMUs, giving Roboute that symbolic victory was no skin off their back.
Natasja had to admit that she… well… did lose her temper there though and likely soured the relationship between them and the Ultramarines. Oh well. It was not as if they weren't going to clash regardless given how different the structure of the Chapters.
Natasja right now however was in the Palace where the Emperor as interred, not to look at the Emperor per-se but rather to solicit some Sisters of Silence. They after all did have the Pariah Gene which made them anathema to any Warp originating species, powers, and/or beings. Having them around would make dealing with daemons easier since it would be rather hard to hide A.T. Field usage and they really didn't want people finding out exactly what the A.T. Field was capable of.
Of course given that the Sisters of Silence were well… silent and their "Marks" (sign language) were unknown to Natasja it resulted in her simply talking to the Sisters. Still it was better than nothing and a scan had already isolated the Pariah Gene for analysis by the Minds.
Heh.
The conversations generally boiled down to "How's it hanging?", "Sup Sis!", "Hear you girls knocked over a Bloodthirster, not bad, not bad!" and other inane overtures.
The Sisters of Silence generally tended to look upon the Caretakers as buffoony or something of the like, not to be taken too seriously in a social setting. It was also… nice.
They who had purged millions of psykers for the greater good of mankind did not need nice but… it was nice. Reviled and cast out of society due to their very natures as Blanks, the Caretakers did not show any sign of discomfort in their presence. Indeed it seemed that they were perfectly happy inside or outside of their radius.
Perhaps there was something to these Caretakers? The rumours that their souls had been changed due to their exposure to archeotech was running through the fleets and the Palace rumour mill. If true it meant the Sisters could find a home amongst these Caretakers as they could be guaranteed to not show prejudice against them, not after what they reportedly went through in the Warp.
The question of what to do from here had been bouncing about in their minds, some of the braver ones even signing it. The Emperor was interred and they had no more orders, no more wars to be directed at. Perhaps settling down near these Caretakers on one of their numerous worlds for some companionship?
It was not as if they had much to lose with the High Lords chomping at the bit to get rid of them for "dulling" the Astronomicon by their presence. Ungrateful pricks.
Brother Sergeant Maximusius of the Raven Guard stood up inside his chartered transport a Thunderhawk as it landed to pick up more marines. His counterparts from the Salamanders and the Iron Hand meeting him on the rear cargo ramp at their respective hangar bays. Their Legions owed the Caretakers a debt of honour and they would be repaid. The assault on Isstvan would have gone very badly if the Caretakers had not shown up and driven back the traitors. Their actions had apparently not just impacted the Legions but the Imperium as a whole, their attack panicking Horus into making a beeline to Terra. With so many ships there they could have possibly taken Terra but then word of reinforcements came and Horus tried to duel the Emperor. Horus was unprepared and while the Emperor's wounds were grievous, they were expected to heal eventually. If Horus had more time, bought with the blood of 3 Legions, the fight may have gone very differently. The Caretakers destroying the traitor fleet in its entirety helped further as did the safe lanes provided for quick movement through the imperium.
In short they had a debt to pay and across the imperium many of the Legion's Marines had been sent to join the Caretakers and the Sojourners to repay that debt. They would not be leaving their Legions, rather it was just a manner in which to bypass Guilliman's plans for the shattering of the Legions. Corax and Vulkan were notably annoyed at that given they had received full strength Legions again, nearly 200,000 Marines each as well as with the Iron Hand. Their fleets and their Marines would be divided throughout the new Imperium of Man usually on planets along-side that of the Caretakers.
It was to the world of Imanuta that the Thunderhawk was travelling, the fleet of several Strike Cruisers joining those of the Caretakers in orbit. Nearly a dozen Space Marines stood in the Thunderhawk's passenger compartment as it descended through the atmosphere to land on the Forge World. Landing on a Forge World… Maximusius never thought that he would see a day when this would happen, the Raven Guard after all did not have very much of a connection to the Mechanicus. Still, these Mechanicus seemed very different from the norm, incorporating teal and purple into their livery to indicate links and thanks to the Caretakers for saving them and offering a garrison and a Beacon.
It would not just be the Caretakers that would respond should the Forge World be attacked, the entire might of the Imperium would come crashing down as well, for its Beacon was incredibly important to all ships. A journey fraught with uncertainty now could be calculated to the last minute due to the Warp Lanes that had opened up, driving a road through the madness that the was the Warp.
Trade had increased dramatically, fleet reaction times and likely tourists as well once the Imperium settled down. They were still hunting traitors but with the assistance of the Warp Lanes it was much easier given the traitors could not use them without being seen and attacked. It was not even clear if the daemons that the traitors used could even step foot in one.
Heh. Finally something that was not fundamentally wrong with the universe, thought Maximusius. The Forge World beneath them apparently had something to be demonstrated to the Legions, invites had gone out to all the remaining Loyalist Legions so it clearly something of importance. The Great Scouring was still an urgent issue and the alien scum had been nipping at the edges of the Imperium as of late. The Caretakers and the Sojourners had been very important in striking them back but the incursions were only increasing in number.
Their landing on the indicated pad and march deep into the Manufactorum was only marked by the sound of the Thunderhawk once again lifting off. A single Mechanicus Adept meeting them and indicating to follow. His robes were curious indeed, while still red they held black, purple and teal cuffs at the end of the sleeves. The Caretakers certainly moved fast, thought Maximusius.
As they moved deeper into the Manufactorum the sounds of construction increased in volume as did the chanting of the assemblage rituals bouncing off the walls. If they were not in Power Armour it was likely the Space Marines would be sweating out a local flooding. Still, they moved deeper and deeper, more Space Marines joining them on their journey, representatives from the Space Wolves, Imperial Fists, Ultramarines, White Scars, Blood Angels, and Dark Angels tagging along, their procession growing to nearly 100 Marines in total. And deeper still they journeyed, the stark metal walls, the cabling that ran in and out like needlework, looking more and more "clean" as they journeyed forward. It was likely Maximusius thought that this was a new part of the Manufactorum that had not yet seen the wear of the ages that the rest of it did.
The procession stopped at what looked like a very large chamber (well large enough to fit 100 Space Marines which was pretty large), a single Caretaker and enormous Blast Doors, tall enough to fit a Warhound Titan through. The Caretaker took a moment for them to filter through before her voice (he was still marvelling about the idea that there were female Space Marines) filled the chamber.
"Hi guys, I'm Natasja, Captain of the Caretakers here to show you stuff." The present Space Marines tried to shake off the feeling of… wrongness. Space Marines were the epitome of man, the next level of human evolution, yet this Space Marine was both female and spoke in terms not out of place in the slums of a Hive World. Still she was a Captain and that clearly meant that she had proven herself in the field of battles, especially if the rumours of their 300 year war against the Ruinous Powers was true.
"Sooooo… (she drawled out, again rather… casual) the nice guys and girls here on Imanuta called you here because we had something to show you."
A ripple of unease ran through the assembled Space Marines, it was not the Mechanicus that requested their presence but the Caretakers? What could they possibly have that would require the attention of the Legions? Maximusius heard the mutterings that came through the vox caster built into his Power Armour.
Still they were here now and they would hear her out.
"Sooooo… how many of you guys here have seen a Titan and said to yourselves 'I could take that' but were held back by the fact you were just too small?" There were nods at this, indeed the Titans were slow, big and frankly rather unwieldy. An enlarged Space Marine could take one of them easily Maximusius thought.
"I can see that most of you have.
"Well… What. If. I. Told. You…
"That as of now thanks to the designs retrieved by the Caretakers… you can now take on a Titan one on one?
"In fact… what if right here, right now we have a Space Marine punch a Titan in the face?"
Universal Century 0034 - Mobile Suit Gundam Universe
Cosmic Era 0077 - Gundam SEED Universe
After Activation 13/08/0040 - Origin Universe
Leman Russ stood before a window that looked into a large test chamber dozens if not hundreds of meters in diameter (not that he saws that, the damn blast doors were in the way, he only knew since it was the same design that the tank named after him was shown in). They were directly above the chamber that held the Space Marines, separate in order to not cause a commotion. He was joined by Corax, Dorn, Guilliman, Vulkan, Khan and Magnus. The Commanders of the Loyalist Space Marine Legions stood as well, standing in place of their absent or dead Primarchs.
Magnus having been saved by the Caretakers, their fleets appearing above Prospero as Russ was preparing to give the order to attack. Russ himself had sought other avenues, not wanting to destroy his brother even if that brother was a psyker. Upon hails Russ explained his orders to the fleet, that the Emperor had demanded Magnus' head. The fleet in turn had said that brother could not afford to fight brother not when Horus had betrayed the Emperor and sought to slaughter 3 entire legions in the Isstvan system. Russ himself felt shock as Horus was the one who had amended the orders from "capture" Magnus to "kill".
Russ felt immense relief at the thought, he did not relish the idea of killing his brother, especially not at the behest of a traitor.
Peace was brokered and Magnus came to Terra with Russ willingly, the Thousand Sons following in their much smaller fleet. While they had arrived after Horus had been defeated, Magnus' aid was vital in rooting out all the possible sources of corruption on Terra itself.
So now he was here and whilst Russ felt distaste, Magnus deserved to be here as much as any of them.
The Caretaker below, Natasja had promised them the ability to fight Titans one on one. Russ found himself breathing slightly faster in anticipation, fighting hand to hand with a Titan would be glorious indeed. The Blast Doors began to slide open accompanied by the ringing of klaxons as the window unbarred by sheets of metal showed a vast white room with a single Warhound Scout Titan in the center.
The blast doors at the end opposite to where the Primarchs stood opened and from it came the a large human shaped walker, taller than the Warhound and not hunched in design like the Titans were. In fact it walked in a manner which was positively human. In held a large gun of some sort in one hand, a large squad optical sensor on its head and very little adornment everywhere else.
It was distinctly different from everything else that the Mechanicus produced, lacking the more utilitarian, dullness and the focus on the blocky edges that Imperial designs had (also lack of cables everywhere). Very likely an STC design from the Dark Age of Technology with that much curve in its design. It was positively Eldar compared to Imperial designs.
"I present to you the Leo Mobile Suit! Simple, easy, cheap, reliable! The Leo will work in space, on ground and under the ocean (to a depth of 20 meters) and due to its hands can switch weapons as easily as dropping and picking upping! Its human design allows for it to pick up, move and even gesture! (The Leo at this point putting up the middle finger as it demonstrated its various abilities). What's more the Leo while designed to be piloted by normal humans, can be interfaced with a Space Marine's Black Carapace for one to one direct control! That's right! A Space Marine can get in one of these bad boys and kick Titan Ass! What's more its cheap and easy enough to manufacture that all of you can do it in your own Manufactorums with ease!"
The rumbling of the Space Marines exclamations below was felt even through the metal floor of the room. Even the Primarchs and Commanders were excited.
It went up further as the torso opened and a Space Marine clad in Caretaker heraldry walked out onto the ramp, waved and went back in to demonstrate in full view of enhanced Space Marine vision, the process. A simple info jack was inserted into the back of the armour's collar and the machine began to walk and dance with the agility of a Space Marine and not a hulking slab of metal.
Interesting.
Then came the weapon tests, the weapons shown boggled the minds of those present. Plasma weapons that were as fast as bolt shells? Vulcan Mega-Cannons with magazines for quick reloads? Titan sized grenades? Rocket Launchers that equalled artillery pieces? And the sword… it had a sword.
The beam saber as it was named could cut through adamantium, plasteel and ceramite as if it was not there, melting through them with ease.
Then came the duel between the "Leo" and the Warhound titan where standing on the edges of the room they would seek to deal a grievous wound to the other. The Leo had simply run around the Titan which had tracking systems that could not keep up with it before brandishing its fist before the cockpit.
The description had not done justice to what happened, rather the Leo in response to a barrage of fire from the Warhound, had dashed out of the way, jumped over a re-calibrated sweep and proceeded to sprint toward the Warhound in a circular manner. The Warhound meanwhile, servo motors whining with exertion tried to spin its torso to meet the incoming Leo, legs also turning to add speed. The Mega Bolter shells tore apart the floor of the facility as well as dissipating through the void shields in front of the assembled crowd as the Warhound became increasingly desperate in its attempt to take down the Leo which by all rights should already be dead. Then the Leo in a feat of stunning agility, jumped onto the Warhound, and punched its head before leaping off again. The force of the leap driving the Titan to its knees. All of it in less than a minute.
Interesting.
Then came something that none of them were expecting.
"So… who would like to try one out? We have a few of them for those that want to fight!"
And silence. Leman was about to leap out and nominate himself but Dorn's restraining hand held him back.
"Let them have their fun brother, it will be for a little bit and if the woman speaks true we can build our own and enjoy them at at leisure without the restrictions."
Aye, it would be better. But still, the brawler within craved trying one out.
The Warhound had left the arena and within it stood 17 more of the Leos, arranged before the Space Marines with their cockpits open for new pilots. The Caretakers standing on the ramps waiting to assist those chosen. 2 of each Legion were chosen, a Captain rank and a Battle Brother. Both were necessary to get a report on the machine from 2 sides of the experience spectrum.
As the Space Marines entered the Leos, the Caretakers showed the them how to put the plug into their suits that it might directly interface with their Black Carapace as they sat in the seats provided, fists closed about the joysticks.
Jobs done, the Caretakers leapt off and landed on the ground before sprinting for safety within the chamber the Space Marines had left. No doubt to escape being crushed by a Leo wielded by a fresh pilot with no concept of what they were meant to be doing.
It did not take long for the Leos to begin moving as smoothly as the Caretaker piloted one. The claims that it interfaced with the Power Armour directly evidently true as the Space Marines got used to the differences in scale.
The Space Marine pilots at this point clearly desired something meatier to work with and had begun to spar. Titanic fist clashed with titanic fist as the machines clashed. Their movements fluid and clear. It reached a climax when one of them, piloted by an Imperial Fist if Russ remembered correctly threw another one into the walls, denting it and shattering the Mobile Suits legs.
The test was then called off and the Space Marines returned, the one in the thrown Leo looked none the worse for wear despite the forces likely involved.
Impressive.
"Now there are those of you that are probably saying these puppies are too fragile. Damn right they're fragile! You can build 4 Leos for the time and effort it takes to build on 1 Warhound.
"They're cheap but effective. There are no doubt some of you that want fast! Well have no fear! If you would proceed through the doors to your left!"
Likely on cue the blast doors to the left did indeed open and they proceeded down the corridor as it wrapped around further left.
The next chamber having some rather… squat designs. Like big squares with stubby arms and legs. The head was in the center, a nod to Imperial design at least. This was meant to be fast?
"This is the Aeris Mobile Suit designed for aerial combat within an atmosphere. As fast as a key fighter, carrying the firepower of a bomber! Plasma gun in hand, rocket pods on the sides, twin-linked heavy bolter on the head, twin beam sabers on the waists and capable of land action!
"Fast, maneuverable, reliable. I present to you the Aries Mobile Suit!"
This demonstration appeared much less chaotic, instead showcasing their speed over that of the Leo. As they zipped around hard enough that the sound barrier broke and rattled the windows, the murmur of the Primarchs as they debated the possibilities that the Mobile Suits could have on their armies.
A wee bit fragile given they were a Space Marines but the could prove useful in large numbers.
The demonstration finished and they moved onto no doubt an underwater variation or something of the like.
Instead they were greeted by what looked like someone taking Terminator armour and making it as tall as a Titan. Massive shoulders, squat head, thick chest, legs and arms. Wherea Terminators assault cannon would be was a large rectangular tube that no doubt was a plasma weapon of some kind. Domination given physical form.
"Many of you were wondering exactly where the Leo and the Aries were going to fit into your armies weren't you? (The embarrassed silence answer enough.) Well that's OK! Those were the designs for the new Imperial Guard! Cheap and easy enough to maintain that the cogboys don't get run off their feet.
"These are the bad boys that are for the Space Marines! Enough armour to weather most forms of weaponry below Titan grade and with enough firepower to punch holes in starships! What's more they can operate in 3s for best value since their unique features include a set of 6 planet defensors, electro-ionic fields that block plasma, laser and physical attacks! They can combine their defensors to create an even stronger shield! The Virgo Mobile Suit! Observe!"
From a ceiling on the roof descended a Plasma Annihilator, usually mounted on Titans. In front of it were 18 Virgos the small discs embedded in their shoulders popping out and floating in a rough circle before them. The rumble beneath their feet indicating that the Void shield had been activated so they wouldn't be cooked alive.
A shudder ran through the facility as it powered up, the thick cables, each thicker than he was tall flexed as the cooling fluid ran through, the power cables giving a hum as they tested themselves.
Then it fired and even the Primarchs were forced to cover their eyes as the intensity of the light surpassed that of a thousand suns.
Where the Virgos once stood… well… they actually kept standing. Wow. Those planet defensors can actually block one of those.
"The Virgos are capable of spaceflight, the defensors of joining up to an infinite number! A thousand of these can block a lance battery! 2 thousands can block a macro-cannon! The sky's the limit!"
Dammit if Leman wasn't interested, a few hundred of these flying around crippling ships to allow the boarding torpedoes and attack craft safe passage before making planetside and crushing everything on the ground?
These were going to change the face of warfare forever Leman knew.
"So what did you think?" Leman led as the Space Wolf contingent returned to their Battle Barge.
"I think that if you don't get us some of those there is going to be a reckoning from inside the Legion" his Honour Guard Head said his voice dealt serious. "They feel like being inside power armour, every movement crisp no delays at all. Stick a Space Wolf in one of those Leos and they would destroy the opposition let alone the Virgo. You want my opinion? Use the STC that the Caretakers gave us and start producing them immediately, we could use the force multiplier."
"Ay I'd have to agree with the lad, it's worth the time." Came the voice of one of the last of his old guard still alive. When his father had arrived and taken him away, his Honour Guard had decided to follow. Their humanness being a detriment and Russ had denied them their opportunity. The Emperor had told them that if they became Space Marines they could follow and so they did. Despite the risks involved they took the opportunity and underwent the procedure. 1 in 10 had survived and they dwindled further with every engagement fought. Now there were less than 30 still alive and when one gave an opinion it was for sure that Leman listened.
"Then we begun retooling the foundries below the Fang for immediate construction" he said. And that was that. The Wolf King had spoken and so his will would be done.
Universal Century 0038 - Mobile Suit Gundam Universe
Cosmic Era 0081 - Gundam SEED Universe
After Activation 28/04/0044 - Origin Universe
Citadel Era 2158 - Mass Effect Universe
Hannah Shepard had had a very interesting few years. After her binding ceremony she had returned to a human race that was very suspicious of what she had gone through, the images of brainwashing lancing through their minds. Luckily they were a psionic species now and Hannah had just showed them what had happened and they understood. The Commander offered so very much and all they would need to do to access it was to join with a benevolent entity that could crush their entire universe if it wanted anyway.
Hannah had been given a large supply of the Commander's blood to begin the conversions and after much attempt at explaining the pain they would go through, the first batch had made it. From there Hannah as having a direct link to the Commander now, just channeled the presence and bound the volunteers without the need of a physical pilgrimage as Hannah had to as the first of her race. They in turn had proceeded to uplift more and more of the human race, clearly seeing the benefits at so very cost.
There were many of course that railed against it, saying it was like what the Ethereals were trying to do to them. The counter being that it was purely voluntary and the Commander did not truly care whether or not they did it. Those that did were essentially immortal and could explore the multiverse alongside the Caretakers and be under the protection of the Commander at the same time. The detractors decreased in number but they who remained became increasingly vocal and occasionally violent, their non-uplifted minds not capable of comprehending the level at which the rest of their race had been elevated.
They had been killed over time, the costs that they had put in their elevated brethren too much to justify in the name of equality. It was not that they were a hivemind or anything like that, the basics that made them human on a mental and spiritual level were intact. It was just… they were more now, that a door that had been barred shut for all eternity due to their lack, had been thrown open and they could revel in the sensations.
Then the Minds had decided it was time to expand further and opened two new gates into two radically different worlds. One where humanity was divided as if they had never left the tribal era and fought with each other in fatal battles over tiny amounts of resources. Their minds incapable of understanding that working together ensured prosperity, their puny minds not comprehending beyond "mine mine mine". Hannah shivered when thinking of the humans in that universe, they were more likely to kill the hand that gave than accept and give thanks.
The other was a humanity United in the face of a universe that would like nothing to see them enslaved and broken. The Minds had planned to exploit the situation, get as much out of it as possible and leave them to shatter upon the cold hard rock that is fate. Hannah, Sofija and many other humans had called for the Minds to have mercy and instead be the salvation of the peoples in the 40 thousand universe. Part of it had been the salvation of the Eldar, a long lived alien race that lived in constant fear of their souls being devoured after their deaths. Instead of being merely given sanctuary as originally planned in return for their technology, the Minds had been badgered into looking into the possibility of uplifting them as well. Hannah's secret weapon in the form of Destroyer of Hope, Dreams and Piñatas had convinced her sisters and they in turn badgered the Commander until it gave the order to save the Eldar as well as the humans.
Hannah always smiled when thinking back to that event since its ramifications were something that she in a million years could not have predicted. The Eldar named Eldrad had entered her life as she had been tasked with assisting the Eldar through the binding.
get first impression being an arrogant and stuffy individual. She knew the Eldar were arrogant, especially towards humans but she had not expected exactly how arrogant they were. She had not been misinterpreting it either, the Eldar positively radiated arrogance in distinctly human patterns visible in the psi spectrum. His smugness when she had warned him of the pain that consuming the vial would have was infuriating. Her smugness on the other hand rose when he stood up following the metamorphosis and she made sure he knew it.
Infuriating male.
She of course did not know the ramifications of her actions and thought processes (humanity had been rather ok with the thought that the Minds were monitoring their thoughts… maybe they understood the Minds were too insane to care?) would have down the line. The Minds had begun partnering her with Eldrad on his month long initiation as the Commander's soul did it's work, the implications not becoming evident until Eldrad had asked why it was always her. The fact that the Minds were shipping her and Eldrad was mortifying. It was bad enough with her mother and grandmother but the Minds now too?
Then came the binding ceremony and somehow the Commander had known (for a being that professed not to care, the Commander sure meddled) and shown Eldrad in the Soulscape Hannah's efforts to save his species. He didn't do anything overt like apologize, noooo it was little snide references to pranks coming in her near future. Little jabs that had her wondering when the other shoe would drop (sometimes literally). Eldrad and the other uplifted ones had began to uplift their species as a whole with much less resistance overall. Having the threat of your soul being torn apart for the amusement of a mad god probably had something to do with that. The Ulthwé had been the first to accept the offer to send their craftworld into the XCOM universe as the Minds had labelled them. Even now the ship hung in orbit around the Sun, vibrating gently from the energy as it bathed in solar rays. More craftworlds had joined them, humanity having little to fear as they were all part of one giant family after all. It had taken a little bit to get used to but now there were Eldar all over the human homeworld and colonies. The Farseers and the Exarchs were part of those who were "lost on the path" and generally tended to the arrogant side. The others were much nicer, unified in their bindings to the Commander.
Her complaints in the monthly family get together regarding Eldrad had opened her eyes when her grandmother Vahlen and her mother Bree had giggled before bursting out into laughter before her eyes. Apparently it was entirely her fault for being so blind that she could not see what Eldrad was doing, clearly maleness transcended races. His pranking her being his indications to her that he was interested in pursuing further contact with her.
When confronted his reaction simply came down to "finally human, you are so dense…" he didn't quite finish his statement of course. Her psionically enhanced fist connected with his jaw and her steelcapped boot, his genitals, another thing that transcended race. Her frustrations were vented and thus began a relationship that Hannah didn't understand at all. Due to the nature of his enhanced emotions, physical sensations and a very real danger of being overloaded after millennia of abstinence, Eldrad was frustratingly on and off in their relationship. Something about not re-enacting the "Fall" or whatever it was.
The first time they had been together had been sublime, Eldrad despite his abstinence had been researching watching porn and gotten rather proficient at foreplay. It helped that Hannah could psionically link with him and share her emotions and sensations through the soul. Their uplift had given them a common ground, a network interface as it were. Hannah was doubly glad as when she felt Eldrad's sensations, they had blown her mind. She sort of understood why the Eldar had as some of them more outspoken humans had said "fucked the galaxy with their fucking". It was amazing on a level that a standard human body just could not comprehend. With this much going on it would take iron self-control to ensure they didn't fall into the depths of depravity as their ancestors did. The Minds had assured her that the Commander had given very strict instructions on what to do with misbehaving Eldar. They would be brought to heel with the most irritating techniques that the Minds knew but since it was the humans that called for their salvation, they would be the ones looking after the Eldar. If it went too far the Commander could always just end them.
Over the intervening years Hannah had gotten herself pregnant despite the genetic differences. Eldrad's concern over the children being born deformed stillbirths had been assuaged by the Minds, the soul they said was more important than the body. In more practical terms it meant that despite them being twins, the male had inherited more of her soul than his sister who had inherited more of Eldrad's soul. John as she decided to call him was distinctly human, his soul somehow transmuting his mixed DNA into one predominantly human with traces of Eldar the psykic stuff left in. The female who Eldrad had named Taldeer was distinctly Eldar with the fractured DNA that came with it but enough human to retain her psionic potential.
Their children were truly a merger between their two races and the first of their kind. Seeing the reassurances that their children would not end up quivering 3 eyed stillborns, many other Eldar/Human couples began to produce children as well, merging the two cultures in a way that enforced isolation had not.
Of course Hannah had duties to perform and thus she was out here now preparing to undergo gene-modding to make her features look like the Asari. She would be infiltrating Citadel Space from the Terminus Systems and playing the role of a mercenary. Humanity knew of the Reapers and the threat they posed to the galaxy but at the point after seeing the casualties faced in the 40k universe and in the Game, they had become rather desensitized to it. It was a threat that was… mild at best.
So Hannah and the other humans infiltrating with her were doing so essentially as a means to prove their capabilities to the Minds and to learn how to do it properly in future. They would be joined by some HeMUs who had experience in the enterprise to guide them through the opening steps.
They would strike from multiple directions, integrating themselves into the Citadel and Terminus systems in order to better boost the natives' capabilities as well as get on the ground forces if the Reapers do show.
The boosting of capabilities would be done through a tried and tested Mind technique of setting up a company that would produce better and better resources making it vital to any plans and allowing its expansion. Selling better weaponry would allow it to boost the natives in a way that they themselves would not be able to notice and if they did not be able to really understand. The HeMUs were also going to help in using their subversion abilities to ensure that they would not be caught flat-footed by anything happening with the natives, particularly the Turians, Asari or Salarians. It would be irritating to be stabbed in the back after all, even if they were all functionally immortal at this point.
The next avenue would be the creation of a mercenary company that would build a reputation and spread its influence over the systems by having a physical presence over them. They would market themselves as the "Caretakers" and set up as a protection service specializing in brutal takedowns of would be vandals, pirates and thieves. By linking themselves to the company publically, they could be seen using better weaponry and thus drive up sales in that avenue as well, a symbiotic relationship of sorts.
Humanity would enter the picture at a later date, trying to make itself seem like it was a "new" and "immature" race but with the firepower to ward off any aggressive expansion. In short, infiltrate the galaxy, make sure everyone is ready for the galactic ending threat, finish up, go home and help the Commander explore the rest of the multiverse. Unless of course they went with plan B which was bringing overwhelming firepower and terrifying the Citadel races into modernizing their militaries.
She would come back every few weeks to meet her children, they were growing up and in their terrible fours which came after the terrible threes and the terrible twos, expected to continue to the terrible twenties.
Fun.
Universal Century 0038 - Mobile Suit Gundam Universe
Cosmic Era 0081 - Gundam SEED Universe
After Activation 28/04/0044 - Origin Universe
Citadel Era 2148 - Mass Effect Universe
The Minds had assisted the humans in the creation and establishment of the Caretaker mercenary group and the Senti Company in Terminus and Citadel space. A process that involved a lot of subversion, hacking and throwing about of rare materials for cash. The "element zero" seemed to be rather desirable to the natives of the galaxy. They used it for travel, artificial gravity, weapons systems, shielding, their powers called "biotics", the propulsion on their ships and so much more.
Their methods for travel seemed to be taking advantage of preexisting structures called "relays" and the hub of their civilisation being a structure known as the Citadel. Of course the idea of having your entire technological systems and social structure be based around pre-existing designs seemed incredibly foolish and almost suicidal. One never knows when the owners will come back after all.
Then again it is an easy way to go about advancing and developing technology. Shortcuts were always good.
The fact that they didn't fully understand their technology made it much easier for the human infiltrators to go in and bring about many incremental increases in technology. It was not as if it were particularly hard given the tech base and knowledge that the Ethereals left and the Minds had… acquired. Element Zero had been mildly harder to get working but the Minds had bypassed the process and simply encased a section of space in an A.T. Field and changed the laws so that it would naturally produce Eezo as it was colloquially known. Cheating in other words
They knew that it would be a few more decades before the Reapers decoded to do their harvest schtick. Plenty of time.
Eldrad had followed Hannah, playing up the benevolent elder race image. The Eldar race only needing to spend a fraction of the time they had previously looking into the future. The Commander's blood had allowed them to scry with accuracy that made a mockery of their previous efforts. With much more free time to be had and the Eldar no longer at risk of going extinct and many of them beginning to raise larger families, those wanting to explore the universe increased. Others like Eldrad felt the weight of the fate of the fate of their craftworlds being lifted off their backs and relaxing for the first time in centuries. It was… liberating.
Eldrad spent his time with Hannah or their children who had began to display the traits of their dominant races. John at the age of 4 was wielding his biotic and psionic heritage with aplomb. Floating up and grabbing cookies from the packets hidden away in the back of the cupboard, floating his sister out of her crib into his so they could cuddle, making himself heavier so Hannah couldn't pick him up anymore and so forth. John was shaping up to be something of a biotic heavyweight even without the implants that usually came with it, something of a shock given his mixed heritage with 3 different traits to factor in.
Taldeer on the other hand was a very quiet and as she tried to cultivate "mysterious" girl. Given that she is Eldar and she had a mission to be as mysterious as possible, Taldeer's psykic talent had increased at the same pace as John's biotic talent. Capable of seeing into the future, Taldeer nonetheless used it to avoid the blame for John's "adventures". Despite being so young, Taldeer is also capable of "teleporting" by opening a hole into the quantum ocean and stepping through to another point. Of course this would be extremely dangerous in the 40k universe but here at least it was safe with the Commander's presence. Eldrad had been rather annoyed however, doing that kind of thing was dangerous and if they weren't bound, would have seen them consumed by daemons in seconds. Despite her age Taldeer clearly held grudges which was rather cute… if likely a problem later.
They both doted on their younger sister by the name of Macha who strangely enough had some red claw marks on the sides of her face. Strange indeed. Still, she was loved by all and many times secretly given cookies by John despite her not having any teeth yet. Little chubby cheeks, big, bright eyes, red hair, hands that just wouldn't let go and a distinctly Eldar appearance. Adorable. She was adorable.
Hannah was annoyed at being forced to leave them but then again she did sign up for this. As part of the first wave through they would set the foundation for later expansion and possible human interaction. She had not thought that having children would change her outlook so much and had signed up before she even knew she was pregnant. Stupid Eldar induced pregnancies not showing up on human tests. Her fists had made her displeasure known on Eldrad's body at that.
Eldrad had in an effort to appease her come up with an idea of how they could go about bringing the family with her on the mission. With Eldrad's distinctively alien appearance (space elves not being a thing when you have space tentacle-head girls) their children could be passed of as a reaction due to the different biological reactions. Hannah in her desire to get one up on Eldrad had not told him that Asari women reproduced using the nervous structures of their partners to create a clone of sorts but mixing two genes together. Since her children were distinctly not Asari, the conclusion that many would come to, is that they were his children.
Heh.
To that end they were en-route to the Terminus systems now where they would establish the initial company on Illium and then Omega. Illium was more "respectable" an unofficial outpost of the Asari empire while Omega was the most notable in the criminal elements. One would allow them a foot into the Citadel and the other into Terminus. Hannah due to her children coming along were heading to Illium to begin the Senti Company. Accompanying her were the HeMUs 31, 42 and 24, their names; Alhena Hawa' Nader, Kamila Aslakhanov, and Selma J. Nilsson.
While their combat skills were on par with the top percentiles of the human forces as was baseline amongst the HeMUs, their main strengths were the cultivated administrative skills, learnt at the knee of Sofija. While things were less violent certainly than Omega, they were still at risk of "hostile takeovers" or "acquisitions" of their technology from Salarian information specialists or Krogan mercenaries or Asari mercenaries or Batarian mercenaries or whoever else that would want the source of their superior technology. The Salarians in particular would be very very interested in finding out how they maintained their technological advantage given the Salarian propensity for the last thousand years of being on the cutting edge.
Of course given this was Mass Effect, technology and the focus was less on innovation and more upon iteration and improvement of their current technologies, particularly a focus on element zero technologies. Their expansions into other fields had much to be desired, their laser technology heavily limited by both heat and range issues. Introducing more efficient, powerful and also longer ranged lasers would assist in fighting the Reapers given that they had kinetic shields which were considerably less effective against lasers. Other things that may be of use were portable laser weaponry which again would penetrate kinetic shields much more easily than the current designs of kinetic weapons.
The Minds were trying so very very hard to resist the urge to drop Mobile Suits into the setting. Many of the XCOM humans had seen the light and wanted the Mobile Suits as well. The feeling of power that came with piloting a Mobile Suit was indescribable. Hannah had been one of them as well, crushing enemies in the simulations was awe inspiring. If course Eldrad had decried them as inelegant and brutish. Hannah had introduced him to the couch for that. That wasn't to say they couldn't use things like Power Armour however. Simply taking out the materials not native to the universe and replacing them with titanium and basic ceramics with a miniaturized Eezo reactor and kinetic field would be enough.
They were of course rather limited in comparison to the actual suits, they didn't want the aliens to get too powerful after all. The Reapers would be able to ignore the tiny humans in their suits. It was the ships that would be the main long term focus but only the militaries would be interested in new ships. Ship-scale weapons on the other hand would sell but require them to have a foothold in Citadel space as well as a reputation beforehand. As such they would stay small scale; infantry scale weapons, armour, shields, civilian use armours, proto-mobile suits maybe?
The concept remained the same, start small and work up to big. By the time the Reapers came, it would be to visit a galaxy more than ready with counters to everything they had (except maybe indoctrination).
They would also do the same as in the Gundam universes and build up colonies in which they could staff humans and HeMUs, hidden away from the the other species. With the human's psionics and ability to tap into the quantum network and the HeMUs being able to communicate with each other in complete secrecy, it would be easy enough for them to simply prevent any others from entering by simply being able to recognize them.
Again something to think about for the future. As it was, Hannah with her faked credentials was leaving the Illium certification authorities, authority to open up a store selling personal weapons. Also included was the rent approval forms for a storefront on the main boulevard of the biggest port on Illium. Hannah wanted to be able to sell her weapons to any mercenaries heading deeper into the Terminus systems from Illium, dropping by to resupply or pick up extra firepower.
Taking inspiration from the hobby stores from Earth, Hannah would have a suit of X-Power Armour outside the front (locked of course) of the store, welcoming people inside. In the front window there would be an opened up suit to demonstrate its internal systems with optional weapons in front. Center stage of course was the bolter, scaled down to fit human (normal human) hands with a much less powerful shell. The kinetic shielding of most infantry in the universe meant that the Diamite tipped shell was much less useful, instead the shells were fragmentation, using the explosions to bypass kinetic shielding. Kinetic shields did very little to prevent the liquefaction of one's internal organs due to shockwaves after all.
Selling the bolters alongside the power armour was another way in which to earn cash, as those in the area would begin buying the armour as it was the only way to prevent oneself from being killed by the bolters. Creating the supply and the demand as it were. Hannah gave a little evil smile at that.
That being said they did sell the standard Eezo weapons, rifles, pistols, shotguns, etc which all functioned at about 5% increased efficiency (more rounds with less need for switching out thermal clips or cooling off). Their kinetic shielding operating at 5% increased efficiency and whatnot as well. Basically everything they had was a little better than what everyone else was selling.
They would be opening up the shop tomorrow, the HeMUs with their ability to simply reclaim and fabricate anything make it rather trivial to open a storefront. For now, Hannah was just meeting Eldrad and their children before they made their way over to the store to have a quick gander at it.
"Hello mummy!" And there was John now. His smile was wide. Too wide… hmmmmm.
"Yes, Hu-Asari, hello." And her… partner? Eldrad still not quite getting over the idea that he had children with a "Mon-Keigh".
Her daughters Taldeer and Macha were being held in his arms doing their best to look innocent. Macha having much more success by virtue of actually being an innocent. Taldeer on the other hand was learning from her father but noticeably less proficient in the art of lying/hiding/obfuscation/whateverEldradcalleditthisweek.
"Daddy said it was good to be appreciated even if it was Blue Mon-Keigh women doing it!"
Ah. There we go, John, can't tell a lie to save his life. Paragon of the Shepard family indeed.
"Is that right dear?"
Universal Century 0040 - Mobile Suit Gundam Universe
Cosmic Era 0083 - Gundam SEED Universe
After Activation 18/01/0046 - Origin Universe
Citadel Era 2150 - Mass Effect Universe
It had been two years since the Senti Company had established itself and Leiya' nai was happy, very happy that she had been one of the first few to have bought one of those "Bolters" and the Power Armour that they were selling. First 100 buyers, sized her and had it ready the next day. Since she had been one of the first, service was free for the first 5 years and she had been given 300 free shells of ammunition.
The other members of her mercenary group had laughed at her, "typical maiden antics" they had said. Ha! Sure it had been big. Like walking past it and it blocked out the lights big but it was cool. Solid, strong and awesome looking. Like totally awesome like in a "I'll crush you puny Asari" awesome.
So she had gone with her impulses and bought one, 100,000 credits or most of her savings at that point with a complimentary Bolter thrown in.
Getting inside it had been an experience. She had to open up the seam in the front of the suit, then climb in and slide herself down into the legs before pressing the button and closing the seam again. When the suit closed over her again and her neck had been sealed in after it connected to the skin-tight environmental suit the Mk 1 had come with, a gel filled the gaps between the suit and the interior of the armour. It cushioned her so that every little movement wouldn't chaff on her rather delicate skin.
Leiya had moved around, testing its general movements, kicking, punching, delicate handling of machinery, all of it working nicely, the haptic feedback perfect. The Matron who sold it to her, Hannah had said that it worked best with a neural interface but that cost another 20,000, but with it, the suit would move perfectly in accordance to her wishes with no confusions. Leiya didn't have enough money for it but they were nice enough to set her up on a plan! Just pay 100 credits a month until it was paid with only 5% compounding interest if she didn't pay that month. Super Nice!
The Bolter had been awesome. Like super awesome. Every time she fired it, it went boom and just uuugh. If she could have sex with a gun, this would be that gun. The shells just killed everything behind kinetic shields and laughed in the face of body armour.
Oh yes.
So when the surgery was over and she put on the helmet that was amazing as well. Oh Goddess, it was all amazing. The helmet had a zoom function in its eyes, a radio transmitter, voice amplifier, air filtration systems, tagging systems (that needed other Mk 1s to network together), analysis systems, visual filters so she could identify targets quickly and all that other stuff in the manual she didn't read. The Mk 1 even could put food into her bloodstream directly and disposed all of her bio-waste without ever needing to take it off. Like she could actually just lock the suit and go to sleep standing up and it would feel better than if she had laid down on a bed.
It even had an omni-tool interface and combined with the strength of the Armour, could punch holes in like any kinetic field she had ever seen.
It. Was. Amazing.
So when the other girls in the mercenary group and those Turians and one of those Salarians had laughed at her "primitive lunk of armour" she had not given a shit. Let them laugh, she would be doing the laughing when she crushed all her enemies beneath the heel of her Power Armoured boot.
Bwahahahahaha.
Leiya remembered her first battle with the suit. Cover? That was for the weak. When before they tried raiding a Batarian Slave Convoy transporting VIPs, the entire battle had Leiya scurrying around from cover to cover, taking shots when she could and hiding when she couldn't. This time however… ooooooooooh yes.
She had just walked through the cargo hold of the cargo ship with the slaves, mass accelerated rounds just ricocheting off the kinetic shields. When those failed from the amount of fire she was taking, the actual armour held up perfectly fine. Their combined firepower from 20 plus Batarians just scratched her paint at best.
She had laughed with the speaker on maximum, her joy echoing around the hold. Then Leiya unclipped the bolter from her back where it had been anchored and brought it up.
Boom Boom Boom Boom
The bolter had a camera that allowed the HUD included in the helmet to set a targeting reticule for her to see where it was pointed. The Power Armour's arms more than enough to hold it perfectly steady.
Boom Boom Boom Boom
Recoil was perfectly offset by the Mk 1's included programs. Every shell would land perfectly in the same place assuming it was cleaned and maintained properly. Each magazine held 50 shells, more than enough for her to kill every single one of the Batarians on the ship. Or at least she hoped, there were reloads hung on her waist.
Boom Boom Boom Boom
The shells flew out, slamming into kinetic shields, stopping then exploding. The armour that the Batarians used just didn't have enough internal protection to prevent the shock waves travelling through the armour, into the body, out the body before being reflected back in by the armour. Their insides were turned into paste even as their externals looked perfectly ok with only slight bleeding of the extremities indicating anything was wrong. Most times the force of the shell had been fully stopped by their kinetic shields so instead of being flung backwards in comical fashion, they just slumped over away from the explosions.
Heh heh. Leiya held down the trigger as she swept the bolter over the enemies in her sight. Most of them dying rather neatly but a few… those exploded. Stupid idiots probably set their shields to a higher speed threshold to save energy. The shells went in… the shells exploded… and they exploded.
Heh.
From there it had been a cakewalk, the others following behind her as she led the way through the twisting corridors of the ship, blowing away any of the crew stupid enough to try and stop her. When she had run out of ammo some of them thought it was their chance. An Omni-fist over her Power Armoured fist over her actual fist had come in low under the Batarian. In hindsight it was a bit much since the poor thing had erupted and painted the ceiling in his blood and gore.
Oh dear, its all over her Power Armour…
From there it had been rather straightforward when the ship's crew surrendered to avoid being torn apart. Not that Leiya would have done that, it got her armour all icky.
The boss had been super happy with it and had gotten her to lead them to the store to buy them in bulk. Leiya had even gotten a bonus out of it! She could buy loooots of stuff.
Like T-Shirts! T-Shirts that said cool things like "I Am The Hammer!" from the Senti Store. It was amazing.
She had even got a permanent discount for recommending more than 50 people. Yes!
She really liked the Senti Company.
The entire outfit had gotten suited up and gotten the neural upgrades and they were kicking ass. The boss had bought the maintenance kit for organizations that would repair and refit their armours without needing to return to the company. Good policy that, they really did need to fix those tiny little gouges on the armours.
Some of the Turians thought they were super smart and tried to fire the bolters without the Mk 1. When they broke their arms Leiya laughed, at least she listened to the stuff Hannah said.
Speaking of Hannah she had a really hot husband. Asari-like and male, mmmmmmmm. Their kids were super cute too, the little one John was kind of pale-pinkish but super cuddly. Leiya decided that she wanted to have one too, not like Asari kids who were totally not cute. She thought that when she retired she could totally join the Senti Company and find where they got those super hot aliens from.
The outfit had started taking bigger jobs at that point, their Mk 1s just kicked ass, so much ass. Anyone they went up against pretty much fell apart, they couldn't hurt the suits, they couldn't defend against the bolters, they just couldn't hide, they couldn't do anything and it was kickass.
Leiya was pretty glad she had been one of the first to get one, going up against Mk 1 would have been really unfun.
Today was the day her contract ran out and Leiya was heading straight to the Senti office in Illium to apply for a job. Sure she was a maiden of barely 50 years old but she knew the Mk 1 inside out.
Hannah was doing paperwork, her choice of weapon in this fight against the Reapers. Eldrad was out with Macha doing his thing while she was looking after John and Taldeer. They weren't much work really, the homework assigned by their schools in the temporary colony they had established keeping them busy.
Calls of "why do I need to know algebra" and "english is dumb" abound but she kept to her guns, it kept their minds focused and honed which was the most important factor. Bored children with terrifying levels of biotic and psykic strength were not something she wanted to deal with again. Having to get the crib off the roof was not something she was going to repeat.
The colony was undergoing construction on the border of Terminus and Citadel space, not really being in one of them in particular. There had already been raids by the Batarians but after their crews had been massacred and dumped on their doorsteps, the raids stopped very quickly. The Batarians wanted slaves and profit, it was distinctly unprofitable to die and return with no slaves.
The Senti Company had bought itself a few derelict frigates from the Turians and Asari before refitting them with their standard of weaponry. Each one could now take on a Dreadnought despite being less than a fifth of the size.
Heh.
The Company itself was expanding nicely, people had seen the Eclipse mercenary group complete their jobs without taking casualties and coming out the other side with only slight burn marks on their armour. The orders had begun rolling in for Power Armour, nobody wanted to be on the opposite side of one in a battle which meant that the demand for anti-Power Armour weaponry had increased. To satisfy the Minds, chainswords linked to the omni-tools' fabricators for sustainability were sold as well as various laser weapons that could reliably penetrate the kinetic shields. They were rather less effective against the Mk 1 itself but a shot in the right place could cripple the user and allow a close-combat melee kill.
The Senti Company had expanded by a massive rate when the Turians, Asari and Salarians had expressed very loud interest in buying Mk 1 for their own forces. Leases in Citadel space that allowed the construction of factories were accelerated through, past all the red-tape as fast as was possible. The big 3 races after all definitely did not want to have mercenaries that could essentially take on dozens of their standard infantry without a scratch.
While it was bottlenecked for a while, the new construction colony gave them a plausible excuse for the ramping up of production of the Mk 1. Supplying the military had given them the foothold they wanted, now it was just a matter of waiting just a little while and "discovering" new ideas which would let them design and build starship grade weapons.
Designs for personal and domestic use were coming online as well, the Senti Company would eventually infiltrate the entirety of Citadel space.
"Mom, that Asari that likes to hug me is here!" Ah! Leiya, cute girl, has weird thing about John. Wonder what she wants.
Universal Century 0041 - Mobile Suit Gundam Universe
Cosmic Era 0084 - Gundam SEED Universe
After Activation 18/01/0047 - Origin Universe
Citadel Era 2151 - Mass Effect Universe
Analysis of the Aggregate Reports regarding the Senti Company by Asari Council; Classified, Eyes only
The Senti Company is a very recent company formed in 2148 by a Matron by the name of Han'Ah, a survivor of a colony that had been attacked by pirates. Her current partner, a male of an unknown species (as per his own declaration) found her and provided the template for the "Power Armour" (henceforth being referred to by their make as Mark 1 or Mk 1, reasonings for such unclear) as they are known. The Senti Company originally rented space on Illium and sold their Mk 1s, retrieving them from a Cargo Hauler in orbit. At inception it was a family enterprise with Han'Ah's children with the male who calls himself "Eldrad" running the store and handling all the orders.
Further investigation of Eldrad deems him not communicating with any beings outside of his family, the likelihood that this is an infiltration attempt by the male unlikely. Salarian, Turian and our own engineers have taken these suits apart and have found no means by which an outside influence could either take control of or shut down the Mk 1s remotely.
The Mk 1s themselves were originally the main product being sold but have since been supplemented by Anti-Mk 1 weaponry as well as a burgeoning civilian "military surplus" product line. It appears to be attempting to market towards those that desire durable equipment that could be used in combat if necessary. Notable inclusions being Eezo floating mattresses to avoid being eaten by creatures on the ground of hostile worlds.
The Senti Company some analysts think, is not looking to the future with its military line of products. Its original Mk 1 designs used Eezo cores to power them but after a year they had phased out the designs and instead equipped them with a sub-atomic microfusion generator which gave them unlimited fuel effectively. It even had a solar power pack just in case. Those with Eezo cores were offered a free refit but many kept their Mk 1, it becoming a collector's edition item.
The suits themselves can be maintained by the separately sold maintenance kits and devices that the Senti Company sold, damage easily repaired with cheap proprietary liquid concrete, titanium and everything else for the internals. The easy maintenance of the suits and a lack of a need to ever bring them back to Senti for well… anything, meant that the Mk 1s are not going to be a long term source of revenue for the company.
Some more canny analysts realised that the Senti Company was effectively cornering the entire market for personal armour and weapons. If one did not have a set of Mk 1 or weapons capable of penetrating and at least crippling Mk 1, they had very little chance of either finding work in any meaningful (paying) roles or accomplishing their objectives if part of the military.
The Turian military has been spearheading an effort to find the most efficient use of these Mk 1s as well as tactics and strategies for using them. The Turians have also been the largest customer of the Senti Company that has since expanded to meet demand. Their use of rather archaic technology in the creation of a small floating colony has been of note, using centrifuge technology to stimulate gravity on the colony. Purchases of surplus frigates has given the Senti Company a very basic space fleet no doubt to defend the colony.
Mk 1, in the past 3 years has risen to a an almost iconic level of usage. At least one set is needed in order for a basic mercenary job to be accepted while the various militaries in Council and Terminus space are competing with one another to get the most of these powered suits for their own use. Whoever has the most it appears will be dominant in negotiations until there are enough to fit everyone with them.
Councillor Tevos looked up from the report and stared outside her office doors. They were hidden outside but there were indeed 2 Asari clad in Mk 1 (custom made with biotic enhancements instead of a solar charger) defending her office. Given the interface inside it and its ability to be controlled by thought, the Asari were likely skimming through the extranet but their presence was re-assuring.
The weapons offered by the Senti Company appear to be highly focused on engaging and destroying Mk 1s. This leads the investigation team to conclude that the origin of these weapons was in fact a race that had waged war and drove itself to extinction, their schematics left behind for enterprising individuals such as Eldrad to find. The other much worse option is that they are still out there and weapons such as the Lascannon and the Mk 1 are standard where they come from.
The weapons they have started to sell, fall under the same lines as the Mk 1. Extremely simplistic but highly effective, the Bolter, the Lasgun and Lascannon variants, the chainsword and a variety of miscellaneous combat knives. The Bolter and Lascannon rely on the Mk 1 to be used safely but if taken care of, they can last for thousands of years are the estimates. The Lascannon and the Bolter can be set up as stationary weapons funnily enough, many smaller mercenary and colonies using them as point defence emplacements. The Laser weapons are particularly nasty, bypassing kinetic shielding entirely and shattering the infantry combat paradigm that relied on infantry getting close using their shields. Now, either one engages at extreme range to dodge the lasers which by definition fired at the speed of light, or they find themselves a suit of Mk 1.
Replicating the weapons has proven much easier than expected however production lines have about as long as expected. Our current weapons systems are based around Mass Effect based technology, notably mass accelerators which have proven to be singularly ineffectual against the new Mk 1s on a relative scale. Retooling production to the more effective Laser weaponry requires tools and expertise that is unavailable at the moment. GARDIAN point defence systems engineers despite working on laser weapons systems are almost completely unfamiliar in regards to the technology that is the basis of these laser weapons.
In short our weapons scientists are working from an almost ground zero level of technological knowledge regarding the manner in which these weapons work, their power levels should not be possible with their power sources. It is recommended that we ask the Senti Company for their expertise in assistance in developing laser technology factories. While their laser systems are proprietary, we can lease them to more quickly develop for our own fleets. Our engineers have reported that it is possible to further increase the scale of the Lascannon and mount it on a capital ship. When fired it is possible to bypass the kinetic shielding technology entirely and attack the hull directly.
Recommend focusing resources in further development of laser technology.
Bolters use a very archaic method of delivering their payload. Gyrojet technology that had the shells propelled out of the barrel with a small charge before a rocket boosted it the rest of the way. The explosive compounds were new, the shockwaves easily killing most organics in 2-3 proximity explosions, Krogan included.
It is recommended that we simply copy the chemical components and attempt to perhaps develop new ammunition types for it. The current fragmentation shells will no longer truly be useful once everyone is wearing Mk 1 as it is protected against shockwaves. That is not to say that the Bolter is useless, its fragmentation shards are useful in stripping away the kinetic shields of a target allowing for more conventional weaponry to be brought to bear. Perhaps a penetrator type shell for the bolter?
Further the chainswords have been extremely effective despite their primitive design. A simple chain rotating around due to a micro-fusion reactor with teeth that can be coated either in omni-gel or diamond tipped for extra penetration capabilities. Forces in the field have reported that once an enemy is disabled, the chainsword is a highly effective means by which to attack the "softer" parts of the Mk 1. Its cutting edges highly suitable to tear open the armour and opening it up to eliminate the trapped individual inside.
The potential ramifications of the manner in which the Senti Company is doing business appears to be an attempt to create a monopoly on the production of Mk 1s and Anti-Mk 1 weaponry. A problem with this conclusion is that the Senti Company has made great pains to create longevity and survivability in their suits, planned redundancy apparently has no meaning for those within the company. Their actions are distinctly the opposite of that which a monopoly is created, their leasing of their basic utilities i.e. liquid concrete to patch up gouges after battle an example. The motivations for the Senti Company in regards to their military hardware is simply unknown.
The Military portion of the report ends here, the civilian products are examined next.
Tevos stared at the ceiling, another report that essentially told her nothing. A Matron that comes from a dead colony with a new humanoid alien in tow with two children who look distinctly not Asari and introduces weapons and armours that change the paradigm of warfare in its entirety. There were too many unknowns about this Matron, especially her motives. Why was she essentially giving away these suits? The estimated material cost coming up to 95% of what the Mk 1s were being sold for. It was ridiculously cheap and nobody was altruistic for no reason.
The civilian range of Senti Company products at this point in time has proven to be sparse. The products that do exist however are extremely well made and hold the same rugged, reliable and simple philosophy as the military section of their designs.
The Camper Kit at 1000 Credits, including a mattress, a campfire set, a tent, a basic cutlery set and a basic backpack in which to fit it all into. The mattress is built into the tent which features an Eezo core which allows it to levitate above the ground providing safety from the creatures that might crawl into and onto the mattress inside the tend. The campfire set using a micro-fusion reactor to provide the heat, contained in a very compact cylinder, grippable with a single hand. Serves as a useful flare in the event that things do not go as planned. The cutlery set is foldable and made of very tough military grade alloys. Everything is capable of folding in on itself and fitting inside the backpack with plenty of space to spare for other essentials.
The Outdoorsman Kit at 100 Credits, an undersuit of the same design used for the Mk 1, waterproof but breathable clothes including a jacket, shirt, pants, boots and hat. Other included items include a water bottle, knife, survival kit, long range radio and eye protection. Looking distinctly military in design, the kit seems to be a Turian military uniform without the armour and the weapons, designed for long range patrols and survival. The long range radio and the flare in the survival kit only serves to reinforce this opinion.
The Huntsman Kit at 200 credits, includes a lasgun as well as everything else already included in the Outdoorsman Kit. The Lasgun cauterizes the targets it hits but at the same time its vaporization of water inside the target causes a large explosion of body parts regardless. A very strange addition to a kit marketed towards "Hunters".
Everything above can be bought separately.
It appears that the civilian product range as it stands is marketed towards an outdoors type of person. However looking at them in aggregate it can be seen that perhaps the Senti Company is aware of something that we are not. The civilian equipment contains the necessary items for a long term combat mission deep in enemy territory. It may be reaching but the Senti Company seems to be arming as many people as possible, as cheaply as possible for a possible insurgency with little to no regard as to who it is selling towards.
In short the sale of Mk 1 as well as its civilian line has our analysts wondering that perhaps the Senti Company is aware of something that we are not and is perhaps attempting to prepare for it.
Recommendation, continued observation of the Senti Company with the highest authorizations possible. The chance is high that they are aware of a possible galactic threat judging from their actions. At the same time, analysis of their technology and implementation in the armed forces is a large necessity even if the Matriarchs need to be bludgeoned into submission, the danger that Mk 1 poses to our forces, that are simply not equipped to deal with at this time cannot be understated.
End Report.
Councillor Tevos put down the report, her brows creased in concentration. The report was dramatically different from the dozens she had read previously, the conclusion again very different but different in a way that got Tevos to think. Arming the population, possible threat that only they were aware of, a threat that needed the new technology they offered to be beaten? Tevos mulled it over, it seemed so fantastical but the pieces slotted in so well that it made her wonder why none had picked up on this before.
Tevos made a note to find out who wrote the report and promote her, intelligence was such a rare trait these days.
Universal Century 0044 - Mobile Suit Gundam Universe
Cosmic Era 0087 - Gundam SEED Universe
After Activation 13/03/0053 - Origin Universe
Citadel Era 2157 - Mass Effect Universe
The Caretakers had many stations spread throughout the Imperium of Man and even further afield, into the darkness which the Astronomicon couldn't breach. Small isolated worlds, far from the reach of the Imperium previously but now accessible through the Warp Lanes highlighted by the Beacons brought to the Imperium. It had been barely any time at all relatively, not even a decade but Guilliman moved with the speed and intelligence of a Primarch, builder of civilizations.
Quick to secure the assistance of the Caretakers, Guilliman brokered a treaty between the new Inquisition formed to find internal threats to the Imperium and the Caretakers. Inquisitors may only ever enter a Caretaker world on official business if issued an invitation. Guilliman understood that the Warp Lanes and their worlds were incredibly important for the continued efficiency of the Imperium. The Caretakers themselves were naturally Warp Corruption free due to the process that they underwent as part of their secretive initiation procedures, ideal caretakers for the Warp Lanes themselves and ensuring that the worlds would be free of the taint. In exchange for this freedom from the Inquisition, the Sojourners, the other half of the Caretakers would assist the Inquisition when needed due to their experience and ability in combating chaos.
Both the effect that they projected onto the warp and their actual skills in combating daemons, the Sojourners would be valuable additions to the Imperium's anti-daemon strike forces. Each of the worlds were technically independent but they seemed to be connected somehow. Guilliman was aware that they were avoiding the order to divide the Legion but the amount that the Caretakers had given to the Imperium entitled them to his blind eye. They would of course be divided across dozens of worlds which would naturally shrink their numbers anyway.
They had done things rather well in Guilliman's opinion, each world set up like a feudal system of sorts where the administration was done by the Caretakers as well as its security, military and freighter forces. They would only travel from Beacon world to Beacon world, every other part of the Imperium's trade network would operate as it had been previously and along the Warp Lanes but Beacon world trade also served as patrols and a means of keeping in touch. They were not seeking to supplant the role that the merchant fleet occupied, especially considering that the Warp Lanes offered safe worlds as well as fast and safe routes that were fixed. A goldmine in other words for the Merchant fleets as the Warp Lanes ensured a fixed time of travel for reliability.
Trade would explode around the Beacon worlds, Guilliman was sure. The Ultramar system had received one of the Beacons and the Caretakers had arrived to take care of it. Without them in proximity the devices simply failed to work and even fell apart as the energies to sustain it weren't present. A truly strange device that even the Mechanicus had no idea on how it worked, its lack of internal mechanics not helping in their investigations.
The Caretakers had in the years since the ending of the Horus Heresy and the beginning of what was becoming to be known as the Great Scouring, assisted greatly. The Beacon worlds guiding entire fleets through the dangers of the Warp, often much faster and more accurately than the traitors they were chasing. The traitors had nowhere to run as their continued attempts to escape met more and more fleets, guided there by the Warp Lanes. Most of the traitor forces were destroyed while a tiny few had managed to escape into what had become known as the Eye of Terror. As the noose closed over the remaining forces, the number that had actually escaped into the Eye decreased in volume drastically over time. Guilliman didn't want to think of what would have happened if the Caretakers had not been there to guide them into the traitors wherever they tried to run. If the majority of them had actually managed to escape… the damage they could have done would have been astronomical.
As it stood, aliens seeing the weakness of the Imperium had sought to take advantage of it. Dark Eldar and their slaving fleets, Orks, and many others of which there were no name had attacked and reaved their way across the periphery for years before the Caretakers established their Beacons beyond and allowed the Imperium to once again strike out at the alien. They would not find weakness here, not while there was life in the Imperium.
The Sojourners were particularly interesting in Guilliman's opinion. What was clearly a spur of the moment creation had actually become something of a viable organization. They did not act as the other Legions did, their enforced proximity with the crews of the fleet for 300 years creating an appreciation of the common man inside them. To that end the Sojourners had spread throughout the Imperium and at least one had placed themselves per star system where they proceeded to create little stops of a sort. Each one would allow the people of the system to place requests for the Sojourners to fill with no discrimination, any who did would find themselves on the receiving end of a very angry marine's fist.
Many a Planetary Governor had found out the hard way when the Space Marines had enforced their words with rather extreme prejudice. They would choose their jobs, which weren't being paid regardless out of interest rather than anything else. They were Space Marines after all, the goodwill of mere mortals did not matter to them.
These Sojourners merely used the job system as a means of seeking out places of contention which may be a breeding ground of corruption. Their unique experiences in rooting out the taint of chaos being crucial as they found and exorcised the taint with little fanfare. By clearing their systems of minor taint, the Sojourners left the more important and major investigations to the Inquisition. By also clearing the minor taint they allowed many more worlds to avoid being cleansed with purging fire. Every life was potential and the Imperium would not squander its potential if necessary.
Strangely enough the Sojourners had been joined by the members of various Space Marine legions, now chapters. Each Sojourner was joined by members from the Salamanders and their successors, the Raven Guard, the Iron Hands, the Space Wolves and even some Ultramarines and scores more from the various successor chapters. The Space Marines understanding that their knowledge of the Ruinous Powers was extremely lacking and thus seeking to remedy this lack. Learning from the Sojourners and the Caretakers was simply the most efficient manner in which to speed up their learning. Guilliman didn't want to think about what would happen if they had been forced to learn about the great enemy by experience and countless lives. It was the easy way out true but it was the most efficient.
The Sojourners were also serving as teachers to the other Marines. They had been created as soldiers, some of the greatest soldiers to have ever existed, post human weapons of war. They had not however been taught of the great many things in the universe around them, of the ability to simply slow down and enjoy the world around them instead of looking for firing lanes and potential cover. The Sojourners were teaching the other Space Marines how to appreciate humanity and not to simply protect them. Only with understanding and interacting with the people of the Imperium would they fully understand their role in the Imperium.
For this Guilliman was pleased, his Ultramarines had found themselves far too focused on the Codex Astartes and ignoring that it was not the comprehensive manual on how to be a Space Marine but merely a guideline. It had not been intended to rule them but merely to guide. Guilliman had considered that maybe he had been in error when he outlined most of the situations a Space Marine might wander into, thus making it appear as if it were a manual.
Perhaps he had been too perfect…
Guilliman shook himself out of his fugue, down that laid the path of hubris and within hubris would he find damnation.
Those Mobile Suits however… They offered so very much in the way of operational utility and flexibility but were so simple, capable of so much at the same time. A regular Imperial citizen would be able to repair and service one of them let alone the billions of the Solar Auxilia now labelled as the Imperial Guard. Not the most durable or even the most powerful of the forces available, its flexibility and humanoid arrangement was what had them possess utility that even Titans and Knights failed. Hands. It was all in the Hands thought Guilliman.
With a simple docking procedure, the basic Leo as it was known could hold on its back a mobile medicae facility, armoury to resupply the troops, artillery to be transported and even repair Titans with its size and scaled up mechadendrites. On the subject of the Mechanicus, they had been in a frenzy over the new designs and have given the Caretakers and Sojourners preferential treatment for all eternity for the designs given. The Mobile Suit design simply changing the paradigm by which they had been operating, no longer hampered by small physical forms and now capable of working on starships, Titans and so much more with increased accuracy due to the one to one nature of the neural interface. The Machine Spirit within each Leo was apparently very forthcoming and straightforward, requiring much less praying and chanting compared to capricious designs like that of the Titans.
For the Space Marines it had been a rather hectic few years, the Space Wolves had been immensely pleased with the beam axes and other close combat designs that would let them "punch Titans" in the words of Leman Russ. The Salamanders had of course equipped them with Titan grade weaponry such as the Volcano Cannon which could vaporize entire convoys in a single burst. The Raven Guard and White Scars had also began to use the Aries as its speed and lower profile had attracted them greatly. Hit and run attacks from all angles while the Virgos drew the fire.
The Imperial Guard had been issued the Leos, its simple and rugged design with its similarly designed weaponry was a force multiplier very welcome amongst the Guard. Its design allowing Hive Worlds to manufacture it with ease, the likelihood of its STC ever going missing infinitesimally small given the number of worlds charged with its construction. The Aires had been offered to the Imperial Guard but was much less appreciated, its accelerations knocking out the pilots as their bodies could not handle the forces placed upon them. It was much more widely used with the Space Marines whose bodies could indeed handle the pressures.
The Virgos however were an entirely Space Marine design. The Planet Defensors and its flight capacity as well as its weaponry all operating in tandem placing too much of a burden upon the minds of ordinary humans. It had limited the Mobile Suits to barely 30% of their capabilities, Guilliman's calculations had found. No, they were best left in the hands of the Space Marines whose enhanced minds could handle the added stresses.
The Virgos themselves were not much more complicated to build than the Leos but were so much more capable. They had torn apart the traitor forces with ridiculous ease, the upgraded Plasma designs destroying the weapons emplacements from underneath the Void shields. The Mobile Suits swarming around taking apart the ship, tiny part by tiny part, crippling it as engines were destroyed, the bridge was voided and the vital systems torn out. The Imperial forces had found it much easier therefore to simply swarm over crippled ships and destroy them at their leisure, the cost of doing so incredibly small compared to the hundreds of thousands that would have otherwise found themselves destroyed in ship to ship combat.
Guilliman had ordered the construction of more carrier vessels, space combat had changed entirely with the introduction of the Mobile Suit and they would take as much advantage of it as possible. He had to thank the Caretakers for their gifts to the Imperium, it had made everything increasingly better for the people within it. Perhaps on their next journey into the Warp they found STC designs for a means to make Titans as easily as they did Mobile Suits.
Universal Century 0044 - Mobile Suit Gundam Universe
Cosmic Era 0087 - Gundam SEED Universe
After Activation 13/03/0053 - Origin Universe
Citadel Era 2157 - Mass Effect Universe
John Shepard was 12 years old and he was a good boy. He followed the rules and tried to keep everyone around him happy. Of course that only applied when the rules made sense, like why wasn't he allowed to eat cookies at lunch? Which was why when his sister Taldeer had disappeared from the psionic network that John ran as fast as he could to find her. She was his sister and he wouldn't let her do bad things!
When he barged into her room he saw that there was a really big hole in the air. It was really weird since he could feel Taldeer's presence through the hole if he was standing just right but otherwise it was like nothing was there. Nothing as in there was a hole in the psionics network nothing. It felt… weird.
Mooom! There's something weird in Taldeer's room! He called out over the network.
I'll be right there honey she said back.
John bounced on his feet. His sister was on the other side by dad had told him to never go through portals in the middle of nowhere. John was a good boy so he waited for him mom to come into the room with him. Maybe his sister was being naughty.
She never was there with him when he got into trouble, even though she was usually the one to tell him to do stuff. John wondered how she did it… Well it doesn't matter now, she's going to get into trouble since mom was going to be right here when she came back.
Ha!
Taldeer was nervous. She was standing in front of 9 other children after being introduced by her dad. She needed to learn how to interact with other Eldar she had been told and her dad had taken her on a journey. She recognized the place as a craftworld from the things that her dad had taught her but it was the first time she had ever been here. It was really big like the size of the Warship she had travelled to Terminus big.
All big and curvy and like white and stuff. It was nice but she wouldn't want to be here all the time. It was really quiet and stuffy. All the Eldar were all like… boring. Ugh. Not cool at all.
Then she met the other kids and they were all like her. Sent here so they can learn about their Eldar history and society and stuff. She wasn't really paying attention they were all really boring.
The kids raised on the craftworld were all pretty boring too, standing straight and all dressed nicely and acting all boring like. Ugh,
It was over. Oooooooover. Over.
No more boring old Eldar telling Taldeer how she needed to act with decorum and not be rowdy lest she call upon She Who Thirsts to eat her soul. Taldeer had already heard how the Commander had saved them forever from Slaanesh which made it all less important overall. She didn't want to ignore them but they were soooooooo boring. Ugh.
"Dad, do we have to do that again?"
"Yes Taldeer, you need to learn how to control your powers and learn what path you want to go on."
"Do I have to? Can't I just do what you do?"
"Yes you can but you still need to explore the options available to you"
"Can't I just do it online? I don't want to go back. It's soooo boooooooring"
"In my d… no. I'm not going to use that. You need to do this because its going to be important for your abilities. You're powerful which means if you ever go back into our origin universe it can mean that you will suffer for it. There are those out there that want to eat your soul and if you are untrained they will be able to get into your mind and make you kill everyone you love. Its boring but its important Taldeer. Besides you get to live forever, 50 years of training is nothing."
"F-f-fif-fifty years? I have to spend 50 years?!"
"Yes dead, 50 years if you are really knuckling down and…"
"And?" Came the voice of Hannah. Her tone was very frosty. Eldrad's extremities began to shiver, things were likely going to be very bad for him he knew.
"I was taking Taldeer to learn how to use her powers" he was proud of himself for this, perfect excuse that would touch her maternal instincts.
"Oh, and you didn't tell me and left for 4 hours?" If anything the voice became even colder.
Eldrad knew that things were not going to be going his way this time. He had not thought that he would need to use his abilities to look into the future for something like this, it was too late he supposed.
The first batch of non-HeMU recruits for the Caretakers were undergoing their initiation. A Space Marine for the Caretakers/Sojourners would begin their journey in the Sojourners. Recruited from the many systems throughout the Imperium and given the preliminary tests, the recruits if they proved compatible with the gene-seed will continue on into the fortress monastery that the Sojourners had had established on the capital world in the system.
The recruits were not of course just for the Sojourners (their unique requirements being "compatibility" with a Beacon) but also for the other chapters which may have been joining the Sojourners in question for training as well as penance for immaturity of whatever that the chapter had decided to judge them for. They served as arbiters which may judge the recruits and have them either sent back to the chapter for further assessment once preliminary tests had judged them compatible with the Space Marine gene-seed. Others such as the Raven Guard, Salamanders and Iron Hands trusted the Caretakers which were unique in that each was trained as an Apothecary, not just for Space Marine biology but all biology. More along the lines of a Bio-Magus of the Mechanicus with practical experience than a standard Apothecary. Considering how much they had done in saving the different Legions from destruction, something like their gene-seed was rather minor considering how many hundreds of thousands of them were handled by the Caretakers/Sojourners during the Heresy.
Since the Veteran Sojourners had at least one tour through the Caretakers, they all were capable of administering the gene-seed to new recruits and to watch over their growth and maintain a problem-free experience (outside of the extreme pain). The recruits once the basic gene-seed was implemented were trained alongside that of multiple chapters, learning many different means of waging war from many different masters of the art.
If not learning to fight they were being taught by the Sojourners who had knowledge of the more mundane things. Whilst the hypno-learners could implant knowledge directly into the minds of the Space Marines, it was very difficult to set it up and and also time consuming. In essence, the knowledge would be out of date very quickly in regards to more temporary things such as the humans that need to be watched out for and potential targets of interest for their recruit missions. Other things that were taught were things deemed less important by the hypno-learners, things which wouldn't help the Space Marine as it were with their main task of waging war against the enemies of mankind. Things like being taught social etiquette for the communications regarding humans, operating the many different vehicles in the event it is needed for a mission, architecture and its differences and its implications and much more.
More of it was designed for them to engage their minds and take advantage of the rapidly expanding Neurotransmitters that came with their recent upgrades to their brains as well as a means of keeping them engaged in general. Other things were required to be taught verbally as having the knowledge dropped into their minds would be catastrophic for them and any around them. Any knowledge pertaining to Chaos itself and in particular, the summoning ceremonies were extremely sensitive topics. By teaching the recruits and the Space Marines sent to them the specifics regarding Chaos and how to avoid being corrupted (don't listen to the voices for one) and what X particular blood sigil means (attempts to summon a lesser Khornate Daemon) meant the Space Marines that left the Sojourners were more prepared to fight against the enemies of Man.
These Space Marines were forbidden upon oath from teaching their brothers in arms the specifics of Chaos, even the names of the Daemons themselves. It was only with the wards established by the Sojourners that they could speak and not draw the attention of Chaos for even the most cursory of mentions was enough to alert the denizens of the Warp. Names after all had immense power.
The Sojourners in this manner could effectively force the Space Marines and the Inquisition to come to them to learn the cursory aspects of Chaos. While not comprehensive by any means it would allow them to combat Chaos much more effectively than if they were handicapped by being restricted in fully understanding the threat they were being sent against. For full knowledge they would have to journey to a Beacon world and petition the Caretakers for admission into a class of which many were full of Space Marines, Inquisitors and many others seeking to learn how to better fight their enemies.
Sojourner recruits were expected to learn the myriad of different ways to fight and destroy the various hostile factions that they would come up against as well as many friendly ones in the event they fell to Chaos. Further they were expected to master every aspect of warfare to the level at which a master might wield these weapons. There were no Tactical Marines, Assault Marines, Devastator Marines, or Scouts, they would learn all aspects of warfare equally and when tested prove to be masters of all. They were denied Power Armour in the initial phases of their initiation, not like the Scouts of other chapters but rather so that they would learn their bodies inside and out to better use their newfound abilities. To better teach them the masters would send them on missions through the world to judge them. Missions tended to include assassinations, bartering, social infiltration, helping X or Y gang to achieve their objectives and other menial tasks.
When deemed worthy they are given their Power Armour and assigned a mentor. There may be up to 10 other students studying under a mentor and when deemed worthy they will be sent on towards a Beacon world to undergo the next and final stage of their initiation. It should be noted that at this time the students were fully capable as a Space Marine and only required experience to function at the level of their opposite numbers in other chapters. Their judgments reflected this as each Sojourner was expected to join their mentors in campaigns across the star system and Imperium when necessary, joining other chapters as they flew onwards to seek enemies to drive back and worlds to retake. Many of them would die on the way, barely 1 in 10 surviving long enough to be sent. Each of these however were the veterans of dozens of wars, the knowledge taught when they were still initiates now engraved in their minds. Before they left on their journeys, a single chalice of blood would be presented before each one. Upon consuming the blood their armour would be locked and they would be carted onto the ship to either continue convulsing or recover on the journey. The more perceptive ones amongst them would notice that they had begun to see in ways that even their enhanced post-human eyes could not. They could see past the flesh and upon coming close to the Beacon worlds, see the shifting colours that surrounded each one. Even before they came close, the colours surrounded them and fed into the skin where they felt at home in the depths of the darkness. This increased awareness came with the knowledge that each Sojourner and Caretaker exuded the same aura as the Beacon worlds and if they looked inwards, so had they.
Their sight was not the only thing that had changed, their bodies had as well. To what a Space Marine was to a human, the Caretakers were that to a Space Marine Neophyte. Their bodies were superior in all aspects, the Power Armour no longer a means of boosting their abilities but instead a manner in which it was restricted. At this point a squad of them could potentially contest a Primarch in the arena of battle and maybe even one of them would be able to escape alive. They were at most around 1.5x that of other Space Marines however due to an abnormality in their gene-seed (totally not planned) they would continue to grow stronger or more agile as time passed, surpassing that of even a Primarch if they could survive the 2000 years necessary.
The final initiations that they would undergo would be on the Beacon worlds. Deep underneath each one in bunkers placed under enough wards and defences to make Rogal Dorn jealous, the Space Marine initiates would be taught the secrets of the Caretakers. It would begin with the Space Marine stripping naked and being presented before a statue of a blood red giant, hunched over, its comically oversized arms dipping its fingers into the lake of blood spreading around it. The allusions to the Chaos gods were obvious but the distinct lack of insanity when seeing the being indicated that it was not Chaos in nature.
Perhaps the Caretakers worshipped old Gods of some kind? From before the Imperium of Man?
It mattered not for the next part of the ceremony was to have the potential (once cleaned) wade into the lake and standing before the giant. Hands would then dip into the blood and a single mouthful consumed. It was done without a moment of hesitation as they could see that the black, teal and purple that surrounded the Beacon World and the Warp Lanes exuded from the giant. If it led to corruption then it was already too late for them in the first place.
When they came up from their convulsions (which were getting old at this point) the new Caretaker, fresh from the presence of the Commander would understand their place in the universe or universes as it were. Some might be angry at the revelation but at the same time, being part of the Gestalt was… indescribable. Actually being part of something bigger was more than enough for the Space Marines to appreciate the scale of what they were involved in.
It was what the Caretakers were for they supposed, a means by which to acclimate to the changes. It also explained the feelings of smugness that the Veterans exuded when talking about the Caretakers. They were Space Marines yes but they were also still human.
Not like it would matter if they did say anything. Nobody cares. Far too much effort. And if they did say anything then the entire universe was doomed.