The various hive-sprawls across Vigilus were connected by large magnetic transport haulers mounted atop huge defensive fortifications that carved across the grey, dusty wasteland beyond the limits of the hive cities. Within the vast desert laid a number of half-buried voidship wrecks, remnants of the numerous recent invasions the planet had endured once it became one of the most important worlds in the Imperium. They were like great mechanical whale carcasses, being slowly decomposed and disassembled by various human and ork scrap gangs who would occasionally come to blows over their spoils. Neither the Mechanicus nor the Ecclesiarchy bothered to try and extend their reaches beyond the hive-sprawls, with the techpriests content to simply pawn whatever useful technology they could get from the scrappers and the Ministorum seeing no point in wasting their resources trying to purify a xenos-infested wasteland when they had more than enough heretics, mutants, and aliens to purge inside their walls.
Leman looked out of the scuffed, dust-worn window of the railcar as it rocketed through the vast and empty waste, sweeping his gaze across the landscape. With his enhanced vision he could see small bands of orks blazing across the dunes, leaving trails of grey dust clouds in their wake. He saw the innumerable layers of Megaborealis rising above the grey desert behind them, and the orbital spire towering above it. Ahead, he could see the layers and building tops of Hyperia, and even from this distance it stood out as distinct from the industrial, utilitarian sprawl he was leaving. The steeples and minarets of the Ecclesiarchy's many churches and altars glittered with a gaudy golden sheen, sparkling in the bright desert sun. While it was still a hive-sprawl with its dense, layered construction, there was at the very least an attempt to beautify it… at least from the outside. Leman sat back into his seat and rested his head, his mind still unsettled from the shock of seeing this new face of the Imperium. The more he wrestled with the proliferation of Lorgar's cult throughout mankind, the more it made sense in a twisted and sickening way. After all, was the Imperium not founded on the hope and optimism embodied within the Emperor and his vision? With the Emperor crippled, barely clinging to life and his sons vanishing for millennia, how else could the Imperium have justified its own existence? The fact that it was beginning to make sense to him only made it more unsettling, and he tried to simply avoid thinking about it.
It is a fact of the galaxy that likely won't change for some time… Leman thought. I will simply have to get used to it for now.
Then there was the matter of Guilliman, who had seemingly defied death and returned to the living just as the Imperium was at the brink of destruction. Knowing him, he had most likely accepted this Imperial Cult purely on the grounds of pragmatism… though after 10,000 years, who could say how much any of his brothers had changed.
I hadn't thought much of it before… but perhaps I am the one who has changed. Leman thought.
He looked over at Admu, who was marveling at the vast, sprawling scenery outside of the transport's window. He smiled slightly.
What would Guilliman think if I appeared before him with a half-Aeldari goddess in tow? Surely, he would be taken aback. Leman thought, amused by imagining his brother's bewildered expression. Well, in all likelihood that meeting will not come for some time. I can't help but feel there are unseen forces pursuing us…
"Mister R- Enoch, where is the ocean?" Admu said, correcting herself.
"I… don't believe Vigilus has an ocean. It is mostly just grey desert and hive sprawl." Leman said.
Admu seemed disheartened by this news.
"Does Baal have an ocean?" Admu said.
"...no, I don't think so. Baal and its moons are largely irradiated deserts." Leman said.
Admu pouted with an expression of great disappointment.
"Fret not, there are millions of planets in the Imperium, many of which have all kinds of different oceans. I am sure we will find ourselves on one eventually." Leman said, attempting to cheer her up. "Why, even Fenris has an ocean… quite an impressive one, if I do say so myself."
Her disappointment faded away, and she became lost in thought staring out the window as she imagined visiting one of these worlds. Leman looked at her a bit closer as she daydreamed.
Curious… he thought. She doesn't look the least bit like an Aeldari… is it because she doesn't know her true parentage?
His thought was interrupted by a blaring alert indicating that they were arriving at their destination soon.
Best to leave such topics for another time… Leman thought, a creeping feeling welling up somewhere inside of him that he quickly buried.
The three emerged from the large tube-like metal transport and were greeted by a reverie of sights and sounds. The platform they entered from stood at the edge of a great boulevard, one which spanned at least 300 meters wide and stretched so far into the distance in either direction that its beginning and end must have been obscured by the curvature of the planet itself. All along its sides were rows of towering skyscrapers and hab-blocks, though they were nothing like the drab and utilitarian edifices of Megaborealis. These constructions were designed to inspire awe and reverence, their polished grey-white stone and gilded metal surfaces gleaming in the sunlight. Each facade was an ornate work of art, buttressed by gothic spires and byzantine murals meant to impress a feeling of power and magnificence. The busy, multi-tiered streets were lined with impossibly tall trees with grey, stone-like bark and pure-white leaves. The bark of the trees seemed to ooze golden sap in a way that mimicked the appearance of veins of golden ore in a rock face. No doubt these trees were genetically modified and likely expensive to upkeep in this planet's harsh conditions.
It seems the Imperium's tendency towards opulence has only increased in my absence. Leman thought.
Beneath the lily-white canopy, an immense swarm of people had gathered along the side of the street, filling the air with a loud cacophony of anticipatory chatter. They waded through the dense crowd of pedestrians, seemingly unnoticed despite their still above-average heights thanks to the latent effect of their cloaks. The throngs of energetic civilians jostled and crowded around the sides of the main thoroughfare, even climbing atop the various signposts, light poles, and fenced buttresses and obscuring their vision of the other end of the highway.
"I don't think I've ever been around this many people at once…" Admu said, with a hint of nervousness.
"It seems abnormal even for a hive-sprawl for the streets to be this crowded…" Leman said.
Indeed, it was so crowded that it seemed Fen had decided to return to the gauntlet simply to avoid being smothered by the impermeable crowd of mortals.
"Maybe there's some kind of festival going on?" Admu said. "Oh, I remember hearing Auntie Sla- er, Auntie talk about something called a 'parade' that she would have in her city, maybe it's one of those!"
"I attended my fair share of military parades back during the Great Crusade…" Leman said. "Never much cared for them."
"Well maybe you'll like this one!" Admu said, infectiously cheerful as ever.
I doubt we'll be able to make it anywhere with the streets this crowded… Leman thought. Looks like we won't have a choice.
"...perhaps." Leman said half-heartedly.
Suddenly the crowd became agitated, a wave of anticipation sweeping over them as the object of their excitement grew closer. Their cheers and jubilant wailing grew in intensity, as a great procession came into view.
There were many regiments of guardsmen adorned with golden laurels, veterans of the numerous wars and battles fought in defense of the Nachmund Gauntlet in recent times. They marched in large formations alongside tanks, troops carriers, and mobile artillery pieces, displaying the power and might of the Astra Militarum to both reassure the weary citizens of the Imperium and strike fear into any who would think of opposing them. Admu felt her heart swell as she remembered the brave men and women she had fought to protect on Leprus, hoping that all of them were safe wherever they were. Her attention was drawn away by the feeling of periodic rumblings shooting through the earth.
The guardsmen were followed by titanic war machines, their massive mechanical legs thundering along the heavily reinforced thoroughfare that surprisingly did not buckle or strain underneath the weight of these awe-inspiring technological behemoths. As the parade was taking place during relative peacetime, the Imperial Knights were decorated with all manner of heraldry and ornaments, displaying the various histories and achievements of their pilots and respective houses with pride. Colorful flags and banners hung from their towering limbs and monstrous weapons, most bearing the same skull-embedded cog symbol that Admu had seen on the red-robed mechanicus priests back in Megaborealis. Seeing the towering walkers reminded her of the time she and Leman had piloted those other walking machines in her uncle's simulation, and for a moment she missed the feeling of riding around in a machine similar to these.
Perhaps I'll be able to experience it for real some day… She mused. It would be wonderful if I could get one with an open cockpit, so I could feel the breeze in my hair…
Lastly, the parade concluded with what Leman had been dreading: the forces of the Adeptus Ministorum. To his surprise, their ranks were filled with the armored women he had first encountered in Tzeentch's simulation. They wore black-and-white armor with red robes emblazoned with a stylized floral symbol, carrying bolters and chainswords only slightly smaller than the ones used by regular Astartes. Their armor as well seemed to be just a step below that of the average space marine, indicating these were no rank-and-file soldiers. They marched alongside large groups of hooded auxiliaries, wielding swords and shields like something from an ancient remembrancer record. Columns of gothic black vehicles rolled down the street alongside them, covered in gaudy ornaments and sacraments. There seemed to be strange, barely-clothed flagellants among their ranks, inflicting wounds upon themselves as a part of some esoteric ritual that was utterly alien to Leman.
Perhaps I can grasp the excessive zealousness they display, but why field a force of only women? Leman thought.
Then, a bolt of reminiscence struck him.
Are these what has become of the Silent Sisterhood? He thought. No… the Sisters of Silence would never operate in such a public manner, let alone participate in such pompous displays. Unless… their blank gene has been lost as well…
Leman decided not to continue down this path of inquiry, the implications of it too disturbing for him to allow himself to be distracted by them. For all he knew this was some other all-female order of armored warriors, at least that is what he had hoped.
The cheers of the crowds grew to a deafening level as the climax of the procession approached. Some kind of massive land-cruiser rumbled along the street, looking more like a fortress - or more accurately, a cathedral - on treads than any conventional vehicle. It was lined with buttresses, spires, and ramparts, meaning that it appeared to serve at least some sort of practical role as a war machine, though its excessive ornamentation made that prospect seem dubious at best. Leading the colossal behemoth was a squad of Sororitas Celestians in imposing warsuits that matched the height of an Astartes in Terminator armor, all surrounding a gilded incense-burning chariot that bore the Canoness of this Preceptory. Atop the rolling temple behind them, on an immense golden throne that seemed almost like an imitation of the one on Terra (though to Leman it appeared more like a mockery), sat some kind of grand priest. He wore long, white robes covered in ornate golden patterns and wielded a large staff bearing the Imperial Aquila at its tip. At his side stood a stern-faced and raven-haired sororitas, a personal guard of some kind. While the priest waved at the adoring crowds, she merely scanned them with a cold gaze.
"Who is that man?" Leman said.
"Huh? You must be new here." A man next to Leman said. "That right there is Cardinal Bogimil. I heard that during the Black Legion's invasion he personally banished a daemon right in front of an entire crowd of people by himself."
"By himself, eh?" Leman said.
Then he must be a powerful psyker… Leman thought. Or a very good liar.
With the gaudy and idolatrous display finally over, the immense crowds finally began to thin out, allowing Leman and Admu to navigate the streets in peace. While he searched for directions to somewhere he could arrange transport to Baal, Admu was still entranced by the parade.
"Oh, wasn't that wonderful mister Enoch?" Admu said, closing her eyes and imagining the parade while it was still fresh in her mind.
"I will admit that it was… colorful." Leman said, attempting to muster something positive to say.
"Yes! All of the colorful banners and flags waving in the wind, the crests and murals… I wish I knew what they all meant!"
Ever the optimist. Leman thought.
They approached a busy kiosk similar to the one they had encountered before in Megaborealis, this time manned by an extremely tired-looking woman in a pressed white suit. Her head was resting on her hand and her eyes were half-lidded with an unfocused expression and dark circles beneath them. She slowly sipped from a cracked mug of recaf emblazoned with a faded Imperial Aquila, her 6th one today.
"Excuse me-" Leman said, startling the woman and almost causing her to spill the dark, steaming drink.
"Ah! A-apologies sir, I- uh, I'm sorry, what do you need, sir?" The woman said.
"I'm looking for passage to Baal with the soonest departure date possible." Leman said.
"Baal?" The woman said, sounding surprised.
She put on a pair of smudged reading glasses and fingered through her dataslate, scanning through shipping manifests and passenger logs.
"It looks like the next transport to Baal won't be departing for another year… I'm afraid you missed the last one by just a few days." She said.
"Just my luck." Leman muttered.
"Shipping routes have become rather convoluted, due to the unstable currents of the warp as of late. I'm afraid whatever route you might take to Baal will likely be somewhat… circuitous." She said.
"I would simply prefer to not stay in one place for too long." Leman said.
"I'm mapping out a route that would take you to Baal in roughly 3 months' time, not accounting for any unforeseen hazards or obstacles, of course." She said.
Of course. Leman thought.
She handed him a dataslate containing the projected route and stops they would be making.
"The Miriam Celeste, a Carrack-class transport ship, just arrived through the Nachmund Gauntlet and will be making the rounds across this side of the galaxy, ending its journey at Baal before returning to Imperium Sanctus. It will depart a week from now, delivering supplies and equipment to the mining world of Sepheris Secundus. I can arrange room for you aboard the vessel and lodgings until your departure."
"Thank you." Leman said, relieved to finally be making some progress towards his goal.
"Will you be traveling by yourself?" The woman asked.
Leman raised an eyebrow.
"No, I am traveling with-"
Leman turned to see that Admu had disappeared. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"Please, if you would wait a moment while I find my companion?" He said.
Admu strolled down the bustling streets of Hyperia, her hands clasped behind her as she drank in the innumerable sights, sounds, and smells of this wondrous new place. Perfume seemed to drift down from the genetically enhanced trees and incense-burning cathedral spires above, fluttering down to the earth alongside the sparkling white leaves. While the men and women around her seemed to entirely ignore their surroundings which had become mundane to them, Admu found herself completely taken in by the artificial beauty of Vigilus's capital. Little did she know that among the worlds of the Imperium, Vigilus was fairly unremarkable - especially when compared to the throne world of Holy Terra, of which much of Vigilus's designs were merely a crude replica. To her, however, it was entirely and completely new, and she loved it. She saw posters and holo-signs plastered all over the off-white marble bricks and tarnished silver-gold walls advertising the shops and stores of the hive-sprawl's market district and was immediately taken by the idea of visiting them.
I shouldn't wander too far off while Leman is distracted… but just exploring the vicinity shouldn't be an issue. I can always re-trace my steps. Admu thought.
As she continued her leisurely stroll, she noticed another sign that seemed to be slightly cruder than the previous ones. It was made of rusted sheet metal and bore the words "EGGS-O-TICK WAREZ" in messily painted letters. Underneath the crude lettering was a long arrow pointing towards the direction of a nearby alleyway that led away from the sunlit city streets and into the dark crevasse between the towering city blocks above.
Hmm… must be some kind of local dialect. She thought. Well, if I can't visit the market district, maybe I can see what they have here!
Unbeknownst to Admu, atop an abandoned hab-block across from her, a pair of scavenged binoculars watched her as she read the makeshift sign closely. With great anticipation they watched the stranger examine their handiwork, then make the foolish decision of following its directions.
"No way, someone actually fell for that stupid sign?" One of the two teenage boys whispered.
"Yeah, and she looks rich too!" The other one with the binoculars said. "I'm telling ya, those wealthy off-worlders are as gullible as a newborn baby!" he said with a crooked smile.
"C'mon, we gotta get over there quick and claim our spoils!" The other boy said, both of them pulling rusted makeshift blades from their trousers.
The two boys clambered down the abandoned building with their shivs in hand, jumping through broken windows and sliding down pipes until they reached the layer just beneath the main thoroughfare. They shuffled along a precarious air duct suspended above a long maintenance shaft, their bare feet shaking only slightly as they crossed the treacherous gap to reach the other side.
Admu stepped into the dingy alleyway, much of the opulence and daylight giving way to damp and shaded bare metal and stone. Wires and tubing crisscrossed between the towering skyscrapers and hab-blocks like spider's webs, forming a network of canopies that extended far above and in all directions. It seemed that beyond the forward-facing facade of the gilded main street, the city began to show its true colors, however Admu was unperturbed. To her, it was simply a new and unexplored dimension of this wondrous place she had found herself in. She continued down the alleyway in search of an entrance or doorway, passing by rusted pipes, steam-billowing grates, and abandoned piles of refuse. She found herself at the far end of the long, dark backstreet, blocked from advancing further by a large, razor-topped chain link fence. She tilted her head in confusion, wondering if she had missed some direction along the way. She heard a rustling from behind that caused her to turn back around. She saw nothing safe for an overturned sewer grate.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" She asked innocently.
Suddenly she felt a tugging sensation against her traveling bag, and instinctively reached out to secure it. She saw a young man with unkempt, russet hair and dirty, tattered clothing tugging at her knapsack.
"What are you doing?" She asked with a calm and unbothered voice.
The teenage boy, confused as to why the bag would not budge an inch, looked up and saw what, up until now, his mind had not allowed him to see thanks to Admu's enchanted cloak. His eyes widened as he saw the towering giant in front of him, and adrenaline shot through his body as his brain sent signals of panic through every single nerve in his body.
His reflexes gave him a single choice in response to this alarming new stimulus - fight or flight, and out of the two he chose, almost at random, to fight. He plunged the homemade knife into the 10-foot-tall woman, and instead of hearing the sound of tearing flesh as he expected, he merely heard the snapping of metal upon Admu's skin and the clattering of his broken blade onto the pavement below. He stared at the handle of the severed knife in shock and dropped it. The other boy stumbled out of a pile of trash cans, a larger and more portly scamp with rosy cheeks and dirty-blonde hair.
"RUN!" The russet-haired boy said to his accomplice, and the two bolted away from the scene and towards the alley entrance.
"I thought you said she was just some rich girl, not a monster!" The portly boy said, panting heavily as they sprinted.
"I-I thought she was! She didn't look that big from far awa-"
The two were knocked to the ground as they ran into some impenetrable wall just as they reached the end of the alleyway. The russet-haired boy rubbed his head and looked up, seeing another massive figure looming above him. He was covered in expensive silks and fabrics, but the boy could tell from the pain he felt that underneath them this man was strong. His face was bearded and covered in scars, looking down at them with a cold, disciplined gaze that struck fear like daggers straight into their hearts. The mysterious man seemed to emanate hidden power that terrified the boys, like some kind of underhive urban legend out of their childhood nightmares come to life. The man reached out with huge, burly arms and effortlessly lifted to the two whimpering adolescents by the scruff of their shirts, holding them at eye level.
"Thieves." Leman said, his voice rumbling like a hungry dragon. "You know what we used to do with thieves back where I came from?"
"N-n-no sir, please we're sorry…" the boys whimpered and pleaded, barely able to comprehend how badly their scheme had backfired.
"We would string them up on the bows of our longships, letting the frigid waves crash against them, waiting until just before they succumbed to the cold or drowning…" he continued, clenching his fanged teeth and staring into their souls with his yellow, predatory eyes. "Then we would throw them overboard and watch as the sea-beasts tore them limb from limb until nothing of them remained!"
The boys squirmed and shivered, tears welling up in their eyes as their hearts beat rapidly out of pure terror.
"Oh please, stop scaring them!" Admu said with an annoyed pout.
Leman dropped the two boys, who immediately scrambled to their feet and ran down the street with reckless abandon.
"Maybe that will teach them not to prey on innocent pedestrians." Leman said smugly.
"They looked filthy… I doubt they would have been putting themselves in danger like that if they had no need to…" Admu said wistfully, a look of concern painted across her face. "You would think that in a place as rich as this, children wouldn't have to scavenge for themselves."
"Yes… Well, I've made arrangements for our next destination, which will bring us one step closer to Baal. It won't be for another week, so in the meantime I have arranged for room and board in the upper levels of the city." Leman said.
"That means we will have time to visit the market district tomorrow!" Admu said giddily.
"Actually, we'll be going to retrieve the ship… then I would like to keep as low a profile as possible until we can leave." Leman said.
Admu looked at him with a disappointed frown.
"Oh, come on, you know I'm not in any danger here." Admu said.
"You don't know that… and besides, we have no way of knowing what effect your presence here might have." Leman said.
I may have a suggestion. Fen said, manifesting from the gauntlet. I can communicate with you telepathically due to our link; I could accompany the girl while you retrieve the ship.
"That's a great idea!" Admu said.
Leman pursed his lips, his eyebrows furrowing as he weighed his options.
"...fine." Leman said. "One day is all you get, after that we wait for the ship to depart."
Admu jumped up and down with giddy.
"Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" She said, embracing Leman tightly.
It should be fine with the wolf watching her… Leman thought. After all, how much trouble could she get into in one day?