Author's Note: I recently had surgery so if I'm a bit slow updating that's why. Also, that's why I'm not answering too many reviews right now I feel awful sorry.
Ahthap wondered a bit at himself and what he was doing.
When they had reached out to the Sautekh Empire, they had happened to mention not just their desire for more slave girls, but the reason behind it and a quick response had come advising that if they wanted, they could purchase a shell and transfer the young slave girl. It was, on the face of it, rather absurd… she was just a slave, meant entirely for his pleasure. Also, the mental control of the scarabs would be impossible when she had a shell body, so her independence of thought would be returned. How did Kamia truly feel about him and her status in life? Ahthap honestly had no idea.
Yet, Ahthap truly cared about both his slave girls. A bit like he would care about beloved pets, perhaps, but he still cared. And what truly bothered him, and motivated him to do this, was his deep sense of guilt. It had been his duty to watch them for signs of ill health and he'd simply failed at it. The tumor should never have reached this stage, it might have been treatable if he'd only noticed it sooner! So despite how utterly absurd it was, Ahthap had decided to make a trip to the Sautekh Empire. Zarathusa hadn't been entirely pleased, but had granted permission.
"It's alright darling. You'll be better soon," Ahthap murmured to his darling Kamia, stroking her hand as she whimpered softly. She wasn't really in pain, thanks the scarabs, but they'd had to do an operation to open up her digestive track and despite that she was coughing up terrible fluids. That was causing her mental distress and to Ahthap, it was awful to see. She was dying rapidly at this stage. "We're going on a trip and you'll be better. This might be a bit odd, but just hold still." The easiest way to ensure she would get there alive, now that he had decided to save her, was stasis.
Ahthap quickly placed Kamia in a stasis cube. Her pain temporarily ceased, as she was caught in time and Ahthap noticed how terribly sick she looked, caught halfway through a cough. Poor thing.
That done, Ahthap settled in for the trip, reflecting on it as they entered FTL. He'd already decided that if Kamia had a very negative reaction to him, after regaining full independent thought, he would leave her on Luminous with a bit of his fortune to start her on her way. Ahthap was really quite rich. Like most great luminaries, he'd used his skills to amass a fortune. The greatest sign of that was the rose gold and emeralds he'd adorned his own body with. Such things were quite common, everyone wanted to display their status, but Ahthap's level of artistry indicated a high level of wealth indeed.
So while it would be personally hurtful, if Kamia couldn't stand the sight of him, Ahthap would let her go. She'd brought him a great deal of pleasure, he felt like he owed her that much. Although Ahthap dared hope that she would not feel that way… when he'd pulled back the scarab, to see if she was in pain, she had clung to him as she'd cried. It was probably just a reaction to the pain but perhaps?
In just a few weeks, they arrived in Luminous and Ahthap was able to see the new shell for his darling Kamia.
"Why, it's quite beautiful," he said, admiring it. Ahthap was requested a female shell, with the newly finished upgrades for necron females. He hadn't given any instruction beyond that, he wasn't an artist, but he'd paid the highest price for the best model. That had given him a work of art. This one was a stylized version of the female form, with a base color of powder blue. It was beautifully decorated with bronze filigree and red jewels. Truly beautiful. "I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn't it… it should be lovely." He could easily see this beauty on his arm.
(Ahthap could not know, but the bronze filigree was meant to recall the innards of a fine watch, similar to the steampunk aesthetic)
"I'm glad you like it! She's ready if you are," the technician in charge, a sadly unattractive but quite friendly human woman, said with a smile. Ahthap nodded before releasing Kamia from her stasis cube before gently guiding her through the fires of biotransference.
As her body turned to ash, the new one animated, the flux catching fire. Ahthap noticed the flux was a beautiful golden shade, highly unusual. But then, it was possible to modify flux in many ways, it was just tradition to leave it green. Kamia made a soft sound, lifting her hands and looking at them, the blue joints and the fine bronze filigree.
"Kamia?" Ahthap said and she looked up. Her eyes flared and then she moved. Her body hit his with a clang, her arms going tightly around him, but not remotely painfully and Ahthap cradled her close as she buried her face against his neck.
"Thank you… thank you… I was so scared, I didn't want to die," she said and Ahthap could empathize. He couldn't remember the Flesh Times clearly, yet that feeling was familiar to him. "Ahthap, I – I love you." Her voice was so soft and hard to hear, but Ahthap felt a great warmth in his core.
"Oh Kamia, I love you too," he murmured in her ear. Ahthap would not have blamed her if she'd hated him, held him responsible for the deaths of her people. Yet, he was so glad she didn't feel that way. "Let's go home." Luminous was a pretty world, but Perdita was where he belonged, the place that had his heart.
He wanted to take his beloved Kamia home.
Manric was pleased with Loki and Calder, although he knew he would need to warn Imotekh of the personalities involved. But the Stormlord was used to dealing with some very eccentric Crypteks, he just needed to know what he was dealing with.
Manric recognized the dynamic of the two friends and because of that, was taking them both. He knew this kind of relationship, he'd seen it before, although with a pair of young women. The thought made Manric feel a touch nostalgic… ah, they had been an adorable pair and he'd danced with them both. It had all been so long ago.
After they were underway, though, Loki came to him with a concern.
"Can I speak with you privately, sir?" Loki looked around, in a rather furtive way and Manric felt a bit of amusement. Trying to ditch Calder for a bit? Most likely. Manric sensed a great urgency from Loki, whatever he wanted to say was very important to him.
"Of course, it would be no problem," Manric said easily before taking Loki to his rooms for a private one on one. "What is it?"
"Uh… I am a very powerful psyker sir!" Manric stared at him, caught completely by surprise. "I am not saying I think I'm a psyker, I'm saying I AM a psyker! Do you want me to start from the beginning sir?"
"Please," Manric invited, sure Loki would have rehearsed this in his head many, many times. That should make for a coherent story, as long as he didn't get overexcited. Sure enough, Loki launched into his story, starting with his visions on Hope. The way the visions stopped when he lost his soul, then came back when he gained a new soul… that made Manric's mind prickle with worry.
"That is not quite how this should work. I though psychic strength was tied to the soul, and your original soul should have been lost. A new soul should not have had the same properties," Manric mused aloud, glancing at the spear. It was gently glowing and Manric felt that the spirits within were interested. "Unless perhaps the mind can influence the soul…" The spear had reshaped his mind to be more similar to an eldar, and they customized the souls to the body. Could that be enough? Manric somehow doubted it. Loki tilted his head.
"Ahriman did say it was kind of a mystery." Ahriman? "So I went on a vision quest and went to a castle…" Loki continued to tell the story, making a point that he HAD asked Revalt for permission and got it, even if it was just to talk to the voices inside his head. Manric found that amusing, but it made him wonder. Was that truly what this was all about? Just a strange form of insanity? Although if so, they should have the Psychomancers take a look at Loki. "And I know what you're thinking sir! You're wondering if maybe I'm just crazy!" Loki suddenly pointed at him and Manric tilted his head, a bit startled. He hadn't thought he'd given any sign of that, although perhaps Loki was just guessing from long experience. "I'm going to prove to you, right now, that I am not crazy and I AM a psyker! Just wait a moment sir," Loki said before going completely still. His eyes dimmed and Manric waited a moment before running a scan.
"He's running hot," Manric murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Loki was running significantly hot, which was definitely a sign of psychic activity in a necron. That had been noticed with many of the necron psykers and some of them had been outfitted with more advanced cooling systems, to avoid potential damage. Loki's heat was well within safe limits, though. Manric glanced at his spear and found it was still sparkling. "What do you think?" Manric got a feeling like a shrug. The spirits were interested, but they didn't know.
Manric had no idea what he was waiting for, but he knew when it happened. There was a sudden ting and to Manric's shock, the Living Metal of Loki's body parted, mechanisms taking real damage. Not a dangerous injury in the least, just a slash in the side that should repair itself quite quickly, yet nothing had caused it. Nothing he could see, at least, and Loki suddenly started before folding over on himself.
"Owww…. Owwwww…!" Loki whined and Manric instantly moved to him, gently touching him. As he did, he picked up an immense amount of pain. Yet that made no sense, an injury like this should cause no pain at all. "Ahriman wasn't kidding… wow it hurts…" Manric tried to find the source of the pain. It was easy for him, but also utterly appalling.
"He damaged your soul," Manric said, horrified, even as he tried to repair the damage. That was the natural use of his gift and the damage was more a scratch than anything, fairly easy to fix. Still, damage to the soul was never a minor matter! Loki nodded, but slowly, like it was taking more effort than it should.
"Yes sir, he warned me it would hurt a lot and take a while to get better but it was the only way. Do you believe me now?" Loki asked and Manric felt a touch exasperated. He wanted to say that damaging his soul wasn't worth it, but he supposed it was. Still, to take such damage so calmly!
"I suppose I have to," Manric said, as he gently smoothed the torn edges of Loki's soul. As he worked on it, he glanced at his spear. It was glowing steadily, now. "Is there more to this story?"
"Oh, yes sir!" Loki said and began to explain about Ahriman, his past mistakes, and the Rubric Marines. Loki's speculation that putting the soul of a Rubric Marine into the body of a mindless Necron, the ones who had lost their minds, might 'bring back' the Marines. Manric saw a huge issue with this idea though… while it was interesting and Zivok would probably love the opportunity, why should Imotekh consent to any of this? He despised Chaos and Tzeentch in particular. "Ahriman has an offer, sir." Oh? "Let me get my datapad…" Manric thought he was about done anyway, so he stood back as Loki pulled out his datapad and quickly tapped on it. "Ahriman says he's offering the Key to Mobius. I don't know what that is, he says Imotekh will understand. And he says um…" Loki paused a moment to read his datapad. "He says he got it from some necron Tomb Worlds that were permanently sucked into the Warp during the Time of Strife. They were still asleep in there, until the sorcerers found them and well. Did stuff." Manric hoped the necrons in question had remained unconscious for that. "Ahriman also said that he thought Imotekh would ask why he isn't using it… it's because he doesn't have the technical knowledge to use it and he's not going to trade it to the Dark Mechanicus. Fuck those guys. That's almost a quote, sir." Hah!
Manric considered this whole scenario for a moment. Imotekh hated Chaos, because he was fundamentally an entity of Order. Similar to how he hated the chaotic nature of the orks, he found Chaos innately repulsive. But did that make a deal with an individual entity impossible? Manric wasn't sure. Also, he had no idea of the value of this Key. If it was something very significant, that could easily sway Imotekh's decision on the matter. Although.
"How can we trust Ahriman to deal with us fairly?" Manric asked and Loki nodded.
"I mentioned that and Ahriman said this is how he saw it working. He would give us ten of his Rubric Marines, we'd figure out a way to transfer them, and once it's perfected he would give us the Key. Imotekh could use it and verify it's real before transferring the rest of them because while Ahriman knows we can't trust him, he can trust us." Loki paused before making glyphs indicating wry amusement and resignation. "It kind of sucks, but he's right." Yes. Imotekh would hate it, but it was true, he would not play even a Chaos Space Marine false.
"I see," Manric mused, deciding this was above his pay grade. He needed to pass along this information to Imotekh and see what he made of it. They also needed to decide what to do with Loki, although that would be a long-term decision. For the short term, Manric thought he knew. "Loki, did you join the fleet to join the assault on the Pariah Nexus?" The timing suggested it. Sure enough, Loki made glyphs of assent.
"Yes sir! So if you want to do something else with me, can it wait for after that? I've been doing just fine with my psyker gifts for a while." Well, they might put enhanced blackstone protections on him, but Manric thought that would be fine. What would they do with him after that? Possible send him to the eldar and see if they could train him, or perhaps they would find another use for him. Manric was still vague on how his gift worked, however.
"Can you tell me about your other vision quests? I want to understand better how this power works," Manric said invitingly, using his empathy to gently encourage Loki to open up to him. Loki responded beautifully to that and Manric had the feeling no one really listened to him, and he loved the opportunity to share his visions. As he listened, Manric developed the impression that Loki wasn't just walking through the Warp, he was walking through the real world as well. He very clearly described the Harlequins and joining their dance, before one of the eldar called him Cegorach and Loki himself clearly had no idea what that meant. To him, it was all a beautiful dream.
Manric wasn't sure what to make of all this, but it would definitely require some attention.
Guilliman was a bit surprised when Inquisitor Sterngard sent him a formal request for an audience, along with the senior Tech Priest of Macragge. When they arrived, the Tech Priest was visibly agitated while the Inquisitor was uncomfortable?
"We must protest. This is abominable! A mockery of our beliefs!" Magos Tellibal Seneca hissed, his voice a mechanical whine. Guilliman tilted his head as Sterngard squared her shoulders. She was in her usual, Inquisitorial garb and seemed exactly as usual.
"I really do not think we can protest. Expecting the Sautekh Empire to understand the intricacies of Mechanicus beliefs is expecting too much, and this is actually a tremendously favorable depiction of the Emperor." What? "The fact that it brings the Omnissiah into question was clearly not intentional. But could we request that Imotekh warn us in the future, when a work of fiction is going to depict our history?" Ohhh. Guilliman finally understood.
"They have created a documentary?" Hope media simply did not understand that some topics were supposed to be off limits. Or rather, they DID, but only when it came to things that violated the social moors of a rather prudish Knight World. Nothing else was considered forbidden. If not for their strong walls of reality and the influence of the necrons, they would have been a very fertile ground for Tzeentch corruption. Or perhaps not… Guilliman did know that while keeping humanity ignorant was an effective way to avoid corruption, keeping them extremely informed could also be effective. Given the size and stagnation of the Imperium, the former was obviously more practical but for a single world like Hope, the latter could also be effective. And the worst place to be was the middle… knowing just enough to get into trouble, but not enough to be afraid.
"Not precisely a documentary, a work of fiction apparently based on the memoirs of the C'Tan named Mephet'ran." Guilliman froze for a moment. He knew perfectly well that thing was a real entity, it had caused the Imperium problems several times. It had left memoirs? "So it's hard to tell what is true and what is not. It is largely the story of the Deceiver and the Void Dragon fighting over the Aeldari Empire. The Void Dragon creates a group of eldar devoted to science and advancement, leading to the growth and spread of the aeldari, while Mephet'ran works from the darkness to corrupt them into the utter debauchery that would eventually lead to Slaanesh."
"Mephet'ran is claiming credit for the birth of Slaanesh?" Guilliman wondered how the eldar would feel about that. He should see if Yvraine had watched this. Sterngard nodded.
"He claims that it was his method to destroy all the Void Dragon had built. That the Void Dragon was secretly becoming ascendant in their society and soon, would have revealed himself and taken full control of the aeldari as their god." Could he have done that? Guilliman had no idea. "The series depicts, in abbreviated form, all of these events. It focuses heavily on the lives of a few key aeldari and the roles they played in the rise and fall of their species, and how the machinations of the C'Tan influenced everything. However, after the fall of the eldar – "
"They come to Terra!" Magos Tellibal hissed and Guilliman's attention snapped to him. "They depict the God Emperor being warned by Mephet'ran and meeting the Void Dragon in combat, before sealing him on Mars!"
Guilliman wasn't entirely sure what to say, as he looked at his two subordinates. He actually knew the history of the Emperor and the Void Dragon, as told to him by his father. The timeline did not match up at all. From what he had been told, the Void Dragon had been sealed on Terra in the fourteenth century. And his father had never told him why the creature had come to Terra, if he'd even known. This story from Mephet'ran was giving an explanation and a timeline, but it didn't match up. Why?
"Perhaps it would be better for you to see it…" Sterngard said before activating a hologram. Guilliman watched silently as the part of the series placed on Terra played out… the actor they had chosen to play the Emperor actually looked quite like him and had a very powerful gravitas. Along with a few special effects, he mimicked the aura of the Emperor quite well.
(a large amount of money had actually gone to hiring that particular actor for the part. He was well known and extremely good at his job, with many great works to his name)
(given that this work was planned to be released in former Imperial worlds, the depiction of the Emperor was considered to be very important)
In terms of the depiction of his personality, the Emperor was depicted as cold and highly intelligent, difficult to fool. He took Mephet'ran's information but did not trust him and ultimately destroyed a small, expendable shard for attempting to deceive him. Malcador was also part of that and depicted as sinister and scheming. The 'true' shard of Mephet'ran, played by the dark skinned Hopian actor, was momentarily startled as he waited for a piece of cake at a café. But then he just smiled and enjoyed his cake, stating quietly that it didn't matter as the Emperor would have to do what he wanted… but he should take some precautions, just in case.
That took the form of Mephet'ran quietly putting a dangerous weapon in the hands of one of the Emperor's Thunder Warriors, a man named Darius. Guilliman watched as the Void Dragon arrived on Terra in a burst of power and commanded the pitiful remnants of humanity to bow before him, and the Emperor went to stop him. The battle scene that followed actually impressed Guilliman. He'd seen his father fight before and the Hopian work actually depicted his style correctly. How had they done that? And the Void Dragon was absolutely terrifying, employing great, mechanical tendrils to fight. Was that also historically accurate? The necrons had surely seen him fight many, many times.
(the Emperor's combat style had been recorded by Trazyn the Infinite and he had actually assisted making this on several points. Guilliman couldn't tell, because he'd never seen one, but the Thunder Warriors were also portrayed correctly)
What made the difference was the intervention of Darius and the weapon he'd been given by Mephet'ran, a poisoned dagger. But it was poisoned in a way that had nothing to do with mortal poisons and while the Void Dragon killed the Thunder Warrior, he managed to stab him. That weakened and hurt the Dragon enough that the Emperor was able to render the Void Dragon unconscious and complete a sealing spell, locking him into an immense cube. The Emperor dictated that it be given to his loyal minions on Mars, to watch over and Guilliman saw an opening.
"This clearly implies that the Mechanicus priesthood existed before the Void Dragon was imprisoned, and the Emperor gave him to Mars for safe keeping. Does this not strongly imply that the Emperor must be the Omnissiah?" Although Guilliman wondered why Mephet'ran had altered the true history this way. Unless, for some reason, the Emperor had not told him the truth of those events? But there seemed even less sense in that. Perhaps Mephet'ran had just changed it purely for drama, reasoning that this would neatly tie all the threads together and there was nothing more to it than that?
"That is the view we are currently encouraging. But this should not be happening at all!" Tellibal sounded extremely miffed and Guilliman sighed internally. The rest of the universe could not be expected to care about such things. Sterngard had a slightly better objection.
"He will not complain, but this is distracting to Belisarius Cawl, as he must spend precious time taking care of heresy within the Cult Mechanicus." That had to be quite irritating. Guilliman knew that Cawl wasn't the strongest believer in the Emperor as Omnissiah, because he had a rather atheistic mindset that the Emperor would have heartily approved of. This would certainly be annoying for him. "Could you perhaps ask the Stormlord that we be notified of such things before they happen? I do not think we can ask for more than that."
"I will have a conversation with him," Guilliman said after a moment. He has another question for Imotekh… why had he allowed this to be made at all? The necrons hated the C'Tan with the fire of a thousand suns. Why had he allowed a work to be made based on the memoirs of Mephet'ran?
Guilliman sent a quick, canned message explaining what he wanted to discuss and requesting a full two-way communication at their leisure. That would be easier, as the one initiating the communication incurred the energy expense and Mandragora had raw power to spare. Doing so from Macragge was possible, but more difficult and Guilliman would save it for something more important. A two-way communication came back a few hours later, but it was not Imotekh.
Greetings. I am High Technomancer Ibianza, and I am Imotekh's daughter. He is currently taking care of an urgent matter and I am empowered to speak for him while he is away. The Cryptek in the greenish FTL communication was, Guilliman thought, a fine example of her species. Tall and stately, she had two eyes, which was a bit unusual for Crypteks but not unknown. She wore a hood and cloak with plaques, brushed lightly with gold. The number of plaques, and the workmanship of them, indicated very high rank.
"You are aware of the work of fiction that was released, featuring the Deceiver and the Void Dragon?" Guilliman asked and she nodded. "May I ask how the diary of Mephet'ran was obtained, and why this was allowed to be made?" That seemed very strange to him.
The diary was gifted directly to the actor who played Mephet'ran in a different work, along with the request that this work be made. Guilliman felt a bit shocked at that revelation. The C'Tan shard had actually arranged this?! And the Necrons had humored him? My father thought long and hard about whether this should be allowed. He finally decided that Mephet'ran is transcendentally petty enough to sabotage our efforts in the Pariah Nexus if we did not allow this play to proceed. Ibianza shook her head in what Guilliman thought was disgust. While we hate the C'Tan, courting such a feud at this moment in time, over something so minor, was considered to be ill advised. So we allowed the work to proceed.
"I see," Guilliman said, reflecting on it. He knew more about the C'Tan than he would like and they operated on a completely different mental state and logic than any mortal creature. Would Mephet'ran truly see any difference between a play about himself, and efforts to save all organic life? Perhaps not. Perhaps the matter of his fame would be considered significantly MORE important. "I concur with his reasoning, but do you understand the problems the imprisonment of the Void Dragon causes with the Mechanicus in particular?" Guiliman asked. Ibianza tilted her head to one side.
We assumed there might be issues with younger Mechanicus trying to get past their superiors to examine it. Well, yes, that probably WOULD be an issue but Cawl was used to THAT. It was even somewhat commendable, despite the nuisance. You seem to be implying something more?
"I will try to explain…" Guilliman did his best to explain the tenants of the Mechanicus faith, their belief in the Emperor as Omnissiah, and how this revelation would shake the foundations of that. And with Ibianza, he included that Mephet'ran's timeline was wrong. That left the Cryptek very thoughtful.
I would suspect your father's account was accurate. The C'Tan are capable of seeing the future… the dramatic events of the series are just that, but in reality I would expect the Dragon and the Deceiver to abandon the aeldari a significant length of time before the fall. Ah, interesting. I think Mephet'ran merely wished to make a better story. Directly tying the end of the aeldari's empire to the C'Tan coming to Terra is much better, in terms of narrative. That was his thought as well. However, I wonder… I wonder if Mephet'ran is keeping this to himself to use against your Mechanicus later. To shake the foundation of their worldview to the core, when it suits him. That sounded plausible and Guilliman thought of it with a bit of grimness. He would have to warn Cawl. However, did you watch the final episode to the end? Did you see the beginning of the next story?
"Ah, no, I think I interrupted," Guilliman said, realizing a bit of the recording had been left unwatched. He quickly activated it and they both watched it play out. It depicted the cube being buried on Mars, then the Mechanicus walking through the depths of it, the endless gears and circuitry that made up the consciousness of the Void Dragon. And the vision switched to Terra, the endless, arid plains that shifted rapidly to towns, then cities, and then finally the great, endless planet city of true Terra. And wearing the finery of a High Lord, a dark-skinned human walked before turning and dropping a wink at the camera, his beautiful face clear. Great banners of red flew and Guilliman felt a jolt as he recognized them… the music swelled as the camera panned into the sky, showing a great vista of stars. Then the credits rolled. "Those banners showed the personal sigil of Goge Vandire. This will be set during the Age of Apostacy." Was Mephet'ran going to claim credit for that too? And had he been, at least partly, behind it? Guilliman would not be surprised.
This was also part of the C'Tan's memoires and he indicated it might make a good second work. Guilliman felt like he was getting a headache. Would Mephet'ran claim credit for the Horus Heresy too? I can send you the plot outline but it is meant to echo the temptation of the Phaeron's daughter, in the first play involving the C'Tan. But where she had the personal strength and good fortune to climb out of Mephet'ran's temptations scarred but intact, Goge Vandire will fall to them. It will be the depiction of how an earnest young man, full of religious zeal, falls to the temptations of absolute power. Ibianze tilted her head for a moment. Perhaps this could be used as a warning, that corruption does not need to be Chaos related.
"I see…" Guilliman considered it a moment. Could a story about the Age of Apostacy cause a problem? Not that he could see. "There are already some works of fiction set in that period, so I doubt it will be a problem. But could I see it before it is released on Luminous and Antioch?" That should be easy enough for them to arrange, since these works went out on Hope first in High Gothic.
Certainly, I will see to it myself. Guilliman nodded his acceptance and after a few goodbyes, the conversation came to an end. Afterwards, though, Guilliman felt troubled and went to stand on the balcony and look over the natural beauty of Macragge. As he did, he thought about the C'Tan… Mephet'ran was an unreliable narrator. There was no way to know if anything he was saying was the truth. But during the time of Goge Vandire, there were troubling hints. One of the things that had allowed Goge to rise had been the very convenient death of a powerful High Lord, of seemingly natural causes. It was accepted that Goge had had nothing to do with it, it had been mere chance. But perhaps a different hand had been involved, manipulating behind the scenes. The thought that the C'Tan had been toying with them for so long was both disturbing and infuriating.
Guilliman silently vowed to himself that he would be vigilant for Mephet'ran's machinations.
You, the audience, might wonder why Imotekh was doing nothing about the Void Dragon hidden on Mars, completely unsharded. I, the author, will explain.
Imotekh had been ignorant of the Void Dragon's fate until he'd heard about the security breach on Hope, and been passed a copy of Mephet'ran's book. Imotekh had considered all the dangers in his mind and come to the conclusion that taking any action would be too dangerous. While removing the Void Dragon from Mars and sharding it, reducing it to a vastly less dangerous form, would be ideal it was simply unworkable. The humans would resist and Terra and Mars were the heart of their empire. At least one necron fleet had broken on that rock, and now Imotekh knew why… they had wanted the Void Dragon.
Imotekh knew better. Guilliman would never allow it, and rightly so, sharding the Dragon within the Terran system would surely destroy it. Trying to do so would utterly destroy his alliance with the Imperium. Simply unacceptable. All he could do was allow the Void Dragon to continue to exist, under the auspices of the Priesthood of Mars, and hope for the best.
Imotekh did have an interesting thought, though. If the Void Dragon ever destroyed his bindings and emerged from Mars, on his own power, he would surely annihilate the Terran system. That would decapitate the Imperium of Man instantly, and while the Primarchs would likely survive and try to pull things together, they would have their hands full. It was all speculation, but would he be able to get something out of that scenario? Perhaps quite a bit. So the Stormlord had decided that for now and the forseeable future, the best course of action was to do nothing. But he would keep his eye on the situation.
Things could change.