Author's Note: I thought I would explain how necron commanders are informally ranked in my universe. Enjoy!
Necron commander tier list
SS Tier – Imotekh. That is all.
S Tier – Excellent commanders, top tier nemesors like Zahndrekh. Not all Phaeron's are commanders of this caliber although some, like Onryx and Szarekh, are. However the ones that are not usually have an excellent commander at their fingertips, handling that aspect of their Dynasty. The exception to that rule is very small Dynasties like the Uhnashret, who will sometimes lack a commander of this caliber.
Examples: Zahndrekh, Naszar, Onryx, Szarekh
A Tier – Very good commanders, capable with both naval and ground affairs, who are not quite S tier but still excellent. A tier commanders are the most valuable of minions, trusted to act independently and handle temporary commands. When an S tier commander is sent for recall, an A tier commander will normally step in to take over command.
Examples: Manric
B Tier – Versatile commanders who are competent with both naval and ground command. These are ship captains who can also switch to ground command as needed. It should be noted that the B tier contains a wide variety of competence… some B tier commanders are close to A tier. They can be trusted with independent command, depending on the situation.
Examples: Ahmakeph, Itolyx – although Ahmakeph is close to A tier, he's more aggressive and takes more risks in simulations than real life, something Zahndrekh knows about him
C Tier – One dimensional commanders who have only one area of competence although in that field, they might be excellent indeed. Naval only commanders and ground only commanders. While they can be very well respected, being unable to fill other roles limits their rank.
Examples: Diarmuid, Tadutep
D Tier – Marginally competent commanders. Not truly incompetent but definitely not elevated due to skill, they are normally nobles who have personal forces that they command. They are limited but can perform well if used correctly and most nemesors are well aware of who in their forces falls into this category. Many of this tier are delusional about their own abilities, however, and often resent being relatively low ranked. (particularly when someone like Itolyx is ranked above them)
No particular examples, but Zahndrekh has several of this tier under his command
F Tier – The genuinely incompetent, who should not be allowed to have command. Most of this tier are exiled to fringeworlds, to defend places no one really cares about, if they are not gently relieved of command and directed to other things. Some of this tier are delusional, but many are unhappily aware that they are terrible. Resouling can help this tier, as Kototep's story is not that uncommon… many of this tier were noble artists of various types, forced into this role by the destruction of their artistic abilities.
Examples: Kototep
Loki was deliriously, gloriously happy.
They had timed the trip to Yggdrasil so after that was over, they could head to Hope and spend a bit of time with their families before taking the wormhole to Egg. Well, Calder's family actually, Loki didn't really have any relatives anymore. But they had adopted him as the funny uncle so that was fine! Loki loved playing with the kids, it was great!
The only fly in the ointment was that Loki still hadn't figured out how to prove to anyone that he was a psyker. Manric Duleth would be able to tell though… right? Right? Loki wasn't actually sure of that at all. Ahriman had said that astral walking was the weirdest power for an untrained psyker to have. And if Manric told him to pound sand, it was all over!
Loki tried to go visit Ahriman on Hope, but found that he couldn't. All he could do there was have a great dream, seeing things going on in the castle, but he couldn't actually interact or say anything to Ahriman. It was exactly like the visions he'd had so long ago when he was human and Loki finally knew, without question, that he WAS a psyker. The thick walls of reality on Hope were stopping him from astral walking. It all made sense!
Loki had to wait until they reached Egg. He was super impressed when he saw it… Loki had seen a lot of neat things in his dreams, but he hadn't seen a habitable moon orbiting a habitable planet before! Were they more dual planets? Egg was much smaller than Phoenix though.
Egg was getting really built up and Loki could see why… there were human ships present. They were bringing supplies, metals and minerals, and getting refueled with water from the planet. There was also other trading going on and great warehouses had been built on Egg so it could be a transshipment point. Some taverns and other facilities were sprouting up, too, catering to all the travellers.
Down on Phoenix, things were completely different. Phoenix was supplying fresh water to the Imperium's ships, but that was all the planet was doing with the humans… it was becoming a Necron world. They were just going to town on it, building recall facilities and all kinds of other stuff! Loki couldn't recognize most of it but assumed it was more manufacturing, more defenses, flashier necron stuff. Would they ever terraform it? Maybe not… maybe they would just concentrate on making Egg nicer. Although from what Loki understood, if they did nothing at all, the plants and stuff would start to come back on their own. They hadn't fully sterilized it.
(Loki was right that Phoenix was probably going to be a permanent necron world. They were quite liking it, particularly the caverns the Genestealers were hiding in. The necrons were building into them, creating a fascinating derivative of a true Tomb World)
(they still might eventually bring the humans back, but the necrons would have a strong presence there)
Loki and Calder went together, just wandering through Egg and seeing the sights. The humans were really scared of them, way more than Luminous, so they ended up going on a hike. Egg was pretty marginal and a human going on this hike would need protective gear, venturing outside the domes, but for them it was a pleasant walk on a really pretty world.
"This place is weird but gorgeous," Loki said, gazing over the shrubbery. It made him think of a windswept, highland plain… little bits of greenery clinging on with grim determination and putting out tiny blooms. Native things similar to grass, but a more purplish color, and little beetles scuttling around looking for anything they could eat. "Calder, we've only seen a few worlds, but does it seem like beetles are everywhere?" Not Terran ones either. The beetles on Hope were a native species and Luminous, Egg and Yggdrasil all had their own versions, filling the same niche. Calder tilted his head.
"I guess that design just works." Yeah, it really must be good to be this popular! "Or perhaps God really loves beetles." Could be!
"So we're getting put in the Indominable Cabbits and Khas is going to the Lion Hearts." Loki knew he and Calder had been picked for the Cabbits because that's where Loki belonged. He was exactly the kind of chaotic alignment that they liked. Calder wasn't as good a fit but he was okay, he'd go along with things. "That's really great for him, isn't it?" The Lion Hearts were an elite unit and disproportionately nobles. Khas being selected for them said really good things. Calder nodded.
"They might be eyeing him for eventual promotion, he is an excellent soldier." Yeah, he really was! And he was so, so happy to finally have a necron body. All the former mutants were so happy to just look like everyone else. Loki thought it was a little sad, but he understood… it wasn't fun to be so ugly and weird people thought you might be a xenos. "Oh Loki, look!" Huh? Loki turned his head and stared.
"Oooo," Loki murmured. The clouds had parted and he could clearly see Phoenix. It was so large and so clear, he could make out the continents and the blue of the seas, the patterns of clouds. "This is amazing…" Loki thought he might never have seen anything this beautiful. Standing on a planet and seeing another planet, so alien and so wonderful!
"The universe has so many beautiful things. It gives me hope for the future," Calder said and Loki nodded. On days like today, he didn't even need his dreams to be happy, the world around him was just as wonderful as a dream. His time on Yggdrasil had been like that too. He'd hunted sea serpents, what could be better than this?
They finished their hike, often looking at Phoenix, before heading back to the domes. People kept flinching away from them, it made Loki rather sad. Although he knew the story behind it… they were all from Phoenix and they'd lived through the necrons totally annihilating it to get rid of the Genestealers. Along with native xenophobia, it would be a while before these people got used to necrons. They would eventually, because they had to… the necrons were definitely not going away. But it would take a while.
Despite that, they did a bit of window shopping, just looking at all the things for sale. Egg had a pretty vibrant market going on, with a lot of visitors from the ships. Loki loved seeing some of the people from the Imperium… they wore such strange things! Fashions went weird ways and the Imperium had some CRAZY stuff compared to Hope! Loki wondered what they would think of Hopian fashions.
(Hopian fashions would mostly be considered old fashioned and a bit boring, rather typical of a Knight World. Except for the things that were clearly xenos inspired… fashions based on the work of the ancient necrontyr were becoming quite popular, although modesty would never quite allow a dress that was nothing but beads)
Loki and Calder settled against a wall to spend some serious time people watching. It was fun, as they chattered via interstitial messaging, comparing and critiquing the fashions. Sometimes, they even admired some really pretty women… they might not have the parts or mental equipment anymore, but they still knew what was pretty and remembered what it was like. At first some people noticed them and seemed to worry about what they were there for, but after a while they started ignoring them.
He has the best wig! Loki said, deeply impressed by a very ornate wig of bleached white hair. It was done into curls and had beautiful broaches pinned to it. The rest of his costume was wonderful too, by Loki's standards… such a wonderful red coat with gold frogging! Loki could only admire it. Even if he weren't a necron, that was the kind of thing he could never have afforded when he was alive.
The best wig if you want to look like a period piece, Calder said, deeply unimpressed. Why does the Imperium favor styles like that? Although not all Imperial citizens liked that sort of thing, not at all, but the Rogue traders and the Noble houses surely did.
Why not? Oh come on Calder, you know Hope has had some wonky styles before! Remember that old drama we watched where all the women had those weird little titty pins? They had been placed RIGHT ON the nipples and they were kind of cute, usually little bees. Still, it looked WEIRD now.
The bees… oh my the bees… I read that was some kind of reaction to some puritanical rule, I can't remember anymore. Oh really? That would make sense!
I noticed they were always really covered up when they put the bees on the tits so that makes sense, Loki said, wondering what had been behind it. The church trying to get women to stop showing off their tiddies so instead they wore skin tight sweaters and put bees on the tips, to be super annoying? Could be! Oh Calder, look at that! Loki had just spotted a really fine woman. She looked like she wasn't from Egg, she was spaceship crew… she was wearing a dark blue uniform with a bit of golden frogging, nothing excessive. She was really super pretty though, her skin was so pale and her hair was a burnished red!
Lovely hair and skin color. Shame about the face. OUCH! And that was being unkind, even if she was a little horsefaced. Loki didn't agree though, he thought her face was pretty too. Fashion model pretty? No, but not many of them were.
I think she's super pretty, Loki said, with fidelity towards his own inclinations. He would most definitely have tried to talk to her if he were young and alive… and probably gotten shot down five minutes later. That was how things normally went.
I really think we should never get those new upgrades. Who would we use them with? Calder said and Loki turned his head to look at him. He hadn't brought THAT up before! Although.
I know most of the commanders are against it, for now anyway. There were virtually no female necrons in their forces. Oh, there were quite a few among the Crypteks and just a few among the Deathmarks but other than that, they were absent. That meant there would be a huge sexual imbalance in the forces and that could spell trouble. It was better that they all stay 'neuter' gender. They're more for Overlords and Lords anyway. Loki thought that was the real point of them, so the nobility of the necrons could regain all that they had lost. A perk of rank. Are they even making that available to us anyway? There was a pause as Calder thought about it.
I haven't really heard of any decision on that. If I were them, though, I wouldn't. The troubles that could happen with civilians… Yes, there was that too. Loki didn't know what rules the necrons would use for that, but most humans were technically slaves and slaves had no rights. Right now they didn't really have a code of conduct, except for the ancient rules from Hope. Problems rarely happened because regular necrons just didn't interact with humans much, aside from duty, but if they had genitals that might change. This all sounded like a headache. I would just limit it to Lords, Overlords and possibly a reward for exemplary service for the lower ranks. A reward?
We have to earn our dicks back! AWESOME! Loki said and Calder made glyphs of combined amusement and disgust at the thought. I'll never get mine will I?
No. Come on, we should head back, it's getting late. That sounded good. They both departed the market, heading back to the barracks. It wasn't really a barracks though, not like it was on Luminous. Designed more with necrons in mind, who didn't need much space, they all had a tiny room they could hang out in if they wanted. There was no bed or windows and it might have been sad but it was just meant for reading and playing solo games and taking the occasional rest cycle. There were larger rooms, equipped with entertainment areas, mostly for multiplayer games. Now that most of the Immortals had their minds back, they were getting some heavy use.
Loki, take your rest cycle FIRST tonight. We're going down to Phoenix tomorrow for war games and if you fall down unconscious in the middle of it, we will defile your body, Calder said firmly and Loki stared at him.
What? How? Calder reached into his chest and pulled out what looked like a marker? Oh come on, that won't work on necrodermis! Would it?
Yes it will, I asked a Cryptek and he provided it. Oh no! So take care of yourself so you don't end up covered in glyphs and penises. Loki made a series of glyphs and runes indicating his horror at the thought. I have no idea what that means. Just take a rest cycle.
Right right, I'll do it right away! Loki could go visit Ahriman after the rest cycle. Maybe that was better anyway.
After a quick rest cycle, feeling bright and refreshed, Loki went to the castle. Although the castle sure was different today! It was festooned with holiday decorations, great buntings and banners snapping in the wind. Loki admired them and when he went inside, he found the usually empty castle was bustling with activity… the courtyard was full of a giant party! There were wild costumes and masks, things that looked Venetian to Loki. He easily fit himself into the dance, joining a great conga line. This was a blast!
(it was actually a great ritual the sorcerers of Tizca were performing. It was too overwhelming for Loki to simply hide it away, so instead he'd instinctively joined it)
Loki followed the dance effortlessly, deeply enjoying it as he followed the patterns. This was a very different kind of dance than the one with the elves, but still really fun! The music was really good too, it had an excellent beat. Loki deliberately used the dance though, following it until he could reach the real entrance to the castle… then he gently ducked out of the dance. The doors were already ajar and Loki was able to easily slip inside.
Loki jumped up the stairs, noticing as he did that Satan and the birds were nowhere around today. Maybe the dance was keeping them away? Would Ahriman be in his room? Although if he wasn't, he'd probably notice Loki showing up and come to see him.
Fortunately Ahriman was there, examining his rune closely. Loki peeked over his shoulder and saw the glowing rune of blue fire looked to be done and it was definitely transmogrification. Hmm… wow, really?
"Does that turn you into a bird? I seriously think it does," Loki said, spotting the avian runes that were now part of the pattern. Ahriman started slightly, turning to see him.
"Oh, I did not notice you coming in… have you learned anything?" Ahriman asked and Loki shook his head.
"I've just gotten to Egg and I should be able to meet Manric soon but Ahriman, I have a really big problem I'm hoping you can help with. I still can't figure out how to prove I'm a psyker, all I can do is drive rats insane… I can't risk driving Manric insane." Although Manric had seen an angel, he would be fine right? Loki actually wasn't sure about that at all. "Do you have any other ideas for how I can prove I'm a psyker, if I need to?" Ahriman lifted his eyebrows with a small, wintery smile.
"There is a very simple way, although at great cost to you. Tell me, little psyker, have you ever been injured while astral walking?" Loki blinked at that question before thinking really hard about it. Had he ever been hurt in his dreams before?
"No… I never really thought about it before, but getting hurt in my dreams just seemed unthinkable." And if he didn't allow something to be a possibility, it generally couldn't happen. The exception was when the world around him wasn't obeying his rules, like when he'd tried to shorten the steps to Magnus and failed… that meant things could happen he didn't like. But Loki was always very, very careful when that happened. "Wait, are you saying if I'm hurt here something will happen to my real body?" That was crazy! Ahriman nodded.
"And more than that. You are here as a soul, little sorcerer. Your very soul can be damaged, even destroyed," he said and Loki blinked, a bit daunted. He was really fond of his soul, he'd experienced life without it and it genuinely did suck. The necrons sure were right about that. "You will suffer a great deal of pain, but I can inflict a non-fatal wound on you that will make it quite obvious you are a psyker." Oh!
"Alright, we'll do that then. But I can't predict when this will happen, what if you're not here?" Ahriman considered that for a moment.
"I despise it, but I will enlist Magnus. He rarely leaves, at least one of us will be here." Oh, excellent! Loki glanced back at the rune again.
"Can I take a look?" he asked and Ahriman nodded before moving aside, giving him room to study the pattern. Loki looked at it carefully, seeing the way the blue fire curved and understanding the intricacies of it. He didn't want to be a sorcerer, but this kind of thing was still really interesting.
Until it wasn't. As Loki looked at the pattern, all of his joy drained away, replaced with a deep sadness as he perceived something deeper. A fundamental instability, built into the rune… built into all runes. The spell could fail, for no reason but chance and Loki knew exactly why that was the case. Did Ahriman fully understand? Maybe he did or maybe he didn't, but Loki suddenly felt motivated to try.
"Ahriman, do you know why I don't want to be a sorcerer?" Loki said, still staring at the rune. Then he answered himself, before Ahriman could reply. "Because this is a beautiful place and I love to visit, but it's also a bad place and I would hate to live here. Up is down and down is up, left is right and right is left… nothing makes sense in here. If you think it makes sense, you're wrong, and if you try to understand it you're wasting your time. All you have are instincts and that doesn't work for humans because you weren't born here… you can't grasp it. Sorcerers are just fools who think they can," Loki said before reaching out to the pattern. He gently touched the centre of the rune and it abruptly crumbled into chaos, fractals that were both beautiful and terrible before reforming into a new pattern. Eyes, eyes, endless eyes and feathers, flowing and warping in constant change. "He's always here. Always." Loki turned to look at Ahriman, who was frowning at him. And Loki could see the blue fire in his eyes, that was always burning. "Ahriman… the more you try to understand him, the more you fall under his power. You know that right?" Loki scanned his face, trying to find some sign that he was reaching the ancient sorcerer. Ahriman shook his head, rejecting and also a touch amused.
"I know what I am doing, little sorcerer." Loki felt a deep pity for him then. You can't know what you're doing. You're just human. Astartes often lost sight of the fact that they were still, in the end, just human. "Bring back my rune, or I will be quite angry," Ahriman said and Loki sighed before reaching out and touching the pattern again. The rune reformed… but Ahriman had felt that he could do that, that was why he hadn't lost his mind when the pattern was 'destroyed'.
"I wouldn't recommend using it. It has an inbuilt chance of failure, but then, I guess most spells do." Loki examined the pattern critically. "It's not too bad I guess, but it can fail in midflight. Have an anti-grav spell ready just in case?" There were steps you could take to deal with this sort of thing. And Loki thought the odds of it failing were pretty low… it was just a possibility and it would always happen at the worst possible moment. "I should probably head home." He'd gotten what he needed and said what needed to be said, even if Ahriman was going to ignore him. Ahriman looked at his rune for a moment before nodding.
"We will meet again soon, I'm sure," he said and Loki turned to depart. But then he stopped, feeling a deep sadness again.
"Ahriman… I wish we could be friends," Loki said sadly before taking a step forward and smoothly exiting the dream world, jumping back into his body. As he did, he completed the thought.
But we can't be friends as long as you belong to Tzeentch.
The power and authority of the Ecclesiarchy in the Sautekh Empire was a bit of a grey area.
The Inquisition was not allowed anywhere in the Sautekh Empire, although they had made some allowances for stragglers after the treaty was signed. The Ecclesiarchy in general, though, was a different matter… Imotekh had no interest in policing how humans worshipped, aside from ensuring they were not worshipping Chaos. And faith in the Emperor was helpful for that, so the Ecclesiarchy was tolerated.
Yet, they were vastly diminished in power. Tithes to the Imperium of Man had always included tithes directly to the Ecclesiarchy, to support their charitable and mundane works. Now, tithes to the Stormlord took the place of that and he did not send money to the Church. Some Planetary Governors, like Emerard on Luminous, included tithes to the Church in their budgets and sent that information to Imotekh, who included it in his calculations when requiring his tithe. Others, either hostile to the Ecclesiarchy or simply indifferent, did not do that and forced the Church to gather tithes privately from their loyal congregations. That had resulted in a direct diminishment in power and reach.
For a long time, they had also been out of touch with their superiors on Terra. Now, though, lines of communication had opened. It was something of a relief for the Ecclesiarch and Arch Cardinals of Terra, to find out that the Church of the Emperor was largely intact within the Sautekh Empire.
Loki could not know, and the Deacon he'd given the books to had not known, but the Epic of Gilgamesh was considered a great lost work of Terra. Mentions of it existed in many manuscripts and a small fraction of it remained, but the entire work was lost. When the books were delivered to the Church scholars on Luminous, the Deacon casually mentioned the Epic and nearly caused a few heart attacks. Historian priests immediately descended on it and began verifying it was real, using the fragment they still had, and translating it to low Gothic.
The rest of Loki's books were tentatively classified as pre-Time of Strife heretical tombs. That was an important distinction because before the Time of Strife, the walls of reality had been relatively solid throughout the galaxy. The birth of Slaanesh had done permanent damage, ripping through those walls and creating permanent wounds, the great Warp Storms that never ceased. That damage had infected beliefs… true grimoires, the books that could seize your soul merely from reading them, had not existed before the Time of Strife. Pre-Time of Strife works could be extremely heretical and not shared with the general population, but they were also not particularly dangerous. Safe to be handled by any Librarian Priest, they were not a gateway to Chaos except for the extremely weak willed and foolish. Despite the fact that some of Loki's books were of more recent vintage, they were written in the ethos of that period and added to that classification.
The Epic of Gilgamesh was fully translated and placed on a ship heading to Terra, to be delivered to the highest members of the Ecclesiarchy. And with a fine sense of tactics, the Deacon of Luminous penned a careful message to the Stormlord, requesting any historical works of ancient Terra that Hope might have. He made the request sound like it wasn't important, a mere bagatelle, something they might like if Imotekh could find the time. They did not want to betray how much these things meant to them, afraid the Stormlord would bargain hard for them.
It worked perfectly. Emerard transmitted the message and Imotekh consented. A great data dump of ancient works, everything preserved on Hope's STC, was sent as both a data transmission and physical formats. More heart attacks almost ensued, as they received more works they knew of, but did not have… the Count of Monte Cristo, for example, was such a lost work. And many more that had been lost completely, such as the stories of Sherlock Holmes. So much ancient Terran history, suddenly returned to them. It was truly incredible.
Most of it could not be released to the general population, of course. But the scholars of Terra suddenly had a great amount of material to examine and many of the works could be translated to low Gothic and shared with the nobility of Terra. They fancied themselves connoisseurs of many things and that included antique literature. The Count of Monte Cristo, in particular, would be a great hit.
If Imotekh had known he'd accidentally given away something of great worth, he might have been annoyed. But Hope followed the old laws of ancient Terra and these works were 'public domain', which was the equivalent of a declaration of common ancestry for the necrons. So the Stormlord would have consoled himself that by the laws of Hope and his own kind, it was right to provide this to the Imperium of Man, free of charge.
They were not military or technological secrets, after all.
Sehenna did not say anything to Manric, because she knew this feeling was only in her own heart, but she was very glad Xahkephra was gone.
Sehenna knew it was unfair to Manric. Yet Xahkephra was so many things she was not… a powerful noble, accomplished in war. Not beautiful right now, but Sehenna could imagine how majestic she would be when she was repaired. And Manric was spending a great deal of time with her, showing her respect and including her in their strategy games. Games Sehenna could not participate in… she was only a naval rating, she was not trained for such things.
Sehenna did take care to ask Manric if he wanted to play a game with her, in front of the princess. Staking her claim. Yet, Sehenna thought that Xahkephra did not even notice let alone understand the message. Frustrating but not surprising, it had been a very long time since the ancient necrons had considered matters of love and courtship. At least she was gone now, that was really all Sehenna wanted.
Sehenna had heard the rumors that Manric would not be promoted. Back in the Flesh Times, that might have bothered her… a female was expected to advocate for and be protective of her chosen mate. And Sehenna did feel that a little, but only a little. Instead she saw the advantages… she loved this ship and loved serving beneath her ancient Phaeron, Zahndrekh. They had all loved him so much, a truly great Phaeron and Sehenna preferred to remain beneath his hand. Not that she thought Manric couldn't do it! But it was a sentimental attachment.
Sehenna had heard rumors of something else, though. The upgrades male necrons could get, to reclaim their intimate functions. The female variant, which was almost done although it was projected that it would require remodelling for any females that wanted it… it needed more space than the male version. But would Manric even want it?
Sehenna wasn't sure about that. It was rather odd… none of the pwi-necrons really missed that part of life at all. Perhaps because of the human form of biotransference, or perhaps just because they had chosen it, they seemed to have moved on. It was true necrons who were wistful for the pleasures of the Flesh Times and wanted to reclaim them, if they could. Was it because they had been forced? Sehenna knew her own time had been cut so brutally short.
Did she want to do this? Sehenna spent some time contemplating it. One thing she knew for certain, if she was going to engage in such things she wanted a full remodel. Her necron body right now did not bother her, because she considered it to be like a uniform. In the ancient times when she had been a living Naval rating, she had worn a simple uniform of black and green, and her hair had always been in simple braids. Exactly like every other rating on the ship, interchangeable and uniform, exactly as they were now. Having a Warrior chassis truly did not bother her.
However, that was not remotely sexually attractive. Sehenna was not a virgin, although she had only engaged in such things on leave, outside the confines of the ship. She'd kept a single dress for those occasions, a bit of makeup and hair products, all to properly display herself for those brief moments.
What kind of remodel would I want? Sehenna wondered. She would want something between the two… something that made her femininity clear, yet still had the connotations of being a military model. Perhaps… just a gentle swell to her chest, like breasts were still hidden there? Did she want a sculpted metal face in the style of the ancient necrontyr, and metal braids? She should ask Manric.
Would Manric want to do this, though? Sehenna just wasn't sure. When they had a bit of time alone, she carefully broached the subject.
"Manric, the um, the upgrades – " she didn't know how else to describe it. "Would you want one? I might want it," Sehenna said, pressing her hands together. Surely Manric had thought that she might? Manric gently took her hands.
"I have been thinking about that." Oh, good! This would be so embarrassing, if she had surprised him with it. "I cannot feel desire as I am now, but the new engrams would correct that and I would like to share myself with you. Although I must admit, I have a rather embarrassing request." Oh what? "I would like you to be remodeled slightly… not much, just enough to be a touch more feminine." Manric gently touched her cheek as Sehenna felt a great swell of joy. They were thinking the exact same thing! "I might like your face to remain the same, this is you… just some slight curves, so we would fit more easily together."
"Manric…" Sehenna couldn't help it. She had to embrace him, cuddling their cold metal bodies together. Manric's arms went around her and it just felt so right. "I feel like you understand me so well." She had never felt this deeply connected to someone before. Manric made a glyph of wry amusement.
"I admit, I do shamelessly cheat… my empathy will do that." Sehenna made her own glyphs of amusement, simulating a giggle. "I hope you do not mind?" Mind?
"No, I love it." Maybe with someone else it wouldn't be nice but she trusted Manric completely. Then she gently pulled away. "Did we want to play a game?" They had some time. Manric tilted his head, thinking about it.
"We could perhaps try a new game, but it is extremely difficult… I am still learning it." Oh really? "It's a kind of empire building simulator. It's very detailed but you can assign AI's to run certain things… part of the challenge, for those like us, is to determine what the AI's can be trusted to run and what they can't. I am told some of the Crypteks micro-manage everything but I find that nearly intolerable." Sehenna knew that if Manric felt that way, she would definitely feel the same. She was intelligent, you needed to be to be a naval rating, but Manric was moreso. "So far I quite enjoy it though… it's a bit like learning what can be delegated, as a commander. And the empire building and wars that follow are quite fun."
"I would like to try it," Sehenna said. Although. "Perhaps we can play together, at first, against the AI?" Did it have a co-op mode? Manric made a glyph of assent.
"It does have a co-op mode, although it's little used." Oh good! "We can start with that, then perhaps play against each other when we're used to it." That sounded wonderful!
Sehenna and Manric began working together and Sehenna enjoyed the hands on instruction, learning all the rules and subtleties of the new game. It had pretty graphics too, although nothing excessive. The world she and Manric started on had tons of beautiful blue seas and continents of red stone, rich in minerals but poor for agriculture. They would have to nurture what they had and depend on the seas for nutrition. As their civilization began to grow, Sehenna immersed herself in the new world.
She already thought this game would be a lot of fun.