**Author's notes: This fic has a discord server, but due to the way this site censors links, I can't easily share it here. If you're interested in joining, send me a DM. Thank you everyone once again for following Erika's disaster adventure as she blunders through the galaxy!**
The atmospheric drag of the world of Ix was painful against my damaged hull as I struggled to direct the Divine Retribution through tall billowy clouds. I was very tired, and after my latest insane adventure in ruining another planet, my adrenaline had finally begun to wear off, which caused my body to burn in pain. After dozing off for a moment and not quite paying attention where I was going, I ended up flying through what appeared to be a violent thunderstorm, and a short downdraft caused my crew to cry out in surprise. I felt the sensation of rain and hail against my gold hull which caused me to uncomfortably wince. At least this kept me from passing out again.
My furthering integration with the Divine Retribution indeed came with many side effects, I contemplated while I continued to cautiously fly my injured vessel through the troposphere of Ix. Our landing site was an elevated area of alpine forests in the northern hemisphere. This was a welcome change from the familiar dustier worlds of Tar Vigaz, Kolch, and Nubua. With relief, I noticed that we had not been greeted with any sort of electronic welcoming transmission from Ix. No obvious artificial satellites orbited above, and no giant population centers lit the planet's night side as we made our descent. I had been very excited to see civilization when I flew into Tar Vigaz and the city of Evna, but now, I was very relieved to not have to worry about dealing with a heavily populated world. I was totally done with people for awhile.
The Divine Retribution displayed statistics of interest concerning this world while I concentrated on my flight, and my crew watched on the bridge with great interest. Sometime around my frantic escape away from the Vigaz system, I was told that the scrapped metal corpses of the Flayer Necrons had vanished in a flash of green energy. My situation had been so desperate that I hadn't even noticed their disappearance!
My crew mostly stood gazing out each of the three eye windows as they watched the landscape of the new planet reveal itself below puffy clouds. I had dimmed the holographic displays so that I could also watch the sky as I flew. Each crewmember's soul (aside from the Blank sisters) was vibrantly colored in both relief and fatigue. While everyone appeared a bit burned around the edges by their recent travails of the past day, all of my companions appeared to be reasonably sane and healthy, with a few exceptions.
One of the Skitarii was apparently injured, and the second warrior immediately ran to attend to her companion away from the bridge as soon as the danger from the Necron Flayed Ones had been neutralized. I had already forgotten both of their names, but each of these tall red-robed warriors appeared very strong, and built for combat. More muscle was always good, so I was grateful that they were here.
Morai had been struck by a Flayed One's talon, which had opened a gash along one of her arms. Due to the discipline and healing factor of the Blank woman, she didn't even complain, and simply tied off her injury with a bit of torn cloth from her tunic as she stood on the bridge.
Rasputin was now unconscious, which made sense considering how brutal the pilot integration with the Divine Retribution could be. When I had first linked my consciousness with the vessel, even I had lost consciousness for a short time after vomiting all over myself. Alberich suffered similarly after his accidental integration on Kolch. While I wasn't exactly thrilled with having this notoriously duplicitous historical monk famous for manipulating Romanovs on my crew, I had desperately needed his energy to "top off" the Divine Retribution after I had managed to overload and kill myself after the battle of Port Aubergine. I took a deep breath and sighed on my throne. Alright, no more losing control, no more reckless expenditures of energy, and no more stupid impulsive mistakes that may or may not end up in the ruination of the world I'm on.
Alberich was grinning on his throne as he spoke to the two masked Blank sisters, and I watched as Morai deftly crafted a makeshift sling out of cloth for her injured left arm without any indication or complaint of pain. Seeing Alberich smile gave me the impression that the newly-human German psyker was weathering his experience much better as time went on, so that was good. Lian stood to the left and ahead of my throne as he continued to keep a close eye on Null, who had grown quiet and nervous again after I had briefly examined his mind with Sight. Jiminy, the metal mantis drone, was perched inside one of Null's pockets, and the little robot observed the bridge with twitching metal antennae. Virgil stood quietly by my side, and said nothing while he continued to glare at Null. Zok, our new cook, quietly watched the landscape pass outside of the rightmost window. Wolfie stood at attention beside him, also watching the new world appear with a wagging insubstantial black tail.
"So, anyone know any history about this world?" I asked, cracking my knuckles and pointing up to the my holographic display, which still held the text, "Planet: Ix. Class A planet. Classification: Feral/wilderness world. 1.15 gravity. 1.1 standard rotational time. 1.07 standard atmospheric pressure. Population estimate: trace human, other."
Null answered, "I have some... old memories about this world that I am not certain upon, and I will have to search them further if you would permit me so. I am at least certain, however, that this world is in the Coronid Deeps. Are you familiar with that region?"
"No," I answered, feeling my talons descend in anticipation for landing. We were now dragging slowly through the lower atmosphere, and both I and the Divine Retribution could not wait to be on the ground. "In my universe, I was more casual with my knowledge of your history, so I don't know everything there is to know."
The Tech-priest nodded. "The Coronid Deeps are a region of fairly industrialized space that exists between the border of both the Ultima Segmentum and the Segmentum Obscurus far from Terra. It was known as Coronid Thule during the Horus Heresy, and the Warmaster laid siege to many of the manufacturing and agricultural centers of the Imperium in order to both gain a strategic advantage in his war effort, and to starve the Imperium of goods."
Null turned from me, his eyes searching nervously again. I sensed great anxiety from the Tech-priest's soul as he described our location. "The majority of this sector, you will be pleased to hear, isn't as important to the Imperium as it used to be, as many of the population centers never quite recovered from the Heresy, even so many millennia in the future. We are now approximately between fifty and seventy five thousand light years away from Molech by my estimate."
"What about this world in particular, though? Do you know anything else about it? Even just a little information?" I asked, yawning. Why was Null so nervous? Was this all really from me battering his soul? I supposed that made sense. I had read that the Emperor was a metaphysical bull in a china shop whenever he showed up somewhere, so maybe it was just natural for entities such as him to terrorize people with his presence? I glanced over at Rasputin. The unconscious Mad Monk lolled bonelessly on his throne as I remembered just how much I had apparently frightened him simply via proximity. Surprising myself, I experienced a sense of dark satisfaction at knowing just how dramatically I had affected him, and I smiled.
Null shook his head. "I know very little about Ix, and what I do know is uncertain and may be incomplete. My historical knowledge tells me that it was a backwater world that had been slated for colonization, but was then somewhat forgotten when the Heresy began. It seems to have remained overlooked after all these years. Nimmie Amee told me that there are areas of archaeological significance, and that recent digs had unearthed a cache of information concerning Travelers here. The Magos assigned to the dig site will surely aid us."
"Be warned, for I'm certain the Inheritor will scrape the intention from your metal mind, Tech-priest. If you are attempting to mislead us or withhold any information in any way, she will find a way to destroy you," Lian spoke gravely beside the Tech-priest.
Null said nothing for a moment, and turned away to face the center eye window through the holographic screen again before sighing. "I fully accept whatever fate comes to me now. My sins are numerous, but I wish to do everything that I can in order to benefit humankind moving forward. I have much to atone for."
"How easy it is for you to move on from the murder of fifty thousand innocent souls," Virgil bitterly mumbled nearby, not even looking at the Tech-priest.
Crew infighting was not something I wanted to deal with right now. "No fighting until we're rested up," I instructed. Ahead, a small (and somewhat primitive) stone tower was now visible along the horizon. This was Magos Jinnicky's research tower, our destination. The short structure was perched on a mountain cliffside. Here, snow dotted some of the mountain peaks, as well as some of the higher valleys. This land appeared very beautiful. "As you can all see, we've had a hell of a few days, and we're flying on a broken ship. Let's rest before getting into fights again."
The ship then telepathically informed me that it could not land very close to the tower, as it was simply too big and too damaged for a such a precarious landing. Instead, it directed my attention to a small snowy valley that was dotted with tall thin coniferous trees, and a suitably wide clearing next to a glacial creek approximately twenty kilometers away from the structure Null had indicated. Giving the Divine Retribution the all-clear to land, I almost felt the vessel sigh in relief at the same time I did.
The late afternoon light of Ix's yellow sun cast a long shadow from a neighboring mountain as the ship approached the clearing for landing. Outside, the Divine Retribution informed me that it was right around freezing outside, so we'd all need to dress warmly.
"Approximate time to land, 11 minutes," the ship intoned. "Conditions at landing site: 2°, partly cloudy with scattered freezing precipitation, wind at 15kmph."
"Ah, an alpine forest. I used to hike a great deal back in my reality. The landscape here seems reminiscent of some pristine areas of the Alps, if you're familiar with that mountain range, Erika," Alberich mused as I lowered myself in for as gentle a a landing as I could considering my damaged body. Normally, landing this ship was fast and easy due to the Divine Retribution's mysterious anti-gravity systems, but right now, I was so damaged that I wanted to play it safe and come in for a slower approach.
Lian turned away from glaring at Null to face Alberich. "We do not use the common name of the Inheritor any longer, Alberich. Please understand the hierarchy of command, and address the Inheritor as Inheritor."
Alberich turned toward me, his newly-transformed blue-gold eyes furrowed in confusion. "Is this a rule now?" he asked.
I shrugged, too tired to think. "You can call me what you like, but everyone else is calling me Inheritor now, so that's fine."
Alberich nodded, and I continued to fly ahead.
After a few more minutes of slow flying, we were now skimming the tops of tall thin conifers while circling the wide mountain clearing. My talons reached forward, and with a bump, we were now on the ground. The Divine Retribution's relief caused me to exhale heavily. Not surprisingly, the vessel immediately requested that it be allowed to stay put for awhile for solar and soul energy hull regeneration.
"Minimum solar regeneration period for hull requested: 92 hours. Time to full regeneration with current solar conditions estimated: 184 hours. Regeneration can be expedited with absorbed soul energy," the eagle announced.
"Yeah, we're going to rest here awhile, buddy," I responded, rapping my knuckles against the right armrest of my throne. I felt the vessel strain as it extended its wings in order to absorb the maximum amount of sunlight, and now, we were officially parked.
"The Divine Retribution is injured," Null observed with a sad buzz. "But, it is a miracle that this incredible machine can simply regenerate from such an ordeal at all. Such damage on a more conventional vessel would require months of repair in any Imperial shipyard, or even scuttling. Ah, what a glorious privilege it is to be here helping to change the destiny of humanity!"
"Can we talk alone some time, Inheritor?" Virgil quietly asked, his holographic form actually shimmering with contempt.
I didn't immediately respond as I massaged my temples, not in the mood for any conflict at the present. "Look, like I said, no fighting right now. That's an order. I need to rest before trying to fix everyone's problems. Divine Retribution, detach all pilots."
"Oh, that feels better," Alberich replied with a groan before shakily standing up. The two Blank sisters helped the German psyker. "I'm so glad that we're alive. I was so worried!"
"Yeah, me too," I said, also standing up. My voice was now back to normal, and I withdrew my Corona as I stretched. I turned to observe Rasputin, who was slumped on his throne, still completely unconscious. "Okay, so, someone carry Rasputin here to a room that hasn't been taken. Alberich, can I ask you to take Zok to find a room? There are still plenty of open rooms, but see if you can find him a place near the galley."
"Jawohl, Meine Führerin," Alberich happily replied with a fist to his heart. Zok walked away from the eye window, and approached the German psyker with a nod. I heard the Tzaangor cook quietly ask if he would actually get his own room, and Alberich replied in the affirmative, which caused Zok to smile widely. Lian took it upon himself to lumber to the leftmost throne, and I watched as he effortlessly picked up my new evil Malcador analog and placed him over his shoulders in a fireman's carry stance.
"What about this staff?" Lian asked, pointing on the ground.
My eyes went to where the Fallen had indicated, and I realized that Rasputin had brought his the eagle staff that was a part of his Malcador costume aboard. "That's not a real force staff. The real one is in my quarters. He can have this one with him." I telekinetically picked up the object, and offered it to Lian, who took it in one of his armored hands.
"Will you be safe without me to guard against the madness of the Tech-priest?" the Fallen Paladin asked, pointing toward Null. Rasputin was now snoring as Lian held him across his black pauldrons.
Null shifted his weight, and glanced nervously over at me. Lian was right to be concerned. I didn't want to expend the effort of using Sight to dredge the depths of Null's soul to discern if he was safe to leave alone, but this felt very important, exhaustion be damned. I wanted to make sure that the Tech-priest wouldn't go crazy on me again. "I'll handle him. You take Rasputin to a room. Make sure it's a single room, and not one that hasn't already been taken."
"Thy will be done," Lian rumbled respectfully, shifting the Mad Monk's body on his shoulders. My crew all remained standing somewhat awkwardly on the bridge, presumably waiting for me to give more orders or formally dismiss them. Weariness etched deeply into all the faces that observed me.
I reached up and picked a flake of dried blood off my cheek. On top of wanting a good meal, I needed a damn bath. "So listen everyone, I'm sure you're all exhausted, so this is what I'm proposing. Tonight, I want to have a meal, and I want to have a good sleep. I'm sure the rest of you are thinking similar thoughts after what just happened. Null, we have more rations now, right?"
"We certainly do, Inheritor," Null answered quickly. "I arranged for the delivery of one year's worth of supplies, food, and rations which include high glucose slurries for psykers, and Astartes grade rations and nutrient loaves. We even have foodstuffs for the kitchen should you desire meals to be prepared to aid in morale."
Hearing this, my crew turned to observe Zok, who nodded beside Alberich. "I can help with that. Point me to your kitchen, please. I'll see what I can do with what you have. An hour might not be enough time for something fancy with a new kitchen, depending on the layout and materials, but I'm sure I can come up with something."
Oh man, this sounded great, I thought with a smile. We even had a cook now too! "Alright, then this is settled. Everyone meet in the galley in an hour. Zok is going to cook us a meal. We can all become acquainted with our new crewmembers. But remember, no fighting. Fight tomorrow instead, and have tonight be about relaxing and not fleeing a dying planet. Lian, please inform the Skitarii warriors of what I just said. You are all dismissed. Null, you're staying with me."
My crew bowed respectfully toward me, and they all began to file off the bridge, and walk down the stairway toward the main body of the ship. Wolfie yawned, and vanished in a cloud of black smoke. Virgil lingered as he continued to eye Null suspiciously before disappearing in a flash of light.
Null and I were now alone on the bridge, and I waited for the rest of my crew to walk deeper into the ship before speaking to the Tech-priest, whose soul was now echoing with fear near the central eye window. I walked to stand beside him, and now, I definitely could see that I had gained a slight amount of height. Null and I were now about the same height instead of me being shorter than him.
"You're afraid of me," I said as a statement of fact, looking the Tech-priest in his animated green eyes. "I feel it."
Null nodded, and it appeared that the Tech-priest was now carefully considering what he would say to me, his pixelated eyes searching. "I know what you must do to me. I accept it, and I also accept my fate if what you see makes me irredeemable."
I stretched again with a yawn beside him. "It's really just a precaution, you know. I have a sense that your loyalty is actually sound, but I can't trust you by yourself on the ship if you keep losing your mind. I need to do this."
"I-Inheritor?" Null asked, his voice quaking.
The Tech-priest sounded terrified. "What?" I asked.
Null fell to his metal knees before me once again, and he clutched his four arms around his his metal body, clearly terrified.
"Null..." I began. What had brought this on? While the Tech-priest certainly had the habit of being mercurial, this expression of fear and submission felt a bit overblown. Null's eyes even began to animate the motion of tears, but what he asked me next was somewhat unexpected.
"H-how much knowledge do you retain of the events of the Horus Heresy from your universe? Specifically, what happened to Mars," the Tech-priest asked with a quick stammer.
"Not much," I responded as my Corona began to emerge once again. "I know that the Fabricator-General of Mars threw in with Horus, but aside from that, I only really knew of the basics."
Null nodded, but did not speak.
"What are you trying to tell me, Null?" I asked, now becoming suspicious. While I easily sensed that the Tech-priest was now absolutely loyal to me, something felt wrong here. "You can either tell me what is on your mind right now, or I'll figure it out in a few minutes."
"V-very well," Null explained, stammering in fear. "Before I speak, I will tell you that I will accept any judgement you may have against me. I will even go as far as to deactivate myself should you wish, Omni- uh, Inheritor."
This sounded bad. "Keep going," I replied, my Corona continuing to brighten.
"Recently, only an hour ago really, I was able to unlock a cache of memories that had been hidden from me utilizing a special code discovered in a cache of Traveler artifacts found on Ix, where we are presently. When I met with Magos Amee, she showed me something extraordinary. A drawn portrait of myself from before many of my modifications! Behind the portrait, there was a code. One that was theorized by Magos Amee to be a mnemonic device to unlock information and memories."
I nodded. At the very least, Null did not appear to be Chaos corrupted, I thought with nervous relief. "Go on."
The Tech-priest continued. "As you know, something has been assailing my mind, and in desperation, I spoke this code in a last ditch effort to find a way to disengage myself from the influence of the belt I had been wearing. The belt, I now know, is entirely new sort of terrible power, and it was being used as something the xenos known as the Nome King to influence me."
"So, alien mind control..." I observed heavily. "That belt belonged to the Nome King, and he was using it to interface with your mind. He also used that belt to find us, you know?"
Null nodded. "Yes, and I would not have broken free of the xenos' will if not for unlocking my own memories in a desperate measure to regain control of myself. The Nome King wished to use my body to shatter the energy crystal, and that would have destroyed us all in a terrible explosion!"
"Well, good thing that didn't happen," I sighed. My intuition immediately informed me that Null was being truthful here, but that he was still frightened. "Tell me why you're so afraid right now then. What's going on?"
"Those memories," Null replied, turning away. "I'm not certain exactly if they have been implanted inside of me, or if I have been cloned, or anything else. I need to do more tests on myself to conclude with certainty what happened, but..." Null trailed off, still obviously intimidated.
"Stand still," I instructed. I was going to get to the bottom of this. Null closed his eyes and bowed his head as he continued kneeling on the floor.
I brightened my Corona, and again, the image of a smiling bald giant of a Space Marine in flowing white robes wearing a wolf pelt over his shoulders appeared in my mind's eye. This time, however, the image shifted, and the friendly Astartes I was seeing in my mind suddenly glitched into a roaring beast of a man with the blackest soul I'd ever seen. The image was now clearer, and instead of kind eyes, this massive Astartes' eyes were now filled with the same Chaotic mania I had sensed from the nude woman I had seen during Word Bear's sacrificial ritual. Various implants and tubes cut across the skin of his face, which was now bone white and translucent. Instead of white robes, the giant wore heavy black power armor covered in vicious spikes, and one of this monstrosity's hands wore a massive bladed talon that shifted clawed fingers in an eagerness to kill. My heart caught as I witnessed the same wolf pelt draped across this monster's shoulders, and on his breastplate, a single glowing red eye surrounded with the eight spokes of Chaos immediately caused me to gasp in recognition.
I immediately picked Null up and threw him violently against the clear window of the central eye.
"What is the meaning of this?!" my voice boomed, and for a brief moment, I was once again much taller, and I looked down upon the Tech-priest at a great height as he limply trembled against my crushing telekinetic grip. "You parley with a nemesis of mankind!?" I heard myself shouting. I paused briefly as I recognized that both my tone and voice held a strange foreign quality. These are not words that I would normally say, I distantly observed.
"I-I..." Null stammered. "I did... I did not-"
"You didn't know? Is that what you're trying to tell me? Was your alliance with Chaos resultant from ignorance?!"
Null frantically shook his head. I felt one of his metal ribs began to bend inside his chest under my telekinetic grip. "The memories... they were unlocked! I-I didn't know! I read the code, regained the memories! Look inside my mind! Please! Within, I am a changed man! Please! I swear with my very soul that I have learned the error of my evil!"
Behind me, I could hear that Lian was now stomping his way up to the bridge once again.
"You motherfucker," I growled before brightening my Corona and forcing it inside his soul. Null cried out in terror as I began to tear through his memories, searching for his motive and motivation before killing him.
More images began to filter through my mind. And now, I witnessed another harrowing scene of Horus fucking Lupercal standing with a malformed Tech-priest and observing space through a void ship's window. This Tech-priest was an ugly creature, and many wicked appendages sprouted from his body. His face was that of a corrupted morally-dead creature, and his eyes were blank, displaying no pity or mercy within their evil depths. Another image flickered before me, and I discovered this same Tech-priest standing over a broad table filled with scrolls, notes, clear storage boxes, and dataslates. The man shook his head, and I could tell that he was filled with incredible regret. Null, in my mind, then began to speak.
"You see me as I once was over ten thousand years ago. In this burning memory, after hearing of the fall of the Emperor during his fateful duel with Horus, I finally recognized the terrible truth after years of denial. For me to admit that I had been wrong cut like a knife, but I had always been devoted to truth, and so, I had to face it. Here, I underwent a crisis of self."
"The interdimensional sciences of the theoretical beings known as Travelers had always intrigued me, and here, in this room and after the Emperor's fall, I contemplated the proof of such entities, and the good they could do for a floundering universe. Foolishly, I had previously denied this knowledge despite my curiosity, and I had believed that the Emperor was playing at his role in order to subjugate Mars. I had only wanted independence, innovation, freedom, and power for my people. I wanted Mars to progress, to innovate. I was lied to. I am sorry I was misled."
I continued to listen to the ancient traitor. Another woeful flicker of a memory of something called a "scrap code" caused great and terrible shame to briefly brighten in Null's soul. I continued to listen to the cursed Tech-priest attempt to explain himself.
The malformed creature then began to slam his metal fists against the table before him, and a terrible wail of anguish then rose from his artificial throat.
"You see me the day I was enlightened as to how much terrible damage I had done to humanity by my foolish alliance with the traitorous Warmaster. In my depthless shame, I fled. For a time, I aimlessly and secretly wandered the galaxy, and I placed caches of my knowledge in places across the galaxy before deleting my memories, and possibly rendering my physical form into inoperability. Somehow, I survived this. I do not know how. My memories remain incomplete even now."
"My reasoning for burying these caches, I believe, was that if I became spiritually developed enough to seek out the truth once again, that my innate curiosity would eventually bring me back to myself and these caches. Perhaps in a future time, my memories, if unlocked in a healthier version of myself, could be used to help humanity, and not to harm. Perhaps time could atone for my misdeeds, and maybe the galaxy would forget about my terrible sins? Maybe I could find penance in a better tomorrow if the galaxy survived what I had done?"
"This doesn't look like you," I explained to the malformed Tech-priest in the memory. The creature stood up from his rage, and fixed his regretful blank eyes toward me somehow. A weak tear fell across his cheek, and he shook his head.
"No, it doesn't. Which is why I theorize that the body I inhabit I may be a clone of myself before my corruption began. With the deletion of my memories and the destruction of my old physical form, maybe I could offer myself a clean slate to start from? Perhaps with enough time, I would be able to process my shame, and to work toward my eternal repentance in a new healthier galaxy. Truthfully, I'm not certain, however. I'm only operating from a fraction of my retrieved memories, so my reasonings are vague to even me, I'm afraid."
I reached into the malformed Tech-priest, searching for his genuine name.
"Your name wasn't Ogun Nemo. You were once Kelbor-Hal," I said pulling back slightly as I watched the miserable creature kneel before me on the floor. My lore knowledge was then jogged, and I did remember reading vaguely about a traitorous Fabricator-General from the Horus Heresy, but I didn't know enough that I could point out specific notable sins that Kelbor-Hal committed besides the big obvious "siding with Horus" thing. This was probably something that was extensively detailed in the five billion Horus Heresy books that I had yet to read.
The figure nodded. "Yes, it was, but, I have relinquished that name. I am no longer that ignorant beast. If you would allow me to survive, I could help you as you travel the stars. I now have a sizable fraction of the knowledge I retained as Fabricator-General, if what you see is indeed my past. I can use this knowledge to help you. From Mechanicum decryption codes, to knowledge of battle automata, to even some now-forgotten Dark Age of Technology sciences, I can offer you much. But, if you should choose to kill me, I would accept it. I deserve it, Omnissiah."
The deformed Tech-priest that was a manifestation of Kelbor-Hal's memory then stood before me, and fell to his knees. He then displayed his neck to me, which offered a clear message of "my life for you".
The mental landscape then retracted, and I now stood before Null again on the bridge of the Divine Retribution. I had dropped the Tech-priest, and now, he kneeled before me again, his neck exposed on the bridge. I sensed that Lian was behind me, and that he had drawn his sword.
"Put your sword away, Lian," I instructed, and the Fallen Paladin obeyed. Lian remained standing on the bridge, waiting for my order.
A very tense moment passed. Standing before me was a probable relic from the Horus Heresy that had served Chaos. I sensed genuine repentance gleaming from the Tech-priest's (and former Fabricator-General's) soul. No sort of Necron-induced madness or any other corrupting force could be detected under my Sight.
Forgiveness for this sort of terrible transgression was not something that was given lightly in the lore, if offered at all, but at the same time, Null was now an absolute vault of useful information, even moreso than he already was. I could see that he held knowledge of Imperial encryption codes, as well as information from the Dark Age of Technology. This made him incalculably valuable, even more so than he had been before. Null was, by my assessment, the single most useful member of my crew with his knowledge of the Imperium, medicine, and general technology. He was brilliant, and unfortunately, he was nearly indispensable.
I sighed, and began to contemplate the rest of my crew. Alberich was a real-life Nazi psyker who adored Hitler and was calling me his new "Führerin". He was now in a body that looked very close to Tzeentch's human avatar, and he had a history of worshipping that terrible Chaos God, even after being abused by the entity. Lian, despite his outward appearances of being heroic and brave, was a "cowardly" Fallen who had run from battle twice, and was constantly wracked with the shame of his past. Cowardly Space Marines are usually culled from the population of any non-Chaotic chapter, which was indicative just how seriously loyalist Astartes saw any kind of cowardice. Rasputin was... well, Rasputin. The Mad Monk had a terrible reputation for debauchery, scheming, and sexual impropriety from my history books. I wasn't even exactly sure why he was even on my crew now, as I couldn't recall any sort of Wizard of Oz analog that he could be compared against. I decided to blame his appearance on Tzeentch having a silly moment in his inscrutable plans.
I turned my thoughts back to Null as I considered his fate. The ex-Fabricator-General stood trembling in fear, and I could even feel that he was silently praying to me (while calling me "Omnissiah" again), which made me uncomfortable. I wished greatly that I had been a bigger lore nerd in my universe, as I had no idea the depth of terrible atrocities this man had probably caused. Still, I could find no current trace of Chaotic taint, nor any sort of deception or madness lingering in Null's soul. Keeping Null around, but on a short leash, could be very useful once we start encountering more Imperial worlds.
And ultimately, I did not want to end up like Sebastian, who had been slowly "corrupted" into a completely uncompromising entity of unconscionable power. I wanted to retain my humanity, and with it, my mercy. Don't be like me, Sebastian had told me in a vision so long ago. I intended to take that advice.
My Corona began to dim around me. "I'm probably making a mistake, but I make a lot of mistakes," I sighed, and shook my head. "Get up."
Null turned his head upward toward me in surprise. "You... you're letting me live?"
I nodded as I clenched my jaw. "Don't make me regret it, please." I hoped that I wasn't making another mistake.
Behind me, I heard Lian ask, "What was his sin, Inheritor? What have you absolved him of?"
"A big sin," I replied. "Null can now be trusted on his own once again, and you can tell everyone that if you want, Lian. I've seen through the dark places of his soul, and find his loyalty to be absolute. I'll tell the crew later when I feel that it is appropriate for everyone to know, but just so you understand-" I turned around to face Lian, who stood above me, still clutching his sword in both hands. "-I want to be more forgiving than my predecessor. I'm still human, at least right now, and I don't want to make the same mistakes that the other guy in the chair made. I remember that you ran from battle to leave your Brothers to die, and I forgave you for that, so just keep this in mind for later."
"As you wish, Inheritor," Lian rumbled, and saluted me. I relaxed, and slightly withdrew my Corona again.
"Anyway," I took a few steps back so I could address both Lian and Null. "You both have orders to meet in the galley in an hour for dinner, so you're both dismissed. And Null, take this advice to heart-" I let my halo wreathe the upper part of my burned body in a harsh glow once again. "If I detect even the slightest scent of betrayal from you, or that you're even thinking about going and talking to some of your old friends, I will not hesitate to completely annihilate you. You've been given another chance. Don't screw it up."
"Yes, Omnissiah," Null stammered, bowing again. The Tech-priest then stood up, and I saw that once again, his animated eyes displayed what appeared to be an animation of tears. "I will never repeat my past mistakes."
"Don't call me that," I answered before dimming my light completely. "Just call me Inheritor."
The humbled Tech-priest nodded, "Very well, Inheritor. I will meet you in the galley."
Both Lian and Null bowed before exiting the bridge, and I was left alone once again with my thoughts.
I sighed again, and began to massage my temple. In the last 24 hours, I had visited a nest of Fallen Dark Angels, met Cypher, gone to a masquerade ball, met the real-life transferred soul of Rasputin, blinded and murdered a vengeful Navigator, watched a Harlequin performance depicting both the Emperor and myself, drawn the eye of Khorne, lost my mind after being drugged, strangled and broke the neck of a cult leader after growing to a height of over three meters, hallucinated an encounter with Spoiled Prince, watched Alberich switch bodies with someone that looked just like Tzeentch's avatar, killed tons of people and eaten innumerable souls, summoned a fire tornado into existence, literally died from psychic overload before coming back to my body, manipulated a Necron Harvest Ship into blasting a possessed statue of Am'Erika, eaten more souls sacrificed to me by a group of insane Word Bearers who were now apparently worshipping me, and finally, I had fled through a Warp Gate which had spat me out tens of thousands of light years away from where I had been.
"What a fucking day," I said to no one in particular, walking over to the central eye window of the Divine Retribution's head. Outside, it was very early evening, and the sun had begun to set on this new alien world, bathing the local sky in the many colors of early sunset. A rural landscape of flowering mountain grasses, rocks, patchy snow, and thin trees that resembled very thin spruce bent gently in the wind outside painted a portrait of serene wild beauty. This location reminded me of the video game landscape of Skyrim outside, I thought with a short laugh before becoming homesick again.
While I definitely missed home, I found that I was starting to enjoy being the big lady on campus here. Having people actually listen to me was a nice change from being just another stepped on nobody back in my universe.
Yeah, there were definitely bonuses to this "job", I thought with a short smile. It would probably be a bit tough going back to my universe when I finally hit the Warp Gate on Molech, but at the very least, my universe didn't have the danger of the Warp sitting on its metaphysical doorstep waiting to manipulate and eat me. As alluring as the idea of becoming the new galactic Emperor was beginning to sound to me, I had to keep reminding myself that despite all his efforts and extreme power, Sebastian ended up cursed to an existence worse than death. I now had the attention of all four Chaos Gods, and no doubt, they would definitely want to ruin me should I get strong enough. Right now, I imagined that I was still a novelty to Tzeentch, which was why that god seemed to enjoy me and occasionally even help me. The amount of control over fate and time that god had was absolutely staggering, and it left me with a new appreciation for just how dangerous Chaos was.
As I watched the pretty mountain landscape outside, I also noted my reflection in the glass of the window. Dried blood that I had bled from my eyes and nose coated my cheeks and chin, and once again, I appeared filthy and exhausted. I examined my hair, and now, I could see that it was a little under half changed in an irregular midline from around my nearly entirely white crown down my central part. I looked sort of like a messy black and white cookie, I thought. My gold laurel crown was still neatly tucked behind my ears, and I was grateful for its psychic and emotion moderating powers. Through my vague glass reflection, I could also tell that my features had again slightly changed. I squinted. It seemed like my skin was growing smoother, and my features were more defined. I remembered that I was now about halfway through my so-called transformation (a "4 out of 9" as the Divine Retribution had said), and I briefly wondered what I would look like if I got to the ninth level of whatever I was becoming. This curious thought caused me to experience a wave of body horror, and I turned away from my increasingly alien reflection with a nervous swallow.
I began to make my way down the stairs of the Divine Retribution's neck. A translucent white ghost briefly spooked me as it drifted past before vanishing again. Oh, right, haunted ship. As I walked, I noticed that the ship held a different scent now. Before, it had smelled vaguely of dust and electricity, but now, it almost had a pleasant spicy scent like sandalwood and balsam. It was very nice. I came to the round room at the base of the neck, and began to make my way to my quarters. Before I could do so, Virgil sparkled into existence right before my captain's suite. "Inheritor, I bring news about the injured Skitarii," the hologram quickly spoke.
"Go ahead," I said with a yawn, leaning against a plated gold wall.
"Rahm, the male Skitarii guard, has suffered a severe injury when his xenos-crafted plasma rifle exploded in his hands, damaging his implants. Null is requesting that he be allowed to attend to the injuries of this individual immediately in lieu of him attending the galley meeting."
"Oh, of course," I replied. "Tell him it's fine."
"Very well. We obey you," Virgil said before once again vanishing into a smear of pixelated light in midair.
Having people defer to me does feel pretty nice, I thought with a smile. Going back home to miserable poverty in urban New Jersey definitely would be an adjustment later.
The door to my suite slid open, and what I saw surprised me. When I had been gone, my quarters had been furnished and decorated! The bed, which had been a ratty ten thousand year-old decayed pile of fabric, was now a large plush mattress topped with a very nice red blanket with gold embroidered trim. Leaning atop a soft fluffy red pillow, a small wax-sealed envelope had been placed. Curious, I picked it up. The seal was that of the AdMech skull symbol atop the initials "N.A.".
"Nimmie Amee," I whispered as I broke the seal and opened the envelope. Inside, a blank sheet of vellum greeted me. Briefly confused, I held the paper in my hand for a moment before words began to magically appear.
"To our new hope,
I hope that you find your new furnishings and supplies up to your standards, blessed Inheritor. I and all of the initiated of the Tower of Reason wish you good luck as you cross our galaxy on your way to your destiny. You hold the fate of humankind's future in your hands, so I thought it appropriate to spend the extra effort and to outfit your vessel from one of our finest luxury supply depots for void ships. Many a Rogue Trader passing through our region of space has made the detour to our planet for the express purpose of resupplying their vessels from Evna's fine furnishing depots. May your divine void ship be a den of security, opulence, and style for you, and may you think fondly in memory upon the world of Tar Vigaz wherever you go.
Sincerely,
Magos Nimmie Amee"
This caused me to widely grin until I remembered that Langwidere had bragged that she had apparently killed Nimmie Amee in order to take control of the minefield above Tar Vigaz. Null had mentioned earlier that he believed that the friendly spider Magos woman was a survivor, so I hoped that maybe this information wasn't true.
I placed the letter on the small round table in my suite, which now contained a gold vase and a tasteful wire sculpture of a blue flower, and I continued to observe how beautifully and richly appointed my furnished quarters were. A plush red throw rug covered most of the floor, and tapestries depicting heroic images of eagles, swords, and various brave Space Marine knights hung on my previously bare walls. My rucksack from Levant lay beside a metal chest of drawers, and all the boxes of my new clothes from my shopping trip in Evna were stacked and ready for me to organize. This was great, I thought happily. This place was starting to feel like home!
I walked to the bathroom, greatly looking forward to a good bath. In this room, I discovered thick red towels hanging from hooks, and a red bath mat covered the floor. Happily, I noticed that my solid gold bathtub was now outfitted with proper toiletries, which included very fancy shampoo and conditioner in tall blue bottles stored within a small shower caddy.
"No more Mechanicus lye soap, thank god," I spoke aloud as I began to peel off my sweaty, and partially blood stained clothes, tossing them into a pile in the corner of the bathroom. Wincing, I was reminded that my skin was burned as I stripped down. I had actually stolen these clothes from some random drunk guy in Evna, and remembering this caused my heart to ache once again in realization of the likely fate of that world. My hands went to my head, and I removed my gold laurel crown and placed it on a short shelf beside the sink before turning open the tap in the bathtub. The Key remained on my neck, and I noticed that it had a slight glow about its round pale stone.
I decided not to wait for the water to completely fill the bath, and I stepped in immediately, laying my increasingly taller body in the tub as it continued to fill. Did Sebastian take baths in here, I wondered as I lounged. How did he fit into this room once he had been fully transformed? Maybe the ship would continue to get bigger as I devoured more and more souls?
Once again, my mind began to wander back to the fate of the unfortunate people of Tar Vigaz. Their desperate prayers were distant sour echoes in my memory. I closed my eyes as I felt the water wash over my burned skin, and tried to relax.
Unwelcome visions began to filter through my mind's eye.
Women and children being killed for their skins by soulless fiends with bladed knives for fingers. The desperate cries of a populace so used to peace that it had no formal military beyond the governor's personal forces...
I opened my eyes, and realized that I had begun to hyperventilate. Strangely, time had skipped ahead, and I was now in a full bath. I turned off the tap, and laid back. Calm down, Erika.
The visions continued, and they began to intensify.
"Why have you forsaken us, Empress? How have we sinned so for you to abandon us?" a familiar red-haired mother cried out as she watched a vicious metal beast cut down and begin to flay a nearby palace guard. The mother held her young daughter in a desperately protective embrace, and both wept in fear. The metal creature tore chunks of bloody flesh from the screaming guard, and began to devour him!
"Calm..." I gasped.
The red-haired woman's daughter was torn screaming from her grasp. The child was then fought over by three metal monsters like a choice cut of meat before her limbs were separated from her little torso by flensing metal claws!
"No... no..." I began to cry and shake. "Stop... stop it!"
Unexpectedly, I felt the voice of the Divine Retribution telepathically shout through me as I laid in the bath. We left the humans to die. This is not who we are, it said, its message broadcast in a rush of many disappointed supernatural voices.
"I had no choice," I replied audibly, my teeth chattering, despite the warmth of the bath. "There was no way I could save them with just myself! I'm sorry!"
We will not repeat this behavior. Our imperative is to protect the humans, the Divine Retribution coldly spoke through me.
"I'll do better! I promise!" I gasped.
We do not have a choice in this matter, Omega. This is our function, our imperative. We will do as we must. We will now weep for the lives we could not save, oh current vessel of our blessed imperative. Witness the consequences!
A pause, and then, a torrent of images of suffering people cascaded through my mind like an avalanche! I saw people being hunted like cattle in the streets, and the remains of Langwidere's police force breaking in terror to hoards of bladed silver claws. Blood flowed through streets like rainwater, and the grinding noise of the alien language of the Necrons cut through me like a scythe!
"N-no!" I was able to whisper in strangled shock as heavy tears began to fall from my glowing eyes! Images of incredible suffering continued to sear into my mind like burning brands! It almost appeared that the Divine Retribution was punishing me for abandoning that world, forcing me to feel the suffering of the people I failed to save.
"Inheritor?" I heard a voice calling to me, and I opened my eyes. I had a vague sensation that more time had passed, and now, the bath water was pink with my own diluted dried (and now fresh) blood.
"Virgil?" I shakily asked from the bath. "I'm in the bath. What is it?" I asked, my voice unexpectedly resonant. I clutched at my throat as I pushed myself up in the water. I continued to shiver, despite the warmth. My Key was now glowing brightly.
The holographic astropath audibly asked behind the closed door of my suite. "Inheritor, Null requests a small requisition of living gold for urgent repairs to Rahm's vascular system. He may pass otherwise. The damage is indeed severe."
"Uh, sure, permission granted," I replied as I concentrated on slowing my heart rate and breathing. "Just don't take too much. The ship isn't in good shape right now."
"Very well, I will convey this message," Virgil said through the door before departing.
"Fuck," I hissed as I sat up. The power of the Divine Retribution's influence upon my spirit was growing in potency as time went on and I devoured more and more souls. Orikan had said in his information disk that the ship transforms its captains, and now, it was glaringly obvious that this dramatic change indeed involves both physical and mental states. Not only was I getting progressively stronger and more ruthless, but the Divine Retribution's oversoul was beginning to aggressively assert its desires on my spirit. It was literally refashioning all parts of me into what it was made to create, my free will be damned.
The true horror of the burden of being attached to this ship was now coming into focus, and Molech was still so far away. The power that I drew forth had a steep cost, and that price was my very soul! From my perspective, it appeared that I was transforming into a literal living weapon, one that had a duty to be used by my race in the face of subjugation.
I thought back to my visions of the mild-mannered English gamer that Sebastian had once been. Before, I had always been slightly confused as to how such a "normal" average wargaming guy could somehow end up becoming the ruthless Emperor of Mankind. I was now beginning to understand, and the realization was chilling.
For now, I tried to put my worries and traumatic visions out of mind as I dunked my head under the water in preparation for washing my hair. While washing my burned skin with shaking hands, I conceded that it had now become blatantly apparent that I was in a race against time. Would I even be myself when I got to Molech?