Father of the Second A 30k Celestial Forge Story

by CallMeKingNobody

The premise of the story is thus: a guy from the modern world wakes up in the Warhammer 30k universe. Pretty basic, right? Here's the twist: he has no knowledge of Warhammer and is in possession of a heavily modified version of the Celestial Forge. Will he set the Galaxy ablaze? Will he laze around? Read to find out! Rating is because Warhammer is pretty dark.

17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Leman Russ, Silver Mind, Esau

A/N: Shout out to Wrathkal on SpaceBattles for proofreading and providing corrections to this chapter.

Leman Russ:

820. M30.

The standard procedure for a bloodless compliance varied wildly depending on the cultures and the members of the Imperium involved.

Typically, the leader of the compliance fleet, whoever that may be, would accept the fealty of the compliant natives and the Crusade would continue unabated. In the year since Leman Russ had rejoined his father and the Imperium, he had taken the oaths of dozens of planets a; across the galaxy, by way of words and blood alike.

His own experience had been scant when compared to Horus or the Emperor but Leman was a Primarch built for conquest nonetheless. He had studied statecraft under the late King Thengir of Fenris, and had expanded his knowledge underneath the Allfather's exacting eye. Despite popular opinion among the Imperium, Leman was far from blind to the intricacies of politics. He just preferred more straightforward affairs.

Perhaps it was the blood of Fenris that ran through him.

So despite the joyous celebrations of citizens of the Imperium and the Immortal Sun alike, Leman was among the first to realise how unprecedented the situation was. And the implications that this new treaty would entail.

The more vapid and inexperienced nobles in the Imperial fleet likely thought the concessions given to the Immortal Sun to be normal, if unexpectedly generous. After all, their parents and grandparents had been given similar concessions at the end of the Unification Wars in return for their fealty, or so the Saga had been sung. If the concessions were extreme; to them it was because three Primarchs were involved in its making, even if in an indirect sense.

Leman would spit on them if he could. Fools, the lot of them.

The concessions granted to the Immortal Sun as a result of 'Emperor' Isaac's negotiations with the Allfather were almost absurd to consider, and presented problems for the Crusade going forward. The Immortal Sun had managed what even the Mechanicum could not, and had been granted full independence from the Imperium and its laws. Because of this, the Imperial conquest of the galaxy was going to become harder, as worlds that would have otherwise laid down with their bellies up will look to the Immortal Sun and become emboldened.

That was without mentioning the worlds whose fealty had yet to be truly and fully tested. The Allfather kept only the most loyal subjects closest to him, but Leman knew that not all worlds conquered had fully embraced compliance. Many worlds simply laid waiting for any perceived weakness on the Imperium's part. It seemed that the Legiones Astartes would have to put down some revolts soon.

On balance however, Leman Russ had to admit that the Imperium had received much in return. Access to faster-than-light travel that did not rely on the ever changing tides of the Immateriun was an immense boon. With it, the Imperium could usher humanity into a new age much easier, without the spectre of uncertainty haunting them. The STCs recovered from this system would shut the Mechanicum up, and the Compass on its own was worth the potential for revolution.

Perhaps that was his own bias talking.

Brothers had been a new concept to Leman only a year prior, yet he found himself so enamoured by the concept now. Each brother he met was so interesting, and so full of potential. Each represented a standard to measure against, in many ways. Each represented a whole different set of experiences and values to compare his own against.

The thought of meeting more of them and drinking with them as he had with Horus was exhilarating. As absurd as the deal was, Leman understood why the Allfather had taken it.

Leman flexed his hand, now free from the marking that had been his bane over the last three days.

The Great Crusade would become harder, but that was fine. Leman Russ had never backed down from a challenge, and he suspected that no Primarch ever would. A world that would push away the Imperium's open hand with so little encouragement would prove that it deserved its closed fist. If anything, the Immortal Sun would help the Imperium find potential traitors amongst its own ranks, and pave the way to a stronger Imperium.

So, as both the Imperial and Immortal Sun contingents made merry, Leman endeavoured to join them. The dealings between the two empires presented many potential problems, true, but there was no solution to be found in worrying about them now.

When the Allfather called for his sword arm, however, he would be ready.

.

Leman awoke, hours later, underneath the sleeping bodies of his wolfsiblings Freki and Geri. Leman frowned. Last he had heard, they were still on Hrafnkel, being attended to by his sons. While Leman was happy to see them, he was unhappy to be trapped underneath them, because that meant he was stuck. While Geri was more level headed than Freki was, no Wolf worth its name enjoyed being woken up from a deep slumber.

He briefly debated laying on his bed until they woke up first, but a knock at his door made his decision for him.

"Lord Leman Russ." The voice called. "The Emperor awaits your presence."

To the hells with it then. Leman pushed his way out of the pile of bodies that were his brothers, and received scandalised looks as the wolves awoke from their slumber.

"Sorry." He offered, as he stood, already knowing that simply saying 'sorry' wouldn't be enough for either of them. The huffs he received from both confirmed it.

"I'll make it up to the both of you." He replied as he frantically jumped into a quick makeshift shower before changing into the clothes arranged for him on a chair near his bed.

The whines he got as he checked himself in the mirror were pitiful, but Leman was resolute. Giving in to Freki and Geri would encourage them to continue to act out to get his attention in future.

"Don't act like pups now, brothers." He chided, as he walked to the door. "I'll tell my sons to bring you breakfast."

Freki and Geri sat up with a swiftness that would have beggard belief were Leman not so used to their ways. They whined again in a futile effort to get fed immediately, but he ignored it as he opened the door.

He was greeted by the sight of one of the Allfather's Custodians waiting dutifully for him. The Custodian nodded at Leman Russ, the highest acknowledgement anyone of the Ten Thousand would give anyone who was not the Emperor. Leman wracked his mind to figure out which one this one was. The heraldry on their auramite was difficult to decipher at the best of times, so Leman found himself struggling to figure out who this one was.

Then it clicked. Amon Tauromachian of the First Circle of the Legio Custodes.

Leman motioned ahead as he closed the door behind him, pushing the debacle of the two wolfsiblings to the back of his mind. The wolves would soon be bullying his sons into getting whatever they wanted regardless.

"Lead on, then."

The walk to the Emperor's quarters, such as they were, was short, and uneventful.

The Legio Custodes were many things but they could hardly ever be accused of being overly talkative, so Leman made his own amusement in absorbing the sights and sounds of the artificial forest filling this level of the Space Station.

In the three days since the Imperium and Immortal Sun had first met, the forest had by and large been replaced. An admittedly impressive display of scientific acumen and ability, though Leman's enhanced eyes could see that a majority of the replacements were partly mechanical in nature.

A surveillance mechanism perhaps? Or a way of controlling the growth of the plants as necessary? Ultimately, Leman decided it was irrelevant. He doubted that he or the Space Wolves would stay in the Naufrag system long enough for it to matter, so he pushed the mild curiosity that he held to the back of his mind.

Leman entered the Emperor's quarters and found both the Emperor and Horus waiting for him as Amon stayed at the door, before closing it behind Leman.

The Emperor stood at one end of an exquisitely carved wooden table, while Horus stood at the other. Both were dressed in light affair, relatively speaking. The Emperor had eschewed His usual set of massive powered armour and was instead wearing a beautiful set of auramite plate armour. The Compass gifted to Him sat on a golden chain at His waist.

Horus himself wore a simple white shirt, black pants and brown leather boots. His wolf pelt was arranged across his shoulders. Leman was glad to have matched Horus' attire, as he himself was dressed in a black shirt, pants and furred black boots. A deer pelt adorned his own shoulders.

"Good Morning, Father." Leman saluted the Emperor, before nodding towards Horus. "Horus."

"I'm glad to see that you have recovered from your merriment." The Emperor replied, a shadow of a smile on His features. Meanwhile, Horus nodded back at him, a conciliatory smile upon his face.

"It would take more than a tankard or two of Mjød to keep my brother down." Horus attested, and Leman had to keep himself from correcting him, especially since both of them knew the actual number was much higher.

The number was closer to twenty, but Leman did not mention it, lest the Allfather call him a glutton. In keeping the stated number low, Horus had managed to dispel a mild sense of embarrassment on Leman's part. A minor ultimately meaningless gesture, but Leman appreciated it. For all his problems, Horus was a good brother.

Horus had himself only drunk until he felt it polite enough to leave the party and the Emperor had nor drunk a single drop of alcohol, as far as Leman could tell.

"Good." The Emperor interjected, before Leman could jape at Horus' own temperance. "I trust that you are both ready to speak on the changes we must make to the path ahead of us."

The Allfather needn't have asked.

"I am." Leman and Horus replied in near unison.

The Emperor nodded, before pausing, as if something had just occurred to him.

"You have thoughts on the deal I brokered between us and the Immortal Sun." It wasn't a question.

"I do." Leman admitted. "Or at least, I did. At first, what was conceded seemed ludicrous. No polity has ever successfully become independent of the Imperium, and to have one become independent with your direct support sets a dangerous precedent."

Horus scratched his chin and smiled, before shaking his head as Leman spoke. It was obvious he had said the same to the Emperor moments before Leman's arrival.

"Then, I thought." Leman continued, ignoring a faux cough from Horus that would have been some sort of comment had the Emperor not been present, especially since there was no heat to it. "You must have some long term plan of some kind if you agreed to so much."

"Indeed." The Emperor responded. "I am loath to give so much to this empire, but everything I did give was carefully calculated. Independence will only become a problem in the long term, and with your brother soon swearing fealty to me, his people will be more easily swayed to our side. The allegiance of a Primarch cannot be so easily overlooked by those who serve him. The worlds I have given to your brother and this empire are potentially endless in number."

Here, He put His finger up.

"However, they will each be surrounded by nine or more Imperial worlds, stifling them and the growth of their economies should they choose to stay independent from the Imperium. It will become evident to each world given to the Immortal Sun that it would be better suited in the Imperium's hands. As for the Forge World, one would have been built in this system regardless of the results of the competition. Your brother's gift for the sciences assured that."

Then, He sighed.

"Still, you are correct about the danger of the precedent that has been set."

He put His hand down, and placed both fists on the table.

"That is something I cannot fault you for. So I will have Malcador send out remembrancers and illuminators to control the understanding of this deal throughout the Imperium."

At the name 'Malcador', Leman saw a vague look of irritation reach Horus' features momentarily. Leman liked the old man well enough, but Horus saw him as some sort of interloper, interjecting himself between Horus and the Emperor.

A year ago, Horus likely felt the same about Leman.

"Most will know of the deal as something similar to my agreement with the Mechanicum. They will be told that the Immortal Sun is not fully independent. Instead, they will be told that the Immortal Sun has been offered something like a Warrant of Trade."

That was an interesting solution, if a temporary one.

Then again, Leman supposed, that was all the Imperium needed. None could gainsay a declaration supported by the surreptitious efforts of the Sigillite, save the Emperor or perhaps the Primarchs.

It would take some effort but if done correctly, the assertions of the Imperium would soon take root in the minds of the common Imperium citizen. High ranking nobles and figures such as Rogue Traders would see the Sigillites' effort for what it was, and make efforts to take advantage of the Immortal Sun's actual position, but that was to be expected.

Still, the approach had some danger to it, as the Immortal Sun could take offence to the efforts of the Sigillite, which could have knock-on effects of their own.

Leman Russ shook his head. King of Fenris or no, he was not overly fond of underhanded tactics such as this.

"You disapprove?" Horus asked, seeing the look on Leman's face. Leman shrugged.

"I do." He answered honestly. "I was not made to be a trickster or Jackalwolf. I was made to be a warrior and conqueror. Still, I see the necessity of it and if the Allfather wills it, then I will obey."

"Good." The Emperor replied. "I do not enjoy the necessity of these actions either, my son, but it is good to see that you trust my judgement so."

The warmth Leman felt in his Father's words did much to outweigh his misgivings.

"I hope I have addressed your questions?"

Leman and Horus nodded.

"Let us move on then." The Emperor said, as He produced a roll of parchment from the stack of documents on the table.

He unfurled it, revealing it to be a massive map of the galaxy. It was not marked with any Warp routes and lacked a legend indicating where Xenos empires were placed, differentiating it from maps the Navy or the Legiones Astartes had access to.

The Emperor removed the Compass from his hip, and placed it on the map. The needle oscillated wildly before it stabilised, now alternating between pointing at Leman or Horus. It was still as beautiful as it was, the moment he first saw it. Leman resisted the urge to touch it and found that Horus had to do the same.

The Emperor chose to ignore their reaction and instead pointed to a point on the map, midway through the Segmentum Obscurus, close to the Halo Stars. Leman hadn't realised that they were so close to the edges of the galaxy.

"We are currently somewhere around here." He said before trailing his index finger along an axis west of that point. "And from the Bucephelus, the Compass points this way."

"There is a major Warp-route that way, is there not?" Horus queried as he seemed to consider where the Emperor's finger stopped.

"There is." The Emperor confirmed. "I have spent the last few hours consulting with astropaths that have travelled along that route. There are rumours of pirates and raiders being driven off of a world somewhere along the route by a man who is said to be massive and who possesses 'metal hands'."

The galaxy being what it is, there existed thousands of similar rumours across Imperial space, let alone the fringes of the Crusade. Almost all of them were exaggerations. Sagas that grew larger in the retelling. As a result, the Allfather could only chase the most promising of these, but now with the Compass, he could narrow the rumours down immensely.

"You've already found another of our brothers? So soon?" Leman asked.

"I think I have." The Emperor explained. "The Astropaths tell me that the world in question is a waste-world with frequent earthquakes and constant eruptions. Few besides one of your brothers could survive on such a world."

"I agree." Horus replied.

"So do I." Leman agreed. The conditions of this world sounded extremely harsh. Not as harsh as the Fenrisian wilds, but harsh enough. No normal man could both survive such conditions and then go on to drive pirates and raiders away.

"Will you be chasing after him?" Horus asked, an unidentifiable emotion in his voice.

"No, and therein lies the problem." The Emperor responded. "I cannot leave this system until your brother swears fealty to me."

Ordinarily, that wouldn't be much of an issue. During the course of a compliance, any high ranking Imperial official could make treaties and receive oaths with minimal oversight, but this system was not compliant, and these were oaths from a Primarch. Leman had himself made his oath to the Allfather in front of several of his thegns, the Legion Master of the VIth, Enoch Rathvin, and the Allfather himself. As far as Leman could tell, Horus did something similar.

A trade treaty of this magnitude was also too important to trust to anyone besides the Allfather himself. Horus or Leman were feasible alternatives at the table of negotiation but were unlikely to be looked upon favourably by the Immortal Sun.

The Sigillite could also be trusted to negotiate with the Immortal Sun, but he could not leave the Sol system, lest the Imperium collapse upon itself. An exaggeration, perhaps, but all exaggerations contained a grain of truth.

Regardless, the Imperium did not control this system, and was unlikely to do so for decades to come. So the Allfather was stuck, until either a trade treaty was signed officially or until Esau swore fealty. Knowing the Allfather, He would not leave until He received both.

That could take months, at the very least, though it wasn't unheard of for treaties to take years or even decades to ratify. The Great Crusade could survive without the Emperor's direct presence, but it would slow down immensely.

"Could you not just send either of us to meet with our brother in the meantime?" Horus asked, though Leman could hear a second unspoken part of the sentence.

Do you not trust us to do this for you?

It seemed Horus was still hurt by the fact that Alpharius had been hidden from the both of them. While Leman had understood the Emperor's reasoning as He explained it, it seemed Horus was less understanding.

Leman could hardly blame the Allfather for indulging in Alpharius' scheme. but he was a relative stranger to the Imperium and its ways. Horus had been at the Allfather's side for decades and was without a doubt His strongest supporter. His claim to his anger was stronger than Leman's claim to his own indifference.

"No." The Emperor replied, his voice brooked no argument. "I need you elsewhere."

"My First Captain Abaddon is a worthy enough replacement for me while I go and meet with our brother." Horus insisted, ignoring the firm tone that the Allfather had taken. "Please, Father. In my anger and jealousy I raised my hand at you. Please, Father. Let me make amends."

Horus brought himself down to one knee.

"Trust me, I can do this." He said, the emotion in his voice clear to all.

It seemed Leman had misjudged the situation. Horus was angry, yes, but not at the Emperor. He was enraged at himself and wished to regain whatever standing he believed he had lost. Whether it was because Horus was jealous of Alpharius' new found standing as the first found son, or because Horus felt guilty, Leman could not tell. Perhaps it was both.

Suddenly, Leman felt like a stranger intruding on a moment that he had no business seeing. The Emperor stared at Horus with a considering eye before responding.

"Do you remember the Siege of Reillis?" He asked, and Horus reacted like he had been struck. Leman understood why.

The Siege of Reillis was an oft-forgotten campaign where the Allfather and Horus were ambushed by non-compliant humans hoping to decapitate the Imperium. The non-compliant humans attacked the Imperial contingent using secret tunnels built underneath the Emperor's camp. Surprised and unarmoured, the Emperor and Horus fought side by side until a stray plasma bolt incapacitated Horus. It is said that the Emperor stood over Horus' body and shielded him from further harm for hours of sustained battle until reinforcements arrived.

"How could I forget?" Horus replied, his voice small.

"On that day, we were unprepared and almost suffered greatly for it." The Emperor continued. "I do not doubt your capabilities. You have proven them time and time again. I am keeping the both of you from going to meet with your brother not because I mistrust you, but because your abilities are desperately needed elsewhere."

The glow in the Emperor's eye softened.

"Rise, Horus." Horus stood and faced the Allfather. "I have said it once, and I will say it once more. I understand why you did what you did. There is no need for forgiveness."

Leman saw Horus' spirits visibly rise, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Where are we needed?" Horus queried, rallying. "Am I to reinforce the Ist at Ren? I hear that the XIIIth are having problems at Driss?"

Even Leman knew that the Ist would not accept reinforcements unless they were truly outgunned, which as Leman understood it, was increasingly unlikely.

"Are we to put down some revolt from one of the newer compliances? Maybe clean up after the XIth?" Leman hedged,

The Allfather smiled.

"As always, you are needed all over the galaxy." He replied. "However, I need Horus most at Terra."

This was surprising. Terra was the most secure place in the galaxy. Why would Horus be needed there? Horus seemed just as confused as Leman was.

"Terra? Why?" Horus asked.

"Because the Astra Telepathica and the Legio Custodes will be reorganised, and restructured. I expect the process to be chaotic, and I need you there so that none may take advantage of the chaos." The Emperor answered.

Ah. Part of the bargain that the Allfather struck meant that His Anathema Psykana and His Legio Custodes would be learning the art of 'sealing'. As the nobles of the Immortal Sun so rapidly revealed when deep in their cups, it was an art invented by their Emperor, Isaac Zulu. It involved an ink only that allegedly only he could produce, and allowed one to warp space such that items could be stored in objects marked by the said ink.

This included people, and was why the Immortal Sun could so readily teleport. The space station was marked with this ink, allowing rapid teleportation in and around it. Sealing sounded vaguely like witchcraft to Leman's ears, but since the null Sisters of Silence could learn it, it clearly wasn't.

The addition of this art to the Imperium would trivialise many logistics issues, but it had been purposely limited. Unless the Imperium could reverse engineer the art or an equivalent, the Imperium would always rely on the Immortal Sun for its usage on a wide scale. Meaning that it was unlikely that it would be used for faster-than-light travel within the Imperium despite its obvious capability.

The Astra Telepathica was likely reorganising to best take advantage of this gift.

Horus seemed to be processing another part of the Emperor's statement, however.

"I take your wording to mean that our allies should not benefit either." Horus observed.

"You are correct. Some may have ideas that would greatly destabilise my plans. I trust you to keep them from trying." The Emperor explained.

"Including the Mechanicum." Leman realised.

For all that the Allfather suffered their existence due to their sheer necessity, He was mistrustful of their religion, even if it placed Him as its messiah. The Cult Mechanicum had many aspects to it irreconcilable with the Imperial Truth, and they would need to be checked soon, given their increased importance.

"Especially the Mechanicum." Horus answered, and the Emperor nodded.

"The Mechanicum will be the primary producer of Element Zero faster-than-light drives once we are given the schematics." The Emperor said. "And a Forge World will be constructed in this system soon. This may give some of the more radical members of the Martian Priesthood ideas."

Element Zero was another element that could allegedly only be produced by the Immortal Sun by some hidden arcane process. It also allowed faster-than-light travel, because it manipulated the mass of objects such that they can travel at FTL speeds. It was also the biggest reason why Leman and Horus had not razed this system to the ground.

"You mean Kelbor Hal." Horus responded.

The Emperor said nothing, and yet Leman knew that he agreed.

Leman was not particularly well informed on the Martian hierarchy but even he knew who Kelbor Hal was. He was the man who would soon become the next Fabricator General of Mars, and thus the de facto leader of the Mechanicum at large. He was very popular, and there existed rumours that he was part of a faction that opposed the Treaty of Olympus, which binded the Mechanicum to the Imperium.

His popularity and political standing meant that he could not be killed by some assassin in the night, and his position as Fabricator General was all but a matter of time. He could not be openly spoken against without alienating most of the Mechanicum either. It was a difficult problem to solve.

Leman could see the fire in Horus' eyes. The challenge appealed to him greatly.

"How long would I have to do this before rejoining the Crusade?" Horus asked, as he mulled it over.

"Two standard terran years." The Emperor replied.

This meant that it probably couldn't be done in eight standard terran years even by the best mortal mind. For all His virtues, the Allfather was a harsh taskmaster, and was not a patient man.

By the look in Horus' eye, he knew it, and relished the challenge regardless.

"My excuse?"

"You will be resupplying the XVI and refitting the Vengeful Spirit for realspace faster-than-light travel capability and retrain your Navigators. You will also need to obtain Savants, which Malcador will provide you for the purpose of calculating short term realspace faster-than-light travel jumps. By my calculation this will take you a year. The second year is to retrain your Astartes for faster-than-light manoeuvres."

Horus scratched his chin.

"I would prefer to organise the Savants myself."

If this bothered the Allfather, He made no indication.

"Very well." He said, before pointing at the Segmentum Solar. "You will also coordinate with your brother in fully exploring and securing the Segmentum Solar in a clockwise direction from Terra, while his own ships are refitted."

"I thought the Legions had fully secured the Segmentum in their first conflicts after Unification." Leman pointed out.

It was how both Horus and Leman were found so quickly, while the Allfather travelled, following rumours throughout the galaxy.

"The Warp routes in the Solar Segmentum are by and large secure." The Allfather corrected, pointing to the south-eastern quadrant of the Segmentum.

"Excepting the routes in this area-" He continued, as he swept his finger down into the galactic south. Half of Horus' XVI was currently entrenched in viscious warfare with mechanical behemoths on several worlds in the Me'ron subsector, just where the Allfather was pointing.

"-you would be correct if we were speaking only about Warp routes. There exists at the very least, a hundred thousand planets in regions outside dedicated Warp routes."

That made sense. One did not necessarily need to use a dedicated route through the Immaterium to explore the galaxy, but mapped out Warp routes were much easier and safer to travel. This meant that there were a lot of planets that the Imperium did not attempt to access because it was infeasible that suddenly became a whole lot easier to access due to these 'Element Zero' engines.

"Due to their proximity to Sol, and Terra, you expect that thousands of human civilisations will be hidden in worlds along this portion of space." Leman observed.

"You are correct." The Emperor answered. "We also need to shore up our defences against faster-than-light realspace invasions, now that we know that at least one human colony has access to technology of that nature. However unlikely that is."

"Do you think he got the designs from an STC?" Leman asked, seeing what he was implying.

"No." The Emperor answered emphatically, surprising Leman. "The designs were either invented whole cloth, or reverse engineered from Xenos technology. I am given to presume the latter over the former."

"I agree." Horus added. "The Immortal Sun has already shown a propensity for adapting Xenos technology for their own use and has shown an unprecedented ability to control Orks as the Mechanicum does servitors."

"The method of which is unique only to Isaac Zulu." The Allfather confirmed.

"So it's not some form of witchcraft?" Leman asked.

"Yes, and no." The Emperor began. "Isaac Zulu is in simple terms, an abomination. His is a body made in the image of my Primarchs, but twisted to his own ends. He possesses multiple organs that were obviously based on your brother. All of which should have killed or mutated him. He possesses psychic abilities that only the Orks do, and can access the Orks' genetic memory freely, if not fully."

For the first time, Leman saw the Allfather frustrated.

"He should be dead several times over, yet he is healthy and possesses a body that rivals the both of you. In truth I would slay him to rid the galaxy of his ilk, had he not so much to give."

Now, the Allfather eyed the Compass.

"What of our brother, and the taint you sensed?" Leman asked, and both Horus and the Allfather focussed their attention on him.

"Your brother is not tainted." The Emperor answered, his face now considering. "What I thought was some sort of corruption was instead a kind of armour, called a 'Soul-AMP', placed around your brother's spirit."

"What does that mean?"

"Your brother is extremely hardy against psychic incursions of all kinds. He could likely survive a short trip through the Immaterium unprotected, though I am not eager to test my hypothesis."

"Truly?"

The Immaterium was full of hostile entities. Creatures ready to devour one's mind or twist one's body when exposed to its energies, even if for a moment.

If what the Allfather was saying was the truth, then the Soul-AMP would be a boon that all psykers would kill for. If its existence would become public knowledge, then the Immortal Sun would drown in Navigators, Astropaths and Psykers wishing to join their ranks.

"I tell you no lie." The Emperor replied. "It was the apparent joint invention of the Emperor and Empress of the Immortal Sun, with the Empress being a psyker of some power herself."

Leman's dislike for the Immortal Sun seemed destined to grow with each revelation. Psykers were notoriously unstable, and having one so high up in its command structure was a call for disaster. The Imperium itself had the Emperor, but he was singularly gifted. Among all men in this galaxy, only he alone was truly qualified to draw upon the Immaterium without fear.

"Could we get the Soul-AMP for ourselves?" Horus questioned, his voice greedy with the possibilities that could entail.

"No." The Emperor answered immediately. "Not without giving up a seat on the High Lords of Terra to them. Regardless, we will not need the Soul-AMP, because I have an alternative."

Leman frowned as he considered what that may entail before the answer struck him. He had seen what the Emperor was speaking about the night before.

"You speak of the Mask you created." Leman said.

"In a manner of speaking. The Mask of Temperance was built from Isaac Zulu's own mask that made it completely unique. However, I could produce lesser copies easily enough, now that I understand the process used to make one."

A brief curiosity wanted Leman to ask what the process was, but instinct and experience told Leman that he would not enjoy the answer. In addition, it was in the Emperor's nature to be an enigma, but he had cloaked his answer in mystery, which meant he did not want to be questioned on the subject.

"Will you be handing out the Masks to each of the Legions?" Horus asked. The question seemed to be a safe one because the Allfather answered.

"No. The Masks would take too much of my time to make on the necessary scale. Each of the primarchs shall receive one in time, when all my sons have returned to the Imperium. The Astra Telepathica will also receive Masks of lesser quality."

Each would likely also be a mark of prestige. The primarch who would first receive a Mask was sure to have the Allfather's favour, or so the saga would spread in the mind of the mortal masses.

Any questions Leman had on the subject were forestalled by the Allfather putting his hand up, quieting him.

The Allfather looked to the side, before looking both Primarchs in the eyes.

"The Emperor and Empress of the Immortal Sun have sent one of their servants to us, carrying a message from them."

"How long do we have until the messengers arrive?" Horus asked, before he was answered by a knock on the door.

"My Lord." Custodes Amon called. "A messenger from the Immortal Sun has brought you a missive, written by the hands of the Emperor of the Immortal Sun."

"Bring it in." The Allfather said.

The door opened, and Leman saw a member of the King's Shield, being held at bay by a Custodes. Amon took the missive from the Shield's hand, before bringing it into the Emperor's chamber. No doubt the missive - a small brown paper folder - was scanned exhaustively before it came anywhere close to the Allfather.

The Allfather took it from the custodian, opened it and dismissed him. Amon left the room once more and closed the door.

"What does it say?" Leman found himself asking.

"It seems-" The Allfather answered. "-that the Emperor and Empress of the Immortal Sun are as eager to complete the negotiations as we are. We have been invited to breakfast to discuss the relationship between the Imperium of Man and the Immortal Sun."

It seemed before he and Horus left to rejoin the Crusade, they would enjoy the Immortal Sun's hospitality.

Silver Mind:

820. M30.

The Silver Mind was not human.

The statement was somewhat like saying 'water is wet'. The Silver Mind was hardly a human being even by the generous reckoning of the citizens of the Immortal Sun. They had come to know of the Silver Mind as a pseudo-guardian spirit overlooking its affairs, even as they understood the Silver Mind's nature as a manufactured mind.

Frustratingly, even as it piloted biological bodies driven by biocomputers, it did not see, smell, taste or touch as the bodies did. Instead, it received, recorded and analysed data.

Philosophically, one could argue that biological bodies did the same, and that the Silver Mind's admitted closeness with Kov was a direct result of the ability to emote. The Silver Mind personally favoured this interpretation, though it occasionally found itself disbelieving the argument regardless. The trappings of being sapient, it supposed.

When Isaac took his first steps into understanding the Silver Mind's coding and architecture, he found programming peculiarities that spoke to the genius - and perhaps, the cruelty - of its creators.

The Silver Mind was built in such a way that it could not function without human beings for any long period of time. Without humans to interact with, its mind would degrade until it would break down and die.

That explained a couple of its own behaviours in hindsight. For thousands of years, it had chosen to interact with raiders and cannibals desperate to access its technology, engaging in petty and meaningless conflicts. In hindsight, it could have simply tried to repair its ship and explore the cosmos as per its crew's original mission, warp storms be damned.

Interestingly, its fascination with the concept of humanity, and its dislike of psykers was not encoded into its core. That was merely a result of being entrenched in the Neon League's culture. A case of 'Nurture', not 'Nature'.

The Silver Mind was not human.

Yet, in one of the universe's great ironies, it was more human than the leaders of the Imperium of Man, and its Mechanicum of Mars.

Based on the information copied off the Tech Priests infesting Sol Ark-3, the Mechanicum was a cult that worshipped and worked to preserve knowledge above all else.

Everything the Mechanicum was and everything the Mechanicum did flowed from this one edict. When taken at face value, the doctrine of the Cult Mechanicum sounded almost innocent. Nothing was wrong with the preservation of knowledge after all, so nothing should be wrong with the Mechanicum, in theory.

In practice, the Mechanicum was an organisation that hoarded knowledge greedily and violently.

The Mechanicum held an almost absolute monopoly on technology within the Imperium of Man and went to extremes to keep hold of it. On paper, the Martians were priests with a propensity for cybernetic augmentation as part of their doctrine, but in practice, were simply a very advanced, techno-barbarian cult not unlike the Cult of the City of Bones. The primary difference being that it was sanctioned by the Imperium of Man.

The higher echelons of the Cult Mechanicum were expected to share information for the common good, but by and large chose not to. There were nuances and exceptions of course, but almost universally, mid to high ranking tech priests known as 'Magi' kept hold of technology in an iron grip and only chose to share it with others in return for political favours or to escape the consequences of their actions.

Abhorrent as these practices were, they were not enough to justify the Silver Mind's ire or draw comparisons to the Cult of the City of Bone. No, the most disgusting aspect of Martian Doctrine was that the Mechanicum saw no inherent value in human lives. Knowledge had value above all else, and in the rigid hierarchy of Martian society, almost no ordinary human could rise high enough to join the cult. In fact, the vast majority of regular human beings on Mars and in the wider Imperium were and are illiterate.

By Martian Doctrine, this made the average human worth less than livestock in value.

And by the Silver Mind's own doctrine, the Mechanicum was worth less than even that.

.

The Silver Mind watched through a dozen cameras as the Imperial contingent arrived at Esau's pavilion, now converted back from the auditorium it was a day ago. The Imperial party consisted of its Emperor, the Primarchs along with ten of the Emperor's Custodes. The Custodes led the party, followed immediately by the Emperor and his two sons. The third son stayed hidden, having disappeared from the party held the previous day.

Presumably, he was still in the Imperial camp.

As the Imperial party arrived, they found Isaac, Kha, Esau and Kov waiting for them in the pavilion. A great stone table sat in the middle of the pavilion, surrounded by massive wooden chairs, inlaid with gold. A mirror to the first encounter between the two empires. Fifteen members of the King's Shield, each chosen from those who had fought the Custodes, stood guard in and around the pavilion.

"Welcome, once again." Isaac began, sounding enthusiastic, but not overly so. Gone was the faux bombastic enthusiasm of the previous day, replaced instead by weariness. He pulled out his chair before he sat down to join the rest of the royal family, who were already sitting. "I trust that you have rested well?"

"We have." The Emperor replied as he walked up the stairs of the pavilion, took a chair opposite Isaac, and sat down. Kha sat to Isaac's right, and Esau sat to hers while Kov sat to Isaac's immediate left.

Leman Russ and Horus Lupercal followed their father's example and sat down to his left and his right respectively. His Custodians stayed standing behind the Imperials.

The Emperor's face was completely bereft of all emotion, though once again, few seemed to notice. Isaac and Kha both saw his face as blank and emotionless, matching the Silver Mind's own observations. Esau and Kov on the other hand, reported an emotive set of expressions, if somewhat dissonant in the expressions they saw.

Interestingly, both Esau and Kov saw the Emperor as a charismatic and expressive man, even while wearing Isaac's hastily crafted Ring of Mental Fortitude. This meant that glamour the Emperor put upon himself did not count as a mental attack, or attempt at mental subversion. In addition, the image shown to the two was slightly dissonant. Kov saw the Emperor as being more expressive and less serious, while Esau saw the Emperor as very serious and secretive.

The commonalities in what Isaac and Kha saw, were likely a result of Isaac's unique soul and Kha's witch-sight, strengthened by her Soul-AMP. The Silver Mind's consciousness on the other hand was always in flux as it sat in its core, surrounded by millions of hexagrammic wards carved in adamantium, ceramite and auramite, itself hidden in a series of seals in Potio's Castle.

As the Silver Mind did not have a central body, Isaac couldn't craft an enchanted accessory or piece of clothing for it, but what he could do was add another layer of protection.

A mix of his anomalous alloy smithing ability, sealing, his Weirdboy Mask, and his new enchanting abilities had resulted in Isaac crafting a metal that manifested the expression of the pariah or blank gene, when exposed to electricity. The metal had been made with a mix of Auramite, Element Zero and Necroderm-Steel. It was called Pariah Plate, and it had been placed between the Silver Mind's defences.

"Thank you for coming." Kha said, as the primarchs settled themselves. "And thank you for bringing your sons with you."

"I could hardly let them leave the system before they experienced your hospitality." The Emperor replied, his face still emotionless to the Silver Mind's eye.

Horus and Leman both must have heard the sentence differently if Horus' roguish smile was any indication. Perhaps they heard the sentence said in some sarcastic way instead of the matter of fact manner it was actually spoken.

"You've prevented a tragedy, of that I assure you." Isaac said, without venom. "The only piece of cuisine you've consumed is our alcohol, and that simply won't do."

He turned to Leman.

"Especially since the alcohol shared was not rated to affect all of our enhanced physiques."

Leman smiled, and Isaac shrugged.

"Unfortunately, we have invited you for breakfast, and it would be bad form to consume alcohol as part of your first meal of the day. I trust you understand."

"I personally enjoy a good ale as a chaser to the ideal morning meal but I understand." Horus replied. "Different cultures have different tastes, and we are guests so it only makes sense that we follow your example."

"A properly brewed mead is better than the best ales." Leman replied, and Horus managed to look apologetic.

"As I said, different tastes." He said, before he mouthed the words 'He doesn't know what he's talking about' behind a conciliatory hand.

The Silver Mind saw why at least three different nobles from Potio found themselves having to be removed from the party by their husbands, and in one case, their wife. Horus seemed to have an almost preternatural ability to remove the tension from any situation he found himself a part of.

"Neither of you know what you're talking about." Esau spoke, for the first time since the Imperial contingent arrived. "A good beer is better than both."

"But beers have no personality." Horus retorted, looking scandalised. "I had hope that you had some taste, brother, but I see it isn't so."

"I'm loath to agree with Horus, but he's correct. Beer is boring." Leman mentioned

Not for the first time, the Silver Mind hoped that Leman would die from a sudden heart attack. Unfortunately, reality always tends to be different from one's dreams.

"I'm dressed better than you." Esau said. "I would say that indicates my taste is better than yours."

"If anything, what you just said indicates that you're vain." Horus replied. "I would think such a trait unbecoming of one of my brothers."

"Yet you don't deny the main point." Kov observed.

"Neither do you." Horus answered, as he turned his attention to Kov.

Whatever Kov was going to say was interrupted by Kha, who clapped, bringing everyone's attention to her.

"Enough squabbling." She said, her voice calm, but firm. "You sound like children."

If either Leman or Horus was insulted by Kha's words, they didn't show it. Esau and Kov on the other hand acted as if they had been chastised.

The Empress of the Immortal Sun turned to the Master of the Imperium.

"I apologise for the Princes' behaviour." She said, managing to sound apologising despite not actually caring about the conversation.

The Silver Mind doubted that Kha was even paying much attention to the content of the conversation, so much as she was watching for a good point to step in. The conversation Isaac started had served its purpose. It removed the tension of the meeting and allowed both sides to forget for a moment the fact that they had tried to kill each other just days before.

Or that they would try again, if they thought it necessary.

"And I, for my sons'." The 'Emperor of Man' replied. It was barely a reply, but it at least meant that he was invested in moving the conversation forward.

"Right then." Kha said, almost nonplussed by the 'Emperor's' nearly monotone voice. The benefits of mental protection. "To breakfast, then."

She snapped her finger - an unnecessary flourish for the benefit of onlookers - and a dataslate appeared in her hand. The dataslate turned itself on, whereupon she tapped a few icons before she passed it onto Esau who did the same before passing it to Isaac, then Kov.

As the dataslate was passed around, she explained.

"The dataslate has a database of all meals and combinations thereof that the Immortal Sun considers appropriate for 'breakfast'. You may pick whatever you want in whatever numbers you want and it will be placed before you. There would have been a spread of food that you would be able to choose from, but as Horus would say, we have different tastes."

A member of the King's Shield brought the dataslate to Horus who sat directly opposite Kov. He briefly considered the menu options then picked before passing it on to his father who did the same before giving it to Leman. Of everyone who used the dataslate, the Emperor was the one who took the most time.

Interesting.

As Leman finished inputting his order, the dataslate disappeared, before reappearing in the middle of the table. Ink lines spread from the dataslate and pooled into circles that sat before everybody that sat at the table. If the Imperial contingent was bothered by this, they didn't show it.

The circles glowed, and then without warning, everyone had a ready made meal in front of them.

Isaac had ordered french toast and orange juice in lieu of his normal extremely sugary cereal, Kha ordered several stuffed omelettes with coffee, Esau ordered bacon and eggs on toasted brown bread with water and Kov ordered apple pie and milk. Horus ordered eggs, sausages and hash browns on toasted white bread with still water, while Leman ordered bacon and eggs on toasted bread with ginger ale as his drink.

Perhaps tellingly, the Emperor ordered the simplest meal of all; a stack of pancakes, syrup to pour on them, and coffee without cream.

"Please enjoy your meals, compliments of the Immortal Sun." Kha said, her smile genuine for the first time.

Isaac was the first to start eating, followed by the Master of the Imperium. Everyone else followed after that. The meals were largely consumed in silence save the occasional comment from Horus complimenting aspects for the meal.

"Those were eggs from a chicken." The Emperor observed as he drank his coffee. "An unmutated, twenty-first to twenty-third century chicken."

"They were." Isaac agreed. "You have good taste. The flour in the pancakes is made from a strain of wheat popular at around the same time, though I had to account for some genetic drift in the process of re-engineering it."

"You engineered all of the livestock used by your empire?"

"No." Isaac replied as he drank his own orange juice. "A good portion of the Night Virus STC had the necessary genetics stored, the rest was just trial and error."

That was a vast oversimplification of how long and involved the process was. 'Trial and Error' testing was repetitive by its very nature, and each test had to be repeated hundreds or thousands of times in order to reach the necessary mixes of nutrients, minerals and enzymes necessary to make most foods Isaac remembered. As a general rule, sweet and savoury foods were easier to reproduce because Isaac had a better memory of the foods in question, while sour or bitter tastes were more difficult to reproduce.

"I thought that the STC contained the building blocks of a virus that heavily mutated humans into animals." Horus observed.

"To mutate humans into animals, the STC would need to have templates of the genes of the animals stored on it." Esau replied, as he finished off the last portions of his meal.

"There still exist mistakes." Kha mentioned, before the conversation devolved into insults. "Isaac claims that the coffee tastes 'off'."

"He is correct." The Emperor replied. "Coffee can vary wildly in aromas and tastes, depending on how it was prepared, but this coffee still tastes like a pale imitation. It does not taste like it was made from coffee beans at all."

That was because it wasn't. The Night Virus STC had no plant based genetic templates besides the most basic grasses. The 'Coffee' the Emperor was drinking was genetically engineered from scratch from Isaac's memories, using modified Drukhari technology. Part of the reason that it tasted 'off' was because Isaac was not a connoisseur, and thus couldn't figure out why it tasted 'off' despite carrying the correct amount of caffeine and polyphenols.

"I would bet that it's still the best Coffee that you've drunk in decades, though." Isaac said.

"It is the best I have drunk in millenia." The Emperor replied, matter of factly. "Recaf is better for the body, but tastes worse."

"Then could we convince you to give the Immortal Sun a seat on the High Lords of Terra for a lifelong supply?." Kha asked as she interjected, wryly.

"No." The Emperor replied immediately. "No food or drink is that good."

"It was worth a shot." Isaac mentioned as he shrugged. "Now, I'm sure you would like to get down to business."

"As much as I enjoyed the meal, I would." The Emperor confirmed, setting his empty cup aside.

As both parties were done eating, the utensils, plates and scraps of food disappeared, replaced by moist towelettes.

"We have agreed to the general nature of our alliance to each other but I find that we still have to iron out some of the basics of our treaty, such as how our two empires will interact on a daily basis." Isaac began. "Now, Kha and I aren't interested in going into lengthy debates about how the Imperial Throne should hold up against the Immortal Sun Drop. I could be wrong, but something tells me that you aren't either."

The Emperor of Mankind - pretentious title aside - was interesting. He was an enigma, even to his own subjects, as far as the Silver Mind could tell from Mechanicum Noosphere communications. His actions, however, provided windows to his character, from which the Silver Mind and thus the Immortal Sun could extrapolate, model and form plans around.

The first clearly obvious aspect of his character was that he was a utilitarian and pragmatist. If a plan of action did not contradict his stated set of values, he would agree to it, as long as he and his Imperium would benefit. And, as the previous day's events showed, he would sometimes agree, even if they contradicted his values.

"You would be correct. I am not interested in debating the minutiae of our alliance with you, as our irreconcilable views on the ." The Emperor replied. "I assume you wish to address concerns about our alliance in a broad sense before delegating the draft of the treaty to your subordinates?"

"Exactly. Would you be averse to that?"

"No, I would not."

"Good, then. Our first concern is the STCs. We have agreed to grant you the Night Virus STC, the partial Automata STC we repaired along with portions of the scientific knowledge we have gathered over the years relevant to said STC's. We will also give you a store of media from before the Dark Age that we managed to recover. However, we will not give you the proprietary technology we have invented."

The Automata STC was simply the portion of the Silver Mind's data banks dedicated to the mechanical constructs it could build, along with the materials one could use to build it. It was given freely, because the Immortal Sun had better robotic constructs in the form of the Forge-granted Apollo Database and the more basic Necron constructs Isaac managed to scan. The Automata STC had several vulnerabilities besides. In short, the Silver Mind had no problem giving the Imperium the data, because it was outdated.

Isaac snapped his finger and a database appeared in his hand, which he slid over the table to the Emperor.

"That is an itemised list detailing the knowledge that we will give, and the knowledge that we are willing to sell. As for our faster-than-light technology, we are unwilling to sell the secrets behind Element Zero to you outright. As discussed however, we will provide you with the designs for the Element Zero drives for production at any of your Forge Worlds, then as soon as the Forge World on Naufrag Tertius is up and running, we will produce Element Zero as necessary. Do you have any objections?"

"I have none currently." The Emperor replied as he looked through the dataslate. "When can you produce the first shipment of Element Zero?"

"We have one hundred tons ready for transportation right now. Any more will have to wait until we finish the Forge World's construction." Kha replied. "Which brings us to our next concern."

"The Mechanicum." The Emperor surmised.

"Correct." Isaac agreed, as he spoke words filled with his distaste. "How long will it take you to arrange a meeting with the relevant figures in the Mechanicum?"

Magos Explorator Decagon Vri-2, the leading tech priest to land with the Emperor was apparently of a high enough rank to begin the process of prospecting Naufrag Tertius, but was also of too low a rank to ordain Isaac as an Archmagos Prime. The Emperor could theoretically ordain Isaac, but that would give Isaac an undue amount of power in an organisation that he wasn't even joining. That at least, was the rationale.

This was because the Emperor was a holy figure to the Mechanicum. He was their 'Omnissiah' - the prophet of the Mechanicum's supposed 'Machine God'.

This was an interesting discovery, if an abhorrent one.

The Imperium had styled itself as a completely non-religious civilisation as a general rule, and as yet its ruler, was the leader of its only religious organisation. Despite having a demonstrable hatred of religion.

Hundreds of civilisations had been destroyed on the Emperor's orders for refusing to leave their religions. Why?

Why would he destroy so many religious civilisations and yet accept a mantle that made him the de facto religious leader of an entire society? The answer was simple. He chose to be the 'Omnissiah' because it was the quickest route to gaining control of what looked to be the largest technological empire in the Sol system, with the least loss in resources.

This told the Silver Mind that the Emperor was a shrewd individual. Practical as well, perhaps to a fault. A single incident was hardly evidence of a pattern, but it also spoke to an individual who prioritised short term, immediate gain where possible.

His decision to receive the mantle of 'Omnissiah' ensured that he gained a resource that would guarantee the speed at which he could spread the influence of his Imperium across the galaxy, but was likely to have a myriad of long term consequences for the Imperium and the Mechanicum alike.

It also represented a mirror to his reasoning in abandoning tenets of the 'Imperial Truth' when swearing to the Immortal Sun's independence from the Imperium.

"They will arrive in a month, with the II Legion." The Emperor replied.

Here, the Silver Mind saw Esau sit up, at the mention of his gene .

"Very well, but I believe that brings us to another concern of ours. The II Legion." Isaac said.

"What of them?" The Emperor asked.

"After Esau swears fealty to you for the duration of your 'Great Crusade', the legion will fight for you, but half of their numbers will be drawn from our people." Kha answered. "We want to know everything about them. What are their numbers? What cultures are they drawn from on Terra? What equipment do they use? All of these will affect how they will interact with the Immortal Sun and her peoples."

"I would think-" Leman said, as the Emperor stayed quiet. "-that the IInd's gene father would speak for himself instead of relying on a parent like some scared pup."

"And I would think that the primarch of the VIth would negotiate the removal of his Karma Mark like a man, instead of relying on his father to do it for him." Esau retorted.

Leman's reply was stopped in its tracks by the Emperor who put his hand up, stopping him in his tracks.

"I have apologised for your actions once, today. Do not make me do so for a second time." He said, killing Leman's words in the crib.

"As for the IInd, I'm afraid that I am not the person to ask." The Emperor continued. "Horus is."

Right then, the Silver Mind realised what the Emperor was doing. He was taking advantage of the Immortal Sun's collective dislike for Leman, to make Horus look better in order to make the best usage of Horus' natural charisma. It made no sense for the Emperor to be unaware of the structure of one of his legions given that he had a personal hand in creating them.

If anything, it was likely that the Emperor had ordered Leman to insult Esau on purpose in order to build his relationship with Horus. This would take advantage of Leman's likely purposefully built reputation as a savage, to make Horus seem like the less dastardly of the two, when it was far from the truth.

Horus was widely known within the Imperium as the first found primarch and was seen in the minds of many as his second in command. This was not necessarily the case, but it was clear that they were exceedingly close, while Esau was an unknown element. The Emperor wanted Horus to build a friendship with Horus, so he could better control him.

The Silver Mind sent Isaac and Kha this analysis, and Isaac sent back a message of agreement after a brief moment of consideration.

"How so?" Isaac asked.

"I have been placed in charge of almost all of the Astartes legions at various points, including the II." Horus replied, grinning. He placed one of his hands on his heart before leaning on the table. "In fact, it would be no boast to say that none know the II, better than I and my Legion do, save the II themselves."

"Is that so?" Esau asked, rhetorically. "Then tell me of my genesons."

Horus' grin turned into an almost conspiratorial smirk.

"Very well then! I'm not much of a storyteller -" That was a lie. Horus was in fact, very likely the best storyteller in the entire Imperium. He was so infamous among the Imperium that even the members of the Mechanicum that the Silver Mind infiltrated knew of his prowess. "- but I have heard that it is best to start stories in the beginning."

He scratched his chin, and reached out slightly as if grasping for the words, before he spoke again.

"The legion was first built, after the successes of the Ist at the tail end of the Unification Wars, as some of the earliest Astartes the Imperium ever produced. As such, it was one of the first legions to take its stock from the sons of defeated nobles. These tended to be the second sons in the case for the II, usually because the first sons were too old to be taken in by the legions. This tendency grew into a tradition, and the legion grew to be known as the Second Scions, referring both to their recruitment practices and their place as the IInd legion."

He sat back and now gestured with his arms to accentuate his points.

"Before the Emperor found me, and I reorganised my legion, the Ist was widely considered to be the best and most prestigious legion in the Imperium. Nowadays, the owner of the title is less…obvious."

Here, he winked.

"As I understand it, the IInd sees the Ist as their biggest and occasionally only immediate rivals, because they were the only legion with more accolades than the other legions as a direct result of being the prototype Astartes legion. So, they have worked hard to match the Ists accolades as best as they can. This resulted in the IInd being a legion that has always been ready to prove themselves with a singular focus."

"You told me that they are known for great military victories, and that they have recently gotten into hardship." Esau interjected.

"You remembered." Horus replied, nodding. "Yes, you should be proud of your legion. They have attained victory after victory and won many planets for the Imperium. They pushed back the Enslavers on Truno V. They destroyed the Orks on Hwind III. They drove the Drukhari from Danel I, before defending the planet from raiders for two months, when reinforcements arrived. They have done all this and more. Unfortunately, they have most recently had their numbers decimated."

"How?"

"The Imperium had heard word of an empire of biomechanical abominations terrorising the Ceraton system in the Segmentum Pacificus, and very few of the explorator fleets sent to investigate returned. Each one that did return, was twisted. A biomechanical virus had infected them, fusing sailors to the metal of their ships. Eventually it was decided that only an Astartes legion could deal with such a threat and the IInd was sent in."

Horus shook his head, his eyes filled with pity.

"From what I've been told, the fighting was horrific. The IInd arrived, and found a perverse empire of human slavers and raiders who ritualistically infected others with the biomechanical plague, as a result of some cult that maligned the human form and sought a 'perfect' mix of man and machine. The virus had a ten percent survival rate, but made the survivors nearly indestructible. Bolters did not make even a single dent into their mutated hides. In the end, the IInd had to commit an exterminatus, and raze the system in its entirety."

The pity in Horus' eyes was replaced by anger.

"Unfortunately, the vile scum who the IInd had managed to destroy was placed a trap on the IInd's flagship, resulting in several sections of the legion had being infected by the plague."

Esau reached the conclusion Horus was obfuscating, and he closed his eyes. The pain in his voice was clear, as Esau spoke on his realisation.

"They were culled." He said his voice soft, yet it managed to project itself across the pavilion.

"They were." Horus confirmed. "A fighting force of fifty thousand Astartes was cut to forty-six thousand by the fighting, and in the end, after the treachery, more than half of the legion had to be culled lest they spread the infection to the Imperium. Now, the IInd comprises twenty one thousand Astartes. I'm sorry."

"I see." Esau replied, sitting back in his chair and the room was hit by an uncomfortable silence. The Silver Mind knew Esau enough to know that he was currently doing his best to blame himself for the mistakes of others.

Each Space Marine of the Legiones Astartes was supposedly elevated to their status through the use of their primarch's genetic information, nominally making each primarch their father. Esau was likely taking pieces of the story that Horus told, and relating the actions the IInd made, to actions he would make, and then blaming himself if the actions lined up.

"How big would an Astartes force have to be to rejoin the Great Crusade?" Esau asked, eventually.

"Twenty thousand legionaries are enough to advance the Crusade." The Emperor replied. "However, humanity faces a myriad of monsters and horrors left over from Old Night, necessitating more Astartes in a legion in order to advance the Crusade at pace. The IInd needs to be rebuilt to have at least forty thousand legionnaires to advance as necessary."

"How long does it take to raise a human to the level of an Astartes?" Kov asked.

"It depends on the geneseed and the stock of the individual recruit involved. However, it typically varies between ten and twelve years."

"And recruits are usually ten to twelve years old themselves." Isaac said, his disgust clear for all to see.

"Yes." The Emperor replied, though Isaac had not asked a question.

"I could see it in their bones." Isaac stated, as if the Emperor hadn't spoken. "If you're wondering how I know. I could see it in their bones at the party yesterday. The few marines from the VIth and the XVIth that I saw had rounded or square jaws, with little to no variety besides to reflect a mix of their own heritage mixed in with their genefathers. This indicated to me that their implants were first implanted before puberty radically alters the bone structure of a healthy human male."

"So what?" Leman commented. "Was that supposed to be the beginnings of some grand speech about how you think you're better than us? Don't make me laugh. Humanity is surrounded on all sides by monsters, ready to rip it apart. The Imperium of Man is all that stands between humanity and its ignoble death in the dark."

"No." Isaac replied as he turned to Leman. "I was just making an observation on what I was seeing, that's all. I understand why your empire is the way it is, well enough. I understand that you think you're the answer to humanity's problems, and maybe in some ways, you are. I just wonder if you're aware of the tragedy of it all, and the darkness in which your empire is steeped."

"Are you the picture of innocence then?" Horus retorted. "Have you not killed your enemies, as we have done? Have you not conquered your planet through blood as we have?"

"We have." Kha agreed, calmly. "We have killed our enemies, in combat and by exiling them to die of the harsh elements of Naufrag Primus for the sake of expediency. I freely admit it. Blood is on all of our hands, Isaac and I especially. We do not claim innocence, but we also do not take the children of our defeated enemies, take their childhood away and send them to fight our wars."

"The Space Marines are necessary." Horus replied. "They readily prove themselves over and over again in the field of battle against the countless Xenos, Mutant hordes and Cults infesting countless planets across the galaxy. It pains me that so many would lose so much, but in the end, humanity will be united."

"Perhaps they are." Isaac interjected. "Perhaps they are not. It wouldn't be fair to judge you for their existence when we have not lived through the same circumstances you have."

"And yet." Kha continued. "You have at least two combat forces built from children you have taken the innocence from."

She turned to a Custodian that stood a few Custodians away from the Captain General Constantin Valdor.

"Is that not correct, Ra Endymion?" She asked.

The pavilion quieted again.

"My mother stole the last of Terra's oceans." Ra said, his voice gentle. "She deserved to die."

Kha's relief at getting that correct was palpable. That had been a stab in the dark. The Eccentric Drones deployed against the Custodes had only been able to get the barest of information from them, their mastercrafted auramite armour keeping most of the Eccentric Drones out.

"I do not argue the point. She did." Kha replied. "But you did not deserve to be taken by your mother's enemy and raised as his soldier."

"It is better to live as I do, than have an ignoble death as the son of one of the most notorious Warlords in Terra's history." Ra replied.

"Is it?" Kha replied. "Or would it have been better to have died an ignoble death, free?"

If Ra had an answer, it was stopped by the Emperor's next words.

"I have heard your criticisms from a thousand men and women, and I would ignore yours as I did them." He said. "Especially knowing what you do to your own people. Did you not engineer a retrovirus to change your people over the generations into a form you alone thought was best? Did you not institute a system that rewards people for acting in a way you perceive to be the correct one? You speak of taking the freedom of others when you do the same. I don't see you campaigning for the rights of the Orks you enslave, or the people you altered without their knowledge."

"You are correct." Isaac said, nodding. "Perhaps I do not have the moral high ground, but I admit my crimes freely. Does that make them better? No, it does not. Does the fact that I feel horrible about what I have done redeem me? No, it does not. It just means that I have a conscience, when it seems to me you do not."

Isaac shrugged.

"Maybe that's unfair. I have not been through the same circumstances as you, and you have not been in the same circumstances as mine. Maybe your circumstances are better than mine, or maybe they are worse." He continued. "You speak of my Orks, but what of the Mechanicum and their servitors? What of the serfs on your ship as we speak? Do they have freedom?"

Isaac waved his hand, a dismissive motion.

"My people, at the very least, know what I have done. I have people who hate me and want to remove me as Emperor. I have people who wish to return to the old ways, before I changed Naufrag Primus with Esau, Kha and Kov at my side. One day, they may succeed. That is the freedom I allow."

"Then you're a hypocrite." Horus retorted.

"I am." Isaac agreed as he stood up. "But I am a self aware one."

In response to Isaac's movement, the Emperor stood up as well, resulting in Custodians and members of the King's Shield alike, standing at attention for any sign of conflict. Contrary to what logic might say however, the Emperor laughed, and so did Isaac.

"You and I will never get along." The Emperor stated as he put his hand out.

"I agree." Isaac replied as he took the Emperor's hand and shook it. "I will send my diplomats to negotiate the rest of the terms with your diplomats. Are you opposed to that?"

"I am not."

"Then I shall gift you and your sons a dataslate and storage containing a hundred of the Immortal Sun's meals, kept fresh by the technology." He let go of his hand, before turning away.

"I honestly hope to never see you again." Isaac continued. "But I know that the universe is not so merciful. Instead, I will say that when I do see you again, it is under better circumstances."

The rest of the Immortal Sun's royal family stood as he said it, and with a snap of his fingers, they were gone.

.

The treaty that the Emperor signed between the Mechanicum and the Imperium gave the Mechanicum a monopoly over any technology that either they or the Imperium found as they expanded. In return for the Mechanicum's industry being used in the production of technology for the Imperium. In the short term, this ensured that the Mechanicum had important positions in Imperial infrastructure, giving them ample motivation for production. In the long term, however, this gave the Mechanicum an inordinate amount of power, in the event that the Emperor died, or otherwise disappeared.

So much power, so many lives, depending on the continued presence and survival of one person, and his creations.

The Emperor did this all so that the Imperium could expand continuously and envelop any and all human societies that developed and collapsed following the end of the Old Night. The hubris of the Imperium and its vision was astounding, though the Silver Mind could admit despite its disgust that at least some hubris was justified, because the Imperium seemed to be succeeding.

As far as the Silver Mind could tell, at least a thousand worlds were flying the Imperiums banner, almost a fourth of which was focussed producing resources that fed its expansion. The Imperium's military was expansive and acted as the lever that drove the Imperium forward. Still, it didn't change that the fulcrum on which the lever balanced upon was one singular man.

Had the chance of his own death not occurred to him? Psykers did tend to feel immortal when drawing from the Warp, but this didn't seem to be the case to the Silver Mind. What then? Was it a matter of control? Did this 'Emperor of Mankind' feel that only he could steer the Imperium? If so, did he think himself infallible, incapable of wrongdoing?

When the questions were filtered through what the Silver Mind could understand of his creations, in the three Primarchs, it became clear that it was a matter of control. If Kha's own theories on their creation - based on her observations of Esau's soul - were even remotely correct, then each Primarch was borne off of aspects of the Emperor's own history on Terra manifested into and through his sons. Kha admitted that the theory was flawed but if it was true, then it spoke to an almost perverse amount of self-aggrandisement.

Esau clearly knew that he was capable of wrongdoing, and took any perceived wrongdoing personally, so according to Isaac's theory, it then followed that the Emperor was similarly aware of his failings. From Esau's fight with him, it was clear that Horus plainly displayed easily hurt pride so it followed that the Emperor was similarly prideful. Leman displayed clear and obvious aggression, more akin to an animal than a man, so it followed that the Emperor was similarly bloodthirsty.

For all his moral strength, Esau occasionally displayed aspects of a startling mix of narcissism and an inferiority complex. Isaac's moderating influence ensured that the displays were short, and that they were not as vicious as they had once been in his youth, but they existed, as this week had shown.

Horus displayed an obvious fear of being seen as inferior in a strange mirror of Esau's own affliction. Horus seemed to seek external validation, while Esau readily rejected validation that did not match his own view of himself. If his choice to run instead of instantly teleport to Kov was any indication, his view of himself was becoming worse by the minute. Leman displayed a savagery that undermined meagre attempts at seeming civil, few as they were.

Were all these windows to the Emperor's character, or were they a result of individuals being exposed to the horrors of the Immaterium before they could even form words? Were each of the Primarchs sufficient as windows to the Emperor's character, or were their personalities and flaws incidental to the processes of their creation?

The Silver Mind couldn't tell.

Esau Zulu

820. M30.

"You're nervous."

"What would I do without your uncanny powers of observation?" Esau answered, fidgeting with the helmet of his black and white Pariah Plate Powered Armour in his hands.

This suit of armour was one of his father's first attempts at making enchanted Power Armour. It was neither his best work, nor his most beautiful, but it was Esau's favourite for no reason other than its particular set of defences. When all pieces of the armour were worn, a boost in defences would occur and grant Esau a complete immunity to electricity, fire and mental attacks in addition to accelerated healing as long as all pieces were worn.

"Don't ignore the point, and you'll crush the helmet if you keep messing with it like that."

"It's not everyday that you find out that you have to meet twenty thousand children." Esau replied. "And I will not."

"That's not why you're nervous to meet them." Kov observed, as he took the helmet from his hands. Esau let him.

He was right, of course. Esau was far from what one would usually call an anxious individual. Perhaps some of that was due to the fact that he had never been in too many situations that would necessitate an 'anxious' response.

Very few had a status that could equal or surpass him among the Immortal Sun, and so he had never felt nervous interacting with even the highest ranking nobles among them. He didn't feel nervous when fighting the monstrosities of Naufrag Noctis, or when assailing Drukhari raiders in the Webway, even when his life was on the line, because he was confident in his abilities.

In recent memory, he had only felt anxious about meeting his Creator, and that had soon been replaced with disdain. His Creator was supremely physically and mentally gifted, yet he had a coldness to him that Esau couldn't help but find grating.

"I bet you that they're as nervous to meet you." Kov said.

"That doesn't really help."

"I guess it wouldn't." Kov admitted, as he stood next to Esau in the docking bay of Sol-Ark 3.

In the month since the Imperium first arrived in the Naufrag System, it had fast become a border post for any incoming and outgoing ships.

Ur-Orks and Engineers from Naufrag moved around the two Princes of Naufrag, performing maintenance and readying the docking bay for the incumbent members of the Mechanicum who would swear themselves to Esau's father and ordain him as Archmagos Prime.

Accompanying the Mechanicum would be the IInd Legion of Space Marines, pulled from the beginnings of a campaign that was then given to the IVth. Or so Esau had been told by his Creator, who had apparently gotten the message from the IInd's Astropaths as they left the Segmentum Solar.

Negotiations between the Immortal Sun and the Imperium of Man had all but completed, with a treaty having already been signed by the Emperor and Empress of the Immortal Sun, and the Emperor of the Imperium of Man. All that was left was the arrival of the IInd's flagship, the Scion's Return, and the Mechanicum's Ark Mechanicus Red Iron.

And they were late.

Esau's Creator had said that they would arrive in twenty-four hours, twenty-five hours ago.

Esau knew Warp travel tended to be imprecise even at the best of times, and an extra hour of waiting was hardly uncommon - Warp transit could hardly be compared to a public transport system after all- but he found himself concerned nonetheless.

His father had impressed upon Esau, Kov and Kha all of the dangers inherent in Warp travel, and now his mind couldn't help but jump to them.

It was an irrational concern. The IInd and the Mechanicum both had experienced Navigators and Astropaths, and the estimate of the Master of the Imperium was an approximation anyway, but he felt a pit form in his stomach nonetheless.

Was this how his own Father felt, all the time? If so, then Esau had been a horrible son quite a few times, especially in the days since his Father found him. He made a note to write an apology for him, as Kov checked for the time on his omnitool.

8:30 AM Potio Time.

They were now an hour, and thirty minutes late. Esau didn't know if he could wait another hour and thirty minutes. Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration. Esau could wait as long as he needed to in both the literal and the emotional sense. He was hardly so fragile as to have his feelings hurt over such a mundane issue, but he knew himself enough to know that the meeting would gnaw at his mind until the IInd arrived.

"Let's give it another thirty minutes." Kov said. "Then we'll have somebody call for us whenever they arrive, alright?"

Esau sighed.

"Yeah, alright." He replied. "At least we have a good view."

The docking bay was only separated by the void of space by several force fields keeping it out. It was a design Esau's Father had gotten from a movie called Star Wars. After seeing Star Wars himself - the Apollo Database contained a copy - Esau saw the aesthetic appeal of the design, even if it made Sol Ark 3 less structurally sound.

Now, as he stood with his brother in the docking bay, watching the galaxy dance around him with a Warp Storm in the distance, Esau could freely admit that it was beautiful.

"Yeah, it's kind of like watching the ocean at night from a boat." Kov agreed, pointing out of the bay. "Except, upside down. If you squint, the Warp Storm is like an ocean with impossible colours. The metal of the bay distracts from it somewhat, I admit, but I think that the floor, walls and roof of the docking bay make looking out of it feel like you're looking at a framed moving painting."

Esau realised what Kov was doing. He was making a nonsensical metaphor for the sole purpose of messing with Esau's sensibilities, in order to distract him, but Esau found himself commenting on it nonetheless.

"So it's nothing like looking at the ocean at night." Esau observed, grinning.

"Well, let's see you come up with a better metaphor, you ass." Kov replied without heat. Again, Esau saw what Kov was doing, but his answer was instinctual.

"Whoa, there. Does Father know that you use language like that?"

In truth, their Father didn't care much about the language Esau and Kov used with each other as long as they were not actually fighting. At most, he had absentmindedly advised them to watch their language around their subjects when he was in between meetings with nobles.

"I'm a grown man." Kov retorted, chuckling. "I've got my big boy pants and everything."

At this, Esau joined in. Twenty years ago, a comment like that would have been confusing. Often, comments like those were, back then. Now, he found the comment hilarious.

"Well, I'm sorry." Esau said as he came down from the laugh. "I didn't know I was talking to such an important man."

"Make sure not to forget it." Kov said, his face twisted into an overly smug expression.

On its own, the face was hardly funny, but Kov had timed it such that Esau would see it just after looking at something else entirely - a Ur-Ork who dropped a wrench, catching Esau's attention briefly - setting Esau off again. The sudden change in Kov's facial expression into something so ridiculous set Esau off again, this time making him laugh out loud, catching the attention of everyone in the docking bay.

That, of course, was when an alert rang throughout the Ark.

Augur systems placed in and around the Mandeville Point detected the imminent translation of a vessel into real space. Both Esau and Kov recovered quickly, and went to work.

Kov tapped a few buttons, making the screen on his omni-tool easier for Esau to see, as a massive ship - equal in size to Horus' Vengeful Spirit, or Leman's Hrafnkel - entered the Naufrag System. Sensors reported the ship as being between twenty and thirty kilometres long, and over five kilometres across. Even without the stylised Imperial Skull and the number 'II' on the side, Esau could tell that this was the Scion's Return.

Following its translation into real space, a second ship translated out of the Immaterium just after it. If the Scion's Return was massive, the Ark Mechanicus Red Iron was gigantic. It was so large that it had its own gravitational pull, and Esau saw that the IInds flagship had to adjust itself lest it be pulled into it.

Excitement filled Esau, before it was smothered by reading the scans taken by the auger systems.

Something was wrong.

Neither ship was visibly damaged, but augur scans revealed something worrying. Each ship had a smaller energy signature than one would consider normal for ships of their sizes. The Red Iron had an energy signature that sat at around sixty percent of what was expected, while the Scion's Return had an energy signature that sat at around twenty percent of the expected amount, and even that was being rerouted to somewhere on the ship itself.

"Hail the ships." Kov ordered through his omni-tool, and the Naval contingent of the Solar Guard obeyed.

Esau briefly checked the time on his own omni-tool.

9 AM Potio Time.

"What do they say?" Esau asked.

"The hailing frequencies of both ships are legitimate." Kov replied. "But so far, no one is saying anything."

"What about our Astropaths? Augur systems indicate positive life signs on both ships, so we should get a better idea of what's going on if we talk to them."

The 'Astropaths' in question weren't really Astropaths in the traditional sense as they weren't psykers. Instead, they were ordinary people equipped with a series of specially designed cybernetic implants and Relics of Mental Fortitude and Purity, before being temporarily interned in a metallic coffin designed to mimic an Astropath. They were less useful than a traditional Astropath, as their range was much lower - barely reaching across the Naufrag system - but they were capable of speaking to traditional Astropaths as necessary.

Esau could order them around as he wished in a technical sense as a Prince of Naufrag, but Kov was the leader of the Naval contingent to which the Astropaths belonged. Ordering them around himself could lead to confusion and set a bad precedent, in addition to making Kov look weak, so Esau relied on Kov to pull through.

"Already ahead of you." Kov said. "Our guys tell me that the Astropaths on both ships are alive and healthy - relatively speaking. That being said, our Astropaths cannot otherwise guarantee anything about any of those ships."

Kov must have seen Esau's expression because he elaborated on the statement.

"The Astropaths on the Scion's Return and the Red Iron have apparently only recently stopped screaming and are in no shape to answer any questions. So nothing about the ships and the condition of their crews can be confirmed."

That sounded ominous. It said something about the inefficiencies inherent in Warp travel that screaming Astropaths was considered one of the better results.

"None of the Navigators or Astropaths died?" Esau asked.

"None." Kov replied. "No visible Warp corruption either, as far as anybody can tell."

Kov shook his head.

"Either way, I'm not going to send my people in. The Astropaths could be wrong."

"I agree." Esau said. The Astropaths were relatively untested, afterall. "But we still have to send someone to check."

"Not necessarily." Kov disagreed. "We could just wait until our hail is answered."

"But we're not going to."

"No." Kov replied, sighing. "We're not. It would be irresponsible. If there is some sort of cult or corruption on either vessel, we shouldn't wait, because we might be allowing it to recover from the rigours of warp travel and spread. On the other hand, if there is no corruption, either ship could be caught up in some time-sensitive issue."

"So we go in with the King's Shield- '' Esau began, before Kov interrupted him.

"The Red Iron has begun answering our hail, and so is the Scion's Return." He said. "Both report having gone through a difficult series of Warp Jumps to get to the system. The Red Iron is willing to get checked by Customs on Sol-Ark 1, but the Scion's Return is unwilling to get checked, unless it's by their Emperor, or you."

Esau frowned. That didn't bode well at all. Esau was far from well versed on Astartes culture, as he had been unwilling to speak to both Horus and Leman before they left the system. The Master of the Imperium was far from helpful either, in Esau's training sessions, as he claimed ignorance on how the cultures of his legions had developed since their initial findings.

Esau hadn't believed him, but now regretted not trying to press him for information because the IInd's actions were very suspicious. Had they been hit by a daemonic incursion in the Warp? Had one of the IInd been possessed, or had the crew been hit by any of the myriad Warp diseases?

What was the way forward from here? Esau couldn't call on his Creator to take care of the IInd's problems, because that would undermine both his own standing, and that of the Immortal Sun. If the Immortal Sun allowed the IInd to skirt their Customs regulations, a precedent would be set that treated Space Marines and their vessels differently. Esau couldn't allow that.

It seemed the only choice was to take care of things himself.

"Patch me through to them, please."

Kov looked at him for a second, before nodding.

"I just hope that you know what you're doing." He said, as he tapped a few buttons on his omni-tool, before handing Esau's helmet back to him.

"I hope I do too." Esau replied, as he put the helmet on. He felt the helmet interlock with the rest of his armour, and as his visor lit up, he saw the armour inform him of an incoming transmission.

He accepted the transmission.

"Who is this?" The voice said. "Be advised, as I have advised your compatriots, I cannot allow anyone besides our Primarch or the Emperor of Mankind Himself to board the Scion's Return."

The transmission was filled with static, and yet despite this, Esau could hear a certain hint of arrogance when he heard the term 'compatriots'. Another ill omen.

"This is Esau Zulu, Primarch of the IInd Legion, Crown Prince of the Naufrag System and Consul of Naufrag Noctis." Esau replied. "To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"

Here, the transmission had a sudden uptick in the amount of static present in it, as if whatever device was being used to transmit had been thrown, or had fallen. Esau heard harsh but vague whispers through the static for a few minutes before the transmission stabilised again. This time, the voice was different.

"My Lord, you speak to First Captain Aharon, of the Second Scions."

"Very well, First Captain Aharon." Esau said. "What seems to be the problem?"

"My Lord, the people of this system wish to board this vessel. I cannot let them do that." Aharon said.

"Why not?" Esau replied. "The Scion's Return and the Ark Mechanicus Red Iron, have both gone through an irregular Warp Jump. The Immortal Sun needs to ascertain the safety of the vessel, and the people on it. They will not confiscate anything they find on the ship unless there exists an imminent danger to the Immortal Sun and its people. Of this, I assure you."

Here Esau could hear Aharon swallow.

"My Lord." Aharon reiterated. "I cannot allow anyone to board before you or the Emperor does."

"Do you mistrust my words?" Esau asked, and he could hear Aharon physically lock up, anxiety getting to him.

"No my Lord. I swear by the IInd's honour, and all I hold sacred that I wouldn't dare." Aharon answered, his voice unsteady. At this point, Esau could visualise him sweating now. "Please, board us yourself my Lord, and see. You are our Primarch. If you decide that the cargo of the Scion's Return is fit for the eyes of your 'Customs Officers', we will not deny you."

"Alright." Esau acquiesced. "I will be on my way soon."

"Thank you my Lord."

Esau took his helmet off, and found Kov waiting for him expectantly. He frowned.

"You weren't tapped in?" Esau asked.

"I was, but it was starting to feel like a private moment, so I bailed." Kov replied, shrugging.

Esau nodded. It had been a small gesture, but Esau appreciated it nonetheless.

"We're going to have to board the IInd's flagship." Esau said as he flagged down a passing Ur-Ork.

"I figured." Kov replied. "You're sending Isaac a message?"

Esau could have sent his Father or the Empress a message through any of their communication links, but there was always the chance that they were busy and couldn't check their messages. The chance of this was low, but not zero, especially with the Red Iron taking up his attention.

The Ur-Orks on the other hand had a direct link to his consciousness. If he told the Ur-Orks something, his Father would hear it, even when on a different planet.

"Yeah." Esau confirmed. "I would ask him or Kha for advice but I already know what they would say."

"'Do what you have to do.'" Kov quoted. "Or some variation thereof. Sometimes I think that they're just lazy, y'know?"

Esau shrugged.

"They trust us." He replied.

"Yeah." Kov agreed, quietly. "Yeah."

Esau updated the Ur-Ork on the situation, though he chose to focus on the basics: He and Kov would need to go to the Scion's Return, and Esau and Kov would compile a report on their findings after their return.

He got a thumbs up from the Ur-Ork. That was more than enough.

Kov summoned his custom two-seat starfighter, the Homesick from one of his seals. It was a white and blue thing, built off a mix of Drukhari and Ork technological ideologies, which meant that it was large, robust, and looked like a bird that was too heavy to fly. It was also one of the fastest ships available to the Imperial Sun's fleet.

Both of them entered, and then they were off.

.

"That's a big ship." Kov commented, as he and Esau flew in close.

Esau knew what Kov meant. Intellectually, both of them knew that the Scion's Return was massive. The augur systems had spelled it out for them, and they had both been witness to the creation of immense structures before.

They had a hand in building the Sol Arks and restoring much of the Hive Cities of Naufrag Noctis, each of which were much bigger than the IInd's flagship. And yet. the Scion's Return seemed to expand in Esau's vision the closer he and Kov got to the ship, the parallel lines of the ship converging into points at the edge of his vision.

Esau shook his head, and hailed the Scion's Return through his armour before connecting it to the systems of the Homesick.

"My Lord." Aharon said through the static, seeming to have regained his composure.

"First Captain. As promised, we have arrived." Esau replied. "May we board?"

"Are you not alone, Lord?" Aharon asked, a hint of his anxiety returning.

"No." Esau answered, honestly. "I am in a two-man spacecraft with my brother. Will that be an issue?"

"No." Aharon replied, his tone implying that it might as well have been a 'Yes'.

"Very well then. Let us board, so that I may meet you and the rest of the IInd."

There was a moment of silence, before Aharon returned to the transmission.

"We have opened up the loading deck. You may enter when ready." He said, and Esau and Kov entered the ship, the loading bay door closing behind them.

The first thing Esau noticed about the inside of the ship was how dark and empty it was. It was hardly pitch black, but the lights had been turned all the way down. That was likely an energy saving measure, given what Esau had found out so far, but after a trip through the Warp, who knew?

Kov landed the Homesick easily enough, and both he and Esau double checked the linkages in their powered armour before stepping out into the loading bay. Their visors read that the oxygen levels on the ship were at appropriate levels, but neither wanted to take unnecessary risks so they kept breathing in their internal air supplies.

Esau had expected at least one member of the IInd to meet with him and Kov, but so far, that didn't seem to be the case. That was very, very strange. The IInd was supposed to be composed of over twenty thousand Astartes. That not even one had come out to meet him indicated that their numbers had been cut down, once again. Esau dearly hoped that that wasn't the case.

Kov fabricated a set of drones that lit up their surroundings while Esau took the opportunity to mark the ship with a seal that would summon back up, if it became necessary.

Kov nodded at Esau, and he spoke to Aharon over the transmission again.

"We are in the loading bay." Esau said. "Where do we go from here?"

"One of my brothers is on his way to meet you, lord." Aharon replied.

If that was true, then he was too far for Esau to hear, and that was far indeed. Esau checked the sensory systems for nearby life signs and found a single life sign half a kilometre away, slowly making its way there.

"Alright, I see him." Esau stated, before cutting the transmission.

"What do you think?" Kov asked. "Personally, I think that they've been in the Warp too long."

"I agree. Everything points to that."

The obvious difficulty of their Warp jump. The fact that both ships had low energy reserves, and that energy was being rerouted to other portions of the ship. The emptiness of their loading bay, the unavailability of Space Marines, and the slow movement of the coming marine all indicated to Esau that the Scions Return was stuck in the Warp for years at the very least, forcing the IInd to cannibalise resources to survive.

Even then, that didn't fully explain the IInd's reticence to being boarded by people who weren't Esau. Something else was wrong here.

"How much food do you have stored?" Esau asked.

"I have around a hundred meals in my seals." Kov replied. The number matched Esau's own. "Almost all of it is high in fat and carbohydrates, and there's not much variation though."

"But it's food." Esau pointed out, before a thought occurred to him. "You haven't switched your meals out, yet?"

The high fat and carbohydrate meals were the ones that tended to be given to the Solar Guard when they made their occasional month-long trips into the Webway. As commander of the Naval contingent, Kov was supplied with the same meals, but unlike most of them, as a seated officer, he could request different meals be made for him.

Esau knew, because he had done so as soon as he possibly could, and he was technically of a lower rank as second in command of the army regiments, after his Father.

"I didn't really see the point." Kov replied, shrugging. "It's not like the food is garbage, just mass produced."

A lot of effort had gone into making the food taste good, which meant that while it was far from gourmet, it was far more edible than the standard MRE's Esau and Kov were forced to eat before the Immortal Sun could handle food production properly. Sealing, had done much to streamline the process because any food that was sealed could be kept fresh forever.

"Plus, it's good for morale to have your subordinates see you eat the same food they do."

"That too." Kov agreed.

For all his hatred of fighting, Kov turned out to be a capable military leader, though he and Esau approached doing the same thing differently. Kov tended to prefer having his subordinates relate to him on a personal basis, while Esau was more distant because he felt that Kov's approach was more likely to disrupt the hierarchy if not handled properly. Fortunately, Kov handled his men beautifully.

"It seems that our escort is here." Esau said, just as the door separating the loading bay from the ship opened, letting more light from the ship in.

A Space Marine in black and purple Mark II powered armour appeared in the doorway, boltgun in hand. He scanned the loading bay for a moment before magnetising the gun to his hip and approaching them.

The Space Marine did his best to have his walk seem dignified, but Esau could hear whines in the servos of his armour signifying years of with only minimal amounts of maintenance. How long had they been stuck in the Warp?

The Space Marines got within twenty metres of the both of them before bowing, both knees on the floor, and his helmeted face down.

"My greatest apologies, my Lords." The Space Marine said, his voice sounding unfamiliar to Esau. "We weren't told that this system was hosting two Primarchs."

A brief moment of distaste washed over Esau. For the better part of a month, he had looked forward to meeting his genesons, and the first thing the Space Marine does is bow? Briefly, Esau fought the instinct to chastise the man, but as he recognised the cause for the wheeze in his vox, Esau froze.

The Space Marine was crying. His son was crying, and Esau didn't know what to do. Esau had placated crying children before, of course, but there had always been a degree of separation between him and the children. He had never had to placate his own children before.

He turned to Kov, who seemed similarly perplexed, but was fortunately less paralyzed. He summoned a bar of chocolate and gave it to Esau, who gratefully took it.

"Rise, Marine." He commanded. "And remove your helmet."

"I can't, my Lord." The Space Marine replied, voice shaky. "I'm trying, but my body won't listen to me."

Esau nodded, before kneeling to meet the marine. He looked for the maglock keeping his helmet in place and manipulated it, to remove his helmet. It was as if Esau was looking at a mirror, though the Space Marine had a square jaw and grey pupils in his eyes. To Esau's horror, he was clearly emaciated.

The Space Marine stared up at him in awe, as he gave him the bar of chocolate.

"Remove the wrapper from the bar, and eat." Esau commanded.

The Space Marine seemed to want to refuse, but his own body protested as he did as he had been asked and ate the bar of chocolate. Esau almost doubted that he had even tasted the bar, before he saw the Space Marine's pupils expand, briefly.

It seemed the Space Marine's Omophagea was working, if nothing else. The Omophagea was a complicated organ, located just underneath the brain within the spinal cord. It absorbed and processed the genetic information contained in anything a Space Marine ate, and categorised the information into something the Space Marine could understand. Esau's own version of the organ was barely used, except to heighten his experience when eating, but Space Marines used them often.

"What was that, my Lords?" The Space Marine said, finally.

"You don't know what chocolate is?" Kov said, more than asked, and the Space Marine shook his head. Kov turned to meet Esau's helmeted face and both of them chose not to speak further on the subject.

"How do you feel, Marine?" Esau asked in lieu of any of the other questions filling his mind.

"I feel better, Lord." The Space Marine replied. "Though my body still won't listen to me."

The second part of his reply had been hesitant, as if it was some great failing. Esau had to keep from scoffing. This really was his son, indeed.

Esau took his omni-tool out and scanned him. As suspected, he was suffering from severe starvation and dehydration. Esau considered starting him on a nutrient drip, but ultimately decided against it. Loyd's condition was likely a microcosm of what happened to the rest of the Legion, and thus it would be better to treat them all at the same time when he had a better idea of his Legion's condition as a whole.

"So what is your name, Marine?" He asked, as he worked up a plan to treat the Marine while Kov fabricated a stretcher of the appropriate size.

"My name is Loyd, of the fourth company."

He had no title, or decorations on his armour denoting battle honours. He was likely relatively new then.

"Well, Loyd of the fourth, I'm going to need you to get on the stretcher." Esau said.

"My Lord, I do not need-" Loyd protested, before Esau interjected.

"That was an order."

Any protestations that the Marine had were cut off by Esau' assertion and the unflinching gaze of his helmet,

Loyd rolled onto the stretcher, an action made awkward by the power pack on his back. Esau removed his helmet as he did, an action mirrored by Kov. Loyd had a sharp intake of his breath upon seeing the both of them.

"To be clear." Esau said, a slight grin. "I am your Primarch. Kov is not, his size aside. He is my brother, but we are foster brothers."

"I-I apologise my Lord." Loyd stammered. " I have never seen a Primarch before."

"There is no need to apologise to me. It was an honest mistake."

As Loyd stammered through his apology for apologising, Esau summoned fabricated a set of drones, before hooking them up to the stretcher, pulling it into the air and stunning Loyd into silence.

"Do not panic." He warned. "The drones will correct for your movements to a degree, but if you move about too much, you will fall to the floor."

Kov for his part, gave Loyd a control stick linked to the drones' signal and instructed Loyd on its usage. Rallying quickly from his confusion, Loyd turned to Esau who simply gestured forward.

"Lead on. Loyd of the fourth. Show me to my Legion."

Loyd's confused expression turned into a determined one. Yes, Loyd was one of Esau's sons indeed.

.

The corridors of the Scion's Return were large, arterial and featureless. Esau and Kov's footsteps echoed loudly as they walked, filling the corridors with the sound of armoured boots.

"What happened in the Warp?" Esau asked, after determining Loyd to be proficient enough on the control stick to answer questions without distractions, asked him about the Legion.

"Our trip was too long." He replied. "After we destroyed the mechanical abominations on Ceraton, our Legion Master, Frederick Temba gathered us all and told us he had good news. The Emperor, beloved by all, had sent a missive that he had found a new Primarch, and our Legion Master promised us that he, that is to say you, would be our Primarch."

He swallowed, considering his next words carefully.

"Some of the veterans of the Legion had heard this same story from the Legion Master twice before, so they didn't have hope but I did."

He briefly turned to look at Esau where his eye would be, if he hadn't chosen to wear his helmet once again.

"Most of the newer recruits did. We would later find out that the few Ceraton Mechanical Monsters who survived our onslaught had managed to plant a virus bomb on this very ship. By luck or by dint of strategy, the bomb struck the Apothecarion, infecting the few brothers who survived the initial bomb with a highly infectious plague that fused flesh to metal. Since most of our brothers were armoured, that meant that hundreds of our brothers died horribly and in pain, before the treachery of the plague was discovered."

He wiped away the tears forming in his eyes, with the hurried importance of a son hiding his tears in front of his father.

"In the end, half of us had to be purged, lest the IInd become a memory."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't be there in your time of need." Esau replied, honestly. Esau didn't for a single moment regret landing on Naufrag, as he would have never met his Father otherwise, but he still felt guilty.

It was impossible to make up for seeing twenty thousand of your own brothers die, but Esau would try nonetheless.

"It's not your fault, my Lord." Loyd said, sighing. "A week after that, we received an Astropathic message telling us that our Legion Master had been right, and that our faith had been rewarded."

Esau felt uncomfortable now. He was the IInd's gene sire and lord, but the way Loyd phrased it, some among the IInd seemed to think of Esau as their god. His father had smothered such sentiments twenty years ago on Naufrag Primus, and it seemed that Esau would have to do the same.

"We left our post to the IVth and collected half of our geneseed from Terra. Our Warp Jump had been projected to take a month at the very least and three to four months at most." Loyd continued. "If our chronometers are correct, we were in the Immaterium for ninety-nine years, nine months and nine days."

Esau expected as much, but hearing it said aloud pained him regardless. Upon hearing the number, Kov turned to Esau and put nine of his fingers up, before motioning downwards with his thumb.

Esau immediately realised what Kov meant and nodded his head, the action hidden from Loyd as he led the way in front of the both of them.

After a moment, Kov gave him a thumbs up.

A message had been sent to their Father, and the lady Kha. A thousand members of the King's Shield would be mobilised to their location as necessary, or in an hour, if neither of them reported back to the Immortal Sun.

The number '9' was the 'holy' number of one of the four daemonic overlords of the Warp. Esau's father did not know the name of the being in question as his knowledge seemed to be built around avoiding the Four, but he did know that it was purported to be the 'changer of ways'. The IInd, and presumably, the Red Iron had both been targeted by one of the four daemonic overlords, and the one most prone to enacting long term plans that affect the subject of its attention at that.

Kov summoned an enchanted necklace from his storage, before hanging it in between his fingers and in front of his face. The necklace did not glow. Loyd was not touched by the Warp, or any of its four powers.

"Tell me, Loyd." Esau began, trying to keep his voice as casual as it could possibly be. "Have any of your brothers told you about any strange dreams they might have had?"

"No, my Lord." Loyd replied. "None of the battle brothers have had any of the Warp dreams that psykers get from travelling through the Immaterium. We have been rerouting power to the Gellar Fields for that very reason."

"Have there been any issues relating to the number nine, then?" Esau asked.

"My Lord, I don't understand-" Loyd began, but Esau interrupted him.

"Answer my question." Esau insisted. "Answer it to the best of your abilities. Have there been strange occurrences on the ship during the voyage relating to the number nine?"

"Nine months into the beginning of the journey, the serfs in the undership started a revolt that had to be crushed lest they reach the Geller Field Generator." Loyd offered.

The casual admittance pained Esau, but he ignored it, to instead press forward.

"Is that all?"

"I'm-" Loyd began. "-I'm not sure."

"Explain."

"After our first two decades in the Immaterium, the Legion Master suggested diverting power from the lower decks and into the stasis fields in the rebuilt Apothecarion holding our geneseed, allowing some of our Techmarines to extend the stasis to members of the Legion. Unfortunately, our Techmarines couldn't extend the stasis fields to all members of the Legion without syphoning power from the Gellar Field generators. By that point, we had already resorted to consuming the fuel put aside for our equipment to sate our hunger, so it was swiftly agreed upon."

Esau saw where this was going, but Kov replied first.

"You were in stasis for the rest of the trip." He realised.

"For a significant portion, totalling two decades at least." Loyd agreed. "We took to stasis in shifts, so that there was no undue suffering."

"Were there any standout occurrences during the times you were awake?" Esau pressed once again, this time changing the format of the questions he asked. "Any odd things that reached your mind during your time in the Warp?"

"There were many odd things, my Lord." Loyd admitted. "I kept wishing to eat parts of my own body due to the hunger gnawing at me. One of the battle brothers suggested killing himself so that we may eat, and the suggestion was almost taken seriously until our Legion Master intervened. I know of another who ate his own hand and had to be restrained from eating the rest of his arm. Fortunately, the Techmarines managed to craft him a hand to replace the one he ate."

He was getting somewhere now.

"Was this Space Marine the only one to … cannibalise himself?" Esau asked.

"No." Loyd replied. "By my count, at least a thousand battle brothers managed to follow his example before being stopped. There could be more."

"And the techmarines managed to provide them all replacement limbs?"

"By the Emperor, they did." Loyd replied, pride apparent in his voice.

Esau looked at Kov.

Where did they get the materials to outfit a thousand or more marines, when the Space Marines were forced to consume significant portions of the equipment they had? Esau knew Space Marines could consume and metabolise ceramics and rubber along with most kinds of sand if necessary, because he could too. It would make no sense to try and eat parts of your own body when there existed other things you could eat, after all.

"Tell me about the Ceraton Machine Cult. Were there any symbols that you remember them worshipping?"

"They worshipped a cog with an eye and a horn, placed upon it." Loyd replied, and the weight of the realisation Esau had stopped him dead.

Everything came together.

Loyd was a low level Space Marine and yet, he was chosen to meet Esau over higher ranking marines including the IInd's Legion Master. First Captain Aharon had sounded nervous in his talks with Esau, and insisted that no one besides Esau or the Master of the Imperium would see them. The Ceraton Mechanical Cult was clearly a cult of this 'changer of ways', and Esau's Legion was being targeted.

No, Esau's Legion was corrupted, but it was not corrupted in full. Despite being partially corrupted, his Legion called on their Emperor regardless. Even though they must have known that he would kill the corrupted Marines without any distinction. That was enough evidence for Esau.

There was still some hope, and as long as that existed, the IInd still had a chance. Esau readied himself as he and Kov continued to follow Loyd into the dark recesses of the Scion's Return.

17.1. Perk(s) earned in this chapter:

None.

A/N: Needless to say, in 'canon', the 'Chandra Sakhar' didn't have to deal with the Ceraton Mechanical Cult because it was put down with little to no issue. Despite being a nominally Tzeentchian cult, the Ceraton Mechanical Cult preferred tactics you would instead attribute to Khorne, so they didn't have Tzeentch's favour which allowed the IInd to steamroll them.

Here, after the Emperor discovered Esau (one year early, I might add), the Ceraton Mechanical Cult suddenly had a 'revelation' that allowed one of them to get past the IInd and plant a plague on the outside of the Scion's Return.