In the far future…there is only war. Forget progress and reason, for only superstition and paranoia rule supreme.
Trust was a rare luxury few could afford, especially if you've got something to hide. More so if you're a civilian stuck on a battle barge belonging to the Ultramarine Legion and trying to lay low until you were reunited with your family or just made a chapter serf. This was a lone child's current predicament after being rescued from the battle torn world of Kadaku.
Saoirse considered herself ridiculously lucky her secret remained safe. A member of the Death Watch had found her unconscious and had protected her until they were found by the Ultramarines, but that was the extremely watered down story she fed the Marines that saved them from the Tyrranid onslaught. The black Space Marine that saved her had been badly injured and had been taken away for treatment.
"Oi!" a voice cut through the girl's thoughts and she nearly dropped the broom she held.
"Sorry!" The child spun and looked her caretaker in the eye, an elderly man that had spent most of his life cleaning this very ship. The bald man only chuckled and patted her head.
"Still thinking about that Astartes, are you?"
"Yes," her gaze turned to the floor and she gripped the broom handle hard. "I hope he recovers."
"Oh, child. Have faith. His life is in the Emperor's hands now. The only thing you can do is serve his battle brothers so they may focus on saving your home. Do you think you can do that, little one?"
She only nodded.
"Well, these floors won't sweep themselves. Get as much done before meal time." The elder patted her head again and shuffled off to his own task.
Once he was out of the room, Saoirse brought out a little toy that resembled a brick with a digital screen in the middle of it and three buttons to the right of it. The concerned face of a white and gray monster with yellow quills stared back at her.
"Any luck, Gammamon?" she asked the creature.
"Nothing." her friend said in a squeaky voice. "They're being all hush-hush about him."
Saoirse flinched at the sound of approaching footsteps, quickly shoved her toy back into her pocket and began sweeping the floor again, only briefly stopping to push her honey blonde hair out of her face. Many serfs of the Ultramarine Chapter had commented that she looked very much like the Lord Regent with her curly hair and focused eyes despite their color being green instead of blue; she always told them she didn't see the resemblance. It didn't help that she still wore her normal attire of a blue tunic, tan trousers, a belt with a large pouch pocket where she kept her Digivice, and brown boots instead of the brown robes of the Chapter Serf.
The footsteps got louder, and now she was sure whoever was heading this way was in armor. An Astartes maybe? It did sound heavy enough to be one of them. By the time she came to that thought, the person had entered the room she was working in and appeared to have stopped. There were no other sounds, yet the hairs on the back of her neck raised and a chill went down her spine. She turned and got a look at-
"It's you!" she exclaimed with a big smile. Standing at the opposite side of the room staring at her was the Astartes that had saved her on Kadaku, but he was now sporting the blue armor of the Ultramarines instead of black. Four metallic studs adorned his brow along with several scars from past battles. "You're alive!"
"And so are you, little one," he greeted her warmly and stepped closer. "Are you adjusting well?"
"It's leagues better than constantly looking out for xenos, my Lord," Saoirse jested while answering him. "The Chapter Serfs have been trying to persuade me to stay if my parents…" She trailed off, but he seemed to understand.
"It is a safe option compared to being shipped off to an orphanage," he commented. "Might I ask you something?"
"What is it, sir?"
"I recall there being an additional beast in my fight against the Tyrranid swarm. Did you see what it was?"
She shook her head, doing her best to pretend not to know. Of course she remembered her partner coming out to defend her and the Astartes until both she and her partner were knocked out by the most aggressive Tyrranid that nearly killed the once Death Watch Marine. Her monster friend had reverted to an egg after that fight and he had only just gotten back to his child stage recently today.
"My memories of that day are hazy, sir, but I don't recall seeing any other creature coming to our aid."
"Very well. If you remember anything…"
"I'll come and find you….Uh, what is your name, sir? I don't think we ever introduced ourselves."
"I am Lieutenant Titus of the Second Company."
"Good to finally know your name, my Lord. My name is Saoirse Atrates."
"Atrates? As in the Rogue Trader house Atrates?"
"Yes, my Lord. My parents and I were meeting up with a family friend on Kadaku when the xenos invaded. We were separated in the initial evacuation and my shuttle crashed near the complex you were heading to when you found me."
"That explains why you were close by. The Emperor must have been looking out for you that day."
"The Emperor protects," she shrugged. With that, Titus left and Saoirse breathed a sigh of relief when she was sure she was alone again. Her secret was safe for now.
"So, did she provide insight?"
"No. She claims to not remember that day well, but is clearly hiding something." Titus, clearly perturbed, reported to the Captain of the Second Company.
"There is more." This was stated as a matter of fact instead of a question, prompting the reinstated Ultramarine to continue.
"She is a child of a Rogue Trader house ordained by the Emperor himself. She may not be allowed to speak of the creature in question."
"Ah, yes. House Atrates, the most unorthodox dynasty of Traders with many accomplishments to put most others to shame. However, if what you saw truly occurred, then the child would need to be kept away from the Inquisition. All Tech Priests onboard have been observing the child and have been actively keeping her away from the Chaplain; an odd occurrence, but concerning all the same."
"All of our forces are needed on the field."
"I am already working around that and have spoken with the Priests. She will be assigned to tend to a Tech Priest and will be protected by them until the truth is revealed."
In an empty Mechanicus base on the surface of Avarax, a blue portal opened from a terminal screen and two bodies flew out, another human girl, near in age to Saoirse, and her partner Digimon.
"Ugh…" the girl moaned while rubbing her head. "Where did we land this time?" The raven haired child picked herself up off the floor and checked her partner. "You okay, Rasenmon?"
"I'm fine," her spikey friend towering over her said. "I'm more worried about where we landed. This doesn't look like anything from the Real World, Cassie."
The two took in their surroundings, and Cassie had to agree the amount of pipes and excessive use of candles didn't fit in any setting from her world. Then she turned to the terminal that spat them out and took note of the archaic technology. There was no way anyone in or out of UNSC territory would use something so outdated.
"Maybe we can get some answers here," she approached the terminal, not seeing any keyboard to type commands in. "Uh, can I talk to anyone here?"
"Greetings, Unknown Tamer and Digital life form." A robotic voice responded. No AI hologram or image appeared, but green text began to fill the screen. "Inquiry: Designation."
Cassie and Rasenmon exchanged a brief glance before they answered.
"I'm Cassandra."
"And I'm Rasenmon."
"Information recorded. Tamer Cassandra. Digital life form Rasenmon. State your inquiry."
"Uh….Where are we? Does the UNSC exist here?" Cassie went ahead and got to the point. Something told her she wouldn't like the answer, but they needed to know.
"Location: Adeptus Mechanicus research facility. Planet Avarax. Inquiry of UNSC: error. No records found."
"Well, now we know this isn't our universe," Rasenmon noted.
"On top of all that, we got pulled here by something. At least we didn't get turned into a fireball again. Uh…Computer, do you have a name?"
"Identify as Machine Spirit."
"Machine Spirit?" What world did they land in? "Alright. Rasenmon and I are from another universe. Can you tell us anything that can help us survive?"
"Select your inquiry." The terminal brought up a list of five topics. In order they were: The Imperium of Man, the Adeptus Mechanicus, Avarax, Ultramarines, and Current Threat.
"Get comfortable, bud. This is gonna take a bit."
A/N: This story is related to Digimon War Game, but you don't need to read that to follow this story.
Digivolution mechanics follow Digimon World Next Order and Cyber Sleuth mechanics.