986.M41 Aurorum III
Kiara moved slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. If she didn't move silently, he would catch her, and she couldn't have that. Checking the path through the park, she dashed from one tree to another, hoping to avoid detection. A testament to her own skill, her bare feet made almost no noise as they glided across the grass.
A voice, deep and rough, growled out through the air, "Where are you~?" The voice asked in a sing-song tone.
Kiara tried to suppress her breathing, pressing her back against the tree as her heart beat out of her chest. His footsteps echoed, the sound of crunching grass underneath Imperial boots. The heavy breathing. Kiara cautiously peeked around the tree, only to see that there was nothing in view.
"Gotcha!" Michael yelled as he tackled her to the ground, tickling her sides.
Kiara screamed and giggled, a wide smile adorning her face as she laughed. The two rolled around in the grass, the young Eldar half-heartedly beating Michael's chest in protest. Michael laughed at her attempts, laying out on the ground in surrender.
"Ah! You've slain me oh great warrior!" Michael proclaimed dramatically, clutching his shirt and reaching up into the air. The scene made Kiara laugh, her voice sounding like a dozen voices singing in glee.
Michael smiled, laughing at his own antics. The two had been playing in one of the craftworlds parks as soon as Michael managed to convinced Elirom he wasn't going to be taken over by Lucius. It had taken some haggling, but having the Farseer speak with Lucius himself had managed to get him to agree. Though, Michael still wondered if there was an Eldar Ranger somewhere with a sniper rifle trained on him.
"I'm glad you're okay," Kiara commented as she sat next to him, arms wrapped around his cybernetic limb.
Michael smiled, "Yeah, I am too kiddo."
Kiara wrinkled her nose, "kiddo?" She asked, looking up at him.
Michael chuckled to himself, remembering that as quickly as she may be picking it up, her low-gothic vocabulary was still incredibly limited. Granted, his own Aeldari wasn't much better, but they were both still learning.
"It's a nickname. Like, 'kid' is a word to use in place of 'child', and kiddo is just a longer version of it." Michael explained, "Don't ask who came up with it because I really don't know."
Kiara just giggled. It was good to see a smile on her face, Michael thought. It had been roughly a week since Lucius' failed attempt to take over Michael, and even though the space marine made a commentary from time to time, he mostly kept quiet. He also hadn't tried to take over again, explaining that it would have just been a waste of effort and he was much better off simply viewing the world through Michael's eyes.
That also reminded Michael of the bomb Lucius had dropped soon after he'd gained consciousness. Apparently, he was a latent psyker, but his abilities were being locked down by some unknown entity. Lucius suggested Michael may be internally suppressing his own powers, something that was incredibly likely if he had negative experiences with other psykers in the past. They immediately dismissed the idea as he seemed quite comfortable around Jarod.
The other option was that some warp entity, likely a powerful one, wanted to keep Michael's power's on lockdown for some reason. Jarod and Elirom both had later tried to detect any such entity but only found the usual scramble of daemons in the warp. For now, they had been drawn a blank, and could only work with what they had.
They had also discovered the extent to which Lucius was connected to Michael as well. In short, Lucius' soul was piggy-backing off of Michael's, incredibly stealthily and barely visible if you weren't outright looking for. It actually took Lucius actively trying to make his soul look brighter for Jarod to find it, and even then Jarod only barely noticed.
"Must you participate in such childish activities?" Lucius said, interrupting Michael's thoughts.
"Hey, she's barely four Terran years old. You almost killed her, and she's basically glued herself to me, so unless you want me to break her heart, I'm staying right here." Michael shot back.
"I personally don't care what happens to the girl. I'm just bored is all."
"Of course you are…"
"Where are you going to go next?" Kiara asked, breaking Michael and Lucius' conversation.
He shrugged, looking down at her, "Right now? I'm not going anywhere. Probably won't be going anywhere for a while either."
Kiara smiled warmly, hugging Michael's chest. Her arms didn't even reach all the way around, and Michael reciprocated the gesture by wrapping his own metal arm around her.
"That's good. I don't want you to go away," she said solemnly.
Michael grimaced, thinking that she probably associated him in a similar aspect to a guardian at this point, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."
[-----]
"So… what are we supposed to do with this?" Jarod asked as he gestured to the Astartes sized weapon on the table before himself, Calivar, Matthias, and Elirom.
The Laer blade was a cruel, wicked weapon that had gained a reputation over it's ten thousand years of existence. Its blade was clean of any markings, and yet the hilt, guard and pommel were covered in abhorrent etchings that hurt to look at. When it had first corrupted Fulgrim, a daemon had been living in the gemstone that rested in its pommel. That daemon was long gone now, but the weapon was still cursed.
"I would suggest throwing it out into open space, or maybe the warp, to be lost for all eternity… but I'm pretty sure we all know how that would end up."
Elirom nodded, "Indeed, no matter how lost such a weapon may appear, she-who-thirsts will find a way to bring it back into its service."
"I say we destroy it. Melt it down, blow it up with explosives or just jettison it into a star, any of those options would be preferable than simply having it sit here," Mattias suggested, gesturing to the blade.
"I agree." Calivar said simply, "A weapon of this caliber should not be left alone in any capacity. Though I wonder if conventional means would be enough to destroy such a weapon."
Jarod shook his head, "Probably not all things considered. As Elirom said, He/She/It wants this thing back, and while the weapon itself might not be sentient, it can probably help things along in its own way."
"Then destroying it is the best course of action. Where do we begin?" Matthias asked.
Jarod frowned, "I'm not really sure. Realistically I would say we start off by trying to melt the thing, and if that doesn't work, we'll go from there."
"While the path of execution is rather blunt, I must agree." Elirom said, "We will just have to see if such methods will work."
The four of them carefully transported the weapon down to Matthias' forges, Calivar carrying the weapon in a sealed container designed to limit the effects of the warp. The box was covered in runes and symbols both of Imperial and Aeldari origin, all of which limited whatever warp presence tried would have extreme difficulty getting inside of the box.
When they reached the forges, Matthias began heating up the foundry, and the heat radiating off the machine was enough to make Jarod and Elirom sweat from being so close. Calivar didn't sweat due to his nature as an Astartes, and Matthias had gotten augments to help deal with the heat, so there were no issues there. As soon as the foundry reached the maximum temperature, the weapon was removed from its case, Calivar handling the weapon with extreme care.
The space marine lowered the weapon into the white-hot reaches of the foundry blade-first, the weapon glowing with heat. Matthias closed the foundry as soon as the weapon was inside, and they waited. It felt like hours had passed, all of them simply standing there with bated breath.
When they felt they had waited long enough -- roughly ten minutes -- before Matthias once again opened the foundry. Using a pair of heat resistant tongs, he extracted the white-hot, fiery blade. Bits of the guard, grip, and pommel had been completely burned away, leaving only the barest of parts required to adequately call the Laer blade a usable weapon. The blade itself was left relatively untouched, with the engravings and etchings glowing a sickly orange-white.
"Well… that didn't work." He summarized, "How hot does this thing get again?" he asked.
Matthias hummed, "A few thousand Kelvin, roughly the same temperature as the surface of a star. If that wasn't enough to destroy this weapon…" He left the sentence hanging in the air, unsure of what to do next.
Jarod grimaced, before turning to Elirom, "Would it be possible to move, throw, or otherwise teleport the Laer Blade into the core of a star?" he asked.
Calivar and Mattias both went wide-eyed at the implications. He had suggested such action in their original meeting, but neither truly thought he was serious. They then mentally berated themselves for thinking the Rogue Trader would accept any solution that wasn't absolutely insane.
"I believe such a task would be possible, if incredibly difficult. If we simply wished to transport it through the warp, there is little trouble in targeting the center of the star, the obvious drawback being that we would need to send the blade into the warp at all. However, if we wanted to transport it via other means… well, it would be akin to driving a nail into the planet's with nothing but a hammer." Elirom explained.
"While such a solution would be unorthodox, to say the least, I cannot outright disagree. Sending the weapon into the center of a star, even to a warped weapon such as this, would make it nigh impossible to retrieve \even if it didn't destroy it outright." Calivar retorted.
"Well, we don't very well have access to a teleporter on the Emperor's boot. Do you have any way of teleporting it Elirom?" Jarod asked.
"I am afraid Aurorum III does not have access to teleportation technology, no."
"So we're stuck with conventional means then. Any ideas?" Jarod asked.
This time, Matthias was the one with his own idea, "Perhaps we could take a sufficiently armored missile and replace the payload with the blade. I'm sure we could modify the model to fit it." Matthias offered.
Jarod slowly nodded his head, "That could work. Even if it didn't get to the core, it would get it deep enough. How long would it take to rework one of our own missiles?" he asked.
"Depending on the type, anywhere from a couple of hours to a few days. It would all depend on the payload we would have to remove, as the explosives would be quite volatile." Matthias explained, "The particular weapon I have my mind on is a rather large torpedo. Its payload shouldn't take more than a few hour's to swap out, and the armor could be reinforced well beyond what would be needed."
"Alright then. Matthias, you get to work on that, I'll get a course plotted to the nearest star that doesn't have any inhabited planet's." Jarod agreed, ending the conversation.
After the group disbanded, Jarod did indeed plot a course towards a nearby star. The warp jump would take a day at the longest, and the star in question was a fairly healthy yellow star. Michael opted to stay away from the operation, instead, remaining on the Craftworld.
By the time they reached the star, Matthias had finished replacing the torpedo's payload with the weapon. They parked the ship about fifty thousand kilometers from the star's surface. Jarod ordered the torpedo loaded and ready to fire before the projectile was launched toward the star.
"How long will it take to reach it?" Jarod asked Matthias.
"Less than a minute by my own projections." The techpriest offered.
Jarod nodded, turning to the viewport on the bridge, "Launch the torpedo." He ordered.
The mass of metal was fired from the ship's broadsides, moving at speeds that were only increased as it entered the stars direct gravitational pull. Jarod and the crew watched as it impacted the suns surface. They recoiled as a bright pink solar flare exploded from the star's surface, washing across the ships void-shields.
The ship shook violently, and every psyker on board heard a loud, echoing scream. The lights flickered and the main crew panicked as they tried to stabilize the ship. All the while Jarod had fallen to the ground, gripping his head as the scream felt like a nail driving its way into his psyche. Jarod, even with all his mental defenses at their strongest, grunted under the strain of the mental assault.
Eventually, the pink wave of fiery energy dissipated, and the psychic scream dissipated into the warp. Jarod collapsed to the ground as he sighed in relief. "Status reported!" he grunted.
"All system's are operational captain! The solar flare seems to have simply disrupted our systems, as well as significantly drained our void shields, but other than that everything is fine." One of the crewmen answered.
Jarod rubbed his temples, before he paused suddenly, his eyes going wide, "Where is the navigator?" he asked.
Jarod was then led to the navigator's personal quarters, and they found the Navigator in the corner of the room in a fetal position rocking back and forth. His nose was bloodied, and his eyes seemed to roll into their sockets. He was muttering quietly, but when they approached Jarod roughly translated his jumbled speech into desperate prayers to the Emperor.
Jarod reached forward to grasp his shoulder, shaking him, "Hey, wake up!" he ordered.
The navigator stopped muttering, his eyes going back to normal as he looked up at Jarod. His eyes widened as he lurched forward, grasping Jarod's shoulders.
"What did you do!?" he asked in a crazed voice.
"Hey! Calm down! I just destroyed a weapon of Slaanesh!"
His breath hitched for a second, "What?" he asked in a much calmer voice.
"We just chucked the Laer Blade, a ten-thousand-year-old sword into a star. A weapon that has killed millions." Jarod explained, "And right now, I need you to calm down."
The navigator paused, before nodding furiously and moving to sit on his couch. Jarod sighed, standing to his feet and straightening his outfit. After dealing with the navigator, Jarod ordered they head back to the craft world. Fortunately, the way back to the craft world was fairly uneventful.
[-----]
986.M41 Cellos IV
"I thank you again, Inquisitor." Has said as he and Inquisitor Karev stood ready to depart. With the campaign finished and all contingencies put into place, Karev felt it best he returned to his own responsibilities.
Yes, the Necrons were without a doubt something that could cause trouble in the future, but even Inquisitors had those they answered to. And even if he was well on his way already, Karev didn't want to be branded a radical just yet.
"There is no need to thank me, General. Though I may have assisted in these operations, you played no small part yourself. Though, I think we can both agree the rogue trader was the deciding factor." Karev offered.
Gaz chuckled, "Indeed. With the Necrons and us at peace, I believe they may be quite the boon in this planet's defense."
"Quite." A robotic voice announced as the Phaeron approached them.
The two humans jumped slightly at her voice but relaxed after a second. Even if they were allies, lifetimes of indoctrination and propaganda had programmed their senses how to respond, and it took no small amount of willpower to keep from panicking whenever she announced her presence.
"I assume you are heading off Inquisitor Karev?" She asked.
"Indeed. I am heading to a hive world where my presence has been requested. Apparently, the Xenos known as the Tau have attempted to expand, and I have been asked to assess the overall situation." He explained.
Nevha nodded, before reaching Into a pocket in her metallic robes, pulling out a small, cylindrical device. She reached forward, offering it to the Inquisitor, "I would like you to take this, Inquisitor. It is a short-range Immaterial Nullifier. A reality anchor if you will. While not nearly as advanced as some of the other technology my kind has to offer, it is something I feel might be useful to you in the near future."
Karev accepted the gift with a raised eyebrow, "A reality anchor?" He asked.
Nevha nodded, "Within a dozen meters, it can reverse or subdue the effects of the Immaterial. Be it banishing lesser entities, or closing a rift, I think you of all people could use such a device. It will only last for a few minutes, but I doubt you will need much more than that to accomplish your goals."
Karev smiled, rotating the object in his hands, "I must admit, most technology I acquire from other races is usually stolen. It is good to receive a gift for once." He said with a smile.
Nevha nodded, "Indeed." She turned to Gaz, "General, I must ask, what do you intend to do now?"
Gaz shrugged, "Well, we were ordered to deal with whatever was down on the planet -- you as it turned out -- and then stay here to function as an impromptu PDF force. So, I guess we're stuck here together."
Nevha chuckled. The sound was rather unsettling to hear, but both Gaz and the Inquisitor had gotten used to the warped speech of the Necrons, something that had been no easy feat.
"If that is the case, then I suppose our armies will be spending quite a bit of time together." Nevha noted, "I hope we can work well together in the defense of this world."
[-----]
986.M41 Raxis Prime
The Ethereal known as Shao'Noah, the leader of the Tau on the planet of Raxis Prime, stared at the device that the Earth caste had built. It was a weapon, specifically a large turret that could target and attack ships orbiting the planet from the planet's surface. Unfortunately, the weapons performance was still in the theoretical stage and the devastation that would be done to the foolish Gue'la that had been contesting Raxis Prime would have to wait until the weapon could finish construction.
Shao'Noah idly wondered why his superior's in the Ethereal caste had ordered such a weapon built. It used the disembodied brains of several Gue'la 'Psykers' in order to conjure such a devastating projectile. It still baffled him that the Gue'la had access to such abilities, and he wondered why they did not try to use them to their own advantage.
Regardless, the weapon was nearing completion, and even though it wasn't done quite yet, it would be by the time the Gue'la reinforcement's arrived. When that time came, well… they would show the fools the true might of the Tau.
Leaving the construction bay, he walked down a long hallway, the grey metal of the walls and floors cleaned far better than that of the Imperial's standards, though that was likely due to who he was going to visit. Commander Jay'Ki of the Fire cast had requested his audience, and with little else to do besides paperwork or organization, Shao'Noah agreed.
The commander jumped slightly as the Ethereal entered his office with little to no warning, "Ethereal Shao'Noah, I thank you for accepting my request," he said, relaxing slightly at the sight of his own superior.
Shao'Noah simply nodded with a smile, "It was no trouble. In fact, I am pleased that you requested my presence, what do you require?" He asked.
Jay'ki frowned, "It appears the Gue'la have managed to get a response to their requests for aid." he explained.
"What of it? We knew that they would receive it eventually, this would simply mean that their forces will arrive somewhat sooner." True, that would be a minor setback in and of itself, but even Shao'Noah was confident in the abilities of the Fire Warriors defending the planet.
"True, yes," Jay'ki nodded, "But this is different. The message that was intercepted was a data-slate with a fairly simple message, but baring this symbol," He explained, before producing a drawing of an 'I' with a skull at the center, "I am aware that the upper echelon's of the Ethereal's are aware of this organization, but I wanted to ask how we should respond. The message claimed that they would be here in less than a Kai'rotaa."
Shao'Noah hummed as he thought about the situation, adding the Commanders new-found information to his own wealth of knowledge. The symbol was that of the Gue'la organization known as the 'Inquisition', a troublesome group at the best of times. Some had attempted to work with the Tau, whilst others seemed to be driven to exterminating them. You could never really tell with the Inquisition, and as such, Shao'Noah was very careful of his decision.
"Proceed as planned, for now," the Ethereal stated, "Truth be told we can do little to predict how a member of this organization will change our status on Raxis Prime. It could be that they are of little consequence, or they could be able to rally the Gue'la guardsmen and destroy everything we have worked for here."
Jay'ki nodded, "Thank you, once again the wisdom of the Ethereal's outpaces that of any of us."