"Is this serious? I leave for five minutes to fight a war against a Greater Demon and you already try to take over the tomb in my absence?" I asked the group of nobles in front of me.
Simultaneously a Canoptek Spider floated above my throne, working on repairs to my body, the same goes for Haratek, Rahkikh and Thaszan, each of whom had a spider and a group of scarabs repairing them.
A Noble left the group and stepped forward "Forgive us Overlord, but your absence from the tomb made us assume the worst, that your magnificence was eliminated in your sleep."
"If any of you had bothered to look outside the tomb, you would have seen the reason for my absence, for as you awakened, the world was literally ending! If not for me, you would be caught unprepared!" I replied.
Another noble dropped out of the group "My Overlord, if I may ask. What would pose such a threat to our grand tomb?"
"An invasion of Chaos Goddess Slaanesh's daemons, straight from Warp!"
I noticed that all the nobles looked at me confused, they didn't have the slightest idea what happened after they went to sleep.
"A question. Do any of you know what happened after we entered the great sleep and what the current state of the galaxy is?"
I received a series of negative responses.
"Very well, allow me to tell you all that happened after the War in Heaven, about the Warp, daemons, chaos gods, the fall of the Eldars and the birth of the Imperium of Man."
So I told him everything, about the negative feelings of the Eldars, Krorks and the innocent races caught in the crossfire of the War in Heaven turning the Sea of Souls into the hell known as Warp, the monsters created by these feelings, about the birth of the Chaos Gods and their daemons, the regression of the Krorks into beings known as Orks.
Of how the Eldars forgot about the Old Ones, created their own gods, expanded their galactic empire and entered a slow descent into stagnation, hedonism and decay, leading to the creation of a new God of Chaos, the damnation of their souls, the birth of the Eye of Terror and the fall of its empire, becoming a dying race.
Mainly, I told about a primitive species that was born on a small blue planet, uninteresting for the grand scheme of the galaxy, how this species evolved over thousands of years until it became a technologically advanced federation, heading to become the new dominant race of the galaxy. .
Just to have it all taken away from them with the mistake made by the Eldars, I talked about how they used the Warp to travel faster than light, the emergence of the Psykers, the Warp storms that separated the planets from each other, the revolt of the Men of iron, the artificial intelligences that served these beings.
I talked about the rise of the Emperor of Humanity, the Unification Wars, the Alliance with Mars, the Space Marines and their legions, the gods of chaos spreading the Primarchs across the galaxy, and the Emperor's great crusade to recover the lost planets and his children.
And finally, I told about the Horus Heresy, the events leading up to the heresy, the traitorous Primarchs, the Schism of Mars, the siege of the Holy Terra, and the confrontation of the Emperor and his traitorous son and how that ended with the Emperor placed on the Golden Throne and being worshiped as a God, everything he denied being.
I made mention of the War of the Beast and the Age of Apostasy, but those weren't important at the time.
When I finished, the nobles were silent, staring at each other, presumably processing the information in their circuits.
"Do you understand our situation now?" I broke the silence.
This served to snap the nobles out of their stupor, which created a cacophony of screams and arguments.
"...We must eliminate organics immediately..."
"...You are crazy?"
"...We are outnumbered..."
"...Hump! With our superior technology, we will win for sure..."
Opinions were divided, well, a sign that I can get some allies here, I need to carefully plan my next move. First, stop this infernal noise.
"Silence!" I banged the butt of my staff on the floor.
The sound echoed through the throne room, all the nobles fell silent and waited for me to speak. "Breathing" deep, I leaned back on the throne and tried to calm the nobles.
"We will not act at this time."
I saw that some nobles were about to protest, but I silenced them with another strike of my staff.
"As I was saying, we will not act at the moment, I just returned from a battle against a powerful enemy, this planet was attacked, its leaders killed and stability shaken, I intend to take advantage of this instability to take control of the planet with the minimum of deaths."
"But Overlord Ulthagakh, these organics have stained our glorious planet, their presence cannot be tolerated!" a nobleman exclaimed.
"Yes, a planet that has been uninhabited for millions of years, they have no idea we are here, don't condemn them for their ignorance."
"But..." The noble didn't finish, as another noble interrupted him.
"You are a fool to try to eliminate organics."
"You dare?!?"
I took a better look at the noble who interrupted, he looked like a Necron Lord, only a little smaller and thinner, he wore shoulder pads, a breastplate and a black skirt with green symbols on top, a cape made of long metallic lines that almost touched the ground, an arch resembling a spinal column came out from his back and stopped above his head and from his head, metallic strands came out, giving the impression of hair.
His face looked like a normal Necron, but with a golden mask over it.
"Have you not heard the words of Overlord Ulthagakh? We are one planet against an empire of a million worlds, not to mention the other factions fighting across the galaxy; we must build our power before we reveal our presence."
I like him.
"Haratek, who is this noble?" I whispered to the Cryptek.
A green screen appeared in front of Haratek, the image of each noble with their name on the side appeared on the screen, Haratek scrolled down until he stopped at the noble in question.
"That would be Kamamitet the Fallen Lord."
"And why that title?"
"Kamamitet is a veteran of the War in Heaven, fighting every battle on the front lines, efficiently but without unnecessary cruelty, a staunch follower of the code of honor. She received the title after her defeat on the planet of Umiror V, where a combined force of Eldars and Krorks overcame her forces. Kamamitet lost the planet that the late Mahazarek ordered to protect, most of her forces were wiped out and the planet destroyed, as a result of which Mahazarek removed all titles and possessions from her, making her a noble in name only."
She? Is Kamamitet a woman? Although the noble's voice sounded a bit feminine, it was hard to tell with the robotic tone.
"Me? A fool? The only fool here is you for failing to carry out Mahazarek's orders, after all where our Phaeron is?" the noble demanded.
"He is dead. His planet was destroyed before he could awaken." I said to everyone.
A cruel silence took over the throne room.
"Overlord Ulthagakh, could you tell us how the planet was destroyed?" Kamamitet asked.
"Natural disasters, the planet just came to an end." I lied, the nobles better not know that the organics I'm trying to protect were responsible for killing the Phaeron.
"I understand." Kamamitet went silent.
"I agree with Kamamitet and our Overlord, we must act calmly and carefully, all-out wars against organics will only harm us, we need resources, war machines, troops and much more." Another nobleman spoke.
This noble was thin and tall, with a large metallic collar that covered part of his face, large and bright eyes and a silver crescent-shaped headdress on his head. I noticed that he wrote quickly on a green holographic screen.
I looked at Haratek.
"That would be Aranusaak the Builder, responsible for developing and shipping weapons, ships and equipment during the war in heaven; he managed entire planets dedicated to the manufacture of weapons, technologies in general and resource mining."
So he ran the Necron equivalent of a forge world? Perfect!
"Hump! As if it matters, we are superior to every other race in this galaxy; we must take back the territory that once belonged to us. Return to our golden age, and show our power to all, eliminate all fools who stand in our way until we are the only dominant species in the stars." Another nobleman spoke.
It was a Necron Noble, tall and bulky in physique for a Necron, wearing golden armor from head to toe, adorned with silver hieroglyphs, the armor is covered in glowing green symbols, he wore a belt with a small black cape hanging around his waist, his helmet looked like an Egyptian death mask, but without the front part.
And his little speech was followed by shouts of approval from other nobles.
"That would be Terminor Ananotek, also a veteran of the War in Heaven, but one who is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. He is the type of noble who seeks victory at any cost; his amount of friendly fire in the war was alarming. He has no problem using murder, poison, and any other dirty tactics to win, his soldiers serving more as mobile shields than combat units."
I have to be careful with him, he is clearly the type of Necron who thinks he is superior to everyone, and his victories must have inflated his ego over the millennia.
Therefore, the conversation continued, I answered the nobles as best I could, trying to figure out which ones I had to watch out for, which ones I should bring to my side and which ones didn't choose a side.
There were seventy-five nobles in total, which can be divided into three factions, the faction of those who want to take things carefully and not eliminate all humans. In other words, the moderates.
They are neutral towards humans, not caring much about what happens to them, or realizing how precarious our situation is. Being the only activated tomb world in the system, this group is composed of twenty-five nobles in total.
These nobles are mostly non-military, diplomats, scientists, administrators, politicians, priests, necrons who lost all their power because they no longer had organic functions, such as the nobles who took care of the production of food, health and other services, and some military, war veterans and who are not so proud.
I want those ones on my side.
The second faction was those who wanted humans wiped off the face of the planet. In other words, radicals.
Mainly composed of military necrons, generals, veterans, some politicians and finally young nobles who got power through their family name, with some combat experience, but with ego blinding their vision.
There were twenty-five in total.
Finally, we had the neutral faction, who wanted to watch events unfold before choosing a side, made up of necrons of the most varied ranks and functions.
What I need now is to convince them to stay by my side.
"I understand your confusion, your discontent with our current situation is valid, but I don't feel the hatred for organics that some of you do. I want peace between our species, so I hope none of you attacks them, but I have no problem exercising my authority. Did you understand?"
The nobles let out a chorus of confirmation.
"But if you are worried about me allowing them to take over our empire, then no, I will not allow that, I intend to rule the humans, take control of the planets in this system and awaken the tombs, and for that, I will need your collaboration, as you know, the leaders of this planet are dead, I intend to control this planet, I will put someone to serve as a puppet and govern in my name."
I honestly have no idea who to put in power, I intend to leave the planet, but I don't trust any of these nobles not to do anything stupid due to pride.
"Now our meeting is over, return to your territories, I have much to do now, repair the damage to the planet's infrastructure, contact the humans and prepare to leave the planet."
With a series of farewell bows, eulogies, and whispered insults, the nobles filed out of the throne room, leaving only Thaszan, Rahkikh, Haratek, and me.
I let out a sigh as the nobles left, that was exhausting, and I'm not cut out for politics.
"What shall we do now, my lord?" Haratek asked.
"Send the spiders and scarabs to repair the damage to the cities, I want a complete list of all the nobles, faces, names, histories and roles, everything. In the meantime, I'll talk to some necrons. Where's the girl I told you to take care of?"
"She had her wounds healed and is currently locked in an isolated cell." Haratek replied.
"Well, better than being used as a guinea pig. Let's pay her a visit."
XXXXXX
Haratek and I stopped in front of the cell. It was similar to the one that held the flayed ones and destroyers. The girl was wearing a simple white robe and was lying on a metallic bed attached to the wall. With an order, Haratek deactivated the energy wall.
The girl was still sleeping, probably exhausted or unconscious due to the pressure placed on her body and mind. I deactivated my Ankh before approaching, and I didn't want her to tear her own eyes out when she felt the null field.
When I got close, I poked her on the cheek "Wake up, it's time to wake up."
"Five more minutes." The girl muttered as her face contorted into a frown.
"You'll miss breakfast that way." I played.
"Put it on my desk and then leave." The girl murmured.
I looked back after hearing the noise of metal creaking, it was Haratek, I noticed that he was shaking slightly, probably irritated with the girl's lack of respect. I don't care, I'm having fun here.
"Unfortunately I can't do that, the table was destroyed with most of the governor's palace during the Daemon invasion."
With that final information, the girl realized that there was something wrong, her eyes opened suddenly and she got up quickly, her eyes scanned the room, and the weird environment. Then her eyes focused on Haratek and me.
The girl's mouth dropped open in surprise, but no sound came out, her eyes widened and she backed across the bed until her back hit the wall.
"Hello!" I waved at the girl as she smiled, or at least I tried to since I can't change my facial expression.
I expected the girl to scream like in a horror movie, but instead she pointed a finger in my direction. Nothing happened, she moved her arm and pointed her finger again, nothing, a look of confusion passed over the girl's face before she tried with her other hand.
"If you're trying to use your powers, better give up, you won't be able to do anything being so close to the Pylon."
"You can speak?!?" The girl asked in surprise.
"Of course I can speak! After all, I am a well-educated being! Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Akatosahk Ulthagakh, The Necron Overlord of this Tomb World! And you?" I extended my hand to the girl.
"Jacqueline Boucher." The girl replied.
"Well, Miss Boucher, I'd like to have a little chat with you. Could you accompany me?"
Jacqueline hesitated, I saw doubt and distrust on her face.
"My Lord is being patient with you. Do not throw away his generosity." Haratek spoke menacingly.
This scared Jacqueline a little.
"Right, I accept." Jacqueline spoke, seriousness in her voice.
"Perfect! Please follow us."
We left the cell, Jacqueline walking beside Haratek and me close behind, I noticed Jacqueline looking around curiously.
"Surprised?"
"Yes. My powers are weakened, but I can feel the energy flowing through this place. It's impressive."
"This is our glorious tomb. Home of us Necrons!"
"Necrons?"
"Oh! I imagine you've never heard of us, we are Necrons, an extremely advanced Xeno race that has been sleeping for millions of years on planets across the galaxy."
Upon hearing this, Jacqueline stopped walking and stared at us.
"Xenos? You are the Emperor's enemies!" Jacqueline exclaimed.
"You took a while to notice."
"Did your primitive mind finally realize?" Haratek asked.
Jacqueline's response was to make the symbol of the imperial Aquila and pray.
"Could you stop, please?"
"I refuse! You Xenos will not corrupt me! You can torture me or kill me! But the Emperor is by my side, his light illuminating his entire Imperium!"
"Your superstitions are irritating. My Lord allow me to silence this organic permanently." Haratek spoke.
"Not yet, Haratek. Listen Jacqueline, you and everyone on this planet are only alive thanks to me. The Governor has turned away from the Emperor's Light and has tampered with the ruinous powers, summoning Daemons, using you in the ritual to open a portal to the Immaterium. You must remember."
Jacqueline went silent, sadness passing over her face, I noticed she winced; it must have been a traumatic experience.
"You are right; Governor Mathias has abandoned the Emperor in exchange for pursuing his less-than-pure desires. But where are you going with this?!?"
"Most of the nobility of this planet, if not all the nobility died during the attack, as the portal opened in the palace, the nobles and their first children had their souls taken by Daemons. This left a vacuum, with unprepared second and third sons assuming positions of power; a civil war is guaranteed if no one takes control soon."
"And that person would be you?"
"Exactly!" I snapped my fingers and pointed both index fingers at Jacqueline.
"I will not allow this! I will stop you!" Jacqueline exclaimed, pointing a finger in my face.
Haratek was literally boiling with rage, his Necrodermis was turning red.
"How exactly? You are in the depths of my tomb, miles below the ocean and the ground, surrounded by thousands of soldiers and automatic war machines, the security system hasn't killed you yet because I am here talking to you. And even if by some miracle you escape, the population of the planet is already on my side."
"What did you do?"
I put an arm around Jacqueline's shoulder and pulled her close to me, forcing her to walk beside me.
"I just told a little lie. As you may know, Hidrus Quintus is a planet of no strategic value, forgotten by the Imperium, and due to that, it never suffered a serious Xeno attack, and consequently the presence of Space Marines was never necessary, thus making nobody know what a Space Marine looks like."
We arrived at a metallic platform, as soon as we all stepped on it, the platform started to rise. As we went up, I had a vision of the gigantic city that was hidden inside the tomb; I saw great constructions in the form of pyramids, temples, obelisks and monoliths, swarms of scarabs flying in all directions. Spiders repairing damage and an occasional Wraith walking through walls.
"But people have heard stories for generations, stories of the Emperor's Angels descending from heaven with their mighty war machines and saving worlds from their invading Xenos. All I had to say was that I was one, everyone on the planet believes that we are Space Marines, tall and powerful beings covered in armor from head to toe. If you try to tell the truth, I won't have to do anything, you'll be nothing but a madwoman screaming in the streets."
The platform stopped and we got out, walked down a long corridor.
"Your plan won't work, when news spreads of a 'Space Marine' ruling a planet, the Imperium will want an answer and when everyone sees that you are a Xeno, the full force of the Imperium will fall on you!"
"Oh! I know that! That's why I need someone ruling in my place, someone who is loyal to me and who I can control but who doesn't raise too many suspicions. You know, we Necron have nobility too, but currently it's divided into three factions here in the tomb, one of which doesn't care about you humans as long as you don't get in the way, another is neutral, and the final faction wants to wipe you out of existence. "
Jacqueline tensed after hearing this.
"I can't put someone from the moderate or neutral faction in power, because they don't know how to interact with humans, their sense of superiority and ego would get in the way. It is necessary for a human to rule in my name."
We stopped in front of a large metal door, the door opened as we approached; we entered a large room with a large rectangular construction standing on the other side.
"And who would that human be?"
"I hope it's you."
Jacqueline tried to get out of my grip, but she didn't have the strength to move me, so I released her and she pulled away from me.
"I refuse, I will not be a part of your plans, and I will not become a traitorous heretic!"
"Not even if I make you the governor of this planet?"
"Wait what?"
"You still don't understand? I don't intend to enslave you humans, I don't intend to ban Emperor Worship, I don't intend to be worshiped as a god or to radically change the way of life on this planet. There will be a governor and that governor will rule in my name. And I want it to be you."
"I refuse." Jacqueline said hesitantly, I could see she's tempted by the proposal.
"Think about it. Governor Jacqueline, a position no Psyker will ever get, one chance in a million, all I ask is that you be loyal to me. Don't you want to improve the lives of the population of Hidrus Quintus? The previous Governor and Nobles cared little for the population; you should know what they charged for rebuilding houses after the months of storm. But you understand the suffering of the people, don't you?"
"Y-yes!"
"So what is there to think about? Just accept it and live your best life helping everyone in the process! With Necron technology and expertise, we can raise the quality of life and efficiency of Hidrus Quintus to Macragge levels or beyond! Think! No more abusive taxes! No more nobles exploiting the people! No more using technology that has a high chance of killing you!"
"But what guarantees that you won't betray us?"
"We Necrons are honorable beings; all I can give you is my word and the results that will come if you accept my proposal. However, I'm warning you, I'm the only one stopping the radicals from wiping out all life on the planet, and you're my first choice for governor, but you're not my only choice. If you refuse, I might end up choosing someone with far less scruples."
Jacqueline was silent, looking at the ground, several expressions crossed her face, anger, doubt, sadness, shame, and then Jacqueline made the symbol of the Aquila and prayed again.
"Emperor, forgive me for collaborating with your enemies, I will accept whatever punishment your deity has in store for my soul in the afterlife."
Finishing her prayers, Jacqueline took a deep breath and bowed in front of me "I accept your generous proposal, Lord…"
"Akatosahk Ulthagakh."
"Lord Ulthagakh. What is your first order to this humble servant?" Jacqueline asked, looking at the floor and her voice low.
I let out an irritated sigh, looking at Haratek; I saw that his anger had subsided.
"First of all, stand up; if you intend to be a governor you need to act proud, you are below me but above every human on this planet so act like it."
Jacqueline got up and straightened her posture, but it still didn't reach the point of a noble, we have a lot of work to do.
"As a first order, you will have to speak to the people of Hidrus Quintos, calm them down and tell them everything will be fine, that sort of thing."
"I see, I will do as you wish."
I groaned in frustration.
"But first of all, we need to get you ready; you can't give a speech looking like a hospital patient. Bring on the Wraith!"
"What?!?"
Suddenly a Wraith burst through the floor and used its tail to lift Jacqueline up.
"What is happening?!?" Jacqueline screamed.
"Don't worry! The Wraith will only help you to tidy up! Now bring out the scarabs!"
A group of scarabs entered the room, bringing a bathtub filled with water, soaps and hair products, clothes and a large curtain.
The scarabs put the tub on the floor and the curtain in front, blocking the view of what was happening at the back. I saw the robe Jacqueline was wearing flying out of the curtain and the sound of something hitting the water.
SPLASH!
What came next was a series of screams and protests as the Wraith used its many legs to wash her.
"My Lord, are you sure about this? Put an organic to govern in your name." Haratek asked, approaching me.
"Yes, Haratek, I have. It is better that a human governs this planet, it will make its inhabitants feel more comfortable."
"Hang on!" Jacqueline screamed.
The scarabs removed the curtain and we saw Jacqueline wrapped in a towel and seated in a metal chair, the Wraith standing in front of her and revealing its whips.
"Better not move too much, the Wraith might cut your head off by accident!"
"Wraith?!?"
With blinding speed and precision, the Wraith swung its whips around Jacqueline's head.
"AAAHHH!"
Jacqueline screamed for a long time, but stopped when she realized that there was no pain, the Wraith stopped and nothing happened for a few seconds, until locks of Jacqueline's hair fell to the ground, being perfectly cut by the Wraith.
Then the scarabs pulled the curtain back in front of Jacqueline, the towel she was wearing went flying, and a group of scarabs carrying a set of clothes came in behind the curtain.
"But what if she finds a way to send a message to the Imperium?" Haratek asked.
"The best kind of loyalty is true loyalty, but until then, I need reassurance that she won't betray us, and I already know what to do."
The curtain has been removed, now Jacqueline is wearing the black and red dress of a noblewoman killed during the attack, but she doesn't need to know that. Now for the finishing touch, the scarabs combed her hair, put diamond earrings in her ears and a necklace of pearls around her neck, a little perfume and makeup and voila, Jacqueline looked like a true noblewoman.
The Wraith and the scarabs withdrew with the objects they had brought, and a disoriented Jacqueline staggered towards us.
"OUCH! What are you made of?" Jacqueline asked after colliding with my body.
"Necrodermis."
"Necro what?"
"We don't have time for this; it's time for you to speak to the people!" I grabbed Jacqueline by the shoulders and pushed her towards the rectangular construction on the other side of the room, a green portal appeared inside the building, an Eternity Gate.
"Wait! Wasn't I supposed to practice my first speech?!?" Jacqueline exclaimed.
"We don't have time for that, as Governor you will have to learn to improvise, that will be your first lesson. Now I just need a guarantee that you won't do anything stupid!" A Mindshackle scarab crawled out of my body, down my arm, and leapt into Jacqueline's ear.
"What was that?!?" Jacqueline grabbed her ear.
"A Mindshackle scarab, right now it's lodged in your brain, it monitors your brainwaves, if you try to send a psychic message or reveal to everyone that I'm a Xeno, the scarab will blow your head off before you can do anything. Did you understand?"
Jacqueline gulped, "Y-yes!"
"Perfect! So let's go!"
We both entered the Eternity Gate, accompanied by Haratek. When we left, we were behind a big red curtain, the sound of people screaming could be heard, and Jacqueline and I stopped at the edge of the curtain.
"The people are excited and waiting. Calm them down, tell them everything is fine, and tell them how the Space Marines from the Phantom Knights chapter saved them. Did you understand?"
"Yes."
"One more thing. Do you have stage fright?"
"A little."
"Well, this will be a good time to lose that fear." I pushed Jacqueline forward.
"What?"
Jacqueline stumbled forward, the cheers of the people grew louder, regaining her balance, and Jacqueline became aware of her surroundings.
A large improvised stage was set up in the center of the city, warriors and immortals lined up in front of the stage to prevent the people from approaching, scarabs floated in front of Jacqueline, ready to transmit the speech to the entire planet.
Trying to calm down, Jacqueline approached the podium mounted on the stage, with hesitant steps; she climbed onto the podium and touched the microphone.
"Is this on?" Jacqueline spoke.
Her voice echoed through the area followed by an irritating high-pitched hum, the people flinched at the noise, but it served to calm them down.
"Hello everyone." Jacqueline nodded nervously.
However, the people just stared at her in confusion.
Taking a deep breath, Jacqueline began her speech.
"People of Hydrus Quintus, I believe you are confused and scared by recent events, I know many of you lost friends and family during the Xeno attack, I admit, we were caught unprepared, our defenses were not able to warn us of the attack in advance , and during the chaos, our beloved Governor was killed along with the nobility...".
With each word that Jacqueline said, the expressions of the people changed, sadness and concern appeared on their faces replacing the joy of before.
"...But thanks to the efforts of the Space Marines, the Xeno invaders have been eliminated and stability is returning to our planet, their machines are assisting in repairing damage, and I recently discussed with the Chapter Master about choosing a new governor to our planet, so fear not, for the Emperor's Angels are at our side..."
This agitated the crowd, the cries of joy and celebration grew louder, Jacqueline tried to calm the crowd, but the cheers overcame her amplified voice. I think it's time to make my grand entrance.
"Haratek, it's time!" I said while holding the Cryptek by the shoulder.
"My Lord, wait!" Haratek protested, but I took him with me to the front of the stage.
As soon as we stepped out from behind the curtain, walked towards the podium and stopped beside Jacqueline, it stirred the crowd even more, a mixture of thanks and prayers echoed through the city.
"Greetings! I know you are grateful for our presence, but please calm down!" Nevertheless, my voice was not heard.
Haratek, tired of the noise, or the lack of respect from the people, pointed his Rod of Night at the sky and fired a thunderous ray, frightening and astonishing the people.
"Silence!" Haratek shouted.
With the crowd silent, I was able to continue talking.
"As I said before, greetings to the people of Hidrus Quintus! For those who don't know me, I'm Akatosius Uthacello, the Chapter Master of the Phantom Knights! The one beside me is called Haratekius, my Techmarine and the one who used the ancient weapon of the Adeptus Mechanicus forgotten on this planet to stop the Xeno invasion! A round of applause for him!"
And the crowd did just that, shouting Haratek's name as loud as they could, I can't tell if Haratek was angry or embarrassed. Calming the people again, I continued my speech.
"As you have seen, my men fought for the city, rescuing the people and eliminating the filthy Xenos who decided to defile this planet protected and loved by the Emperor, while the Xenos were eliminated by our powerful, sacred and superior war machines, my honor guard and I confronted the leader of the Xenos at the Governor's Palace, unfortunately we arrived too late to save the lives of Mathias and the nobility, may their souls be with the Emperor, a moment of silence for their souls."
With a sad look, the people closed their eyes and bowed their heads, murmuring prayers.
"I understand your pain, loved ones have been lost, but we cannot give up, we are human, children of the Emperor, we must move forward no matter what happens, at the moment our machines and men are helping to repair the damage and find survivors, do not worry, we will not leave the planet until everything has been resolved, but until then I have a request for you."
The people looked at me curiously after hearing this.
"Even with our help, we cannot remain here forever, as Angels of the Emperor, our duty never ends, we must continue our fight against the enemies of the Emperors, simultaneously, and Hidrus Quintus cannot be without a leader. Therefore, after discussions with the Wider Imperium, Miss Jacqueline Boucher has been chosen as the new governor of Hidrus Quintus."
"And as Governor, I promise to do my duty honorably and honestly, never abusing the power bestowed upon me by the Emperor! Now we need to stick together, focus our efforts on restoring our wonderful planet! So people of Hydrus Quintus, I ask you! Will you allow me to rule you?!? Will you allow me to guide you to the prosperity desired by our Emperor?!? Will you allow me to bring a golden age to our planet?!? Because I cannot do this alone, the people are the soul of our planet and only if that soul shines will we reach a bright future!"
Incredible! She learned fast!
This drove the crowd wild, shouting Jacqueline's name, they clapped and hurled praise after praise, and I just smiled and waved. The plan I didn't plan is going according to plan.
A green screen appeared in front of Haratek's face, reading its contents; Haratek spoke to me in a worried voice.
"My lord?"
"Yes, Haratek?"
"We have a problem in the tomb."
SON OF A...
TIMESKIP
Tomb
You know, I should have guessed that having so many nobles in the same place would cause problems, not for me exactly, but if I don't do anything, the situation will only get worse.
What do I mean by that? Well, each of these nobles decided to bring back their grudges and disagreements from things that happened millions of years ago.
For example, noble A demands compensation from noble B due to a Warrior from noble B having intruded an inch into his territory during a patrol. However, noble B argues that the Warrior, having no conscience, was not to blame for invading noble A's territory, it was just an accident, a slip.
Normally there would be no problem, noble A would think better of it and remove the demand for compensation, unfortunately, the families of noble A and B have been enemies for generations, and even the slightest problem and technicality is reason to stab each other and gain some kind of advantage.
Now let's say this is not a hypothetical scenario. Well, you'd be right, because that's what's happening right now.
"I demand compensation!" Noble A shouted.
"I'm saying it was an accident!" Noble B shouted back.
Honestly, I'm treating this as training for my problem of not being able to do multiple things at once, while trying to solve these problems; I'm controlling a swarm of scarabs flying around the tomb and groups of warriors marching through the tomb's corridors.
Gradually I'm managing to increase the number of units controlled simultaneously, it's still strange to observe the world from different points of view.
I wonder if I can control any more units, let's try some spiders. Slowly, I felt the connection I had with all my units and systems in the tomb, it was like thousands of green threads floating in the air, I found the thread that connected me to the spider, I grabbed that thread and when I "opened" my eyes, I saw the world from the spider's point of view.
I think I can still add more, but let's take it easy, I controlled the spider so that it repaired some units damaged by the battle.
"I am not to blame for a mere warrior's mistake! I can order the warrior to be eliminated!" Noble B shouted.
"That's not enough! A brainless warrior cannot pay for his mistakes!" Noble A shouted.
I think it's better to get this over with, slamming my staff to the ground, I silenced the two nobles.
"What kind of compensation do you want?" I asked Noble A.
"Materials, my Overlord, ores of all kinds." Noble A spoke.
"And how much?"
"A few million tons." Noble A spoke.
"This is nonsense! I will not pay that amount!" Noble B shouted.
It turns out that Noble A's family is extremely wealthy, more so than Noble B's, while not in critical condition, it's one of the families with the least wealth in the tomb.
Speaking of families and tombs, imagine the tomb as a kingdom and each noble's territory as a fiefdom, each fiefdom possessing its strengths and riches, its own warriors, immortals, death marks, war machines and Crypteks, politics, culture, traditions, and much more.
There are seventy-five nobles, but that does not mean that there are seventy-five fiefdoms, several nobles are part of the same family, consequently of the same fiefdom.
"If I paid these materials on behalf of the accused, would you be willing to put this small mistake behind?" I asked Noble A.
"If that is what you wish for, then yes." Noble A spoke.
"Then so be it. Haratek?"
"Yes, my lord?" Haratek said from the side of my throne.
"Extract from our mines the required materials."
"Yes, my lord." Haratek spoke, typing into a green holographic screen, ordering the scarabs to begin mining.
"Materials will be delivered soon, now that this issue has been resolved, you can go."
"Yes my Overlord, thank you." Noble A said bowing and walking away.
"Thanks! Thank you very much! My Overlord! Having to pay that amount would ruin my family, I promise I will make it up to you somehow!" Noble B spoke before withdrawing.
"I am counting on it." I spoke to the noble.
I think I got a noble from the neutral faction to my side.
I put a hand to my face, this wasn't the first problem I had to solve, I spent the day settling nobles' fights that lasted for generations.
"My lord? Is there a problem?"
"No Haratek, I'm just tired."
"If that is the problem, my lord. I have news that might improve your mood." Haratek said with happiness in his voice.
"Like what?"
"My lord! I would like to present to you your Lychguard and Royal Wardens fully repaired and working at peak performance!" As soon as Haratek finished speaking, the throne room doors opened and a series of Necrons entered.
Twenty Lychguards, divided into two lines of ten, marching in perfect unison, their metallic footsteps echoing through the room, leading a line of Lychguards equipped with swords and shields, was Rahkikh, and leading a line of Lychguards carrying scythes, was Thaszan.
The two lines stopped in front of my throne, they turned to face each other, accompanying this line, came a hundred Royal Wardens, extremely advanced Immortals, with bronze colored bodies, covered in hieroglyphs from head to toe, with a silver cape wrapped around their waist, led by one who wore a golden cape, each of them was armed with a Relic Gauss Blaster, the strongest type of Gauss Blaster.
The Royal Wardens knelt in front of the throne.
A minute of silence passed until the Lychguards and Royal Wardens placed their hands on their chests above their hearts and screamed.
"All hail Overlord Akatosahk Ulthagakh!"
This... This is wonderful! I got up from my throne.
"What a beautiful greeting, I'm happy to see you all working perfectly! My warriors, millennia have passed since our sleep, now we awaken in a galaxy full of enemies wishing to destroy us. Answer me; can I count on you to eliminate our enemies?"
"We will eliminate all enemies who dare stand in your way Overlord Akatosahk Ulthagakh!" Everyone responded in harmony.
Perfect!
Unfortunately, our proud moment was interrupted by a series of screams.
"Oooohhhh! Harateeeeeek!" A female voice echoed through the hallway of the throne room.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't my old friend, Haratek!" A male voice called out.
"Uncle Haratek!" A childlike robotic voice shouted as well.
Then two Crypteks and an Aprentek entered the throne room.
The female voice Cryptek had a peculiar appearance, the upper body was that of a female Necron, slimmer and shorter than a male Necron, with two large metallic tentacles protruding from her back, and holding a large staff taller than her body, but the lower part of her body was similar to a large robotic centipede.
The other Cryptek, on the other hand, had a similar physical size to Haratek, but had four arms and had a series of green cylinders coming out of his back; he held a large spear with a blade at the end and wore a long cloak with a hood.
"You two..." Haratek said with disdain in his voice.
But his mood changed as soon as he saw the third individual who entered the room, it was a Necron shorter than Haratek, with a bulky torso and hunched posture, an elongated chin and a single eye in the center of his face, just like Haratek, that Necron carried a staff longer than his body with two blades of energy at the end.
"Imanitek!" Haratek yelled as he ran towards the smaller Necron.
"Uncle Haratek!" The smaller Necron screamed in a childlike voice as it rushed towards Haratek.
The two embraced at the bottom of the stairs to my throne.
"Hey, where's my hug?!?" The centipede-bodied Cryptek screamed.
"Shut up, Tholikan let them enjoy the moment!" The four-armed Necron screamed.
So her name is Tholikan.
"But I want a hug, Koratitan!" Tholikan shouted back.
Koratitan, that's the name of the four-armed Cryptek.
"Quite a meeting, I see a lot of new faces around here." I said as I descended the stairs of my throne, still controlling my units through the tomb.
Haratek and Imanitek broke the embrace, clearing his throat, Haratek pushed Imanitek towards me.
"My Lord, I would like to introduce you to Imanitek, my nephew and apprentice." Haratek said proudly.
Imanitek took a few nervous steps forward, tripping over his own staff.
"It is an honor to meet you, my Overlord!" Imanitek bowed.
"Nice to meet you Imanitek." I patted the little Necron on the head.
I noticed that everyone in the throne room looked at me in surprise.
"What?" I asked.
Everyone looked away, strange, looking at Imanitek, I noticed that he was silent.
Imanitek walked to Haratek's side and whispered "Uncle, do you think I made a good first impression?"
Unfortunately, everyone could hear.
"Yes, Imanitek, My Lord looks pleased." Haratek whispered back as he placed a hand on Imanitek's shoulder.
"You spoil the boy too much!" Koratitan exclaimed.
"I wouldn't mind being spoiled by you, Haratek~~~~" Tholikan said in a flirtatious tone, but I couldn't tell if she was joking or not.
Haratek growled irritably.
"Changing the subject, I am happy to see you all functioning perfectly; Lychguards, Royal Wardens and Crypteks, after our great sleep, seeing such familiar faces fill me with joy." Yeah, talk as if you know the strangers in front of you.
"Oh! My Overlord, your words fill my heart with joy!" Tholikan bowed in an exaggerated arc.
"I share my companion's joy, but in a moderate way, because your presence demands respect." Koratitan spoke as he crossed his four arms, hiding them in the sleeves of his robe and leaning forward.
"Now that the introductions have been made, I have a job for you my Crypteks, first of all, I want you to bring me the other weapons in my arsenal, according to Haratek, they have been damaged due to time and lack of maintenance, I want you to you fix them right away. Second, I want a list of modifications for my body."
The last order left everyone silent, the Crypteks, Lychguards and Royal Wardens shifted uncomfortably.
"My Lord, are you sure about this? Modify the work of art that is your body?' Haratek said hesitantly.
"Haratek, I am a person that when I see something better than what I have, I want to replace it immediately. The galaxy is full of dangers and I need to get stronger, physical training will improve my abilities, but I am limited by the strength and speed of this body, I will be able to get stronger and faster, but only because I am using this body to the limit, and there is a limit to where weapons can take me."
"I... I understand my lord... If that's what you wish, I have a list of modifications compatible with your body." Haratek replied.
A green screen appeared in front of me and I read its content, the name of the modifications, followed by an image and description, impressive. The Adeptus Mechanicus would be proud of what I intend to do.
"Get the modifications and my weapons ready! I want them ready soon!"
"Yes, my lord!" The Crypteks and Aprentek responded simultaneously.
Then without another word, they walked out of the throne room, leaving me alone with the Lychguards and Royal Wardens.
I approached the Royal Guardian who wore the golden cape around his waist.
"Are you the captain of the Guard?"
"Yes my lord, I am Qemet." The Captain replied, still on his knees.
"Take your Royal Wardens and accompany me, I will speak with some dangerous individuals and I want you to protect me."
"Yes, my lord!" Qemet replied.
"Rahkikh, Thaszan! You and the other Lychguards will come too!"
"Yes, my lord!" Both responded.
"Then follow me!"
I walked out of the throne room, the Lychguards forming two lines beside me and the Royal Wardens marching in front and behind the line with Qemet leading them. They were the first line of defense if anyone got too close to me.
I just hope none of them does anything impulsive with the Necrons that we will talk to.
XXXXXX
Tomb
Palace of the Flayed Ones
We arrived at the territory of the tomb that I gave to the flayed ones, and they wasted no time in redecorating the place, the natural green light of the tomb was replaced by a red light, chandeliers made of bones hung from the ceiling, stretched skin served as a curtain for windows and furniture material.
We passed through a large metal double door and entered a large dining room. A long table full of chairs was in the center of the room, sitting in each chair was a Flayed One and on a large throne on the other side of the table was the Flayer King. .
"Oh! What an unexpected visit! To what do I owe the presence of our beloved Overlord? If I had known you were coming, I would have sent someone to clean the place." The Flayer King spoke.
"That's not necessary; I won't be here for long." I replied.
"A shame. Where are my manners? Please sit!"
With a snap of his fingers, two flayed ones crawled across the floor and pulled out a chair for me at the end of the table. I sat down in the chair and the flayed ones walked away, their hunched forms hiding in the shadows of the dining room.
"So how can I help you?" the Flayer King asked.
"First could you tell me your name? I didn't ask you the first time we met."
"It is true; I am Thep, the honored and proud leader of the noble house of Sylphoz. Or at least it used to be, I was banished to the depths of the tomb after my little problem became apparent."
"Nice to meet you, Thep. I'll be brief; I have a job for you and your flayed ones."
"I'm listening." Thep asked curiously, as he twirled a goblet in his hand, he tried to drink the contents, only for it to drizzle out of his mouth, whether it was wine or blood I couldn't tell.
"I want you and your flayed ones to spy on some nobles for me; I believe the nobles are already prepared in case I use scarabs, spiders or Wraiths. But they would never expect me to use flayed ones."
"That's true, it's a good plan, my flayeds are fast, agile and stealthy, but there's only one problem. What do I get out of it? Spying is more than you asked of me in my cell." Thep asked.
"I intend to leave the planet and awaken the other tombs in this system, we will find some enemies that I have no problem delivering to you, a planet in this system is full of orks, if you do as I ask, I will let you and your flayed ones run loose on this planet for a while. What do you say?"
"Hm…Okay, I'll take it!" Thep replied.
"I'm glad for that Thep; I honestly thought you'd ask for the impossible."
"Normally I would, but you have treated us better than any other noble would. The small house you gave us here in the tomb is an example of that."
"I'll be honest, I see you and your flayeds as a resource." I said as I got up and headed towards the dining room door.
"Being treated like a resource is far better than being treated like a monster, my dear Overlord. A toast to our little alliance!" Thep raised his goblet in my direction and the dining room doors closed behind me.
The last thing I saw was Thep pouring the contents of the goblet into his face.
"My Lord, are you sure we should trust these disgusting creatures?" Qemet asked.
"Yes Qemet, this is my choice and you are not in the place to question it."
"Forgive me for my boldness, my lord." Qemet bowed with his head and put his hand on his heart, and marched again in silence.
Now I just need to go to one more place.
XXXXXX
Tomb
Temple of the Destroyer Cult
The destroyers also modified their territory in the tomb, they turned a complex of pyramids into a series of arenas, forges and armories, and I saw destroyers fighting each other in pits.
Others sharpened their weapons in an advanced laser device, while others modified their weapons to further increase their destructive power. Walking along an elevated walkway that had a view of all the arenas, I entered a large room at the end.
The room was like a dojo, large statues of Necrons were built across the room, pillars with hieroglyphs were in the corners, stands with various weapons on them were attached to the walls and floating in the center of the room, I found Lord Lokhust fighting the Lord Skorpekh.
The two exchanged swift, deadly blows, their weapons a blur of green and silver slicing through the air, each blow unleashing a powerful shock wave as they collided with each other.
One moment Lord Lokhust raised his war scythe and brought it down towards Lord Skorpekh, with a mighty leap of his three legs, Lord Skorpekh dodged the blow.
Nevertheless, the war scythe's blow was so strong that it cracked the floor and shook the dojo, leaving a large hole in the center of the room.
"Impressive!" I said as I clapped my hands and approached.
"Well, your presence is unexpected. What do you want?" Lord Lokhust spoke.
I realized that my Lychguards and Royal Wardens were about to act, but I stopped them with a raised hand.
"How about you introduce yourself first? It is discourteous to demand something of someone while remaining unknown."
"Clandestor. And what do you want?" Clandestor asked as he crossed his arms.
"I want you to train me."
"What?!?" Clandestor asked in surprise.
"I want you to train me."
"And why is that? "
"I realized my weakness in the fight against Malya, the Greater Demon, if it weren't for you I would probably have died, I don't wish to repeat that, I want to get stronger and you destroyers are some of the most powerful in the tomb, your weapons, tactics and discipline were made to exterminate all enemies in front of you. I want to learn from you. I want to know what the limits of this body are; I want to be able to fight alone against the strongest enemies this galaxy has to offer."
"Fine."
"Hang on! That's simple?"
"Yes. You recognize your weakness and want to change it. As a warrior, I respect your choice. Now draw your weapon!"
"We will start now?"
"Yes, but you will not fight me, you will fight them." With a snap of fingers, a host of Ophydian and Skorpekh Destroyers entered the dojo.
"Don't you think we're going too fast?"
"The sooner you learn the better."
"You know, I've also been thinking about using modifications to get stronger."
"Do that and I won't train you."
"Why? You destroyers change your bodies all the time!"
"We do this because we want to see every living thing in this goddamn galaxy dead. You want to do this as a shortcut to getting stronger, make the modifications after you finish your training and you will reach an even higher level."
"You are right."
I walked to the center of the dojo with a sword in each hand.
"You will not stop the fight, no matter what! Did you understand?!?" I shouted to the Necrons who accompanied me.
"Yes, my lord!" They responded in a chorus.
"Begin!" Clandestor shouted and the destroyers charged.
I spun a sword in each hand and ran towards my enemies.
END OF CHAPTER