As the former hostages were being handed over to relief workers, I carried Khârn's head and corpse up to the command center. Cheering loudly as I walked by, the soldiers were in high spirits seeing the dead corpse of their once mighty foe. Marching straight into the room, I threw his head and body at the Lord General Militant and Warmaster's feet. Staring at their accursed foes remains, the two of them did not utter a word but I could tell they were thoroughly surprised to see me unscathed. Having written me off because of my age and demeanor, I was certain their evaluation of me had significantly shifted after all they witnessed.
"As per our agreement, Khârn the Betrayer's head.", I said, firmly, "I will be taking the Conqueror back with me for major repairs and upgrades."
"What are you on about? It may be an accursed ship, but it is still the property of the Imperium!", the Lord General Militant remarked, looking up from the corpse.
"I am not asking you for permission, your leadership signed the rights to the ship over to me.", I retorted, placing the official document on the table.
Taking a moment to review the document, the Lord General Militant confirmed its legitimacy and agreed that I now owned the vessel. Looking at his superior with a conflicted expression, the Warmaster asked why the Imperium had signed away such a valuable resource. Admitting that he did not know, as he had not heard anything about it, the Lord General Militant told him to just accept it and move on.
"Very well then, at the very least, we should strip the vessel of all its military hardware. We cannot allow someone with no ties to our country to possess a Nova Cannon and other sacred weapons!", the Warmaster insisted, "The priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus can repurpose them on other Imperium vessels."
"If it is physically bolted down to my new vessel, it is my property. Do not get nitpicky with me because you cannot understand your superior's decisions.", I scolded him, "Besides which, the Machine Spirit made it abundantly clear that she wants nothing to do with your country."
"Hold your tongue, outsider! Do not mock – ", the Warmaster began to say, before his superior commanded him to stop speaking.
Looking at me intently, the Lord General Militant informed me that only high-ranking members of the Adeptus Mechanicus could see Machine Spirits. Of those who could see them, intricate ceremonies had to be performed before they gained the temporary ability to see them. Claiming I had seen one without undergoing those ceremonies could result in me being branded a heretic by the Imperium.
"Now I ask, did you see a Machine Spirit aboard the Conqueror?", the Lord General Militant asked me.
"I did, it had the appearance of sickly woman I believe to be the ship's last captain, Captain Lotara Sarrin.", I answered honestly, "She did attempt to attack me at first, but my armor possesses special properties that repel evil entities like wraiths and specters. I gave her the option of serving under me or being cleansed from the ship, she willingly chose the former."
"Hmm…I see.", he said, nodding his head in confirmation, "I will have to notify the higher ups about this development, but that is a matter for another day. As per the terms of our arrangement, that accursed ship is yours."
Ordering the guards outside to carry away Khârn's corpse, he told them to send it back to Terra posthaste. Stepping aside so the two marines could take the body away, I glanced over to Obi-Wan and gave him a nod. Cracking a smile, he inquired if he could join me as I returned to my ship. Agreeing to his request, the two of us headed back to Yamato together.
"I must say, Victor, that was a very impressive display you put on. Creating and controlling a Force Storm is no easy feat, and you managed to do it without falling to the dark side. Any doubts I had about you have been completely erased now.", Obi-Wan stated, with a smirk.
"Thank you.", I said, "I assume you wanted to discuss the matter I brought up last time, correct?"
"Yes, Anakin and Ahsoka are currently returning from the Droid Front with several dozen chips from deceased, newly recruited clone troopers. Based on preliminary findings, it appears that the information you provided to us is indeed correct, which puts us in a precarious position.", Obi-Wan stated, "The two conflicts have our forces spread thin. If we were to confront Palpatine now, it would likely result in our forces being trapped between two enemy forces. That said, we cannot wait for one of the wars to end as the longer we wait the more compromised clones Palpatine will have."
"I assume you want some help with that, correct?", I asked, "Are you certain that your fellow High Council Members will be as trusting of me?"
"If you come to Coruscant and meet them, I believe they will come to the same realization as I have.", Obi-Wan remarked, "I understand that you owe us nothing, but the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order would be in your debt."
"I am willing to assist you, but I have a request. In exchange for my help, I want to craft my own, personal lightsaber. While I could forcibly take a crystal myself, I would rather do things through official channels.", I requested.
Immediately agreeing to my request, Obi-Wan assured me that he could make that happen. Telling me he would be in touch, as we reached my ship, the two of us exchanged a firm handshake before parting ways.
---Several Days Later, Private Laboratory---
As excursions into the greater universe would start becoming a more regular occurrence, I made the decision to build fiancées their own versions of my primary armor. Wanting them to have the best protection possible while accompanying me into potentially dangerous situations, nothing less than my absolute, current best would satisfy me. Having each of the women strip down to their undergarments, Jarvis and I meticulously scanned their bodies to ensure our measurements were as accurate as possible.
"Just out of curiosity, is there any reason you cannot make us adjustable armor like yours?", Deidre inquired, stepping off the scanning base.
"They will be, but I am using new tech for your armored suits. These suits, when not in combat, will take the form of clothing you would typically wear on a day-to-day basis. Scanning your bodies was meant to ensure the clothing they change into fits your bodies properly. Without this data, there is a small chance that the nanobots might cut off part of your body.", I replied, shaking my head violently, "I refuse to let such a travesty happen to any of you."
"We appreciate your forethought.", Clarice giggled, "So, about it taking the form of our clothing. Are we able to mentally picture any clothing we want, and the suits will make it a reality?"
"I was going to set a few hundred presets for you, but I can certainly configure them that way, if you wish.", I admitted, "Is that something you would like?"
Rapidly nodding their heads in acknowledgement, all of them seemed to like the idea of designing their own clothing. Seeing no harm in it, I jotted down what I needed to change to make that happen. Initiating the nanobot construction sequence, the computer gave me a completion time of forty-eight hours. Understanding that it was higher than usual, due to the materials being used, I told the women they could get dressed now.
"Are you sure you do not want to take a chance, and press the envelope with us?", Deidre pressed, as she walked up to me, "Your fiancées are standing right in front of you in their underwear, do you not feel anything?"
"Let me be crystal clear, my beloved Deidre.", I replied, standing up and getting right in her face, "Looking at the seven of you in your current attire, I feel blessed and honored to call you, my fiancées. Everyday each of you remind me how fortunate I am to be engaged to seven of the most beautiful women in all the cosmos. While I would love nothing more than to carry you off to bedroom for a long night of lovemaking, I believe I should make our first time together a memory than none of us shall ever forget. If you are ready to take that next step with me, give me some time to plan something appropriate to make that a reality."
"Hehe, you are damn Lady Killer, Victor!", Lucoa teased me, "I do not think the four of them are going to hold out much longer at this rate. They have already been sneaking a peek at us some nights for the past three months."
Turning bright red with embarrassment, the four of them were ashamed to have been caught red-handed. Having known about it the entire time, as nearly every part of the house was under surveillance, I had been far too busy to set something up for us. As we were now entering a brief respite before the impending storm, now was the best time to make my move.
"If you can give me three days, I promise to have something set up by that evening.", I told the four of them.
"I understand, three days it is then.", she agreed, with a happy smile, "Also, so we are clear, the seven of us feel the same about you. Every new experience and memory we make with you is irreplaceable to us. While Angelica, Clarice, and I were deeply hurt by our ex-fiancées' actions…all of it was worth it just to become your fiancées."
Happy to hear her say that I planted a passionate kiss on her lips. Reciprocating my affection in kind, she attempted to cling to me, but the other three women denied her the opportunity. Sharing a kiss with each of them as well, the seven women got dressed and followed me up to the living room to relax together.