I watch as my body absorbs the last drop of the nutrient liquid. When it is done, the pod automatically opens up, and I step outside. I miscalculated a little bit. Instead of looking like a seven-year-old human, I am as tall as an average ten-year-old human.
I am around 115 cm (~3'7 feet), and my body is filled with muscle. I feel strong and durable. Is this what happens when you leave a Primarch in the pod for a long time? I wonder what would happen if Erda does not sabotage the Primarch Project.
Because of the CYOA, I know how to make a Primarch, and based on what I know, the gestation pod is the final stage and requires only 50 months of gestation to achieve the maximum effect.
The only reason I am this big is my powers and perks, which ensure my body reaches its full potential. The nutrient liquid only boosts the process.
I snap from my thoughts when I hear footsteps. I turn around and smile a little when I see Ana walking toward me. I open my arms and smile brightly, inviting her. She does not hesitate and runs toward me, scoops me up, and hugs me tightly.
I return her hugs. I can feel her desperation for touch, and when I hug her, it heals her loneliness. My presence is enough to make her happy, but my touch makes her content, and she knows that I am real.
After a few minutes, she releases me, and I can see a bright smile on her face.
"I am here, Ana. I am here and will stay with you for a long time."
"I know, Captain. I-I just want to make sure you are real and not some sort of glitch."
"I understand, Ana. I understand."
We stay silent for a few seconds before I smirk at her.
"So! How is it? Real enough for you?"
"Yes. You are real, and I am so happy that we can finally explore the stars!"
"Right! Let's go to the bridge! I am excited to look at the bridge."
I made a promise to myself not to enter the ship's bridge because I want to visit it in person, not through an astral projection.
"Ah, Captain! You need to put on some clothes."
I blink and look down. Ah. I do not wear anything, and I can see my little Theo dangling. Ana takes me to the Captain's Cabin and walks toward the fabricator that we created together. She put on a few commands, and a few seconds later, a set of clothes appeared inside the fabricator.
I put it on and feel it is comfortable. I know it is durable and able to block bullets at a quick glance.
"What kind of material is this, Ana?"
"It is called Synth-Silk Mk 7. I know. The name is a bit boring, but it is one of the best materials for military clothes. It is durable and able to absorb energy-based attacks and ballistic bullets. Not too much, but good enough to avoid most assassination attempts. Do you see the pin here?"
She points at the golden pin on my left breast.
"This is a personal hard-light barrier caster. It will activate when something tries to shoot you in the head. This is better than the clothes."
"I see. That is good. I thought I needed to wear a helmet every time I enter a hostile planet."
"Well, you should still wear a helmet if you go to a wartorn planet or hostile territory. This device might be good, but a helmet with proper protection is better."
"Right. Right. Let's go to the bridge!"
We enter the bridge, and I can see all kinds of tech inside the bridge. However, what draws my attention is the massive hologram in the middle of the bridge. I hum a little and say.
"Ana, where are we currently?"
We walk toward the hologram, and Ana waves her hand. A second later, I can see the local solar system. We are truly on the edge of the galaxy. I think we are in the Ghoul Stars region. Wait. If we are in the Ghoul Stars, that means we are near Nostramo.
I close my eyes and enter the warp. I make sure to cover my presence with my Pariah power and hide my presence in the Warp. I search through the warp, searching for bright stars, and see 19 of them sailing through the Warp.
They have yet to come out of the Warp and land on their planets. However, they will leave the warp soon.
I frown a little when I listen closely because I can hear scratching-like voices talking. There are four of them, and I know who they are. The four cancers project their thoughts around my brothers, and their intention is as clear as the warp itself.
They are discussing which of my brothers will be their champion. They are talking as if they were pets they could choose at the pet store.
I will not let them. I will break their plan and rescue my brothers.
When they arrive, I will make sure to rescue them. For now, I need to take over the local solar system and create a world for my brothers to grow. I want them to have a childhood and grow into decent people.
"What should we do now, Captain? Do you want us to take over a proper planet or the one that has already been destroyed and build it from the ground up?"
I snap from my thoughts and look at Ana.
"And why did you say that, Ana?"
"What? We are connected, Captain. I can read your intent, and currently, you want to bring prosperity to the planets in this far-off system."
"And you are right. For now, tell me what kind of planets are in the area, and then we can start from there."
"Of course! The first one is Electo, and this is a planet filled with–"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|3rd POV|
Adam, Revelation, Neoth.
Those are the names he used in his long life. However, lately, the title of Emperor stuck to him after he united Terra from the Techno Barbarian ruling the dead planet. He walks outside of his temporary base and sees the massive construction happening in the distance.
That will be the palace, the foundation of where humanity shall unite under one banner. His Grand Plan shall come to fruition and get humanity into a new age.
The workers do not know what they are building or what lies beneath the palace they are constructing. It is his biggest secret and the secret weapon that shall lead humanity into another golden age.
On the other side of the planet, another construction is happening. This time, it is a tool to let all humanity navigate the Immeterium and reach anywhere they want across the galaxy. When everything is set, he shall set course to search for his tools, generals, and daughters across the galaxy.
"My Lord"
He turns around and sees Constantin, his trusted bodyguard, and Malcador, his Advisor and close friend, walk toward him.
"Give me the timeline report."
He does not beat around the bush and immediately asks for the report. Malcador walks toward and says.
"Everything is going smoothly. We are three months ahead of schedule. With the pacification of Mercury by the 2nd Legion and the calming of the Warp, we can now start the Great Crusade."
He nods his head. However, what attracts his attention is the mention of the 2nd Legion.
"Tell me your assessment of the 2nd Legion, Constantin. You are watching over them in their first crusade, after all."
The stalwart guardian looks at his lord and says.
"They've changed, My Lord. You no longer feel the Blank Gene they carry, but that doesn't mean the gene has disappeared. Instead of disappearing, they can now fully control their blank genes. Something that even the Sister of Silence cannot do. I once watched one of them release a strong wave of Blank Gene that made it easy to kill a Strong Psyker in Mercury from a distance."
That is something that he finds fascinating. He immediately notices the change in the 2nd Legion when they return from their first stop in Mars to receive their first equipment. However, instead of returning with their equipment, they return with nothing but an angry Tech Priest who declares them as Heretek for trying to improve the 'Holy' design of the Machine God.
Mars wants them to be butchered, but he forbids them from doing so. Doing so, the 2nd Legion cannot receive weapons from Mars. At first, he thought that he needed to think of something to equip the 2nd Legion. However, the Praetorate of the 2nd Legion walks toward him and asks him to give them some material to build their own equipment.
At first, he does not believe them, but, to his surprise, within two weeks, the 2nd Legion is able to equip its entire legion. Not only can they produce their own weapons, but they can also produce something stronger.
Their primary weapons are called the Mk 2 Bolter Rifle. It is twice as powerful as regular bolters and can hold twice the ammunition per magazine.
When he asked how they produced their weaponry, he found something that shocked him to the core. They can create a massive Fabricator that uses Energy–Matter Conversion technology. This fabricator can produce everything it scans and stores in its database.
It is a machine that appears only at the peak of the Dark Age of Technology era, one that even the Man of Iron fought to obtain.
When Mars notices this, they demand it, but he prevents them from getting it. Instead, it is an exclusive technology that only the 2nd Legion can carry.
He wants to get Mars under control, and the only reason he makes a treaty with them is because of the technology they have in their database. However, with the 2nd Legion, he can begin breaking the superstition and relying on the so-called Machine God, ushering in another age of innovation.
When he asks the 2nd Legion how they received this technology, they say something that makes him confused. They said their father gave them the technology. At first, he thought that it was one of the Cancers who was giving them this knowledge, but when the Praetorate let him enter his mind and soul, he found something confusing and shocking.
His 2nd Daughter became a Son, and he has already left the Warp.
Sadly, he cannot find him without digging deeper into the warp, and to do that, he requires meditating for a few hours. He will do that later. For now, he needs to complete the Golden Palace project first and start the Great Crusade.
And now, they can control their Blank Gene, something that should not be possible.
"How about their fighting style?"
"They move as one. It is as if they know what each other wants to do and only require a minimum command from the Praetorate or their captains. They prefer long-range, but they are effective in close combat. At the friendly spar between ten Custodes and their Elite Units, they were able to overwhelm the Custodes for a moment. We are still winning, but their coordination and teamwork catch us off guard."
"I see. Anything else?"
This time, it is Malcador who speaks.
"They are also able to use Psychic."
"What?"
He immediately looks at his Old Friend and looks at him intently.
"Explain."
"One of my agents who also followed them to Mercury was able to record their battle. Look at this."
With a wave of his hand, a hologram appears in front of them and shows the battle. They watch as a group of Astartes raise their hands and create a barrier, blocking the artillery bombardment from the Barbarian Tribe on Mercury.
In the next scene, they watch as Astartes heals an injured marine. The wounded marine is on the verge of death, but when this marine touches the injured marine, they watch as the wound heals, and let the injured marine stand up once again.
"This… This should not be possible. Someone cannot become a Null and Psyker at the same time. They are mutually exclusive."
"And yet they have them both. However, that is not what makes me worry."
"What is it?"
"Divine them. Look into their future and past."
He looks at his friend in confusion, since he has already done that before. He is the one choosing those people to be the 2nd Legion, after all. Blank genes are volatile and require specific people to receive the gene-seed.
However, he decides to follow Malcador's words and look into them. He looks into the warp, trying to peer into their future. While normally someone cannot divine a null, he is not a normal person and can overpower their null energy.
However, instead of looking at the static that he needs to navigate, like how he tries to divine a null, he receives nothing but darkness. There is nothing in the tree of fate. He cannot see their future or the past.
The 2nd Legion is no longer written in the book of fate.
"This is…"
"Yes. That is concerning. Should we purge them? Should we purge them before they get too big?"
Malcador looks him right in the eyes when asking those questions. He thinks for a few seconds and shakes his head.
"No. We let them be. However, we need to see their limits. Keep sending them and tell them to conquer more worlds. They might be a dangerous variable, but they are still ours."
"Very well. I shall send them a list of worlds where they can prove their mantle."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heya! If you'd like to support me and read more, you can visit my Ko-Fi and Patreon! There are 2 chapters for you to read. You can also read my Darktide Fanfic in there. There are at least 8 chapters ready for you to read. The first arc is done!
Here are the links:
Kofi: ko-fi.com/fangrove
P@treon: patreon.com/fangrove