Although the Blade of infinity was a small ship, around 300 meters, the technology contained inside was worth half a galaxy if not more.
Basically every single system and device on board that ship was real archeotech, but even more importantly the crew inside had the knowledge to operate everything at peak efficiency. Just the amount of knowledge was enough to make any tech-priest faint in joy, not that they would like what the databases actually contained. Real science was also anathema for the cog worshipers, with their 'plasma is the blood of the Machine God' belief system.
Since our course had to skirt the Solar Segmentum, I decided to pass by Krieg and return their troops, and thus have the chance to incorporate their ancient vitae-womb technology for my own purposes, and also upgrade theirs with cloneskeins and better weapons, especially the Demiurg Auto-las rifles and Las-beam Cannons.
Forge Graia was also very close, so they got their promised loot in the form of an intact Tomb Ship and a bunch of non-cataclysmic Necron devices, especially those related to Null fields and matrices, as selected by my pets, the C'tan and the Cryptek.
I think those two hated each other fervently, which was mildly amusing to me.
The C'tan saw the Cryptek as a failed weapon that turned in their hands, while the Necron saw my alien wolf as a monster from the outer space waiting to devour his remaining mental engrams and transform him into a soulless puppet.
I mean, they were both correct, so maybe they were right to hate each other?
The xeno wolf was certainly happy to devour any genestealers we detected, flesh and bone and soul as well. He slowly began to feel a bit stronger and more confident, and began to spit out more etheric detectors, now configured to project a tiny hologram copied after the Blade. Not an AI, but a mere expert system dedicated to detecting alien and corrupted lifeforms, but very useful anyway. It also looked nice, so there!
The Cryptek managed to find a method to bond Blackstone to our adamantium plates, using some sort of molecular and dimensional magic. Not even the Blade AI knew exactly how it was done, but the end result mattered more for me.
The new type of armor material was even more resilient to kinetic and energy weapons, and could serve as front plates for Imperial tanks and Knights despite the large weight. Shaping the new armor into curved plates was not possible, so it could only be used as add-on armor.
While Anzion and a pair of genetors from the Infinity's crew worked to reproduce the Krieg clone manufacturing process, then up-scaling their Vitae_Womb with our own gene-crucibles and a hundred Astartes-type indoctrination chairs for their sergeants and officers. They could churn out 30 regiments every day with the new upgrades, so the Krieg Death Korps was actually happy for my visit.
A month later, we departed from Krieg with a thousand brand-new regiments donated to the Halo Crusade in perpetuity. A Vulkan-gene Astartes Chapter remained on Krieg at my behest, using half Blank recruits and half the new Krieg clones for their numbers, while 5000 tech-marines recruits would be sent to Forge Graia to increase their knowledge and proficiency. Forge Graia itself got the rights to a billion Krieg clones for their own purposes, since fanatical, loyal and unflinching clones could be made into excellent Skitarii troops.
Restocked and high on morale, I decided to pass by Macharia , and found the famous Shrine World in flames. Pure, righteous flames as my daughter Janice was cleaning up house with a golden-painted Blackstone Fortress and hundreds of new ships called a Piety_Class_Cruiser , that also spewed flames with Combustion Arrays beside their Nova Cannons and numerous macro batteries.
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I mean, you're: "Purging the corrupt priesthood and not even inviting me to the party? Not cool, silver hair! I want to have some fun too!" I quipped on the vox, making Janice laugh angelically.
"Father, I hear only good things about you." she added in person as she skipped through a teleport straight on my bridge and rushed to hug Canis first. I had shields, damn it!
'Type 5 etheric signal, maximum level' my detector warned me as the glowing woman flew by me and jumped on Canis.
"Woooo!" my wolf howled in joy at their reunion, and finding himself pinned by a far stronger human than he anticipated. "Canis, you're the best! And still fluffy like I remember." Janice praised the wolf and wrestled him to the floor, then began to scratch him in his favorite places.
'Errr. She seems crazy strong, your girl...will Purity grow up the same?' my other wolf asked with a wary voice.
'Maybe? Not all Lancefires are born equal. She could remain like now, or grow even stronger than Janice.' I answered with a grin.
A rush of small feet announced Purity arrive on the bridge, bypassing the Astartes bodyguards and Thallax suits with remarkable ease.
Then stopped with a hurried skid, but too late as Janice turned and grabbed her sister before she could retreat. "Oh, what it this? I have a real sister now?" the Imperial Consort said with a happy voice, then vanished like a hurricane, still holding Purity in one hand and Canis with the other.
I glanced at Sister Stern, who seemed a bit confused. "Your daughter was not this strong back on Terra. Do you think she can make Purity the same?" she asked with no ulterior reason.
Hmmm. Janice didn't get like this by praying. The Emperor had been elbows-deep inside her, and maybe not only his elbow. "If we send her with Janice on Terra, Purity will get strong too." I offered with a sad voice. It may be too late already, since Janice wouldn't let her prize go. Then again, perhaps it was better if Purity became stronger. This damned galaxy was dangerous enough that I couldn't guarantee my own safety sometimes.
Ephrael Stern glanced at the view-screen and the new Mobilis Sanctis flying macro-cathedral.
"I would prefer if Purity doesn't go through my own experience for greater power. And Janice seems cheerful enough." she allowed after a few minutes.
Sure, getting minced into a bloody human stew by a daemon along with 700 other Sisters didn't seem a nice way to gain power. I couldn't imagine surviving something like that, but then again Stern herself did not. She died and came back, holding 700 souls inside. And not perfectly sane either. Sanity was a bit over-rated anyway. Not even the Federation with their crazy experiments like the Votann and the Men of Iron proved really sane.
Many times, it did feel like trading in the 40k galaxy was like juggling thousands of mental patients and their delusions, from insane xenos to fanatical tech-priests and Sisters not to mention the Death Cult of Krieg.
"The Emperor will grant Purity a great deal of power." I spoke in a final tone.
The Inquisitor wife at my side smiled sweetly, already promising more hot nights in the hope of obtaining a miracle child as well. It was only a number game, and it would eventually happen. May take a few thousand years, or a million.
"Guys, want to help your Sister purge the corrupt priesthood on Macharia?" I asked instead, a bit rhetorically. It was both pleasure and duty, mixed with death. We were the Angels of Death after all. We also had our own grievance with the Church that had murdered so many Blanks in the past 10000 years.
"Father, you always say the perfect lines." Menelau quipped as my Astartes sons cheered. Purging with my Kin. We'll sunder down their doors and kill them all!