I only thought for a second, before deciding on my next bodyguard. My body was quite important to me.

The White Scars Captain Joghaten_Khan had been at my side for a century, and there wasn't any one better with a sword around, except a Primarch. Those guys wouldn't become my bodyguards too easily.

I just hoped he would prove more...durable.

A flick of the tesseract brought the Blademaster at my side. "Brother Joghaten, welcome to my service." I explained with a sour voice, while nodding towards the cooling corpse of my Blood Angel Brother.

The man simply nodded, having seen too many such corpses. "It is our duty, Lord Lancefire. Try to keep on my left side in combat." he urged me as he picked the unlit hilt of the fallen Phase blade. A green blade sprang out, changing length for a second until he locked the desired one.

"You held a Phase blade before?" I asked a bit surprised.

"A brighter one, from a dead Callidus woman. The hilt was much more fragile, and way heavier." he mused to himself, as his right hand sliced the air 40 times in a second.

I just shrugged, as the Callidus Temple would not have a pet C'tan to craft them proper Phase blades. They possibly simply energized broken C'tan teeth with whatever portable batteries they could find. It would be a proper method for the polymorphic assassins.

Focusing my mind on my own blade, I slowly extended the green beam to 2 meters. Then 3. I strained my mind, and began to push the beam even more.

"You would simply slice off the hallways with that, my Lord. Plus, you would be a danger to those around you." Joghaten spoke in a warning tone, while he and Amberly both retreated a safe dozen meters away.

Oh right! I was being silly again. With a sigh, I drew the beam back to 1.1 meters of green, deadly blade. Even better than a green lightsaber, to be honest.

With a glance at my tesseract vision, I picked another corridor and stored the broken body of my brother away. The trade negotiations should end soon.

-------

Victor glanced from Captain Chyron to Shield Captain Kalluin , finding these two were quite a perfect match.

"Stop trying to intimidate the boy, old man! When Pef Lancefire returns, he would only hunt you down and shove my fist up your tight ass." the Dreadnought boomed from his coffin, making Victor cough his amasec down the wrong pipe.

"If I was trying to intimidate the good Governor, I would be aiming a blade at him!" the ex-Custodes answered with a calm voice, making the pretty Culexus lady smile.

Chyron just laughed loudly. "Victor, my boy! It would only take you a second to flick this useless sack of old bones into the Sun. I would also buy you a drink..."

"Please, you two. I am not some mind-wiped Astartes to understand your brotherly teasing. Or whatever this is. Go away and let me talk with the lady." Victor demanded in a tired voice, making the Custodes almost sputter in outrage.

He waited for a second, then transported them both into the same brig cell.

The pretty Culexus looked around for a second, then turned towards him with a smile. "I wonder if your father would act the same way..." she began with a honeyed voice.

"He did act this way, and far worse. I am not even a hundredth as brave as he is. But anyways. Tell me about the tech you have."

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The woman sighed and placed a holographic disk on the table, projecting complex genome graphs and spiraling waves mingling like two drunk rainbows. "The gene-splicing would be easy enough. I believe your local Biologis Magi can handle it. The soul inversion is complicated. Doubly so, for your own special Lancefire genes. I expect you have already experienced soul poisoning for your failed cases?"

Victor nodded, already expecting the worst.

"There are some others like you, that exhibit gene compatibility with the Emperor's gene-seed, while being Blank as well. But, they are all sterile." the woman explained in a soft voice, watching his face for any signs.

He could only sigh again. This was about the Sensei.

"My father is not a Sensei. He met the Emperor in person as well. Got new organs and stuff." Victor said in a low voice, and poured himself more booze.

"That's why the Eye is here. Although he's not a Blank, you shouldn't worry about his integrity. No Custodes has ever fallen to Chaos." she answered after small sip of amasec.

"He is defective enough to be kicked out of the Imperial Palace. Bitter and old, possibly resentful. He can stay in the brig until we finish." Victor decided with a small shrug. The Imperium wasn't worth much here, no matter what they believed.

"So, you practice natural impregnation, to avoid the Blank backlash?" she asked in a careless voice.

Victor nodded and gulped more amasec.

"I would like to try it as well. I never felt safe, until now." she muttered into her crystal glass.

"We should finish our bottle first." Victor proposed in a shy voice.

The woman nodded and gulped her drink in one go. "My name is Chi, or at least my symbol." she said softly while pointing at an X sign on her arm.

"Sounds like Ancient Greek. My father has a Psi-Titan called Occidentalis-Sabaktes. It means Destroyer from the West." Victor said in a reminiscing voice.

"Yes, I've heard that. And rumors of 40 new such Titans crafted by the Emperor's own hands. One of them will be sent to our Temple." Chi whispered in a longing voice.

Victor just filled their glasses, and kept silent. It would be hard for a Pariah among the Imperials.

"...Simply waiting in stasis for another mission, another Kill-team if I'm lucky. At least I won't be alone." the woman mused thoughtfully in her glass.

"You could stay here." he offered without knowing.

"Hmmm. Are you buying or selling?" she asked with a sad laugh.

Victor just smiled. His father had just given him unlimited authority. Might as well use it.

"I can do anything, my dear. But, you would have to be willing. My father would fist me with Chyron's fist otherwise." he proclaimed with a grand toast.

"You realize, I would also become a Lancefire? I would have a family name!" Chi wondered out loud.

Victor grabbed the bottle and moved them both to his bedroom. "Keep quiet guys." he demanded in a soft voice, as he tucked the drunk assassin in his bed. The wolves glanced at the dreaded woman and crawled quietly towards the balcony door.

His Blood Angel bodyguard rose his thumb up, for another successful hunt.

Now, how did one kidnap a Culexus Assassin, legally? Victor mused with drunk thoughts.

He would have to ask his father. He had done that too. But Victor would be the first to score a lady Culexus. He returned the thumb to the bodyguard, happy he had finally outscored his father.

Pef Lancefire will be so proud!