It had been a long and grueling campaign against Chaos, and despite our overwhelming victory our loses were quite bad.Almost a third of our total ground forces had been lost, and over half of our machines as well, half of them to enemy damage, the rest destroyed by our own troops after they succumbed to Chaos corruption.
And while the air force had proven extremely effective in providing close air support or deep tactical strikes, the losses had been even higher due to the inherent fragility of air-borne machines. They will need shields, or else we simply threw away expensive Forge time.
I had a lot of work to next, even as the Black Lament traveled back home towards the Machine Forge.
At my side, Primarch Ferrus Manus worked at his own cogitator station, trying to fix my imbalanced project of creating a new multi-laser type weapon, but instead of splitting the beam of a regular lascannon, I've tried splitting a Vulcan Lance beam.
"You were too eager, Lord Lancefire! The concept is good, but your application..." the genius Primarch said in a humble voice.
I sighed in pain. "You realize we still don't understand the real science behind the Vulcan Lance. We are like children, matching bits of technology in new shapes, hoping something might work."
"But you will find a way, right?" the angel-in-armor asked in a hopeful voice.
I will. Once Trazyn gives me a new template. But this thing was rather classified. People had been burned alive for far less.
Instead, I saved my project on a new dataslate, and opened the new shield model that I recovered in this Crusade, so called Ionic Flare Fields, a combination of Ion Shields and Flare Shields that surrounded a machine in a powerful yet less energy-draining defense field. These ancient devices were also locked behind a barrier of knowledge, but could provide humanity with light-weight shield emitters that could be portable on light machines like Sentinels and aircraft.
"Take a look at the new IF shield when you can, smart Angel. I think even your regular Dreadnoughts will be able to power these light shields" I said and sent the new, damaged, STC template to my new work buddy.
The Angel tilted down his helmet at me for a moment, then checked his cogitator. "Yes, very interesting device, this shield. I will make an effort while you sleep." Of course, the spirit Primarch had no bodily needs, so he could keep fighting or working non-stop. Made for a perfect lab assistant, in my humble view.
I just waved a hand in goodbye, and tesseracted away to my own bedroom, where the resident Fringe Inquisitor, Lady Amberly Vail was already waiting for me in bed, and mostly naked, except some lingerie made of thin silk.
"My dear, you look absolutely appetizing!" I admitted with hungry eyes.
"... And?" she asked in a coy voice.
"May I have the pleasure of your company, this night?" I asked politely as I slipped in bed beside her.
Her lips crushed mine in hunger. Well then, hunger had to be sated, right?
An hour later, the fun ended and my regular fucking duty commenced, as fertile women began to arrive in my bed, to get impregnated and help save humanity with our next Blank children.Only a dozen per night yet, but I would get stronger, I knew that.
Once the Emperor had implanted my brain with some new special gland called Immortis, similar to the ones implanted in Primarchs, I have also recalled what my third build option was, the Ancestral Awakening. Thus, much like the Emperor and Sister Stern, I would keep getting stronger and stronger over time, in body, mind and soul. The Primarchs and the Space Marines also had this trait in their normal 40k method, as this other beings like Paternova Navigators or the Eldar Phoenix Lords.
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Glancing at Canis, who slept blissfully at the side of my bed, I mused inward at his future. The Emperor would have made sure I would have an immortal companion at my side, and one that would grow in strength as well. His Ancestral Ancestor would have to be Fenris himself, the wolf-god of the Space Wolves. There were rumors of a giant wolf-shaped creature that hunted Daemons in the depths of the Maelstrom. Good hunting in your dreams, my loyal puppy.
With a tired body, I laid in bed and waited for blissful sleep. Darkness.
"Good morning, Lord Lancefire!"a loud Blood Angel Sergeant boomed in my ear, way too soon.
The tesseract view englobed near space, showing me the Blackstone Fortress and all the surrounding ships. A distant Eldar cruiser shadowed us, thinking themselves hidden by holoshields.My left index tapped on invisible cosmic strings, providing me with another Eldar cruiser and instead bringing out a thermos filled with black tea. A nice morning indeed.
Ludvaius rose his remaining eyebrow, and scanned the bedroom for any intruder. "Woof Woo!" Canis protested, as if anything could by-pass his alert senses.
"Anything new?" I asked in between sips of hot tea.
"Astropaths report we have left the Astronomican range, with latest news before loss of contact of another Tyranid Hive striking in Segmentum Pacificus. Adepta Tertius and Primarch Khan were en route to stop it." my old friend said in a milder voice.
Big news then. The Emperor wouldn't send two big hitters unless there was a large danger. Khan himself could demolish a planet by himself. As for Janice...she was heavy backup for Khan. In case the crazy swordsman found something too big to slice away with the Dao.
"I see. Any...special news?" I asked in a low voice.
"Nine hundreds Auxilia were found infected with various Chaos-source agents and given Mercy." he added in a sharper tone.
Amberly was working hard in her day job. The Inquisition had a hard job too.As expected. Fighting Chaos still created victims long after the firefight was over. The faster everyone was a Blank the better.
"Your own Chapter is phasing out First Born marines. I expect you will soon receive permanent reassignment as my bodyguard." I said in a level voice and threw a knowing glance at Ludvaius. Couldn't say Sanguinius wasn't a realist. Once the cloned marines were available, bigger, faster and stronger than the old marines, even the Blood Angel himself was quick to discard the old version for the improved ones. The remaining old-stock Blood Angels were given escort missions to various important dignitaries like Rogue Traders or Admirals, or Governors and Generals, while the Cawl clones filled the ranks with better Primaris Space Marines.
"Still better, than being thrown in a last battle to wash away the shame of our weakness." Ludvaius muttered in a sad voice.
"Or being dissected for spare parts. Mars would be glad to have Marine-grade servitors." I answered with a snort. It was still possible, if too many discarded marines began to go traitor.
Ludvaius grit his teeth in silence. We have both seen far worse things in this hellish universe.
"The new Glory-class battlecarriers are supposedly nice." he said in a confident voice at the new Primarch flagships.
"Hah. Five new ships will not fix the galaxy." I laughed out, thinking of the magnificent creations praised all over the galaxy as the best creation of the Emperor of Man. Sure, they were twice as large as a Glorianna, and even had their own sub-fleet of fighters, bombers and escort corvettes, but for their cost the Imperium could have made 500 Nova-armed cruisers and punched a far greater enemy in the face. Much like I just did with 496 cruisers of my own.
"Breakfast!" I demanded instead, and moved us both to the nearest mess hall.
Brother-Captain Semnai arrived at a fast walk to sit beside me at the table.
"Chapter Master, what about me and Chyron?" he asked in a worried voice, while nodding towards Ludvaius.
"What about you?" I asked rhetorically.
"Orders have come through, from Segmentum Command. All Astartes First Born are to be dispatched as bodyguards..." Semnai grunted in a hopeless voice. He seemed rather upset too.
"You realize how many children I have? As well as some Inquisitors? Just pick one" I mumbled in between bites, while Ludvaius just shook his head. Other chapters will be hit much harder, but the Lamenters had too many options.
Semnai stop to think for a minute, as I drank the last of my tea. "You are rather cunning, my Lord. I will pick Inquisitor Ramaeus!" he said in a happy voice. Duh, he picked the only Inquisitor I was actually married to.
"Go and study the new Inquisition protocols then! It's been a century since you were part of Deathwatch." I pointed out in a lighter tone, as I stood up and transported myself beside the dead Angel.
His armor just gestured at the hololith screen.
Powering my savant implants, I absorbed the data on the screen. The genius of the dead Primarch was undeniable. While I slept, he actually solved the Ionic Flare shield. Not the final, robust version, but a working one nonetheless.
"Tomorrow we reach Machine Forge, Primarch. Want to meet my C'tan friend? I keep him locked in my basement." I asked in a soft voice.
A giant wing patted my head in a paternal gesture. "You have the strangest life in the galaxy, Lord Lancefire." he spoke with his modulated vox box.
Coming from a dead spirit inhabiting a suit of golden armor, it sounded ever stranger.