(Bridge, Chaos Brigade dreadnought Vengeful Spirit, Star’s Reach System)
Warmaster Abaddon Horusson, leader of the Chaos Brigade, looked on in approval and no small amount of envy at the sight that greeted him as his Vengeful Spirit passed through the Gateway, and into Star’s Reach. He was the sole master and commander of a small flotilla of purpose-built warships, not mere converted merchantmen designed for piracy and commerce raiding. That put him in the top 1% of Nomads in all of this game, and he knew it. But there was always a new star to strive for.
A Black Star, in this case. For the leader of the Black Stars had, through various circumstances and no small degree of luck, become the single most powerful Nomad in the game. Well, depending on how you viewed such things. There were others who had higher levels, or were more skilled in certain fields, and in a straight fight, one-on-one, the Warmaster had no doubt that he could defeat Mollen, especially when it came to a melee.
But when it came to the size of one’s fleet? The ability to project power as an organization? There were few, even amongst the Locals of the game world, who compared to the Black Star. His fleet, spread across no less than four systems at any time, was easily enough to take down most threats. And, if they gathered, then even the great star nations would have a pause at the thought of fighting them.
Truly, he was impressed with all the Black Star had done in his time within the game world. And, while he did not value such things as highly as military might, he also could not help but be impressed with the funding the Black Star had achieved, quickly spinning up new businesses to take advantage of holes in the market. He had no problem seeing why many in the Nomad community were envious in the extreme when they thought of the Black Star.
“Warmaster! The Blackstone Station is hailing us!”
Abaddon nodded. That was to be expected. He already saw how two of the Black Star Navy’s cruisers were maneuvering to ‘coincidentally’ have targeting solutions on his ship, should this come to blows. “Open communications. Tell them that I would speak with their Master. In private.”
(Private Meeting Room, Blackstone Station, Star’s Reach orbit)
I watched as Abaddon thundered into the room, clad in his ceremonial (but very functional) power armor. According to the discrete scans that were taken when he entered the station, he had gone all in on living up to the source material he was imitating. His body was filled with augments that had increased his size dramatically. His armor was in black, lined with gold, and bearing the sign of the eightfold path as well as the ancient symbol of the sixteenth of the twenty legions. The scans told me that it was, without a doubt top of the line, crafted in an uncanny resemblance to his namesake’s armor.
For weapons, he had a power claw upon his right hand, with a massive twin-barreled gun mounted on the wrist. A sword, large even for his impressive size, was sheathed at his waist. All his weapons were powerful enough to cause untold damage if he chose to go on a rampage through my station.
But I knew he wouldn’t do that. He may have been a roleplayer chasing after his dreams, but he wasn’t an idiot. The Chaos Brigade was strong, as Nomad organizations went, but he would not be the one to start a fight with my Black Star Company, not unless he felt pushed to the point where he had no choice. Even if he could kill me, that would only be a temporary setback for me. We both knew his organization wouldn’t survive the counterattack.
Which wasn’t to say that I had any plans of pushing things to that point. So far, I had worked to avoid coming into conflict with any Nomads or Nomad-run organizations. PvP was wasteful, and just ended up wrecking everyone’s fun, especially once people started getting hurt feelings about things. The few times I had acted against other Nomads, it was usually as a response to something they had done, like trying to claim jump in my system, and I’d used technicalities to shut down that entire threat, hard. I had no problem defending myself, but I wasn’t going to be the one to start troubles.
I nodded to Abaddon, and motioned to a specially reinforced chair sitting across from me, designed to take the weight of someone in power armor. “Ah, Abaddon, I hope you are enjoying the Vengeful Spirit? My workers thought creating a custom skin job like that, to go with the advanced capabilities such a ship normally has, was quite a treat, I assure you. We have a lot of good people here, and they enjoy getting interesting ideas to branch out into.”
The Warmaster chuckled as he sat down, and said, “Yes, the Vengeful Spirit is a fine ship, and has proven herself in battle twice now, though I’d doubt you’d have heard of the battles, since they mainly involved a bit of action against mercenary groups in the border lands between the Ihm and the Free Worlds. With her, along with the Eternity of Pain and the Herald of Fear, we’ve started making a bit of a name for ourselves in certain sectors. And I’ll have you know that the Hellwarp Drive works just as your people said it would.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“That’s good, that’s good. I’ll admit that the possibilities provided by the Hellwarp Drive were fascinating to look over. There ability to bypass tarpits and other traps or hazards in space is no small thing, after all. But the unreliability of the navigation, especially without an astronomicon, and the potential time dilation effects make it a niche technology, rather than something to develop in earnest, as are some other drive systems we’ve been prototyping.”
I paused, and then said, “So, what did you come in for, Abaddon? I somehow doubt it was just to see me. You don’t strike me as the type, and I don’t swing that way, after all. I mean, what brings the Chaos Brigade to my door, all the way over in another arm of the galaxy, while the Ihm have opened up a rift into Chaotic Space? Seems like that would be much more interesting to you and yours.”
Abaddon leaned forward, massive hulk that he was, and said, “That is because I have found what I was looking for.” My eyes went wide, but before I could speak, he nodded, and continued, a smile on his face. “The Ihm did more than rip apart the fabric of the universe, and open a rift into the warp, Mollen. That was the tipping point, to the birth of a new god!”
I couldn’t help but frown at that. “Damn it. I knew that they had ripped a hole in the world, everyone got the notification when that happened. But a new god? Please tell me I’m not going to have to worry about the Imperium being overrun with lizards screaming for blood and gathering skulls for a throne.”
Abaddon laughed, shaking his head. “As much as that would please me, it seems that none of the ones we know about from our world are here. I don’t think we’ll see any of the Four, unless something major happens.”
I couldn’t help but laugh in return. “I guess lawyers scare even the Dark Gods, when it comes down to it.” When Abaddon finished laughing at my quip, I looked over to him, and said, “So, if it wasn’t one of the ones from our world, what did you find?”
“A new god, as I said, proclaiming herself one of Three, now Four. She proclaimed herself to be Baxanke, born of the Ihm and their pride. I did not look upon her myself, but spoke with her in the moment she was born. She said that there were three others, in other parts of the galaxy, that embodied Envy, Gluttony, and Wrath.”
I leaned back in my chair, musing about that. “I see. Four cardinal sins, which have a way of warping someone’s personality if they get too close or dive too deeply into them. But all four are linked to more positive traits, and can have their good points. Yes, I can see how that would be a good way to have it play out. I don’t suppose this Baxanke told you who these other three were, did she?”
Abaddon chuckled, shaking his head. “As if any of the Ruinous Powers, even in another world, would be so giving, and for no return? Perhaps if I had sworn myself to her, I could have gotten the information, but I am not looking for one above all, but Chaos Undivided. As it was, I think I amused her enough with my pride and stubbornness, that she set me a test, instead of trying to force things.”
“That would make sense. Corruptors and manipulators don’t force people to submit. That’s not their style. They may tempt and coerce, but not beat someone down and force the issue. No doubt, this Baxanke wanted you to come to her, in time. Anyone who submits to the goddess of Pride on first meeting probably isn’t the kind of person who would rise high in her favor. So long as you didn’t insult her, I can see a Pride goddess giving you time to work your way back to her.”
“And that brings me to why I’m here. Baxanke didn’t tell me who the others of the Three were, but she did give me several clues as to how to find them. First, she said that all three were established, but had not contacted people in Known Space. Second, they would not speak to me until I called their names. Third, if I wanted to find their names, I would have to seek out the ‘Abyss, unseen and unknown by your races, in the heart of the heart of the stars’. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what that meant.”
Ah, that explained a few things. “So, you came to me, because you figured that, with my resources, I would have some insight into what that means? I’m not an expert on all things related to the universe, you know, and while I have some people who are working on many different fields, Chaotic Space is a very new field of study.”
Abaddon shrugged. “You’re the one who ‘discovered’ the Hellspace Drive. You’re the one who predicted the rifts before they happened, even knowing where they would emerge into real space. You, out of everyone in this world, should have some ideas about where to find these three, or the ‘heart of the heart of the stars’, no?”
I nodded slowly. “Well, obviously consider that even gods lie, or at the very least tell the truth in such a way that it becomes a lie. The gods of chaos and corruption are even more likely to do so. If we’re talking about an abyss at the heart of the heart of the stars, then the first answer that comes to mind would be the super-massive black hole at the center of the galaxy.”
Abaddon frowned. “And, either through the Warp or with ‘normal’ hyperspace drives, the trip would be a long and dangerous one. And if Gateways have been found closer to the galactic core, no one has announced them to the world.” He looked pointedly at me.
I shrugged, and said, “I have ships out, scouting for new worlds to explore, and testing the Gateways we have addresses for, but the process is slow. We may have destroyed the Harvester, but that does not mean that we’ve ended the threat of the X’thari. Their homeworld, such as it is, must be out there still.”
“Still, your chaos goddess has given us the answer to something we had been considering for some time. For there to be three chaos gods active and worshipped out in the galaxy, in places we haven’t contacted, then there must be civilizations out there that we have not yet met. Which means that expeditions into the far corners of the galaxy may end up kicking over an anthill, and presenting new threats to the rest of us.”
Abaddon grinned. “On the other hand, if one of those civilizations worships one of the three, then they will know the name, right?”
I nodded. “Exactly. However, it could be safer going to a supermassive black hole. At least you know how that will kill you.” Leaning back in my chair, I said, “I can increase the number of scout ships, but there’s only so much I can do in that regard. Not from a production standpoint, mind you, but from a personnel standpoint. It takes a special type to crew a scout ship, flying into unknown danger and knowing that help is lifetimes away if you get into trouble. Having that kind of person, with the skills required to pull off the task and return with the data is even rarer.”
I considered for a moment, and then said, “Still, it isn’t like there is nothing I can do for you. Let me look through my reports, and see if we don’t have a Gateway address leading somewhere closer to the Core. That would cut significant time off your journey, one way or another.”
“And the price for this help? I know you won’t be doing this for free.”
“That is simple. I want the data you recover. All of it. Hellspace navigation, reports on civilizations you find, locations of ancient ruins, all of it. And I want you to make your first jump to the core from the Amazon system, not here. If something comes following you back, I would like to have some warning, after all.”
Abaddon chuckled. “For all that? I want more than just the gate address. I want weapons to outfit my ships with.”
“You have the advanced kinetics already. But I will also throw in the Dragonbreath torpedoes, which should be able to fit the launchers you already have, and black box machines to allow you to make more in the field. For obvious reasons, I refuse to sell Starbolts to anyone, until there are already competitors in that field.”
The Warmaster nodded. “Then, I accept.”