Author Notes:
Whoever can spot ALL of the Easter Eggs in this new GSS chapter is GOAT. I won't say how many or what I sprinkled in, but I can only say that it takes the most cultured to notice.
That said, it's 2:00 am and I've been running on recaf alone so I'll be keeping this brief.
Monthly Recruitment Drive is still up to early of the 22th of July.
I will be focusing on crafting an Armory 101 chapter, namely a glossary of characters of sorts (?) for both RM and GSS, pictures may or may not come with them due to differences in posting sites. However, when the completed products are posted, I humbly request your help in ironing out the bugs in the information chapter, see if I miss or misinput something.
Until then, have fun, enjoy your reading. Oh, and Chapter 44 is when the Droidekas start fucking stuff up.
Peace.
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The Great Chamber of the Senatorum Imperialis is a massive dome-like structure of opulent importance. Its sheer scale is enough to accommodate multiple Titans and still provide ample room for numerous attendees in luxurious attendance. The Chamber is one of the two beating hearts of the Imperium of man, and ever since the Emperor's interment on the Golden Throne, it was the prime decision-making body.
Was.
Trajann Valoris, in a feat of Martial Ka'tahs, easily parries the incoming blades of Power Swords before counterattacking. With speed and prejudice, Valoris falls multiple Lords and High Lords in quick succession. Their prized, decorated armor fails to prevent deaths by bisections as they come down onto the marbled-strewn floor in heaps of gore and mess, none of which even manage to leave a stain on Valoris' Castellan Plate. Hoisting his inherited Watcher's Axe back into an upright position, Valoris slams the pommel of the Relic Weapon onto the floor, creating a resounding clang that signifies the end of yet another purge in the heart of Terra. Turning to one of the Companions that accompanied him dutifully, Valoris instructs.
"Good Power Swords are hard to come by, have someone collect them for verification and redistribution."
"Understood, Captain-General."
Valoris nods, letting his fellow Custodes carry on as someone else attracts his attention.
"Knight-Commander Asurma." Valoris greets the eerily silent figure, draped in her minimally decorated Vratine Armor and portcullis-style armored gorget.
Knight-Commander Asurma, the leader of the Sisters of Silence, nods at her peer before communicating through Thoughtmark, hand signals.
"The Sisters are finished on our end."
Valoris nods, scanning the rest of the Great Chamber where enough High Lord bodies could be made ingredients for multiple crates of the infamous corpse starches.
"Then, let's not keep Her waiting."
Both Valoris and Asurma turn their heads, looking at perhaps the biggest corpse in the room. Burning in an enchantingly smokeless and odorless golden flame, the figure that is more building than a man is none other than Oud Oudia Raskian. He's the Fabricator-General of Mars, one of the Twelve High Lords of Terra, and most important of all, he is dead. Oud Oudia Raskian, as powerful as a Titan as he might be, perished with a single glare of psychic might. Like a wicker light aflame, so does the Fabricator-General's cybernetically augmented body. And, according to the Emperor.
He must be the first to go, and he won't be coming back.
To so easily eliminate someone like Raskian permanently, as expected of the Emperor of Man. They all know the threat that Raskian could pose to the Emperor's renewed vision of the Imperium. More deadlier than the Fabricator-General himself is the conservative fanatic sects of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Since the Emperor's return will bring along with Her groundbreaking changes in a great many areas, the stagnating Raskian, Adeptus Mechanicus, and the rest of the Great Chamber at large would do more harm to the Imperium than any of the recent interstellar wars. These corrupted tumors would have stopped at nothing to either cling to their wrongfully gained power or hamstrung whatever progress the Emperor would be making for the betterment of the Imperium. In a period where every microsecond is to be cherished, a slow, diplomatic negotiation with the Great Chamber and the Martian Forge World would be... Less than efficient.
As such, the Adeptus Custodes, the Sisters of Silence, the Officio Assassinorum, and even some of the more inquisitive, yet loyal and liberal parts of the Adeptus Administratum,... All banded together to form one of the biggest hoaxes in the history of Terra: A sham Great Chamber gathering that invited all of the targets marked for immediate execution and replacement. Due to the widespread implication of this event, swiftness and secrecy are paramount. Not one fish must escape the net, not a single syllable must escape to outer space, and the newly vacant positions must be filled post-haste by someone more loyal, and more adept... For the greater Imperium, Terra must be seen as politically stable with no noticeable outrage. This is to make sure the Emperor would have a much easier time sliding back into Her seat of power and that Chaos remains largely unaware that the Emperor is truly back.
Let them be confused, wondering what has happened to Terra, to the Sol System, to me. By the time they get back up from the slaps I gave them, they will soon see that the universe is not how it should be.
Stray thoughts aside, Valoris and Asurma move past the smoldering carcass of Oud Oudia Raskian, ignoring what used to be a revere Fabricator-General that very well could have decided the fate of mankind. A suitable candidate for the man is already in the pipeline, but unlike other job postings, the position of Fabricator-General would be temporarily held by none other than the Emperor Herself... After she similarly enacts another clandestine purge on Mars, of course. When the time arrives, none other than Belisarius Cawl will be taking up the mantle of Fabricator-General of Mars. But for the foreseeable, the Emperor will be the One to pioneer new developments on multiple fronts for mankind. It's joyous, heart-lifting news for not just Valoris and Asurma but everyone who's in the know.
Less of praying to tighten a singular nut and more of actually using the mechanical tools at your disposal.
Past Rakian's hulk is a gigantic veranda that also acted as the landing pad for the transport carrying the former Fabraicator-General's massive body. It's there, gazing at the sky of Terra and the rest of the Imperial Palace, that the Emperor of Man stands lost in thoughts. Stepping close to a respectful distance, Valoris and Asurma place a fist above their hearts in salutation.
"My Emperor, it is done." Valoris reports, knowing that the Emperor already sensed the outcome even before he even spoke.
"Any casualties on our side?" The Emperor asks kindly, Her eyes gaze at the stars in a wistful look.
"For the Custodes, mere cosmetic, Your Majesty." Valoris answers truthfully. "Some of them carried exotic equipment that our armorers would love to take a look at."
The Emperor nods, pleased, before shifting Her body slightly to look at the Knight-Commander. Bowing respectfully at the Emperor, Asurma communicates through Thoughtmark.
"The Sisters of Silence emerged unscathed from the confrontation, my Emperor. They're ready to redeploy at your command."
The Emperor smiles softly at them both, an honor that is unfathomable to either of them.
"Let the Officio Assassinorum perform what they do best, killing the unwanted parts of the Imperium. The Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence have more than fulfilled your required duties. For now, focus on consolidating our gains and ensuring that the power transition remains stable and clad in secrecy. I have erected Psychic barriers across the Sol System to obfuscate the gaze of the Immaterium, but that doesn't mean that everyone will be cooperative. I have since learned that the dark side of humanity strikes when one least expected."
Valoris clasps his axe grimly. "Then, allow us the honor of overseeing this operation, Your Majesty."
"We will ensure that the governing body of Terra is reclaimed under your authority."
"Then go forth with my blessing, son and daughter of the Imperium."
"By your will!" Valoris and Asurma salute before retracing their steps back inside the Great Chamber, but not before leaving behind their most elite warriors to safeguard the Emperor of Man.
A superfluous action, surely, but it's the thought that counts.
Now left mostly alone at Her own device, the Emperor of Man mulls silently.
Next will be the Adeptus Mechanicus, then the Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition. So many things to do, so little time... But it's a necessary sacrifice.
[Ein: Heya~! Belisarius Cawl and I worked on our own version of the Droideka. It turned out pretty darn usable if you asked me. I will send you the blueprint for the new design, so see if you want it modified or not... Do check it out at your leisure!]
[Ein gifted Imperial Droideka Data Package to Emperor of Man.]
The Emperor is broken out of Her mulling by the messages from Ein. She has regularly checked out Ein's live stream in the Chatroom and perfectly understands the capability of the new Imperial Droideka. Built to fit the Imperial Guards' needs first and foremost, the Imperial Droideka design can be very easily taken to a whole new level via the Emperor's touches. However, She doesn't think that there's a need for that after reviewing what Cawl and Ein came up with in their free time. What She might make won't be a guaranteed best option compared to what Cawl and Ein collaborated to design. After all, the Imperial Droideka's existence and effectiveness hinge on its widespread adoption by Imperial Guard Regiments. Making it too expensive and difficult to produce, even if it would be way more effective that way, would go against the notion. Hence, a balance must be struck, and Belisarius Cawl and Ein did that perfectly.
[Emperor of Man: Many thanks for your contributions, Ein. I would have asked you to pass on my regards to the Archmagos Dominus, but then we wouldn't have been able to explain the existence of the System. As for the Imperial Droideka, they're fine as is and I will slate them for mass production when Mars is brought under heel. For too long, stagnation has culled what used to be a place of innovative splendor.]
[Ein: Don't sweat it, Emperor. I'm only doing what I should. And boy, I am honestly curious how you will tear Mars a new one. Will you park the Phalanx above their airspace and demand compliance? Or will you materialize yourself over the Forges of Mars and enact mechanical miracles as the Omnisiah, raising a whole legion of used-to-be-inactive Titans?]
[Emperor of Man: I just killed Oud Oudia Raskian, the Forge-General of Mars.]
[Ein: ... Hold up! Wait a minute! Something ain't right!? Did you straight up skip the introduction phase and go for a decapitating strike immediately!? Worse, such a move is so logically sound that it should have been illegal!? Raskian is or was the head of the fanatics Tech-priests, but with him gone, who is running Mars then!?]
[Emperor of Man: An opportunity arose, so I took it to save time and effort. For the foreseeable future and once Terra is cleansed, I will manage the forges of Mars. Killing Oud Oudia Raskian earlier would save us a lot of effort in trying to curtail any of the conservative fanatics' influence. A headless snake is much more easily disposed of.]
[Ein: Like I said, such a move is logically sound but so illegal at the same time. I don't know my lore, but Raskian could have soloed a Titan and lived to tell the tale, and here you are, making him a non-factor out of the blue. What's the point of my expectation that a Mechanicus civil war would have broken out in an unknown period then?]
[Emperor of Man: I find your lack of faith most disturbing.]
[Ein: You did not just quote Lord Vader on me...]
[Emperor of Man: I found it ironically fitting, given the circumstance, my Divinity, and the fact we literally have an Imperial Droideka army in the work.]
[Ein: I hate how I can't argue with that. Speaking of technological stuff, how far are you with the Spirit of Fire? Anything good?]
[Emperor of Man: The UNSC Spirit of Fire might have been somewhat modern in its home universe, but much like the Battlestar Pegasus that you scoured, it offers little in terms of technological advancement. Its armament is woefully weak, and so does its protection. Its Shaw-Fujikawa FTl drive is literally unusable in this universe and its sensors are largely comparable to those aboard Imperium voidships. However, what fascinated me was how streamlined its onboard production facilities are. I can imagine the potential of retrofitting some Battle Barges with copies of the Spirit of Fire's factories and even its large Huron dropships for the deployment of prefabricated firebases.]
[Ein: Oh, I can see the Astartes Chapters being quite smitten with the possible retrofits to their capital ships. Resupplying themselves has always been a pain, so the capability to gather resources and manufacture wargear while on the move would be a godsend for any Chapter, much less a fleet-based one.]
[Emperor of Man: Yes, but such a retrofit is best handed out carefully.]
[Ein: Ah, the stain of suspicion never fades. I can understand the reservation, so I won't haggle with you on which Chapter should or shouldn't receive such an upgrade to their capability. Too much improvement right now isn't a good idea anyway]
[Emperor of Man: Thank you for your understanding, Ein. I just need some time to ponder over and plan for the ramifications of these new technologies. However, I can at least promise that, when the circumstances require it, I will be playing all of my cards this time.]
[Ein: I will prepare and wait for the arrival of such a time then, but for now... Good night, my Emperor.]
[Emperor of Man: Sleep well, my child.]