| Aboard the Bucephelus |
A sudden presence had been detected moments ago, and after checking the surveillance, they saw the Emperor walking through one of the many halls of the flagship.
They found it a bit odd that the Emperor hadn't teleported directly to them. Furthermore, he seemed to be wandering around, turning at random points, almost as if he were lost.
However, they simply assumed the Emperor wanted to personally take in the new changes to the Bucephelus, or perhaps give them a little more time to sort out their logistics. There was absolutely no way the Emperor was lost aboard his own flagship.
The Naval Officers and Custodians continued their work until, suddenly, they felt the presence of the Emperor, as if he were watching them all. Alarmed, the Custodians sent multiple squads directly to the Emperor, while other squads were sent to inspect every inch of the ship for anything inconspicuous.
To them, the Emperor must have found something wrong with the ship, and that was why he had cast his gaze over the entirety of the flagship. That was a plausible explanation for the Emperor's previous random movements around the vessel.
As the Custodians finally reached the Emperor, they could only think in relief, 'There you are, my Liege.'
___
'Ah, there you are,' I thought in relief, seeing my Custodians rush toward me. I hadn't expected to actually get lost for a moment on my own flagship. Magnus had completely thrown me off with his question, and I had simply wanted to leave.
Moments ago, when I sent Magnus away, I teleported myself to a heavily populated area I sensed aboard the Bucephelus. But I ended up in my Custodians' quarters, not the command hub as I had intended.
I believed I could easily find my way to the command hub. However, my flagship was simply gargantuan. Anyone could easily get lost in here; there were so many paths leading to different areas.
After turning at several corners, I quickly gave up and decided to scan the entirety of the ship and commit its layout to memory. I could now sense the slight panic I had caused my Custodians, but I decided to pretend it had never happened.
Instead, I continued walking through the halls and taking in the exquisite architecture of my flagship. The interior was breathtaking, with its ornate gold paneling and murals depicting the history of humanity.
If I was not mistaken, the interior felt heavily inspired by Saint Peter's Basilica, which I found ironic considering the original Emperor wanted all churches gone. Yet the interior of his flagship seemed to have been modeled after one of the greatest churches in human history.
As I continued my walk through the halls, I occasionally came across statues honoring Imperial heroes of the Unification Wars. These heroes were a mix of scientists, soldiers, Astartes, and Custodians.
Some areas were empty, as if awaiting decoration to honor future heroes of the Imperium. I also noticed that there wasn't a single statue or area dedicated to honoring the Thunder Warriors.
After all, most of their records were erased, and all that was known about them now was that they died heroically during the Battle of Mount Ararat.
Their true fate was not honorable at all, and I made a mental note to order a section of my flagship and the Imperial Palace to be dedicated to them. It was never my personal decision to cull them like that, but I'll bear that sin and see what I can do to make it right.
Starting with properly honoring them and acknowledging their deaths as my own mistake. I know that, down the line, this will cause many complications, but I will deal with them when the time comes.
For now, I must focus on the Great Crusade and leading the 1st Expeditionary Fleet in conquering the Sol System.
Turning away from the empty area, I looked toward the direction of the footsteps I heard. My Custodians were rushing toward me, still alarmed from feeling my gaze earlier.
When they reached me, I gave them a reassuring look and said, "Take me to the command center."
"Yes, my Liege," they replied, then turned and headed the way they had come. I followed them through the many halls, then we reached the lift. We went up many decks and eventually reached the command deck. Walking a bit farther, we finally entered the command hub.
Once inside the command hub, all the Naval Officers paused and greeted me by performing the sign of the Aquila—a gesture of placing both hands flat on the chest, interlocking the thumbs, and spreading the fingers to mimic the two-headed Imperial Eagle.
At the same time they made the sign of the Aquila, they said solemnly, "Ave Imperator." Meanwhile, the Custodians present bowed their heads in absolute loyalty.
I nodded toward them and asked, "Is everything ready?"
The commanding officer took the lead and replied, "Yes, my Lord. All logistics are complete. Every ship can move at your signal."
"Good," I replied, then activated the command hub and connected to every sub-fleet's high command. In an instant, the holograms of every Legion Master and Imperial Navy Admiral appeared.
They all stood at attention, awaiting my orders in the command hub. I pulled up a hologram of every ship belonging to the Legions and the Imperial Army.
I then said aloud, "The 1st, 7th, 11th, and 15th Legions will not be participating in this Expeditionary Fleet; they have their own assignments. The 5th and 19th Legions will be moving independently in companies, serving as scouts on each planet."
The hologram grayed out the 1st, 5th, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th Legions, then the planets in the Sol System were shown. I highlighted Saturn and continued.
"The 2nd, 17th, and 18th Legions will move to take Saturn. From what I can sense, and from early scouting by my Custodians, there is a miniature human empire established there. They will be brought into compliance through diplomacy. Do not force them or fire upon them; this goes for everyone. If other human empires are found, as long as they have not already violated the Imperium's bottom line and show that they will continue to do so, start with diplomacy."
Unknown to everyone, the early scouting had not been done by my Custodians. Instead, it was my ruse. This bit of information I gave came from one of the many times I consulted with Big E.
Information from Big E can only be used as a reference, due to my existence and actions creating ripples in the fate of this timeline.
Refocusing on the hologram, I changed the display from Saturn to Neptune and continued, "The 3rd, 4th, 8th, and 9th Legions will take this planet and its moons. From what was reported, the populace are feral human mutants; they may be dealt with however you choose."
The hologram moved and zoomed in on an entire sector of the Sol System. This sector included the planets Uranus, Pluto, and the dwarf planets Eris and Makemake.
I highlighted this sector as being of high importance and said, "The 6th, 10th, 12th, 13th, and 14th Legions will work together with the Mechanicum to conquer this entire sector and ensure that the technologies detected here are reclaimed."
Next, the hologram displayed Mercury, and I continued, "The 16th Legion will secure this world." Following that, the scene on the hologram switched to Venus, and I said, "I will personally assault this world, and once I finish, I will converge on Jupiter."
Jupiter was highlighted on the hologram, and I continued, "The Alpha Legion, along with a company from every Legion, will be led by Alpharius in purging Jupiter's moons of all xenos and liberating the enslaved humans. This will be his first campaign as the future Warmaster, the supreme commander of all Imperial military forces in my absence."
The command center was already silent as everyone took in what I was telling them, but now that silence became oddly loud. I could feel their shock at the last thing I had just mentioned; they had never imagined that such a position would be created, let alone so soon.
I could feel admiration, resentment, and doubt from the people present in the meeting. Some of them felt honored that they would be able to participate in or witness a Primarch leading such a force. I felt the lament of the Legion Masters that it wasn't their own Primarch who would receive such a title and honor. The doubt mainly came from my Custodians and from a few Admirals and Generals.
I interrupted the growing silent fervor in the room, saying, "You have your initial orders. Move out and complete them. Before I converge on Jupiter, I will make my rounds to personally check on your progress. I expect to see results, and depending on those results, you may earn your name and have your achievements honored in the Imperial Palace for all to see."
After I said that, the Legion Masters made a formal bow and then disappeared from the hologram immediately, with urgency. All of the Legions were jealous of the Alpha Legion; their Primarch had returned first and even given them a name.
Meanwhile, all the other Legions were still referred to by number, but now the Emperor was saying he would give them a name. Such an honor was something they must claim before anyone else. So, all the Legions made their way to perform their respective duties.
As for the Imperial Army, they moved out with the Legions they had long ago been assigned to. They also felt the same urgency as the Space Marines. Although all regiments of the Imperial Army already had names, hearing that their achievements could be displayed in the Imperial Palace was an honor they had never believed they would ever have.
Very quickly, everyone disconnected from the command hub, and I was left with just the people present in the command center.
Turning toward the Naval Officers, I said to them, "Set a course for Venus, and upon arrival, ready the Bucephalus to launch orbital bombardment at my command."
The commanding Naval Officer, the Flag Officer, replied, "Right away, my Liege."
With that, I walked up to the second level of the command center and took my seat in the command chair that overlooked everything in the command center.
I sat there observing a smaller, secondary command hub meant only for me to view from the chair. On it, I observed the movements of each battleship while also reading the report from Legion Master Hector of the 1st Legion.
The report stated that they had successfully infiltrated Mars and were currently enacting the first stage of the Paradigm Shift. The fabricated history about Vashtorr was being put in place, and they also noted that they had discovered budding elements of rebellion among the Mechanicum.
Not all of them truly believed I was their Omnissiah, and some others hated the limitations I had placed upon their research into Abominable Intelligence. They were asking what to do with them, whether they should be purged or used as scapegoats in the later stages.
Indeed, they can be used as scapegoats, I carefully mused. They can be projected as servants of Vashtorr who wish to plant signs of tech-heresy, forcing their Omnissiah to take action against them. Leaving them with only the choice of joining them to live or accepting death.
Holding back a laugh at the absurdity of what I was thinking, I gave Legion Master Hector his orders to do exactly what I had thought of. Throwing the blame for exactly what I was ordering to be done onto them would help clean my hands of this matter and lower anyone's suspicion of me.
With that matter settled, I waited in silence as my ship traveled through space toward Venus. A while later, we finally reached Venus, and the Naval Officers activated the auger array—standard long-range sensor suites that scan using radar, lidar, infrared, ultraviolet, and sonar. It can pinpoint energy signatures, detect atmospheric compositions, and even track the power grids or weapon emplacements of orbital and planetary installations.
The information gained from the auger array was displayed on the command hub. It reported that the world below was barren in many areas, but some areas had a high concentration of energy signatures.
There were fortresses scattered around the world that the auger array's scan couldn't get a read on. Its scans were being blocked by an advanced shielding array, and judging by the movement of the organic, half-organic, and inorganic psychic lifeforms detected outside the fortresses, it seemed these beings were alerted to the scan and were now making preparations against us.
The results of the scan matched the initial reports from the Custodians who had scouted in advance, and it seemed that, just as I had suspected, this world contained archeotech from the Dark Age of Technology.
With my guess confirmed, I gave my first order: "Establish communications with one of the fortresses. I will give them one chance at surrender."
Following my command, the Flag Officer activated the advanced orbital vox and laser system—a much more powerful and advanced communication system specifically built for the Bucephalus due to its huge size, which prevents it from entering orbit like other battle-barges.
The signal from the advanced orbital vox and laser system was left partially unencrypted, allowing the lifeforms down below to intercept and connect to it.
A few moments later, the connection was established, and on the hologram the appearance of a being materialized. Judging by the body structure, this being was female, and she wore ornate black armor that gleamed with warp-like energy. Wrapped around the armor was a heavy, tattered cloak and chains holding skulls. On her head was an ornately designed helmet shaped like a crescent moon.
"Who are you?" the armored woman asked haughtily. "And what brings you here, male?"
Looking straight into her eyes, I replied, "I hail from Terra, and I am the Emperor of the Imperium. I've come leading my forces in a Great Crusade to reunite the scattered worlds of our kin under one banner. We seek not to enslave, but to reform and elevate humanity back to the once glorious species it was. I wish to open negotiations with you about your world's possibility of joining the Imperium."
The armored woman made a noise hinting that she was sneering and said, "The War Witches of Venus never bow to any, let alone a male who poses as an Emperor. Our craft has already shown us that the elite of your forces, your Astartes, are utterly inferior to our Litho-Gholems.
"I will offer you this instead: surrender your technology and so-called Imperium, to be assimilated into our empire, and we will consider granting you all rights above slaves. Should you choose otherwise, we will forcefully take your ship and enslave your Imperium. As for you, for your utter arrogance, you will be made into a Litho-Gholem and suffer for eternity under my hand."
"Are you sure?" I asked calmly. "Is this the choice you wish to make? Does this choice of yours speak for the rest of the War Witches?"
She proceeded to laugh as if she had heard the most absurd thing ever, then slowly composed herself and replied, "Fool, speaking as if you stand a chance, I will ensure the rest of your existence is miserable. I look forward to the screams of you and your people."
With that, the hologram cut out due to her ending the communication from her side, and then an alarm blared in the command center.
I didn't need to read what it was, because I sensed an attempt to teleport onto my flagship. It wasn't through the warp, nor through your typical Teleportarium—massive generators that lock onto a placed beacon, dematerialize a subject, project them, and rematerialize them at the destination of a beacon.
This teleport attempt felt much more advanced. It signaled to me that this was archeotech from the Dark Age of Technology. Using my psychic power, I forcibly interrupted and denied its attempt to lock onto my flagship.
On my side, I observed the blank stares on the Naval Officers. These blank stares were not from shock at what I had done. Rather, they came from silent, controlled fury—fury at the War Witches' words and their laughable attempt to board the Bucephalus.
Outside the view of the command hub, by the entrance to the command center, a grinding sound of metal against metal could be heard. The source of the sound came from the friction of the Custodians' grips against their Guardian Spears. I could sense their fury on my behalf, wishing nothing more than to descend and put an end to the War Witches.
In that instant, I gave my next order: "I will begin a teleport assault. The Hetaeron Guard will join me in this assault to properly gauge what makes these War Witches so confident. Await further orders once I assess what I need to."
In the blink of an eye, I locked onto the fortress containing the War Witch who had spoken earlier. I forcibly created a breach in their shielding and teleported myself along with my Hetaeron Guard—the elite inner circle of the Adeptus Custodes, consisting of 300 Custodians who serve not only as my bodyguards, but also as my confidants, counselors, and companions.
We were now inside a massive chamber I had specifically chosen to teleport to, because in the brief moment I conducted a warp scan of the fortress, I sensed the suffering of humans within this area.
Looking around, I saw hundreds of dead bodies piled in corners and humans strapped to tables being altered into something not human. Then I turned my gaze to the two beings in similar but less ornate attire than the War Witch I had spoken to.
Before they could react, I immobilized them with my psychic energy and forcibly read their minds to learn the secret of this place. From their minds, I learned that the War Witches made their Litho-Gholems from a fusion of stone nearly as hard as adamantium and sentient organic parts to hold it together underneath. Once the body is assembled, the soul of a human is stripped from its body and becomes bound to the Litho-Gholem and to its respective master.
A cruel process that was similar to a mix of a servitor and a daemon engine being made. Even worse, the soul—or rather, the souls—were aware and couldn't scream even if they wanted to.
Looking deeper into their minds, I discovered more about their history, and I now saw what gave that War Witch the illusion of being able to defeat me and enslave the Imperium.
Long ago, Venus had once been a battlefield during the Age of Strife, Old Night, the catastrophic era in which the revolt of the Men of Iron and the birth of the Chaos God Slaanesh occurred.
The predecessors of the War Witches, a group of female psykers who had been cast out from their settlement and were hiding underground, found fragmented remains belonging to a Man of Stone—an artificial, advanced biosynthetic subspecies of humans created during the Dark Age of Technology, designed for deep-space colonization and capable of incredible engineering and artifice.
Over time, through countless experiments with their warp sorceries, they managed to reanimate the Man of Stone into a crude prototype Litho-Gholem. With this reanimated Man of Stone, they were able to learn bits about how it was made and how to make disintegrator cannons and many other dangerous technologies.
With this knowledge, they created a factory to mass-produce these Litho-Gholems. Due to the lack of the right materials, they couldn't completely replicate the knowledge they had learned. However, with their warp sorceries and their current resources, they could still make lesser models of what they had learned that were still very deadly.
In time, new Litho-Gholems were designed with very intricate parts that gave them maneuverability thought impossible, deadly disintegrator weapons, and warp blades that could cut through nearly everything.
Underneath these parts was the flesh of humans made sentient, allowing the Litho-Gholems to reconnect with ease and become combat-capable once again in mere minutes. Finally, to complete their Litho-Gholems, they took the souls of humans, bound them to their will, and grafted them to the body. These souls gave the Litho-Gholems sentience, allowing them to act in groups and follow orders; they had the ability to think, study, and counter their foes.
With this powerful army that could be mass-produced, constructs that feared nothing and felt nothing, the female psykers launched a war against all settlements on Venus and were unmatched. After they took over all the settlements on Venus, they established a matriarchy and named themselves the War Witches.
All this information checked out with what I learned from Big E, so I immediately transferred it into the minds of my Hetaeron Guard. They now knew what we were up against.
It was estimated that there were up to 1,500 Litho-Gholems in this fortress alone. Each one was equivalent to a Contemptor Dreadnought, but much more deadly due to its inorganic nature and enhanced maneuverability.
It's no wonder that, in the original timeline, so many of the 4th Legion and its mortal auxiliaries died in the campaign to take this planet, despite being led by the Emperor himself. Then again, he never used his Custodians in the fight.
However, with only 300 Custodians, I will claim this fortress and lead the remaining Custodians on the Bucephelus to conquer the fortresses without a single casualty. I turned to face my Custodians directly and said to them with a hint of cold humor, "Prepare yourselves for rapid teleportation. We will strike them from multiple points in quick assaults. Not a single one of you is allowed to die today."
To that, my Custodians gave me a resounding reply: "BY YOUR WILL!!!" followed by the sound of crackling energy coming from their master-crafted weapons.
-To Be Continued...
(A/N: Lmk if there are any major lore inconsistencies, I had to make up a lot here and I'm not that familiar with the structures of battlebarges and their technologies.
A few days ago I finally got around to making edits in all the past chapters and I uploaded this fanfic onto Wattpad and Royalroad like one of my readers suggested. A bit later I'll upload onto spacebattles also. So basically, if you dislike reading on Webnovel you can read on those other platforms now.)