40 Thousand Reasons

Chapter 64: Bad news

I slept like a baby afterwards, since the mental energy I consumed was quite exhausting. For a mere mortal anyway.

But when I woke up, I saw Captain Raxiatel sip a little from my caf, possibly checking for poisons or other assassination methods.

Though job, but he wouldn't die of old age anyway. Plus poisons might not even give him a tummy ache.

Canis mewled something long that should mean 'Good morning, lazy bones' so I petted him for his loyalty.

"Caaaf" I uttered in my best morning zombie voice, afraid the miraculous cure will be drained by my guardian angel.

But the hateful Blood Angel just waved the steaming cup a bit, forcing me to leave the comfort of my fluffy Captain bed and crawl towards the lure.

"You should not become dependent on this cheap neurotoxin, Lord Lancefire. If there are battles to be fought soon, we will need your brains at full capacity." he announced me in a serene voice and gulped the precious liquid in a single slurp.

I crashed on the carpet in defeat, while Canis wailed in despair beside me.

The Blood Angel was right of course. I already felt the sanguinary transformation affecting my brain, and the Juggler scanned me every night to provide medical updates. At least I didn't have to waste time in a medical pod, so it was convenient.

But he didn't have to torment me with the enticing smell...

Sighing deeply I stumbled in my shower for a quick refresh, letting the water cool gently until it became icy. As effective as caf, if somewhat less pleasant.

Another flip and warm air bathed my body and left me dry and clean and most importantly awake.

"What is the largest enemy around here?" I asked the Astartes as I began dressing up for work. That meant a thermal sleeve suit, and then my looted power armor.

"What do you mean, my Lord? Hive fleet Kraken or something like that?" he asked to be sure.

I shook my head and powered up the cogitator, loading the Ultima Segmentum map. Then I traced an arc, centered on our location and reaching half-way to Terra, into the depths of the segmentum.

"A worthy target for a deep Exterminatus strike. I tend to lean towards a Hell Forge, like Samech or perhaps Sarum. What do you say, Captain?" I asked him turning towards him.

I could see his eyes measure the arc with concentration, no doubt going through a list of hated enemies and valuable targets.

"Well...The Dark Forge of Sarum would be an excellent target if possible. Last time the Imperium tried, we lost all our ships and troops. And then, there is the corrupted Forge of Junkatta, already providing the Enemy with a squadron of battleships and a myriad of Daemon Engines. I'm not sure why the strike range is so limited though. The Canticle can surely travel anywhere in the galaxy." he mused thoughtfully.

I nodded and added Junkatta to my target list. Three Cyclonic torpedoes set aside for this task, and one remaining for another day. Three Vortex torpedoes as well, but I would only take two, in case the Barge really needed extra firepower.

For Octarius, the capital of a huge Ork Empire, I reserved an Atmospheric Incendiary torpedo, which should cleanse all biomass of the xenos race before it became too strong to defeat.

Another one for Mandragora, to eliminate that huge Tyranid tendril before it departed for a more tasty world, possibly one of mine.

Wentian would have a short window afterwards, to mine precious blackstone for ourselves. Blackstone or as my buddies in the Mechanicus called it, Noctilith was abundant on Necron worlds, but sadly those worlds were also usually abundant in Necrons, which made mining slightly more difficult. Mining on Mandragora would be hard, but only due to melted rocks, not enemy fire or claws.

I would have to consider where to deploy the Vortex torpedoes for best effect. Eldar Craftworlds would suffer greatly, or perhaps the Tau. Give them a bit of Chaos to upgrade their technology a bit faster.

One for each then. I could be generous to both of them.

I decided on Craftword Alaitoc, because these xenos were the most annoying, often becoming corsairs and outcasts and raiding human worlds. Let them be raided by a few pink demons, for a change.

And, so I did, teleporting down into the depths of the Pharos, and accidentally abducting a handful of torpedoes from the Heart of Sotha. Let's say my mind slipped.

First I brought all the torpedoes down, before taking a break to clear my mind. "Dear Rose. So I heard that Dark Forge Sarum has been bad and needs to be punished. Permission to exterminate?" I sent to my beloved Inquisitor.

"Pef? Did you steal some Exterminatus grade munitions from someone?" my Inquisitor demanded sternly.

I declined to answer, because that would be admission of a capital crime. "Let's say I found them. But my Rosetta works well enough to activate the ignition protocols. So, was that a yes?" I asked to make sure, although the humming warhead already vanished from the Pharos. It was dangerous to keep such a weapon inside close doors.

"Fine! But you better have an ironclad alibi, you hear me?" she yelled in my mind.

"I swear, nobody saw me leave the ship. Except Canis, so I guess it doesn't count." I explained patiently and hugged my faithful wolf, more for support since my knees were kinda weak.

A minute passed in silence, before my Rose finished casting her tarot.

"You want the good news or the bad?" she asked me in a tired voice.

"The bad...I guess" I murmured as I triggered the teleport to return to the ship with my last reserves of energy. Long range teleports of big objects were hard, who knew? Thus, I never heard the bad news.

Someone found me and called the Juggler, and soon I was deposited in the medical bay with a dozen cables and conduits inserted in painful places.

I woke up the next day perhaps, to find Decima holding my hand in worry. "What are you doing, husband of mine? Even the Magos is confused how drained you were."

"Can't answer that, beloved. Sealed by my Rose, I'm afraid." I whispered in a dry voice. My wife inserted a straw between my teeth and fed me some refreshing juice, still without caffeine.

"Whatever you did, has our Lord Navigator in fits of panic, and the Chaplain of the Scythes shouting about punching you again." Decima continued after I felt a bit more hydrated.

Canis lifted his huge furry head and nosed me with a pitiful look. Don't worry puppy, I wasn't dying. Most likely.

But I really needed to know the bad news now.

"Lord Holburn, come visit me when you have time." I spoke gently on the vox bead.

In a violet flash, the Navigator appeared in the corner of the room, causing a few medical devices to sputter and spark blue flames.

"Pef Lancefire, you are a crazy madman. Well-intentioned I assume, but utterly insane." he complained while his Aquila relic began glowing strongly, both eyes of the eagle turning a piercing blue shade.

I patted Decima's hand gently. "Perhaps you should wait outside love. Canis can keep me safe, as can those two Veterans beside the door." I advised her politely.

My wife snorted and huffed, then walked away like a storm.

"So what happened, Navigator?" I asked while sitting myself higher on the pillows.

"The Immaterium has shifted brutally, Captain. We are stranded here, for however long it takes for the currents to settle. Also, a large Empyrean was released back into the Warp, a powerful being called Saraam, or perhaps Sarum. The tides of the future are turned upside down, for those of us that can sense it." the Navigator told me in a glacial voice.

I turned on the implants to meditate of his words. The first thing was likely the beacon shift, which had been turned on the opposite side, from south of Sotha to the north. Bad news, but I expected this. The other part though.

Perhaps a Great Demon was bound into the depths of the Dark Forge? If the corrupted planet detonated from my torpedo, the demon would most likely die and return into the Warp.

If it didn't die...well, I had nothing that could stop a Great Demon. One of those could massacre a Tyranid Hive fleet by himself, like I recall one of them doing during the Devastation_of_Baal.

Anyway, nothing I could do about it.

"I completely deny any allegations of such actions, Navigator. First of all, I'm a Blank. Nothing to do with Warp or demons or Immaterium currents, even if I wanted to. Not sure why you blame me for all this?" I asked in fake innocence.

The Navigator glanced at Canis and huffed in annoyance. "Why are you in bed then?" he demanded in a lower voice, as his relic began to tone down the glow.

"Ask my doctor, which I'm not. Something to do with my body changing and exhausting myself with command. Or perhaps my concubines. Or my brain implant acting up. Possibly all three and more. I personally blame that Angel on Estaban." I answered in outrage. It was all true as well. Just not the whole truth.

Lord Holburn wasn't stupid, but he had no way to prove I was responsible. He snorted and vanished in a purple flash, because psykers.

The bodyguards shrugged and checked their bolters on reflex. Psykers had that effect on people, I suspect.

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