40 Thousand Reasons - Chapter 212

For the visit to Solemnace I decided to bring a less threatening force with me, not a whole Crusade fleet. The ships wouldn’t have much value against Trazyn, except as hostages against me.

The Canticle for the Vanquished, my old battlecruiser fit the task perfectly. Escorting us was the New Dawn, Lady Vhane’s cruiser. I wanted my new ally to see for herself the magnitude of Necron force, plus Isha might be able to help the old Rogue Trader Captain, as she was too reaching the limit of rejuvenation treatments.

The main fleet continued ahead towards the Dovar_System, the linchpin of the Gilded Worlds at the border with the T’au Empire. I had big plans for the T’au, mostly involving stealing their delicious technology, and liberating the human worlds at the border.

“If it isn’t my favorite stranger with a puppy. And a special guest as well? I didn’t know the Imperium also used Rubrik marines.” the Necron Overlord spoke in my mind as we arrived at the edge of the Solemnace system.

My eyes flashed to the side, where Ferrus Manus was inhabiting a suit of armor just like Ahriman’s failed experiments.

“The Primarch is an Emissary of the Emperor of Mankind. Dead for now, but your own guest should be able to restore him.” I replied via the Sounding Board, while fortifying my own mental defenses.

I should not give Trazyn too much of advantage, not that the Necron was in any way feeble. With those C’tan under his control, plus the Tesseract Vault and whatever other wondrous technologies, Trazyn was a superpower by himself in the galaxy.

“Well, since you travelled all the way to my domain, I suppose I could be a gracious host and invite you over for tea. And perhaps some business?” the Necron asked in a teasing tone, which sounded quite weird from an undead robot.

I smiled inward, just as I appeared inside his green glowing tomb. To my left side, Canis yawned in boredom and perhaps annoyance at being teleported once more. To my right, Ferrus Manus extended his immaterial wings and floated a meter from the blackstone floor, while his gloves shined with a silver glow. Possibly a symbol to be recognized by, as there weren’t many Primarchs with necrodermis hands in this galaxy.

“Ferrus Manus, huh?” Trazyn the Infinite muttered in curious voice, as the walls parted to the side to reveal the Eldar goddess in her new dimensional prison.

I examined Isha for the first time, comparing her appearance with other Eldar people I’ve met so far. She was pretty and had a more generous body, with deep red hair tied into a top knot and an Exalt garment decorated with glowing runes.

“Lady Isha.” I whispered and nodded slightly. The goddess stared at me and my companions in surprise, a flash of recognition passing through her eyes as she measured the Primarch for a minute.

“Ah yes. I should introduce you to my guest, Lord Lancefire.” Trazyn chuckled. “This is Pef Lancefire, a special friend of mine. Rogue Trader, Astartes Chapter Master and an Inquisitor of the Imperium of Man. The wolf is called Canis. And the Primarch…”

the Necron explained to his prisoner in a grand voice.

“Ferrus Manus, the son of the Emperor. I know him.” Isha answered in a crystalline voice, warm and kind.

The golden armored Angel nodded at this, but remained silent. Probably waiting for some kind of signal to attack, as if violence would work.

“That trick with the psycho-reactive paint on the Singularity was quite nice, my Necron friend. But I have warned you before. It will cost you.” I began my negotiations with a bit of pressure, while removing my helmet to glare at Trazyn.

The robot shrugged without concern. “It was a simple precaution, should your forces turn against me at some critical point during the Cadia campaign. I never expected you to actually kill Slaanesh.” he explained with an amused voice.

I accepted the praise for what it was, and ignored the actual fact of having been a bit dead, at the time Slaanesh died. It took a god to kill another god, and the Emperor provided the last impulse via his Saint Darcy. But that was between me and the Emperor, and the xenos were better off not knowing.

As a Precog of immense level, he possibly saw some kind of backlash or curse befalling me if I was alive and killed the Chaos God with my own hands. Thus, he solved the problem by holding my soul safe at his side, and deceiving everyone to create a boogeyman that would worry or scare other gods into a measure of compliance, most likely.

The Great Game never stopped, as the Warp energies never died and could not be destroyed entirely, they just shifted allegiance as new gods appeared.

“Nevertheless, you got caught meddling and I shall have my due for it, Lord Trazyn. Now, to the crux of this new trade. I want to buy Lady Isha.” I declared with a smile.

Canis snorted and glanced between me and the scary robot with obvious doubt. The Necron had an immobile face as always, but I think he was surprised as well, going by the gasp emitted by the Eldar goddess.

“Oh? Is there something in this galaxy I would be interested in, and worth more than a god?” Trazyn wondered in a flat tone.

“Two such beings, in fact. Both of them are intact C’tan, one dormant and easy to capture, and the other awakening as we speak. Of course, to capture the Outsider you would need to already have another C’tan under your control. The outsider is rather formidable, seeing as the Tyranid fleets avoid his Dyson sphere at great distance.” I said with a teasing tone and produced a data-stack with the map of the Noctis Labyrinth on Mars, where the Void Dragon slumbered.

Trazyn leaned on this Empathic Obliterator staff while considering my offer. “Always full of surprises, even when I thought I had all variables accounted for. And where is this second C’tan?” Trazyn asked in a more suspicious voice.

“The Void Dragon is on Mars. However, you should know that another Necron Dynasty had tried to grab him while I was there. I suspect the Silent King, but well…he wouldn’t say.” I quipped in an easy voice.

The Necron Lord took a step back, and grabbed his chin in deep thought. “It is very enticing, such a prize. But if the Silent King himself tried and failed, a strike with my own forces would probably fail as well. Plus, I know the Emperor of Mankind has returned. I won’t bet my life on a 20 percent chance, no matter the potential worth of the prize.”

I sighed inward, as even the genius Necron was locked in a conflict resolution mindspace, despite my efforts to educate him on the value of fair trade.

“I did say it would be a trade, did I not? I get Isha and you get the Void Dragon, without having to fight the Imperium or the Emperor. Of course, you will need to use the Blackstone Fortress and the Venatoria techpriests to gain access to Mars, plus this nice Primarch to vouch for you.” I explained in a softer tone.

Trazyn hesitated and turned towards Ferrus Manus for confirmation.

“It is as Lord Lancefire says, Lord Trazyn. He speaks with the Voice of the Emperor, out here in the Eastern Fringe.” the Primarch declared with his synthetic vox voice.

“That is more surprising, I’d say. A binding agreement, via a Rogue Trader? And I receive immunity during the trade?” the Necron Overlord wondered as he focused on the Angel.

“As long as you don’t overstep the boundaries of the deal. If the Emperor has to intervene to protect his subjects, then you will incur penalties…and the Emperor is not especially merciful to xenos or oathbreakers.” Ferrus Manus replied in a sterner voice.

While the two overpowered beings conversed the details of the C’tan extraction, I approached Isha for a personal request. “My lady, freedom is never free. I expect you’ll provide me with some help, if it’s within your powers.”

A pair of alien eyes measured me for a long minute, before nodding slightly. “I am needed elsewhere, and quite desperately, Astartes. You get one day.”

I sobbed inward at the unfair deal, but gods were always like that. I had a dozen issues to be fixed by a god level biomancer, and a single day was probably not enough. Then again, I did have something to trade for her services.

So I turned towards the Necron. “Right! Lord Trazyn, a certain Phoenix Lord has complained to me about losing thousands of ships and many warriors. Billions of them. I need them packed and ready to transport in a dedicated tesseract, in exchange for the paint job.” I demanded in a shameless voice, while holding my palm out.

I think I heard metal teeth clench and screech as Trazyn turned towards me. “That’s too much! They came here to kill me!”

“And what was the purpose of that paint?” I asked curiously, and rhetorically.

“…Damn human. What are you looking at, silly dog!” Trazyn muttered in an aggravated voice, pointing his staff at the innocent space wolf.

“Woof!” Canis barked, conveying his undying respect.

“You’d scratch the gums on those metal bones, Canis. He’s not as soft as those Ork vegetables.” I intervened and drew Canis back before he actually tried to bite the metal Necron.

“Wooo.” the wolf answered with a brave voice, while his Rosarius shield anchored on his collar flared visibly. In a fair fight I’d give Canis good odds against any Necron Lord, but Trazyn wasn’t an easy target.

“Damn mutt! I’m not scared of you!” Trazyn grumbled as he straightened his staff and held a tesseract crystal out.

With a mental flick, I grabbed the captured Eldar and the new tesseract, and then held my other hand out for a goddess. “Come, Lady Isha. We have a few people to heal.” I said while gesturing towards the dead Primarch.

The Eldar goddess stepped out from the Tesseract Vault and gingerly swept my hand aside, then held my elbow like a princess. “All life is my domain, Pef Lancefire. But, this spirit Primarch is not alive. He will need Ynnead’s aid to return to life.”

Damn it. I really didn’t like the creepy god of death.