Chương 12: Chapter 11: The Astartes grab bag.

Venerable Baldos was following Archmagos Doll and Nicole to a private side bay within the hangar. The shipment of artifacts from the Hollow Star's armory was being handled discreetly, in a secure area that has been cordoned off and sequestered temporarily. Most of the objects were in individual containers which had been placed in large shipping crates which had been provided by The Argent Drake to ensure sterility and no corruption, which were transferred via loader.

Captain Bolaar was there along with the first squad of Centurion Devastators, the Company Veterans, and command staff.

"Archmagos. I did not have the chance earlier. Please allow me to introduce my command staff. Librarian Astrovas, Apothecary Biologis Helveptus Sistus, Techmarine Keraar Cogmane, Techmarine Arvick Cogfist, Lieutenant Soliros Faros. Apothecary Maxien Tigald, Company Champion Talbios Silverclaw, Ruilus Drallis the Ancient, Company Veterans Mirpus Cocos and Spurmir Cocos, Sergeant Isaban Andrica and his two Centurions. You have already met Venerable Baldos."

"Well met Astartes. I am Archmagos Fabricator Akellonon Doll, Leader of the Levelist faction of the Great Lathes. I have brought with me one individual and I have a Questor of the Venatori coming but I will introduce them in a moment. Your esteemed host is arriving." Doll gestured to the entrance of the hangar bay which opened and in marched two men in power armor and an older gentleman in luxurious robes with a regal bearing.

"I am Major Milo of the Drakios House Guard. Introducing Lord Admiral Arken "Dragontooth" Drakios, Rogue Trader of the Drakios Dynasty. Captain of the ancient and magnificent Argent Drake. Righteous Cruiser responsible for the vigorous bombardments of Khornate forces at Pintor's Citadel. Honored subjugator associated with massacres of Tyranid vermin at Levilus Ten!"

"Must you give them the whole spiel, Milo? The first few lines would have sufficed."

"Sir! I do, Sir!" Milo replied curtly, which made Lord Drakios sigh.

"Captain Bolaar, I hope you do not object to my presence here. I would like to be aware if there is going to be anything problematic aboard my ship. I brought my two house guards Major Milo and Lieutenant Colonel Ruths. I trust them with my life, they will not speak of anything they see here outside of my presence." He assured the Captain.

"Lord Drakios. Thank you for your timely assistance. Your presence is welcome."

"Thanks are unnecessary, I am merely doing my duty to aid the angels of the Emperor." Behind Lord Drakios Xor walked in, he let the heavy door seal close behind him. He was wearing some ornate red armor that is impeccably well made to my senses. He had his Magos Power Axe in one hand and an ornate shield featuring the skull and cog of the Mechanicus on his other arm.

"Captain this is Questor Venatorii Novitiate Technographer Xor-XXVII he will be ensuring nothing related to tech-heresy is permitted on the ship. I have also brought with me Nicole Cavalerio, Technographer, Machine Touched, and your Dreadnought Brothers newly chosen primary technician. Should we run into any Xenos objects I may need to call my Drivemaster Exploritor Magos TH-102."

"Isn't she a bit young to be involved with this?" Sergeant Isaban asked the room. Doll smiled and Xor chuckled wryly. The Lord Drakios also snorted in amusement.

"Technically, based on year of birth, Nicole is the oldest individual in this chamber by several millennia." Doll informed the confused marines.

"We can educate you on her unique situation at a later date. Suffice to say her presence here is to assist with objects we cannot fully identify."

"She. Stays." Growled Venerable Baldos which ended that line of discussion.

"It's nice to finally meet you Lord Drakios!" Nicole chose to greet the Rogue Trader not with a bow but a textbook curtsy of her red mechanicus robes. She used her dendrites to hold the skirts.

"Yes, I heard you bumped into my granddaughter earlier. She had some very interesting things to say about you young lady. Doll has been giving you high praise for your efforts all week. Praise from him is not given lightly. I believe congratulations on your recent promotion is in order?"

"Thank you, Sir! The Argent Drake is really pleased with you and the efforts of your family. You've done a great job captaining and crewing her! Please keep up the good work."

"I think we should get to inspecting the relics. The marines are getting antsy plus they've had a long week. Their electoos are indicating high levels of stress hormones." Techmarine Arvick Cogfist made a concerned noise in his throat but Doll and Xor both ignored Nicole's statement and elected to move on. —---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I finally got to meet the Rogue Trader!

He's very handsome in that silver fox of a grandfather kinda way, I can see some of the resemblance to Arianwyn.

"Captain Bolaar. Before we get to your artifacts, do you have something for us?" I ask him politely while eyeing his belt pouch. There is something interesting in there that my auspex seems eager to get closer to. Captain Bolaar coughs and nods "Ah yes. I do. I was given this device by my late Drivemaster Magos 82-Rahane who sacrificed himself to allow our ship to exit from the warp. He told me it contained the sum total of his collected combat knowledge in hexamathic code.

All insights obtained while servicing Astartes aboard The Hollow Star. He wanted it handed over to a Mechancius representative of the rank of Magos and no one else." Nicole, please bring me the device." Doll says politely My eyes light up and I look over to Doll and Xor who both appear curious but they let me be the one to to take the device from Captain Bolaar.

"Woah. This data repository is titanic! No corruption present but it is practically full. The late Magos must have been quite old and meticulous." I was of course doing my best to make a copy of anything I flagged as useful for later review. As I walked back towards Doll and Xor. What really piqued my curiosity were all the combat programs he had developed. Along with the information on Astartes gear.

"Thank you for turning this over to us." I say politely as I pass Doll the cube so he can get a closer look and inspect it before looking within himself. Doll passes it to Xor who tucks it away for now.

"We shall review his contributions thoroughly. Now. We should proceed with the inspection of the sacred artifacts." I take a back seat this time. Standing off to the side as everyone approaches the first crate. It opens slowly and everyone moves to peer inside. The first container has a slew of classic Astartes relics. Three suits of Terminator Armor and an Iron Halo.

"This pattern of Terminator Armor differs from the Indomitus Pattern you are currently wearing. Is there a reason you kept them in storage Captain?" Doll asks.

"The armors require maintenance and repair, particularly the power supplies."

"Do you recognize the pattern, Xor?" Doll questions his fellow Magi "It's fairly rare so you may not."

"I do not, Archmagos""What about you, Nicole?"

"I think those are the Saturnine Pattern of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, Master Doll."

"Indeed! It's the extra large pauldrons that give them away. We should be able to get them in working order, Captain. It might take some work."

"Thank you, Archmagos."

"Now this Iron Halo. It appears to be in working order. Why is no one wearing it?"

"No one in my company has earned the honor yet." Bolaar says defensively.

"Why aren't you wearing it then?" I ask him with a hint of disappointment in my tone.

"I have not earned the honor?" He said not as sure this time.

"You are the Captain of the 9th company, yes? The Captain who just fought off daemon incursions for over a week and survived the near total destruction of your vessel. Congratulations! Honor achieved!" I say looking to Doll and Lord Drakios who both nod their heads.

"That isn't how that…"

"Wear. The. Forcefield!" I exclaim in frustration. Doll chortles with amusement "Nicole is right, Captain. You managed to survive and get most of your men out alive. This artifact is safer when worn than when packed away. While neither myself or Lord Drakios are your Chapter Master, I believe our approval holds merit?" Bolaar looks around to his brothers who all nod at him "I… Accept this honor." Taking the Iron Halo from Doll as I nod happily.

"There are also teleport homers in there under the armor! They all seem fine, we should sync them with the Teleportarium." I tell everyone.

"We don't have a Teleportarium, Nicole." Doll says softly.

"We… don't?" I give him a confused look and look around at the Captain. Both of whom are looking at me curiously.

"But… We should have one… Ohhh… Argent's dark scales and the holes in her wings." I mutter out loud nodding to myself "I'll go find it later." Doll and Lord Drakios share a look of surprise at my statement and have a quick private noospheric conversation.

"If she can find one hidden away somewhere then I am more than willing to let her try."

"Considering how the pods we originally found her in were hidden, that is perhaps prudent Lord Drakios. I will allocate a time slot into her schedule for it."

"What did she mean by the dark scales?"

"Nicole recently had a brief interaction with the ship's machine spirit. She called The Argent Drake's spirit a dragon. It is not unheard of for such spirits to utilize some kind of translational manifestation. Dark scales might indicate damaged or unpowered locations onboard."

"This concludes the first crate. We shall now move to the next." Doll announces curtly. As the next crate is opened I pause and blink down at the contents. It's Astartes gear all right, but for the wrong chapter.

"Captain Bolaar… An explanation is in order. Why do you possess the Talons of the Blood Raven and the Lament of Mars? These Lightning Talons and Missile Launcher are well known and documented chapter artifacts of the Blood Ravens chapter." Captain Bolaar somehow maintains a straight face as he clears his throat "Ahem. These artifacts were generous 'gifts' from the honored Blood Ravens which we shall hold onto until they are finished using the chapter artifacts they have 'borrowed' from us.

It is a shame that we rarely have the chance to meet them to discuss an exchange as our operational areas differ greatly most of the time."

"How generous of them!" I say with a smile, struggling not to burst into giggles. The bloody magpies hoard stolen artifacts like it's going out of style. A little turnabout is fair play.

"I see you also have some of the traditional dragonbone weapons packed in with it." Lord Drakios states with a small smile. Doll looks over the various blades each made of what looks like single huge fangs or sharp pieces of bone.

"No corruption detected. This case is clear and can be moved." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. As everyone moves to the next case I end up unable to see inside due to my height. I look over at Venerable Baldos and then grin as I elect to climb up the side of his torso and sit on his shoulder, giving me a much needed vantage point to peer down and watch as the next set of trophies are unboxed and inspected.

"It looks like we have a number of Xenos trophies." Doll says aloud "I may need help identifying these."

"I can assist you, Magos. I've actually seen most of these before." Lord Drakios says, stepping forward while stroking his beard.

"Alright. We have an Ork Power Claw. Useless to anyone other than an Ork. I do hope you sterilized this thoroughly." Doll says, shaking his head.

"These are Aeldari weapons. A small pile of Shuriken Rifles, Shuriken Pistols, a few helmets, and two soulstones. A Spinneret Rifle and the backpack from a Warp Spider. The last of the Aeldari gear is a Harlequin's Kiss, and a Fusion pistol. Some lovely looking blades, and a belt of some kind." Lord Drakios says as he sorts through them.

"That's a Flip-Belt!" I announce from my perch.

"It's an anti-gravity device, not as fast or versatile as a jump pack but fun if you can figure out how to operate it."

"Those are old trophies. Even if we wished to use the weapons of the foul Xenos we lack the means to replenish their ammunition, They are also far too small and fragile to be handled in power armor. We considered donating them or trading them for favors but the price was never sufficient." Captain Bolaar explains.

"Nicole does that belt need to be fully closed to work?" Lord Drakios asks me.

"I believe so."

"Ah, then I can see why it would be of little use to the marines."

"That reminds me I need to learn how to make my own Alatus-Pattern Jump Pack." Doll and Xor both turn to stare at me when I mention the jump pack. Both trying to imagine my small frame with mechanical wings normally seen on the Elite of the Crimson Guard.

"I am not opposed to the idea of fabricating some sets." Doll sent Xor.

"Neither am I. If Nicole is indeed capable of it. I am curious to see what emerges from her guiding the process."

"I am interested. Those swords in particular would look lovely in my trophy room and the belt might be fun for my grandchildren." Lord Drakios gestures at the two items.

"Those are Eldar Mirror Swords usually used by Howling Banshees."

"We would be happy to discuss such a thing later, Lord Captain." The Captain sounds pleased that his chapter had something to offer Lord Drakios as a possible gift.

"Aside from that there is more Xenos gear. Necron, I believe this time. I am not nearly as familiar with these I fear."

"I have some knowledge of their weapons." Doll mentions as he looks down at the small pile of items.

"This is a Gauss Flayer. It destroys whatever it hits on at the atomic level. It seems you have also acquired a Hyperphase sword."

"Then we have a staff of some sort and an orb?" Doll pulls out the long silver staff with green accents, one side has an ornate decorative headpiece with a focusing emitter, the orb is an emerald green sphere that glows faintly with a pale green light. I make a very high pitched sound of concern drawing the attention of the group to me as I stare at the items wide eyed.

"Those… are items typically wielded by a Necron Lord."

"Indeed. He was a most worthy foe."

"Venerable Brother Baldos is the one who struck the final blow on the creature. That battle resulted in his chassis being so damaged he required re-entombment. It is a grand tale of hard fought victory recorded in the history of our chapter."

"Well… That is a Staff of Light and that is a Necron Resurrection Orb." I tell the group with a hiss.

"Do you know how they function, Nicole?" Doll asks, obviously curious and showing interest in the items. I make a face and frown staring down at the items and cross my arms.

"Vaguely. The staff is both a melee and ranged weapon. It is actually one of the few Necron energy weapons. It absorbs ambient energy and unleashes powerful blasts. Figuring out how to get it to work will probably require an expert on Xenotech though and probably some modifications if someone wants to even try wielding it."

"I have no idea how the Orb works but I know what it does. As you can guess from the name, somehow the Orb enhances the already potent regeneration of Necron forces near the wielder. I highly recommend we put it away in a warded stasis vault, Master Doll."

"I think we shall do just that." There were no arguments from anyone as Doll told the Astartes to take the crate full of Xenos trophies to the Munitorum vaults after he removed the orb and placed it within a separate secure container. Thankfully that seems to be all of the trophies from the Necrons. The biggest of the crates, an industrial sized shipping crate is entirely filled with a giant draconic skeleton in a stasis field.

"Ah! I was wondering where this was. Each company has their own Dragon skeleton right?" Lord Drakios says admiring the bones of the massive beast. The skull alone is the size of a small car!

"Indeed is it one of the great draconic beasts from our homeworld. Their fangs and claws make good blades and their scales make fine additions to our armor." Bolaar says proudly.

"We also make various tools from the bones. Dragon knuckles are a potent divination tool for Librarians and the finer bones are used to make Electoo imprinting kits."

"Thank you, Captain. I don't sense anything wrong with the bones. They can be moved to your barracks." The moment they crack open the next case I make a loud gagging sound.

"Bleh! Ew! No! That stuff is horribly tainted and cursed! Throw that whole crate into the nearest star!" Librarian Astrovas also visibly recoils. Doll and Xor both look offended, and are considering the possibility of vaporizing the crate immediately. Captain Bolaar nods and releases a sigh "That reaction was not unexpected. We recovered these from a traitor Astartes. I merely wanted someone to check if it had any chance of being saved."

"Not unless you want to somehow take it all the way to Terra and have a Sister of Silence sit on it." I say, shaking my head. Venerable Baldos lets out an amused rumble from under me. Doll and Xor confirm my assessment moments later.

"Nicole is correct these items will be kept under strict guard until they are disposed of."

"We can launch them into the nearby star after our salvage and refueling operations are complete." Lord Drakios declares moving away from the crate. The next container is different from the rest, it's a more sterile looking material and cube shaped rather than rectangular. At this point the head Apothecary Helveptus Sistus steps forward.

"This was the most important object we were attempting to carry home. This is our geneseed vault. We were tasked with taking it back after what happened on Cadia." Lord Drakios and Doll both seem to ponder the large storage device.

"Where would you prefer they be stored? We can make a place for them in the Munitorum as it is one of the most heavily guarded parts of the ship. We can set up a vault in the barracks component you will be living in, not as secure but close at hand for you. Alternatively we have a heavily warded and well hidden Archeotech Cryopod bay that isn't being used."

"We would like to keep them with us for now. Though I may inspect that bay later if that is permissible."

"That is entirely understandable."

"We also seem to have a selection of typical wargear. A whole slew of Astartes grade grenades. Cryo Grenades, Monoball Grenades, Plasma Grenades. Whole cases of Frag and Krak. I would ask you to refrain from using any of the EMP Grenades while onboard."

"Of course, Archmagos."

"Ah you have Meltabombs too, I see. Those will need to go to the Munitorum as well." Doll closes the lid of the case and pops open another which is full of spare parts and miscellaneous gear.

"Oh! You guys have Recoil Bafflings. Those look nice" I tell Baldos as I continue to watch from his shoulder.

"Indeed we do."

"I note you have prepared plenty of cybernetics." Doll says as he reaches in and pulls out a well made cybernetic arm holding it up for close inspection.

"The flesh is weak." one of the Techmarines declared.

"Finish the quote." I call out.

"That's not the full saying. The whole saying is better."

"Pray tell, child, what is the full quote?" He asks as he looks up at me. I seem to have drawn the attention of all the Astartes with my comment.

"The flesh is weak, but deeds endure. Primarch Vulkan to Ferrus Manus. Shoxua Cluster Expedition One Eight four… Date not recorded."

"Where did you learn that?" Asks Brother Cogfist.

"The datacube. The late Magos compiled as many quotes related to The Primarch Ferrus Manus as possible from the various archives he visited."

"The Flesh Is Weak, But Deeds Endure."

"Ooh! It sounds extra cool when you say it, Baldos!" Most of the Astartes look pensive and introspective as they chew over the message within those words.

"I believe that concludes the trophies and artifacts we had onboard."

"Great! Now you can kill that Chaos Spawn chameleon-thing trying to sneak towards the corrupted box and then we can go!" There is a brief moment after my statement where everyone in the room was perfectly still. As quickly as the moment came it was gone as everyone drew weapons and spun towards the box. The creature did manage one desperate lunge before the entire room opened fire, reducing it to little more than a splatter on the wall that was then cleansed with fire.

"How did you notice that? It was evading even my sensors until you pointed it out" Doll asks all while he utilizes a plethora of equipment to ensure there are no more of the creatures within the bay. I idly take note that he is also scanning me, in more ways than he is checking the room, to ensure I am alright.

"I was using my auspex to passively monitor airflow in the room and there was a void there. When I tried to directly look at it the reading came out garbled. Took me a while to figure out what it was."

"Were you not afraid? That must have been the first Daemon you've seen."

"I'm sitting on a Dreadnought in a room with the most heavily armed and skilled individuals on this ship. Literally everyone in this room turned the creature from a solid into a liquid less than a second after I pointed it out. I didn't even get a chance to see it properly. Why would I be afraid?" I tilt my head slightly and give the guard who asked a look of confusion.

"Heh that's fair." Several of the other guards chuckle wryly as everyone starts to disperse. Each crate gets its own armed escort.