Sanguinius smiled—Anrakyr indeed deserved Dante's respect. He was bold and wise; his answer was perfect, allowing him access to everything he wanted, while seeming proper.
"I hear several Primarchs have returned to the Imperium recently. I'd like to meet those ancient heroes. We Necrons are a highly advanced civilization, not savage monsters," Anrakyr said.
The Necrons were now seen as terrifying, evil, and deathly—feared by all. But they were once noble, cultured, inventors, and scholars. Now, after their transformation, their civilization has stagnated, living off old glories.
"I understand. Since you helped us, I will write a letter for you to Terra," Sanguinius nodded. Let Guilliman and Rhodes handle whatever Anrakyr truly wanted.
"Thank you, Lord Sanguinius. I have brought you a gift: a phase weapon made of living metal," Anrakyr offered.
Several Necron warriors presented a huge green box, opening it to reveal a power sword over two meters long, forged of living metal and enhanced with phase technology—a formidable weapon, surpassed only by the Emperor's sword.
Before, Sanguinius would have gladly accepted, but now he had cosmic beast-forged weapons. This one was surely meant for Dante anyway.
"This weapon was meant for Dante, wasn't it? I have my own arms—Dante, you keep this one," Sanguinius said.
Dante bowed to his gene-father, then received the weapon from Anrakyr with great respect.
It was on par with the regenerative metal weapon Rhodes had once gifted him, but this one was more for collection than battle. For war, Dante preferred Rhodes's gift.
"By the way, I heard you lost a powerful weapon during the Cryptan campaign—a C'tan shard?" Sanguinius asked.
"You know of the shards? Yes, I used one in the war against the Tyranids," Anrakyr replied. The Imperium even knew about C'tan shards? In Necron records, the Emperor had used a Void Dragon shard in the ancient war against the Hrud.
The Necrons hated the C'tans—if they saw one, their first instinct was to enslave it.
"I heard this weapon was lost during the war. Since you helped us, I could help you find it," Sanguinius offered—he wanted to confirm whether Anrakyr still had the shard.
"Thank you, but the C'tan matter is a private Necron affair. I will handle it myself," Anrakyr replied.
In truth, the shard had never been lost. After the war, he immediately recaptured it using binding fields and sealed it back in his tomb. But he wanted to see why Sanguinius was so interested.
"If that's so, I won't worry about it. I just hope the escaped shard won't threaten human worlds. I just returned to the Imperium—I don't want my home attacked," Sanguinius said.
He was 80% sure Anrakyr still had the shard. He wouldn't seize it by force, but Rhodes might. Sanguinius planned to inform Rhodes.
Rhodes was not on Terra, but off fighting another Necron Overlord—a despised one, so it wouldn't interfere with current events.
That night, Sanguinius hosted Anrakyr in his treasure hall. Since the Necron couldn't participate in a banquet, Sanguinius instead arranged performances of human song, dance, and art for him to enjoy.
The next day, Sanguinius sent psychic messages to Guilliman and Rhodes, and gave Anrakyr his primarch's seal, dispatching Blood Angels to escort him to Terra.
…
At the same time, on Rhodes's flagship, Trazyn and Tartarus had returned, and the vital Necron planetary fortress had been recaptured. Trazyn now had two such fortresses at his disposal, and Rhodes had obtained vast Necron technology, as well as unique tech from across the galaxy collected by Trazyn.
"Trazyn, I need you to hide for a while—do not show yourself. Your discovery would be disastrous. The Necrons have already started hunting another you," Rhodes said.
Tartarus was monitoring Necron movements; several Necron Overlords and Crypteks had attacked Trazyn's territory. Even with a pocket universe, if enough powerful Necrons acted together, Trazyn would not last.
Rhodes had to ensure all evidence of his involvement would be erased if Trazyn fell.
So, Trazyn must remain hidden. AsanethAyu had been sent by Tartarus to her dynasty, with Babarue guarding her, to plot seizing control of the Necron dynasties.
"I understand, Rhodes. I'll stay hidden," Trazyn replied. The situation was too dangerous, and he was not the cunning Overlord Trazyn the Infinite, but the timid curator Trazyn the Preserver.
"By the way, I'm interested in your Necron planetary fortresses. Can you build one for me?" Rhodes asked.
A planetary-scale fortress—Rhodes was eager to have one, especially since Necron constructs could travel faster than light.
"Rhodes, to build a Necron fortress, you must find a suitable metallic planet, send countless Canoptek Scarabs to devour all its matter, then transmute it into living metal. Only then can you construct the fortress. It takes thousands of years to build one. If you can wait, I can build it for you," Trazyn explained.
He wasn't lying; as one of the earliest awakened Necrons, he'd only built four such fortresses in his long history.
"That's a shame—I'd hoped to have one soon."
"If you truly want one, once AsanethAyu unites her dynasty, you could order the entire dynasty to build one. With my help, it could be done in a few years," Trazyn suggested.
"Understood. You're dismissed," Rhodes said.
Trazyn bowed and phase-shifted back to his fortress.
Afterwards, a psyker reported that Sanguinius had sent a message to Guilliman and Rhodes.