Chapter 105: Oh No, My Best Friend's Been Led Astray
"Lord Romulus!"
After inspecting a section of the Dawnlight, Romulus returned to the Shrine the Order of the Sacred Rose had constructed on the warship. Before he even entered, he saw a young girl waiting quietly outside. Her expression was a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, her hands unconsciously twisting together as if trying to calm her inner turmoil.
Yulia. A relative of a psyker named Erica. Her father, Price, had fought bravely as a guard for the Cadian Commissar during the defense of Pierdra and had ultimately been interred in a casket due to organ failure from excessive combat-stim use, becoming one of the countless honored dead. After the victory celebration, the sixteen-year-old girl had been recruited into the Cadian reserves and had come aboard the Dawnlight with them.
"Hello, Yulia." Romulus's mind quickly flashed with her information, and he gave a gentle nod.
Yulia clearly hadn't expected Lord Romulus to respond to her directly. For a moment, she was at a loss, her lips moving but no words coming out, a look of complete embarrassment on her face.
"When is your augmentation surgery scheduled?" Romulus, seeing her state, took the initiative to ask, trying to ease her tension.
"Ah, we are still collecting genetic data and conditioning our bodies," Yulia quickly reported, a hint of panic in her voice. "The Magos told me to wait until my organ functions have fully recovered before the surgery."
The Astra Militarum also had augmentation surgeries, but they were not widespread, usually only seen on troopers and officers from the Schola Progenium. But the transmigrators had vast resources; providing enough augmentation serums was no difficult task for them. The only cost was that the Magos Biologis would be a bit busier, but they had no complaints. After all, a Magos's promotion depended on the accumulation of surgical data. Now, with a large number of test subjects and raw materials right in front of them, they could obtain countless valuable data points just by spending a little time on surgery. For them, it was an extremely profitable exchange.
Of course, the Tech-Priests had discussed among themselves where the lords had gotten so many raw augmentation fluids, but such a question was the kind that easily led to getting "lost in the Warp," and was clearly outside the scope of their duties. They just needed to focus on the work at hand.
"Good. I look forward to the day you fight for humanity again," Romulus said with a faint, encouraging smile, even though he really just wanted to send this sixteen-year-old girl to the parish school.
"Yes, my Lord!" Yulia nodded excitedly, her face flushed, showing no signs of a body that was still recovering. The human body in M41 was truly absurd. A combat-stim that would send a person in the 21st century to the "steroid planet" could have its side effects metabolized in just a few days.
"Sister Yulia!" a clear, bright voice called out.
THUMP!
Romulus felt the impact against his leg-guard.
"Erica!" Yulia's expression froze again.
But Romulus, as if nothing had happened, simply picked up the little girl and placed her in Yulia's arms.
"Thank you for your mercy, my Lord." Yulia took the little girl, looked at her shining silver eyes, and couldn't help but pinch her nose. "You can't do that anymore."
"I'm sorry," Erica said, nodding obediently without arguing. She really couldn't see Lord Romulus.
"Oh, right, Sister Yulia, let me introduce you to my new friend," she said, struggling out of Yulia's arms and pulling over a small, almost transparent-looking girl. "This is Cylene. I met her at the convent."
"Hello," Yulia said, squatting down to pat Cylene's head. "You two be good to each other."
"Canoness Arabella said I have a chance to become a Battle-Sister," the plainly dressed girl said, holding Erica's hand. "I will protect Erica, just like my father protected me."
"My Lord, I must take my leave," Yulia said quickly to Romulus, kindly picking up both little girls. This had gone on for too long; she had to get them to their guardians.
"Go on," Romulus said, watching them leave.
One of them should have been a grain of sand, dead on the planet Pierdra. The other should have been a speck of dust, drowned in the sunless lower decks. And now, they were both here, alive, receiving an education, not having to struggle for survival.
Hmph, isn't this what you come to see when you transmigrate?
Romulus watched the three of them leave, then entered the parish school, heading straight for the psyker convent within. The Librarians from the "Stormcast" were responsible for teaching psychic knowledge here. Once the new generation was trained, a stable structure could be formed.
After he had practically held Ramesses by the scruff of his neck and made him do it, he had finally compiled the 'An Introductory Reader to Warp-Knowledge'. It included basic knowledge on how to simply use psychic powers, how to correctly perceive them, and how to protect oneself without using psychic powers. According to Ramesses, even a six-year-old could understand it. As for the rest of the textbooks, Ramesses had told him to add them as he saw fit.
"Is the manual useful?" Romulus asked, approaching a Librarian. The Librarian seemed to be engrossed in it and didn't even notice Romulus's arrival.
"Ah? Lord Romulus." It wasn't until Romulus repeated himself that the Librarian was startled from his deep thought. Only then did he notice Romulus, who had bypassed his layers of psychic wards to appear at his side.
"This manual is extremely useful. It is, one could say, the best textbook for introducing a psyker to their abilities. Many of the concepts within it would normally require risking one's life to learn, and are easily twisted by the foul things of the Warp. But this textbook..."
The Librarian went on for a long time, then asked Romulus excitedly, "Please, may I see Lord Ramesses again? If this manual had existed ten thousand years ago, even Lord Guilliman might not have supported the ban and prohibition on psychic research."
"...You'll have to communicate with him yourself." The Librarian's excited attitude made Romulus a little suspicious. He didn't see what was so special about this pre-school-level manual.
Ultimately, unable to withstand the Librarian's questioning, Romulus, after a brief communication with Arabella about various matters, fled the parish school.
'Next, I'll go see what Ramesses is up to,' Romulus thought, heading for the secret base only the four of them could access.
Ramesses had been obediently writing his textbooks recently and hadn't been causing any trouble. And Arthur seemed to have found a new hobby. Well, that was all good. Romulus had been quite worried about his best friend. He had been so tense, like he was constantly being chased by a tiger, getting more and more sullen, doing nothing but fighting and monitoring everyone. It was good that he had a hobby now.
"Hit it! Harder! You have to hit it harder!"
Just as he passed through several layers of traps and sensor devices, Romulus heard his partner's shout.
?
He slowed his pace and leaned in to listen.
From the room, he could hear the sound of a chain-saw, and the sound of flesh being cut, and something being stuffed inside.
???
"Cut it! Brother, use the same force you use when you're killing people! This is a person! This is surgery! Your gentle approach isn't going to get it done!"
Another shout, accompanied by the sound of a bone-saw going deeper.
Romulus's face hardened. He took a few steps back, then kicked the door open with a flying kick.
"RAMESSES!"
(End of Chapter)