On the way back to the frigate, the Apothecary's voice came through the internal communications:
"Lord Atreus, this is incredible. A hundred psykers for 50 gene-seeds. Even if I don't fully understand the trade, I know we've made an enormous profit."
Atreus nodded in his direction as the group moved toward the landing platform of the Rogue Trader's colossal vessel:
"Indeed, this transaction is somewhat unusual. Even if the Rogue Trader couldn't make use of the gene-seeds, he could certainly have sold them to a larger warband for a more lucrative income. That course of action would certainly have cost him more time, but the profitability would no doubt have been higher," he said, voicing his doubts about Howard.
Atreus felt he was being manipulated by a third party.
He didn't like that.
"Is it the god of change? No, that type should not be interested in me yet," he thought, frowning inside his helmet.
The idea of dancing in another's palm was an unpleasant sensation, but Atreus would have to play along for now.
The need for gene-seeds was too important for his development.
"Did you question Howard about his motivations?" Scar asked from behind the duo.
The Lord of Steel nodded at the question.
"I did indeed question that unscrupulous seller about it. But I could not extract anything interesting. He told me he wished to make a good impression on us in order to lay the groundwork for future transactions… Tss, obvious bullshit," he replied, not hiding his frustration from his companion.
Scar nodded at Atreus's words.
Observing his attitude, it was clear he was reflecting on their situation.
Astartes were not built solely for war.
By human standards, any Space Marine would be considered a genius by IQ alone.
The Ultramarines, Luna Wolves, Emperor's Children, and Blood Angels were particularly renowned for their political talent.
Primarch Fulgrim was even able to conquer his world through diplomacy.
Something that Roboute Guilliman did not have to accomplish, as his world was more civilized.
Thus, the transhumans created by the Emperor were not pure weapons.
They could be something more.
"Scar and Discordia must have noticed the anomaly in Howard's actions, but they will likely drop it eventually, attributing it to the eccentricity of a noble," he thought internally.
As for himself? He would simply archive these doubts for today through Olivia upon returning to the ship.
Perhaps this information would prove crucial at some point.
"Discordia, we now have the gene-seeds. I will henceforth rely on you to repeatedly inspect the best recruits of Limnos III, and only after confirming their perfect compatibility may you implant the gene-seeds into them," Atreus said, glancing toward the Apothecary.
The man calmly nodded:
"Understood, Lord of Steel," he affirmed.
Discordia's response reassured him, as genetic compatibility with a specific lineage is a very important factor.
Leman Russ lost a valuable subordinate at the beginning of the Great Crusade due to incompatibility.
Yet the man was renowned as an undefeated Jarl.
Only Leman Russ could defeat him.
Unfortunately, the poor man transformed into a half-human, half-wolf creature and charged his king purely on instinct.
Russ would later claim that the man's heart hid resentment toward him to explain the phenomenon, but Atreus suspected these claims were Fenrisian superstition.
The former deceased Jarl was simply incompatible with Russ's gene after having consumed his blood.
Atreus preferred to be cautious on this matter.
"Beyond genetic compatibility, it will be troublesome to have no information regarding the legions from which the gene-seeds originate," he thought while walking.
All Space Marine legions had specialties born from the tendencies of their Primarchs, who themselves had received a fragment of the Emperor of Mankind.
If Atreus had the genealogy of each seed, he could distribute his future subordinates far more efficiently.
But he did not possess that knowledge.
Atreus would certainly face future logistical problems, as he lacked information.
Unconsciously, he felt a headache at the idea of being stuck in an office dealing with all the warband's problems.
"Damn, is this how Guilliman will feel observing the decaying Imperium of the 41st millennium?" he muttered, deciding to quickly train his own Malcador.
If possible, a soulless human similar to the Sisters of Silence of Terra.
…
Standard Terra calendar: year 674 of the 31st millennium.
In the Limnos III system, two ships emerged into the material world.
Warp energy still emanated from them, but that aspect was not the most important.
It was Atreus and his group.
After nearly two Terran years of travel, they had finally returned to the influence zone of their system.
"Hm… I hope the time dilation won't be too severe," he muttered, thinking back to the temporal aspect of Warp travel.
Time flow was a difficult problem for any space traveler in Warhammer 40K, but Atreus could do nothing about it.
Knowledge related to temporal manipulation had been lost since the Age of Technology.
If the Space Marine was lucky, he might find an STC fragment containing such knowledge.
At worst, he would have to try to steal Necron technology.
"Nevertheless, the work progressed quickly," he thought internally, observing the spaceport promised by the Dark Mechanicus.
Beyond the colossal construction site, Atreus also noticed the presence of several other Dark Mechanicum ships in orbit.
Countless servitors and priests of the Dark Mechanicum, clad in vacuum protection gear, were methodically constructing the structure of the spaceport.
Thanks to this futuristic technology, rapid communication between the planet and the warband would become possible.
Atreus would be able to better monitor the natives of Limnos III.
The spaceport would also serve as storage for goods, docking for ships, and facilitate the transport of personnel between various strategic locations.
The Space Marine regarded with satisfaction one of the most important projects for the development of Limnos III.
"Lord, we have a meeting request from Magos Biologis Morlock," said a staff member approaching Atreus's immense stature.
After his return to the Limnos III system, his many duties as ruler were already calling for him.
"Accept it, and send sufficiently qualified personnel to receive him," he ordered before removing his helmet.
The transhuman's face showed no sign of fatigue thanks to his beyond-human physique.
Yet Atreus's dark eyes could not hide the exhaustion of a 2K-era human.
The Space Marine desired only one thing at the moment: to return to Limnos III and enjoy the world's natural fauna.
"Courage, my boy, you've endured worse," he thought, looking at the main entrance of the command room.
Although slightly hesitant, Atreus lifted his massive body and headed toward the reception hall.
He had to welcome his guest.
…
In the Iron Warriors reception hall, Atreus and Anthony waited.
The former sat in a relaxed manner, while the latter stood behind him.
The hierarchy between the two friends was becoming increasingly apparent to the public eye.
Something unprecedented given their shared past as veterans, but the former Terran from the 2K era had earned greater respect from the warband.
His entire plan was falling into place.
"My lord, Magos Morlock has arrived," announced a man entering the hall.
The enormous Biologis Magos entered the room as the metallic doors opened.
Several strange noises emanated from the devices attached to his body as he stepped forward to face the two Astartes.
In a measured motion, he bowed toward them.
"His appearance is still as impressive as ever, but…" he thought, looking away from the Magos.
Beside the "creature" of metal, a woman also wore a red robe.
Unlike the imposing Magos, she had a normal human stature and no advanced signs of cybernetization.
(Image)
"She must not be important within the Dark Mechanicus cult, as she still has too much flesh on her body," he analyzed, deciding to ignore this insignificant being.
Atreus turned back to the Magos and got straight to the point:
"Hello, Magos Morlock. May I ask why you were so eager to see me?" he asked directly.
He had just returned from an expedition, yet the man wanted to see him immediately.
Atreus did not like this lack of consideration.
Deep down, he truly hoped the Magos was not simply trying to convert him to the Machine God cult.
Magos Morlock did not respond immediately.
He turned his head with a faint grinding sound as his emotional simulation circuits ran at full capacity:
"Greetings to you as well, Lord of Steel. First, I would like to discuss a transaction with you," he announced in his distorted voice.
Atreus slightly narrowed his eyes but did not interrupt him.
"During this period in which we have been working on the construction of the spaceport, our technical teams have explored the worlds within your system," he said in a measured tone, while his cogitator already simulated possible paths leading to an unfavorable response.
Observing Atreus's micro-expressions, the Magos arrived at a 60% failure rate.
An unavoidable situation: he had literally searched another's house in their absence.
Even if he had been given the "key" due to ongoing construction, the Magos's actions were still very impolite toward his host.
Yet he continued.
"We have discovered mineral resources, notably promethium. The promethium reserves of Limnos V are particularly impressive."
He paused to gather data.
The failure rate decreased significantly upon mention of valuable ore that could greatly aid the development of Limnos III.
"If you allow us, we can exploit these resources. We will provide all necessary equipment, personnel, and technology ourselves," he explained calmly.
The Magos's speech was rich in information, but also contained unpleasant elements.
Atreus did not appreciate Morlock's actions, but he also had to consider the gains.
"What do you say, Lord of Steel? May we exploit Limnos V? We intend to pay 30% of the profits. Reasonable, isn't it? We will use our infrastructure and our own means to extract the resources and—"
The Biologis Magos was about to continue, but was interrupted by Atreus raising his hand.
"No…" he said coldly.