Herald of the Stars: Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty

Bob, AlphariusKerensky, Liam Cusack, 2sus, turtlegaminginf, and romulonow thank you so much for sponsoring Herald of the Stars!

----------------

As Stellar Fleet SOL rockets away from Scintilla, Brigid and Alpia ambush me in my private laboratory.

Both of them are wearing clean and ironed officers uniforms, their rank insignias meticulously stitched into their red jackets in gold thread. I stand and greet them, then direct them to my office, a cosy room lined with books.

“Please take a seat, both of you. I could do with a small break from banging my head against the lab bench.”

“Is everything going well, Dad?”

“Better than expected,” I say.

Brigid glances at the bookshelves hiding my ‘secret’ room, “I’m glad to hear you say that. Have you gotten rid of that ridiculous escape pod yet?”

“I donated it to the not quite so young George and his sister, Emily. She has her own copy as well. It reminds me of the box I found Quanni in, only better. He appreciated the gesture, though we all hope that neither of the two children have to use it.”

“A little extreme,” says Brigid.

I take a seat behind my desk, “My sense of scale is a little off these days. You’ll be waiting on your personal Knight a little longer, Sweat Pea.”

“Dad, that’s not why we’re here.”

“I didn’t think it was. You’ve both done good work, especially in the last year with the Stellar Fleet Bank and the Inquisition. Not that either of you need to do anything for me to ask a favour, but I am feeling generous.”

Alpia glares at me, then her eyes widen, “Oh! You actually are feeling generous. Huh. I did not expect that. That will make things easier. Dad, Mum and I want to help you with your projects. I know that they’re super secret and all, but we both want in.”

I grin, “Normally I would say no, even with all you’ve done for me and the Stellar Fleet. What you don’t know can’t be taken from you, a phrase I have used often enough. However, I’ve recently had a small breakthrough, using the books that the Emperor gave me for assisting him against the Dark Gods. I thought it prudent to follow my own advice to Raphael and find a way to ask for help that doesn’t put either of you at risk.”

“I am pleased I don’t have to fight you on this, Husband,” says Brigid.

Reaching into my own jacket, I pull out two small boxes and place them on my desk, “I’ve been working on those for a year now and have been waiting for the right moment to give these to you. Please, take one each and put it on. The sensation might be rather strange.”

Alpia levitates the boxes towards herself and her mother. 

Brigid grabs her box from the air and flips open the lid, “Thank you, Alpia. A ring, Aldrich? What an unusual colour.”

“It looks like it's made from swirling mist,” says Alpia. She picks up the ring between her fingers and holds it up to her eye. “Dad, this is a piece of your soul.”

“Nothing gets past you, does it? Yes, I used the soul condensing technique to create an object, rather than improve my own strength. It’s not the first time I’ve had to give a bit of my soul up and I’d much rather give this to you and Brigid than to the Emperor. Now put it on then follow the mental tug it will give you.”

Alpia says, “Wow, you really went all out on this!”

“Thank you, Husband. This is a remarkable gift.” Brigid puts on her ring and it dissolves, sinking into her body. She shivers, “That was like getting hugged by a tombstone.”

“That bad, huh?” I say.

Alpia copies Brigid and the ring dissolves into her, “Yeah, Mum is right. That’s horrible.”

I wince, “Just close your eyes. Please?”

They both comply and I tug at the new connection, then dive into my soul. My awareness shifts, changing to a desolate beach and desert sands.

Brigid and Alpia stand at the top of a sand dune, looking out at the tumultuous Warp and all the strange creatures constantly hunting each other.

“Alis described this place to me,” says Brigid. “I expected empty sands, yet there are multiple grasses and scrub to be seen.”

“Mum, check out this armour! This is awesome.” Alpia jumps up and down a few times and spins in a circle, then gestures wildly at herself.

Brigid’s mechadendrites whirl around her, “White and gold power armour. Oh, and Aldrich’s hammer and cog in the usual bronze.”

Alpia settles down and rubs the Mars red surcoat between her armoured fingers, gently spreading the fabric to unveil thousands of tiny circuits and runes. “This is excellent work, Dad.”

“Thank you, Sweat Pea. Both your souls are now armoured by me. Alpia doesn’t really need it as she has her own protections, but both of you should be well protected from Daemonic attacks and cruel whispers. It is far more comprehensive protection than that offered by our Warding Electoos and other armaments. The more Daemons you kill in a fifty metre range, the stronger the armour gets.”

“How did you manage that?” says Brigid.

“Let’s put that aside for a moment. There are two more important features. The first is that we now have a permanent telepathic bond and can always contact each other, no matter where we are. It is far more robust than the soulbond that I have with Alpia and exceptionally difficult to interrupt as I am by your side at all times. You still have your privacy, I can’t read your thoughts or anything like that, nor can you read mine.”

“I am delighted to have a chance to talk to you like Alipa does,” Brigid gives me a radiant smile then frowns, “I can feel two sets of emotions. One is rather faint. Those are yours, Husband?”

“Yes. I took Alpia’s words to heart. With this bond, I can no longer lie to you or Alpia, and the reverse is also true. For me, it's not because I don’t trust you both, but to help each other from lying to ourselves. As for you, I offer you my feelings from moment to moment. I could think of no better way than to restore the trust between us after hiding my injuries from you both after I agreed not to do so. If it gets too much at any point, just think about closing yourself off for a bit and you’ll get your privacy back. The same goes for me.”

“You went way too far with this, Dad!”

“I like it,” says Brigid. “You are forgiven, Aldrich.”

“That’s a relief!” I say.

Alpia sighs, “I can already tell there’s no way to take this thing off.”

“I can be destroyed with sufficient effort if you find it that objectionable.”

“No way! I do like knowing you’re protecting me. Just, you could have warned me, alright. Given me a choice and all that. I get so few of those.” Alpia pauses, “Oh you actually feel bad about that. I’ll actually know you mean it for sure when you say sorry now. Your emotions are way clearer than before. Neat!”

“I’m glad you think so. Now that I can bring you inside my soul, and your own souls are properly protected, we’re finally in a safe enough spot that I can tell you my last secret.”

Brigid nods, “As much as I would love to cuddle and admire my new raiment, I have waited decades to hear this.”

“I’m guessing it has to do with how you can do all this,” says Alpia.

“Indeed! Shall we walk along the beach as we go? It’s all much the same, but I find a little movement can help with difficult conversations.”

“Acceptable. Lead the way, Husband.” Brigid grabs my arm and Alpia places her hand on my shoulder, then we walk.

The Warp laps against the sand, the sound is peaceful. The distant roars are not. Focusing my will, fog rises from the Warp, muffling the distant fighting.

“I am sure you’ve both wondered why I get so much attention from the Emperor, and the Dark Gods, or why the Navigators are amazed that I can partially fuel the Astronomicon when even Malcador the Sigilite lasted a handful of hours.”

Alpia says, “You do outrageous stuff all the time. I gave up questioning it after a while.”

“Go on,” says Brigid.

“I have a rare soul mutation. I am a Soulphage and can consume souls to empower my own. My diet cannot corrupt me and those I consume, even Daemons are permanently destroyed.”

Alpia throws her hands in the air, “At last! Everything finally makes sense!”

“That does explain a lot,” says Brigid.

Alpia and Brigid are satisfied, not afraid, much to my relief.

“Awww, were you worried that would affect our opinion of you, Dad?”

“Yes.”

Brigid says, “Yet you told us anyway, the moment it was safe to do so. That says more about you and your opinion of us than hiding in your fears ever would. I am proud of you, Aldrich. I was uncertain that you are still you. I am delighted to be wrong.”

“What Mum said. You did good, Dad. You’ll tell my brothers too, right?”

“That is up for debate.”

“On second thoughts, holding this over them would be much more fun.”

“Alpia! Aldrich will do no such thing,” says Brigid. 

“Obviously! You know I was joking. Will you tell Quanni too? If anyone needs soul armour it’s him.”

“I haven’t decided yet. I am tempted to keep this to those who need to know. If you hadn’t both asked to help with my research I would have given you the armour, but I would not have told you about being a Soulphage.”

“That is disappointing,” says Brigid. “I hate that I agree with you. I was too hasty a moment ago.”

“Being sensible all the time sucks all the passion out of everything,” says Alpia. I can feel her pouting. “Moving on, that’s how the armour gets stronger, yes? It’s you, so it has your powers.”

“That’s it.”

“So what is this secret implant of yours,” says Brigid, “and why is it so important.”

“It’s called a Warp Tap. It gathers Warp energy to power my implants automatically. It also extends the range of my Soulphage abilities. With it I can consume any soul of any creature that I slay, or if my orders resulted in its death, within 100,000 kilometres. This is why we were not bothered by Warp entities on most of our voyages until it was destroyed. Now we have Alpia instead, and even though she is more powerful than me, they have become more daring.”

Brigid says, “I did wonder why Distant Sun’s travel logs were so different from before and after you became its captain.” 

“Well, now you can put that mystery to rest,” I say. “Anyone I have a soul bond with, such as the Psy-Errants, act as relays for the Warp Tap. The armour I gave you might also work with it. I’ve no way of testing that right now though.”

“This tech seems way too good to be true,” says Alpia.

“It is,” I say. “The Warp Tap acts as a filter and buffer, ensuring that I only consume the souls of my enemies and not my allies. It also prevents me from consuming too many souls at once, allowing for steady growth of my own soul. The buffer maxes out at 5 million, after that it won’t absorb anymore souls until the buffer has space again. 

“Without the Warp Tap, I can eat all souls that die near me, or none of them. I can’t be picky. With the Warp Tap destroyed, I have to close off my abilities to prevent any accidents.”

Brigid and Alpia’s emotions recoil at my words, and I withhold further explanations for a few minutes while they process what I’ve told them. Once they relax a little, I resume speaking. They are doing a remarkable job of not judging me, or showing distaste.

“As for the caveat, a Warp Tap can only work at full capacity in conjunction with a Soulphage. Machines do not handle them well. Discovering that little tidbit is what corrupted the Research Grade STCs. The version E-SIM and I have is more sophisticated and less vulnerable, and less capable in return.”

“So your Warp Tap powers not just you, but E-SIM as well?” says Alpia.

“Correct.”

Brigid says, “Why can’t E-SIM build a new one for you?”

“It’s one of his restrictions. To help me with my implants, I have to know how they work. It's a safety feature to prevent me from being too reliant on a Machine-Spirit to solve my problems. Given that E-SIM is the follow-up creation after the disaster with the Research Grade STCs, that should come as no surprise. If he was repairing the Warp Tap, there would be no problem. As I have to build a new one from scratch, I need to know how it works.”

“If I hadn’t seen that planet sized creation I would think that is a stupid restriction,” says Alpia. “Now it seems lenient.” 

I say, “I quite agree. I am fortunate to have the required STC. The problem is that the standard Human brain cannot visualise the required mathematics. This is why I am working with JK-404 to improve mine.”

Brigid smiles, “I can see now that you have always told us as much as could safely before you gave us this soul armour.”

“Wait, Dad. That still doesn’t quite make sense. If you were still planning on keeping most of this a secret if we couldn’t help, how are we supposed to assist you with our regular noggins? Your Hyper Intelligence research isn’t ready yet.”

“Sweet Pea. Who are you the Saint of?”

“The Emperor. Oh! And the Machine-God.”