AN: Ok, so, due to popular demand the interactions between the Aesir and the Imperium of Man will now begin! This will be the first chapter of such things.
Also, just wanted to point out that, due to what seems to be some miscommunication during the last chapter on my part, that the FTL alternatives are those that are in 40K. Basically, it would have been like the Tau Ether drive or using the Webway, maybe one of the others, but I wasn't planning to pull something completely new out of my ass.
Anyway, enjoy the show!
XXX
Looking around from the landed shuttle, I sighed as I looked at the crowd of Felinids lining the walls of the nearby settlement, well, settlement under construction, as it were. Apparently, they thought it would have been a rather nice idea to build a new settlement right on top of the remains of the Xenos Palace after it had been burned to bedrock by orbital fire, just to be sure. Already, the foundations had been planted for a truly massive settlement as I had heard talk of them migrating their entire race to this one city. I was divided on the issue, for a number of reasons, but I kept my opinions to myself and made a mental note to ensure that the place was well defended, along with a note to have a sizeable garrison force present on the planet at all times along with orbital defences, something I planned to make standard in the future.
Looking over the crowd, I noted the forms of these Felinids, they were quite Human in form, the males looking like Humans with a slight bit of fur over their backs, arms and with very thick hair, often flowing like a lion's main, not to mention the cat-like ears that seemed to stick out from the top of their heads along with the tails. The females were slightly different, slightly thicker hair, but no fur and with cat ears and tails being present on their bodies, all of them having athletic builds to match the males, though, most of the males I had seen looked to be made from enough muscle to snap an Ogryn over their knee.
Though, as I turned around, I noted the way that the people were looking at me, awe and reverence being the primary emotions that I could practically taste in the air while others included curiosity, a slight bit of fear, and no small amount of lust from some of the females. I suppressed another sigh at that, my... Encounter, for lack of a better word, with Taenera and Frida had caused me to pay special attention to these things as I didn't want to get blindsided by surprises, even if they were of the pleasant sort. However, it was because of that, that I was able to spot a group of Felinids that I had been waiting on as they approached.
At the head of the group, I saw the Felinid Elder that I had talked to earlier, his fur and hair going grey, but his body still looking like someone in their late thirties at the least. Glancing at his choice of clothing, I noted the similarities between it and some of the more traditional clothing worn in China as he came wearing only a pair of trousers, his shoes and no top while his companion was a rather different story. She, on the other hand, wore a bright orange Kimono covered in a trailing pattern of flowers with blue petals and numerous icons, a quick scan showed they were harness, but it was better safe than sorry. Though, that wasn't what caught my attention the most, no, that honor belonged to the fact that she seemed to have decided to wear her kimono in a similar fashion to Kuroka from Highschool DxD, the fabric having been pulled down to show off her shoulders, showing off a significant amount of cleavage while a black sash ran around her waist, holding it up and preventing the kimono from slipping down further. Not only that, but the front of said kimono was left open, showing off her smooth legs and high-heeled sandals.
"Lord Ambassador. I thank you for your patience and understanding with our traditions, I know that you have not been as... Enthused by some of them, but I thank you for your tolerance and acceptance of your way of life." I offered a smile at that, still annoyed that I hadn't been able to evade this, or talk them out of it. However, I was happy for a number of reasons, mostly because I was glad they hadn't known I was the leader of the Aesir, which would have complicated things, and that they stood by their way of life.
"While I may find some things to be against my own morals, I am hardly going to force you to change your entire way of life just to suit my needs." The Elder bowed at the waist, almost coming close to being parallel to the floor, a surface scan of his thoughts showed that this was to show his submission and his acknowledgement of my higher rank when compared to him. I forced down a grimace at that, the Felinids were completely serious about becoming little more than servants to the Aesir, it seemed.
"I understand, and am thankful for your understanding in this matter." He stood back up before gesturing to the woman at his side. I moved my gaze over to her and scanned her body with my eyes, I could feel a mixture of nervousness and determination flowing from her as she bowed in turn, bowing just as deeply as the Elder. I took her measure as she flashed a significant amount of cleavage at me, unknowingly, if I had to guess as I saw no ill-intentions or plots regarding such a thing.
"This is Tig'ra, she has volunteered to seal the treaty with her servitude to the Lord of the Aesir, this Great Father." The Elder stated as I took her measure, more fully than before. She stood around 2.48 metres tall, rather surprising, but understandable since I had seen that women were taller than men here, an odd reversal. From her head, a thick carpet of brown hair raced down in waves to just above her waist while two, brown cat ears sprung up from the top of her head, amber cat-like pupils looked at me from large eyes with glints of determination showing while her mouth was set into a polite smile, hiding the feat I could feel coming from her. Her body was well built, a by-product of her race while her breasts were easily DD cup sized, I could easily see that thanks to her state of dress, while smooth, virtually hairless, legs were showed off by the opening at the front of her clothing. I nodded at that, understanding what was happening even if I still felt such a practise was barbaric. Mentally, I shrugged, I had time to change things, the advantages of being effectively immortal, after all.
"Greetings, Tig'ra, I am Marcus, I'll be showing you to Yggdrasil to meet with the Great Father." I stated as I offered a bow of my own, shallower than theirs, but they would have argued against me dipping any lower as a show of equals, I had just accepted it as the way of things as, again, I knew that time was on my side to slowly change their traditions.
"And greetings upon you as well, Lord Ambassador. I pray that the Ancestors look favourably upon our journey and this union." She spoke formally, a traditional blessing for the future as I nodded in turn, offering a reassuring smile that seemed to have an effect on her as her cheeks darkened slightly.
"I hope so too, Lady Tig'ra, but I know that even they can only help us so far. I shall still pass along your request to the Vanir Navigators of the Invictus, they are the ones who hold sway over just how rough our journey shall be." I remarked as I looked behind the two and saw a few others carrying what looked like finely crafted chests, a quick scan showed that they were filled with clothing, offerings and what looked like a few weapons, primitive, functional, but highly decorative, probably meant as show pieces, tokens of appreciation, I surmised.
"Your luggage, I take it?" I asked as she once more nodded at me, favoring a light smile as I glanced at them before flexing my power just as the others approached, suddenly, the luggage was floating before it moved passed us and into the Sky Crane behind me, rapidly stacking itself, tucked to one side. I smiled as I looked back at the my watchers, having noticed my eyes glowing as I used my powers, but I favored them with a calm, polite smile, even as I secretly enjoyed some of their shocked expressions.
"Now that your luggage is aboard, I take it that you are ready to depart?" I asked, completely ignoring the shock they were feeling as I was too damned amused by their reactions.
XXX
Tig'ra could only look on in shock as her few belongings and chosen gifts for the Aesir leader flew through the air as she saw the glow in the Lord Ambassador's eyes. She knew what it was, all Felinid knew what it meant, but none had known about that simple fact until they had seen the Lord Ambassador exercise his powers through what many would call an impressive display of skill and control. Throughout the history of the Felinid of Obros, those capable of channeling supernatural powers were rare, but they did exist, called Mystics, these channels were highly sought after for a number of reasons, most of which revolved around their abilities as walking engines of destruction.
Anyone that fought against a Mystic was doomed to failure, in one form or another. As such, when a Mystic was discovered, much effort was made to bind them to clans and ensure their bloodlines were retained, getting them to give birth to as many children as possible to keep such powers within the clans. When the Cruel Hard Ones had come, however, the Mystics were their first targets as they were systematically wiped out, killed to remove any chance of resistance as they used the Dread Star to great effect. However, while the Mystics hadn't survived to the present day, records of them certainly had, as such, they knew that what the Lord Ambassador had just done would have been, to the Mystics that had once existed on Obros, considered as an impossible feat of control, skill and extreme multitasking.
The ability to move objects with a thought had been a common ability, but few had reached such a level of skill to move several objects all at once without crushing or dropping any of them, most had only managed to lift large boulders, usually crushing them in the process before throwing them away. If anything, it certainly attracted the attention of many around the area as the chances of Felinids trying to sire his offspring suddenly jumped up a few orders of magnitude. Tig'ra was rather jealous of that, as she wouldn't have minded giving birth to his offspring as he had already proven himself to be an attractive option for any who wished to sire children. The Lord Ambassador was a skilled warrior, an expert craftsman, as shown when he said that his armor and weapons had been forged by himself, an excellent sage and now he added Mystic to the list, only improving his chances further of getting a mate, or several.
Not to mention the fact that he was rather pleasing to the eye, with an air of humility, utter confidence, cunning and a ruthless intelligence to him.
"Yes, I am ready to be off, Lord Ambassador. Thank you for placing my belongings within the hold of your vessel, it must have been rather tiring, but the gesture is appreciated." Tig'ra stated as she bowed once more, the Lord Ambassador merely smiled at that, lifting a hand before his eyes glowed once more before specks suddenly started floating through the air before building themselves up until it looked like something was forming in his hand, an impossible display of sheer power that had never been seen before as a red-petal-ed flower suddenly appeared between his fingers.
"I assure you, Lady Tig'ra, that using a few parlor tricks will not tire me out anytime soon. Any Vanir worth their skills would have considered such a trick as child's play." He remarked factually, once more highlighting the sheer difference in scale and strength between the Mystics of old and these 'Vanir' as they were apparently called.
"I see." Was all she said as the Lord Ambassador gave her the flower before gesturing for her to board the vessel before her.
"Good. Then, if you have no further questions for the moment, let us be off." He stated as the Felinid nodded with a smile, still feeling fearful of what to expect, but her fear had been reduced somewhat thanks to the kindly manner of the Lord Ambassador. Nodding, she stepped into the vessel after saying her farewells to the Elder and those gathered to watch, followed soon by the Lord Ambassador as he directed her to one of the many empty seats that filled the craft, each one looking large enough to hold an Aesir in full armor and held in place by a harness of solid metal. Tig'ra quickly counted that such a craft could carry at least twenty warriors into battle with little trouble. However, as she felt the ship take off, she found herself caring less for that as a primal joy took over her.
She was going to be the first Felinid of Obros to fly!
XXX
"We'll be nearing the Invictus momentarily, Lady Tig'ra." The Lord Ambassador stated as she looked at him in surprise, taken from her thoughts of what the Great Father might be like as she looked back on the amount of time that had past in shock, merely fifteen minutes to travel to the vessel of the Great Father? It was another showing of just how powerful the Aesir were. Seeing her thoughts, something that she guessed could be a lot more literal in his case as a Mystic, he reached over and grabbed a thin plate of glass before handing it to her. Looking at it questioningly, he smiled as she turned her gaze towards him and pressed a finger on to the plate before it suddenly shifted, the clear surface disappearing to be replaced with an image of the vast void before them.
"Figured you might like to see the Invictus on our approach." He remarked, seeing her shocked face before her eyes glued themselves to the plate of glass as she watched the darkness and twinkling stars. Suddenly, she saw it, a dark spot where the light of the stars would not pass as it grew with their approach. As it grew, Tig'ra's eyes grew wider and wider as she saw the utterly massive ships of the Aesir, guessing that some of them were longer than most settlements before her eyes locked on the massive ship in the centre of the armada before her.
Her eyes shot wide and her mouth dropped slightly as she saw it.
"... That ship... How big is it...?" She whispered out, barely trusting her voice to ask the question. Without even looking at the screen, the Lord Ambassador answered.
"The Invictus is the about 35 kilometres from front to back, armed accordingly for its size as well as armored heavily encase of attack." He remarked, but explained nothing more as Tig'ra was left to imagine what such a ship would be capable of, her thought turning up ideas as wild as they were possible, more than one of which being that even the Dread Star would barely hold a candle to such a vessel.
Later on, she would learn just how right she was...
XXX
I had to admit, it was interesting playing guide to the Felinid that was supposed to seal the 'Accords of Submission', as the Felinids called the treaty. I had yet to tell her who I really was, mostly because I would rather get to know someone based on how they acted around me, rather than how they thought I wanted them to act. I was fully planning to break the news to her at some point, but I had yet to decide when, probably on the way back to Yggdrasil, that was my best guess.
"And here we are, Lady Tig'ra, your chambers." I stated as I walked up to a door and watched it open, Tig'ra only looked on in fascination and awe, every little detail, no matter how mundane, serving to heighten her awe of the Aesir and their abilities, pushing her impression of me all the higher, due to her not knowing that I and the Great Father were one and the same.
"Wow..." She whispered out as she looked at the room before her, which, to her, looked like it was made for royalty. The walls were silver with streaks of gold, a large, comfortable bed big enough for multiple people and a number of chambers leading off from the central room that looked to be filled with any number of things that she could hardly imagine.
"This is all mine?" She asked, her voice still quiet as she dared not look away from the inside of the room as I floated her luggage passed her, smiling slight at that as I nodded.
"Yes, this room is yours to do with as you wish until the journey is over, after which, you will be able to move into Asgard once we reach Yggdrasil. I hope it is to your liking?" I asked, slightly curious as I noted that she nodded absently.
"It's perfect..." She muttered as she stepped into the room and I closed the door behind her, I smiled at that, making a note that, maybe, I should tell her who I really was far sooner than I had originally planned, if only because it would give me a great deal of amusement from her reactions.
One had to take joy in the little things that made life worth living, after all.
XXX
Moving along the black and gold corridors of the Throne-ship of the Great Father, Tig'ra did her best to resolve herself of her nervousness at what she was about to do. Mere moments ago, she had received a summon to stand before the Great Father of the Aesir, delivered by a towering woman with glowing veins of cyan visible under her flesh, apparently showing her to be an Aesir. Thinking back, she could remember seeing such things on the Lord Ambassador, but they were not nearly as prominent as the ones on this woman who looked to have been carved from stone and took on the utter incarnation of perfection. Honestly speaking, if she walked through the streets of any settlement on Obros, Tig'ra had little doubt that she would have been swarmed by suitors wanting the right to mate with her, even willing to conduct death duels for the honor.
"We are here." The woman, who had introduced herself as Frida, said as she stood before a door to the chamber of the Great Father, it looked simple, the same as any other door, but the differences were subtle, a slight trim of gold and engraved with small runes while, if you looked at it from the right angle, one could see complex pictures and images engraved on the surface of the door. It wasn't apparent unless you were looking for it, which Tig'ra was as she tried to gage the character of the Great Father. Turning to her escort, her bowed deeply as she spoke.
"Thank you, Lady Frida." The Aesir nodded once before the door opened and allowed her entry. As she entered, she couldn't help but look around, surprised at what she saw as the room, while subtly more decorated than a normal room, was nearly exactly the same as the one she had been staying at. It was a rather large shock to her system as she was so used to having Nobles living in an excess of wealth that having someone so humble as to live in what, to the Aesir, must have been rather mundane was just so out of her range of expectations that she didn't know how to react. That wasn't helped when she heard a familiar voice and turned to see an equally familiar face.
"I take it that my choice in living arrangements surprises you?" Turning, she looked to see the Lord Ambassador sitting at a comfortable looking chair, wearing just a shirt and a pair of trousers, a book in his hand, a slight smile on his lips as a pair of glasses were on the table before him, another chair opposite him. She went to bow as she turned to address him, questioning why he was here when she suddenly froze.
HE HAD BEEN THE GREAT FATHER ALL ALONG?!
"You're the Great Father?" She asked, the words slipping out of her mouth before she had a chance to reboot her mind from the sudden shock, her cheeks flushed at the blunt question as she turned to bow low, even kneel, and beg for forgiveness before she heard something, risking a glance, she saw him bark with amusement at her reaction.
"Why yes, yes I am." He spoke with a smile, clearly finding something funny that she was not privy to, not surprising given his rank, but she dearly wished to know. She went to speak, wishing to ask for forgiveness due to her own ignorance, but was stopped as the Great Father raised a hand.
"I dislike people treating me with respect due to my rank or because of some pre-conceived notion of what I may be like or my personality. I try and avoid situations where such incidents can happen and I especially dislike people grovelling to me when they have no reason to do so." He remarked, emphasising that last point as she gave a sheepish nod in understanding. He gestured for the chair opposite him as she moved to take a seat, regarding her for a moment before speaking once more.
"The reason I never said anything to your people is many fold: The first reason is because I didn't wish for those around me to act like they would be walking on thin glass around me, ready to cut themselves open with a misstep. Second, I prefer to lead from the front, as a leader should, not simply because of my rank. Third, I prefer people to get to know me for who I am, rather than deciding whether they like or hate me based on a rank. And finally, I didn't want to utterly destroy so many aspects of your people's culture simply because I disliked certain aspects of it."
"Then what about the Union? If you truly didn't wish for it to happen, couldn't you have demanded that it never be undertaken?" Tig'ra asked, her voice quiet as she took all those pieces of information in, building a more complete image of the Great Father, seeing him as an individual of great humility, but also intelligence and compassion.
"I didn't want to cause too much social upheaval so soon, nor so quickly after your people just had their oppressors removed. I figured that if this is what it took to ensure that your people, and Humanity as a whole, would be able to recover from the Collapse that took place millennia ago, causing the fall of the Human empire, then I would just have to accept it and move on." He started, holding up a hand to prevent her from answering straight away before he continued on. "No, that does not mean I'm going to force you to marry me, or anything else of that kind. If you wish to carry out the Union, that is on you and no one else as far as I'm concerned. If you don't want to, I can just as easily rig up a system to project the image of the Union having been complete while you live as you wish."
As he finished, Tig'ra suddenly didn't know what to say as she considered the statements for what they were, pure facts as far as the Great Father was concerned, but ones that seemed to turn her world upside down with every letter spoken. Pushing onwards, she tried to understand this being before her, not willing to accept the Union, but not wanting to force her to do so? Dislike of the traditions of the Felinids, but tolerant of them to the point that he simply doesn't order their destruction? It was a mass of different ideas and a showing of what the Great Father was willing to allow if it meant his subjects were kept happy. Suddenly, she smiled at that, he wasn't a Tyrant that ruled through right of might or bloodline, but one that inspired people who would follow him willingly to the gates of the afterlife and beyond.
Standing up suddenly, Tig'ra strode around the table in three large steps before she was before the Great Father. He looked at her questioningly, but before he could speak, the Felinid dropped to her knees in a showing of total submission.
"I accept the duty of completing the Union, I shall be your servant, mistress and anything else you wish of me that I may be able to carry out. I shall serve you and yours until such a time that I shall cease to draw breath."
I had to suppress my need to pinch the bridge of my nose at that, if only because I knew that this was only going to make Taenera start plotting. I was in her mind most of the time and knew her rather well, hence why I knew that she planned to see just how thoroughly she could twist Tig'ra around her finger to help her form what was, effectively, a Harem.
Honestly, as I looked down at the attractive form of the kneeling Felinid, I couldn't help but wonder whether to be exasperated or excited by what was to come...
XXX
[LIME AHEAD!]
Stepping out of her shower, Tig'ra couldn't stop the goofy smirk that covered her face as she held the cloth towel around her body, not really needing it due to the fantastic technologies of the ship having already dried her body off. Still, she kept the towel on and wrapped around her even as she flopped on to the massive, extremely comfortable bed within her room, still smiling as she spread her arms out and looked up at the ceiling, simply thinking about her encounter with Marcus, the Great Father.
He hadn't been as she had expected, that had been the main thing that sprang to mind as she considered the sheer humility of a man that commanded such powerful warriors, who had a fleet capable of rending planets from the Void and who commanded the industry of a work dozens of times more advanced than Obros. It was humbling, to say the least, that he would rather protect than enslave, even more so when they, in their arrogance, had thought he would be completely alright with carrying out a Union.
He had apparently held a fair dislike of such a system, but had apparently held his tongue on the matter, showing tolerance of those things with which he found distasteful and seemed to be willing to humor them along. Tig'ra found herself more and more grateful for that singular trait of the Great Father as she considered the ending of her meeting with him, where she had sworn herself into his service, completing the Union and sealing the Accord of Submission for good. She smiled at that, Marcus was a kind, compassionate person when off the battlefield, capable of great things while also capable of doing terrible things for the same reasons, and yet...
And yet Tig'ra found herself not caring about such things, Marcus had saved her race from a long, painful, humiliating death at the claws of the Cruel Hard Ones. Saved them from being little more than Cattle, and had gone out of his way to utterly slaughter them when he had the chance. It was clear that he could have easily turned around and ignored what was happening to him, yet, he didn't. That was more than enough to earn the respect of the Felinid, what had earned him the affection of Tig'ra, however, was that he seemed to wish to be judged not on his rank, but on his actions, a concept that she was willing to accept, along with the fact that he seemed to want to protect them. If such was the case, the Tig'ra only saw it as fair that they gave something in return.
Moving to stand up with a smile on her face, that smile soon turned to a frown as she found herself unable to move from the top of her bed, forced to look up as she frowned. Looking around, her annoyance at the situation turned to worry and fear rather quickly as she couldn't see who was holding her down.
"So, it seems that you shall be the newest addition to our little... Group... At the very least, Marcus has good taste." Tig'ra would have jumped as she heard that voice, glancing around, she suddenly saw the intruder to her room, a towering woman, even bigger than Frida, who sat on the side of her bed, her eyes faintly glowing as Tig'ra gulped at that. Mystics were extinct on Obros, but it was rather clear that, if anything, they were still alive and thriving among the Aesir.
"What are you...?" Tig'ra tried to ask before her jaws slammed shut, rattling her teeth slightly as the woman looked on in amusement.
"Shush, no need to talk, just listen and I'll explain everything to you..." The woman purred as the Felinid felt a shiver run up and down her spin as she looked the woman over. She was well built, wearing a white dress that hugged her body and lacking a back or straps to hold it up, the top of it turned into strips of fabric that seemed to coil around her massive breasts while loose bits of fabric hung from her waist. It was an odd dress, but Tig'ra couldn't help but think that it only made the woman before her more attractive, especially since, when compared to Frida, this woman might as well have been a Goddess. Standing up, the woman walked around the bed until she was standing right in front of the Felinid, before a seat lifted itself up and hovered over, slipping under her just as she leaned back to take a seat. Looking down, Tig'ra could see that the woman was smiling.
"You see, you've just joined, even without knowing it, a rather select group that sees to the needs of the Great Father, whatever they may be, either by helping him in battle, or helping him to... Relievehimself of stress, especially given the simple fact that the Great Father doesn't know what it means to simply take a break from his work and relax on his own." The woman spoke, however, even as she did, Tig'ra saw that the pieces of fabric were slowly starting to move, the Felinid felt the cool fabric climbing up her legs, first wrapping around her ankles, then her knees, then moving up to her waist. Tig'ra tried to moan out loud as one strip of fabric brushed against her core, gently caressing it as others continued to move upwards, over her body. The woman watching her just smirked as the towel fell away, allowing her to see Tig'ra's body without difficulty, her breasts standing proudly while the white fabric continued onwards, wrapping around her neck, shoulders, elbows and wrists as she was pulled up from her bed. Tig'ra still couldn't move her mouth as it stayed firmly shut, but she could see the smug smirk on the face of this woman.
"Of course..." She started, trailing off as the fabric around her breasts came away, revealing the massive mounds of flesh as the fabric went ahead and grabbed Tig'ra around her own breasts, squeezing them as they were pulled towards this woman, her eyes going wide from the feeling as her nipples were pinched between two strips of fabric, tightly. Even then, she tried closing her legs as she felt the other bit of fabric brushing deeper and deeper into her, stroking her clit as her eyes showed her bliss and arousal at what was happening. Suddenly, her breasts were smashed into those of the strange woman before her, her body moved like a puppet on strings so that her legs were wrapped around the woman's waist while her arms went over both shoulders.
"... That also means that you're going to need some... Improvements In order to make good on your Oath... Among otherthings..." Sheer bliss suddenly blossomed through her whole body as the woman before her kissed her full on the lips, her tongue slipping into the Felinid's mouth as Tig'ra struggled to breath, she was panting that heavily through any airway that was still open to her. The pleasure only increased as the woman before her dominated her tongue, started exploring her mouth and her hands wandered over Tig'ra's defenceless body, one hand going down and started to knead her ass while another worked itself into her breasts, slipping between the wrappings around her breasts before kneading them as well, digging nails in and pinching her nipple.
By the time that the other woman, Taenera, had pulled back, Tig'ra's body was little more than putty, only being held up through the former Eldar's efforts while smirking with a mixture of smugness and impish amusement.
"... Don't worry, there will be more of that to follow..." Tig'ra heard before her world descended into nothing more than total pleasure and the feeling of appendages crawling over her skin.
It felt good...
[LIME OVER!]
XXX
Well, I honestly shouldn't say that I was surprised with what Taenera did, but I actually was, if only in part due to what she had done to Tig'ra. Taenera already had plans spinning in her mind, I saw them rather easily, all of the involving me having a swarm of women to accompany me as a mixture of advisors, servants, bodyguards and mistresses. As such, Taenera had already put herself in a position to effectively be in charge of all of them, Frida and Tig'ra were hardly in any position to dispute that fact as the former was simply happy being able to share a bed with me while the latter was bound by her Oaths and followed the lead of the more experiences 'Mistress'. Not only that, but Taenera had decided that giving the two of them some upgrades was a good idea.
Both of them were now tougher, stronger and more dangerous than they had been before, with strength well over what an Aesir should have with a toughness to match, apparently having given them augments similar to those of Elite Eldar Warriors from during the War in Heaven. These would allow them all to follow me on to a battlefield and serve as an honour guard if needed, though I felt that such things weren't needed since I was still a pretty damned powerful guy myself, that is to say, I didn't turn down such an offer, as having more people to watch my back was only a good thing.
Still, I questions some of the augments that were given. Sure, I didn't mind Taenera taking one of my ideas I had been mucking around with as a side project and using it to give Tig'ra what was, effectively, biological immortality, along with her newly enhanced nature, but some of the other things were a bit more... Dubious, to say the least.
All three women now had a system that allowed them to control their pheromone output, not only that, but a system of small effectors that released any number of signals ranging from sonic, sub-sonic, electromagnetic or even light waves. These systems allowed they to turn normal men, Aesir and probably even Space Marines into putty under their fingers. For me, it made their suggestions a bit more effective as they often drowned me in the stuff in order to get me to relax. I knew there wasn't any malice in the action, but that didn't mean that I didn't find such things more than a bit annoying when I thought I was about to make a breakthrough in one line of research after months of work.
Though, I would admit, it had done me some good. I was often more relaxed about things, less stressed and less likely to box myself in to one line of thinking. It also helped that Taenera, for reasons only known to herself, also built Familiar and Lover Bonds between myself, Frida and Tig'ra as well, something she considered a good thing as both were also joined to ODIN to protect them from the corrupting influence of the Warp. I had moaned about having more people running around in my head, the girls had reacted to that simply saying that they would merely use such a privilege to ensure that I am taking care of myself.
I called them Temptresses and Seducers, they happily thanked me for those titles as they, repeatedly, slipped into my workshop and convinced me to go to bed with them even if I wasn't tired.
... I would admit that such nights were veryfulfilling.
XXX
It took two centuries, more like two and a half when you consider how long I had been in this reality, but I had managed to carve out a rather decent sized domain for myself, a few dozen star systems all recaptured from one Xenos race or another, sometimes it was just primitive things that had gotten luck when a ship had crash-landed while others were small empires that used Humans as little more than slaves or food. All of said Xenos were now little more than a footnote in history, the only proof that they were even around, actually, and even then, said footnote was rather difficult to find.
I had encountered a dozen lost colonies, each one filled with Humans of one form or another, most being the bog standard ones while I did find a few dozen colonies of Adhumans, nothing particularly amazing, but they were present. Usually, I found Humans with a slight change, making them more durable, maybe a bit stronger or with a slightly different skin tone as a result of the planetary conditions, but that was the real extent of it, I rarely ran into any Adhumans with features as prominent as the Felinids that I had encountered early on. Still, all of these races were rather happy to see the Aesir and welcomed being annexed into the Aesir Collective, effectively being client/vassal states that served the Aesir in one form or another.
For example, Gilvox III was a resource rich planet that was filled with Humans who had been breed for enhanced strength, durability and tougher lungs to survive the thinner, burning atmosphere. They had been used as slaves to supply their Xenos overlords with a steady supply of raw materials which they used to build an empire spanning a fair bit of the planet and with a central tower that easily reached orbit. These Xenos reminded me of the Tholians from Star Trek, but who enjoyed living in climates that were below absolute zero, blue and cyan exoskeletons and with a rather inflated sense of self. Once freed from these Xenos, the people of the planet had happily stated that they would supply all the materials that the Aesir could ever wish for along with men and women for the Auxiliary force that was to be the Aesir equivalent of the Imperial Guard: The Storm Wardens.
Another world of interest was Jul Sovic, a planet covered with flat ground and dozens of highly developed farms, resources were scarce, but they managed to get by with wooden tools and massive amounts of food being produced ever quarter. They used this food to pay a Bi-annual tithe to a race of Xenos that lived nearby, who threatened them with destruction if they did not provide this food. They were wiped out to the last when it was discovered these beings, looking much like giant Praying Manti were being the disappearances of dozens of people and had taken them to use as incubators for their young along as food to go along with the food taken from the Agri-world. Once freed, the local people, believing that the Aesir were some kind of race of Gods, had started working in earnest to repay us, while we provided tools, a better standard of living and a better education, even teaching them improved methods of managing their crops.
By the end of the current phase of expansion, I was looking at over two hundred worlds, not all of them inhabited, under my control, another 23 Gas Giants and all of that contained within about 21 solar systems spread over an area a few dozen lightyears across. It was a rather compact area of space, but I had ensured that it was well defended, with each world having a significant amount of defences, boarder worlds being turned into Fortress world hybrids with a Garrison force of over a million Aesir soldiers, with supporting equipment, along with a further twenty million Storm Wardens acting in support. Not only that, but fleet bases were usually placed within the Dark space between solar systems, ensuring that no one could find them unless they knew what to look for, and even then, such things were well defended with rotating fleets, permanently stations defence ships and enough anti-capital ship guns built into the stations themselves to ensure that anyone stupid enough to attack any such station had better be ready for a fight.
Aside from the occasional Ork purge needing to be done in some of the outer systems, things remained rather peaceful as I had the holdings of my empire consolidated before getting ready for the next push outwards, into the void.
Of course, before such a thing could happen, things took a turn for the worse as I got a message from one of the outer systems. It was a flash message from the local Vanir coven, delivered by ODIN and encrypted as heavily as possible so that only I could read it.
Kilomiz under attack. Orbital defences and Fleet support holding. Unknown time duration. Hostiles have been identified. Communications stated leader designation: 'Primarch Leman Russ, Primarch of the Sixth Legion of the Imperium of Man'. Send reinforcement Fleet with ground elements. Hostile forces have made a breech head.
That was the message that I had read as I sat at the edge of my bed, the words flashing through my mind as I glanced over my shoulder to see the sleeping forms of Taenera, Frida and Tig'ra, I checked the link with them before I leaned down, pinching the bridge of my nose between two fingers as I breathed out through my nose.
"Space Wolves... It just had to be Space Wolves..." I muttered to myself.
This was going to be a long week... I just knew it...
XXX
Kilomiz was a desert world, rich in mineral resources, but utterly devoid of any real form of life beyond the few small seas of drinkable water, and even then, said water had to be heavily filtered to allow for it to be drank without allowing the high salt content from doing more damage to the drinker. Still, with the help of the Aesir, that was slowly changing as small growths of plant-life started growing away from these small seas as life improved, the global temperature started to drop as massive Terraforming systems were constructed in key locations, given their own garrisons and secured against attack. The planet itself was also well known for the strength of its inhabitants, the native Humans being a hardy and determined people that sought to survive and thrive off the sweat from their own backs. They held an instinctive stubborn nature that, while not ungrateful for aid, were unwilling to allow those that gave them aid to do all the work.
As such, when the Aesir saved them from being used as literal cattle by an amoeba-like Xenos race, they refused to stay on the side lines and simply let the Aesir fight for them. They had fought besides the Aesir before joining the Aesir, feeling that such a thing their best choice after having their civilization ravaged by the short, but intense, battle that saw the destruction of the Xenos.
Now, Kilomi served as both a mining world and a strong bastion of the Aesir Collective, offering a rich recruiting ground for the Storm Wardens and even having a few shipyards for non-Aesir vessels to dock to allow for repairs of vast cargo vessels that carried the raw ore and refined materials away to other world.
However, the normally busy space around the planet was filled with a different kind of traffic as blasts of energy and salvos of destructive projectiles, the size of small apartment buildings, filled the skies of the world. These attacks were fired on the defenders of this world, hitting shields and staggering as the return fire came within moments, lances of Blue and red striking out, waves of Hunter Mines sweeping aside any attacker as shields were overloaded and hulls ripped to pieces of multiple detonations.
The Imperial force severely outnumbered the defending Aesir forces, but their quantity was matched, and, in some places, exceeded by the quality of the Aesir as complex weapons tore through Void Shields and Adamantine Hulls. Strike Craft were ripped from the skies while any attempts at boarding were shot down before they even had a chance, their occupants blow apart or left to die in the Void. The Aesir reaped a terrible toll upon the Imperial forces, but the Imperials were still able to strike back, attacking with great fever and zealousness as they forged ahead, even trying to repeatedly ram the larger Aesir ships, weakening Shields and, eventually, cracking them open.
More than a few Aesir ships fell through this method, but such a method still cost the Imperials terribly.
However, while this was going on, one task group of ships rammed its way towards the orbit of the planet even as it was savaged by the Anti-orbital weapons of a dozen types, some more powerful than others, but each of them failed to ensure the destruction of a single ship at the centre of the formation, protected by a shield of other vessels as it charged through the atmosphere before taking position above a large plane to the South of one of the Terraforming stations located on the Equator of the planet. From there, a hail of pod-like objects feel from the craft, hitting the atmosphere but continuing onwards as they screamed in protest before heading for the ground, followed closely by massive dropships that had been launched with all due haste in order to keep up with the descending pods.
Not all of those transports would reach the ground, but enough of them would make it to allow for the creation of a large scale breach head for the Imperial Soldiers and the members of the Astartes of the Sixth Legion.
Still, for many members of both the Imperial army and the Storm Wardens, this would not be a battle decided by men, but one decided by Gods.
It was time for the Wolves of Fenris to match their fangs against the Might of the Aesir.