Alexei knelt before Ellie, explaining everything they were about to do and the inherent dangers involved. He had no wish to force a young girl to do something against her will; if Ellie refused, he would have to scour the other sub-hives to see if any other psykers remained to be sacrificed.
To his surprise, Ellie nodded in agreement. "Brother has been so good to me. I want to be able to help."
Alexei sighed and rubbed her head. Such a good child, yet born into a world that was little more than a cesspit. He said nothing more, leading her by the hand toward the main elevator. Along the way, Ellie was lively, chatting about her daily interactions with Abathur and Zagara.
From what Alexei gathered, the girl spent most of her time bothering the two of them, and they were forced to entertain her because their Master had ordered them to look after her. He couldn't help but chuckle; children her age truly were a handful. He only hoped she would be safe.
Standing on the broad elevator platform, they soon reached the Upper Hive. As they stepped out, Ellie's hand shrank back slightly. Before them lay a world in ruins.
"Brother, what happened here...?" Ellie asked softly.
Alexei squeezed her hand. "It's okay. A disaster happened here before, but I've already driven away the bad people."
The girl nodded and fell silent. As they walked toward the Astropathic Spire, the sight of ruins and corpses made her withdraw. It seemed to remind her of her own past—shattered and chaotic. Fortunately, two "kind people" had saved her, and she wanted to repay them. I must do well what Brother has entrusted to me this time...
Alexei took Ellie to the highest level of the Astropathic Spire. In the center of the hall stood a precise machine—the planet's Astropathic Relay—accompanied by Cogitator arrays responsible for monitoring and controlling it. Fortunately, the previous battles hadn't damaged them; the machinery was still humming along.
In the very center of the hall sat a tall, imposing chair: the technical mystery known as the Astropath's Throne. He took a deep breath and looked at Ellie. The girl gave him a faint smile and walked toward the seat.
Alexei felt extremely anxious. He didn't know if the untrained Ellie could use this machine; if something went wrong, the entire planet might suffer. He stepped toward the Cogitators, looking at the girl sitting on the throne with her eyes closed, and activated the relay.
He wondered if his decision was too hasty. Was restoring communication worth such a price?
As Alexei's mind raced, the machinery in the hall began to hum loudly, with occasional sparks of electricity. The screens below the Cogitators flashed with various data, seemingly unable to handle the psionic output of the person in the chair. Ellie sat motionless. Alexei clenched his fists nervously; he had already told her the message he needed to report.
These messages would be converted into encrypted imagery, transmitted to the sector's Astropathic Relay station, then to the sector capital, and finally to the Administratum of the Imperium.
After an agonizingly long time of Alexei pacing the hall, the relay emitted a massive sound. He rushed over. Ellie's eyes snapped open—those emerald eyes looking at Alexei—and she gave a weak smile. "Brother... I've... sent the news... out..."
Before he could speak, her body slumped forward. Alexei caught her immediately. Looking down, he saw she had lost consciousness, but her breathing remained steady. He breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped the Imperium's reinforcements would bring other psykers to replace her; this was far too dangerous. Ellie had no systematic training and was relying entirely on her absurdly powerful psionic potential.
He brought Ellie back to the PDF headquarters in the Lower Hive. Just as he settled her into a safe room, Ellie suddenly opened her eyes. Seeing that she had something to say, Alexei immediately knelt beside her to listen.
After a moment, Alexei stood up with a solemn expression, nodding to show he understood. He told her to rest and that he would return soon.
Exiting the room, his mind reeled. Ellie had told him that while transmitting the message, she had also received a notification from the sector capital: a Tithe Fleet from the Administratum and Departmento Munitorum was about to arrive on Aiur.
As a transmigrator, Alexei knew exactly what this meant. In the vast Imperium of Man, only two things were unavoidable: death and taxes. The Imperial Tithe collected by the Administratum was notoriously harsh. If he couldn't pay, only the wrath of the Imperial military awaited him.
"Damn it, did the Hordem Governor turn to Chaos because he couldn't pay his taxes?" Alexei sighed at the mess he had inherited.
As a Hive World in a standard fringe sector, Aiur's tithe grade was likely 'Exactus Extremis' or 'Grade I,' meaning they had to hand over massive amounts of industrial goods, mineral resources, and PDF personnel as Astra Militarum recruits. But with the planet currently devastated, paying the tithe wasn't just difficult—it was a death sentence.
"Shit, there isn't enough time to notify the Imperium to reassess the planet's resource levels." Alexei knew exactly what the Administratum was like. Even though he had CMC power armor and C-14 Gauss rifles to offer as Tithe, the Imperium would insist on a lengthy evaluation process. In the meantime, he would still be expected to deliver the usual industrial quotas. By the time they finished evaluating, the grass on his grave would be ten feet high.
"Do I really have to rebel?" Alexei felt like his head was going to explode. For now, he could only take it as it came. He would try to negotiate with the Tithe Prefects, hoping they would grant him a few years' reprieve in exchange for suppressing the Hordem rebellion. If that failed... the image of an Infestor flashed through his mind. Perhaps that was the only way.