After the Macragge system was reclaimed, the Primarch immediately began preparations to liberate the neighboring sectors. Alexei knew this campaign would last nearly a year. Only then would there be a period of preparation before launching the Terran Crusade, followed by the audience with the Emperor, the Ultima Founding, and the Indomitable Crusade.
At this moment, Alexei was ready to return to Aiur—specifically, his original body.
Standing before the Medivac, he watched Cawl slowly walk toward the cabin. "You aren't leaving?" the Archmagos asked, turning back to look at him.
"You'll find out soon enough," Alexei replied with an enigmatic smile. His Void Projection would remain by Guilliman's side as an advisor, much like Cawl's own duplicates. Although Guilliman had asked why Alexei wasn't returning to Aiur, he simply gave a faint smile and stated he had his own arrangements.
Seeing this, the Primarch pressed no further. Alexei's Void Projection exchanged a shrug with Cawl's duplicate. Staying by Guilliman offered a wealth of knowledge—strategy, politics, internal affairs. Alexei needed to improve more than just his personal combat power; his evolved brain and shared consciousness gave him the confidence to do so.
Furthermore, Alexei didn't want to miss the spectacular scenes to come. He estimated his Warp Crystal would be ready by then. He relished the thought of Guilliman's expression when, trapped in the Warp, a Golden Armada suddenly appeared—and the look on that "Two-Headed Bird's" face when it saw him again. Just thinking about it was entertaining.
Alexei shook his head. Wait, when did I become such a prankster? He watched the Medivac fly toward the Battlecruiser, then turned to leave. There was still much to be done.
Inside the Captain's quarters of the Battlecruiser, Alexei's true body leaned back in his chair. The goals of this journey had been completely achieved. "Perfect," he whispered, slowly opening his eyes. Next, he could return to Aiur to "spam units" and develop.
Aiur's sector was located within the Warp scars caused by the expansion of the Eye of Terror. Chaos fleets would inevitably assault his sector continuously, giving him the perfect excuse to "help" other planets. "Open the door, free trade!" Then, add a few small garrison units. Human mutual aid—how wonderful.
As for Warp influence, the scale of the Zerg Swarm he now possessed had greatly strengthened their Hive Mind psionic network. This "Local Area Network" was now large enough to cover an entire star system, minimizing Warp corruption as much as possible. As for newly awakened psykers? The Ghost Academy would welcome them.
Lost in thought, Alexei walked out of the lounge and ran straight into the Archmagos, who had just boarded. Looking at the silent Tech-Priest staring at him, Alexei smiled. "Long time no see, Archmagos."
Cawl didn't speak, but continued to observe him, attempting to find evidence that he wasn't human.
"Don't look at me like that. I've simply done what you do. You use mechanical duplicates; I use a few minor psionic tricks," Alexei explained, meeting Cawl's puzzled gaze.
"Very well. I sense this trip to Aiur will bring many surprises," Cawl replied in his mechanical voice, his gaze scanning every inch of the ship.
"Of course. It won't disappoint you." Alexei turned toward the bridge, with Cawl's massive frame following closely behind.
On the bridge, everyone was busy. The Battlecruiser's sub-light engines had already engaged.
"Attention: The ship will enter low planetary orbit in 30 seconds." The female voice of the semi-humanoid mechanical construct suspended above the bridge immediately caught Cawl's attention.
"Abominable Intelligence?" Cawl looked at Alexei.
"Don't worry, it's not that advanced. Its intelligence has been severely neutered; it only executes commander orders or reports battlefield data. It lacks autonomous decision-making. Relax," Alexei replied. Cawl continued to scrutinize the construct regardless.
"Ship has entered projected orbit. Begin preparation for long-range jump?"
"Yes. Begin. Destination: Aiur," Alexei replied. Immediately, the ship's power systems surged, channeling energy toward the massive Warp Drive.
"Warp Drive charging. Time remaining: four hours."
Cawl was fascinated by everything he saw—the highly automated equipment and the mysterious Warp Drive. He turned to the Governor of Aiur. "May I inspect that Warp Drive?"
"Best not to right now. It's charging. Any rash move might cause it to explode on the spot. You'll have plenty of chances to study it once we reach Aiur," Alexei advised, stopping Cawl immediately.
The Archmagos nodded. "Then I shall look at other things." Since there were four hours of preparation, Alexei didn't stop him. He'd have to show Cawl eventually, and current Aiur technology was essentially a "black box"—even Alexei didn't fully understand it all, despite having absolute control over all Terran tech.
Four hours later, Cawl returned to the bridge, muttering to himself while his servo-skulls buzzed.
"Attention: Jump sequence initiating. Countdown: 30, 29, 28..."
The bridge crew braced themselves. As the countdown hit zero, the Battlecruiser vanished from orbit. On Macragge, reading a report, Guilliman received the news. He looked toward Alexei's projection with a complex expression as the latter assisted him with administrative tasks.
Inside the ship, Cawl looked through the viewport at the distorted, flowing galaxy. It looked like splashed liquid paint—vibrant colors and stars stretching into long arcs of light, racing backward.
After a long silence, Cawl spoke slowly. "Breathtaking technology. I can hardly wait to analyze it."
"No rush. We have over a month. For now, let's get some rest." Alexei turned to leave, leaving Cawl alone to watch the view outside the window.
Meanwhile, in the Phoenix Sector where Aiur was located, at the capital planet Greyvan, Sector Governor Beowulf frowned at the parchment report in his hand. He noted the red scar tearing across the sky. Immediately after, the Astropathic Choir lost communication with other worlds. The Navigators on the sector fleet were screaming, weeping that they could no longer see the Light of Terra.
Then came the sudden awakening of countless illegal psykers on the planet. Greyvan was now under emergency martial law. Any citizen leaving their home without authorization was deemed a rebel. The illegal psykers were being detained in plains far from the cities using special measures, guarded by two full regiments of the Astra Militarum.
"I hope things don't get any worse," the Governor sighed heavily, setting down the parchment.