"Honored High Lord, here's the situation." Kania approached the High Lord and gave a brief explanation of the matter.
"I understand. Please, the two of you, follow us. We've prepared a fine guest room for you. For now, take a rest. Tomorrow, we'll disguise you both as members of the Martian Mechanicus and infiltrate the Palace," one of the High Lords said, nodding to both Rhodes and Salome before leading them into the Terra city district.
The Terra Palace was enormous, spanning the entire area surrounding the Himalayas.
Rhodes and Salome were placed in a luxurious room, guarded by servants stationed at the door. The High Lords, being busy, returned to their work immediately after receiving Rhodes and Salome.
Servants brought in an exquisite dinner, treating Rhodes and Salome well. Since the pair were not considered important figures—just a scientist and a bodyguard—the High Lords didn't personally host a banquet in their honor.
Rhodes, however, was quite happy to have some peace and quiet. Truthfully, he didn't particularly want to interact much with these High Lords anyway.
Once Guilliman awakens and returns to Terra as the Regent, more than half of these High Lords will be eliminated!
"Master! What exactly should we do tomorrow? Should we conduct a preliminary inspection, or should we directly start repairing the Golden Throne?" Salome asked Rhodes, looking at him.
She had absolute confidence in her technological expertise. She had no doubt she could repair the Golden Throne, even without help from the other two individuals. She could handle it on her own.
"If we can begin repairs tomorrow, just do some light work to restore a bit of the Golden Throne's functionality. That'll give us leverage for negotiations. Just in case, take this teleportation bracelet and the captain's armor with you," Rhodes said, handing Salome a golden teleport bracelet and a set of captain's armor.
After upgrading to a mid-tier mothership, Rhodes had refreshed his equipment once again. He'd also acquired a set of vice-captain equipment, scoring two additional golden teleportation bracelets and two advanced sets of armor. The old captain's armor was a perfect fit for Salome.
Rhodes himself wore the latest mid-tier mothership captain's armor, which boasted superior defensive capabilities.
"Understood, Master!" Salome nodded in response.
"Alright, get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be busy."
The two exchanged a glance and nodded before retreating to their respective rooms to rest. After months of traveling, they were finally back on Earth, sleeping on Terra once more. In a sense, this was like a wanderer returning home.
...
Meanwhile, in a study elsewhere, the rogue trader Kania, Imperial Inquisitor Damz, and three High Lords had gathered together.
"Honored Lords, after we arrived at Commorragh…"
Imperial Inquisitor Damz began recounting the events that unfolded after their arrival in Commorragh.
He detailed how they selected suitable repair specialists, toured the arena battles, and witnessed the incredible might of monstrous warriors. He explained how they encountered an individual from the ancient Aeldari Empire, tested their capabilities, and confirmed they could repair the Golden Throne. He went on to describe the negotiations over repair costs and how an agreement was reached.
Kania supplemented the story here and there.
They had reached Holy Terra through the Webway, leaving no detail unmentioned—except for one suspicion: Kania suspected the Aeldari family might have imprisoned a Primarch. However, without solid evidence, he refrained from speaking recklessly about it.
The High Lords nodded. Judging by the conversation, this individual from the ancient Aeldari Empire seemed quite trustworthy. They had demonstrated their advanced technological skills, refrained from demanding payment upfront, and even transported the group through the Webway.
"How powerful are those monstrous warriors? How do they compare to the Astartes?" a High Lord asked.
This was a serious question. If those monstrous warriors were too powerful, they could pose a potential military threat.
The Imperium's military technology had stagnated for over ten thousand years, with some aspects even regressing. Only the most advanced Forge Worlds could still manufacture Titans, and certain powerful Titan models had become impossible to reproduce.
"Honored High Lords, those monstrous warriors possess extraordinary strength. Even without wearing any equipment, their transformed bodies rival the physical capabilities of an Astartes in power armor.
Moreover, their transformed forms grant them incredible defensive capabilities. Without any armor, their bodies can withstand bolter fire, which would only scratch their skin.
They can also wield elemental attacks, such as freezing rays. In mere moments, they can freeze Chaos Space Marine traitors solid and shatter them into pieces," Imperial Inquisitor Damz explained.
The implications were clear: these monstrous warriors had combat capabilities that surpassed ordinary Astartes.
For these monster warriors, he remembered them vividly! Ever since he first encountered this type of monster warrior, he had gone to watch several of their battles in succession, discovering many new breeds of these warriors.
However, the most threatening ones were still the ice monster warriors. They were far too stable and could be mass-produced as soldiers. The other types of monster warriors, in his opinion, were not much different from the flesh-modified creatures created by the Haemonculus and posed no substantial threat to the Empire.
"If that's the case, then we need to be careful! But I believe the Astartes of the Empire will defeat those Xenos creations," one High Lord said. The other two High Lords nodded in agreement. All the enemies of the Empire could be left to the Astartes to handle.
Standing to the side, Kania remained silent upon hearing this. These High Lords truly had no understanding of the arms race! The Astartes had been around for ten thousand years—they were already outdated.
If they continued to hold on to this conservative mindset, refusing to adapt or develop new weapons of war, the Empire would eventually collapse. Did these High Lords think the outdated relics of a ten-thousand-year-old Empire could handle the apocalyptic challenges of the future?
"In addition to these monster warriors, there's also a type of bio-monster mother unit—a massive super-creature. Each one is no smaller than a Warlord-class Titan and may even exceed it in size," Kania added regarding these giant monsters.
He had personally attended the first great monster battle. The combination of long-range ray attacks, terrifying melee combat abilities, and incredible defenses made it doubtful that the Empire's Titans could handle these behemoths.
"Titan-class biological weapons! Could it be that these degenerate Xenos have replicated the Tyranid creatures?" one High Lord frowned and asked.
"Honorable High Lords, I believe these Titan monsters won't pose too significant a threat. Among the monsters that appeared, only one had flying capabilities, and they lacked protective measures like void shields. Against the overwhelming firepower of the Empire's Titans, I doubt they could match up," Damnz said.
The real threat, in his view, was the mass-producible ice monster warriors, which were a standardized army. As for the giant monsters, they were nothing more than grotesque flesh constructs, and their long-range firepower might not even rival that of Titans.
"In summary, the Eldar does indeed have the ability to repair the Golden Throne, and their attitude seems favorable, which is good news. As for the conditions they've proposed, we'll convene a High Lord meeting after the Golden Throne has truly been repaired to discuss the matter," one High Lord said.
The Custodes could not be mobilized, and as for the Astartes Chapters, mobilizing more than ten of them would require the participation of all the High Lords. A majority vote would be necessary for execution.
If the other side could truly repair the Golden Throne, apart from the Custodes, for whom they could not guarantee anything, they could ensure everything else.
"I think we might be able to win over that human female scientist who's with the Eldar. After all, she's a human and likely from the Golden Age," Kania suggested.
During his recent interactions with Lord Loki, he had indirectly inquired about Helotia and learned that she was a human from the Golden Age. She had been in some form of stasis during the Golden Age and had only recently awakened. Out of gratitude to the ancient Eldar family for saving her life, she was temporarily in their employment.
She likely possessed cutting-edge technology from the Golden Age. If she could be recruited into the Empire, it would be a perfect opportunity.
"The Empire's technology has always been monopolized by the Mechanicus on Mars," one High Lord said. "These people are extremely isolationist and are known for suppressing other researchers."
Although the Mechanicus was officially part of the Empire, in reality, their relationship was more of a partnership. All of the Empire's weaponry—from battleships to boltguns, lasguns, and power armor—was monopolized by the Mechanicus. The Empire could only place orders with them but could not directly command them to manufacture.
Over the past ten thousand years, the Empire had produced its share of top-tier scientists, but they were all suppressed or eliminated by the Mechanicus.
"As for this human female scientist, who may be from the Golden Age, let's discuss her later. Tomorrow, we'll first see how skilled she is."
"This meeting is adjourned!"
The High Lords concluded the small meeting and left one after another.
Kania shook his head helplessly. These High Lords were truly exasperating—completely devoid of any sense of crisis!