The Wayward Son

After their long discussion, not much was said in the following hours. Ferrus had requested a digital copy of the Codex Astartes to read over during that time and Seiras could see him cringing in disapproval quite often during their flight.

Melisara would occasionally chime in with updates on their location, but other than one-word responses of acknowledgement, nobody said much else. The weight of all the recent revelations was truly a burden upon Seiras. Even despite his success at actually reanimating a primarch, he felt even more concerned about the future than before. The Blood Raven spent the majority of the time pondering over the new knowledge and simply couldn't even believe some of it was possible.

'Titans that can fly…how in the Emperor's name could you take down something like that? Assuming it's relatively fast, a ship would be too slow to hit it and nothing on the ground would be able to do much either. That's not even considering what type of advanced weapons and armour it would have. It could outmaneuver any ground force and would be massively advantaged against ground-based titans. Plus if it could enter and exit a planet's orbit on its own, then such a titan could easily break through blockades and puncture fleet formations with minimal effort. Something like that could even break through Battlefleet Solar and land on Terra,' he thought about the tactics that it would take to even engage a war machine of that caliber.

Their long silence was finally broken as Melisara looked back, "Alright, well I have bad news and good news."

Ferrus looked up from the data slate he was reading and sent her a visible look of dread and annoyance. He leaned back against the bulkhead of the ship and released an audible but silent growl, "What is it now?"

Seiras focused on the haemonculus with serious eyes, "What's the issue?"

"Well the bad news is the battle between Vect and Malys is long over. We were in there for about a solar week based on my ship's time calendar. For us it was only a few hours, but I suppose we were lucky that the time dilation wasn't too extreme thanks to our close proximity to Khaine's Gate. I was going to mention it sooner, but I hoped it wouldn't prove to be an issue," she paused momentarily as she took in their reactions.

Ferrus had no visible reaction other than annoyance; he had nothing to say about the matter as his attention turned towards Seiras.

The librarian frowned, "What's the good news, Melisara?"

"The good news is Vect won the battle by disabling the Blackstone Fortress. Malys managed to retreat with it but had to abandon almost a third of her forces. I've been listening to communications for the past two hours on my personal headset here. Apparently, Faelan's Kabal and Velatha's Kabal are working together to wipe out and drive back the rest of the Poisoned Tongue Kabalites and their Ynnari allies. Vect took the Black Heart Kabal to pursue Malys, so at least you don't have to worry about him. You will be interested to know that there's also a search party moving towards one of the decoy trackers I built for you. At the rate they are going it'll take them another hour or two. With good timing I can drop you off there before they arrive," she explained calmly.

Seiras exhaled a breath of relief, "That's a remarkably lucky turn of events. I expected something far worse."

"I've been thinking about this escape you're planning," Ferrus interjected sternly, "is there any reason we shouldn't just leave this blighted realm right now?"

"Honestly, I don't know…I hadn't given that idea much thought," Seiras' eyes lit up.

Melisara shook her head, "Unfortunately, that won't do…preparations need to be made before I release you to break out of Commorragh. Also I think you would do well with some armour and weapons before you two escape, Ferrus. While Seiras is working out his escape plans, you can forge some in my lab. Don't worry I have everything you could possibly need. Though I would advise not making Terminator Armour since that would take too long."

"Hmph…that is a good point. I certainly will need wargear before we return to Imperial space," Ferrus acknowledged a bit begrudgingly.

"We'll also need allies here, Lord Ferrus. Plus I promised to help the eldar and some Imperial Guardsmen to escape. The captive craftworlders can navigate us back through the webway to Corun where I was captured. Inquisitor Atia should still be there with my kill team in Sub-Sector Justicar. They were trapped by warpstorms in the sub-sector," Seiras added.

"Why can't you just take us there, alien?" Ferrus asked Melisara.

The haemonculus sighed, "Alas, I cannot do such a thing. I am quite well-connected in this city. Your escape has to look like an accident. Even as amazing as I am, I would not fare well against Vect's wrath if he found out I was helping you. I'll explain in detail how I plan to handle that issue later."

"Fair enough," Ferrus sighed in acceptance.

Melisara pressed a few buttons in the cockpit of her ship to put it on autopilot before moving to the back, "Anyways, I need to put your collar back on before I deliver you back, Seiras. You should also come up with a good cover story about what you've been doing the past week. Some of the communications I intercepted sounded a bit upset. They think you tried to escape. Renfaeda personally thinks the harlequins abducted you."

"That's actually really bad. They were just starting to trust me enough to give me a small measure of freedom. They'll be more suspicious of me now," Seiras sighed as he tried to come up with a good excuse for his reunion with the Kabal.

She pulled out the familiar devices to equip his psionic limiter collar. Ferrus stared with curious disgust as Melisara quickly and efficiently loosened part of his power armour's carapace and gorget to drill the collar back into his neck.

Once it was on, Seiras felt the familiar burning sting return once again. He had almost forgotten how it felt even despite the collar only being off for a few hours relative to his own time. After a minute or two of grimacing through the pain, he felt a familiar numbness return as his body adjusted to the constant electric stinging burn of the collar again.

Ferrus stared at the collar as he voiced his disapproval, "Is that thing plugged into his black carapace?!"

"Yes…it's a specially made psionic limiter collar with an agony circuit amp built in. It nullifies his psychic powers and gives anyone with a collar remote the ability to stun or shock him. I built it for his masters so that they would be more at ease around him," Melisara remarked as if it wasn't any big deal.

The Gorgon met her gaze as she looked back. He clearly didn't approve of the collar, but a moment later he nodded, "I see…such a thing would certainly give slave masters no reason to fear him. They would be fools to underestimate an Astartes regardless, but it is a clever deception."

"I thought so too. It's also extremely painful and it is considered especially cruel to even put one of these on craftworlders. The warlocks and farseers we typically put them on can't even handle the basic collars without crying pathetically. Seiras' has been remarkably resilient to it. No doubt that's due to Astartes having a higher pain threshold than Eldar," Melisara smiled at his statement before going back to retightening Seiras' armour.

"Those collars seem like a good idea for nullifying dangerous psykers. Would it be possible for you to give me the blueprints for how to make them? If so, I would give them to the Silent Sisters and the Astartes chapters so that they could more easily manage dangerous psychic prisoners. The Inquisition would also make good use of them I imagine," Ferrus requested.

Melisara beamed at his request, "Absolutely Ferrus. I'd be honoured for you to use my devices. I'll even give you a blueprint copy of Seiras' collar so your Inquisition can use them on chaos sorcerers. If they ask, just say you built it. They'll believe it I'm sure. With that being said, these collars aren't powerful enough to work on Alpha plus level psykers. So…anything stronger than Seiras or a farseer would be immune to it just so you know. I've also never tested one on a daemon either…it's probably not a good idea. Although I would be fascinated to see what it does to a daemon prince."

"You have been surprisingly helpful. I find you much more tolerable than the craftworlders I've dealt with. If the rest of your species behaved as you did, I might actually listen to them. You're clearly intelligent and proud, but you don't come across with that condescending holier-than-thou attitude that they have. You tell us what we need to know without any mystical nonsense," Ferrus remarked.

Seiras found it almost amazing that a primarch would indirectly compliment an alien, but even Ferrus couldn't deny Melisara's usefulness in their situation.

"Anyways, have you come up with a good excuse yet, Seiras?" the haemonculus changed the subject after finishing her handiwork.

He shook his head, "No, I can't think of anything that could possibly justify why I was MIA for a week. Other than being trapped somewhere I suppose. Before you teleported me, I was thrown off the spire by a Night Lord. I could probably make a story up about fighting my way back up."

"Well fortunately for us, that main decoy tracker I set up is buried under the battlefield. The surrounding area is also still intact. I can actually teleport you directly to it. However, when I do, I am going to need you to do some things to make it extra convincing," she trailed off. It seemed apparent to him that Melisara had already planned on the idea.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?" the librarian looked between Melisara and Ferrus as he felt a wave of dread flooding his insides. He knew that for this to be convincing it would likely involve him looking injured.

"When I teleport you there, you will see the false decoy. It has a homing beacon in it. You're going to have to destroy it very thoroughly, but don't break it right away. I am going to use it to also teleport enemies in there for you to kill. It's going to be a lot of enemies, but I know you can handle it. Make sure none of them survive and that the beacon is destroyed before the search party finds you. I will keep you updated on your personal vox channel," she explained almost cheerily.

Ferrus rose a brow in disbelief, "How are you going to teleport him from here, and better yet how are you going to teleport enemies to him?!"

"The homing beacons are devices I use to teleport individuals to and from certain locations. I have one built in, Seiras' collar has one built in, and so does the decoy beacon that the others are tracking him to. Also since I anticipated this type of complication, I managed to purchase a company's worth of Poisoned Tongue Kabalites before this all broke out. They're being held captive in one of my deep fortress labs. I can just teleport them directly to Seiras. One hundred or so ought to do…maybe more. I'll start him off with twenty and work it up to one hundred. Make sure to let them shoot you a bunch as well. Fortunately, those Night Lords stabbed through your cuirass earlier. That's a good sign of damage. Try to get some more damage like that. Don't worry about your armour, we can repair it later." she elaborated.

"While I do not mean to question his competency in battle, would that not get him killed? As skilled as Astartes are, they cannot fight one hundred Eldar warriors alone in that situation. I detest your species, but I am not blind to their skill in battle. He's also a librarian and won't have any access to his psychic powers. If he were in terminator armour I'd understand, but your weapons can puncture power armour. The intent is to make him look injured…not to kill him isn't it?" the Gorgon expressed his doubt.

"True, but I enhanced Seiras with an Immortis gland. Short of disintegrating his body, it would be exceedingly difficult for kabalites to kill him with splinter weapons. Just to be cautious I made sure to take their heavy munitions away minus the grenades," the haemonculus chuckled.

Ferrus went wide-eyed at her remark, "You…gave him an Immortis gland?! As in one of the primarch organs?!"

She nodded, "Yes, I did in fact. Before his enhancements I would say Seiras was easily in the 85th percentile of space marines. Now he's biologically superior to every baseline Astartes in the galaxy. Maybe closer to Custodes level or somewhere a bit below it. This will be vital field data to determine the extent."

Turning his head towards the Blood Raven librarian, Ferrus spoke seriously, "Is this true?"

"Yes, Lord Ferrus…my reflexes are much faster. I haven't noticed any significant changes other than that. I highly doubt I'm anywhere near as deadly as a baseline Custodian though," he answered.

"How did you acquire an Immortis gland to implant into him anyways? How did you make that work?" Ferrus asked Melisara disbelievingly.

"I cloned yours…quite a few times in fact. I've only made two work as implants though. One for me and I gave one to Seiras," she responded with immediate honesty.

The flintlock silver eyes of the primarch began to bore a hole into Melisara's neon green, "The Immortis gland is incompatible with everything except a genetically engineered primarch. How did you manage to make this work? I want details."

"Yes, Fabius tried many times to replicate primarch organs and failed all of them. The first time we met he asked me if I could help him with it. I wasn't able to at the time, but I eventually finessed him into giving me the last clone of you. I knew I could always get more gene-seed, but primarch genetics were priceless. Over a few millennia I experimented until I finally found the perfect genetic makeup to accept the organ. I had to gene-splice human DNA into my own in order to make it feasible for myself. I'm also female so it was extra challenging to rewrite the primarch sex chromosomes and make them compatible with my eldar genetics. My 26th pair which are the Aeldari sex chromosomes were particularly annoying to alter as they would mutate me every time they were combined to match with the 23rd pair of human sex chromosomes. Fortunately, the baseline genetic material for two X chromosomes was already there in your DNA. That means you primarchs were initially capable of siring offspring. It also proves that the Emperor likely did consider making you primarchs female in your early development. You might find this funny, but my first few attempts turned me into a hulking grotesque. Eventually I found the perfect balance and made it work. The process only made me respect the Emperor more…for almost nothing is that challenging to a top tier geneticist like myself," Melisara went into detail.

Ferrus looked half appalled and half impressed by her explanation. He stared at her almost disbelievingly, "So you're part human then?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. The reason I did this was so that I could truly become biologically immortal like you primarchs. It also worked to nullify soul decay that all commorrites experience. Before I made my immortis gland work, I also wasn't as pretty as I am now. So many of my colleagues are super jealous of me because I'm one of the oldest haemonculi and I am better looking than most wyches. I never told anyone how I did it though, and I don't intend to. Plus it's so funny to see them bask in envy thinking I came up with all of this myself. Granted I owe it all to the Emperor though and I will gladly say so to you both. Even as great as I am, I cannot deny that the Emperor was the greatest geneticist in the galaxy. Having his own genes within my current body is humbling and amazing," she beamed.

"I don't know whether to be impressed or disgusted that you tampered with the Emperor's work and succeeded. I just can't believe an alien would admire the Emperor's work that much," Ferrus scoffed.

"How exactly does the Immortis gland combat soul decay, Melisara? That's more of a warp phenomenon than a biological one is it not?" Seiras interjected.

"A good question, Seiras. Allow me to explain. I learned a lot about how primarch organs worked during my experiments. There is another requirement for one's body to accept an Immortis gland in addition to the perfect genetic sequence. Mind you every genetic sequence required is unique to the individual…that's why the primarchs are all uniquely crafted and can't be mass-produced. For the body to accept a complete Immortis gland, one must also have a warp siphon gene…it's a rare variant found in the psychic gene. We drukhari have lost our psychic abilities over millennia, so it took me quite a while to finally realize that necessity. I discovered that the immortis gland only functions properly if its owner has a warp siphon variant powering it. Specifically the Sintarius lobe requires this unique psychic gene. The Emperor designed it to kill or horribly mutate anyone who gets the gene-splicing wrong or who doesn't possess the warp siphon. I can't tell you how many times I had to die to get it right. I went through hundreds of backup bodies if you want perspective on how difficult it was even for me. Each Immortis gland is also unique and I am only compatible to Ferrus'. The same goes for you as well, Seiras. The organ is a biological masterpiece indistinguishable from magic. While the regular progenoids in Astartes prevent the telomeres in human chromosomes from shortening during cell division, the Immortis gland also uses the warp to hyper-accelerate or turn back time relative to one's body. So you'll regenerate from a wound in seconds or minutes instead of hours or days. In regard to soul-decay it essentially reverses time relative to my own body whenever I am injured, or my soul is affected by Slaanesh. It's also constantly draining the warp which essentially keeps my soul topped off. Think of it as an energy collector that is constantly powering your body with the warp and can use the warp to regenerate your wounds. Fascinating huh?" Melisara ranted with enthusiasm.

Seiras tilted his head curiously, "Is psychic glamour a side-effect of having this warp siphon gene, Melisara? I've been told by a farseer that I possess psychic glamour like all of the primarchs do."

"Yes, Seiras…very astute observation. With that said, I doubt the farseer told you the whole truth about what it is as even craftworlders barely understand the gene. When I examined your body after you died to Renfaeda, I realized you had the warp siphon gene. In humans the gene is even rarer than pariahs. I've only ever known it to be present among beta or higher level psykers…and only a rare few. Other than you, I only know of two Astartes who possess it…Typhus the Plaguebringer of the Death Guard and Ahzek Ahriman the greatest Thousand Son Sorcerer. Among regular humans, I know that Malcador the Sigillite possessed this gene as well. The Silent Sisters have a special ability to detect if someone has this gene since they would see the warp aura draining into the psyker. To them your aura would look like an event horizon in some ways. Throughout history, any regular human with the warp siphon would typically be given to the Inquisition by the black ships as a recruit. The warp siphon is especially useful for an Inquisitor as it would give them psychic glamour in order to more easily influence people around them. Assuming the current Imperium even knows about this gene, the inner circles of the Imperium would undoubtedly believe that only the Inquisition can be truly trusted to live with a dangerous ability like this. The gene is also far less common among Astartes pyskers than regular humans." Melisara explained.

Ferrus himself looked interested in the description as he immediately interjected, "I had no idea such a gene existed among the primarchs. I knew we were all somewhat psychic, but that is quite interesting to hear. What does this psychic glamour do and why is it present in the primarchs and a rare few humans?"

"Essentially what it does is it constantly drains energy from the warp and powers your soul. This gives you a psychic aura that usually manipulates the emotions of those around you. It's even more potent to other psykers and especially to Eldar. It can do a lot of interesting things. For a primarch it would make you unnaturally charismatic to your own Astartes and of course it powers your Sintarius lobe in the Immortis gland. Normal human psykers with the gene have remarkably powerful souls just like we Eldar and you primarchs. This is a blessing and a curse as it makes mastering psychic power much easier and influencing others easier. Sadly, it also makes you a beacon to creatures in the warp…so only a psyker with the discipline of an Inquisitor or an Eldar would be able to manage it. In Seiras' case a librarian as well. That is why you'll likely never see a human psyker outside of the Inquisition with this gene other than primarchs. I imagine this gene was present in the Men of Gold as the Emperor and Malcador both likely had it," the haemonculus continued as she twiddled one of her hands through her black hair.

"Why is the gene rarer in space marines than regular humans? How does he have it then?" Ferrus asked intently.

"It's even rarer in space marines by design of course. The Emperor purposely ensured progenoids would not possess or manifest this gene as it could have unusual side effects if clashed with a primarch's psychic glamour. This would also prevent them from gaining too much influence or being beacons to daemons in the warp. The fact that a rare few librarians have the gene is a small oversight by the Emperor. The likelihood of a regular human being born with it and later becoming a librarian is so astronomically slim that the Emperor likely did not think it would be an issue on any relevant scale. This was even more apparent considering Nikaea and his censure of librarians. Unfortunately for him, the gene did manifest among two of the most powerful and renowned traitor librarians. Ahzek Ahriman and Typhus…both of whom became champions of the chaos gods. The reason Seiras has the gene has nothing to do with his gene-sire Magnus…he simply possessed it as a regular human, and it was only empowered further with the Blood Raven…or Thousand Sons gene-seed. This combination is especially volatile since it produced Ahzek Ahriman the greatest space marine psyker." The haemonculus stated informatively.

"That's disturbing. No wonder the farseer was so worried about it. She seemed to think I would fall to Chaos and corrupt a lot of people," Seiras pointed out.

Melisara shrugged, "It would certainly explain why the Chaos God Tzeentch was interested in you. Having another Ahzek Ahriman would undoubtedly appeal to him."

"I have NO intention of ever falling to Chaos! I've done a lot of heretical things, but never without the goal of my duties in mind!" Seiras said angrily.

"Relax, I wasn't suggesting you were that weak-willed. Your Inquisition would call what you've done heresy, but there sits a primarch alive and well…so it was certainly worth it. The craftworlders that warned you also underestimated you and thought you were weak. Prove them wrong and throw their stupid prophecies back in their faces. Don't listen to that nonsense the Eldritch creature was saying or to what the delusional craftworlders spew. Fate is a lie…as are prophecies. The future only speaks of what could be…not of what will be. There is nothing that cannot be undone or changed…and we have proven that here today," Melisara soothed his anger with a reassuring grin. Even considering how nice and helpful she was, nothing ever took away from the creepy factor that Melisara seemed to ooze. Nevertheless, Seiras nodded in acceptance at her remark. If it was possible to consider an alien a friend, then Melisara was certainly a friend to him. In a way he felt like he might actually miss her counsel once they were gone.

Ferrus stared at the Blood Raven for a moment in silence before speaking, "I doubt you will be falling to Chaos anytime soon in my company. Especially now that I'm aware of what this corruption looks like. My experience from the heresy and these additional insights have taught me much. I respect father's past decision to keep Chaos a secret, but now we must combat the lies of these daemons with truth and vigilance. The alien speaks truly…and we will commit to the Golden Path."

"As you say my lord," Seiras bowed his head.

"With that said, I will consider all possibilities from now until my demise…should you ever fall to Chaos, I will do my duty and kill you without hesitation," Ferrus added seriously.

Staring back with serious resolve, the librarian responded, "Likewise, Lord Ferrus."

To his surprise, the Gorgon actually smiled at his remark. He didn't say anything in response, but it seemed quite apparent that Ferrus approved of Seiras actually making the same promise. While it was entirely unlikely Ferrus would ever fall to chaos and even less likely Seiras could stop him, the primarch likely respected him for saying it. Most wouldn't dare say something like that to a primarch…especially one with a temper like him.

"Words are cheap, but I actually believe your intent. That resolve and these enhancements will make you a worthy advisor for me, librarian. Ensure that you use your elevated position responsibly," Ferrus finally responded.

"Thank you, my lord," Seiras bowed his head briefly.

"I have another question, alien. What is the criteria for this warp siphon gene to be present in human psykers? Is it just a rare genetic anomaly? Is it random among psykers?" Ferrus changed the subject as he redirected his gaze back on the haemonculus.

"The gene has the highest probability of manifesting through breeding psykers. If psykers have children with other psykers for a few generations, it will typically manifest in a descendant. Considering how rare psykers are among humans, and the unlikelihood they will ever breed with another psyker, you can imagine it's not something that would occur very often. If I had to guess, it would only occur naturally among a psychic family of unsanctioned psykers. Though you'll rarely find one of those that doesn't have a bit of light inbreeding. I believe inbreeding would amplify the likelihood of the gene as well. In that regard it would most likely arise among a noble family with a psychic lineage…which seems to be the Inquisition's favorite place to find their recruits. Isn't that curious?" Melisara explained.

Ferrus glanced over at Seiras now, "I highly doubt he came from some noble family though…"

"Obviously not…what do you think about this matter, Seiras? What did your lineage look like?" Melisara asked curiously.

"Your explanation makes sense to me…my tribe on Calderis usually always married our psykers to the village leaders. They tried to keep the 'magic' bloodline strong for countless generations. From what my mother told me, there were a few cases in our family's history of cousins marrying. My mother's grandparents were cousins. Plus, there were many psykers in my immediate family and our lineage," the librarian replied.

"You're inbred? I'm surprised there was no genetic degradation in you then. Only genetically perfect boys can survive gene-seed implantation." Ferrus asked curiously.

"Fortunately for human psykers, inbreeding doesn't affect them nearly as much as regular humans. It's only harmful if done every generation. Considering his example was three generations back and it was only cousins, I imagine it didn't affect his genetics at all. The psyker gene is remarkably interesting in how it overrides a lot of DNA in humans," the haemonculus commented.

Seiras shrugged, "That's all I know about it…but psychics were quite common in my family. We lived in a savage desert mountain city on Calderis. The Blood Ravens would sometimes come to recruit from our tribe if a male psyker was born there. It was rare though. For some reason male psykers only happened once every couple centuries. Female ones were born every generation."

"That seems odd…is there a correlation there, alien?" Ferrus turned towards Melisara expecting she had the answer.

"That is a side-effect of psyker inbreeding. The psychic gene has strange effects on human sex chromosomes. I imagine a male would only be born once a new male genome with recessive psychic genes is added to that psychic line…otherwise the Y chromosome would always be overwritten to copy the mother," Melisara theorized.

"My father's father took over the tribe after the former Shah and all his sons died out. There was only one psychic in that generation name Kaluka, and she was too old to bear him any children. However, my mother and aunt were the former Shah's nieces and they developed psychic powers in their adolescence years later. Since they were close to my father and uncle's ages my grandfather married them to his sons in order to consolidate the tribe's 'royal bloodline' I guess. If all the male heirs to a Shah died out, the females would always be married to the new leaders. From the marriage of the new Shah's bloodline into the former's, nine children were conceived in my generation. I had four cousins and four sisters. Three of my four cousins were male and were not psychic. My female cousin was five when I last saw my tribe, so it's entirely possible she developed psychic powers. Of my four sisters however, two of them were psychic…as was I," Seiras went into detail.

"Interesting…I guess that confirms my theory then. Your psychic sisters likely possessed the warp siphon as well. Based on the genetic variables there was a one in four chance of one of you being a male psyker as well. It is good to have validation for that hypothesis," Melisara said approvingly.

"That aside, what I'm getting from all of this is that he has this Warp Siphon gene and that's why he was compatible with an Immortis gland? Better yet, if you have this gene, does that make you psychic as well?" Ferrus asked.

She nodded, "Yes and no…I'm not able to read minds or do anything notable. I don't have any great power over the warp, and nor do I care to. I simply managed to integrate the gene just enough to where I can use the Immortis gland. I would say I'm about as much of a psyker as you are Ferrus. I suppose if I cared to make myself a psyker I could, but I don't see the point. Also, the warp siphon is only required for the Sintarius lobe of an Immortis gland. The Dextrophic lobe is probably still compatible with regular Astartes. It's only if a Sintarius lobe is implanted into a non-psychic, they'll mutate horribly and die. That's what happened to me a lot during my early experiments even after perfecting the gene sequence."

"For you to rewrite primarch genetics from scratch and figure all of that out…I'm genuinely impressed," Ferrus remarked still in shock.

"It was no simple feat mind you. It took me thousands of years and Fabius' research to copy a template of what the Emperor did in centuries. I wouldn't be able to make an actual primarch from scratch though if you're worried about something like that. I couldn't even understand some of the other organs in your body. I truly am inferior to your Emperor's brilliance, but that's why I like him so much. It's so exhilarating to have something noteworthy to pursue in my quest for perfection. Eventually I'll figure them all out," she replied.

The Gorgon shook his head, "Your experiments sounds plausible for you, but how did you manage to make it work on an Astartes? From what you've both told me, you simply reanimated him after he died in the arena. You got it right the first try with no experiments? Was simply having this Warp Siphon enough to make it work for him?"

"As a space marine, he was already compatible with the Emperor's genetics and primarch genetics. With the warp siphon and inherent psyker genes he was ideal to test it out on. I was supremely confident I could make it work given all my research and prior experimentation on myself. The only issue with him was his gene-seed's DNA attempting to conflict with a foreign incompatible implant. I was putting in yours after all…and not Magnus'. His immune system would also try to kill the foreign cells. Thankfully since he was dead at the time, so were his body's cells. I was able to put the organ in and connect it to his progenoid gland. Considering how the process went, I imagine it would be impossible to replicate on a live space marine. They would horribly mutate and die if the proper overrides weren't made before reanimation. It only worked because he was dead," the haemonculus elaborated.

"What kinds of side-effects were you expecting this to have on him?" Ferrus wondered.

"Well the most obvious one is a baseline increase in his natural attributes and reaction time. I expected he would probably grow a little bit from it and obviously gain the regenerative ability of a primarch. In other words you'd have to cut his head off, destroy multiple life-sustaining organs in quick succession, or disintegrate his body to actually kill him. The organ also hardens bones and reinforces skeletal tissue with a special type of keratin making it difficult to dismember him. Add that to his growing psychic powers and he's even more difficult to kill. You're welcome for giving you an Immortis marine. Dare I say he's my finest work other than myself," she answered with a proud smile.

"Immortis marine? Is that what you turned him into?" Ferrus gawked.

"It's just a silly name I came up with. Just think of him as a regular space marine that's way more difficult to kill. Nevertheless, mark my words Ferrus…he's around Custodes level now," Melisara laughed.

Ferrus' eyes widened, "Why go through all this length to enhance one space marine? They're not individually crafted like Custodes are. They are mass-produced for a reason."

"There are a number of reasons I did it. Most importantly…just to see if I could. I also did it because I didn't want him to die again. I rather like Seiras and unfortunately for the Astartes they have high mortality rates. I saw his value in bringing you back and what he could accomplish beyond that if given more power. A space marine who can think beyond indoctrination is quite rare and should be preserved," she explained as if it was a simple question.

"Your logic doesn't make sense to me. His well-being is among your concerns?" Ferrus said disbelievingly.

"Why wouldn't it be? He's my friend." she countered with amusement.

Ferrus gave up on trying to figure her out as he glanced over at Seiras, "Well, nevertheless, if he is as enhanced as you say he is, I will ensure he is put to good use. I will also keep this information to myself. I am surprised by your honesty in telling me, but I respect it."

Seiras simply nodded briefly before turning to Melisara, "Something crossed my mind just now, Melisara. You said earlier that Silent Sisters could detect if someone had the warp siphon gene? Does that mean Meela knows I have it, or that you do?"

"Technically she can't see it on me because I wear a warp disruptor on the back of my neck. It's made with the pylon technology of the Necrons. It just makes my warp siphon invisible. As for you though, I have no doubts that she knows you possess it. The solitaire probably knows too for that matter. Your collar works to dampen its visibility, but Meela did see you fight Faelan's forces before your capture. It's certain that if she saw you without your collar on now, she would be able to tell that it's gotten more powerful," the haemonculus pointed out.

"Do you think I can trust Meela? The craftworlders and some of the human slaves seem to hate her. They swear she's evil and that she's loyal to Faelan," Seiras asked with a concerned expression.

"Who is Meela?" Ferrus interrupted immediately.

"She's an Oblivion Knight that the archon has a rather unhealthy obsession with. She's been his sex slave since before I even started working for him. She will be an interesting obstacle in your escape Seiras. You won't be able to kill Faelan with psychic powers around a pariah. It is highly likely Meela will defend him. She has that…what do you humans call it again? Captive Syndrome? Stockholm Syndrome? Whatever it is. Faelan also treats her very well…probably better than humans ever treated her. I doubt you can trust her at all," Melisara shrugged.

"An Oblivion Knight? The Sisters of Silence are ONLY loyal to the Emperor and are trusted by the Custodes! To be trusted by the Custodes is no small matter. I find it impossible one would ever forsake the Emperor and you're telling me this woman is a SEX SLAVE to an alien, and she's loyal to him?! I don't even know where to begin with this…why would this archon even want to rape a human?!" Ferrus piped up with stoic anger.

Seiras made sure to stay silent and mentally prayed for Melisara not to mention any unnecessary information regarding the topic of how perverse the dark eldar were.

Melisara shook her head slowly, "Honestly, I don't know…it's not like I can talk to Meela. She's always with Faelan since he's extremely paranoid about daemons or psykers killing him. Other than fulfilling his carnal needs, she's extremely useful in many ways to the archon. Even harlequin psykers can't get near Faelan with a pariah in his presence. The time I resurrected her, Faelan wouldn't leave my lab until she was alive. Even if I could probe her with some questions or test her indirectly, she's mute. She does know Astartes sign language…but Faelan does as well unfortunately. I've never seen her actually attempt to communicate with anyone other than him. I would have tried, but I couldn't be certain she wouldn't tell Faelan anything I asked her. You won't know where her true loyalty lies unless you face Faelan in combat. Her reaction to Ferrus will certainly be the most interesting to witness."

"So you're saying we should kill her then?" Seiras asked.

"It's probably safer to kill her, but I certainly wouldn't waste her life if you didn't have to. A pariah would be a useful ally against Aeldari and daemons. With harlequins after you Seiras, Meela would be a perfect counter to their illusions. Plus she could probably get you access to the Sisters of Silence…who are of course still allies with the Custodes. Many of the silent sisters recently returned to Terra to bolster with the Custodes. That would be a convenient way to earn their trust in addition to Ferrus' testimony," Melisara mused.

Ferrus shook his head, "If they found out she was a sex slave to an alien overlord, they would just execute her. She likely realizes that. There is no grey area among the Talons of the Emperor. You are either loyal or you are not."

"Slaves don't really choose to be slaves though. Given enough time the Drukhari can sap the wills of almost anyone. Seiras has only been in Commorragh for a few weeks and he's had my help in planning his escape. Meela could have been here for centuries for all I know. She's died several times and was brought back to life. It's difficult to be fussy when you can't even take that road out of here," Melisara countered.

"I suppose that is a good point. She can't even die with honour without being brought back. This place makes me sick…" Ferrus finally replied after realizing Melisara was right.

"I will leave Meela's fate to your discretion, but I would advise caution in trusting her or if you have to fight her. As I'm sure Ferrus knows, Oblivion Knights are no pushovers even compared to Astartes. Unlike those pitiful Sororitas, the Silent Sisters are actually good at killing space marines. Many are genetically enhanced from what I saw of Meela. If she does oppose you, then take her very seriously. You would likely have to fight her and Faelan at the same time if it comes to it. Plus the incubi as well." the haemonculus replied simply.

"I'll give her one chance…if she hesitates, she's dead along with anyone else that gets in our way. Nobody is stopping me in this escape…let me make that perfectly clear," Ferrus said coldly.

Seiras frowned deep in thought for a moment before speaking again, "When I returned from the purge on the Khestri Family, Meela tried to communicate with me in sign language. She told me: 'They all like you and so do I.' I asked how she knew Astartes sign language and she simply told me: 'Not now…talk later. Be seeing you.' Does that mean anything to you, Melisara?"

"Ah yes, you did mention she communicated with you a while back. I nearly forgot about that. Show me the exact gestures she used," Melisara requested eagerly.

Repeating the sign language Meela used on him back then, Seiras replicated it exactly.

The haemonculus looked like she was holding back laughter, "Hmm…that is very fascinating. She told you a lot more than just that."

"Are you certain? That is what the gestures translate to in sign language." Ferrus interjected with impatience.

Replicating the symbols herself now, Melisara replied, "True Ferrus, but if you look closer, she used the third version of the 'like' gesture here instead of the more common second one. As you know, it's almost identical to the 'trust' sign which she made with her other hand. Positioned like this you can say both of them at the same time. When this is done it has a hidden meaning between the negative space. It's sign language within sign language. In fact the whole sentence had hidden meanings and double phrases. I'm surprised you didn't catch that." Melisara snickered as if the answer to it was amusing to her.

Seiras narrowed his gaze, "It was a bit different to standard Astartes Sign Language, but the symbols directly translated to what I read. I didn't consider hidden phrases in them."

Ferrus immediately got defensive and somewhat annoyed at Melisara, "So you apparently know sign language better than us then?! How did you or this archon even learn it?!"

"Eldar are very smart Ferrus…and obsessive. Given a good reason, one would find a way to learn it. That aside, the variation the Silent Sisters use is based on the Astartes one, but it has more comprehensive variables in it that only they usually recognize. It is quite possible Meela believed Seiras was smart enough to figure it out. I can't see why she would do it otherwise," she giggled.

"Then what does it mean?!" the primarch demanded.

"When this variation of 'like' is combined with 'trust' it also has a hidden phrase when seen from the side and combined like this. It means 'need' and it points at the person you're talking to," Melisara burst out giggling.

Both the primarch and the librarian exchanged confused expressions as they clearly did not understand what made that so funny.

"Is that a plea for help?" Seiras finally decided to ask, "does she mean she needs my help?"

"Wait wait…let me translate the rest. The 'Not now', 'Talk later', and 'Be Seeing you' gestures also had hidden words in them. For the former she said, 'Not now' and used the hidden word 'alone'. For 'talk later' she used the hidden words 'Just us.' The funniest part is the end. That doesn't just mean 'Be seeing you' if you read it like this…" Melisara held her hands in another angle showing a hidden gesture.

Seiras gasped at it, "That's the second variation of 'help!' She…wants me to help her?!"

"Along with this one like this and the thumb pointed back it means 'I will help'. Also when said in that order with the other hidden words, it translates the hidden phrase. This is what she was trying to tell you: 'I like you and we'll talk later alone… Not now, just us. Trust me…I need you. I will be watching you and I will help.' The part I found so funny was her variation of 'like' was the suggestive type," Melisara chuckled again.

"Meaning what exactly?" Ferrus scowled.

"Well you probably don't know this word in gothic, but that variable of like means 'fancy' or 'adore' in your low gothic. It's a much stronger emphasis on 'like'. She essentially told Seiras she delights in him. Considering its context with the rest of the hidden meanings in the sentence it just looked like a funny love confession to me," Melisara laughed.

Ferrus gave her a perplexing and disbelieving look, "I don't see how that's funny or how you could possibly draw such a ridiculous conclusion…"

"I don't understand why she would say all of that," Seiras frowned.

"Well that variation is the only way you can fit in that phrase of gestures. I doubt she meant it as humorously as it sounded to me. I think it was just her way of trying to say she likes you in a less simple and more sincere manner," Melisara theorized.

"Forget that," Seiras immediately deflected the conversation for going anywhere near that topic, "does that mean I can trust her?"

Melisara seemed to catch on to Seiras's evasion to the confession joke as it would likely devolve into Ferrus learning about his shameful torture in Commorragh or the weird sexual fetish the wyches had for him. She collected herself and answered him promptly, "No…but it's certainly worth seeing what she wants to talk to you about. Don't tell her anything though. If she is truly anxious to escape, then she'll help you kill Faelan. Do not give her any idea that you plan to escape. Just see what she wants to tell you in private."

"Can you teach me these hidden sign language words and phrases? I won't communicate in front of Faelan unless I can test her with them," he requested.

"Sure thing Seiras. I'll show you when we get back to my lab and after we put your armour up. As much as I enjoy these chats, I need to get you to the beacon location. Stay still while I activate this teleporter," Melisara replied as she pressed a button on his collar before pulling out a strange looking device from nearby.

"I'll see you when you return, librarian. Don't die," Ferrus stated authoritatively as a glow began to envelop him. The familiar pain of being teleported with the collar on immediately set in as Seiras let out an agonizing howl before disappearing from the ship.