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sleepyfan-blog · 2 days

Text

First Ripple

Author’s Note: Part two of Baby Primarchs being raised by the Emperor AU! Previous. Next

Warnings: dehumanization of primarchs, dehumanization of infants, manipulation

Tagged: @egrets-not-regrets

Summary: Erda inquires about the visions that two of the baby primarchs were so distressed by. The Emperor explains, after some cajoling.

"Neoth it's been a week and a half, and you've yet to tell me what the contents of the visions that Eight and Nine had that caused you to decide to pull all of the primarchs from their incubation chambers until they were infants, like we had previously agreed. Don't think I haven't noticed the increase in security in and around the gene labs, as well as the entirety of the palace as a whole. You're preparing for something. Let me help. The only psyker stronger than I am on Terra is you. But I can't prepare for what I don't know is coming." Erda demanded, staring directly up at Neoth, hands on her hips as the two of them were overseeing the final touches being done to the Primarchs' nursery. All twenty of them would be sleeping in a single, heavily fortified room within the Imperial palace. The room in question was itself a secret known to herself, Amar, Neoth... And the entirety of Neoth's hand-crafted Custodes. This room had been repurposed from a large storage room to a multi-bed play and sleeping room. This room was positioned within one hallway of the throne room and Erda's own personal rooms. The room had one active Gellar field protecting it at all times, and had two separate back-up Gellar fields ready to activate, should the first fail or waver for the slightest moment.

Neoth briefly looked at her before staring at the last of the preparations - several of his younger Custodes were carefully setting up the last of the infant beds with deft and steady hands, though the small furniture looked almost comical in their large hands. He sighed before saying "If we left them to continue to grow within their maturation pods, within a year... Chaos would take them."

Erda froze for a moment, her eyes widening in horror and confusion "But... But how, the Gellar fields keep The Enemy at bay!"

Neoth looked down at her, a troubled expression furrowing his brows "The visions were overlapping and unclear, but The Enemy sent agents that destroyed the Gellar fields protecting their pods, and -" He hesitated, looking searchingly at her. He still does not see or feel any Chaotic taint within her. "... For reasons I do not know, you were the one to rip open a warp portal, and cast the primarchs into that infinite abyss. You were trembling with rage and sorrow, and many died in the ensuing rampage of The Enemy's servants rampaging around the palace, as the gene-labs were collapsed as reality temporarily collapsed."

"I... I would never cast our beautiful children away! Especially not into the Warp, the domain of The Enemy, to corrupt their souls and twist their brilliant little minds to cruelty... If they wouldn't kill our children out of spite." Erda spluttered, taking a half-step back in shock.

Part of him wanted to correct her, remind her that the Primarchs weren't their children, not truly. They were weapons, tools for galactic conquest and to bring the disparate colonies of humanity back under one unified banner. The rebuke was on his tongue, but caution stayed him. He would let her cogitate on her future self's potential betrayal - let the utter foolishness of such an act, no matter how well-intentioned she may have thought it to be in a moment of wrathful sorrow, before reminding her what the Primachs, which they had spent over a thousand years in genetics research, testing and experimenting, in order to create. "I am glad to hear that, Erda. I cannot say what drove you in their visions to such an act... But-" He deliberately hesitates, looking her in the eyes before letting his gaze sweep around the room, to the twenty-one bassinets arranged in neat if uneven rows around the room "I... Have a request to make of you, Erda."

She tensed at that, trying to catch his gaze "What... What request is that, Neoth?"

He lets her catch his gaze. He slowly reaches out to her physically, one hand coming to rest lightly on his hand, the other cupping her cheek. "You are a dear companion of mine, Erda. In these long, endless days and nights, and your keen mind and insights have been invaluable beyond words. I see you now, untouched by The Enemy, and I want to believe that-" Carefully, gently now. A light squeeze to her shoulder, allow his eyes to soften as his face shifts to a look of worry that he does genuinely feel. His gilded companions shift a little, ready and listening for the command.

Good.

Hopefully he won't need to give it, but for the future he sees for mankind, and the necessary sacrifice and bloodshed that must be spilled for it to become a reality, he cannot allow his Primarchs out of his grasp. For eleven of them to become corrupted in one way or another by The Enemy or filthy xenos... No. He will not allow that to happen. He's keenly aware of the power she wields. Which is why this conversation is happening here, well before The Enemy's servants invade the palace and far from where his little generals are slumbering in their pods. "- whatever reasons your potential future self did that, you believed it was for the best. But the glimpses into their futures that I saw... Seventeen lands on a world of chaos worshippers and is slowly corrupted from decanting. Eight lands in a world of literal - and figurative - darkness and is forced to survive on it-his own, killing animals to feast on their flesh. Twelve is beset by Xenos upon decanting, and is then thrown into gladiator pits, with neural implants forced into his brain that torture him into madness. Fourteen lands on a world ruled by necromancers, found by the dread lord of that world and cruelly experimented on until it-he escapes. Twenty-A and Twenty-O are separated during the warp trip and Twenty-O is raised by pirates. Sixteen-"

she raises a hand and pressed her fingers to his lips, shaking her head, tears threatening to fall from her eyes "Please... No more. I can guess what you are going to ask of me. You want me to leave the Primarch project? Perhaps even leave the palace entirely. To avoid whatever temporary madness, or Enemy-fueled temptation I somehow fall for, yes? There is much I can do outside of the palace. Or would you rather I leave Terra entirely? I can assist in dealing with the tech-priests of Mars, or the Jovian shipyards."

Neoth kept his face and body posture gentle, regretful, though he allowed a small smile to lift the corners of his lips. "That I am, I am glad that you understand why I am asking this of you. Which would you prefer? To interact with the tech-priests, or wrangle the disparate forces of the Jovian shipyards? For security purposes, I would not be able to inform you of their growth and development until they are ready to be introduced to Terra and the Sol system at large. For their own protection."

"I... Of course, that makes sense, though I will demand that you take plenty of pictures and keep a log of how each of them grow and develop! Despite not being able to be there for their childhoods, I still want to have some evidence of them growing into the strong, handsome beings I know they will one day become. I would rather deal with the Jovian shipyards and deal with the Negotiator clans, rather than the worshippers of the Omnisiah. No offense meant, Neoth." Erda decided, a small and teasing smile appearing on her face.

Neoth rolled his eyes and huffed, grumbling "While it's convenient they decided I am their Omnisiah, it is not something that I encourage them. Of course I will be having their growth and development well documented by trusted people, which I will share with you once they are ready." The promise came easily to his lips. Whether or not he kept that promise depended on whether or not Erda turned to the Enemy in the ensuing years or not.

"Very well. I’ll start to pack." Erda responded with a nod "I should be ready to leave by the end of the day."

Neoth hummed, nodding and said "I'll have Constantin help you pack, and see you on your way to the shipyards."

She chuckled a little and swatted at him playfully "As if that boy doesn't have enough to do! You don't need to have him fussing over me while I pack my things."

"I insist. He's currently at loose ends, and you know the mischief he can get up to when bored, Idle hands and all that." He responded, keeping his voice and body posture light and playful.

"Oh, alright. Send him to my rooms, and I'll get packing. Don't bully Malcador too much! Goodness knows that boy is entirely too serious as it is. Or Constantin! The lad thinks the galaxy of you." Erda hummed before she headed off.

"I know. I'll keep that in mind, Erda." Neoth responded, suppressing any wayward emotions behind the mask of calm he was projecting. It wouldn't be a true victory until she was off Terra.

Six hours later, and he got the confirmation from Constantin that Erda was well on her way to the Jovian shipyards, none the wiser of the two shadow keepers sent on the same ship to monitor her and report back to him.

#my writing #warhammer 30k #cw: manipulation #cw: dehumanization of infants #cw: dehumanization of primarchs #god emperor of mankind #erda #he's a bastard man. I will die on this hill

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