Rising up from a Nobleman to Intergalactic Warlord!!

(AN: Sorry to drop this on you guys out of the blue, but I am taking a week off from work and writing to relax and recharge. Since returning from training, both have been extremely difficult as I am super burnt out. Binge watching some anime and sleeping in is something I sorely need. See you guys April 7th!)

---Four Hours Later---

Lying silently on my bed, I was deep in thought, trying to figure out how I would reforge Stormbreaker. Having tried time magic to reform the Aesir weapon, for whatever reason it refused to return to its previous undamaged state. Presuming that the battle with the All-Black Sword had crippled the weapon’s soul beyond repair, the only option now was for me to reforge it by hand. Needing a ready-made, solar-fueled forge to do it, as it would take me decades to construct one of my own, I was drawing a blank on any location that could work. As I sifted through my extensive sci-fi knowledge, the door to my bedroom softly slid open as someone stepped inside.

Assuming some of our new companions had snuck onboard when I was not looking, they were probably here to take advantage of my wives’ absence. Opening my eyes, I sat up to have a word with them but momentarily froze when I discovered it was not them. Standing a few feet in front of me, the fallen Eldar goddess we saved at Fort Paragon looked at me with a weary gaze. According to the last update I received, which was three days ago, Lileath should have been resting in the New Genesis’ sick bay, not anywhere near my flagship.

“Uh… hello?”, I asked, uncertain how to address the goddess, “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I would like to request your assistance in locating my missing compatriots and rescuing my mother.”, Lileath stated, nervously twiddling with her fingers, “Is that something you are willing to do?”

“First off, let me say that I am glad to see you up and around. Amallyn and the Eldar were concerned you might never wake up.”, I remarked, with a smile. “As for your request, I am willing to do what I can to help, but rescuing your mother will be an incredibly difficult task. Infiltrating the Garden will not be easy, and frankly, locating it to begin with will be almost impossible. I may know a few people that might be able to help, but I am not sure what their sentiments toward your kin are.”

“Meaning?”, Lileath inquired, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Informing her that I was acquainted with seventeen Lesser Chaos Gods, I rattled off a few names to see if she recognized them. Shaking her head in denial, the Eldar goddess was intrigued that I had formal relations with several powerful warp entities. Pressing me for additional information, she was eager to know why they had deemed me worthy enough to converse with.

“Eons ago, they were forcibly bound to the warp space surrounding a planet called Nirn. Cut off from the rest of the Warp, their continued existence is entirely bound to the lives of local inhabitants, which has caused them a great deal of misery over the years. To survive, they have had to cultivate life on the planet and limit harvests to the very minimum amount of soul energy necessary to sustain themselves.”, I stated, feeling a bit bad for them. “Some time ago, I happened upon the planet and bumped into one of them during a harvest. We spoke at length about their situation, and when they learned I was making plans to kill their captors, they readily offered all the support they could muster.”

“I understand; they are supporting you because the downfall of the Big Four will restore their freedom. That makes sense.”, Lileath remarked, nodding her head in acknowledgment, “If possible, I would like to set out for Nirn immediately to speak with them myself. Can that be arranged?”

“My plan is to revisit the world eventually, but right now, I have much more pressing matters to deal with. Between preparing the intergalactic region for a war with an endless host of voracious insectoids, rebuilding the galaxy you once helped nurture, and weakening the influence of the Big Four on the Materium, my resources and time are spread thin.”, I explained. “In addition, I have several other minor matters that require my attention as well. It will be a few months before I am able to dedicate the time to return there. Sending you there alone is also a- “

“NO! I refuse to give that monster the opportunity to devour me a second time. Please do not send me away!”, Lileath shrieked.

Rushing forward, with genuine fear etched upon her face, Lileath latched onto my right arm as tightly as her slender arms would allow. Feeling her violent tremors through my armor, the many millennia of suffering she endured had clearly done a number on the poor woman's psyche. Gently patting her on the head with my left hand, I assured the goddess she could stay with us as long as she wanted.

“I… I am sorry…”, Lileath said as she began to settle down, “That vile creature did unspeakable things to us during the many millennia we were shackled within her. As the youngest within our pantheon, she took a particular liking to torturing me with all manner of bladed and blunt weapons. For over twenty thousand years, we served as unwilling outlets for her boredom and frustrations; I cannot ever go back to that again. If she gets her claws into me again, promise me that you will end my life and spare me further suffering.”

“I promise.”, I agreed, before flicking her on the forehead, “Now stop dredging up those painful memories; there is no need to relieve your captivity. Instead, focus on rejoining the fragmented Eldar toward a better future for everyone. If you want to thank me for my help, see if you can get them to quit referring to humanity as Mon-Keigh. Whether they like it or not, they will need our assistance if they want to flourish once again.”

“I will see what I can do, but I doubt they will make that change overnight.”, Lileath laughed, “Can you share with me what the other problems are that you are working on?”

Showing her my current to-do list, the goddess was surprised to see the number of tasks I had. Carefully reading each of the line items, she came to a stop at locating a solar forge to remake Stormbreaker. Watching her face scrunch up for a moment as she searched her memories for something, Lileath’s face abruptly lit up when she recalled what she was looking for.

“During the waning centuries of the Aeldari Empire, a race of people called the Rataka attempted to forge an alliance with our worshippers. During negotiations, they let it slip that they possessed a gigantic machine called the Star Forge that crafted items from stars. With some minor modifications, it may be sufficient to serve your purposes, right?”, Lileath inquired in a hopeful tone.

Recalling that the Star Forge used star material to craft highly advanced machines, I was uncertain if the manufacturing process involved the intense solar heat or not. Since I had no other alternative solutions right now, it was worth investigating, as no matter the outcome, I was still adding an immensely powerful tool to my arsenal.

<Sir, we are approaching the target zone now. The ship will drop out of FTL in five minutes.> (Jarvis)

“Understood, thank you for the heads up.”, I replied, rising from the bed. “We will head over to check out what remains of the Star Forge in a few days. Until then, my friend Liam and I plan on doing some space pirate hunting. Would you like to watch or rest a bit more?”

“I am eager to learn all I can about what has become of the universe in our absence.”, Lileath answered, still clinging to my arm. “Please lead the way, Victor.”

Nodding my head, the two of us left the room and headed toward the bridge to prepare for arrival.

---Vanticooi System---

Dropping out of FTL on the outer edge of the reportedly pirate-infested system, I dispatched a fleet of stealth drones to scour the vicinity for any signs of the pirates. Picking up the residual ion trails of several impulse engines, the drones traced them back to a massive asteroid situated within an extensive debris field orbiting a gas giant. Scanning the celestial body for further details, we quickly ascertained that it was completely hollow and was housing hundreds of smaller vessels.

“Well I’ll be damned, this is not an ambush setup; we have stumbled upon their base of operations in this sector!”, Samus said, rising from her seat, “I am honestly floored that the Republic Army does not have an outpost in this uninhabitable star system. It is positioned on the edge of where three major transit routes intersect; anyone with a brain can see this would be a pirate hotspot.”

“How many times must I tell you? I am not the one you should be complaining to. Just because my sister has a seat in the Galactic Senate does not mean I am responsible for their actions or lack thereof.”, Bo-Katan sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose with an exasperated expression, “In any case, I completely agree with your assessment. Their lack of forethought is atrocious and has likely resulted in the deaths of billions over the centuries.”

“So how do you want to play this, Victor?”, Liam asked over the private communication channel. “We can sneak in close, seal off their escape routes, and forcibly take control of their base, or my personal preference, go in guns a-blazing and give them hell.”

Using the Force to check for innocent civilians within the confines of the hidden base, all I found were hostile entities crawling all over the place. Satisfied that we were in the clear, I chose to go with the most destructive option available to me.

“This is a golden opportunity to utilize a weapon we have yet to properly field test due to the widespread devastation it creates. As the star system is uninhabited and no innocent souls are within the hidden base, Luxion, initiate the Wave Motion Cannon’s charging sequence.”, I ordered, a maniacal grin forming on my face. “Liam, please have your fleet position themselves a few miles behind my flagship. I do not want them to get swept up in the carnage I am about to unleash here.”

“Lord Stark, what is a Wave Motion Cannon?”, Eulisia inquired, moving onto the screen.

“In a nutshell, the weapon that fires a beam of ultra-hypergravitational energy. As it moves through space, it pushes and pulls onto the surrounding area, generating reality-warping ripples that tear apart everything in their path.”, I elaborated, “No amount of armor or shielding can protect someone from it. If the weapon were used on a star, it would cause it to go supernova in less than a minute.”

“Why in the hell would you build such a dangerous weapons!?”, Nias shouted, jumping into frame. “Surely you understand that such a weapon would make both ally and foe terrified of approaching you, right?”

Finding her reaction amusing, I assured her I only intended to use it as a last resort once all other options had been exhausted. The reason I was firing it here was because it needed a proper field test before I could say it was fully operational. As the first project that C’tan Yggra'nya and I had worked on, my hopes were high that everything would function flawlessly and give us quite a show. Watching Liam’s ships fall back, I got the Endless Horizons into a position that granted us a straight shot at the base and settled in while we waited for the charging sequence to complete.