Chapter 4: 4. Dead Yet? If Not, I’ll Finish the Job.
Aboard the Stellar, the Bridge.
The captain's elevator provided direct access to the bridge, allowing the captain to assume command of the warship at any time.
When Noah and Sister Argenta arrived at the bridge via the elevator, the place was still bustling with officers at their stations and technicians inspecting and maintaining the ship's Vox Array.
Their arrival caused a momentary ripple of tension among the crew, but they relaxed once they recognized Sister Argenta's distinctive appearance.
A tall and thin woman approached them. She was bald, with mechanical implants resembling a respirator fitted into her mouth. Her bare scalp was connected to dozens of cables, and her body was covered with as much metal as flesh.
This was the ship's Vox Master, Vigdis, responsible for receiving, sending, and processing all ship communications.
Ignoring Noah entirely, she spoke to Sister Argenta in a raspy voice: "Sister Argenta, Seneschal Abelard reports that the Rogue Trader is trapped at the observation deck. He is currently leading Deck Enforcers in an assault on the heretics' defenses. If you can, we hope you'll assist in their rescue."
"What do you think, Noah?"
Argenta had unknowingly dropped the formal "your lordship" from her address.
The servo-skull floated silently nearby, ever-present but inactive.
Noah's face was solemn.
"We must rescue Lady Theodora immediately!"
He needed to confirm whether Theodora was dead. If not, he'd ensure she wouldn't survive—he didn't mind doing it face-to-face if necessary. Once Theodora was dead, he would be the sole heir.
This warship acknowledged only the bloodline of House von Valancius. Anyone who didn't want to die would have to accept his leadership.
"Very well, follow me."
Sister Argenta nodded lightly, ignoring the bald woman beside her, and led Noah away from the bridge toward the observation deck.
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As they traversed the upper deck corridors, they encountered many bodies—both enforcers and heretics.
The heretics had surged onto the upper deck from some unknown location, using improvised weapons to catch the enforcers off guard. Although they hadn't reached the bridge, many had perished in the uprising.
Moving further, Noah and Argenta encountered a group of heretics engaged in a shootout with enforcers in a corridor riddled with exposed wiring.
The heretics had just breached the enforcer defenses when Noah and Argenta arrived. Some of them, wielding crude firearms and melee weapons, charged forward with bloodcurdling screams.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The dull thuds of explosive rounds erupted as bolts fired from a gun emblazoned with a golden fleur-de-lis tore into the heretics. Each shot struck its mark, shredding bodies and scattering flesh, blood, and bone fragments across the floor.
Sister Argenta handled her bolt gun with calm precision, reciting a prayer to the Emperor's mercy as she fired:"I will not pity your enemy, nor heed his pleas."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"I shall never stray from your teachings, not even an inch."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Unlike Argenta, Noah's vocabulary was far less refined. He roared a single line:
"For the Emperor!"
Following closely behind Argenta, Noah raised his plasma pistol and aimed at a hulking, deformed heretic charging at her. The monstrosity had an unnaturally swollen back and let out a feral roar as it attacked.
Zap!
A flash of brilliant blue plasma shot forth, piercing the heretic instantly. Its body detonated in an explosion of vaporized flesh and superheated blood, leaving nothing behind.
The corridor wall was melted, leaving a gaping hole through which scalding gases hissed and swirled, churned by the ventilation system.
Plasma pistols were powerful, but they required a 30-second cooldown between shots. Some models were prone to overloading and exploding if fired too rapidly.
But—
Noah had infinite ammo and rapid-fire capabilities!
Don't ask why. Just accept that the machine-spirit was pleased.
Charging ahead without fear of enemy fire, Noah used his "accurate" aim to pick off targets within the plasma explosion's radius. With infinite shields, he was untouchable. Go ahead, shoot me—see what happens.
Noah's "heroics" served as an inspiration to the surrounding enforcers and officers.
Under his lead, the heretic defenses quickly crumbled. However, one heretic hiding in the shadows fired at Noah's back as he passed.
The heretic's joy at striking his target quickly turned to terror when he saw his laser harmlessly dissipate against Noah's shield. Turning, Noah fired again, melting the heretic and part of the corridor wall into a glowing hole.
Noah sneered. 'Really? That's all you've got?'
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"Praise the God-Emperor! Thank you for your aid, my lord," an enforcer officer said, his face filled with relief and gratitude.
Ignoring the thanks, Noah barked orders: "Gather your remaining soldiers and follow me to the observation deck."
Individual heroics were all well and good, but Noah believed in collective heroism—translation: 'I need cannon fodder. The more, the better.'
"Yes, my lord!"
The officer saluted Noah and Argenta with the Aquila gesture before moving to rally his troops.
"My God, my Light, my Emperor!"
Argenta continued reciting her prayers with unwavering devotion, as though leaving them unfinished would be a sin.
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Noah and Argenta pushed through the heretics' makeshift defenses with ease, encountering another group of enforcers coming from a different direction. After a brief visual confirmation, their leader—a grizzled officer—approached.
This man had gray hair, a stern demeanor, and bronze-colored skin that encased muscles, implants, and bones. His chestplate was adorned with skulls and aquila insignia.
Noah recognized him as Theodora's Seneschal, Abelard Werserian.
It was Abelard who had first brought Noah aboard this ship, making him one of the earliest key figures Noah encountered. However, Abelard showed no signs of retaining first-playthrough memories; otherwise, Noah would've foreseen everything unfolding now.
The Seneschal looked far from his usual composed self. His forehead was drenched in sweat, his breathing labored. His coat's right sleeve was torn and soaked in blood—the heretics had clearly given him trouble.
Yet his stance was firm, and his eyes sharp.
When Abelard saw Noah with Sister Argenta, his expression darkened, and he asked gravely:"Sister Argenta, Lord Noah, are you here to assist?"
"Yes, Seneschal Abelard. Have you located Lady Theodora?" Noah asked.
Abelard gritted his teeth. "These damned heretics have seized the observation deck. They've locked the door somehow, and we can't breach it!"
"I believe I can help." A pleasant voice interjected.
Noah turned to the source of the voice—a woman in crimson robes.
Typically, adherents of the Cult Mechanicus, whether male or female, replaced most of their organic bodies with mechanical implants. The more senior they were, the less human they appeared, until only essential biological components remained amidst their mechanical shells.
But this tech-priestess was different. While she had numerous implants—her right arm, for instance, was a mechanical limb wielding a massive power axe—the rest of her body remained human.
Soft ash-gray hair, deep blue eyes, and a strikingly beautiful face rivaling Argenta's.
She looked more like an elegant elder sister than a typical tech-priestess.
The woman smiled warmly at Noah. "A pleasure to meet you, Lord Noah. My name is Nono, the Magos Explorator aboard this vessel."
'Her name is Nono? Makes perfect sense.'
Noah remained silent. The silence was deafening.
Nono was the ship's machine-spirit, fused with the Stellar. As its animating force, she technically had no physical body.
Over time, certain events in the storyline allowed tech-priests or pilgrims to sacrifice their bodies for Nono, enabling her to manifest physically. Even without such sacrifices, as the ship's machine-spirit, Nono could animate any servitor onboard, effectively descending whenever she wished.
But Noah disliked how the in-game tech-priests looked. Driven by the desire to create the perfect wife, he had spent three hours designing a custom body for Nono in his first playthrough.
The woman standing before him was a dead ringer for the one he had created.
Yet—
In the game, Nono's body was 'his' creation!
This was only the second playthrough. He hadn't even designed it yet. So how did Nono already have this body?
'Does this even make sense?'
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5. The Queen is Dead, the King Shall Rise!
6. I Need to Regroup the Fleet.
7. The Orders Pronatus.
8. The Young Lady Excels at Getting into Trouble at Lightspeed.
9. The Target, Macragge!