Chapter 2: Prologue 02 – Sacrosanct Imperator

A few thousand kilometers away, the boiling sea of sand surges like waves on the beach. They washed a rocky ‘island’ as the sand current carried an invisible figure ashore. The planet’s searing temperature is actually very beneficial for him, as long as he’s able to keep his organics from being carbonized. 

Without a core reactor to neutralize the heavy energy expenditure of his body, Regulus can only capture the solar winds, extreme heat, and radiation of the system's star. Relying on an energy source from the external world is extremely unwise in the long term, especially for a rank 3 like him, but as long as it works, he’ll take it.

‘It’s a good thing that this planet’s day-and-night rotation cycle is around 150 standard solar days. I have around two standard solar months before this part of the planet turns dark.’ He stood up on the rocky island. The boiling sands in this part of the planet are so fine that they behave like water particles: they ripples like waves or water current in the sea.

He began counting down his loss. “Without sacrificing my fusion core reactor, I wouldn’t be able to play dead, but this only delays my fate. Without an energy source to keep my internals from being fried or frozen when the day turns into night, my chance of survival dwindles exponentially.”

Inspecting the bladestaff on his back, he grimaced. “The bladestaff has lost 2 out of its 9 computational cores, expected technospell activation speed will be reduced by 31%... Well, considering I’ve lost my core reactor, I shouldn’t activate any rank 3 technospells for the time being.”

It pains him to lose his technospells capabilities, but it pales in comparison to not having knowledge on his wife’s, Dia Wu, condition. “My MEKA should be able to take Dia Wu back to Crimson Mars, but something must’ve happened during the dimensional shifting to the hyperspace. I need to get off this planet as soon as possible… ”

As he began inspecting the place he ended up, he noticed that this island is huge, having rocky mountains of various sizes. While walking to explore the island, he found a small cave that continuously spewed faint traces of poison into the atmosphere. 

“The poison is extremely harmful towards biological entities. When combined with the presence of zerg on this planet, it seems like it was an unsuccessful containment of a zerg swarm. Perhaps, this planet truly held a secret related to the Sacrosanct Imperator…”

Before deciding to enter the small cave to investigate, he bathed in the lethal sunlight for a week straight to fill his energy storage. Since this planet’s solar power is extremely strong, the moment his energy reserve hits a certain point, he uses a technospell to focus the sunlight of a large area towards himself, thus increasing the solar efficiency exponentially. With more energy, he could use more technospell to cover a larger area, and thus this positive feedback loop allows him to recover 40% of his energy reserve in merely a week. If he’s not worried about orbital observation by the traitors in his Unit, then he might be able to accelerate further, but for now, it is enough.

After erecting a force field to keep the toxic fumes at bay, he began exploring the cave. The dark interior does not bother him since he can simply switch to sonar sight to inspect his surroundings. 

“Am a bit parched, but water shouldn’t exist on this planet. I should quickly find a geothermal vent to recharge my energy and allow me to survive on this planet a while longer… If all is well, I could use [Stellar Nucleosynthesis] to construct my way out…”

Theoretically, a rank 3 Magos could not escape the gravity (escape velocity) of a planet. However, Regulus is a star-path Magos, his methods are mostly related to the stars and celestial bodies. Using a rank 3 variant of [Gravity Well] should allow him to somehow bypass the escape velocity of this planet’s gravity, but getting into orbit is the start of his journey. Surviving in space without an exosuit or a power armor is almost impossible. Even having a rank 3 body covered with metallic parts, he could barely survive in the vacuum of space for a brief period of time.

And even then, he also needed a vessel equipped with FTL technology. 

His best hope: a geothermal vent and copious activations of [Stellar Nucleosynthesis]. Therefore, going underground is probably the best idea. In the first place, these rocky mountains possessed the signatures of volcanoes. If he’s lucky, this mountain might be an active one.

…

Three days of going underground had made him hopeful. On the second day, he had found a volcanic tube, a pyroduct, with an age probably in the thousands of standard solar years. The walls contain high amounts of ferrum, sulfur, and myriad other constituents. Although he could not extract them for now, these walls are a source of heavy elements. With some exploration, it wouldn’t be impossible to reach a geothermal vent in the near future.

Sometimes, Regulus reached a dead end, but being lost in the cavern is nothing rank 2 technospells couldn’t solve. With sonar-like investigative methods, a three-dimensional map of the underground world is constructed in a 2 kilometer wide circumference. A kilometer-thick bedrock is not a problem as long as his energy reserve could handle it.

It was only after a week of continuous descent that he found an anomaly.

“A body of water?” He gasped as he sensed the moisture of this chamber is higher compared to the atmosphere above. His earlier conjecture about the planet being waterless might be wrong, but the presence of water means the planet’s core still contains latent stellar potential: heat. As long as the molten core in the planet still rotates, then there’s still hope for him to escape this planet.

Unfortunately, the water is undrinkable. Being exposed to the toxic gas of this planet for a period of time, it’s no wonder the water has taken a muddy, viscous form. After examining the puddle of water, he left the area, delving deeper.

Regulus’ eyebrows are raised the moment he finds a second body of toxic water less than a kilometer away from the first one through his sonar. When he reached the second puddle of water, he couldn’t help but squint his eyes in suspicion. 

“Can it be that… water isn’t that rare on this planet? The atmosphere is too thin, it cannot support the ozone layer and magnetic field. A solar wind could mean absolute death to the inhabitants on the surface of the planet. However, if water is present, then does that mean the planet’s desert crust acted like an atmosphere of some sort?”

He really wanted to examine the area around this depth, inspecting the level of oxygen in the air, but not only did he lack the necessary tools, but he also couldn’t risk his organics being swallowed by the poison. Therefore, he can only leave the puddle of toxic water alone.

As he continued his descent around the labyrinthian lava tunnel, he found more puddles of toxic waters. At around two hundred kilometers, the ambient temperature had escalated. Not to the point of being similar to the surface of the planet, but it is slowly climbing there. Still, with each puddle of toxic waters that he found, he began seeing lumps of minerals around it.

Investigating these unnatural lumps around the water puddle is useless as whatever it was before, it has either carbonized or turned into minerals due to the passage of time. 

After weeks of continuous descent, his steps suddenly stopped. “No way…” He whispered as he used his hand to knock at the dirt ground, using an investigative method in the process. Clank! A crisp sound of metal hitting against metal could be heard. “Despite being covered by layers of non-metal sediment, this is real metal… and not just any metal, but a metallic element designated as rank 4 material…”

Regulus exhaled a deep breath. “Historical reports indicate that the Sacrosanct Imperator’s internals are made out of an extinct, rank 4 metal known for its durability, lightness, and its ability to protect mortal’s souls during hyperspace travel… The metal has a distinct purple hue on them.”

Regulus produced a source of light using a minor technospell. Wiping away the layer of non-metal sediment, he finally could see the original color of the metallic floor.

“It’s pale gray, but if I see it from a different angle, there’s a distinct purple hue in them…” Regulus frowned, “Is this really the corpse of Sacrosanct Imperator? How can it survive the passage of time?”

Nobody can answer his rhetoric, but he wanted to believe that he had coincidentally accomplished what he was sent here in the first place. However, this is not enough. It could be just pieces or a small portion of the Sacrosanct Imperator. After all, the supercapital ship mentioned in historical records is said to be as big as a moon, having around two thousand kilometers of length. If the information written in historical records are true, then the hull of the ship should be protected by a rank 6 material that could not be found in nature: Diamantine. 

The hardest metal known to mankind.

The fact that he has yet to find a trace of that fantasy metal means the Sacrosanct Imperator has either turned into scrap, or the ship is split into multiple pieces.

He began paying more attention as he continued his descent. 

At first, it was just as he had expected. The Sacrosanct Imperator has been shredded into countless pieces. He can only find broken wreckage of what the supercapital ship was, shrouded under layers of thick sediment. Most of the metal he found has been shredded, melted, or fused with the rocky walls of this planet. 

According to his experience and observation, these phenomena might be the result of a spacecraft making an exit out of hyperspace without the support of the Emperor of Mankind. 

Continuing his search down below, he had discarded the hope of ever finding drinkable water as he had found his original objective of coming into this planet, but it wasn’t easy to continue delving into the depth of this world.

Not only the gray toxic gas’ concentration has become so intense that he couldn’t even see a few meters ahead of him, the temperature is searing hot. If he were to breathe, his lungs would probably burn. In any case, he started to observe the wreckage and found an interesting fact.

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“The ship’s design… is so ancient.” Regulus unconsciously muttered his thoughts as he traveled through a large wreckage that gave birth to a tunnel. The ship’s architecture and sense of aesthetic that he could pick up from the broken wreckage were so old as if it was made in a different era. Perhaps, he got that idea because that information isn’t written in historical records.

What made him release a gasp of surprise is the length and size of the corridors. It was extremely huge, enough for multiple MEKA to walk side-by-side. 

As observation turned into knowledge, he deduced that this area should be a hanger of some sort. Otherwise, it’ll be a waste of space. The spaceship of old is not designed like modern ones. After all, the spaceship of the current era mostly incorporates high-dimensional information-path technology, allowing the conservation of space and thus significantly reducing the size of most modern spaceships.

Suppressing the feeling of amazement in his heart, he continued to explore the wreckage. Due to the size of the original ship, this remnant is extremely huge. Once, he found a fragment that spanned for hundreds of kilometers that seemed to be a segment of the ship. It contains the signature design of hangar, manufactorium, living quarters, and military industrial complex. 

The Sacrosanct Imperator is not a mere warship, but a supercapital ship capable of expanding new horizons and territory. It has a wide array of functions necessary for the continuation of the human race.

Eventually, he met a fragment of the ship which was somehow conserved from the ravages of time. The walls have stopped being mineralized soil or contaminated metal. The floor, walls, and the corridors now consist of the metal with a distinct purple hue. With some exploration, he found a fragmented map of this section of the ship embedded in the walls, faded in colors due to time. There was an attempt to deduce the complete map, but the damage was too much.

“I can only deduce a portion of it… If my guess is correct, then this portion of the ship should contain one of the most important facilities aboard the Sacrosanct Imperator: the bridge…” He touched his chin in ponderation. 

With a goal in mind, steps took a renewed vigor. If a door was blocked, he can only find another way since he, as a rank 3 Magos, is helpless to melt or force open doors made out of rank 4 material. Even if it is theoretically possible, he needs to use a large amount of energy. 

Nevertheless, he finally reached his objective after two weeks of navigating the massive wreckage that seemed like a maze. 

“It’s fucking huge…” He muttered as he reached the bridge. It doesn’t seem like it was designed to be manned by people, but MEKAs instead. “What an extravagant ship…” 

In most spaceships, the bridge is where the operation of the whole ship is being managed. This moon-sized supercapital ship’s bridge is not too different compared to most ships, but the consoles, seats, and everything in this room are extremely voluminous compared to normal ships. With the concentration of the toxic gas being heavily concentrated, the exploration of the bridge took an entire day. 

“This should be the admiral’s throne… but why is it human-sized?” He raised his brows. There were various incongruences between the Sacrosanct Imperator written in historical records and the one that he’s currently at, but this is another level of inconsistencies. If operators of the consoles are using MEKA, why would the admiral lack the necessity to pilot one?

With close examination, Regulus found out the human-sized admiral throne consisted of black-purple material that he had never seen in his entire life, nor something written in the Imperium’s historical archive. It was soft to the touch, seemingly like rubber but is a metallic substance. There are multiple jack cables around it, indicating that they should be some type of human-machine interaction device. After all, manually operating a moon-sized machine must be very inefficient. 

One of the best methods he can think of is using a type of telepathic-interface, allowing the admiral to telepathically receive and send information. However, even the best Astropsionics, human variants of the Imperium genetically designed to be spaceship pilots, could not operate a single battleship alone. Most large vessels require several astropsionics to operate in tandem.

Of course, it’s not an iron rule, but there’s a matter of efficiency to consider.

Further inspection reveals that this ancient telepathic-interface device is still functional. Considering his energy reserve is still relatively plentiful, he used some nanomachines in his bloodstream and some scraps to alter the device. Modern telepathic-interface devices took the form of a helmet-like artifact, unlike the ones here which were similar to an audio jack that should be plugged into one’s skull.

He wanted to know what happened, and restoring the central system seemed possible, but there were still some additional modifications that he needed to do around the admiral throne. He cut off the connection of the central system to the rest so that when he provided the energy, the ship wouldn’t drain him dry.

It took him almost a week to accomplish what he wanted to do but eventually, it was done.

He sat on the admiral throne, a telepathic-interface helmet on top of his head and multiple cables jacked into his body. Feeling the draining feeling of his energy reserve being taken, his consciousness is slowly drawn into a virtual world.

…

The ambient atmosphere of the virtual world could be described with one word: gloomy.

It was dull gray mixed with dark purple with no end in sight. “Weren’t a ship’s virtual world a representation of its inhabitants? If the virtual world is like this, who was its admiral?”

As he inquired, a flash of pixels introduces a new arrival: a blurry holographic image of a woman. The figure had a texture of boxy pixels, the resolution is extremely low, but that’s not a problem for Regulus as long as he could interact with it.

“Sacrosanct Imperator’s Virtual Intelligence…” He greeted the figure.

“Unknown power source detected.” The low-res figure spoke, her tone electronic. “Unauthorized hardware modification detected. Verifying access code. Access code verified. running self-diagnostics…”

It took the VI some time before it was able to receive any input command from Regulus.

“Tell me what happened to this vessel?” He asked what he wanted to know the most. According to historical records, the ship was lost during an extradimensional expedition, but the truth might not be that simple.

“Classified Information.” The low-res VI replied back. “Requesting identification.”

Regulus scratched his virtual head. “Regulus von Mars, Commander of Machine Cult’s 454th Inquisitorial Unit. I am tasked to investigate the trace of the Sacrosanct Imperator in the desert world Rakku.” He sent a digital identification token impossible to duplicate due to its origin.

“Machine Cult’s identification token confirmed… Retrieving archive… Commander, which records would you like to access first?”

Regulus pondered for a moment. Considering the vessel’s history, there should be countless millions of records, going one-by-one would take a considerable amount of time. With his limited energy reserve, it’s not something that he can do right now. “Who’s the admiral of the Sacrosanct Imperator?” 

“Fleet Admiral Grimsong Specter is the acting admiral of the Sacrosanct Imperator.” The electronic voice of the VI never changes.

Hearing the admiral’s name, Regulus could feel a metaphorical chill on his back, as if the hairs behind his neck stood despite not having any. It was his first time hearing the name, but for some reason, he felt the instinctual fear against that entity. Still, he was interested in knowing the admiral of the Sacrosanct Imperator. “Can you please elaborate on Fleet Admiral Grimsong Specter?”

“Affirmative, retrieving archive…”

 

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