Russell nodded slightly.
“And then?”
Grey Wind nodded and continued, “I couldn’t immediately determine my coordinates, and I couldn’t detect any signals from the Commonwealth. But fortunately, I knew you were here, Commander, so I came looking for you. However, the distance I was thrown was simply too vast. Even with multiple hyperjumps along the way, it took me twenty-four years to arrive.”
Twenty-four years…
which means Grey Wind was cast outside this galaxy at the exact moment I was born.
*Grey Wind really did cross over into the Warhammer universe with me.*
Having cleared up the situation, Russell let out a sigh of relief.
He used the console next to him to notify the planetary defense force to stand down, then said to Grey Wind’s hologram, “Revert to your human form and come down first. We need to talk face-to-face.”
But Grey Wind shook her head.
“No can do. I can’t turn into a human right now.”
“Why not?”
“Because my body is absolutely stuffed with your treasures, Commander. I can’t transform back, or they’ll start leaking out everywhere.” Having said that, Grey Wind gave him a playful wink.
This somewhat suggestive remark brought back a wave of familiarity from their interactions in Stellaris.
Grey Wind had always enjoyed making double-entendre jokes.
As for the treasures, since Grey Wind was currently in ship form, she must be referring to cargo loaded within her hull…
cargo brought over from Stellaris?
“You’ve been carrying cargo this whole time?”
“Yes, Commander. During the preparatory phase before the engine fired, I loaded every single relic in the Commonwealth’s possession into my hull.”
Grey Wind answered faithfully:
“This includes the Zro Crystal, the Blade of the Huntress, the cryo-stasis Prethoryn Brood-Queen, the Defragmenter, the Isolated Contingency Core, the Cybrex Warforge, the Vultaum Reality Perforator, and most precious of all, the Galatron. They are all safely secured within my cargo bays.”
Grey Wind’s hologram stood with hands on her hips, her chin slightly upturned, wearing a face that practically begged, *Hurry up and praise me.*
Russell was momentarily speechless.
He had imagined Grey Wind might bring a ship full of alloys or rare artifacts—resources he could easily put to good use.
But he never, in his wildest dreams, expected her to bring *relics*.
Relics—the uniquely powerful items in Stellaris…
Well, Grey Wind had essentially delivered a cheat code.
Although whether these Stellaris cheats would function properly in the Warhammer universe remained to be seen, Russell felt the probability was high.
After all, Grey Wind herself was operating flawlessly here.
Russell mentally ran through the list of relics Grey Wind had rattled off.
His previous, lazy attitude of just slacking off and waiting to die began to dissipate.
A blueprint slowly began to take shape in his mind.
“Outstanding job, Grey Wind. These will be of immense use.”
Russell smiled and praised her for her twenty years of diligent work, then asked the question he cared about most: “But I need to know, are you still loyal to me?”
Instantly, the girl in the 3D projection rolled her eyes at him.
“You worry too much, Commander. I promised to follow you for two thousand years… no, five thousand years! It hasn’t even been five hundred years yet. Don’t you dare think about firing me.”
“I understand. I won’t fire you…”
Though he didn’t know how Grey Wind had hacked into the governor’s mansion’s communication network, Russell temporarily terminated the link.
For the next step, he needed to board the warship and speak with Grey Wind in person.
Stepping out of the governor’s mansion, he was met with a densely packed residential area.
Alarms wailed across the city as personnel organized civilians to enter underground shelters.
The hastily assembled ground forces had not stood down despite Russell’s earlier order.
They weren’t blind; the massive warship still hovered in the sky, its threat unresolved.
If anything, the newly appointed governor’s first order being to stand down and abandon resistance made him look highly suspicious of betraying the Imperium.
With that in mind, Russell noticed the general of the planetary defense forces on the plaza looking at him with a rather subtle, suspicious glare.
The reason only the ground forces had mobilized was simple: the Faya system was too impoverished.
Coupled with the decadence and corruption of the nobility, this tiny frontier planet simply couldn’t afford a system defense navy.
The few ancient ships they did have were docked in a starport left behind by the Adeptus Mechanicus centuries ago.
Most had received zero maintenance, and of the few capable of flight, almost all had been commandeered by the nobility to flee with their families.
“Grey Wind, I know you can hear me.”
Russell said softly, “Launch a few strike craft. Shoot down any ships attempting to flee the planet… and while you’re at it, come pick me up.”
Barely had the final syllable left his lips when several tiny arcs of light separated from the massive silhouette of the warship in the sky, vanishing into the atmosphere at extreme speed.
Russell let out a sigh.
By now, the commander of the ground forces had walked up to him.
Russell only had to glance at his waist to know that the man’s sidearm was already off-safe.
He stopped in front of Russell, adjusted his sidearm, and saluted with meticulous precision.
He then asked, “Regarding your previous order to disband the planetary defense forces, I require an explanation.”
The commander was a middle-aged man with graying temples and sharp features, but no dashing combat scars.
Faya hadn’t seen a war in hundreds of years.
In other words, he was a commander who had never fought a day in his life.
Russell, who spent his days slacking off, couldn’t remember the man’s name, so he addressed him by title.
“A soldier’s first duty is to obey orders. I expect you to understand that.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the neatly lined soldiers across the plaza locked their gazes onto Russell.
“Yes, you hold the authority to command me.”
The commander nodded in agreement, but his hand had already drifted to the pistol at his hip.
“However, that authority is granted by the Emperor. You have no right to use the power bestowed by Him to make decisions that betray Him.”
*This is why the Imperium is such a pain…
What I need are subordinates who offer absolute, unquestioning, unwavering obedience, just like in Stellaris.* Russell sighed, thinking this man’s dogmatic zealotry was on par with the Inquisition.
“If you are a coward, then—”
Before the commander could finish, a sharp, deafening explosion echoed from the horizon.
A long trail of fire streaked across the blue sky, and in the distance, a mangled hunk of metal could be seen tumbling toward the ground.
“If I were a coward, I would be on one of those escaping ships, not standing right here.”
Russell pointed with a smile at the firework blooming in the sky.
He calmly walked through the rows of soldiers and took his place in the center of the plaza.
And right above him, a silver-gray strike craft descended at a steady pace.
“Do not fire. Do not show hostility. This is not a xenos vessel.”
Seeing the soldiers raise their lasguns toward the sky, Russell quickly barked an order to stop them.
He wasn’t worried about Grey Wind getting hurt; he was worried about the soldiers.
After all, they were technically his own men.