Rising up from a Nobleman to Intergalactic Warlord!!-Chapter 194

---Victor POV, Craftworld Alaitoc---

After helping coordinate the arrival of allied vessels, leadership descended upon the craftworld to discuss our battle plans. Exchanging formal greetings with one another, local elder Tylesh Saimu asked us to follow him to their war room. Taking a slightly longer route than necessary to show off their military might, the Eldar Rangers paid us no mind as they prepared their arsenal.

(Luxion)

"Quietly send in teams to neutralize the threat and scan the ship to locate where the Necron is hiding. If they were sent by Trazyn, they are still onboard and hiding amongst the local populace. Disguising his pawns as foreigners would have raised the alarm already.", I replied via our private channel.

Carrying out my order, I sensed several of my subordinates teleport aboard the craftworld, and no one around me batted an eye. While grateful that the Eldar had not flipped out about it, the ease at which my men got onboard demonstrated how terrible their security was. Putting my qualms about it down, as two strangely familiar faces approached us, one of them pulled Cegorach, Isha, Lileath, and Vaul into a big hug.

"So the rumors we heard were true; the four of you are alive and well.", the Aeldari God Hoec proclaimed, squeezing them tightly. "You have no idea how nice it is to see all of you after being freed from that horrifying monster."

"It is good to see you again as well, my dear older brother.", Isha agreed, happy to see Hoec again. "Why didn't you try to contact us when you heard we were alive again? It is not like you to leave all of us in the dark. Did something happen?"

Letting go of them, Hoec scratched the back of his head before hesitantly stepping aside to reveal the other man. Watching Isha's smile quickly turn into a scowl, she stopped herself from lunging for his throat and instead wrapped herself around my arm.

"So Kurnous and I only arrived here on Alaitoc two days ago; prior to that, we were on the Exodite World of Ursidhe-Ka. After being violently expelled from our prison, we were spat out of the Warp onto a grassy plain dotted with some vicious-looking reptiles. If not for Kurnous' quick thinking, the two of us would have been a snack for one of them.", Hoec explained, sensing the tension between the two of them. "So... Uh... You two still hate each other, I see."

"He is my second most hated person next to She Who Thirsts.", Isha acknowledged, glaring at Lileath's father. "This deadbeat can hardly be called a father or husband. Though he blessed me with a wonderful daughter, that sham of a marriage was the second worst thing that has ever happened to me."

"If either of us should be mad, it should be me! You treated me like crap, nagged the hell out of me, and got me thrown in a torture chamber for several thousand years. Agreeing to marry you was the single worst mistake I have ever made.", Kurnous spat, looking at me with pity. "I feel sorry for you, mortal. You may think bedding her will compensate for all her craziness, but I can assure you it will not. She is what you mortals call a pillow princess."

Shocked that Kurnous would utter such a thing in public, Isha's jaw flopped open while those who heard his words looked away awkwardly. Embarrassed beyond belief, she hung her head and fell silent. Releasing a long sigh, Kurnous turned and began to walk away.

"I may not have been around much for your upbringing, Lileath, but I can see that you have grown into a beautiful young woman. Learn from our mistakes and find a partner who will cherish and love you for who you are.", Kurnous commented before descending a flight of stairs.

"Damn it... That jackass said he would be polite for this reunion...", Hoec grumbled, looking at his sister. "I am sorry, Isha. Given your last few interactions, I should have known better than to- "

"Forget about it... We should catch up with the group before they get too far ahead.", Isha said, sniffling softly. 'You piece of shit, you expected me to know how to properly service you from day one. I was a virgin with no sexual experience. What did you think was going to happen?! Everything I did for you was met with complaints or disdain... all because I was not Ahnakh-Yth.'

Scooping her up into my arms, our group double-timed it after the others to avoid getting left behind. Using the Force to help track them down in the maze of corridors, we rejoined them just as they reached our destination. Saluting Elder Saimu, the older Eldar politely asked them to open the door for us. Doing as they were instructed, just as they were about to activate the door mechanism, Bloodtide and Luxion told them to stop.

(Luxion)

Leaping into action immediately, Bloodtide darted around our confused allies and drove her hand straight into the imposter's chest. Phasing through Necron's metallic structure, she violently ripped out what appeared to be a Tesseract Labyrinth and tossed it to me.

"Well done, you two.", I chuckled, stowing the dangerous relic in my storage. "Alright, Trazyn, your puppet's cover has been blown. Reveal their true form and converse with us like civilized people."

Breaking into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, the infiltrator stopped using its cloaking field and began walking toward me. Attempting to scan my armor and face as it approached, Jarvis jammed the Necron's sensors, further piquing Trazyn's interest. Coming to a stop several feet in front of me, it reached out a hand and asked for a handshake. Playing along with his game, our nanotech clashed as we seemingly exchanged pleasantries.

"This is quite interesting; no one outside of my people has ever countered my nanites before. You are truly a cut above the Aeldari and other humans. What is your name?", Trazyn asked with genuine curiosity.

"It is Victor von Stark, but you can call me Victor.", I answered, releasing his hand. "Let me guess, you received a tip that we would be meeting here today?"

"No, I merely noticed that unknown entities have been sneaking a peek at my collection.", Trazyn lied, trying not to show his hand. "Given this Craftworld's close proximity to my home, it was only logical I start my investigation here."

"I see, so then you have no problem that my people disabled the explosives installed around this vessel, right?", I chuckled, giving him a fiendish smile. "Try as you might, I am already aware of the preserved xeno skull that the Nihilakh Dynasty keeps on Gheden. It allows your dynasty to somewhat predict the future, hence why you have come here today."

Taking a step back, it was quite evident that the Necron Overlord had not expected me to be so well informed. Given that no one outside of the Nihilakh Dynasty was privy to that information, his mind began scrambling for answers as to how I came by that information. Uncertain how much I was aware of, he attempted to flee by phasing out of the universe only to discover his phase tech was not working properly.

"Sorry, Trazyn, you forfeited your pawn the moment you put it in front of me. I have studied Necron technology very closely; such tricks will not get you anywhere.", I stated, reaching my hand out and grabbing hold of the Necron's head. "Be seeing you, Trazyn the Infinite."

Sending a burst of seemingly garbled data over the unit's uplink to the Tomb World, Trazyn let out a broken scream of anguish as his core systems went awry. Severing the connection to the compromised unit immediately, it quickly turned to dust before our eyes. Unsure what exactly I did to the Necron Overlord, Guilliman questioned if it was still wise to attack given that our enemy knew we were coming. Assuring everyone that now was the best time to strike, I made it clear I was going in whether they came with me or not.

"Thanks to that idiot's arrogance, I was able to upload a sentient metamorphic virus onto Solemnace's network. Using the data recovered from Van Horne, my AI companion Dair and I were able to create an AI that has rendered most of his core systems and defenses useless.", I snickered, trying to imagine the chaos unfolding on Solemnace right now. "Right now, Solemnace's electronic defenses are offline, meaning we can barge in unimpeded. The only defense Trazyn will be able to muster are the few Necrons he already had online and his display pieces."

(AN: For those of you who are not in IT, a metamorphic virus is a type of malware that reprograms itself and mutates to hide itself on a computer system. They are extremely difficult to remove, as they can reprogram themselves while the program is running.)

"Forgive me, but are you saying some of our kinsmen have turned on us?", Eldanial questioned, wanting to ensure he understood me correctly.

"Technically, yes, but it is a bit more complicated than that. High-ranking Necrons possess specialized nanites called Mindshackle Scarabs that are used to subdue sentient creatures.", I informed everyone. "These robots can subtly influence those they infest, or if needed, can completely take control of them for a short period of time. After five to ten minutes of exerting control, they will burn out, restoring full control back to the host."

Learning that Necrons had such technology, leadership began to wonder how many sleeper agents were hidden within their subordinates. Inquiring if it was possible to detect and remove them, I nodded my head and confirmed that it was. Remarking that Belisarius Cawl had successfully cleared Inquisitor Katarinya Greyfax of them, I was more than happy to provide less invasive options as well. Confirming that they were all in on this mission for their trapped kinsman and the reclamation of their treasured relics, we began to divvy up my list of objectives between our three groups...

Eldar > Liberate allies from stasis and temporarily restrain range attackers

Imperium > Shut down the Pharos device and hold back close-quarters enemies

Victor's Forces > Collect the C'tan fragments, obliterate any Necron reinforcements from Trazyn's allies, and seize control of Solemnace's central computer.

(AN: A Pharos is a teleportation device that also functions as a communication relay, from my understanding.)

"The... The Aeldari people will carry out our tasks to the best of our ability.", Eldanial and Yvraine said, brimming with pride to use their people's original name again.

"The Imperium of Man will do our utmost to avoid killing Trazyn's unwilling victims, but the Necron will not make it easy.", the Emperor of Mankind said as he and my uncles gave them a firm nod.

"There is one last thing everyone needs to know before we head out. Among Trazyn's collection, there are a number of exhibits dedicated to the Tyranids.", I warned them. "Do NOT disable or fire upon those exhibits under any circumstances. In total, I believe he has one and a half Hive Fleets' worth of Tyranids in stasis. If more than two of the exhibits are compromised, all forces must fall back because all hell will break loose."

Nodding their heads in understanding, I turned to head out with my group when Elder Tylesh Saimu called out to me. Asking about the explosive devices I mentioned earlier, he wanted confirmation if they had been disabled. Looking down the hallway, my subordinates came running toward us with high explosives in hand. Handing them over to the dumbfounded Aeldari Rangers, they blinked several times at my smug-faced subordinates before asking how they got aboard.

"That is for us to know and for you to figure out.", one of my men laughed, stopping to salute my grandfather and uncles. "Thanks for joining us today; we look forward to working with all of you."

"Likewise... ", El Johnson spoke, surprised that my soldier could look them in the eyes without fear.

"Are you going to be on the frontlines or aboard a ship?", Leman inquired.

"At the bloody frontlines, that is where all the action is!", the soldier answered.

Laughing boisterously, Leman patted him on the back and completely agreed with his statement. Telling him to keep his head on his shoulders so they might have a drink sometime, the soldier gave him a confused look before turning to me. Asking me to consider inviting me to the after-battle festivities, the leaders looked at me for an explanation.

"Ah...", I said, stifling a smile. "Traditionally we throw a big party after major battles to celebrate our victory and commemorate our fallen comrades. You are more than welcome to come if you wish. We have more than enough food and drink to go around."

"The Space Wolves and I will be there!", Leman asserted, pointing his finger at me. "I am always up for anything involving alcohol, fighting, or food. Remember that."

"I think it would be best if we all attended. Think of it as a cultural exchange.", the Emperor coughed, hoping that long-lost human cuisines would make an appearance.

Looking at their father for a moment, my uncles agreed to follow the Emperor's suggestion. As for the Aeldari, they agreed to come at the behest of Cegorach and Vaul. Unsure why their deities were wanting them to go, as partying is exactly what spawned She Who Thirsts, they were told to just participate in moderation. Following me topside, everyone returned to their flagships so we could begin the invasion.