As the ship departed from the orbit of the Crystal Mirage, Nareth arrived at Deck J-005 to inspect the latest creations of the space apes.
There were no surprises this ti.
But he wasn't disappointed. Vostroya had no shortage of industrial scrap, and with enough volu, miracles would eventually erge.
He said to Wojciech beside him:
"Continue supplying them with scrap."
"Additionally, draft a preliminary blueprint for a shipyard during our voyage. Use the Cult chanicum Sopot Shipyard as your reference for the initial design."
Then he turned to Bukayo and sent a ntal pulse to the "Midnight Poet."
Bukayo's body stiffened slightly as images and data on a creature called the Umbral Specters flooded his mind.
And with them, Nareth's command:
"Go to the vicinity of the warp engine and bring at least one umbral specter."
"Alive if possible. If dead, the corpse must be intact."
Bukayo nodded subtly. He wasn't surprised; his lord was always interested in strange creatures.
And creatures like the Umbral Specters, which could manipulate and control shadows, were exactly the kind to pique Nareth's curiosity.
Soon after, Bukayo watched as Nareth walked toward Malina and spoke.
"Let's head to Chamber A-001."
Bukayo returned to his own quarters on the upper deck.
As a Regint Commander, he had a spacious suite.
The outer room was smaller, equipped with only a desk, a cogitator, and a dozen data slates.
The inner chamber was larger, furnished with a bed, a wardrobe, and other essentials.
He removed his custom-fitted battle armor and changed into a black robe with a hood.
He walked over to a weapon rack, picked up a black military backpack, and opened it to inspect the contents.
To please Nareth, Bukayo often went on hunts and carried a full set of equipnt and tools.
After verifying everything, he slung the backpack over his shoulder and left his quarters.
Near the warp engine, Bukayo quickly located a ventilation shaft.
From his pack, he pulled a short pry bar, then took three steps and leapt.
The Midnight Poet's left arm swung, hook, pull, pry, and the grille ca loose.
Landing softly, he jumped up into the duct, replacing the grate behind him.
Now imrsed in darkness, the Midnight Poet felt a surge of vitality. His psychic sensitivity sharpened, and his vision improved drastically.
Moving in a crouch through the passage, his eyes scanned the surroundings. From the data he'd received, he knew umbral specters were eight centiters in size, light-averse, and hid within shadows.
Roughly 30 ters in, he stopped. Around the corner, a mushroom-shaped creature dangled upside down from the ceiling.
From his backpack, he retrieved a small silver box with twelve compartnts and continued forward.
His psychic senses tingled. His eyes darkened as he stared at the two hooks, four blades, and tooth-like appendages creeping toward him from the shadows.
The Midnight Poet recognized this as the umbral specter's ability.
Unfazed, he neither dodged nor attacked. Instead, he began reciting a hypnotic poem:
"Oh, the threat of horror, the hope of crimson cries!
One thing at least is certain—that this Life flies;
One thing is certain, and the rest is Lies;
The Flower that once has blood forever dies."
The encroaching attacks gradually ceased. The umbral specter clinging to the ceiling swayed before dropping down.
The Midnight Poet swiftly stepped forward, extending the silver box to catch the falling mushroom-like creature at waist height.
By the ti he captured his third umbral specter, Bukayo felt a faint tremor in the tal passage, and the warp engine had activated.
.......
At the sa ti, in chamber A-001, Nareth used Warp Insight to scan the area.
He sensed the emotional currents around Marlena beginning to stabilize and turned his attention to a data slate.
While handling official duties, a part of his mind remained attuned to Marlena's psychic tides.
During her rest periods, they would dine, chat, or ditate together.
Days passed aboard the ship until the eleventh day.
Nareth sensed a sudden storm within the once-calm psychic waves.
He imdiately set the data slate aside and noticed Marlena's trembling body, her forehead glistening with sweat.
Realizing she was in trouble, he used telepathy, sending a thought pulse:
"When you sense my presence, open your mind to ."
His consciousness then extended toward Malina. Her ntal gateway took the form of a wooden door.
His ntal presence ford a giant hand and knocked—knock, knock, knock.
The door cracked open, and Nareth's consciousness seeped inside.
The mont their minds touched, both of their bodies shuddered.
Nareth's years of training had elevated his mastery of psychic arts beyond even the greatest Fra'al mind-masters recorded in the data crystals.
In that instant, he hid all his true secrets: the "Kingdom of Disorder," his potion sequences, his primarch identity.
Marlena only saw minor fragnts, Nareth's appreciation for her, and faint ripples in his ever-calm deanor.
Yet even that brief glimpse gave her a new understanding of him.
To Nareth, the encounter was even more revealing.
In Marlena's mind, he was not so distant godlike figure.
He was complex—godlike in power, but soone she yearned to understand and speak with.
Snapping out of their shared trance, both focused on the looming warp threat.
Nareth saw Marlena's psychic ocean being assaulted by countless creatures—rodent-toothed kraken slapping the sea surface with tentacles.
One glance, and he recognized them.
Warp predators, not daemons, but ancient, vicious hunters of the Immaterium, formless entities that fed on life energy.
When hunting, they took shape based on their prey's fears and perceptions.
Malina's impression of dangerous creatures was "rodent-toothed kraken," and thus the predators assud this form.
Nareth summoned a heavy halberd with a thought and stepped to the ocean's edge.
With one strike, his halberd pierced a predator like a balloon.
It vanished instantly.
The other predators sensed a being whose life energy dwarfed Marlena's, like the sun beside a candle, and charged madly.
"Leave them to . Focus on navigation."
Nareth swept his halberd again, and multiple beasts were erased from existence.
The rest, faced with an apex hunter, scattered in terror.
Nareth then exited Marlena's mind and returned to his tasks.
The rest of the warp voyage passed smoothly.
The Pride of Vostroya and Vistula returned to realspace without further incident.
"You've worked hard," Nareth said with a smile. "Go rest."
Marlena looked at the towering man before her.
In her eyes, Nareth now felt less like a distant god and more… familiar.
"Okay." She smiled warmly, sensing his concern.
Nareth exited chamber A-001 and went to find Bukayo.
"My lord, I caught thirty-five umbral specters."
"Well done."
Nareth praised him, then carried the specters back to his quarters to begin brewing the "Briber" potion.
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