For no apparent reason, Hogg saw the air of a lonely old man about Szarekh. No wonder the guy could get along with Yellow Weasel—they were two of a kind!
But if they were two of a kind, that meant the Silent King was in a bad spot, too. Never mind what kind of hero Selas was; the fact that he'd managed to raise a rebellion meant he was a talented man. Most importantly, he'd become Rick, which meant—
"I'm the last one standing!"
"Huh?"
Szarekh had been pouring out his woes and hadn't heard him. That was the downside of becoming Rick: his mind was always wandering, and he couldn't process things calmly like a Necron body, taking in every piece of information at once.
"Nothing. As everyone knows, I, Hogg, am the most loyal of all. I won't stand for rebels like that!"
Szarekh nodded in agreement. He thought that Hogg might be a C'tan Shard, but he was a pretty decent guy. It had been a long time since anyone had sympathized with him.
Then Szarekh suddenly noticed that Hogg smelled nice. The closer he got, the more refreshed he felt, and the pressure he'd built up over the years vanished in an instant. It made him wonder if he'd caught some kind of digital virus.
Before Szarekh could figure out why, Hogg stepped forward and grabbed his arm tightly.
"Szarekh, you've come to the right place this time. For all we know, humans and the Necrontyr might even be one family if you trace us back 65 million years.
"Look how alike we are: we've all got four limbs, a torso, and a head. We're even both a species standing on a pile of corpses. And just look at our Imperial Cogitator Servitors. An alliance with