Wanted: a Faster-Than-Light Engine

"The Webway?"

Yvraine gently shook her head. Her smile remained, but her tone carried an unquestionable firmness:

"Lord Guilliman, I believe you understand very well that the Webway is the Eldar's most central and precious legacy.

At critical moments, we are willing to help our allies with limited passage.

But allowing the entire Imperium's vessels to travel through the Webway on a regular basis... that is impossible.

Even for you, we would only grant your fleet passage under the most extreme circumstances.

Routine access is absolutely impossible."

"I see..." A trace of disappointment inevitably flashed across Guilliman's face, though this result was within his expectations.

(The Webway may be useful, but in the end, it is still a reflection in the mirror.

It seems I'll ultimately have to rely on the faster-than-light engine technology exchanged from the system.)

He mused inwardly.

(Still, getting Cawl to fully grasp and reproduce Vitruum's technology will probably be harder than reaching the heavens.

The Imperium's research system has long since ossified. The Adeptus Mechanicus only knows how to dig scraps out of STC ruins, and its capacity for independent innovation is practically nonexistent...

AI is forbidden. Everything relies on human brains and biological wetware for calculation. They even came up with warped things like servo-skulls and servitors...)

However, Guilliman still held out a sliver of hope for Belisarius Cawl, Warhammer's Doraemon.

Even if he could not make the original version, a vastly inferior knockoff would do!

Guilliman lowered his expectations.

On the very day he awakened, Guilliman had exchanged a faster-than-light engine from the system and tossed it to Cawl.

The instant Cawl saw that faster-than-light engine, he was like a hive resident beholding the radiant Emperor himself—he dropped to his knees on the spot.

He wept as he recited sacred binary prayers, all while stroking the high-tech faster-than-light engine.

Machine oil sprayed endlessly from every part of his body.

Guilliman watched in distaste, told him to study it properly, then went off to crack open some Chaos cans.

But now that a week had passed, he believed Dora-Cawl had surely managed to research something.

(I'm not asking for ten billion times the speed of light. I can accept even a hundred times light speed!

At the very least, it would make travel between planets and even star systems much smoother.)

He quickly did the math in his head: (Given the Imperium's territory spans a hundred thousand light-years, traveling from one end to the other at a hundred times light speed would take roughly a thousand years...

It sounds long, but compared to the uncertainty and enormous risks of Warp travel, it would at least be a stable, controllable route.

There would be no more awkward situations where you rushed to reinforce a battlefield, only to arrive fifty years after it had already been settled.

Flying there at a hundred times light speed might take fifty years, but at least the crew would not vanish directly into the Warp, leaving no corpses behind.)

"Fine, then. I won't place any hopes on the Webway for now." Guilliman decisively shifted the topic, without any hesitation.

Using the Webway would naturally have been the optimal solution, but since that path was blocked, he would not dwell on it excessively.

(Next, I need to see how many governance points ruling an actual planet can earn me.

If the returns are substantial, I can simply rely on mass recruitment to establish control, save enough points, and directly buy a whole batch of faster-than-light engines from the system!)

He planned out the blueprint for the future in his mind.

(By then, my fleet could cross the galaxy in just a few hours!)

He pulled his attention back to reality and proposed a second avenue of cooperation. "Then let us discuss another matter.

"I would like to invite the Eldar Haemonculi to help me repair the Golden Throne."

"Repair the Golden Throne?" Surprise flickered through Yvraine's eyes.

Of course she knew of the Golden Throne—the sacred human relic upon which the Emperor of Mankind had sat for ten thousand years, said to have some mysterious connection to the Webway as well.

"You may not believe this," Guilliman said with a peculiar smile, "but as his son, I truly have some kind of connection with that 'father' of mine.

"I can sense that the throne beneath him... is not in very good condition. Some of its 'parts' have aged.

"This has increased the cost of maintaining the current state, and the Imperium needs to sacrifice more and more psykers."

His expression turned solemn. "To prevent that throne from completely collapsing one day and triggering an unforeseeable disaster,

"I hope to repair it before the situation becomes irreparable.

"However, humanity's technology, especially that of the Adeptus Mechanicus, is powerless in this regard.

"So I can only place my hopes on the Haemonculi—the experts among the Eldar who possess the most advanced biological and psychic technology."

Of course Guilliman could not possibly have any kind of connection with the Emperor, unless the Emperor appeared in his dreams.

But there was no helping it—he had read the plot.

Though he did not know every detail, he was aware that he would eventually have to invite the Haemonculi to visit the Imperium and repair the Golden Throne.

And the moment those Haemonculi saw the Golden Throne, they would immediately kneel, wholeheartedly realizing that their past methods of torturing people had been far too primitive.

This was the greatest instrument of torture in the galaxy!

"The Haemonculi..."

Yvraine pondered for a moment, then offered Guilliman a helpless smile.

"Lord Guilliman, as long as you can offer a price sufficient to move them, I believe those Haemonculi obsessed with technology and knowledge would be more than willing to serve.

"They hold an exceptional status in Eldar society and are interested only in 'interesting' projects and generous rewards."

"Resources are not a problem." Guilliman waved a hand grandly, brimming with confidence.

There were plenty of strange technologies and materials in the world of Invincible. Once he fully controlled the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar, he would surely have enough governance points for this!

More importantly, keeping the Emperor of Mankind firmly seated upon that throne concerned the stability of the entire Imperium.

He did not want Terra to be flooded by daemons erupting from beneath the throne before he had even officially taken up his post as Regent.

"I believe that, with Lord Guilliman's boldness, you will certainly be able to invite them, so long as the price is sufficient."

Yvraine first affirmed this, then spread her hands to indicate that she could do little more.

"However, I personally, as well as the Reaper Host, likely cannot provide you with direct assistance in this matter."

She explained, "Though the Reaper Host are also Eldar, the Haemonculi are mostly gathered in Commorragh—the capital of the Dark Eldar.

"The relationship between us Craftworld Eldar and the Dark Eldar... is complicated, and our interactions are limited. I have no master Haemonculi under my command whom I can directly dispatch.

"So if you wish to invite them, you must personally travel to the Eldar's... or rather, the Dark Eldar's center of power and trade—Commorragh."

"Commorragh..."

Guilliman recalled what he knew of the place, and a meaningful smile curled his lips.

"I have heard of it—the largest black market in the universe, the most 'prosperous' city of corruption, hidden deep within the Eldar Webway."

"Yes." Yvraine confirmed it. "Therefore, if you wish to travel to Commorragh, you must pass through the Webway."

Their gazes met, and both saw in the other's eyes the opportunity to strike a bargain.

Guilliman leaned forward slightly, pleasure in his voice. "Then it seems we have finally found a key point for a transaction that can be carried out immediately.

"For me, traveling to Commorragh is precisely a critical moment."

Yvraine smiled as well, her smile like an orchid blooming in a secluded valley—mysterious and captivating.