Dark Mechanicum

Baldur's fleet was floating near a small asteroid field as they were retrieving minerals and a few other resources from them. While they were in the middle of doing so, a large Warp portal opened up not too far from them, revealing Dogan's 12th Fleet. 

"Hmm. They're progressing fine," Baldur thought to himself while looking at Dogan's ships. 

The matter with the Orks and subsequent dropping off of the Mechanicum members would have thrown the 12th Fleet off their schedule by a few weeks, with them having to deliver the members to the nearest Forge World and head back to their original course. Luckily, the members of the Mechanicum had refused and instead offered to join the 12th Fleet. 

They would perform repairs and maintenance while the 12th Fleet would provide them with security and allow them to explore the various planets that they had stopped on. It was a win-win scenario, so Dogan wanted to agree but didn't know if he could. So he passed the message over to Baldur who gave him permission to take the Mechanicum members along if he wished.

Thanks to that, the 12th Fleet was able to meet up with the 1st Fleet as schedule and receive their next shipment of Dragon Assault Ships.

The flagship of the 12th Fleet as well as their mining ships approached the 1st, while the rest stayed further away to prevent any unnecessary accidents. As they floated across from one another, 100 Dragon Assault Ships flew between the two, heading in the direction of the Mountain, the flagship of the 12th Fleet. After they all landed, a single Dragon Assault Ship flew back toward the Invictus, carrying all the pilots that had gone over to the Mountain. 

Once the ship landed, Dogan, Jaxton, and the leader of the Mechanicum group descended from the ship. She was the one who had fired the missiles at the next Warboss. During her time with the 12th Fleet, she had managed to give herself some basic cybernetics and repair the damage done to herself. 

"Baldur! Selene!" Dogan greeted the two friends he hadn't seen in nearly a year with a giant hug. He placed his arms around Baldur's immovable body, barely reaching his friend's chest. Dogan was about to move over to Selene but he felt a wave of cold air wash over him and backed away under the freezing glare of his friend.

"Haha! Stop!" Selene chided Baldur while flying over and hugging Dogan before giving him a friendly peck on the cheek. "Glad to see you as well, friend."

"Hehe. I am still surprised to hear that you married this guy. Such a sunny day and a winter night rarely go together," Dogan teased her, feeling the glare on him intensify

"I suggest you stop, Dogan. I can only hold him back so much," Selene warned with a smile, knowing exactly what Baldur's limits would be. 

Dogan smiled and agreed before being led by the pair into a private room where food had been prepared. There were 5 seats prepared specifically for the very differently sized individuals.

Everyone took a seat and started to eat with Selene and Dogan speaking about the planets that had visited while Baldur occasionally added in his thoughts as well. Jaxton felt completely overwhelmed in his Primarch's presence and could barely eat, let alone speak casually with them. Even if he didn't release his aura, Baldur was still an intimidating sight for Jaxton. Baldur was nearly twice the young Astartes's height, after all. 

On the other hand, the woman that Dogan had brought with them was silent as if she had something on her mind. Everyone noticed but decided to wait to bring it up until they were finished with dinner. 

When their meals were finally done, that was when the woman decided to speak up.

"Excuse me, Lord Baldur. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions? Some of them may seem impudent of me but I wish to hear your true thoughts," the woman, Latael, finally spoke up

Baldur nodded toward her, giving her permission. Dogan was about to dismiss Jaxton but Baldur shook his head. Since he was Dogan's Squire, Baldur would give him the same trust he gave Baldur until the boy had given him reason not to. 

Latael looked hesitant at first before Selene pressed her hand on the woman's, confirming that Baldur meant his words.

"What is your opinion of the Emperor?" Latael asked nervously

Jaxton froze. He couldn't believe that she had just asked that question. 

'Is it too late for me to leave?' the young Astartes thought to himself

"He..." Baldur thought about how to express his thoughts carefully. "You can call him either a the greatest of emperors or a coward who hides behind false benevolence. Whether we are talking about myself, the Mechanicum, or all the planets we are conquering.

He says we have a choice but the only choice is between death and servitude. And it is not simply a choice of our lives but the lives of everyone beneath us, making it so that we cannot make that decision with our pride.

We are all pawns in a game we don't even know the name of. He establishes the rules that we must follow but gives no reasoning, just that we must believe in him. Yet he hasn't given anyone a reason to truly believe him besides the fact that disobedience will result in death."

Jaxton couldn't believe the words he was hearing. If anyone was to spread these outside, even without proof, it would bring great scrutiny and maybe even punishment to the Grey Knights and Feluc. 

After thinking that, Jaxton felt some pride in himself. By him being able to hear the words, it meant that Baldur trusted him, even though it was only because he was related to Dogan. 

Latael nodded, completely agreeing with Baldur. He came to the Mars and pretended to be their god long ago, making many of the Mechanicum believe in him but there were also many who saw through his disguise and lies. They only went along with the others because they knew that rebellion would only result in their deaths. 

"Then what is your opinion of him as his son?" Latael asked her next question

"Heh," Baldur chuckled when he heard the word 'son'. "I am no son of his. I am merely a tool. And the moment I break or lose my usefulness, I will be thrown away."

Selene looked at her husband and placed her hand over his. Even if he didn't think it bothered him, no child would ever truly want to think of their biological parent as someone who only saw them as tools and not even real people. 

"And your opinion on the Mechanicum?" 

"Fanatics. Blinded by their 'god' and their tenets. For those that say they love machines so much, they hate progress. They are a superstitious bunch that live by faith and not by logic, something walking forward with both in hand equally," Baldur had thought about forming a close relationship with the Mechanicum and trading some of his STCs after he had mastered how to build them but he couldn't truly trust them due to their blind loyalty to the Emperor. "But you're different, aren't you?"

Latael nodded when she heard the question. She was indeed very different from most of the Mechanicum. 

"They call us Hereteks. Or at least the ones that openly defied the rules. Whether we don't believe in the Omnissiah, that we believe in using Xeno-tech to improve our own, or even that we simply don't care about anything at all and just want to create," the more the woman spoke, the brighter her eye became. "Not just recreate but actually create or improve on things. True innovation!"

The three oldest members at the table nodded while Jaxton couldn't believe what she was saying. Ever word out of her mouth was Tech-heresy from what he learned from the various Techmarines. 

"So what do you want from me?" Baldur asked the million-dollar question

"Simple. We work with one another. You have a Forge World that the Mechanicum has been eyeing while I am looking to find a safe haven for myself and fellow Hereteks. If you make me the Planetary Governor of that world, we will both get what we want."

"What else do I get, besides the Mechanicum leaving me alone?" Baldur asked, not really caring about the Mechanicum. They had abandoned the planet long ago and it had been turned into part of Baldur's kingdom. He was not willing to just hand it over and kick off the Knight Houses for anyone else. 

"We would swear loyalty to you and follow your rules," Latael offered her loyalty. "Although we hate the Emperor, we are not without true loyalty to those that deserve it. We would offer our loyalty not to a tyrant like the Emperor but to a true king.

I have seen how your men speak of you. It is not that they are loyal to you because you are their Primarch or king. They have sworn loyalty on a personal level because you are fair and just. I believe that even if you impose rules on us, we would not have any issues with them."

Baldur looked over at Jaxton and nodded. With how enthralled he was, he could tell that the woman was speaking honestly. Even he felt a little tempted. 

"Fine," Baldur agreed with one word, sealing his fate and the fate of his people

Latael was shocked. She thought that Baldur would ask more questions or test her loyalty in some way. She couldn't believe that he would just trust her like that. And she was correct. 

"Don't worry. We used a spell on you that makes you more convincing if you speak honestly from the heart. Makes it easier to give speeches but also works as a lie detector if one is able to tell the difference of whether they are being convinced or not," Selene explained while looking at Jaxton who looked drunk on the woman's words. 

Latael began to laugh when she heard the explanation. With that, she knew that she had truly placed her faith in the right people. 

During on of their next stops when the 12th would pick up more Imperial Soldiers, they would drop off Latael and her people to be sent back to Mars. There, she would inform the leaders of the Mechanicum that she had managed to secure a deal with Baldur and even bring the STC for the Wyvern with her for further proof. 

With that, she would be able to secure her position and bring over as many Hereteks as she could find to Gothea. 

About 10,000 years, many this meeting would become legendary as the birth of the Dark Mechanicum.