Kayvaan frowned. "Do you really want to protect the future of humanity? Or is this just about your thirst for knowledge? You’ve always been happiest when immersed in your studies. You oold me that eating and sleeping were just chores to you—wastes of time. That if you could, you’d spend your whole life doing nothing but reading and researg."

  A dry chuckle came from Valyra. "You remember that so well. But no, this isn’t just about my love for knowledge. This is about responsibility. When grandfather discovered the STC, his first instinct was to share this moal find with the Emperor. But back then, the Emperor had just fed a pact with the Meicus. If this discovery went public, the STC would’ve been handed over to them as part of the deal.

  "The Emperor knew better. He uood the true nature of the Meicus and refused to let them have it. Instead, he randfather to keep the STC hidden. He dreamed of a future where the Imperium would have its own researstitutions, its own stists. In that future, the Meicus wouldn’t hold humanity hostage with their archaic faith. The Emperor saw this STC as a tool for that future—a future where humanity’s golden age could return.

  “But…" Valyra’s voice faltered, tinged with sorrow. "The Emperor was betrayed, and that dream never came to pass. Brother, you don’t o worry about me. I know my limits. I hide well from the eyes of the Meicus. When my Captain discovered the STC, the Emperor’s prote was already in pce. Besides, while this STC is undeniably precious, it’s not as useful as you might think—not without its inal protocols. Each STC is equipped with a prehensive defense system. Accessing its files without the proper permissions is nearly impossible. I’ve been battling this system for years, and even now, I’ve only mao unlock less thaen-thousandth of its data."

  Kayvaan frowrying to process the staggering inefficy. In over housand years, she’d unlocked a fra of the "knowledge," and even then, it seemed to sist mostly of basic schematics. "So, let me guess," Kayvaan said. "You gave up the Governor's seat to me because you need more time to break through that defense system?"

  "My time is limited," Valyra admitted, her voice heavy with frustration. "I ’t afford to waste it on trivial matters. Imagianding before a treasure trove of invaluable knowledge, only to find yourself locked out. It’s maddening. Even though I don’t o eat or sleep anymore, I still o rest and mahe territory, which eats up so muy time. A’s not fet the Meicus. I have to stantly watch my back because there’s a Fe World orbiting the Reach star above our heads. All these distraake it impossible to focus. But now that you’re here, brother, you ha all."

  Kayvaan finally uood. The remote and barrehe long-fotten lineage, and evehrourning to his hands—it was all for the STC. "So, I’m essentially your babysitter?" he asked with a wry smile.

  "Let’s call it mutual assistance," Valyra said, her tone lightening. "I do plenty for you too."

  "Like what?" Kayvaan asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "For starters, the armor you’re wearing," Valyra replied. "Don’t worry, it’s just a routine check-up," she added as eight sleek, metallic arms extended from the massive maery surrounding her. Some carried sers that emitted a soft blue light, while others had intricate tools. The arms moved around him, sing and probing his suit before retrag.

  “Done,” Valyra said, stepping back to i her work. “The suit you’re wearing is a simplified design based on early Imperial reaissance gear, likely derived from pre-Heresy scout uniforms. Stripped-down performance for a massive redu in cost. It’s funal, but crude by today’s standards.” She tapped a few keys on her portable cogitator. “With the tools I have, I tweak and upgrade it. Some adjustments to the armor’s joint flexibility and thermal padding could improve fort and overall performance by about 20%.”

  "Twenty pert?" Kayvaan excimed, stuhat kind of improvement could mean life or death otlefield. The suit wasn’t just protective; its exoskeleton design enharength, stamina, and reflexes. A 20% boost across the board was like being handed god-tier equipment in a game, except there were no sed ces in real life. He swallowed. "Just the suit?"

  "I upgrade your ons too—guns, bdes, cloaks, you . Standard scout equipment is within my reach," Valyra replied.

  "What about more advanced gear, like power armor?"

  Valyra hesitated. "Brother, havier personal gear is fine. After all, you’re the Governor of a star system—some perks are expected. But equipping your entire legion with top-tier gear? That would draw the Meicus’s attention, and you don’t want that. If they find out about me, it won’t just be inve. It’ll be the end."

  Kayvaan nodded grimly. Exposure would mean annihition, no doubt about it. "So, what do I do moving forward?" he asked. "Any advice?"

  "That’s up to you. I’m not ied in managing the territory. The only reason I bothered before was to stay uhe radar. As long as I didn’t stir up trouble, I could work quietly. Now that you’re in charge, none of that s me. Holy, you could sell off all the people, turn them into sves, mihe p dry, or build a massive pad fill it with wives and es. Whatever makes you happy," she said with a teasing smirk.

  Kayvaan sighed. "And how do we stay in touch?"

  "It’s better if we don’t. Yoing to be busy—governor, leader of a Chapter regiment, all that. Just focus on your work and make sure the Reach system doesn’t fall apart. If I need you, I’ll find you." Valyra paused, the maery around her emitting a low hum. Suddenly, the giant struct that housed her body began to ripple like liquid metal. Moments ter, it spat out a metallic coffin, which cttered onto the floor.

  The iron coffin opened with a meical hiss, and from within emerged a fair-faced female servitor. Like all servitors, she wore a long robe, but this one was unique: four meical limbs, resembling an araid’s, extended from her back to assist her movements. Her slender frame and the fluid motion of the limbs gave her an uling graething alie disturbingly human.

  Beh the robe, there was nothing—just emptiness where flesh should have been. The front hung slightly open, revealing elegant colrbones and a slender, unblemished throat. Her closed eyes and sereures hi a beauty frozen in time, untarnished by the ravages of reality. Crawling out of the coffin, the meical limbs bore her weight, allowio stand. The limbs moved her forward, each step apanied by a faint meical whir. The robe swayed with her movements, glimpses of pale legs beh. He studied her, and his expression darkened. “This…” His voice was low and guarded. “This is you. From when you were younger.”