Warhammer: Primarch's Life from the Beginning

In the first minute after the Holy Commandment left the warp, no one cheered.

The only sound in the bridge was the ticking of the machines recalibrating. Several crew members slumped beside the control console, muttering incoherent prayers. The mechanical priest knelt before the main console, his metal prosthetic arm inserted into the interface, trying to soothe the still restless machine spirit of the Holy Commandment.

The first mate, his face covered in blood, stood up, leaning on the broken control panel. His first words were directed at the bird divination device.

"Tell me where you are! Don't fucking tell me we're still in there!"

A young surveyor slapped the screen with trembling hands, his voice cracking.

"We have successfully escaped the warp, but the Holy Commandment is completely off course, deviating far from the Vigilant Star's path."

The first mate cursed, but swallowed the rest of his words as he saw Leo walk into the bridge from the direction of the navigation room.

Leo had several burn marks on his right palm, but the skin and flesh quickly healed under the original body's regenerative power, leaving only faint red marks.

He first looked towards the center of the bridge.

Catherine lay on the ground, her abdominal wound sealed with temporary hemostatic glue, and she looked terrible. Two medical nuns were lifting her onto a suspended stretcher.

Leo walked over and glanced down at her.

"How is the captain?"

The leader secured the stretcher.

"She is not in immediate danger, but she will not be able to continue commanding for the time being."

Leo reached out and took the data pad she was clutching, handing it to the first mate beside him.

"You will be temporarily in charge of the bridge. Rest and reorganize in place."

The first mate stood at attention and saluted, "Yes, Your Highness."

The mechanical sage raised his head from the control panel, the prosthetic eye on half of his face flashing red.

"The damage is not too severe, but the subspace engines need to be cooled and the ship's systems need to be readjusted."

"How long will it take?"

"If there is no external interference, we can regain the ability to enter the subspace within six hours, but we have lost our navigator, so I suggest we find a starport to recruit again first."

Leo nodded and turned to walk toward the bridge exit.

"Then don't rush back. Let's figure out where we are first."

.

.

Kara is in the medical purification zone.

The bodies in the corridor had been laid out separately; those whose identities could be confirmed were covered with white sheets, while those whose identities couldn't be confirmed were labeled with numbers. Several crew members huddled against the wall, trembling, but no one blamed them. Some of them had just witnessed their comrades transform from humans into monsters; this wasn't something that could be resolved with a cup of hot soup.

Kara shook her head, her white hair stuck to the sides of her face with sweat and blood. She knelt down in front of a young sailor and pressed a clean gauze onto his arm.

"Press here and don't let go."

She knew she should appear calm right now.

She was indeed very calm.

At least on the face.

The young sailor looked dejected, his face a mixture of snot and tears, too ashamed to look at the cloth-covered corpse beside him.

"Sister, I just ran away. I heard him calling me, but I didn't turn around."

Kara helped him fasten the bandage, speaking very softly.

"Only if you survive can you remember his name."

The sailor's lips trembled for a long time before he finally just nodded.

Kara stood up, her fingers tracing the old scar behind her left ear.

She still remembers the image of the soldier being torn apart, and she still feels resentful about it.

.

When Leo entered the medical purification zone, the people around him automatically made way for him.

Kara walked over to Leo, straightening her back once more.

"Your Highness, the priests and the purification team are dealing with the ship's contamination."

Leo looked at her for a while.

Since the Primarch honed his psionic abilities, many things have become clearer to him. Reading Kara's emotions is not difficult for him; the mortal seems to have something on his mind.

"Want to talk?" Leo said. "Something seems off about you."

Kara paused for a moment, then gave that flawless smile.

"Your Highness, I am in good condition now and it will not affect the follow-up..."

"I can tell you're lying," Leo interrupted her. "Tell me about yourself."

Kara's smile froze as she looked down at the floor.

"It's just an old wound," she finally said. "Some voices remind me of things from the past. It won't last long, and it won't affect my duties."

To be honest, it feels a bit awkward, like having a splinter stuck in your fingernail—not fatal, but you can't just ignore it.

"That was my mistake just now," she continued. "If you feel I'm not suitable to continue as a Guard, I accept the adjustment."

Her tone remained flat, as if she were asking whether to replace a worn-out weapon, rather than herself.

Leo frowned.

"I didn't say I was going to replace you."

He looked at the little girl and spoke as if he were reprimanding a student.

"Many people have bad memories, that's normal. If you don't want to talk about it, I have no interest in digging into it," he said. "But the battlefield is not child's play, and your old wounds could be exploited by the devil."

Kara listened quietly until the end before speaking in a low voice.

"I was born in a war zone. When I was little, I didn't know anything else but how to survive," she said. "Back then, I had a terrible temper and would kill people at the drop of a hat."

"But I have a younger sister, and she's different from me. She always believes that people should be gentle, even in hell."

She looked up and, seeing that the Primarch showed no sign of impatience, hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"That day I left home to kill someone who had bullied her. But that day, a group of psionicists near the city went out of control and started a riot." Kara lowered her eyes. "I was too late. My home was gone. She died in the ruins. Nothing was left."

"It's my fault. If I had been more restrained and fought those bastards fairly, it might have been better to die with my sister," Kara said softly. "That's why I'm affected by certain voices and certain scenes."

She raised her head, her tone returning to that of a battle nun.

"However, this will not affect my duties. Today's mistake was my fault, and I will correct it."

Leo looked at Kara.

"Then let's continue living like this."

"What your sister taught you isn't a burden. Being gentle is a good thing, and wanting to protect the people of the Empire isn't wrong either," he said. "Don't treat it as a chain that binds you."

"As for the past, just remember it," Leo said. "People don't live to die on the same day over and over again."

Kara slowly lowered her head.

"...Yes, Your Highness."

She carefully wrote down what her original body had said.

Leo straightened up and looked at the ship undergoing emergency repairs in the distance.

"Go do what you're supposed to do."

Kara paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

"I see."

.

.

Half an hour later, on the bridge.

Leo stood in front of the holographic star map, which flashed three times before finally revealing his current coordinates. There were almost no star markers around him, and the navigation was mostly blank.

The first mate pointed to the planet on the screen.

"Your Highness, the records show that it is called Exile Star. This place belongs to the edge of the Misty Star Region, and there is very little information about it."

"What does 'rarely' mean?"

The first mate flipped through the forms, his expression growing increasingly strange.

"There are no trade records or registrations, but this is indeed an imperial planet."

The mechanical sage added in a deep voice from the side.

"Armed facilities exist in the planet's orbit and are continuously scanning our position."

"Did they reply?"

The sound array master stated that the Star Speaker had sent information about our ships, but had not responded.

"Your Highness, we have inserted an emergency military channel into the surface of Exile Star; they are requesting direct access."

"catch."

An image of a Space Marine appears on the screen, accompanied by the sound of an explosion in the background.

"This is the Exorcist Chapter. The outer fortress has been attacked by the Chaos Fleet, and we are tightening our defenses. Requesting orbital support and ground reinforcements."

"Repeating, requesting orbital support, requesting available ground troop reinforcements."

Leo looked up at the star map and then gave the order.

"The Holy Commandment will continue its rest and repairs, slowing down to approach the orbit of the Exile Star. Order the ships' weapons to be ready to fire at any time. Then prepare the landing craft; I will go down and take a look myself."

Kara fastened her helmet, while the battle nuns behind her were fully armed.

The first mate immediately responded.

"Yes, sir!"