Warhammer: Empire Reboot

But Salosin has already knelt today. After kneeling, some things can now be said more easily.

Other clan leaders subsequently expressed their opinions.

Some agreed quickly: after thousands of years of wandering, every time they went out they had to worry about Chaos, the Undead, the Orcs and the Dark Eldar. Many Eldar had reached their limit of exhaustion.

Having a safe place to settle down, even on a human planet, is better than drifting forever in the sea of ​​stars.

Some are still hesitant; the pride of the Eldar makes it difficult for them to accept living in the human world.

However, the moon is still 30,000 kilometers away, so the opposition lacks sufficient justification.

The final consensus was: a portion of the race would be relocated to three planets, while the rest would remain on the Ark, which would then cruise along the Agrippina Sector.

Walk on two legs.

Salosin turned to Losen and told him the result.

Lawson clapped his hands.

"wise."

After the chieftains finished their collective discussion, Salosin and Horace led Ilancia to a corner of the Starfire Royal Court.

Stay away from Lawson and his guards, stay away from the other patriarchs, stay away from Salathien's ever-shifting eyes.

Salosin spoke first.

“Ilancia.” The old chieftain’s voice was softer than it had been in the hall. “Thank you.”

Ilancia was slightly taken aback.

"Without you opening the Webgate, Lawson's army would not have been able to enter the Ark."

Salosin looked at her. "No matter what happened afterward, whether it was surrender or the technology was handed over, at least Saim-Han is still here. The tribe is still here. For that, you deserve the most credit."

Horace nodded as well.

Chief Chiyue was not good at saying nice things; that nod was the highest praise he could give.

Ilancia's eyes reddened.

She took a deep breath and suppressed the sour feeling.

“I…I didn’t expect Lawson to use the Battle Moon to coerce the tribe.”

She whispered, "When I invited him here, I thought he was just here to fight, and I couldn't control him."

"No one can control him."

"But this is the best outcome we could have had," Salosin said. "The Ark is still here, our people are still alive, and the Soulstone Vault is safe. We lost our technology, our motorcycles, our network routes, but we didn't lose our lives."

“Now, a relationship has been established between the tribe and Lawson. He calls it an alliance, whatever the substance may be, at least the framework has been set up. But that man is too domineering. His temper, his way of doing things, where his bottom line is, we need someone by his side to understand him, to communicate with him at any time, and to soothe his emotions when necessary, to prevent him from making decisions that are detrimental to Saim-Han.”

Salosin looked at Ilancia.

“You lived with him for more than two months. You know him better than any of us.”

Ilancia already guessed what he was going to say next.

Are you willing to take on this responsibility for your community?

Horace added, "You are of high blood in the Crimson Moon Clan, and you are capable of this position. But we will not force you; this is your choice."

Ilancia lowered her head.

She was thinking about things that the two clan leaders knew more about than they did.

Before the army departed, she knelt beside Lawson's legs and said, "I'm willing to do anything."

She said those words herself; no one forced her. She used her promise to get Lawson to send troops.

The patriarchs are now asking her to stay with Lawson, which leads to the same outcome as the promise she herself made.

The only difference is that the clan leaders thought it was their arrangement, while Ilancia knew that she had already embarked on this path before this battle.

She did not tell Salosin and Horace about that promise.

That's between her and Lawson.

"I am willing."

She looked up.

Salosin looked into her eyes, then reached out and patted her on the shoulder.

A gesture of affirmation from an elder of the Spirit Clan to a younger generation.

Horace patted her on the shoulder, a little harder than Salosin.

Salosin led Ilancia back to the star map.

Lawson was still leaning against the edge of the control panel, with Er Gou and San Gou standing on either side. Sarasien was kneeling on the spirit bone floor behind him, playing with the psionic veins on the floor with great interest.

Salosin walked up to Losen.

"Lord of the Seal."

“Ilancia made a mistake in the previous assassination attempt.”

Salosin's wording was very deliberate.

This wording strips Ilancia of her identity as an assassin and redefines her as a young man who has made a mistake.

“Now, Saim-Han entrusts her to you. She will serve you as a messenger and liaison between the two peoples.”

Lawson glanced at Ilancia, then at Salosin.

He knew perfectly well what the Eldar were planning.

Send a young Elven woman from a high-ranking clan to his side, ostensibly to serve and communicate, but in reality to plant a pair of Elven eyes and ears beside him.

Having spent over two months with him, Yilancia had established a basic level of trust and understanding, making her more efficient and easier for him to accept than sending a strange Eldar.

At the same time, having Ilancia serve Lawson also gave Saim-Han a soft channel to continuously influence Lawson's decisions.

The Eldar have been adept at this for tens of thousands of years, using relationships, information, and subtle influence to replace direct confrontation.

Lawson didn't expose it; there was no point in doing so.

He also needs a fixed interface to communicate with the Eldar, and Ilancia is indeed the most suitable candidate at present.

As for the Elven race wanting to influence themselves through her, that depends on who influences whom.

"Okay." Lawson patted the spot next to him. "Come and stand properly."

Ilancia walked up to him.

She stood to the right of Lawson and to the left of Er Gou.

Sarasien raised his head from the ground, glanced at her, a cryptic glint in his purple eyes, then lowered his head again to continue drawing circles.

The matter should have ended there.

The technology was acquired, the materials were negotiated, the motorcycle contract was signed, the network was provided, the resettlement plan was finalized, and the contact person was in place.

But Salosin did not retreat immediately.

The old clan chief hesitated for a moment.

His fingers gripped the cane tightly again, then loosened, as if he were making a decision that required a firm resolve.

Then he turned and spoke a few words in Eldar to one of his followers.

The attendant left quickly and returned a few minutes later, carrying a spirit bone container.

The container is not large, about a foot square.

The outer shell is woven from extremely intricate spiritual bones, and its surface is engraved with dense protective runes.

A faint psionic field flows inside the container, completely isolating its contents from the outside world.

Salosin took the container and walked up to Lawson.

He opened the container.

Inside, a data board lay quietly.

The material of that data board was different from any storage medium commonly used in the Empire.

Its surface is covered with an extremely ancient metal alloy, with fine wear marks on the edges. The inscriptions on it are neither Eldar nor High Gothic, but rather the standard technological language of the Golden Age.

After seeing the inscription on the data panel, Lawson stood up from the edge of the control panel.

He actually stood up.

For the past hour or so, he faced the Eldar's anger, pleas, resistance, and surrender, leaning against the console the entire time, his posture as casual as if he were chatting in his own living room.

Now he stood up straight.

Because he recognized the true nature of that data panel.

Standard template constructor.

STC.

Complete.

Lawson's gaze shifted from the data panel to Salosin's face.

The old patriarch's expression was calm.

“This item was obtained by Saim-Han during an expedition approximately 12,000 years ago.”

Sarosin said, "Our rangers found it in the ruins of a human Golden Age site. The Eldar technology system is completely different from that of humans, and this STC has no direct use for us. It has been stored in the Ark's archives for over 10,000 years and has never been used."

He handed the container to Lawson.

"A complete STC about air combat aircraft."

Lawson took the container and looked down at the data panel.

The complete STC (Straight Air Combat) aircraft.

In the Empire, the Mechanicus can wage a holy war for a single fragment of the STC.

The Eldar have kept the collection untouched for twelve thousand years.

Salosin continued, "The Eldar indeed look down on the technology of the human empire."