---3rd Person POV, Next Morning---
"Is everything alright? You have been making daily trips out to the hivesprawls recently.", Valdor stated, as a hooded figure slipped into the Imperial Palace. "I may not be as easy to talk to as Malcador was, but I am a good listener."
Giving his old friend a grin, the Emperor of Mankind accepted the offer as he took off his ancient cloak. Hanging it on an old coat hook, he walked over and plopped down on a worn stone bench.
"I… I have been thinking a lot about the Imperium of Man's future recently.", the Emperor of Mankind spoke after a few minutes. "As you are all too aware, when I began the Unification Wars, my goal was never to make myself ruler of the galaxy. I assumed the role of a leader during humanity's most challenging period. With the Imperium of Man on the verge of entering a new golden age, I find myself unsure what to do."
"Hmm, I see.", Valdor remarked, pouring them both a glass of wine. "What exactly are you unsure about?"
"Now that my goal has been nearly achieved, I find myself uncertain how to proceed.", the Emperor of Mankind replied, accepting the glass from Valdor. "My preference would be to abdicate the throne and return to helping humanity from the background. Unfortunately, the fools calling themselves the Ecclesiarchy established an entire religion centered around me. I fear that if I were to step away, the Imperium would unravel completely."
Nodding his head, Valdor agreed that the Ecclesiarchy were a bunch of idiots for not listening to the Emperor of Mankind. He had always been vocal about placing trust in science over religion, yet they still built a fanatical cult around his visage. Having grasped the issue, Valdor provided his two cents to his old friend.
"If the 'God-Emperor' himself names his successor, no one would dare question his decision. Your problem then becomes, who do you name as your successor, correct?", Valdor chuckled, taking a sip of wine. "The only two options are designating a single Primarch to lead or splitting the duties between all of them. You intended to do the latter previously, but Horus royally fucked that up."
"After my interment on the Golden Throne, the Imperium of Man was run almost exclusively by the High Lords of Terra. While I know my grandson and sons are far more capable than them, I fear they will still experience some of the same pitfalls of joint authority. While they do get along well, each of them has their own vision for what the Imperium of Man should be.", the Emperor of Mankind said, rubbing his temples. "The Imperium needs a singular leader with the Primarchs offering them counsel. It is the only way forward for the nation."
"Agreed, the Imperium of Man needs a singular leader to help guide humanity toward a brighter future. That said, most of your sons are ill-equipped to the Imperium of Man.", Valdor chuckled, imagining Russ on the throne. "No, the only three options you really have are Guilliman, Sanguinius, and Victor. Each of them has the skillset necessary to effectively keep the nation going without your intervention. El Johnson would be a contender too if his communication skills were better."
Letting out a chuckle, the Emperor of Mankind admitted he had come to the same conclusion. All three men had the necessary qualities to guide humanity, but he had been wary of using only logic to pick again. The last time he made a decision, humanity nearly lost everything as his choice backfired against him. Since his trusted friend felt the same as him, the Emperor of Mankind felt comfortable picking from between the three men.
"While Sanguinis is a worthy candidate, I cannot ask him to shoulder more burdens for the Imperium of Man. He paid the ultimate price so that I could strike down Horus. As far as I am concerned, he has more than earned a well-deserved rest after his resurrection.", the Emperor of Mankind spoke, narrowing his choices down to two.
"Guilliman has demonstrated his ability to maintain unity within the Imperium, but your successor must go beyond this. Besides… the poor guy is running himself ragged just to keep the day-to-day operations going.", Valdor chuckled, giving his friend a grin. "I think we both know who the best option is. The one the people already call the Second Coming of the Emperor."
Releasing a long sigh, the older man nodded his head in agreement. Having seen how much the Terran hivesprawls had changed in recent months, he wanted to see that happiness spread throughout the galaxy. Certain now of his decision, the older man asked his dear friend to accompany him to speak with the High Lords and his sons.
---Victor POV---
Rolling out of bed as the sun began to rise, I silently walked out of the master bedroom to make some coffee. Having spent most of the night tussling under the sheets with my wives, they were going to need the caffeine boost to get moving again. As I sauntered into the kitchen, Nuelalla greeted me with a warm smile. Standing atop a chair by the counter, my daughter was in the middle of trying to prepare breakfast.
"You could have come and woken me up if you were hungry, Nuelalla.", I commented, walking over to the coffee pot.
"This is not for me; it is for my mothers.", Nuelalla insisted, struggling to hand-mix her pancake batter. "Momma Amallyn says breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After a long night of wrestling you had, they will need all their energy for whatever we have planned."
Slowly turning my head back toward Nuelalla, I inquired if we had accidentally woken her up. Assuring me we did not, she stated it was only when she had gotten up to use the bathroom that she heard us.
"I know physical training is important to you, Dad, but do you really need to train at two in the morning? While you can function for months without sleep, the rest of us need eight hours of sleep a day.", Nuelalla scolded me. "You should be more considerate of their needs too."
'Jeez… It looks like I will have to start using magic to prevent noise from escaping the bedroom from now on. The last thing I need is Nuelalla repeating some of the things Binja (Lethan Twi'lek) and the others were saying last night. My heart cannot handle hearing my daughter repeat such vulgar things.', I thought, recalling what was said with a naughty smirk.
(AN: For the original characters in Victor's harem, I will put their identity behind their name moving forward.)
Pushing those dirty thoughts out of my mind, I finished making the coffee and walked over to Nuelalla.
"It is going to take more than pancakes to supercharge them.", I commented, taking the whisk from her. "How about we make bacon, eggs, and pancakes? That should be more than enough to get them going."
"Okay, Dad!", Nuelalla agreed, melting my heart in the process.
Mixing up her prepared pancake batter, I fired up the stovetop and put the griddle down. Retrieving fresh bacon and eggs out of the refrigerator, Nuelalla helped me crack several dozen eggs into an extra-large mixing bowl. Stirring in cheese and some seasonings, I set the bowl aside and started cooking the bacon.
---Thirty Minutes Later---
As the aroma of our cooking wafted throughout the mansion, the rest of the family stirred from their slumber. Staggering out of the bedroom, they gave us a drowsy good morning and kissed both of us on the cheek. Flopping into their seats at the table, Nuelalla and I served them their food before sitting down ourselves.
"So… What do you think?", Nuelalla hesitantly asked, watching her mothers take bites of her pancakes. "Is it good?"
"It is very good, Nuelalla.", Amallyn answered, giving her a smile. "Did you wake up early to make these just for us?"
With pride, Nuelalla explained to them the reason she got up this morning to prepare breakfast for them. Watching my lovers' faces contort in horror, they quickly hung their heads in shame as they realized we had been caught.
"So… uh… Victor!", Olivia screeched, desperate to change the subject. "Have you thought any more about those robots from the shopping district?"
"I have. I would like to meet them before pulling the trigger.", I spoke, with a playful grin. "Since you are probably exhausted from our late-night bout of wrestling, how about we pay them a visit today?"
Glaring daggers at me, my lovers accepted my proposal without any issues.
"Would you mind if we invited our friends and their partners? This is a perfect opportunity for you to spend time with the guys.", Angelica asserted, a devilish smirk forming on her face.
"Yeah… That is fine…", I replied, sensing something was amiss here.
"Hehe, perfect!", Angelica said, with a cruel smile. "I will contact them after breakfast to make the arrangements."