The morning after the child's arrival,
inside the medical tent, Sister Thessia carefully treated Cilicia's injury.
"I'm sorry I shot you.....i didn't know"
Thessia said quietly, dabbing a cloth against the wound. "It was dark... I thought it was a weapon."
"It's okay, Sister" Cilicia replied with a faint smile, wincing slightly.
"I'm just happy he's safe."
The two glanced toward the sleeping child in the damaged pod.
A few jagged fragments had scratched his delicate face.
"I hurt two innocent souls."
Thessia whispered, her voice tinged with remorse.
"For that, I must repent."
"You were just doing the most rational thing", Cilicia reassured her.
"No one could've known it was a cradle pod, it was very dark, just like you said.
" Renoir entered the tent casually, handing a parchment to Ulysses.
"Most of the crowd has returned to their duties, father Grigori is calming the rest."
"Thank you for the report, Renoir."
Ulysses said, reading the parchment briefly. "You all should get some rest, we'll discuss everything in the evening."
"What about the child?" Thessia asked, glancing toward the pod again.
"Can you care for him—and Cilicia—until then?" Ulysses replied, got up and about to leave.
"Then... what should we call him?"
Cilicia asked softly,
looking at the sleeping infant.
"Kochav" Ulysses answered, smiling as he turned to leave.
"Because that's what he is—a guiding light."
As the crowd dispersed, Father Grigori stood at the edge of the square, watching silently. Footsteps approached from behind.
"Is he... who I think he is?", Grigori asked without turning.
"He is." Ulysses confirmed, stepping beside him. "And he looks just like his late mother."
Grigori frowned. "What do I tell the people? You must have a plan."
"The truth" Ulysses replied firmly.
"But the boy must not know.....not now anyway, It's the only way."
Grigori let out a weary sigh. "I hope you know what you're doing, my friend."
He walked away, robes swaying in the under the leaving sunlight.
Left alone, Ulysses stared out toward the horizon.
He thought of his life—his victories, his failures, his stubborn defiance of the odds.
Maybe everything had led him here… to this child.
After a long silence, he rose, eyes burning with new resolve.
Back at the tent, now being disassembled. Cilicia sat cradling the baby in her arms.
She reached out, letting him grasp her finger with his tiny hand. The boy stirred, his eyes fluttering open, amber with a hint of yellow… and was that a flicker of blue?
A flash. Faint, but unmistakable.
Sister Thessia paused, noticing the flicker.
"A psyker?"
Cilicia's thoughts drifted to the old teachings. Someone who can use the arcane,
power might gives him more chance of survival—but it always comes at a price.
"His power comes from the Warp."
Thessia said grimly.
"He will attract all manner of daemons, each wanting him to serve as a host for their gods."
"Then we'll just raise him to be a good boy." Cilicia replied, gently wiggling Kochav's fingers.
Thessia sighed. "The fact that you're so calm about the possibility of us all dying—before the planet even reach its exterminatus—is beyond understanding."
Cilicia didn't flinch. "I know he doesn't want to harm us, just look at him. He's innocent,
i believe cruelty run in the bloodline.
If we raise him right, he'll grow up to be a good boy, Right? Kochav."
She lifted the child into the air. He giggled, curious and joyful.
The three lingered there, sharing the moment's warmth—before returning to the settlement.
After a long and exhausting day, Seneschal Ulysses still had one more thing to do.
In the dimly lit workshop, the air was thick with incense and the hum of machinery. Ulysses walked past rows of servitors performing routine maintenance.
Sparks flew, Pistons hissed.
The scent of sacred oils lingered as he made his way to the back, where an armored personnel carrier—a Samaritan—
rested like a slumbering beast.
Kneeling beside it, hands pressed reverently against its hull, stood Philos,
the colony's Primary Enginseer.
He was deep in communion with the machine-spirit, whispering binharic prayers.
Ulysses waited patiently until the rite was complete.
"Is the communion going well for you?" he asked calmly.
Philos didn't turn but answered,
"Though I do not approve of your so-called modifications, the machine-spirits hum in unison. They do not resent the changes.
They recognize them as necessities... for our survival." He placed a hand firmly on the vehicle's side. It responded with a low, resonant hum before falling silent again.
"For that, we're grateful." Ulysses replied, bowing his head slightly.
Philos finally turned,
studying the seneschal with a critical gaze.
"I find no basis that require you to observe me work. That would be... most unwelcome, Do elaborate."
"Ahem...Do we have a functioning psy-grader available?"
Ulysses asked.
"We do,though some maintenace is required". Philos replied,
"Is this... for the infant?"
"On the mark, Master Enginseer.
Though I suspect his psychic power isn't natural", Ulysses said, lowering his voice.
"Void-touched?", Philos considered. "A logical suspicion, then this child must be...one of theoffsprings?"
"He is", Ulysses confirmed. "An unwanted child. A liability.
Under any other circumstance, it would make sense to dispose of him right away. But the fact that he's a down here with us, that alone could give the planet an exterminatus order. A neat cover-up for everything." Ulysses added.
Philos narrowed his eyes.
"An unsanctioned psyker...
So Artine—this child—is meant to be the seed of Ruinous powers, to think a sentient being would infected their own offspring and use it as mere tool is sickening".
Ulysses looked him in the eye.
"But he mistakes one thing, he underestimates us.
We'll show the bastard how to be a proper grandparent,
the boy will be the key to bringing him down."
"I shall provide essential assistant."
Philos said, voice resolute.
Three months after Kochav's arrival, outside Cilicia's home...
Commissar Renoir stood with Sister Thessia at the door, knocking. *Knock-knock*.
"Cilicia, we're here for the check-up… everything alright in there?"
Before he could say another word, hurried footsteps approached—then the door flung open.
"Y-yes, I'm here! We're here!" Cilicia stood in the doorway, slightly out of breath and more disheveled than usual. From behind her leg, a tiny face peeked out—Kochav beamed at the visitors, giggling softly.
Sister Thessia, ever composed and serious, faced perhaps the greatest trial of her life : an adorably smiling infant. Her composure crumbled in seconds. She swooped him up in her arms and held him like a treasured relic.
"Emperor, forgive me for this unruly display, i accept whatever punishment you deem fit." she murmured reverently—though the pure joy on her face portraited no regret.
"At this rate, he might expires before his due time....." Renoir muttered while being shocked with...whatever this is.
While Cilicia scrambled to rescue her child from the overzealous embrace.
Once the chaos subsided, everyone gathered in the dining area.
Kochav sat on a makeshift highchair, kicking his legs and waiting for his meal.
Over cups of recaff, Renoir and Thessia exchanged thoughts.
"Are infants usually this....well-behaved?" Renoir asked, watching the boy.
"Probably because Cilicia's just that good a mother", Thessia replied.
"You're giving me too much credit", Cilicia chimed in from across the room, shaking a bottle. "Ko's just a good boy. He must knows our circumstances."
"You really think he understands his surroundings....already?" Thessia asked, curious.
"Wouldn't that be… a problem?" Renoir added. "Given his arcane powers?"
"I don't know, but nothing strange happen yet", Cilicia admitted.
"I've never raised a child before—let alone not a psy-baby."
"Well...he was rated Delta when he arrived", Thessia said, now more serious.
"I'll inform the seneschal, If his ability is changing. That could be an issue soon."
At the settlement's meeting hall,
three figures sat around a long table.
The glow of lumen-strips flickering overhead.
"Father." Ulysses began from his seat at the head, leafing through a stack of parchment reports.
"How went your routine communion?"
Grigori folded his hands across his chest. "The settlers are chattering as always.
The child's arrival has stirred fresh curiosity, Nothing malicious — for now."
"I've equipped several servitors with rift detectors." Philos added, his mechanical voice calm and precise.
"Most are stationed around Cilicia's home. Should anything Warp-related manifest, we'll have time to respond."
He hesitated then said "I also recommend we bolster the child's protection. Perhaps a few armed servitors for close support—the Omnissiah would not disapprove."
Grigori shot him a look.
"Are you mad, Tech-Priest?You'd entrust a child's safety to tin cans with flamers?, he'll end up chanting litanies in binary or as tomorrow's Corpse-Starch!"
Philos's head cocked slightly, servo-motors clicking. "I detest how you perceive the Omnissiah's servants...but you are correct, their presence could hinder the boy's development—and pose unnecessary risks."
The door creaked open.
Sister Thessia entered briskly, her expression unreadable.
"Report, Sister?" Ulysses asked without looking up.
"Yes, Master Seneschal", she began. "It's about the boy. Kochav... he's developing oddly. I believe he's already aware of himself—too aware. His intelligence is accelerating far faster than that of a normal infant."
Ulysses finally looked up. "Have there been any effects on those around him? Nausea, visual distortion, headaches—any signs of Warp bleed?"
"Not that I'm aware of." Thessia answered, "But I suggest we re-grade his abilities as a precaution. And we should assign him a proper caretaker." She then proposed a solution.
"Hmmm". Ulysses mused, rubbing his chin. "Agreed. Every subtle change could be catastrophic if ignored."
"And about that caretaker", Thessia added, glancing briefly at Philos. "Someone with resistance to corruption. Combat-capable. And no, Master Enginseer— not a servitor attached with flamers for hands."
Philos visibly deflated. If a Tech-Priest could succumb to depression, this was it.
Grigori smiled wryly. "Then I have just the candidate." Back at Cilicia's home. Renoir was preparing to leave for patrol after spending time playing with young Kochav.
"Night, Ko. Don't cause trouble for your mum, alright?" he said, giving the child a gentle pat on the head before turning to leave.
Without looking, he walked straight into a solid wall—no.....An ogryn?
"Bob, could you move a little, please?", Thessia's voice called from behind the massive figure.
"White-hair want move. Bob move", the gentle giant replied in a childlike tone, stepping aside from the doorway.
"So.....big oopsie there, Commissar. Maybe watch where you're going next time", Thessia teased, suppressing a grin before clearing her throat.
"So this big guy here—"
"Bob", the ogryn interrupted with proud simplicity.
"Yes. Bob here will be your assistant and, if things go south, your most reliable guard." Thessia finished, then offered Renoir a hand to help him up. "You owe me a drink, Sister. And more detailed explaination", Renoir said. They all exchanged farewells at the door.
"Hi there, Bob. I'm Cilicia, and this handsome little man is Kochav. I hope we can all get along", she said warmly.
"Ci—Silly.. and Ko. Bob here. Protects", the ogryn rumbled, placing a massive hand gently on his chest.
Kochav reached out with his tiny hands, trying to touch Bob's giant hand. It was just out of reach, so Cilicia lifted him up so he could make contact.
"I think Ko likes you, Bob", she remarked.
"Bob like lil'un too." Bob said, gently tapping Kochav's tiny hand with his thick fingers.
"Door small, Bob sleeps here, Good night, Silly woman 'n Ko" he added as he began to lay down in front of the house.
Before he could get comfortable, Cilicia led him to the barn next door. where she brought out of straw and old cloth to make him a makeshift bed.
Later, from the second-floor window, Kochav could be seen peeking through the glass, watching Bob settle in for the night. Cilicia laid him down, gently tucking him in as they end their eventful day.