Chapter 30: Ghost Operative
Under the strict guard of a group of soldiers, Norris headed towards the forge workshop.
Lucan and two Raiders walked at the very front. Norris was terrified; he didn't know what Lucan's so-called choice actually was…
He glanced at the soldiers beside him; their gun muzzles never left him.
And the way they looked at him was as if looking at a monster.
As he got closer to the forge workshop, he saw many of those high-and-mighty Tech-Priests, and also numerous lobotomized servitors, devoid of their own consciousness.
"They're not going to turn me into a servitor, are they…"
Looking at those horrifying servitors, Norris's body couldn't help but tremble.
"Pavian, halt production in one of the Barracks. I have a use for it!"
"I'll see to it at once!"
"Everyone else, out!"
As everyone else withdrew from the forge workshop, only Lucan and Norris remained in the room.
Looking at the enormous mechanical structure before him, Norris became even more convinced of his earlier suspicion. Weren't the three Barracks nearby still churning out CMC combat suits?
"Are you… are you going to turn me into a servitor?"
"A servitor? Why would I turn you into something like that?"
"Then… what exactly are you going to do to me…"
"What you need to do is walk into this structure!"
"Walk… walk in?"
Norris looked at another Barracks nearby. This Barracks was even still producing CMC combat suits. Was this really a place a person could enter? This Rogue Trader wasn't some kind of heretic, was he?
"Come on, Norris. Embrace the unknown? Or embrace death?"
Hearing Lucan's words, Norris knew he had no choice. If he refused, he would probably be killed on the spot. He could only choose to gamble.
"God-Emperor preserve me…" But for him, who didn't truly believe in the God-Emperor, what use was a last-minute prayer?
The entrance to the Barracks was pitch black, like a gaping void.
Norris swallowed hard, then, with a loud yell, he walked through the Barracks' entrance. The Barracks instantly engulfed Norris.
[Eligible candidate with psionic talent detected. Psionic Level: P8. No abnormal energy from other high-order life forms detected. Meets requirements.]
[Produce Ghost operative?]
"Other high-order life forms?" Lucan hadn't fully understood this sentence yet. With a hint of confusion, he selected "Produce."
This time, the entire process was unexpectedly long… one hour… two hours… three hours… a full twenty-four hours passed. During this time, Verre asked several times if something was wrong and wanted to come in to see, but was refused by Lucan each time.
However, as the final second of the twenty-fourth hour passed, a completely new Norris strode out of the Barracks.
This time, it wasn't a suit of equipment that emerged, but a living, breathing person.
Lucan seemed to have guessed something: why a psyker was needed, and why the system displayed "no abnormal energy from other high-order life forms." Psykers empowered by the Four Gods of Chaos could not be converted. If so, then wouldn't those who worshipped the God-Emperor also be ineligible?!
Though it was frustrating, blocking Lucan's idea of capturing those corrupted psykers, it didn't seem too difficult to overcome. After all, humanity's population base was vast, and unsanctioned psykers were not few in number – otherwise, there wouldn't be enough to keep the God-Emperor's pyres burning for even two days. If one searched, they could always be found.
"Norris?"
"Captain Lucan?!"
The Norris at this moment was, it could be said, completely different from his former self. Several slender neural conduits were connected to the back of his head. These were special psionic inhibitors, allowing Norris to control and more freely use his psionic powers, while also making him completely obedient to Lucan.
His tattered clothes had been replaced by a form-fitting combat suit made from a special nano-polymer material that reacted with psionic energy.
This material could enhance the user's strength and endurance, and also provide protection against high temperatures, extreme cold, viruses, and nuclear radiation. Most importantly, through psionic catalysis, it could allow the Ghost to enter a state of invisibility.
However, the more Lucan looked, the more something seemed off. This combat suit appeared to have many extra features.
"Norris, do you know how to use this combat suit?"
"I do. It seems a lot of new knowledge has appeared in my mind."
"Show me a demonstration!"
As Norris activated his psionic powers, the combat suit began to function. In the next second, Norris vanished completely from before Lucan's eyes.
"Complete invisibility? Truly, not a trace can be seen!" Lucan tried to probe with his psychic senses. Even with his enhanced perception, he could only barely sense Norris. Norris's own psionic signature was actually nullifying Lucan's psychic probe.
Norris reappeared. This time, a reactor-like device on his chest began to operate. With a flash, Norris instantly appeared twenty meters away.
"Stalker Blink?! I get it! The Ghost produced by this process has all the selectable campaign equipment integrated into one combat suit?! This is a definite win!"
"However, Captain, this teleportation has a 5-second cooldown!" Norris added.
Jump jets similar to those of a Reaper were also on his back.
And besides this combat suit, a C-20A combat shotgun was held in Norris's hands.
Lucan had Norris introduce it, and indeed, it was as Lucan had thought. In addition to conventional armor-piercing rounds, there were EMP rounds capable of disrupting energy and psychic shields, and lockdown rounds that could be used to disable machinery.
But what excited Lucan the most was a psionic blade holstered at Norris's waist. It had a monomolecular edge, just like in the Warhammer world, but the difference was that it could be enhanced by psionic energy, granting it even greater sharpness.
"These 24 hours were truly well spent!"
It made Lucan want to see how a Ghost would fare against an assassin from the Officio Assassinorum.
If he could find a few more psykers, wouldn't that mean he could have his own Assassinorum?
"Captain… was this power a gift from you?" Norris felt better than he ever had before. He had thought he was doomed, but after walking into that structure, he felt completely reborn. A vast amount of knowledge and thoughts of loyalty to Lucan flooded his mind.
He knew he was no longer the so-called monster others called him. He was Lucan's Ghost operative.
"That's right. How does it feel, Norris?"
"Good… better than I've ever felt! You have given me a new life." Norris sincerely knelt on the ground.
Although Lucan hadn't specifically sought him out, it was indeed Lucan who had pulled Norris out of the slums of Footfall. Upon arriving on the warship, Lucan had also treated his injuries and ensured he was fed.
And when his psychic powers awakened and everyone treated him like a monster, it was again Lucan who taught him how to control this power.
He was like a parent who had given him a second chance at life.
"Although you have gained power, you will similarly bear many heavy responsibilities."
"My Captain, I am not one for eloquent words, but your enemies are my enemies. I will be a sharp sword in your hand! I will lay down my life for you!"
"I accept your allegiance, Norris. From now on, you are 'Ghost.' I will have Verre arrange a separate section of the ship for you. In the future, your existence must be known only to a limited few! I suspect you will be needed very soon."
(End of Chapter)