Back on the Loki-Class Q-Ship,
The Animositas.
In the living quarters, one room was lit. Inside, Kochav lay sleeping.
*Whizz!*
A sharp burst of vox-static jolted him awake.
"It's time to re-evaluate your psy-ability," Helsin's voice crackled from the communicator pinned to Kochav's jacket, lying on a nearby chair.
"We need to know your current psy-rating. Come to the bridge."
A pause.
Then Helsin's voice boomed, "Are you listening, boy?"
Annoyed, Kochav opened his eyes and sat up. He put on his jacket.
"Got it."
A few minutes later, back on the bridge.
The vast hall soared with vaulted ceilings, gothic arches, shrines, altars, and myriad cogitators.
Some crewmen operated the machines, while others recited litanies of protection and maintenance rites to honor the Machine Spirit.
Servitors stood motionless in the corners. Servo-skulls hovered, illuminating the chamber and performing minor repairs.
In the middle of the room,
Helsin stood beside a circular tactical display showing the ship's holographic schematics. He was speaking quietly with a stern-looking officer.
Kochav entered.
All eyes turned to him —wary, fearful.
The watchfulness did not bother Kochav. He kept walking toward Helsin.
"When did this place get so crowded?" he asked casually.
"They were always here," Helsin replied without looking up.
"Mira limited your range because we weren't sure you'd cooperate."
"And now you think I will?" Kochav asked, voice sharper.
Helsin finally met his gaze. "Are you here to reaffirm my judgment, boy?"
"Calm down", Kochav said.
"As long as I see no reason to resent you, I wouldn't harm an ally. And even if I tried... the Blank would nullify me instantly. Not to mention that Grey Knight." He shrugged,
eyes scanning the crewmen who had their hands ready on weapons.
"Now, back to why you're here: your Re-Valorem."
Kochav's eyes flicked to the man behind Helsin —a psychic bonfire visible only through the warp.
The man stepped forward.
Cloaked and blindfolded by metal implants covering his eyes, he wore a Psy-Amplifier device. Despite his blindness, he seemed to see Kochav clearly.
"I shall initiate Soul-Gazing, as requested", the man intoned.
Kochav felt the weight of unseen eyes. From the blind man, no less. A moment later, memories flooded Kochav's mind —the man's memories.
Shackled prisoners dragged through the black ship, confined behind glass for observation, pressured and tortured.
A vision of Terra, the Sanctioning. The man stood in a room as people
chanted and recited prayers.
A glimpse of the Golden Throne. Psykers around the man fell one by one, until only he remained.
Then his sight vanished. He became an Astropath.
Yes. The man before Kochav was an Astropath
—a sanctioned psyker, who was soul-bound to The Emperor.
official evaluator from the Astra Telepathica.
Kochav flinched. Anxiety burned deep. Blood dripped from his eyes.
He shot a glance at Helsin, feeling betrayed.
"The boy is now seen by the Telepathica. By the Emperor", the Astropath declared.
"Now... your Re-Valorem."
"When first evaluated, you were a Theta —a narrow-spectrum Telekinetic. Dangerous, yes, but containable."
The Astropath paced slowly around Kochav, leaving purity seals on servo-skulls with each step.
When his circle was complete, four servo-skulls surrounded Kochav, the Astropath stood directly before him.
From above, they formed a ritual circle with Kochav in the center.
"Your power… forged in suffering and sacrifice, is ever-growing. I see a young Telekine before me, but the source of your divination remains obscured."
"Perhaps they overlap, or are something else entirely."
He glanced at Helsin.
"His new rating shall be Delta-Plus— a dual-aspect psyker:
Telekinesis primary, Divination secondary. He is alarmingly close to the Warp, though displaying unusually high resistance."
Helsin nodded. "By the authority vested in me by the Holy Ordos of the Inquisition,
I declare Kochav Von Artine —formerly unregistered and unsanctioned —a protected psyker in the Emperor's service. His powers are useful to the Imperium."
Helsin lifted his Rosette —the symbol of ultimate authority.
"If you perish, he too will be executed. If he is declared heretic, you will be hunted.
The Astra Telepathica recognizes Kochav Von Artine as a sanctioned psyker, under the protection of Ordo Malleus Inquisitio Theolard Helsin."
The Astropath then performed a rite of Astropathic Transmission —likely notifying the Telepathica of the ordeal—before departing with his servo-skulls.
"I thought you were going to turn me over to the black ship, I was ready to kill you back there," Kochav said.
"Give me a break, boy. Do you think you'd survive official sanctioning? Having the Astropath here mean I declare your sanctification. No Imperium would hunt you down", Helsin explained.
"Though, be wary of your actions. The Emperor's eyes are watching you now."
A lingering feeling of being watched remained, even after the Astropath left.
Sign
"That was tense. Lucas couldn't even come close," Kochav muttered, sitting down.
"You still haven't told me how you know Ulysses"
"Let's just say he could have been a fine inquisitor, but he decided to be a seneschal... Family's duty first, he said." Helsin muttered, disappointment in his voice.
"Family....huh?" Kochav whispered while holding his pendant.
Fourteen years earlier.
Artine, seven years before Exterminatus.
In Cilicia's household, a three-year-old boy waited at the front door with his Ogryn guard.
"Mommy, I finished tying my boots! Can we visit Master Philos now?" the boy shouted, standing up excitedly.
"Yes, Mommy is done packing," Cilicia answered, emerging with a heavy bag.
"Heavy. Bob carry," muttered the Ogryn, lifting the bag.
"Thank you, Bob. We're going to the old hangar today."
"Understood. Take Ko and Silly woman to hangar."
They started walking toward their destination.
"Ko Tired?, Want Bob carry?" Bob asked the tiny toddler walking beside him.
"I'll walk today! Renoir told me to train hard!" Kochav declared, raising his arms in triumph and joy
It took twenty minutes for them to reach the destination.
Inside, no aircraft functioned —just disassembled parts and wrecks needing heavy repair.
Philos worked on a device at his desk. Hearing panting from the gate, he went to meet the visitors.
"Is 896 Terran-Meters your current body's limit?" The Enginseer asked the tired boy.
"We—Can—Do—Better.....Tomorrow!" Kochav declared —then collapsed,
Philos caught him with his servo-arm. "Blessed be your spirit, be mindful of thy steps."
"Are you okay, Ko?" Cilicia hurried over.
Kochav nodded and smiled.
"Boltie, 'ere your stuffs" Bob was holding the bag .....in front of a servitor.
"I'm here, simpleton." Philos answered from behind him. Then retrieved the bag and put it under his desk.
"Bob, could you take Ko to play outside?" Cilicia asked kindly.
"Mhm. Ko, come with Bob."
After Kochav and Bob left.
Philos asked, "Has he exhibited any new anomalies or signs of escalation in his psychic abilities?"
"He makes things levitate in his sleep —nightmares, I guess.
But before i knew it, he suddenly calmed down." Cilicia answered.
"Any changes in your rationality? Warp-bleed? Whispers?" Philos inquired while taking notes.
"No. Though it feels a little different —Say, a mother's intuition, maybe"
"No reliable bias, thus irrelevant," the Enginseer dismissed.
"But you better keep it in the report, Ulysses would want to hear all of it anyway"
A pause in his mechanical whirring.
"A sound argument." "All limiters present?" Philos asked while looking through the bag.
"Yes, some were broken, but most just need recharging." Cilicia said.
"Antithetical to the prior statements," Philos noted mechanically.
"No plausible cause for limiter dysfunction at this scale. Possible conclusion: his innate power doesn't affect those he's aware of —Examples: you, the Ogryn, others."
"This suggest full control over his power, or maybe a third party at play."
"Is it possible for a Theta child —to already mastered his will?" Cilicia asked, confused.
"Unheard of, and alarming. Take the replacement limiters, I will handle the report."
Philos handed her newly repaired psy-limiters and finished his report.
At the church,
some time after the ordeal.
Thessia closed the door after communion. Inside, two figures discussed quietly.
"What do you make of the reports? Ulysses." Father Grigori asked.
"it is quite disturbing. A three years old Telekine....a Theta no less." Ulysses muttered, rubbing his chin.
"The boy is kindhearted and enthusiastic, but that doesn't explain his control." "There is something else at play." Ulysses speculated.
Nighttime, Cilicia's house.
Sister Thessia kept vigil, ordered to observe. Bob slept in the barn as usual.
"Thanks, Cilicia." Thessia said, accepting a hot brew of recaf. They talked, part about Kochav, part about trivial matters.
In Kochav's room, a murmuring can be heard.
At the door's edge, a young boy whispered, speaking to someone unseen.
"Are you sure mommy will be mad?" he whispered, his voice small.
"But they seem nice, they told me mommy would be happier." He paused, listening.
"But why are you mad at me? I just want us to be a happy family." Kochav frowned, a fleeting shadow of confusion crossing his face.
"What do they looked like? Hmmm, yes! A flying Terran bird.They got feathers just like that."
His eyes drifted to the wall. "Color? Blue, I think. Or was it purple? Hehe, I don't remember." His small voice faded into silence.
"Their name? I don't know. They never told me."
—
The watching eyes got closer, slamming the door opened.
Darkness flooded the room, Kochav startled, locked eyes with the creature.
A daemonic voice whispered from the shadows
"Call us... The Paradeigma Artificer."