The Empress Can't Communicate: Chapter 4 (Patreon)

Hope

Eon really wasn't one for celebrations. Sure he enjoyed parties especially when there's a special occasion to be had, but all that excitement wore him out. Maybe that's why he preferred the slow and sedate pace of the farms back home compared to the hustle and bustle of the core worlds.

Gazing up to the starry sky above as he climbed up the rocky cliff, he wondered what had happened to his home. Was it spared from the slow collapse of the empire? Were the rolling hills and the forest that surrounded it still as verdant as he remembered? Was it even still out there waiting for him to return?

Those were the thoughts that had occupied his mind even as he worked away down at the village below. He had to distract himself just to keep going, to keep living, and what a wonderful distraction it had been. Glancing back, he watched with a fond smile as lights danced beneath him. Things have certainly gone a long way since he came here.

From that tiny village barely hanging on to one now celebrating an abundant harvest. Still, as much as he loved the sight of their smiles and the sound of their laughter filling the air, this was not his home. His home was up there in the stars and beyond the roiling purple storms that blot parts of the night sky.

Turning back his attention on the climb once more, he pushed himself up onwards as he reached for the heavens above. With the moon hanging overhead and the music having died down, things were slowly winding down below, the perfect time for him to sneak out for just a bit.

Now while he could have done what he set out to do down in the village below as it was plenty high up on the side of the mountains, he needed a higher vantage point.. He needed a place where there would be as little abstraction as possible and the peak would do just that.

Getting there was easier said than done and It would take the better part of an hour before he finally reached the top. By then, he was sweaty and exhausted as he hauled himself up. Still, the view was well worth it. As the highest peak in the mountain range, he could see far into the horizon.

He saw stars as far as the eye could see stretching up in the heavens above, along with the orbital plates hanging like islands in the sky, the peaks of hives reaching for the stars and the moon ever watching, glimmering with star light from cities of former past glory still clinging on against the void. These were once symbols of their glory, but now it was a symbol of how far they had fallen.

Turning to the storms now wracking the galaxy, perhaps it was a better fall from grace than the one that his people experienced. At least humanity hadn't plunged the galaxy to a sea of madness. Still, despite those maddening swirls of colors and whispers along with the horrors that they were, there was a certain beauty to it all.

It was here, amidst the ruins, that he got to see the grandeur and heights before they faded away into nothingness. Pushing himself back to his feet, he walked away from the edge as he took out a sizable chunk of Wraith Bone before he started to sing.

Flowing and changing, the piece slowly shaped to his desire, a dish meant to gaze up to the heavens. While the mechanisms were different, the principal remained the same. The device he was making was simply meant to signal another and now it gazed up to the section of the stars he called his home.

"Come on," Eon mumbled as he knelt before the device tugged at his collar unconsciously, "Somebody, anybody." Eyes closed, he listened to the song of the heavens yet all he found was pain and suffering.

Teeth greeted, he forced himself to tune out the cries of ecstasy and suffering; the debauchery of his people in full view. He strained, hoping and wishing that someone, or anyone would pick up his calls from the caches that he had made; That Iyanna had listened and followed his guide, but they remained silent. Not even a peep from the devices he had made long ago.

Just as he was losing hope, a voice called out from behind him, "It won't work." While their words were cold and impassionate, he still felt his heart ache as it drove deep inside his chest.

"I know," He whispered as he opened his eyes and turned to the Empress, "But I have to try…" It was all that he could do at his state and all that he could ever do. He simply had to try rather than lament of never knowing.

Silently, the woman strode forward, her steps intent as she stared at his device. Bracing himself for the worse, he turned away before he heard the sound of dust shifting beneath the base of the construct. Opening his eyes, he found the device turned to a different section of the sky.

Blinking, he stared at the device before gazing up at the stars and found the faint star of his home off just to the side by a few degrees. A small distance, but in the vast distance of cosmics scales, he might as well have shouted in the opposite direction. "Thank you."

There would be no words shared between them after that as Eon tried once more, straining his ears as he finally heard echoes. It was not the call he wished, but at least he knew that his devices could hear him. It was just no one was picking up his calls on the other side.

Still, this was progress all thanks to the woman beside him. Pulling away from the device and letting it run, he turned to face her; The future Empress of Mankind.

This was who she was, the ruler and master of mankind, or rather who she would become, but was it really so? Having seen her flustered in their little dance down at the festival, he wondered if he was mistaken. Perhaps this little change had fundamentally altered who she was, but those golden gazes never lied.

She was simply something else. Not even the stony expression she wore most of the time as well as the small voice at the back of his mind screaming at him could stop his eyes from wandering up to her serene and beautiful gaze.

Catching himself, he turned away, "Sorry about that." Thankfully, Iyanna wasn't here or it would have been the end of him. Him, an Aeldari, lovestruck with her of all people? He'd never hear the end of it… but still, it's not like she was horrible.

"You know, you're not as bad as I thought you'd be," He smiled. She might be as terrible to behold like the burning core of a star, but under that fury was a caring person. "I mean, you did try to stab me that one time," He jested, "but compared to the cultist out there, you're not half bad."

He expected silence as she gazed at him with a flat look, before she snorted. "That's a pretty low bar," She whispered, taking him by surprise.

Catching himself, he chuckled, "It is, isn't it?" As his laughter trailed off and his smile fell, he whispered, "But most Aeldari wouldn't have cleared that bar." Some might call it self hating, but it was simply the truth. There was a reason why the bitch took root at the heart of the Aeldari Empire, and now the galaxy was stuck with her.

"I tried you know," He whispered as hugged his legs closely, "I tried to fix things, I tried…" Burdened by the future like all those before him and many more after him, he acted the best he could. "But it's a little bit too late, a bit too out of time." By the time he came to his majority or even the time he woke up as a mere babe, it was already too late. Worshipping her had become part of common life and there was nothing more he could do.

What could he, a single Aeldari, do when millions like him had tried before and failed. "It just sucks seeing all your effort come just crash and burn because of the very same people you're trying to save," He whispered.

He wanted to save them. As much as most deserved their fate, he still wanted to save those that they dragged with them, but that wasn't going to be especially now that he had woken far into the night. He now sat before the dawn of her age and he wasn't sure if he was ready for it.

The empress, however, did not take kindly to his comparison as she scowled. "Humanity is not like the Aeldari," She grounded out as she gazed out to the horizon.

Following her gaze, he found it settling in a hive off in the distance; its peak streaming with fumes from its industries. Grinning wryly, he poked back, "I'd like to disagree." Gazing down to the village below, he pointed out, "We have the same dreams, the same drive for greatness, ideals and resilience, even if we're all just a bit different."

For all the vaunted differences that both species claim, they were more alike than they wished. He had seen it with his own eyes, "But perhaps we're a bit too much alike." Glancing back to the stars, he whispered, "Just as we had the same dreams, so did we have made mistakes along the way."

As he turned back to her, he found her glaring back at him, but not out of anger. Rather, he found her gazing at her with a guarded look as she asked pointedly, "What are you getting at with all this?"

Grinning back, he replied, "I'm just saying we're both a little more alike than we seem." Maybe he was just projecting, but he found kinship in those golden eyes of hers. "And I wonder why both of us keep moving forward even when things look bleak."

Even after finding some purpose, uncertainty still plagued him. Slowly, his smile started to fall as his mind wandered. Why should he keep pushing forward? Why must he keep fighting on against everything? Feeling weariness deep inside his soul, he wondered what was even the point. He was tired…

As the woman turned away and gazed down at the village, he sighed. Maybe this was a mistake, maybe he should have just not talked at all. Just as he was about to apologize, she suddenly spoke up and gave him the answer, "It's because it's all we have."

Hope?" Was that all they had? Was that the only thing keeping them going forward?

As he looked up to her eyes, he found her smiling. "Yes," She whispered, her voice barely a whisper as she spoke to his very soul, "It's good, yes?"

For a moment, he sat there in incomprehension before laughter suddenly bubbled up from his chest. Gazing at her in amusement, he replied, "Hope huh?" What a wonderful little feeling it was. He hoped and maybe that was all he needed. "I like that…"

Closing his eyes, he sat with her in silence once more, just enjoying her presence as the world passed by. With only the faint pinging of his radio, they would find solace together in this mountain. He hoped and wondered, "Is that why you saved me?"

Eyes wide, the woman suddenly turned away, her expression stormy for once. "You are human," She replied, "Nothing more." It was her obligation, a mere duty as the shepherd of humanity, but that was only reserved for her people.

Grinning, he corrected, "I was human." A part of him might still call Terra his origin, but it was no longer his home and its people no longer his family. "I am Aeldari," He whispered as he reached up to the star that was his home and towards the patch of the night sky that slowly fractured like glass, "I am no longer human." He was now something else.

"Maybe deep down, I'm still human," He mused, before shaking his head, "But everything out here is definitely Aeldari." He had once thought himself as human, but as the memories and experience piled up, the emotions and the love of those who he now calls his family, calling himself human no longer felt right. Like a shirt that no longer fit him, it was simply not who he was anymore.

"It kinda made me wonder why you saved me," He added as he stared unseeing towards the horizon. "I'm not human so I wasn't your responsibility. I am merely a stranger that had stepped into your home unannounced." He wasn't even a guest.

As the woman remained quiet, her brow furrowed once more, he pointed out, "You could have just easily sealed away you know. You could have buried me in some deep hole and forgotten I'd ever existed, but you saved me."

It would have been certainly far easier than letting him be. He merely needed to live, not free to stop her. Instead, he gave her what others in her situation wouldn't have done. It was no cruelty or pragmatism as others have claimed was all that remained in her heart. Instead, he was given a helping hand.

He was given mercy and he started to hope as he saw humanity in those eyes. What he found was her mercy and he started to hope as he saw humanity in those eyes. He found the same drive that made people reach out to each other even as they pushed away and he wondered. "Will you give my people the same chance you gave me?" He asked, "Could our people live together?"

Looking into her eyes, he saw conflict before she glanced away and whispered softly, "I don't know."

"Will you still try?" He asked once more.

She hesitated for a moment, her mouth opening as she tried to find her words, until those golden eyes of hers hardened once more. "So long as they do not hurt humanity first."

"Then it's good enough for me," He chuckled, giving her the same benefit of the doubt that she would hold up her side of the bargain so long as long as he held up his own. He trusted her and all he could do now was hope that this trust was not misplaced

As he shifted and got up to his feet, stretching and getting his limbs limber once more for the climb down, she asked, "What are you going to do now?"

Raising a brow, he stared back at her, "Hmmm?"

"Your plans," She clarified, her words short and clipped as her eyes darted about as if she was searching for her words or rather the events after. The future…" She whispered, "Is not yet set." Gazing up at him, she reminded him, "We still have time."

"Time huh," He whispered as he walked up to his device and pressed his hands against it. Despite having run for quite some time, he had yet to receive an answer. Perhaps it was time for him to stop.

Grabbing it firmly, he closed his eyes before he sighed and pulled away, letting it be as it sang its lonely song into the void. "What I'm going to do now," He whispered as he gazed up to the stars, "Well, I'd really want to go back home to be honest." Things, however, would not allow such travel.

"The storm's too rough," The Empress reminded him as she stood up as well, her form shifting ever so slightly in his eyes,"You're stuck here." Was she hiding her true form? No matter. He had bigger problems on his hands right now.

"Yeah, I'm stuck here," He whispered. There was simply no feasible way he could live. He had no ship, no port to sail from, nor did he have access to any of the gates leading back home. Even if he could leave, he did not trust them to simply just lay still while a prize like him was out and about.

He was going to be with her for quite some time, but it wasn't so bad. He still had her to mess around after all. As he grinned at her, the woman narrowed her eyes, "No."

"Oh come on," He whined even as a shit eating grin stretched across his face, "You haven't even heard what my plan was."

"I already have plans," She gritted out as she crossed her arms across her chest, "You're going to ruin it by meddling about."

Stalking closer, he prodded at her side, "You sure there's nothing I could do to change you mind?" Lips inches away from her burning ears, he whispered, "You'd find that I'm… highly flexible when it comes to your needs."

Ducking low, he laughed as the Empress took a not so herself swing at him with her sword. "I didn't say anything!" He teased as he crouched before her. No wonder Iyanna wouldn't stop teasing him. This was fun! He should do this more.

As she growled at him, he reasoned, "But come on, can't I offer a helping hand?"

Raising her sword, she paused mid swing before she sighed out as she grounded out, "Why?"

"Because I can," He replied easily, "And I really hate being indebted." He had no reason to repay it as her good will was freely given, but why shouldn't he repay her kindness? He had no reason to do so, so doing kindness just for the hell of it seems pretty reasonable.

"And wouldn't you own all the ports once the storms clear up?" He pointed out. She wasn't just anybody after all. She was the future ruler of mankind and the Anathema. Getting into her good side was simply a good idea. "Just think of it as a friendly xenos species giving humanity a loan that'd get eventually paid in the future."

His offer, however, was met with a flat stare. "You wish to indebted humanity," She asked, making him scoff.

"That'd be silly," He replied, "Humanity can't repay me." Having the responsibility of repayment spread across a species sounded like a great way to make it so that his investment simply gets forgotten. "No, I just want to have you indebted to me."
"I should punch you," She snapped back as she lowered her sword before she reached up with her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"A thank you would be nicer for my help," He replied smugly before he raised her hands appeasingly as she cocked her fist, "But not getting punched in the face sounded even better." Taking a step back, he added, "Seriously though, it's the least that I could do after everything you've done for me."

Humming briefly as he clenched his fist, before tossing a small bead of Wraithbone at her, he offered, "Plus wouldn't it be easier if you could do things now rather than wait for later?"
While he didn't know what was inside her cave, he knew that she was doing something big. She might just be preparing for the future and that was one future he wanted to be part of. At least by her side, he had a voice rather than be against her and had none at all.

She was definitely considering it as he saw a glimmer of something in her eyes, before she shook her head. "This isn't enough to make a dent," She replied before she clarified, "I need more."

He opened his mouth to argue, before he closed them and frowned. She was going to wage a war and be the singer he might be, but he was no mars. He didn't even have a planet, much less people to call his own. He did have something to offer her.

"What if there's a cache of things big enough for it to make a difference," He told her, making the woman pause as he looked at him. "I may or may not have tried hiding something here in the distant past?" He teased as he closed an eye and wracked his mind on the location, "Like a thousand or so years before the gods forced me into a long nap?"

"You… made caches?" She asked as she turned towards him, her attention now entirely on him.

"Thousands of them really," He nodded before the woman gave her a look of doubt. "Hey, I knew shit was going to go down so why not prepare for the long night ahead?" He shrugged. It was not a claim or boast, he just prepared.

Rubbing his chin, he mused, "I think I even tried setting one up here." The memory was vague and fuzzy from all the little nest eggs he made, but he was sure of this. "I can't remember which company it was that I bought that storage unit from, but I think it was an Inquest Inc? They have this whole pillar symbol with an eye, but ehh."

What was important was the content of it. "It was a shame the company wouldn't help me smuggle a Wraith Titan since it's the capital and all, so I just chucked what I could spare without worrying about losing it and hoped for the best." It would have paid extra for it, but he couldn't, so it was just a random pile of stuff.

Glancing back at her, he said, "Thought maybe you'd find it, but clearly you haven't so it's definitely still out here!" Was it still out there though? "I hope…" The company might be defunct by now that he thought about it.

As silence stretched between them and her stare became increasingly uncomfortable, he looked away. Maybe that might not have been the best of ideas. Eyes narrowed, she asked, "There's Wraithbone just sitting out there for anyone to find." Yeah, definitely not his best idea, "Even cultist."

"Now that you say it that way, maybe I should have bought the premium for better security," He chuckled nervously. As the woman stabbed the sword on the ground and covered her face, he shouted, "Oh come on, it's not bad!"

Her look, however, had him flinching. Running his finger across his hair, he reasoned, "Look. If anyone found it, then they would have already used it, yeah?" Wraithbone was a bitch to work with, but it was still wraithbone. It could be shaped with proper bone singing, albeit crudely.

It was not a disaster, yet atleast. "Your gods are testing me," The Empress grounded out as her sword faded away into mere embers.

"It'll be fine…" He assured her before pausing. "Oh huh, you know, we haven't really introduced ourselves to each other." Had they really gone this long without making proper introductions? It certainly wasn't the first time on his end.

"You know who I am," said the woman with an even gaze.

"It's the principle of things," He huffed as he crossed his arms across his chest, "And besides, we're stuck with each other so might as well make things right" Offering a hand, he introduced himself, "The name's Eon. Unwilling champion of the Aeldari people and the dumbass that you'd be helping in the future."

Despite the exasperated look she gave him, he waited patiently until she finally relented. Taking the offered hand, she replied, "Revelation."

"That's not a really feminine name-!" He teased only for his hands to be crushed by the woman's grip. Wincing and gasping as he was forced to his knees, he croaked out, "Ow, owwww! It's a pretty name! It's a pretty name!"

He was sure several bones creaked before she let go. Pouting at the smug Anathema, he muttered, "Jeez, can't a guy have a joke?" She was way too serious. "But on a more serious note, that's quite a mouthful," He noted as he tilted his head at her, "Got any nicknames I could use?"

The woman merely stared back as she replied, "No. Those who know me call me by my name." it was not boast nor claim, it was simply a fact, but that didn't stop him.

"Then I'd like to be the first to give you one," He grinned. As the woman grimaced, he tossed out a name, "Hmm, how about Revy?" The sour look on her face quickly told him otherwise, "Too casual huh?"

He tried tossing a few other nicknames, but her silence was quite telling. He was not getting through her. "Come on," He whined, "You can't just not have a nickname!" Everyone had a nickname that wasn't just the Anathema, or something as grand as the Empress.

"Do you know what my friend called me when we were younger?" He asked her as a fond smile graced his lips, "She calls me her little flower!" Shaking his head, he sighed, "I hate that nickname and I'm kinda glad she forgot."

Just as he was about to give up, he saw her lips move. "What was that?"

Face red, she grounded out, "Rem…"

"Rem," He whispered as the woman suddenly glared at him.

"My mother gave it to me," She mumbled, making him choke out and turn away.

Feeling the familiar burn of the sword looming over him, he apologized, still struggling to hold in his laughter, "Sorry, I just didn't expect you to have such a cute nickname." His honesty however was quickly met with hostility, "Oh come! It really is!"

She would give chase and he would laugh and they would do so for hours. As silly as it was, he felt the weight on his shoulder lighten ever so slightly. Maybe she was right. Maybe he should still hope. It certainly wouldn't hurt to do so, right?

A/N:

Ok, that took longer than I wanted too. Sorry about the delay. I hope you guys aren't angry?