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#2321 - The future is full of twists and turns
Hearing Soshjan say he was drunk, Rozim simply shrugged and replied nonchalantly:
“Alcohol emboldens the cowardly, right? I wouldn’t dare say these things without a drink. Anyway, no matter what others do, I only know one thing: my brother is Soshjan Alexey. He’s the brother who came to the Chapter with me, the close friend who’s been through a hundred years of thick and thin with me. Compared to that, some Primarch is nothing! Besides, I don’t have gene-seed. Apart from that tribal chief buried in the ground long ago, nobody can claim to be my father.”
Soshjan said nothing, extending his glass to lightly clink against Rozim's, then draining it in one gulp.
As he refilled both glasses, the expression on his face relaxed considerably.
“Ah, that friend you mentioned, you should have brought her on board, right?”
Hearing Soshjan suddenly say this, Rozim was taken aback, then said with some guilt:
“I-is that not allowed?”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t allowed. Although you’ve been modified, you’re not exactly a Space Marine. There’s nothing wrong with starting a family. I just don’t know if you can still have offspring.”
“That’s still a long way off. She just didn’t want to stay on Terra anymore. But I reckon my functions should be alright, right?”
Soshjan burst out laughing, a carefree laugh, then teased:
“Get Valerius to check you out when you get back. Or get surgery, or remove the original and install a prosthetic. →”
“A p-prosthetic? They have those for that down there!? Isn’t having kids not related to that part?”
“That’s not necessarily true. Speaking of which…”
Soshjan stroked his chin, pondering for a moment, then leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the table, and said softly:
“Have you ever thought about what it would feel like to be a father?”
“Ah, that… Well, if it’s a boy, I definitely wouldn’t let him become a Space Marine. He doesn’t have the right awareness. If it’s a girl, it depends on the situation. But raising kids is really an art. Look at our Emperor, so wise and mighty, but look at the result, right? You only really know when you do it yourself. Our Emperor was unlucky because he only gave birth but didn’t raise them. Twenty lottery tickets and he draws that kind of result.”
“Hmm, do it yourself… There is indeed something I need to tell you. Keep your mouth shut and don’t tell a second person.”
Seeing Soshjan acting so mysteriously, Rozim’s curiosity was immediately piqued, and he quickly swore.
“I’ll keep it absolutely buried.”
“Veronica is pregnant.”
“Uh—”
Rozim frowned, scratched his head, and then blurted out:
“Brother, are you sure it’s yours?”
Soshjan smacked him on the head.
“Of course, we’re together every day, how could I not know?
“Oh, oh, oh, it’s not that. I haven’t read many books, but I know about reproductive isolation. You’re not just crossing species here, it’s like a fish and a motorcycle having a baby.”
“Is it that exaggerated?”
“Astartes themselves already have reproductive isolation from humans, and they’re still the same species, barely on the same genetic chain. Eldar aren’t even on the same genetic chain anymore. I don’t think that analogy is a problem.”
“That’s true, but it happened. And it is indeed my child with Veronica. It might be related to some things that happened in between. Do you remember when I went to Commorragh to find her?”
“I remember, I went with you back then.”
“After rescuing her, we… we went to an ancient race’s ruins. It was there that I first had relations with her. It should be related to that.”
“I see. That’s beyond my knowledge. But this is a good thing. Come, let’s have a drink.”
Saying that, the two clinked glasses again.
“Our brother is the first Space Marine to have offspring! What a memorable and proud thing!”
“Haha, alas, if I say it out loud, I’m afraid all the Astartes in the Empire will come to kill me.”
“What are you afraid of? The Empire is so big, who can control that much? I really want to see what an Astartes and an Eldar can produce. You must let me know then.”
“You’ll have to wait. The Eldar gestation period is longer than a normal person’s entire life.”
“Wow, that’s really amazing. I once read a storybook that said Lord Solar Macharius stayed in the womb for three and a half years before being born. As soon as he landed, he knew how to recite The Art of War. Your kid might be more powerful than ten Machariuses combined? Hahaha, hey, speaking of which, since she’s pregnant, she’s not really suitable to stay in the Chapter, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve arranged everything. No need to worry about that.”
“That’s good.”
At this time, all the wine bottles were empty. Soshjan shook the last of the wine in his glass and sighed:
“I really wish there could be more days like this. But that’s how things are. You get something, you have to give something up. There’s no way around it, no way around it.”
“Look at you, you’re getting melancholic again, right? Drinking is for happiness—there’s always a solution to things.”
“That’s true, thinking too much is useless. Just do what you think is right.”
Saying that, Soshjan drank the last bit of wine and stood up from his chair.
“Hey, that’s right, that’s how it should be. That’s the right way to think.”
Rozim also stood up.
“Just let the cleaning servitors clean up here later. You go back and rest. The fleet will be returning in a few days, and you still have to arrange the warriors’ meals on the ship.”
But Rozim didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he approached Soshjan, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a sly smile:
“Hey, hey, brother, since you’re fine in that department, why not marry a few more? You can have kids with Eldar, so it’ll be even easier with humans, right? I heard the Order of the Ebon Chalice seems to have a new, elderly Abbess. The previous Abbess, who was rumored to be ageless, has become a hermit and left the Order. Could it be that she’s already—”
Soshjan pushed him away.
“Don’t spread such rumors! Go back!”
“Oh, oh, oh.”
Three days after Rozim returned to the Chapter’s fleet, the work of awakening the Martian warships was basically completed. The main systems of the warships had been revived, and the secondary systems could be slowly resolved during the voyage. From then on, the three warships officially joined the Star Knights’ fleet sequence. The two Mars-class battlecruisers were named *Martian Scion* and *Triumph of Expedition*, respectively, while the Oberon-class battleship was named *Abyssal Hunter*.
After a long conversation with Li, the Star Knights’ fleet officially left the Martian spaceport and embarked on the return journey.
And the Mantis Warriors also began to make contact with Terra. Li and Tyrion had assured them that their wishes would be fulfilled as much as possible. Soshjan had no more concerns, and the Mantis Warriors said they would visit the Star Knights again in the Maelstrom.
Until the moment the fleet jumped into the Eye of Terror’s warp node, Soshjan still couldn’t be sure whether this trip to Terra would change his destiny for better or for worse—