My Little Rogue Trader

by Tyrannosaurus_Tux

1 - Awakening

From the nothingness of the void, I was jolted awake, and then I heard, "Again."

I clench, fire racing up and down my limbs and fingers, from my head to my toes. Something was holding me down. The feminine voice I heard speaks, muffled.

"Life signs... improving! Again!"

Now, ice scurries at lightning speed across my body, feeling as though I was pulled through solid granite. The thought leaves my head as I feel the bed underneath me, fluctuating hot and cold, dry and wet. I took a painful breath of air. My eyes refused to open.

A loud cheer. There's quite a few people here. The voice again, "He breathes! Agai—" but it is cut short by another voice, buzzing, and... everywhere?

"Request denied. Further intervention not required. Subject stabilizing. Removal of endotracheal apparatus suggested."

I focused on what little I could, to lift my right hand, which was burdened by... something. I could not tell what. I strained, reaching, reaching... something caught me. My whole arm now was being held. Held by something warm, and soft. I heard a new voice in my ear, cooing and equally soft; "Stay with us. Stay with us. This is the worst part. Just relax." Something pressed against my head from the right. I heard slow breathing.

Whoever it was wasn't kidding. I felt a dull throbbing in my chest slowly retract, through my throat and even through my nose. I could do little but sputter as a long, thin medical device withdrew out of me like a rubber snake. My other hand was picked up and held, as well. I smelled... something burning. I hope it's not me. I did my best to lie still as it finally withdrew from me entirely, finally let my teeth clack together, painfully. Now, the presence at my head withdrew, and my torso was being rubbed. "Good. Good. " I swallowed, then focused again.

I opened an eye to see many faces looking down upon me, each filled with... sadness? Hope? Relief? Whatever it was, I could not immediately tell, for the bright light forced me to give up my glimpse of the waking world, though I could remember many colorful eyes... and the top of my bedframe, bedazzled with some sort of iconography. A sets of wings and a compass, or something. A lot was going on with it. The eyes were so big, so bright... A new voice, to my left this time, "Just rest now. Everything will still be here." An overwhelming warmth filled my breast, beckoning me to a fitful sleep.

---

A violent, colorful storm raged around in pitch darkness, black thunderclouds threatening all around... and yet, a great light in the distance, calling, calling.... points of lesser lights all around now... calling back...

---

I swallowed, the sensation very dry. I can smell antiseptic, and something else. Woody surfaces, the fabrics of my bed... fur? I sniffed. There's still more to smell, but... such a thing was interrupted by a realization. I became acutely aware that I was propped up by something moving underneath me. Something soft and warm. I felt my head rise and fall as someone else slept underneath me. It was... nice. Finally, I could open my eyes and look around the room.

It was a grand place, fit for a king. My bed was covered with a wooden roof with the same strange icons as before, but they weren't the only pieces of art that decorated this place. To my right, tall walls, fitted with candles and chandeliers lined the windows that lead outside, except... the view was a grand field of stars. The most calm, inviting thing imaginable. Even if looking at it... seemed to fill me with shivers, a sense of... wonder, yet also...danger. Looking away, I could see the most pristine carpets, white as snow. To my left, a wall was broken up by a simple office, a desk with a plush chair, and a round terminal of some sort.

Surrounding the table were pictures... no, paintings of exotic, alien sceneries. There was one of a purple mushroom forest, another with a depiction of a mess of statues, and yet still another... was of a great, walled city, with spires that reached higher than the painting could depict. Tearing myself away from the fantastical vistas, I looked forward to see the suitably impressive drawers and dressers that I... apparently warranted. In the middle of these was a stand for what must be a hardy suit of armor. There was no other way to describe the solid plates that covered the arms, the legs, the torso... nothing to say of the decorated helmet which I could only describe as "a giant, feathered hat on a combat space helm".

Beyond, to the front and left, there's a hallway from which I can hear running water, like a fountain. Only now, however, do I notice the intricate detailing of the wallpaper, with an almost mosaic quality, depicting humans and... creatures I've never seen before, the most common of which seems to be... ponies? With large, round heads, small bodies, and flexible legs. Regular ones, winged ones, horned ones, and even a few with both wings and horns. They were jumping, dancing, flying, singing, and... praying? Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or are they... moving? As I tried to think about it, I came to another realization. My eyes widened, then I slowly turned my head. Sure enough, there was a pony I was resting my head on, and not just any old pony.

It was one of the ponies that had wings and a horn. Her calm, sleeping face... I should know this pony... right? Slowly, I pick up my right hand to stroke her purple and pink mane. I notice the long, thin horn on top of her head. I blink. I look up again at the iconography above my head. It was a two-headed flying thing. An eagle, alongside an alicorn, wings wide. Below them was a circling compass containing a crowned skull. I look down at my deathly pale fingers, the only bits of skin still exposed and not covered by wrappings.

Even so, it was nice to pet the pony, so I did. She even tilted her head a little and coiled her mulberry limbs around to cradle more of me. A new sound. Clanking, whirring of gizmos, cloth stretching. Finally, the buzzing, synthetic voice again. "Lord Captain." I look, and freeze.

What now stood before me... wore red robes with white patterning, but that wasn't what gave me pause. What gave me pause was the fact that I was looking at some sort of cyborg dragon. Pale and blue scales could be seen on his face and hands, and he stood much taller than the armor stand I had. I traced the lines of tubes and mechanical... bits that ran off his throat into the robe, as well as the mechanical feet. Big wings were folded to his side, and finally, some sort of backpack was worn, granting even more mechanical limbs that terminated in devices whose functions I could not even begin to guess. I could still see his red eyes, trying to pierce me with his very gaze. He opened his mouth again, and the buzzing continued.

"The operation was... complicated, but the Lord Captain was able to be recovered, by the grace of the Omnissiah. The ambush proved... unsuccessful in terminating you. The Princess was instrumental to your defense."

Ambush? Omnissiah? Princess? Lord Captain? The more he said, the less I understood. I put my hands underneath myself, and pushed myself, with some effort, into a sitting position. The pony stirred. The dragon approached, tools and eyes pointed at me. Some emitted light, while others took a close look at me. All the while, those intense red eyes looked into mine.

"Assessing..." the dragon's voice announced. "Does the Lord Captain require further repair?"

I swallowed, and said, slowly, "Who... who are you?"

Finally, the dragon blinked. The instruments halted with a click-clacking noise. The dragon then looked down, as if reading something, then replied, "I am Magos Polarscale of the Adeptus Mechanicus. What is the first thing you remember?" His jaw never trembled, even as he held his mouth shut forcefully.

"I..." I thought aloud. "Someone was shouting 'Again'. Something happened."

The dragon... Polarscale grimaced. He locked his eyes to mine again, and explained, "You were feeling the effects of the Spirit/Body Rejuvenator. An extreme measure, but a necessary one to prevent the Lord Captain's death. Do you remember... your name, Lord Captain?"

I licked my dry lips. I didn't. Bitterly, I finally said, "N-No, I don't." Lamely, I added, "Sorry."

Polarscale nodded. "A most distressing development, Lord Captain. Please remain calm." Polarscale backed off and put a clawed hand to his head. He then ordered, "Ameliki and Amber Sight, report to the Lord Captain's Quarters."

Still nothing. I heard the pony yawn behind me, and stretch her legs and wings, which reached over my head. Hesitantly, I asked, "Who are they?"

"With luck and a prayer," said the dragon Polarscale. "Those who will help you to remember."

Suddenly, the pony stuck her muzzle underneath my left arm and reached around to my torso. I became very aware of her horn, but she continued as she more or less repositioned that she now lay on my lap. I now notice bandages across her torso, as well. Sleepily, the pony asked in a now-familiar voice, "Remember what, Magos?"

The dragon paused but for a moment, then replied, "Himself, Princess."

The po—the Princess opened her violet eyes and first met mine, then looked to the dragon. "What's wrong?" She asked, as my arms subconsciously wrapped around her. Soft.

Dipping his head, the cyborg reported, "Amnesia, Princess. He does not recall who I am, nor his own name." That got a reaction from the pony, who immediately broke free to first bound down from the bed, then turned around to place her front hooves on the bed to face me. Her eyes. My brain itched. There was something... there, but it was like trying to grasp smoke.

Softly, the Princess leaned in and asked, quietly, "My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle. Do you remember your name, Rogue Trader?"

A tightness in my chest. A growing pain in my head. A faint ache everywhere else.

"No," I admitted. "Rogue Trader? I woke up when you were all... saving my life. Then, I woke up with you. Then, Polarscale showed up. What... happened?"

Her eyes watering, the Princess, instead of answering, climbed up and enveloped me in a full hug, her nose in my neck, hooves under and over my shoulders, and her wingspan around my back. She struggled to steady her breathing. I wrapped my arms around her torso and looked at Polarscale.

He reported, natural voice blending with his synthetic, "The Mercy of the Stars, your personal voidship, came under sudden and deliberate assault by meta-physical attackers." His eyes shone hard.

"You were on the bridge, and it seems... the primary target. The bridge crew and your retinue rallied for battle, even as you were the first to fall in the surprise attack. Princess Sparkle was closest, and so was able to shield you from a true killing blow as the daemons assailed your position; vulnerable to all sides by your followers." He flexed his hands. "I dispatched seven of the beasts myself." I tried to remember such a thing but wound up imagining it instead.

By this point, I could hear two newcomers approach. As they rounded the corner, it occured to me that today's surprises would never end. First was a man... I think? He wore purple robes, glanced at me with inky black eyes, and wore strange jewelry on his forehead. The second was a... a griffon. Not so strange after seeing the Princess, but... the yam-colored griffon wore a simple gray cloak and hood, but it was lowered, and I could see her mechanical collar, complete with cabling that ran to the back of her head, like some kind of cyborg mullet. Her bright violet eyes met mine, and we blinked. She tilted her head.

I'm fairly certain I can guess who "Ameliki" and "Amber Sight" were, but... turning his gaze away from me in the Princess's embrace, the man looked at the Magos, and he asked, serenely, "You sent for us, Polarscale?" However, I was still locking eyes with the griffon, who... who... there's a pressure in my head, now, but I kept up the impromptu staring contest. To steel myself, I hugged the pony princess tighter to my chest and rubbed her back. The man and the dragon were talking about something, but it was becoming awfully fainter. My vision became hazier.

The edges of my vision began to darken. I took a deep breath, and I... I rallied. Amber blinked first. I slumped down, suddenly aware that the Princess had escaped my grasp. I blinked, then looked up at the man again, who was looking at me intensely. I expected the same, but he... fingers in my brain. I rubbed my temples. I could not keep eye contact. He's looking into me. The sun is distant, but it pierces all it sees. I can recall nothing. I looked at my hands, and they were gone. Only bloodied flesh remained.

Finally, it relented, and I fell onto my back. Immediately, the pony was there to help me up again, berating the pair for... something. The words were strange, as if my ears were wrong. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and focused. The words became better... or perhaps my hearing did.

"...there's nothing more we can try for now, Princess," apologetically said the man, Ameliki. "His body is healing, yes, but his mind?"

The griffon, Amber, had placed a clawed hand on my leg. "I apologize, master," she meekly said, with an accent I couldn't place. "I got carried away, but I was worried that what I feared was true... that you've lost all you were before."

I held up a hand, and the room quietened. I breathed for a moment. "So..." I said. "I'd like to ask a few questions... if that's okay." I turned to the Princess. She nodded. I needed to know who I even was, but first... "Can we move somewhere else? I'd like to have some water."

Speaking up, Polarscale reported, "Affirmative. Lord Captain requires hydration and repositioning." Before I could think, the dragon scooped me up in his arms and walked me to the exit of the bedroom. From my position, my... Lord Captain's Cabin was absurdly huge, but the dragon took me straight from the exit towards the sound of running water, where I could see a giant bath, complete with a fountain and statues of ponies and women. To the right of that were some posh couches, one of which I was carefully placed. I did my best to banish the blush... the color from my face and sit myself up on the plush, red cushions. At one of these tasks, I failed, since I realized that aside from some white briefs and the bandaging of my arms, legs, and even head, I was essentially naked before everyone.

I looked at Twilight, and I asked, hoarsely, "And some clothes?" She smiled and trotted off. Amber flew in with a canteen, a motion that my eyes tracked with great interest. I also didn't know she could smile with that beak of hers. She finally handed me the water container, which I grasped and supped from. Cool, familiar... but with something else. It tingled my tongue slightly, like an aftertaste, but... I grimaced at the water.

"Is something wrong?" asked Amber earnestly.

I held up the canteen, and replied, "There's an odd aftertaste. Tingly to my tongue."

She smiled. "That would be the stimulants, master."

I stared and gawped at her, then lowered my eyebrows. What the hell? "You put stimulants in the water?" She leaned back onto her lion rump and raised her clawed hands in a shrug. She looked to Polarscale, who had returned with a bundle of clothing. I gratefully took the bundle and started to slip on the pants and shirt, which had to be white sleeping garments. They'll do.

While I was getting dressed, Polarscale reported, "Efficiency margins improve when hydration is improved. As a matter of record, it was ordered by the Lord Captain some time ago." His red eyes were steady. I picked the canteen off the floor and tried some more. In truth, it wasn't as extreme as the first time I tried this, but even so...

"Well," I decided. "I don't like it anymore, I guess. I don't want to taste buzzing water." I said that even as I took another swig, drinking as much as I could.

Magos Polarscale straightened out, and answered, "Affirmative. Tasteless solution requested. I will make the necessary adjustments." He then walked off, feet clanking on the floor, then on the steel deck beyond. I saw Twilight Sparkle hop onto the couch next to me, then hesitated.

She asked, eyes unsure and ears pinned to her head, "Do you mind if I..." Instead of asking, I reached out and grabbed my little pony, which resulted in a squeak and a calmness entering my mind, as I heard her heartbeat against mine.

Breathlessly, I thanked her, "It means a lot to me right now." She nodded, then relaxed into my embrace. I took a deep breath, then looked to see that Ameliki had excused himself, and Amber waited... for orders, I suppose. I said to her, "Amber, right?" She nodded. "Why don't you... if we have any doctors or medical records... I'd like you to see if there's anything to be done with my memory loss."

Giggling, Twilight answered for Amber, "Magos Polarscale pulls double-duty as Enginseer Prime and Lord Captain's Physician. I've no doubt he was perusing our library all the while... and still is. If there's anything, he'll find it."

With a bow, Amber said, "I'll leave you with the missus, Lord Captain. I'll tell everyone that you're still in recovery."

Missus? I nodded, and she departed on her wings. The water rushing down the fountain was almost... melodic. Now, I had new questions... and I was... hesitant to ask. First, the other questions. I looked at a portrait of myself, surrounded by Twilight and more of those ponies with wings and horns, with proximity between me and them that suggested.... Another was the presence of a giant... gold-armored, dark-haired man, and a white alicorn with an aurora for a mane and tail. They were standing side-by-side, regally, defiantly staring into the stars.

I shivered. It must be the stimulants... whatever they were. With a sigh, I ask my first question. "What's... what's my name, Twilight Sparkle?"

Without opening her eyes, she replied with a hum, "Mmm, that would be 'Lord Captain Edo von Hassia, Rogue Trader of the Imperium of Man and Equus'."

I chewed on that for a second. Edo, was I? That, at least, was good to know. Still, even that gave me more questions than answers. One thing at a time, though. Something I might've put off, but was more important than explaining to me what "Lord Captain" or even "Rogue Trader" means.

Steeling myself, I then asked, rubbing the Princess's back again, "Amber called you 'Missus.' Does that mean..."

Instead of answering, Princess Twilight Sparkle kissed me.

Author's Note:

Hope you enjoy.

Comments

[Joe Toon]

BURNING THRONE, THIS IS HERESY!
This must be monitored to gather further evidence of your crimes!

[Tyrannosaurus_Tux]

You reckon the tags are accurate?