That was apparently the name given to the Emperor's Light, which illuminated the warp, allowing Navigators and Astropaths to navigate, send messages, and travel.
Hearing this from them made everything he had read make sense. The Mechanicus hadn't bothered to explain the actual effects of the rift. It clarified why, no matter which report he read, there was no mention of reinforcements.
They couldn't come. The planet was stranded and alone, forced to face the full brunt of alien invasions and Chaos influence.
"So, in essence, the planet stands alone until the Rift is closed?" Bastion asked.
"Yes, Your Grace," the Chief Astropath replied with a bow.
For some reason, the man was awfully polite, bowing at every turn. It was almost as though he saw Bastion in some divine light—or something. No, wait. He *was* a saint now.
"If so, then when was the last time we received contact with the greater Imperium?" Bastion asked.
"It's been over a year now."
"And what about the physical Imperium presence within our sector? Is there a fleet stationed nearby to protect us?"
"There is none, Your Grace. The rift makes it difficult to navigate through the warp. Our navigators find it challenging to see the light of the Emperor."
"I see, Lord Valirus… From now on, we shall no longer gather resources for the tithe," Bastion declared, staring at the Inquisitor.
"What? Heresy! Your Grace, you could be slain for this!" Dresk began, nearly pulling out her bolter. Yet, for some reason, Bastion didn't feel threatened at all.
"Heresy this, heresy that… Tell me, what is the best way we can serve the Emperor in our current situation?" Bastion asked calmly, rolling his eyes.
He had no reason to sugarcoat anything, though he planned to side with the Ecclesiarchy for now to secure his position. However, it was very clear that no matter what or how he did things, if he wanted to be an efficient ruler, the Inquisition had to go.
"Prayers, devotion, and obedience to His words are what I always say," the Cardinal replied with a bright smile, which made the Inquisitor give her a murderous look.
"No, what nonsense is that? You forget that first and foremost, the God Emperor is an Emperor, then a God. Would an Emperor want His people starving and failing to protect themselves just to send a tithe?" Bastion asked them in feigned rage.
He planned to use their own religion against them. If they blindly devoted themselves to the Emperor, then the best way to accomplish his goal was to exploit that.
"My Lord… I…" The Cardinal turned to the Inquisitor, and they both shared a confused look.
Truthfully, Bastion was spewing nonsense, but from what he had seen, this faith was so distant that even the Cardinal here didn't truly know its true nature. Even the Inquisition, sanctioned by the Emperor Himself, didn't exactly report directly to Him—probably.
Their disorganized nature meant that they likely reported to themselves and no one else, so even they would know nothing about the actual nature of the faith.
Was the Emperor actually a God or not? Was there even an Emperor at all?
He just found it hard to believe that such a being existed. If such a being did exist, then he wouldn't be here in the first place… they would have stopped his soul from taking over Bastion's body.
"So, as I said, we shall repurpose all tithes. The Astra Militarum tithes shall be used to reinforce our defenses against the Xenos. The resource tithe will be used to ensure that our population is well-fed and ready to face whatever we might encounter until the Imperium comes for us. Our survival is the best way to serve the Emperor," Bastion ordered in a firm tone.
"As you wish, Your Holiness," Valirus replied with a bow.
"Good. Also, Inquisitor Dresk, I hear you are from the Ordo Hereticus. May I ask how many of you are available at the moment?"
"My Lord?" Dresk asked, surprised by the question.
"It is your duty to root out heretics and execute them, is it not?" Bastion asked.
"It is."
"Then I would like to meet all available Inquisitors. At the moment, the survival of this planet depends entirely on your ability and efficiency in properly hunting these heretics," Bastion began.
Though he didn't like their full autonomy, he also had to admit that their help was needed for the planet to survive. Well, that depended on whether they had the required means he was actually looking for.
"We will do our best, My Lord," Dresk replied, her once-furious expression vanishing.
"Thank you. Well, that is all for today. General Draven, please wait behind," Bastion said as he stood up with a reassuring smile.
Today was as fruitful as it could be. The meeting may have been short, but Bastion had managed to figure out a few things about this world from them.y