Warhammer 40k: Starting as a Rogue Trader

Chapter 158: The Eldar Harlequins

The bio-priests under Leon's command, along with a large number from the Koronus Expanse, were all directed by Lucan to expand and perfect the cloning technology. Although Lucan lacked a powerful Magos in the biological sciences, he compensated for a lack of quality with sheer quantity. With a massive injection of funds, these tech-priests had endless opportunities for trial and error. Normally, a Magos would be considered fortunate to have the resources of an entire planet at their disposal for consumption. But the bio-priests under Lucan were being supplied by numerous worlds simultaneously.

Lucan was, in fact, opposed to human experimentation. But what he opposed was the capture of innocent people or civilians for such purposes. The depraved experiments of creatures like the Dark Eldar Haemonculi were even more unacceptable to him. However, with such a large population base, there would always be some who committed unforgivable sins. Even on Agathos now, the appearance of such scum was unavoidable. Perverse psychology and the pursuit of thrills led them down an irreversible path, even when they wanted for nothing. And that wasn't even mentioning the endless supply of Chaos cultists who could never be fully exterminated.

For these people who were already destined for execution, Lucan did not mind them becoming experimental materials. The concept of human rights was for humans, and these creatures could no longer be called that. They were merely empty shells with a human appearance. Lucan strictly forbade the use of any ordinary human as a subject for biological experiments.

With the infusion of countless materials, funds, and personnel, the scale of the cloning technology was improving at a rate visible to the naked eye. The hundreds of years of experiments by the Reunificationist Sect had already provided the tech-priests with a large amount of foundational knowledge and experimental data. All they needed to do was use this data to continuously perfect the technology.

Returning to his office on Malfi, a stack of work reports from across the Dynasty's territory was already sitting on his desk. The Dynasty's administrative system was becoming more complete. With the help of quantum communication, various important events within their territory could be handled before they escalated to an irreversible and unavoidable degree. It seemed like the workload had increased for a time, but it prevented more troublesome problems from appearing later on.

As he flipped through the documents, Lucan was drawn to one file in particular.

"Harlequin Troupes are performing on multiple worlds within the Expanse?!"

The file also indicated that whenever the Dynasty's soldiers received news and rushed to the location of the performance, the Harlequins would have already vanished.

Lucan knew of these outliers among the Eldar. Having passed the trials of the Laughing God, they could protect their souls from being devoured by Slaanesh without needing to wear Spirit Stones or torture others. From the high-and-mighty of the Craftworlds down to the most treacherous Archon in Commorragh, when these Harlequins voiced an opinion, others would at least listen. In the eyes of the Eldar, they were the will of the Laughing God. While they would not completely obey the Harlequins' commands, they would always give them sufficient respect.

The Harlequins played a significant role in the story of Warhammer. They had infiltrated the Imperial Palace and saved a Primarch. Without the help of the Harlequins, Guilliman could not have been revived, and even if he had been, he might not have made it back to Terra. They guided and changed the fate of the galaxy in their own way. Even the function and importance of the Blackstone Fortresses were revealed to Belisarius Cawl by these Harlequins.

But Lucan would never believe that these Harlequins were allies of humanity. Their ultimate goal was the restoration of the Eldar's former glory. If the interests of the Eldar were involved, these creatures would undoubtedly turn their blades on humanity. They were helping humanity now only because they believed humans could bear the brunt of the pressure from Chaos for them. Without humanity to endure the most ferocious attacks from Chaos, the currently fractured Eldar race would be in an even worse state.

The appearance of Harlequins often meant they were carrying out some plan of their own. One of the most famous groups of riddlers in Warhammer would not do something without reason. If you thought it was meaningless, it was only because you hadn't figured it out yet. Lucan remembered the headaches from playing the Rogue Trader game, reading through the long, cryptic dialogues with the Harlequins.

"Why are these Harlequins appearing so frequently in my territory?"

Lucan had a persistent feeling that he was being watched.

At that moment, he suddenly heard the sound of music coming from the main hall outside his office.

When Lucan pushed open the door, he saw that a simple stage had been erected at the bottom of the grand staircase at some point. Ten performers in brightly colored, motley attire were dancing and performing to the music.

Emperor knew how these creatures had gotten in.

Lucan recognized them from their clothes. The attire of those flowery Eldar was too easy to identify, and no other Eldar would imitate their style. He could also sense a powerful psychic presence from one of them. The scepter-like Staff of Light in their hand also indicated that this person was a Shadowseer of the Harlequins. These creatures, much like the followers of Tzeentch, loved to manipulate the threads of fate and complete their plans from behind the scenes.

"Harlequins?"

Hearing Lucan's word, the performers stopped. They even bowed to him as if taking a final curtain call.

Hearing the commotion, two squads of elite Raiders and five Night Sentinels rushed in. Faced with their guns, the Harlequins showed no hint of panic.

"It seems you have recognized us," the Shadowseer said. "We have searched for you in your worlds. Through the guidance of the Great Laughing God, we have finally found you here. The Master of Mankind's battle with the dark gods in the Empyrean amazed even the Great Laughing God. It is enough to choreograph a drama of unparalleled magnificence."

Lucan did not reply. These creatures got here from the Expanse so quickly? The intelligence report of their appearance was only from a few days ago. The Harlequins' use and understanding of the Webway surpassed all other Eldar, allowing them to appear anywhere in the galaxy with great speed. And their skill in infiltration, which once allowed them to sneak into the Imperial Palace, meant that slipping into his office was a simple matter.

"I don't recall having any dealings with you Harlequins," Lucan said. "In fact, my interactions with other Eldar could hardly be called pleasant. Why have you sought me out?"

"The final act has quietly changed," the Shadowseer intoned. "Several new performers have appeared upon the stage... The melody of fate roars, a deafening crescendo. When the curtain falls, the world will be destroyed, and only humans and those who submit to you will remain. O wandering and ambitious merchant, do not drown in your unrealistic fantasies. If you continue on this path, you will only push humanity into opposition with all other intelligent life. But if you are willing to abandon it, we are willing to provide you with access to some usable Webway gates to aid you."

Hearing these words, Lucan understood. His emergence, combined with the Emperor's clash with the Four Gods, had not only made Chaos aware of his importance, but had also drawn the attention of the Laughing God, the only Eldar god still active in the world. However, they were not immediately hostile; they were willing to use the Webway as a bargaining chip.

Tzeentch and the Laughing God, Cegorach, had some overlap in their divine portfolios. After Tzeentch found he could not directly sanction Lucan, he had used some unknown method to convey the prophecies he knew to Cegorach... and it was clear the Laughing God had used his own methods to verify their authenticity.

These Eldar Harlequins had always sought the revival of the Eldar race. For any other race to become dominant was not a good thing for them. They did not want Chaos to devour reality, but they also did not want humanity to gain an overwhelming advantage. It wasn't just the technology Lucan possessed now or in the future; his very existence, which gave the Emperor a chance to leave the Golden Throne, was enough for the Eldar to see him as a grave threat.

An Eldar who had once infiltrated the Imperial Palace on Terra had said, "I have mocked Slaanesh to his face, yet now I fear this corpse-emperor."

For humanity, there were only four Chaos Gods. But for the other races in the Warhammer universe, there were five! One could only imagine what kind of being the Emperor was in the eyes of the Eldar.

"Why does it feel like I haven't even loaded the Stellaris template yet, but I'm already on the path of the Endgame Crisis?"

If the Phase Engine was activated, humanity could transcend, but for all other races, it would be a dead end.

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