Crux Lapis Chapter 4

Over the gently curving surface of the Forgeworld flew a trio of Anti-Grav skimmers, steered by servitors that kept them to a perfect calculated course. They were open-topped vehicles with short stubby fins and wide bellies, somewhat similar to elongated Land Speeders but much slower. Spread over their decks was the entirety of Third Company, standing around the rails looking down at the world beneath their feet. This was no sight-seeing trip though, Astartes were always ready for war and they held their weapons tightly, ever ready for traps.

Stood upon the lead skimmer Captain Toran was surveying the surroundings with his helm off, seeing the various districts passing under their keel. There were vast manufactories and storage yards, transport hubs and links, military parade grounds and areas whose purpose he couldn't begin to guess at. Yet what surprised him most was the number of slum dwellings and habitation areas he saw. Places for ordinary men and women to live out their lives just like on any other world, there were even markets and drinking establishments. In many ways it was indistinguishable from a Hive City on any other world. Toran had always assumed that the population of a Forgeworld would be entirely Servitors and Tech-Priests; it had never occurred to him that non-modified people might live here too. Upon reflection it made sense, somebody had to work in the factories and workshops and manual labourers were less expensive than massively upgraded workers and far easier to replace.

Toran turned from the rail and stepped back, letting his place be taken by an Initiate with a bolter. He stepped back and found Hevostan and Castabore in the middle of the skimmer, talking in their strange hissing, popping language. Toran approached them and they cut off their talk as the Captain approached. He addressed them saying, "Am I interrupting?"

Hevostan replied, "No Captain, we were merely discussing a number of improvements for my work. The Magos' suggestions were highly noteworthy, derived from STC fragments if I am not mistaken."

Castabore had no face to express emotions, yet she was definitely not looking at Toran and he understood why. Some years ago Toran and Castabore had taken a stolen STC archive from a dead Inquisitor and Toran had used the affair to blackmail the Magos into supporting his Chapter. The STC had been part of the deal, secretly given to Castabore to seal their pact and only his Command Squad knew what had happened. Given how shifty she was looking, Toran guessed she hadn't told anyone where she was getting her advanced designs and wanted to keep it that way. Toran changed the subject quickly saying, "The Forge-Synod seems to hold you in high regard Magos, I presume your star is rising in the Adeptus Mechanicus."

Castabore replied gladly, "Yes, the last few decades have seen my status elevated several times over. The Archmagos has taken a particular interest in my career; he has bestowed several important projects upon me and always expressed satisfaction with the results. At the current rate I project I am on course for a position of seniority, perhaps leading my own Sub-Synod or command of a Forgeship."

From behind them came a snort and from the rail Persion, who had been eavesdropping, said, "That Fabricator-Locum doesn't seem too happy about that."

Castabore sounded irate as she said, "Xenix considers himself the heir to the Archmagos, he is most concerned with a rival taking his prestige. He spends far more time worrying about politics than contemplating the mysteries of the Omnissiah."

That lit a spark of suspicion in Toran and he said, "You don't think… well, could it be that he is involved in this Scrapcode affair?"

Castabore gasped in outrage and said, "Absolutely not!"

Hevostan quickly stepped in and said, "Forgive the Captain, he does not intend to offer an insult. Captain Toran, you must understand that to the Tech-Priests the sanctity of data is nothing less than holy. To suggest a Senior Magos would knowingly introduce a Scrapcode infection into a pure system is tantamount to an allegation of Heresy. It is like accusing someone of serving Chaos itself."

Persion let out a bark of derisive laughter and said, "It wouldn't be the first time, the Dark Mechancium is a plague upon the stars."

Toran glared at him for the crude remark, but said to Castabore, "Magos, it is hard to bear and yet we must consider all options. If history proves anything it is that no one is above suspicion when the Ruinous Powers are involved. I do not single out any individual and yet somebody has orchestrated all this, we must consider who."

Castabore went quiet for a moment and then reluctantly said, "Well as a purely hypothetical query, it could be possible that a high ranking Magos is involved… yet that makes no sense. This infection has wreaked havoc upon all system and projects, everybody has been harmed by it, nobody stands to benefit at all. It would be against all reason to do this."

Toran said, "Sadly when it comes to Chaos, logic and reason are in short supply. The followers of the Ruinous Powers delight in carnage for its own sake; they may want nothing more than to watch your world burn."

Castabore shook her head and said, "This conjecture does not fit the facts, the infection had a purpose: to draw our attention away from a specific place. That leads to the conclusion that something specific is being undertaken. Secondly, the Scrapcode itself is extremely sophisticated, beyond the ability of any Mechanicus Magos to create; no Adept of Mars could conceive such a thing."

Hevostan agreed saying, "Then there is the way it effortlessly transmits itself through the Noosphere."

"Noosphere?" asked Toran.

Hevostan nodded and explained, "A medium for Machine Spirits to exchange data and share the Logic Engine's processing power. It is widely used by the Mechanicus and has always proved somewhat… resistant to the corruptions of Chaos. It was instrumental in the victory of the loyalist Tech-Priests over the Dark Mechanicus. Yet this Scrapcode travels along the data-web without causing so much as a tremor, it is unlike anything Chaos has unleashed before."

Toran was struggling to get his head around all this Tech-dogma and said, "So… what you're saying is that you are sure this is no renegade Adept?"

Hevostan nodded and said, "A Tech-Priest conjuring such a Data-Djinn? No definitely not, this is totally foreign to us. I am reluctant to speculate, but I suspect Xeno involvement."

Toran mused upon this trying to think what enemies he had encountered who were capable of this, but none readily presented themselves. He sighed to himself and reminded himself of the Codex's teachings, wild speculation was useless now; they needed more information before they could make a plan of action. He looked ahead and realised that the skimmers were slowing down, they were nearing their goal. Toran turned to Persion and said, "Raise the Skitarii guarding the perimeter, let them know we are coming in."

Persion nodded and the communication specialist began attempting to contact the cybernetic Tech-Guards, but after a minute he looked up and said, "Captain there is a problem, I cannot raise any of the Skitarii."

Castabore interjected, "That is not right, they should have known we were coming."

A nasty suspicion began to form in Toran's mind and he said, "Are there any transmissions at all?"

Persion answered, "Not from the guards, they are silent."

Toran's trigger finger began to itch and his sense of enemies nearby escalated as he ordered, "Slow down the skimmers, set us down a few blocks away from the perimeter. Keep the buildings between us and the guards, no clear lines of sight."

As the Skimmers began to come in for a landing Persion said, "Please tell me you don't think that the Skitarii are now under the control of this Scrapcode."

Castabore heard that and said, "Impossible, the Scrapcode has only managed to infect Machine Spirit guided processes. The Skitarii are still partly organic, their living minds should be immune."

"Should," said Toran suspiciously as he fixed his helmet back on, "In war, it pays to never underestimate your enemy and this foe has already proven extremely cunning."

The three skimmers came to a halt, hovering a few metres off the ground in the slums and the Space Marines deployed. Tactical Marines holding bolters ready, Assault Marines with Jump packs idling and Devastator squads with Missile launchers and Lascanons held over their shoulders. Last to disembark was Magos Castabore, grumbling under her breath about the inefficient use of their time. As the skimmers returned to the sky Toran led his command squad to the fore, seeing Third Company in perfect formation and he called, "Sergeant Mylos, take your squad and scout ahead, get eyes on the Skitarii. Maintain Vox silence, their gear is as good as ours."

The Tactical squad took off into the cramped slum and Third Company followed slowly, sweeping the place room by room as they proceeded through the buildings between them and the Tech-guard. Toran spied numerous vagrants scattering before their approach and worried that their position would be given away, but they looked entirely organic so in theory the Scrapcode shouldn't be able to use them. Toran kept the Company in motion, expecting a trap at every turn but finding nothing. He spied Hevostan shaking his head and flinching repeatedly and the Captain said, "What is it?"

Hevostan replied, "That signal again, its returned like before... But it's different now. The Scrapcode is more complex, changing moment to moment; it's most difficult to pin down."

Toran's hearts sank as his suspicions flared, but this was not proof of anything, he needed certainty before committing to any action. Thankfully at that moment Mylos returned, his squad in tow and the Sergeant reported, "Captain, we saw the perimeter. There's a large chasm across our path with a narrow bridge being the only way across. The Skitarii are guarding the bridge and keeping a watchful eye out for any intruders."

Persion sounded confused as he said, "A chasm? What's that doing in a Forgeworld?"

Castabore replied, "The crust of Crux Lapis is most irregular, containing numerous folds and crevices. It was deemed an inefficient use of resources to fill them in, especially when the only nearby personal are mere laborers. Bridges proved far more cost-effective to build."

"Great," muttered Persion, "The Cog-boys decided to cut costs and left behind a perfect ready-made chokepoint, I don't suppose there's any chance the Skitarii are guarding it for us?"

Mylos shook his head and said, "The Skitarii's guns aren't pointing up the bridge, but outwards. They're guarding it against interlopers, not a threat from within."

Persion said, "They must have been subverted then, there's no other answer."

Toran however said, "It is suspicious but not proof, I will not fire upon allies until we are certain. We need to be ready though, Third Company will deploy. Devastators get in elevated positions; Tactical squads are to spread out through the buildings to either side. Assault squads, hold in reserve for my signal to attack."

With consummate speed the Company spread out, forming a concave firing line through the surrounding buildings, with all guns pointed ahead. They swiftly moved up and found firing positions that looked out over the chasm and its bridge, seeing a large number of Skitarii spread out around the end of the structure. Toran led his squad through the ground floor of a building and took cover by a hollowed out window, he leaned around the edge and looked at the Tech-guards, trying to discern their intentions. All looked normal save that they were facing the wrong way, which made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up in warning.

Toran decided to try opening a vox link to speak to the Skitarii, when suddenly they all stiffened and jerked their weapons up. There was a second's pause and then they opened fire with Hellguns and plasma shots, blasting the front of the buildings with volleys of disciplined fire. Toran snatched his head back, as dust and chips of mortar sprayed over him. He knew he had just got all the confirmation he needed that the Skitarii were under the control of the Scrapcode and he yelled, "Third Company… return fire!"