Chapter 7: Data Entry

Colonel Ikeda wasn't sure if holding a strategic meaning in The Triumph of Deliverance was a good idea.

Normally, the highest-ranking officers would gather in the largest ship – in this case the Retribution class battleship The Hammer of Marinas – but Archmagos Omnid Trozac insisted on holding it here. As the commander of the Explorator fleet, he held almost absolute authority over the majority of the imperial ships in the system, so even Admiral Draverre had to defer to him. In addition to Admiral Draverre, a young colonel who was in charge of the Imperial Guard regiment stationed aboard The Hammer of Marinas accompanied him to the meeting.

The leaders had gathered around a round table that the Imperial Navy had set aside for official, grand meetings such as these. All around the conspirators drifted servo-skulls, their glowing red eyes watching their owners unblinkingly. Servitor-scribes rolled across the room, their mechadendrites mechanically scribbling down notes and minutes for their masters. The chirping of the servo-skulls, the sounds of the auto-quills scribbling across parchment in some sort of patterned order, and the fixed movements of the servitors made the bustling in the room seem like some sort of procession. The Adeptus Mechanicus might claim to value logic and technology over all else, but in truth the Cult Mechanicus adhered to an esoteric dogmatic system of rituals to an extent that rivaled even the Ecclesiarchy in religious fanaticism.

In the center sat Trozac. No…it would be more appropriate to say that he was standing, his heavily augmented body held straight by metallic spines and an assortment of mechanical enhancements. At either side of him, various human representatives of the Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy were seated comfortably in lush, leather chairs made from the hide of some exotic species from an agri-world in some far-off corner of the Imperium.

"I have gathered you all here today because I wish to share the contents of the info we have hijacked from the enemy battleship."

"That's very generous of you."

The words were out of Ikeda's mouth before he could stop them, but thankfully Trozac merely inclined his hooded head at him. The Tech-priest was evidently oblivious to sarcasm.

"It seems that the Great Enemy was planning to retrieve an artifact from the planet below."

At a wave of his mechadendrite, a pict-screen depicting a large, yellow planet. Its surface was barren, with vast expanses of deserts stretched across continents separated by thin lines of oceans. Large clouds of sulfur hung over the atmosphere, giving the world its distinct bright color, as well as granting it a toxic environment that no unaugmented human could survive in unprotected.

"There's an artifact buried below?" Commodore Jamieson asked, studying the pict-screen and solemnly taking note of the planet's properties. While he wasn't going to participate in a planetary expedition, he would at least like to know what kind of world his fleet was going to orbit over. Particularly if there was a need for him to launch a planetary assault. "There doesn't seem to be any sign of life in the planet."

"It looks like Tallarn," Colonel Morgan, the commanding officer of the Mordian Iron Guard regiment attached to Admiral Draverre's fleet, commented. "Being a desert world and all that."

"It is a desert world, but the air is unbreathable," Trozac explained. "That said, the Leman Russ tanks that the Adeptus Mechanicus provides should more than suffice in keeping your tank crews protected from the toxic environments. As long as the seals hold, even unaugmented humans should be able to operate without suffering any dire consequences."

"That's good to hear," Ikeda muttered, even though inwardly he loathed the idea of sending his regiment down. However, the moment Trozac mentioned Leman Russ tanks he knew the Archmagos expected his armored regiment to make planetfall. "So we just need to stay inside our tanks the entire time."

"About that…it seems that a previous civilization has built underground shelters on this world. There are no longer any signs of human inhabitants, of course, but the shelters seem to predate even the Great Crusade…most likely relics from the Dark Age of Technology. We have no idea what has happened to the occupants, but scans from our augur arrays indicate that these shelters are still intact. My Skitarii maniple will be accompanying your ground troops in hopes of recovering these ancient technology."

"And the artifact the Traitor fleet was trying to retrieve?"

Archmagos Trozac's expression remained hidden behind his mechanical mask and respirators, but it was clear from his voice that he would have smiled had he still possessed the flesh and muscles to do so.

"All the more we should seize it right from under their noses, shouldn't we?"

Ikeda had to grin at that as well. "Of course. As the Emperor wills it."

"We of the Astra Militarum will guarantee our full cooperation," Colonel Morgan added stoically, placing a hand against his crisp, blue uniform. Ikeda balked at that.

"Astra Mili…what? You're in the Guard, son."

Morgan didn't take that to heart, instead ignoring Ikeda in favor of sucking up to the others. It was most likely a coincidence – but Ikeda didn't think so – that Trozac chose that very moment to adjourn the meeting and dismiss everyone. Ikeda suspected that the Archmagos had already anticipated that Morgan would begin his political games of flattery and intrigue.

"I'm sure the Astra Militarum regiments will need time to prepare. Our tech-priest enginseers will begin conducting safety checks to ensure all the seals are working properly, and that the tanks will not fail us in the world below. You all will be busy, so I suggest you…get to work immediately."

"Yes, Archmagos."

The Imperial Navy officers departed quickly, presumably to resume their shipboard roles. No doubt they needed to begin preparations for placing their ships in orbit around the planet – now dubbed affectionately as Sulfax – in order to empty their holds of the troop shuttles and transports. Ikeda himself made for the temporary regimental headquarters that his unit set up in The Triumph of Deliverance, heading to Captain Hanzou's side to discuss the deployment. That was the original plan, but he caught sight of Colonel Morgan sidling up to the Storm Trooper captain.

"Captain Hanzou. It is an honor to fight alongside the venerated Scions of the Militarum Tempestus."

It was Hanzou's turn to balk this time.

"Mili…what Tempest? Oh…I think you're mixing us up with the Tempestus Scions from the Schola Progenium. We're old-school Storm Troopers. You know, like the Cadian Kasrkins and Death Korps of Krieg Grenadiers? We're the Draconian Kamikaze Troopers."

"That's still admirable," Morgan insisted. "The Schola Progenium Scions are just glory boys. The old-school Storm Troopers are still the most respected soldiers in the Imperial Guard."

"Uh huh." Hanzou had absolutely no interest in his flattery. Catching sight of Ikeda, he seized the chance to leave. "I also look forward to fighting alongside the revered Mordian Iron Guard. In any case, we have a lot to prepare for, so I must take my leave for now…"

"Yes, yes, I understand. I will have to return to The Hammer of Marinas too."

Morgan nodded as if in understanding and turned away to leave, much to Hanzou's relief. As Ikeda reached him, he shook his head in disbelief.

"Can you believe the nerve of that guy?"

"They are all not like that. I've fought alongside the 52nd Mordian once…they displayed one of the most disciplined formations I had ever seen – even in the face of enemy fire. Against a wall of charging Orks, no less."

"Yes, of course. I've heard legends about the revered Mordian Iron Guard too."

"It's just that this guy…I've seen his ilk before. He's a politician, a highborn who snuck his way into the high ranks of the military by status or family connections." Ikeda didn't hide his displeasure. "We should watch out for him. I think the Mordian training regime would have crushed out any reckless tendencies he might have of proving himself, and he did look disciplined and able to keep his men in line, but I'm more worried about…what he plans to do behind the scenes."

"Duly noted."

"Speaking of which, how is our other highborn?"

Hanzou shrugged as he maintained his uninterested expression. Clearly he did not care about the wellbeing of Draconian nobles.

"He didn't show up at the meeting."

"He's not a commander. It is not necessary for him to attend."

Ikeda sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure what happened, but Tanaka went and locked himself up in his room after returning from the boarding mission. I know he's technically not under our command and all, but I would really appreciate it if he could deploy alongside us. The Emperor knows we will need his Knight's firepower to back our tanks up."

"Oh, he'll join you all right," Hanzou assured the weary Colonel. "And you might perhaps find him a lot more…obedient than before."

The transports swooped over the barren, sandy terrain, their hatches opening to disgorge the contents. The moment the shuttles set foot upon the makeshift hangar that were set up by the Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus who had arrived ahead of the Imperial Guard regiments, the Leman Russ tanks began rolling out of the metallic ramps.

At the back of the countless columns of Leman Russ tanks were the super-heavy Stormsword tanks, their sheer mass dwarfing the smaller armored vehicles ahead of them. Bristling with heavy firepower – encapsulated in the Stormsword siege cannon that could level entire blocks of city into rubble, burying the enemies hidden within those cover in apocalyptic fire – the Stormsword tanks were the pillars of the Draconian armored regiment, always escorted by Leman Russ sentries to protect them from infantry and other tanks.

Colonel Ikeda shifted uncomfortably in his commander seat aboard the Stormsword The Emperor's Wrath. As a precaution in case battle damage caused a leak in the seals that protected the tank crews from the toxic environment outside, the crewmen were required to wear environmental suits. Designed to guard against the deadly atmosphere and gases that swirled about the sulfurous regions of Sulfax, the suits were designed for pragmatism over comfort. The thick material clung to his body like a second skin that threatened to molt away whenever he shifted, and the huge respirator hung heavily from the front of his face, blocking most of his view and causing him to choke on recycled air. The large goggles that pressed against his eye sockets had limited peripheral vision that was glazed over from the blurry lenses, which irritated Ikeda to no end whenever he tried to visually scan the external terrain for enemies.

So far there was no sign of any hostile life-form in the desert. The Chaos Fleet they had defeated earlier didn't seem to have landed any troops beforehand, so it was unlikely that they would encounter any Traitor Astartes in Sulfax. Additionally, the environment was so toxic that even Chaos Space Marines in power armor were unlikely to survive in the atmosphere. If the Great Enemy truly had landed ground troops upon this world, they would most probably be traveling around in armored convoys like the Draconian Imperial Guard regiment.

"We'll be heading to the shelters to secure them."

The vox to Ikeda's right crackled to life as Hanzou contacted him. Acknowledging with a mumbled affirmative, Ikeda turned his sights to the right. A sleek, stealthy-looking transport had nestled several hundred meters away, its belly open to allow a row of Taurox Primes to drive out. The Storm Trooper-exclusive APCs were able to traverse any kind of terrain, including the uneven ground of the desert and the unknown interior of the shelters.

Above, Vendetta gunships soared overhead, keeping an eye out for anything amiss in their air patrols.

As the Leman Russ tanks continued to pour out of the dozens of transport ships that had settled upon the temporary hangar, one particular transport ships caught Ikeda's eyes. Instead of a Stormsword, a single Imperial Knight lumbered after a group of Leman Russ tanks, its hulking figure belying the grace of its movements.

Ikeda had been relieved when Tanaka agreed to come along with the armored company. The Draconian noble had been somewhat subdued, but at least he wasn't locking himself up in his room and sulking over something. Ikeda had seen a lot of nobles do that, throwing a tantrum and kicking up a fuss when they did not go that way, but he was glad that Tanaka was humble and respectful enough to listen to the common Imperial Guardsman. Truth be told, Tanaka didn't behave like most nobles he knew. He would have been surprised about Tanaka's status if he hadn't known that the young man was a Knight pilot.

Then again, even among nobles, Tanaka was pretty low-ranking, so that could account for his uncommon behavior.

"Should I help the Kamikaze Troopers?" Tanaka asked, his voice soft over the vox. Ikeda thumbed the receiver.

"No, it's all right. They should be able to handle it. We need you to escort the convoy, if you're all right with it."

Even if Tanaka did not act like it, his position meant that Ikeda had to defer to him, or at least address him respectfully. While Ikeda took to Tanaka's informal attitude, he knew he shouldn't take the Knight for granted.

"Yeah, sure. I will do that then. I'm with the 4th Company right now. Should I escort them?"

"Yes, please do."

Behind Ryujin was a gigantic Stormsword which slowly ambled after the super-heavy walker. At Ikeda's affirmation, the Imperial Knight took up the head of the armored formation, allowing the smaller Leman Russ tanks to fall back and surround the Stormsword in a protective formation. The Stormsword, Sightless Moon, maintained a steady speed at the center, its Stormsword siege cannon moving and tracking for targets.

Not like there was anything to fire at in this vast empty expanse of land and sand. At least for now. The information the Adeptus Mechanicus provided had mentioned about early human settlers that lived in those shelters that dated back to the Dark Age of Technology, but evidently something had happened to them to drive them off the planet.

Or slaughtered the entire human population.

Ikeda didn't like to think about the possibilities.

As he pushed the dark thoughts away from his mind, his vox chimed again. With a sigh, he picked it up, and a female voice crackled through it.

"This is Sky Hunter One. I spotted movement down at coordinates two zero double eight."

Sky Hunter was one of the aerial patrols. Ensign Urushibara, if he recalled correctly. Consulting his dataslate, he saw that her Vendetta was skimming over the east of the hangar. Pursing his lips, he switched the frequency to respond.

"What did you see? Can you elaborate?"

"No. It looks like…a living organism, but it dug back into the dirt when I circled back to confirm the visual. I didn't get a clear look at it before it disappeared."

Ikeda felt a chill run down his back. He had some vague idea of what that living organism could possibly be, but he hoped that he was completely wrong. There was also the possibility that Urushibara had mistaken something in the terrain for a living thing, but if she actually saw it dig underground, it was unlikely.

In any case, he needed to check it out. There were few things that could survive in such a hostile environment, and most of those did not take too kindly to human intruders from above. The pilots of the Vendetta gunships were out of the question, as the airborne Vendettas were not meant for groundwork, and the pilots did not possess the weapons or equipment necessary should they run into hostile bio-organisms. Instead, he would need to send a ground squadron there to investigate. Consulting his dataslate again, Ikeda saw that the coordinates weren't too far off from their landing base. A half-hour drive at cruising speed, maybe. The creature shouldn't have gotten far before the tanks reached there.

Closing his eyes and listening to his own breathing inside his respirator mask, he thought for a second. Running the numbers in his head, he took note of where his various squadrons were positioned. Most of them were still forming up, getting ready to enter the shelters once the Kamikaze Troopers secured them. The closest squadron to the east was…

"4th Company."

"Yes, Colonel?"

Major Tsukishima responded immediately from his station aboard Sightless Moon. A good man with a calm head over steady shoulders, he had commanded 4th Company for over a decade, having headed it just a little while after Ikeda assumed overall command over the 42nd regiment itself. Ikeda had known him for a long time and knew he could rely on him.

"Take your company to the following coordinates." Ikeda uploaded Urushibara's coordinates into the noosphere so that Tsukishima could view them on his dataslate. "There seems to be a sighting of some living organism over there. See if you can find it, and determine if it's hostile."

"Yes, sir."

Like Ikeda, Tsukishima had read through the data the Mechanicus had provided regarding Sulfax. There weren't supposed to be any living organisms on the planet, and anything sturdy enough to survive the toxic atmosphere was most likely dangerous and hostile. It could be an indigenous creature that had evolved and adapted to the harsh conditions of Sulfax, of course, but Ikeda was taking no chances. Not when this planet happened to attract the interest of the Chaos fleet.

Tsukishima seemed to share his sentiment, ordering his tanks to move out.

The lone Imperial Knight figure that spearheaded the armored vanguard also turned and proceeded toward the east silently. Ikeda smiled despite himself. Tanaka must have believed that the orders to escort 4th Company encompassed this new directive and had taken it upon himself to lead the convoy. That was probably a good thing – the Ryujin's immense firepower was not needed now, not when the regiment was waiting for the Kamikaze Troopers to sweep through the abandoned shelters. He would better serve 4th Company who was moving out to the unknown.

Ikeda watched as the Imperial Knight disappeared into the desert, flanked by the squadrons of tanks that rumbled over the sand and kicking up a howling sandstorm. With Tanaka at the head of the formation, he was confident that no matter what that creature was, the Imperial Knight would be able to deal with it. Even more so, if that creature turned out to be one of many – in which case, Tanaka should be able to flush them all out with his suit.

Or so he hoped.

Hanzou kept his illuminator on the narrow corridor of the shelter, checking the ceramite for any indication that someone – or something – had been dwelling within. Something the auspexes and sensors from the Mechanicus ships above had missed, perhaps a survivor.

The shelters, remarkably enough, had remained in good shape despite the countless millennia that had passed since their construction. After going through decontamination, the chambers still in good working order, the Kamikaze Troopers had to disembark from their Taurox Primes and sweep through the area on foot.

"The facilities are all working," Ueda noted. Hanzou nodded in agreement.

"Yet there are no servitors maintaining it."

"It's from the Dark Age of Technology," Chigusa pointed out. "Perhaps the shelters are maintained by ancient technology rather than servitors."

"Very true."

"Whatever the case, keep your eyes open," Hanzou told his men. He wasn't really interested or curious about the lack of servitors or the arcane technology the shelters relied on to keep itself running. All those techno-wizardry and mumbo-jumbo were for the Tech-priests. His job, as well as that of his troopers, were to ensure the area was safe and secure.

"The auspexes aren't showing anything," Ueda reported after they turned down the corridor. Hanzou grunted.

"That doesn't mean nothing's here. Stay sharp and keep an eye out for anything unusual."

"The air in here is breathable, though," Chigusa observed as he tracked the readings in his respirator. "The filters seem to be working properly."

"It doesn't matter. Do not take off your masks. Nobody is to take any risk until the Tech-priests have come in here and certified that the air is actually breathable."

"The cogboys should sweep the area themselves," Yamada complained sourly as he pointed the barrel of his hot-shot lasgun down the corridor. "I mean, they're the ones with the augmetics and enhancements. They are the ones who can survive in a toxic environment like this with their mechanical lungs and everything."

"They might, but we are the best personnel for the job." Hanzou did not let pride escape his words. He was merely stating a fact, after all. "I ain't letting no cogboy secure the area for us. They might miss something. It's safer if we do it instead of them."

None of the other Kamikaze Troopers responded, but Hanzou could feel the pride and confidence radiating from them. Good, he thought. That would maintain morale and make sure they do their damned job properly. Besides, it is true.

Tapping into the clarion-vox network, Hanzou contacted his other squads, checking in on them to see if they had found anything.

"No, sir."

"Nothing, sir."

"Nothing on visual, sir."

Aomori, Chiba and Ootsuka all reported in, their respective squads spread across the compound to execute the same search Hanzou's command squad was conducting. Hanzou trusted the three sergeants as much as his own gut feeling, and he acknowledged their responses in satisfaction.

That said…

"Good, but make sure you don't let your guard down until your searches are completed."

"Roger that."

The three sergeants signed off in unison, and Hanzou left them to do their own thing. He knew it was far more inefficient to micromanage his men, and they tended to operate a lot better when he granted them greater autonomy.

As the command squad proceeded deeper down, Hanzou instinctively took note of the surroundings. There was a small segment in a room that could be used as cover in case they needed to fight, and dozens of empty rooms lined up against a steel corridor that seemed to run forever. Most likely personal cubicles that provided privacy, similar to the rooms officers occupied aboard a starship. There was also a giant room in the middle of the corridor, which looked like a kitchen. Even though the utensils and stoves probably had not been in use for countless millennia, they remained in good shape. Too clean, in fact, for Hanzou's liking.

Usually if they had been left untouched for so long, they should have accumulated dust. Yet the interior looked clean, as if something had been maintaining the place.

But who?

As they proceeded down the corridor, they eventually arrived at a junction that split off into a large meeting room. The furniture was neatly arranged, placed practically in the center so that the occupants could sit together to discuss all sorts of plans. The room was obviously empty now, but as with the kitchen and all the other utilities, it was remarkably clean despite its advanced age.

Hanzou was about to move again when Ueda stopped in his tracks, peering curiously at a corner of the meeting room.

"What's that?"

Hanzou paused. Turning, he followed the direction in which Ueda was pointing his hot-shot lasgun barrel.

There was something splattered against the wall and floor a few meters to their left. Not exactly blood, but not water or oil. Frowning, Hanzou approached the scene and knelt down, using his auspexes to scan the fluids.

"It looks like Tyranid slime."

At Chigusa's observation, Hanzou intantly jerked up. His auspexes confirmed Chigusa's comment – the composition of the fluids matched that of Tyranid's secretions by 98.7%. Not only that, the wetness indicated that whatever excreted those fluids had been in the shelter only recently.

Never mind the fate of the humans who populated these shelters all those millennia ago. Right now the humans who had just landed on Sulfax were confronted with a more immediate threat.

"All units!" he shouted, clicking his clarion-vox and opening his voice to all frequencies on the vox-net. "There are signs of Tyranid presence in the shelters! I repeat, there are signs of Tyranid presence in the shelters…"

His broadcast was interrupted by an inhuman screeching in the stagnant air within the walls of the shelter. Spinning around and raising his boltgun, Hanzou caught sight of movement at the corner of his eye. A flash of claws and fangs showed up in his visuals, and he depressed the trigger. The perpetuator disappeared into a shower of blood and flesh as the reactive-mass projectiles tore it apart before it could finish its jump.

All around him, the chamber exploded into a flurry of combat as Ueda, Chigusa and the others opened up with hot-shot rounds from their hot-shot lasguns and hot-shot volley guns. Ruby beams of energy lit up the shadowy corridor as they lanced through masses of writhing claws and appendages. Alien cries echoed through the shelter as the superheated beams ripped through them. Countless numbers of hideously mutated creatures swarmed, replacing their fallen comrades, only to be kept at bay by the relentless bombardment of hot-shot las-fire the Storm Trooper squad poured out.

Over the vox-net, Hanzou could hear the gunfire and yells of the other squads as they attempted to ward off similar attacks on their position. Grimly opening the frequencies as he blew off the head of another xenos – a Genestealer, by the looks of it – he calmly delivered his report.

"Command, this is Kamikaze One. The shelter has been compromised. We have encountered Tyranid lifeforms within its interior. I repeat, there are Tyranid organisms present in the shelter. Requesting backup."

Without waiting for a response, Hanzou rallied his men and led them to a more secure position where they wouldn't be surrounded. Remembering the segment of a room down the corridor that could be used as a cover, complete with a massive table that doubled as a barricade, he ran down the hallway, his boltgun barking as he put down Genestealers that came from the opposite direction. Flanking him was his men, their hot-shot weaponry howling in high-pitched rage as they unleashed death and destruction into the pursuing swarms.

I knew we would find something in here, Hanzou thought in grim satisfaction. If we left this to the cogboys, they would never have run into the Tyranids.

Well, that was unlikely, given how obvious the stain was, but Hanzou was sure his boys would perform better than the Skitarii in all aspects. That said, he could do with Skitarii reinforcements right now. As disciplined and deadly as his men were, they were still grossly outnumbered. For a moment Hanzou wished there was a squad of Skitarii Vanguard with them – their radium carbines would undoubtedly wreak all sorts of havoc among these many Genestealers.

It did not matter. His orders were to secure this place, and he would hold the line for as long as reinforcements needed to come. And then he would exterminate every last Tyranid organism inside this base.

All Hanzou hoped for was that the reinforcements would arrive soon, before his elite squads of Storm Troopers were overrun by the endless tide of Tyranids that seemed to be flowing out of every vent, crack and crevice in the shelter.