Chapter 37: A Spark in the Darkness
Reviewers:
DarkOZ: Then they do it, but the Emperor hasn't given them any orders for a long time.
oblivionknight7: Yes they are. About time isn't it?
m6l99: Good idea. Then let's hope a pretty large Imperium fleet gets through the wormhole. Probably.
BGTom: Indeed. I hope you have fun as well.
grayangle: Well it had to happen, but I am planning a twist. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
The Sithspawn: Yep, he always did hate them. And an even bigger surprise when the ships start coming through. Space Marines huh? That is one of the ideas I am considering. Shinzon will likely live this time around.
Lennox RH: Thank you. There will be a twist coming soon. But how would those ships hold up in combat? Long live the Emperor!
RegisSantia: Correct. Something like that. Long live the Emperor!
angeluss288: Thanks, I was hoping to surprise a few people with that. Yes, I am.
On Terra, efforts to repair the damage done by the Chaos attack had begun. Thousands of servitors hauled away broken chunks of stone and shattered masonry, along with the dead. Bodies of guardsmen were placed in carts and carried off. The Imperial fists and Grey Knights had already taken the bodies of their comrades.
Serina's forces had gone back through the silver portal just after the battle had ended, leaving only Serina and four marines behind. They had been relieved of their weapons and armor and placed in a cell, although Serina's armor seemed to be fused to her skin and proved impossible to remove. Inquisitor Crethodus had spent the last three days in several interrogation sessions with her in a high security cell surrounded by reinforced adamantium. She had cooperated without complaint. Now, at the start of the fourth day, he would try a different approach. When he entered the small cold room he saw that Serina was meditating.
"Good mourning Inquisitor," Serina said as she stood. "What would you care to try on me today?" She asked calmly. Everything Crethodus had tried so far had not produced even a single scream. He knew she was different from any creature he had faced, but his masters wanted answers.
"I thought that today I would simply ask questions," Crethodus replied, hoping to catch her off guard. He could sense Serina smile beneath her mask.
"At last. I was wondering when you would try that approach. You will find it significantly more effective than your previous, crude, attempts." Crethodus's face frowned. "Proceed."
"Who are you?" Crethodus asked, starting with a simple but important question.
"I am High Priestess Serina."
"Who do you serve?"
"I serve the Emperor." Serina replied.
"Then why is there no mention of you or your forces in any historical archives?"
"Because my forces do not interact with Imperium forces unless it is unavoidable."
"Why?" Crethodus asked.
"Because the nature of some of us would result in us being labeled as daemons and we would be attacked. When you were in my mind you must have seen my earliest memories. Think back. They were of being in the warp."
"So you are a daemon?" Crethodus said, his hand moving to his bolt pistol.
"Yes," Serina replied. "And no."
"What do you mean?" Crethodus asked, drawing his pistol.
"The term daemon implies a servant of the Dark Gods. I am a creature of the Warp, but I am not a daemon. I was not born of the same thought energy that daemons are made of. That is why my mind was unfamiliar to you. If I am able to return to my ship, I would be willing to take you and show you everything."
Crethodus lowered his pistol a fraction. He hated to admit it, but he was confused. Her explanation seemed heresy, but it also explained what he had seen in her mind. A daemon of Tzeench had the skill to fabricate things such as that, but he had sensed no trace whatsoever of Chaos energy in Serina's mind. Daemons could alter reality itself, but they could not completely mask their own essence from one such as Crethodus. "Let me see your face." If he could see Serina without her mask, he could be sure if she was a servant of Chaos or not.
"As you wish," Serina replied, and lifted her hands and placed them over her mask. She gave a soft pull and slowly the mask separated from her collar. As she pulled it off a cascade of silver hair washed down her back, the last few inches pooling on the floor. She placed the helmet under one arm and slowly opened her eyes. They were bright crimson and shone with an inner light.
Crethodus focused his power and looked directly into Serina's eyes with a gaze that had killed lesser daemons. Serina blinked several times but met his gaze. Her eyes reflected faith and honor, and also pain and sadness from endless battles. Crethodus pushed deeper and found memories of flying through the Warp, fleeing from predatory daemons. He could feel the desperation she had felt, and then the panic as she was pulled into the material world, and there he hit a block.
"If you wish to learn of those memories I will require something in return," Serina said.
"You mean other than your life?"
"Those memories are tied to the fate of one in this system. The reason I came here. Speak to your masters. Tell them what I have told you, and if they wish to know more then they may come here."
"You are treading very dangerous ground. I will tell my masters what you have told me, but they will likely still kill you," Crethodus said as he got to his feet. As he walked out he closed the heavy door behind him, trapping Serina in darkness once again.
Magi Dren entered the inner sanctum of the Templum Machinus. His footsteps echoed throughout the vast reaches. Skitari stood every two meters along the wall, their gaze following his every step. It was extremely rare for the Fabricator General to grant an audience with a tech priest of Dren's rank, but with the recent attack on Terra Dren had convinced the General that he had information he would find most useful.
At last Dren came to a vast door decorated with the Cog symbol of the Mechanicus twenty meters high. Magi Dren placed his left hand on a scanner plate and his eye into another and spoke a long stream of binary code. The door hummed for a minute and then slowly opened, revealing a vast room as large as any Dren had ever seen. Servitors moved about, carrying out hundreds of minute tasks under the supervision of their tech priest overseers. Dren passed by unhindered, eventually reaching a smaller portal set into the far wall and inscribed with machine code too small to be read by unaugmented eyes. His mechadendrites traced patterns on the door and it opened with a hiss of steam.
As Dren passed through the final door he could now discern a form in the middle of a vast dais. The Fabricator General of Mars, his many mechanical limbs connected to vast and ancient cogitator systems, slowly turned to face him, his augmetic eyes whirring as they focused. Dren immediately dropped to his knees and made the symbol of the machine across his chest.
"Great and noble Fabricator General, my deepest gratitude for your agreeing to this meeting," Dren spoke, reverence in his voice, for he was in the presence of he who was closest to the Machine God.
"Speak what you came to speak," the Fabricator General replied, his voice a harsh electronic grate from his augmetic voice box.
"Yes. As you are aware, progress continues to be made at the Magnos Omicron forge world on the technology we appropriated from the Federation as well as the Borg Collective vessel we captured."
"I am aware," the General replied. "You do of course realize that your work is being closely monitored."
"Yes Fabricator General. We have completed construction of the first groups of vessels using both technology from Magnos Omicron and our research. The results have been most promising. Their technology, while lacking the power of ours, shows great promise in many other areas. Their propulsion technology could provide a significant tactical advantage in battle, and their sensors-"
"Again you speak what I already know. Tell me why you requested this meeting Magos, I have matters to attend to."
"As you are aware, the Borg vessel has yielded us a significant supply of Nano Probes. In over one hundred tests they have been successful in reanimating dead tissue and repairing grievous injuries without any negative side effects. This has the potential to be one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of our order."
"How so? These Nano Probes are not even of human origin."
"Yes Fabricator General. But if used properly, they could prolong the lives of our tech priests even further and repair the bodies of the ones why are dying even now," Dren replied, the organic parts of his body giving an involuntary shiver as the Fabricator General's gaze washed over him.
"Interesting, but still, how can we use something not conceived of by the machine god?"
"Because we already do," Dren replied. "The C'tan Phase Sword used by the Callidus assassin temple for one. We used it because it was useful to us. The technology from Captain Halloway's galaxy is no different. Most of it is actually of human origin." The General's eyes once again seemed to see into the depths of Dren's soul.
"There is something else."
"Yes. Many of the tests I spoke of were done under the supervision of Inquisitor Vail of the Ordo Xenos. Her purpose, which you will likely consider heresy, was to eventually use the nano probes to heal the body of the Emperor. The nano probes have already been prepared. All we need is direct access to the Golden Throne."
"This is why you came here? Do you have any idea what you are asking for, tech priest?"
"Yes Fabricator General, but if the Emperor is revived it could mean a new golden age for the galaxy. The Great Crusade could be completed. The Imperium needs the Emperor, now more than ever. If we are to stop enemies such as the Tyranids and the Necrons, and threats such as the Black Crusades, the Emperor must unite humanity again. Over the last ten millennia, the Imperium has lost its way. Many of high rank are more concerned with maintaining power than doing what they should. The Emperor could end all that. He could return humanity to what it once was."
"The High Lords have taken your proposal into consideration."
"You know as well as I Fabricator General, that they will never agree. They fear they would loose the power they have held for ten thousand years."
"And you now wish me to go against the will of the High Lords? Such a thing is heresy."
"I know this, but you are one of the most powerful of the High Lords. You are the Fabricator General of Mars. The Mechanicus built the Golden Throne, so I am sure you know of a way that has been forgotten. We would require only a few moments. No one need ever know you helped us, and if we are successful no one will dare to move against you."
"And how precisely do you intend to make it past the Custodes Guards? Even if I told you the way, they would kill you before you could take a single step. It requires the authorization of all twelve High Lords to be granted access to the Emperor." Dren nodded. He had known of this, but had thought the Fabricator General would have a way. Then an idea came to him.
"Do the Mechanicus still have the schematics of the Golden Throne?"
"Of course," the Fabricator General replied.
"Then we can simply use a servo skull to deliver the Nano Probes into one of the fluid pipes leading to the Throne. The skull can introduce them in a place where the humans could never reach."
"That would be possible, but you are still asking a very great deal Magos."
"Gryphonne 4," Dren said.
"What!"
"Gryphonne 4," Dren repeated. "One of the greatest losses to our order in its history. Consider this; simulations conducted at Magnos Omicron show that if we had used the technologies we could develop from Captain Halloway's vessels, we could have won that battle. Their transporters would have allowed us to beam massive quantities of explosives directly into the hearts of their bio-ships as well as the bodies of their titans. We could have shifted the dispersion of our forces instantly. Without their bio-titans, and the losses teleported bombs would have done to their swarms, our Skitari legions and battle servitors would have carried the day. The Borg Transwarp drive would allow battle fleets to gain access to worlds cut off by the Shadow in the Warp. There is even a mention of something called Theleron Radiation that, if developed and fielded as a weapon, could kill a Behemoth sized Tyranid fleet in a single blast. With these technologies, and the leadership of the Emperor, the Imperium would finally rise to dominate the galaxy once and for all."
"You speak with the wisdom of a true servant of the Imperium Magi Dren. I assume you brought evidence to support what you have told me?"
"Of course," Dren replied, holding up a data pad and a vial of the nano probes. One of the Fabricator General's writhing mechadendrites reached out and grasped them in its pincers.
"Leave now. I will examine what you have brought here, and if I deem it worthy, I MAY agree to help you," the Fabricator General spoke and turned his dais to face a wall of Pict screens. Dren bowed deeply and slowly walked out of the temple and toward his landing craft. He had done all he could. The rest was up to the will of the Emperor.
Commander T'vol was mediating in his quarters. Captain Halloway was still in sickbay. The poison he had been infected with was proving extremely difficult to eradicate, but the Doctor Kutsu was confident he would make a full recovery. Suddenly his comm. badge beeped. With a bit of reluctance, T'vol broke his meditation.
"T'vol," he replied.
"Sir, you have to get up here now! I don't know how, but we're receiving a message on a Federation frequency. It appears to be Starfleet Command." T'vol got to his feet and hurried out the door.
He arrived at the Bridge one minute later. "Report."
"Sensors show the transmission is originating from a previously undetected micro wormhole near Terra," Ensign Falks replied. "Playing transmission now." A few seconds later a somewhat garbled voice filled the bridge.
"Captain Halloway, can you here this? This is Starfleet Command."
"Can you send a reply?" T'vol asked.
"I think so, give me a second to calibrate the carrier wave…Ok, go ahead Commander.
"Starfleet Command, this Commander T'vol on board the Valiant, we are receiving you." There was a few seconds lag before the reply came.
"This is Admiral Paris. It's good to hear your voice Commander. Where is Captain Halloway?"
"He recently suffered injuries and is recovering in Sickbay."
"I see. What is your situation?"
"We have made contact with humans in this galaxy and have begun trading agreements with them. However, the situation is complicated. We recently suffered an attack by a rouge faction of their security forces and nearly a third of the crew is dead. We are however preparing to assist them in healing their leader who, they are confident, will reform the Imperium into something greater." Admiral Paris was silent for a long minute.
"The Imperium?"
"Yes, that is the name of their Empire. If I may inquire Admiral, what is the situation in the Alpha Quadrant?"
"Not good. We've recently come under attack by a race with technology we've never seen before. They provoked the Cardassians and Klingons into another war and managed to drag the Breen into it as well. Captain Picard is currently attempting to negotiate with them."
"Can you send us the information on this new race you mentioned? We may have something that can help."
"Stand by," Paris said, and a second later the science officer nodded as the information was received. T'vol's eyes darted over the sensor scans and visual recordings, and he stopped. He paused a video feed and found himself looking at a Dark Eldar cruiser.
"Admiral, I do not know how it is possible, but the race you are fighting is originally from this galaxy. They are known as the Dark Eldar. They are a race of pirates and slavers. In this galaxy they are regarded as a minor threat, but I can see how they could pose a far greater threat to you. We will send you all the information we have on them." He nodded to his science officer, who pulled up the data given to them by Magi Dren. "Have you found a way to expand the wormhole you are sending this message through? The human ships in this galaxy could greatly assist you in combating the Dark Eldar?"
"We're currently working on using the Midas Array to expand the wormhole, but it will be several weeks before we can make an attempt. We'll look over the information you sent us and reply soon. Thank you Commander. I hope we will see you soon. Starfleet Command out."
"Do you think they can win sir?" Ensign Kent asked.
"I am unsure. The Dark Eldar are far more powerful than the Federation in terms of weapons and propulsion, but if living with humans has taught me one thing, it is that they always seem to find a way to win. We must have faith in them. Once the wormhole is expanded the Imperium will likely send a fleet through. They will be more than capable of stopping the Dark Eldar, but for now we must have faith in the Federation."
Beneath the surface of Earth, in the Templum Machina, the Fabricator General was deep in thought. He had examined Magi Dren's data. It was promising. If he was right, and the Emperor could be revived, the Imperium would enter a new golden age. But if it should fail, and the Emperor's body be damaged, everything would be destroyed. His predecessor had been a firm believer in the theory that anything that was forged by human hands, regardless of its origin, had a useful purpose. Was the same true with these Nano Probes? Was it worth the risk? Then he thought of Gryphonne 4. Dren's simulations had been flawless. With Federation technology the battle very well might have been won. He made his decision. He called over one of the thousands of servo skulls scheduled to provide maintenance on the Golden Throne that day. Since the Mechanicus maintained the Throne's systems, they knew every square millimeter, and the Fabricator General even more.
He made his decision. It was for the good of the Imperium. He loaded the vial of nano probes into the servo skull and gave it the task of injecting them into one of the many fluid tubes which fed the Throne. As he watched the skull speed away on its anti-gravity turbine, he wondered if he would be discovered and put to death. He decided to return to Mars. There he would await word of the results of his actions.
The servo skull, following the simple instructions it had been given, performed its standard maintenance duties. After passing through many scanners and having its programming checked, it began repairing fractured pipes and welding cracks in power conduits. It was only thanks to the tech wizardry of the Fabricator General that enabled it was able to proceed with its true mission still secret. Finally it carefully entered a duct where fluid tubes which fed the Golden Throne ran along. In extended a needle injector and made a molecular hole in the pipe's casing. The nano probes were injected slowly. Once the procedure was complete, the servo skull sealed the hole as if it discovered it, and sped away to continue its duties.
The nano probes raced along the tide of rushing fluid until it eventually arrived at the center of the Throne itself. There the body of the Emperor lay, surrounded by uncounted tubes and lines, with a steady flow of barely visible soul energy coming from a tube directly in front of the Emperor's heart. The nano probes, following their programming, ignored the technology and injected themselves into the Emperor's bloodstream. All but five were immediately destroyed by the Emperor's immune system, but the five left began replicating and healing the damage to the Emperor's body. It was extremely slow. The body of the Emperor was not ordinary. It would take decades to heal the damage completely, but the nano probes would do their job.
The Emperor sensed something happening to his body. Something new had entered. He focused and saw the nano probes. He watched as, cell by cell, they began to repair the damage Horus had dealt him. It would take decades to complete, but soon he would once again be able to speak to his people, and, as his strength slowly returned, he would once again assume the mantle of ruler of the Imperium. But for now, he would proceed as he had for the last hundred centuries, until he was ready.
How was that? Well, the process of healing the Emperor has begun, and this way it will be seen as natural healing. The Federation now at least has some tactical information on the Dark Eldar. Will they be able to put it to good use? Will Picard and Shinzon be able to make peace with the Breen? Keep reading and find out. In the next chapter the situation with the Breen will be resolved, one way or another. Also, the Borg will strike again. Will they win this time? What kind of fleet will they use? Find out in the next exciting chapter of A New Age. See ya then, and don't forget to review!
ENTILZA