Reviews:
Artyom-Dreizehn: Thanks for the feedback on the fight, it helped out a lot more than you know. I will barely use accurate measurements unless the person the point of view is focused on knows the correct length of what they are talking about, the only exception are tech-priest because they got their cogitators to measure that. Ad Mech uses metric while Remnant uses imperial. Reinforcements from the Imperium will not happen because it would take too long. The only reason it took Pugnus a year to reach the planet was because he was in the area doing something else (which will be explained later) and he was lucky enough to be the closest Ad Mech force. The rambling is perfectly fine, I do that all the time when the tech-priest talk. It also allows me to know that y'all are enjoying the story.
Dovashinn270: The third wave of reinforcements will have plasma weapons. The servitors already have a plasma cannon, one reserve units of Skitarii Vanguards have three plasma calivers, and two reserve units of Kataphron Destroyers have plasma culverin. That is 28 plasma weapons in total within an army of 227 models (not including titans). Once the first manufactorium is built on Remnant, if there ever is one, more plasma weapons can be made to satisfy your need.
Guest: Thanks for the review! I might have the Ad Mech characters rip into the flaws of the characters to expose them in the future while teaching at Beacon.
KlockB: They can only have PTSD if they survive or do not get emotion inhibitors if they become adepts.
Filthy Weeabu Trash: First off, my answer will not do your review justice. I try my best to answer reviews as Protector of Toaster, a face that I have that praises the Omnissiah and who writes stories. I know this review is not done, because every time I look at it I cannot help but to fix it. For this review I will be switching between myself and Protector of Toaster without any warning. It took me multiple hours just to think how to respond to this. Your actions seem similar to Slaaneshi cultists, but they will be overlooked. I personally do not use drugs, but I will remember to watch out for them. I do not support or condone the use of drugs, if you want to use them do so at your own risk. I am an extremely devout Christian, and your description of my story being the "physical manifestation of Christ" was surprising. I am human enough to emit that I did cry tears while reading this line, still do not know if they are tears of joy to sadness. I do not doubt your story because it is too insane to fabricate. While there are no Warlord Class Titans or Emperor Class Titans in this story, there will be multiple Imperial Knights enough to purge the enemies of the Omnissiah. I might write a non-cannon chapter where one shows up and just starts purging everything. I am terrible with understanding emotions because I mostly played board games against myself as a child, my sister had dolls and we usually ignored each other. I do not how I should feel about this review, it seems simpler to just to remove the review or ignore it but that is not anything Protector of Toaster or myself would do. It feels like a mixture of surprise, happiness, dread, and a cocktail of other emotions. Best way to describe it is an emotion that conflicts itself, similar to awe and fear of God. I hope that you follow whatever path you want to go down in life. I also read your Ours is the Iniquitous and it was one of the multiple stories that inspired me to start writing. I will make sure to follow one of your pieces of advice, I will continue to write until I finish this story or die first.
Speech Syntaxes:
-Speech- Lingua-Technis
"Speech" Low Gothic/English
Notes: This chapter might be shorter due to me having to answer all of the reviews to my best ability. I hope you understand. Also, I talk about a lot of Warhammer lore in the chapter. I probably got it wrong, feel free to correct me on it. Nothing much will happen in the story in conflict wise, this is the time of high tensions in the story which will eventually break into a war. If the chapters start getting too boring for you, just let me know and I will cut to the chase.
Chapter Twelve: Broken Hammer
The two Enginseers were having a nice and friendly conversation as they walked thru Beacon Academy. -I am only saying you are a control freak, - insulted Eights. His comrade responded by slapping the offender with his servo-arm, messing up Eights' robes. Precision then proceed to use his multiple mechadendrites to fix out the ruffles in Eights' robes. Eights continued, -This only proves my point you obsessive bastard! - Their petty fight was canceled when a certain student from Atlas walked up to them.
"Salutations, I am Penny Polendina. I have not seen anyone of you after you mysteriously left," introduced the android. Precision was beginning to wonder if she was informed about the trial. Eights knew this had to be handle carefully, so he turned to look at his comrade. Once their eyes meet they nodded, knowing what they had to do.
Eights turned on his vox, but his comrade cut him off, "We were gone because of you trial. I personally voted to condemn you to death while Enginseer Eights disagreed with me and said you should live." Penny was surprised at his statement and Eights smacked his comrade with his servo-arm.
"What trial? I was never informed about it!" questioned the Automata.
Eights carefully explained, "Your creator attended the trial in your defense. The Adeptus Mechanicus is extremely religious and AI are viewed as one of the highest forms of heresy. Since all we knew about you is that you are synthetic, many red flags popped up. The result of the trial that you are a simple android and will not be punished, the trial was deemed unimportant for the public to know." The tech-priest knew he should not be telling her this, but he at least expected the creator to tell Penny. Reports do show that she treats him as a father figure and vice versa. He introduced himself, "I am Tech-Priest Enginseer-8873, but you can call me Eights. The klutz to my left if Tech-Priest Enginseer-0352, his name is Precision."
Penny asked, "Do you need help around the school?"
"I already mapped the layout of the school while fleeing from Doctor Oobleck five days ago," responded Eights. His fellow tech-priest snickered at his misfortune, Eights made a mental reminder to shove Precision into Oobleck's classroom when they pass by it. His answered made Penny even more confused.
"Why were you running from a teacher?" she questioned. With this amount of questions she could become an inquisitor.
The Enginseer continued with his explanations, "The recaff addicted teacher saw me enter his classroom. He spat out so many questions at such a fast rate that it rivaled the fire rate of the Macrostubber. If he caught me it would lead to an hour of questioning with two to three hours. I was lucky enough to have lost him in the many turns this school has, his recaff powers only lasted so long. After the fact we became friends the next day, we spent our time talking about many things that make us different to the locals on this planet. Hopefully we see each other soon, until then goodbye." Eights grabbed onto Precision as he dragged him away from the Automata. Once around the corner he let his comrade fall to the group when he loosened his grip.
They continued their silent march until Eights stopped Precision and went back a few door. Both of them could hear the teach talking inside. -This does not sound like a forge, - commented Precision. Ignoring his comrades worries, Eights opened to door and kicked Precision inside.
"He is all yours Doctor!" yelled the Enginseer as he slammed the door shut. The tech-priest now inside the classroom slowly got himself off the ground, which his fall made a dent in the tiled floor. Precision looked around and spotted him, the recaff filled green haired demon. The stories were true! His augmented ears could trace the sound of Eights chackling on the other side of the door.
The Doctor commented, "You have come at a perfect time tech-priest, we were just talking about differences in culture."
Precision's mechadendrites started to twitch violently as he brushed the dirt off of his robes. His fellow Enginseer and this demon of a teacher were in collusion against him. Precision vowed to repay the favor to his comrade. The Enginseer stated, "I will be happy to answer any of your to the best of my abilities."
One of the students raised his hand Dr. Oobleck gestured towards him to which he asked a question, "What is the differences between a tech-priest and a human?"
"Humans are pure flesh, while a tech-priest is a human that has been augmented with blessed machines. This allows us to live longer and to be stronger mentally and physically." explained Precision.
Oobleck commented, "My discussion with Enginseer Eights lead me to find out that the oldest tech-priest is over 10,000 years old." The students were fascinated with how long someone could live, while other were skeptical.
"Are you sure he is that old. It is impossible," accused one of the more stuck up students.
"Only the smallest minds strives to comprehend the limits," retorted the tech-priest.
Another student asked, "Are there Faunus were you come from?"
Precision took a long sigh before stating, "Yes and no. There are non-humans in the Imperium of Man that peacefully fight alongside the Astra Militarum. Yet there are xenos that are war against mankind. Only because we refuse to bend the knee to them. While those xenos as inferior to man do not underestimate them. It takes a strong or a dumb person to be an enemy of the Imperium of Man, in the case of the Orks it is both."
Doctor Oobleck took this time to ask a question, "Where does the Adeptus Mechanicus fall into all of this?" That political structure of the Imperium of Man is as complicated as it is corrupt, this was going to be hard to explain.
"Legally, the Adeptus Mechanicus answers to the High Lords of Terra who run the Imperium of Man. The Adeptus Mechanicus is one of the more autonomous organizations in the Imperium Man, similar to the Adeptus Astartes Legions, and the multiple Ordos Inquisition. Since our legal system runs parallel to that of the Imperium of Man, the Adeptus Mechanicus can be viewed as a military ally of the Imperium of Man but not part of it. There have been times where the Inquisition has been at war with the Adeptus Mechanicus, but it was filled with skirmishes and subterfuge instead of military confrontation. All of this is scratching the surface of where the Adeptus Mechanicus fall into the galaxy," explained Precision.
"You said Forge World Mars, and the news said Forge World Metalica. How many forge worlds are there?" asked a student who was writing down everything that the tech-priest stated.
The Enginseer shook his head, "To name all of them at a rate you could write them down would take the rest of the class period. Each forge world have their own icon and name, but there are seven that you need to know. Mars, Lucius, Agripinaa, Stygies VIII, Graia, Metalica, and Ryza." Precision walked up to the chalkboard and drew seven icons with names under them. From left to right there was a cog surrounding a skull, a fancy 'L' with a skull, two half cogs surrounding the pi symbol, a half cog over a Mistralian house, a rising sun surrounded by a half cog, a fist holding a hammer, and a 'R' made with a half cog and a skull in the hole. He continued his speech, "Each one of them have earned a stereotype which can be used to help and hurt them. Most notable is Stygies VIII's close to heretical actions, Graia's lust for blood shed, Metalica's quest for perfection, Ryza's tampering with weapons, Agripinaa's stubborn nature, Mars' highly dogmatic nature, and Lucius' defiance of what 'can't' be done. But then these are only stereotypes, and not facts."
"What do you think about Faunus?" questioned a Faunus students.
Precision knew he had to cut off this line of conversation as fast as possible, "That is irrelevant. I am here to talk about my people's culture and not myself. Next question."
The same student rephrased here question, "Do the Adeptus Mechanicus support equality between humans and Faunus?"
"The Adeptus Mechanicus as a whole has more concerning matters than two species not have completely equal rights. But concerning the members of the Adeptus Mechanicus in orbit of this planet the matter is different. Magos Dominus Pugnus does not wish to influence the four kingdoms' political structure while they are still separate from the Imperium of Man," deflected the tech-priest.
"Do the Adeptus Mechanicus plan to annex the four kingdoms?!" pursed the same Faunus girl.
The Enginseer repeated, "We plan to peacefully integrate this lost colony back in the Omnissiah's holy fold." The doctor noted how the word 'peacefully' was stated as if it was foreign for him.
Oobleck stopped the Faunus student with a question of his own, "Who is the Omnissiah?"
"The Omnissiah is the name of the machine god who is worshipped by all members of the Cult Mechanicus. The Emperor of the Imperium of Man is the physical incarnation of the Omnissiah, there have been cults denying this but that can be talked about later. The machine god bestows the Motive Force unto all living machine spirits. Similar to us, every single piece of machinery has a soul. It is my job as an Enginseer to appease the spirits of the ancient engines of war of the Adeptus Mechanicus so that they run with matchless efficiency," preached Precision.
"That must be weird for multiple people to have held the title of Incarnation of the Omnissiah," remarked the Faunus student.
The tech-priest laughed a little as he answered, "There has only been one Emperor of the Imperium of Man, and he is even older than Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl. He was the one to unify the war bands of Terra under on banner 16,000 years ago. He was the leader of the Great Crusade in which he planned to reunite every lost colony of the last fallen human empire 11,000 years ago. He was the strongest being ever alive, with a single order he could force an entire army to kneel. Then came the Horus Heresy, the Emperor's most beloved son convinced eights of his twenty brothers to join him to overthrow their father. That was 10,000 years ago. Terra was sieged and the Emperor was forced to duel his own son, he hesitated to murder Horus. The arch-traitor did not hesitate and mortally wounded his father who is now sitting in the Golden Throne which is keeping his soul in this realm to help guide humanity."
Ozpin received a call from the Magos Dominus, this was going to be interesting. Pugnus greeted him, "It is nice to see you Ozpin, and my orbital scan has picked up a herd of Goliaths and lesser Grimm near Mountain Glenn. I called to see if the Adeptus Mechanicus is allowed to conduct orbital bombardment on the locations that are being sent to your assistant's scroll right now."
Professor Goodwitch was in the room but out of sight of the tech-priest corrected, "I am not his assistant. I am a professor at Beacon Academy."
The Magos Dominus ignored her statement, "What do you think about the proposition Ozpin?"
"No, I do not support any orbital bombardment to you taking care of the hoard. The task will be assigned to a second year team for their mission which will begin in a few days," countered Ozpin.
Pugnus kept his cool and warned, "You have a lot of courage to defy me old man. I will hold you to your word, and if you go back on it I will mobilize my forces to quell the hoard.
Dominus Malleus Rubrum woke up, but that was extremely concerning. He did not remember going to sleep. Last he checked he was on a lost human colony and his VTOL craft was shot at by the locals. To avoid them being slain in the skies he ordered the pilot into a controlled 'crash' to fool the locals. Everything around him was pitch black, there was no source of natural light. Switching his mode of vision on his eyes, praise the Omnissiah for augmentations, he was able to see what was around him. Sixteen skitarii rangers were fully operation while nine were currently lying dead on the stone floor with cobwebs covering their corpse. All was quiet until a loud explosion came from the entrance, this was not good. Malleus' Volkite Blaster hummed to life as he waited.
-Is there a tech-priest by the name of Rubrum here? - called out a voice from the entrance.
The tech-priest questioned, -Who wants to know?-
-A fellow tech-priest. I am Magos Errant Verraeter from Forge World Graia. I am here to help, - stated the binary voice. Bless the machine god, they were saved! He ordered the remaining Skitarii to pick up the dead bodies of their comrades, most doubling up on a corpse with the Ranger Alpha taking on by himself. Dominus Malleus shut off his weapons as he led his patrol detachment out of the bunker. Once they reached the surface they say twelve Kataphron Destroyers armed with Plasma Culverins and Cognis Flamers standing in a semi-circle around them. The tech-priest stood behind them patiently, Malleus assumed he was the Magos Errant. Their colors were blood red and their armor was made out of brass. That is when he saw their icon he understood what was happening. He could not tell what forge world he belonged to but it was not Graia as he claimed.
-DEATH TO THE HERETEKS! - yelled the Dominus as he charged at the Magos Errant, if he even is one. His charge was silenced with a torrent of fire from the tainted cognis flamers. Magos Errant Verraeter watched as the loyalists were burned alive in front of him. This battle, if you can even it one, was only to remove some loose ends because he did not like the idea of a band of Skitarii Rangers and a tech-priest hiding in Atlas. His scroll rang and he quickly answered it in his altered human voice.
"Penny, why are you calling me? I told you I was busy with work," stated the tech-priest.
His daughter asked "Why did you not tell me about the trial dad?" If he knew it would have been this hard to raise a child he would not have made the A.I. think he was her dad.
The Magos Errant lied, "I was told by Ironwood not to tell you. I would have if I could, sweaty. I have to get back to work in a few minutes Penny. Remember, do not trust those tech-priest, they have plotted to kill you once and they might do it again. If they ever threaten you just tell me and I will see they are punished for it."
"Okay father, I will make sure to remember to do that," said the synthetic as she hang up on him. Verraeter thought that becoming a rogue tech-priest to study about A.I. would not have included acting as a highly experienced human scientist on a lost human colony. He expected to either be dead or running for his life with Chaos Cultists by now. That past in not important now, back to the task at hand. Is he able to take the information from the cogitators of the loyalist tech-priest, or were they destroyed by the fire.
Afterword: Magos Errant Verraeter is somewhere in between a rogue tech-priest and a Chaos tech-priest. His stance in the galaxy as a whole will be explained in later chapters. Also the rouge adepts and the witch's cult will not mesh perfectly together, there relations will be described in probably the next chapter.