Commander Richell was in nothing but awe of their misfortune. They had survived the last engagement, but now they were put into an even worse situation. It was just her, Ervin, Lt. Jimmy and two Stormtroopers. The corridor before them blocked off, and their only path forward into the darkness ahead of them. Ervin coughed as he opened his eyes, his body bruised and beaten but still functional. His legs were heavy, though that he even felt them was a wonder to him.
"Where… Where am I?"
Lt. Jimmy held onto his flamer, which managed to survive the fall. He couldn't help but feel melancholy about all of this, and the irony that Ervin posed was too much.
"Saved to be thrown into this. Tragic isn't it?"
Ervin held onto his head as it spun. He was still groggy, uncertain how to feel.
"What?"
Richell walked over to him, through the debris. She coughed out the dust from her lungs as she went.
"Ervin. Glad to see you're still among the living. How do you feel?"
Ervin couldn't help but flinch as he sat up, to glimpse at his metal legs for the first time.
"W-what the hell?"
He felt the cold metal and as he did, there was an unnatural reaction as if it was still flesh. That Magos or whatever he was did this to him… it was…
Richell coughed again as more dust escaped her lungs.
"We were separated. Now come on, we have to get moving."
Ervin only nodded. It was no use questioning this. He was alive, and that was it. Through all this hell he had gone through, that's what he learned. If your alive, don't give up.
"R-Right…"
The two Stormtroopers were in the best shape of all of them. The setback hardly registered in their minds as a terrible fate, as they were prepared for death always. It was their mantra and their reality. They were the first to recover all of their gear and check themselves, only minor bruises and a few cuts between them. They still had their commanding officer with them, and so they would continue on. If it came that they were all that survived, they would likely just kill themselves as was protocol to ensure that nothing gets out to the enemy. For now, they simply held out their hotshot lasguns, the flashlights underneath illuminating the corridor ahead, draped in loose wires and cables. It was a demoralizing sight, one that sank fear into all of their hearts, save the two stormtroopers. Until they heard the vox, still strapped to Ervin's back buzz. The vox had somehow survived! It was a man's voice, though whose they did not know. In such circumstances however, few would question.
"Come in. Guardsmen, respond."
Ervin undid the straps that held on his backpack as fast as he could. He laid it down onto the ground so he could set it up, fumbling his cold and bruised hands as he did. When he finnaly undid the back strap he reached in and grabbed the receiver to respond.
"T-This is… *cough*… the breaching team. We are currently separated from the others…"
The vox clicked back.
"Good to hear you. This is Commander Urgo of the Faceless Legion. Lady Viola asked me to instruct you back to safety. If you are able to push forward. Understood?"
Ervin, Richell and Lt. Jimmy all looked at one another, amazed at the small glimmer of hope that was given to them. Thank the Emperor.
It did not take much to convince Commander Urgo to assist them. As a member of the Faceless Legion, the lives of guardsmen were considered much more carefully than most. He was sympathetic enough to do so, despite everyone's acceptance of their unlikelihood to escape. But he would try, and this was a good way for him to pass the time as he and the others waited for the Magos response. So he sat at the vox station that was established in the command room, and intently looked over the data that he had available. Richell's team was severely off course, even though they had only fallen into a side corridor. Such was the nature of hulks, so twisted and winding that it was easy to become hopelessly lost. But he was determined to give them a fighting chance, or at the very least, a hope that they could die with. They had to traverse a large series of corridors and through several rooms as far as the simulated map showed, and such things were rarely accurate. The Tyranid infestation slowly coming to force was also a concern, for all it took was a small swarm and their fates were sealed. For now, the majority of reports indicated that single bio-forms traversed the halls looking for stragglers, likely clearing a path for the swarm to enter the sanctum where the entrance to the Dark Age ship was. Commander Urgo would not be dissuaded, and if they proved themselves as guardsmen and pushed on, he knew there was a chance.
Viola watched Commander Urgo as he sat across the room from her and Reginald, shifting through the Vox system that she provided to him. She was saddened by the situation Commander Richell found herself in, though she herself hardly knew why. It was odd, strange even, a faint memory just out of reach. Soft. To think she had gotten this soft. She would have merely accepted them as casualties before and left them to their fate, perhaps instructing them to give themselves the Emperors mercy. She watched entire worlds crumble with millions still within them, ordered entire cities to be executed and herself had killed thousands of those who stood against her. She never liked losing her forces of course, such was always an unfortunate loss of resources. But this was different, it was very different. She felt actual, honest sadness from this turn of events, when she shouldn't have cared. They mattered and it infuriated her. Viola gripped the edge of her chair as she tried to come to grips with all of this.
Reginald turned away from the mapped simulation of the hulk as he noticed her discomfort. He knew she cared for those below her.
"I see you are worried about your guardsmen."
Viola cleared her throat.
"It is foolish I know."
Reginald rested a hand on her shoulder.
"It is only human, Viola, that we feel these things. I am sure, Commander Urgo will do what is possible. Worry not my Lady."
Viola gave a small smile as she placed a hand over his. Too soft indeed.
"Perhaps you are correct."
Reginald leaned over his soon to be, his queen.
"Viola, you will help me usher in a new era in this sector. We will care for our subjects and guide them, whether it be with an iron hand or subtle push. But I don't need to tell you this, I am sure you are already ahead of me."
Viola chuckled.
"Of course. Wouldn't be fitting for me otherwise, would it?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
The two spent the next few moments in a blissful silence, simply the presence of the other all they needed. Both of them were certainly formidable people, hardened and shaped by the cruel universe that they were born into. Into the roles and status that fate had assigned them. Yet even they had found something in each other, for at the end of the day they were human. Genuine moments of affection and perhaps what one would call love, a bond, formed by a chance meeting that evolved into something much greater.
Such moments were rare aboard Viola's vessel. The majority of the crew so disillusioned from the hope of life that they rarely cared for such things. Only the officers and others worthy enough were awarded even the smallest of commodities, even gave it the thought. The act much more common than any feelings of romance, and even then it was usually bereft of hope for the future. So that the former Inquisitor to have the leisure of such things, showed a change aboard, a single sprinkle of hope. Then again, how many of her crew saw this as merely another luxery awarded to only the special few was uncertain, though certainly the idea that they could have a life outside this damned crusade was in the air. Across the hallway, a young girl and the soldier who protected her attempting this very thing.
Erina and the guardsman who took out Ceres, Michael, talked with one another. It was of nothing serious, nor was it even of the current events that surrounded them. It was a quiet conversation, about the strangest and simplest of things. But Erina didn't mind. As she talked with him, she saw into his memories, and learned all about the world he came from. The Faceless Legion, a unique branch of the Imperial Guard which had a heavy emphasis on the livelihood of its guardsmen. So much that they rarely deployed out of their sector, so that they would always be able to return home again. Something that severely limited their capacity and made them easily used by other forces, but it also proved a powerful strength. Michael was a young legionnaire, assigned to the division which served as the Dark Anvils guards. The Legionnaires of the Faceless Legion young single individuals, who would find spouses amongst the worlds they were stationed before returning home to have children. For the Faceless Legion was never bereft of soldiers and their homeworld was one of never decreasing numbers. From a young age all were raised to be soldiers, tight nit, as if within a large family. Apparently, it made them an indomitable fighting force that would fight fiercely to the end because they cared so highly among each other, and it made communications far smoother than between different regiments. The world seperated into various Legionary houses, some larger than others. Those who weren't sent out as Guardsmen left at home in a home guard, often to maintain the bloodlines in families and ensure they continued. Michel's family quite large, likely the reason he was placed into the ranks of the Techpriests guard, as it gave him the largest chance to survive. It was all so fascinating, and Erina grew an interest in her young soldier. He was her best chance.
She sat on her bed, her legs crossed as she watched him. She had put on a new set of clothes after the unfortunate event with that filthy psyker, and made sure to be as well dressed as was possible. It took a while for her to convince Michael to simply sit down though, as he felt uncertain around her. It was actually rather cute how out of his wits he was, and that he had no idea she knew all about him. Though as they talked, Erina could feel he had come around and loosened up.
"So, what is life back home like?"
Michel rested his hands on his lap, his mask still over his face.
"It's a beautiful place, covered in forests and mountains and such. Really makes such a good place to…"
Erina finished his sentence for him.
"To train?"
Michael was amazed.
"That's the third time you've managed to guess what I was going to say."
Erina chuckled coyly.
"Well, I suppose I'm just good at guessing."
Michael continued to watch her. He had never been in an officer's quarters, a bit larger than his own and much more decorated. Though, what was more unusual for him was his company, a civilian. Back home, civilians were almost always former legionaries who had already served on their tour and declined to enter the veteran legions. The only other civilians the families of the legionaries who returned home. Every family line had to be kept alive after all, and so each left members home to replenish those that died out in the wars. Though this woman, wasn't a soldier. In that vein he had a hard time thinking of what to say to her. He hadn't had much time interacting with anyone who wasn't part of a military organization, being stuck on an exploritor class vessel as he was. Not that he didn't find himself interested in her. She was actually a very beautiful young woman, and she was someone he saved. His family always told him that the savior always had to take responsibility for the saved. Still, that she was so innocent and kind really warmed his heart. Why was she aboard this ship anyhow? It was an Imperial vessel, of the most curious sort, being under the Inquisition. Or, used to be anyway.
"So, why are you here? What led you to this place?"
Erina knew he would eventually ask that.
"O-Oh… that… it was a tragic series of events really."
Admittedly, she did not feel this way. No, this was the best thing to have happened to her. And she had nobody left from her former life which tormented her, especially her mother. But, she could let none know. She had to keep up her sad act, and embrace playing the victim for now until she could escape her circumstances.
Michael tensed up as he saw her glum expression. He worried he had overstepped, said something wrong. She was his charge to protect, and he didn't want to have…
"I-I apologize, Erina, if I…"
Erina shook her head.
"No, don't worry. I just… my world was destroyed. One of the noble Space Marines, my angel, in Lady Viola's service saved me from that fate. I was to be killed with my mother who was a psyker, lumped in with such filth."
Michael could only imagine the pain she had felt. Not that he could discern her true feelings. Then again, there was truth to the hurt she felt, whether she chose to admit it or not. He couldn't imagine losing something as dear and precious as ones world. It was an event many in the Imperium had to face, and something so…
"Do you have anyone else? Others to…"
Erina only shook her head. There was no one else, but her master. And she knew she was simply a piece in his game, to a plan long set in motion. Whether that entity cared for her or not, she did not know and she didn't care. He saved her from hell and gave her a chance to begin anew. But now, she was on her own. Unless…
Michael cursed himself. He did it again. He forgot, that few of the citizenry ever left their worlds, and those that did rarely did so for pleasure. The Faceless Legion had the benefit of returning to one of their worlds, where they always had comrades, a family to find.
"I am sorry… Erina."
Erina shook her head, a soft smile on her face.
"I have come to terms with it… sir guardsmen, would you kindly remove your mask?"
Michael hadn't even noticed he still wore it. To think he hadn't realized such a thing. He wore it far too often. So he pulled it off, his long hair unfurling from underneath. Enough that it covered his green eyes that seemed so much more hopeful than any a guardsman should.
"Is that better?"
Erina was delighted to finally see him face to face. She had waited long enough… perhaps this was the time to ask.
"Sir Guardsman… please, might I… I have no family. No one left. Nowhere left to go."
Michael didn't quite understand what she hinted at.
"What do you mean?"
Erina found herself embarrassed, as she herself tried to form the words. It seemed so easy in her head.
"Would you allow me to… would you take me away from this? Back home with you?"
Michael hadn't expected that. In truth, he hadn't even considered such yet. But his family did want him to find someone soon, their bloodline needed to continue after all. He was the youngest of his family as well, and yet to wed. Aboard the exploritor ship, he only ever encountered the skiitari and other Faceless Legionaries. His chances of finding someone else in the future more than slim. It was customary though, for every successful campaign for the young legionaries to take spouses from among the populace before they returned home. He had saved this woman, Erina, and she was of the good sort. Still, he had no clue in how to answer. It was embarrassing really.
"W-What? I…"
Erina pleaded with him, with nothing but her eyes, hopeful that he would say yes. For while she could read his mind, she dared not attempt to alter anything. Lest she was even capable of such anymore, the limits to her current powers uncertain to her. Still, of all those aboard the ship, Michael was her best chance at accomplishing the dream she had as a young girl. To settle down and be content with life, unafraid. To be a mother who cared for her children, and have a home that was hers. Still, perhaps it was too soon to have asked such a thing.
"I… I am sorry for the sudden…"
Michael cleared his throat as he straightened himself up.
"N-no hold on. I…"
He sighed as he grabbed her hand.
"You do understand what that means, correct?"
Erina nodded.
"I promise to be a good wife sure to bring you plenty of children. Please just… say you'll take me away from this ship. I… I want to live a life away from all this conflict."
Michael was out of his area of comfort, but, he felt for her. And though he was but a guardsman, he knew his family would take good care of her. All who were welcomed into his family were, especially those from other worlds as it kept the lineage separate from the other major Legionary houses. And he too, he would do his best for her as well. This would lead him to the veteran legions eventually anyway. He clasped her hand gently.
"I'll take good care of you. I promise. I'll do it. I'll take you from here. I'll be sure to inform the commander."
Erina's heart leapt for joy. She would get what she was promised, a good life for the task she was tasked with achieving. As she was told, she was to make connections to the Faceless Legion, and from there, let fate take its course. This was what her master, the entity it was, asked of her, besides the grimy task of ridding the ship of that psyker Ceres. She had already performed that first promise. The second was a duty she would carry out gleefully, as she attained what she had hoped to attain.
In the other end of the hallway, two others sought to attain their goals. 02, the strange techpriest whom had come to assist with setting up the communications array, and Verdun. They stared at one another as they stood over the overhang which looked down into an engineering shaft. Wires and hoses wrapped along every corner and hung every so many feet. Lights blinking to indicate the thousands of various operating states all through the massive hole. A dozen ladders all along the walls that led down to various other overhangs below and above them. It was a quiet place, away from the mumbling of the pure fleshed. Only the symphony of machines as they worked all around them. 02 watched the blinking lights with glee.
"Ah… such beauty. The machine spirit of this vessel has a good caretaker."
Verdun was glad to have someone who outwardly appreciated him.
"Thank you, 02. Tell me, why do they call you such?"
02 twisted his frame to face Verdun.
"I am but one of a series, of a thousand, an individual among many. I have gone by many names, but I prefer that which was given to me upon my ascendance into machine-hood. The one the Omnisiah gave me himself. A number that I alone among my brethren can be."
This 02 was a devout follower of the Omnisiah it seemed. Still, for a techpriest to have yet so much flesh continued to press at the section of Verdun's brain which handled curiosity.
"And what of your flesh? Have you not desired to undergo further modification towards the mark of machine?"
02 only smiled, happy it appeared that Verdun had brought it up.
"Can you not see how I can smile? How I can express humanity? Yes, among us all, my fellow follower, we strive for the machine. But we uphold that first and foremost we are human. I simply calculated that which was unnecessary to be considered such, and rid myself of it. I keep an arm to remind me that while I am machine, I still have human limits. I keep my chest and my organs for I wish to feel as if I am still breathing of my own will. I keep my face, for it is through the face that others can see into my very soul, and so that I may look up to the glorious Omnisiah with both human and mechanical eyes."
Verdun calculated what he said. It was true, that the Mechanicus valued the humanity behind the machine, but few felt nearly the same as this one priest. The flesh was weak, and so it was replaced. Yet he keeps some to remind himself of his weakness as human. It was certainly a unique parameter of logic that this fellow techpriest followed, but one that Verdun did not disrespect. Though he still preferred his own body, barely flesh, and all the functions provided to him by the machine he was.
"You are an odd techpriest if I have ever seen one. Are all of the Dark Anvil like you?"
02 brought up his human hand to feel his cheek.
"No, we are all unique in our own ways, Verdun. Machines apart, created by ourselves into the form we have chosen. As that which the Omnisiah hath decreed. What of you, Verdun. I see that you are metal and wire, a construct held together by the might of the human mind and soul."
Verdun had to calculate his answer. Clearly, this was a question of his faith in some way. The Dark Anvil from his research, on what little he found, were very much enveloped on the idea of individuality.
"I am but one of many adepts, given the same with which to evolve myself. No more than was logically necessary."
02 tilted his neck with a mechanical whir.
"Oh? Is that so? Then why have you added a cage for your servoskulls within your body? Such is not standard. We are all unique, Verdun, and we all strive for unique ambitions."
The emphasis that was placed upon that last word was deliberate. Verdun reached a hand into his cloak as he pulled on one of his personal servoskulls. He held it out, as it came to life before 02.
"Yes, that is true. These servo skulls have served me faithfully. I have, of course, my own ambitions as well."
02 gently held out a hand as the servoskull rested atop it, its wires wrapping themselves around his fingers. He was delighted by the little spirit within, as it brought life to this sprite.
"My ambition, Verdun, is to create a world where all can revel in this. To see the wonders as we of the mechanicum. Some say, heretical, but I say, a world without xenos, one where humanity is once again allowed to progress without fear, is worthwhile. Do you calculate so?"
Verdun had to disagree to an extent. While their technology was great, few were careful or cautious enough to be trusted within even mere eyesight. Only those who were worthy deserved to have such power. But, a world in which progress was made without fear or heresy, was one all techpriests strived. Whether they admitted it or not, they were all kindred in their curiosity. They all desired to create, to modify and to learn.
"I believe only the worthy, 02, deserve the right. What of the Dark Anvil?"
02 let out a chuckle, something so odd to come from one so machine. At least, that it did not sound like static or the grating of metal against metal.
"Verdun, the Dark Anvil is something else. We do not seek to harbor the technology for our own sake, but that of ourselves and the people we protect. We choose who we care about, Verdun, and assemble together our own union. For without those of the flesh, those of the machine have nothing but rigid spirits to look forward to. We are cautious, above all, but what we create we use. What we discover, we research and understand, so that we may progress further. If only, a step at a time, in remembrance of the warnings provided to us in the past."
Verdun whirred as the archives containing the information known about the Dark Anvil processed through his mind. New variables added with every interaction.
"So why have you not shared your progress among the rest of the imperium?"
02 flicked his cheek.
"As you said Verdun, only the worthy should be allowed such technology. It would only be hoarded by others of the Mechanicum, blasphemers, who treat the religious sanctity of the machines and knowledge with greed. If this is the case, is it not logical we keep it for ourselves? Use it in the ways we see fit, rather than let it be wasted in the vaults of a different Magos seeking power?"
Verdun decided to enact a riskier question one that had a higher risk of insulting his companion. But, Verdun's curiosity got the better of him.
"Including STCs? Clean ones at that?"
02 nodded.
"Yes, for we use them for the purposes they were created. Lest we found one that was corrupted, we would all but be willing to share. That is the way of the mechanicum, is it not? Would you not revel in the discovery of such a thing as a pure STC?"
Verdun knew he would keep such a thing to himself as well, if he was able. As all techpriests would. Their first logical process would indicate them to keep it for themselves, or at the very least for that of their forgeworld. It was easy for their systems to justify such action. How wonderful it was to have such company that understood.
"As all techpriests would. So, will you continue this line of questions or will you cut to the immediate question which you were likely to ask?"
02 laughed again, uncannily, as he let the servo skull writhe along his arm.
"I had calculated that it would take another question before such an inquiry was asked. I suppose I missed some variables in the research that I have of you. Yes. We would welcome another techpriest of your caliber to join us at the Dark Anvil, openly. An entire forge dedicated to you, if it would so please you."
Verdun had waited for such a question. But he preferred to maintain a cautious stance, until the inevitability was that he would attain what he desired.
"Ah, I see. But what of me have you seen that suggests my caliber as a techpriest? You have yet to see me accomplish more than assisting you in the assembly of such a simple device as a communications array."
02 stepped back with his many legs, his arms waved up in the air.
"Because of this, Verdun. You have taken excellent care of this ship as not but a single techpriest, and the machine spirit has likened you so much that it is to your whim. Done in the service of an Inquisitor for years alone, with naught but the servoskulls and simple servitors at your side. That is why."
Verdun calculated the chances of his next question. Given 02's enthusiasm it appeared to him that they were certain of his willingness to enter. Given Violas recent change of service, there were few places left for him to go. 02 was clearly sent here with a goal of his recruitment, if at least a secondary goal. The Dark Anvil was limited to a single sector composing of only a dozen planets, but secluded enough from the rest of the Imperium that he would be less restricted to follow his whims. Though the reclusive attitude of the Dark Anvil when compared to other Mechanicum forces proved a barrier of challenge he would need overcome. Yet, he already showed good faith in his intended assistance in talks with Viola by nearly undermining her authority before the Magos. That she rebounded with high lord Reginald's authority, was unexpected, but he was sure that the Magos saw his initiative. If he got what he desired, a role befitting his genius, he would be content. This was what he had hoped to attain since he listened in on the conversations between Reginald and the Magos, and his disclosure of the Imperial Knight STCs which were held aboard his ship. For while his brethren created servitors and mere war machines, he would create titans.
"It would please me greatly, but, I wish to choose where I work."
02's auspex eye narrowed in as it watched Verdun.
"And that would be?"
"I wish to run the titan forges which produce the Imperial Knights."
