Chapter 6
Vitaetus was annoyed and it showed on what was left of his face. He had tried to thank the lady and she dared scream in his face? Slamming the hilt of his power axe on the stone floor, he ducked into the small office and said with a commanding tone "Silence before I silence you." Hearing her quiet down at the threat he looked around the small room while speaking, seeing many books with a symbol of a staff with 2 serpents winding around it as well as an old man pointing a stick at him. "That is enough of that. Have you forgotten manners in your backward ways? As I had said, I wish to thank you for the shelter while my systems rebooted. Now, who are you and where is the nearest Imperial outpost on this planet so that I may return home?"
The Old man pointing the stick gets up and speaks with calm aggression. "You appear out of nowhere, come in here and threaten my staff? Who and what are you to make demands?"
Vitaetus looks at the man before speaking while ducking out of the door. "Put your little stick away old man and both of you, please step out here so we may talk somewhere with more comfort." Moving back and watching them exit the office he would continue. "Now it seems we both require knowledge and information from each other. I propose a trade. A question for a question." Without waiting for a response he launched into his first. "Where am I?"
Dumbledore, still with his wand in hand but pointing down, responded. "You are in the hospital wing of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore and this is Madam Poppy Pomfrey, the school Matron. Who and what are you?"
Vitaetus would think of the answer he received. It was not the information he required but was insightful. Witchcraft and wizardry imply some form of what the locals would call magic, or more commonly called psychic energy. So a school for psykers he assumed. And he now had names for the faces. He then thought of the, to him, stupid question. Even the most primitive of feudal worlds had a tiny Mechanicus presence to deal with communication equipment for the orbital stations. Nevertheless, he answered. "I am Magos Vitaetus Cogblade. Tech-priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus from the holy Forge World of Mars, an empire second only to the Imperium of Man. Your primitive civilization may know them as sky gods or something, coming down from the sky in metal boxes to take people away. It was wrong to ask you for the location of this planet, of course, you would not know." He looked around with a frown before his gaze settled back on the 2." Of course, your primitive society would most likely know almost nothing of astronomy. How about this, where is the place the sky people land to take those worthy?" Perhaps dumbing down his questions to a way these locals could understand. He needed to get proper answers.
Dumbledore's eyes went wide when he heard the answer before having an indignant look. The person had intrigued him by calling himself a priest. A priest in red from Mars. He looked like no priest Dumbledore had ever seen but perhaps this group, Adeptus Mechanicus he called it, simply had a different idea of what a priest is. Though that was quickly washed away by his next comment. The man, Magos Vitaetus, was talking to them like they were stupid, calling them primitive. "Mister Cogbla-" Though whatever the headmaster was going to say was quickly silenced when Vitaetus rushed to him, towering over the old man and looking down on the old man, the large cog-shaped axe in his hand crackling with energy.
"You WILL address me as Magos. You will not speak down to me menial or you shall face the punishment as demanded by Mechanicus law for disrespecting your betters. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Is that understood?" Dumbledore could only nod, his eyes wide. It was like a switch flipped and the calm man was a force to be reckoned with. Satisfied with the answer received, Vitaetus walked back to where he was standing. "Very good, now what was your question?"
Dumbledore was shocked for a moment. The reaction to simple politeness was so extreme and honestly frightened him. He was about to voice his objections to the comment of being called primitive and ask his question when Pomfrey spoke up. "Mi-Magos, what… What happened to you? You are missing too many vital organs and should be dead. The majority of you is just... gone."
Now, this was a question Vitaetus liked, it showed they had good medical knowledge to know of the inner workings of the human body. "It is quite simple Matron Pomfrey, I replaced them. The flesh is weak and serves when the machine can do anything it can with better efficiency. I had it replaced with the cold certainty and strength of steel."
With this, Pomfrey would have an indignant look. "No purpose? The human body is irreplaceable, it is marvellous and should never be mutilated in such a way. Why would you willingly mutilate yourself?"
This caused Vitaetus to stare at her before walking towards her. "Why? You dare ask me why I cast away the weak and failable flesh? From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me." He turned and slowly walked to a window overlooking the Hogwarts grounds. "I craved the strength and certainty of steel." Vitaetus would raise his cybernetic hand and stare at it before returning it to his side and continuing, "I aspired to the purity of the blessed machine. Your kind cling to your flesh as if it will not decay and fail you." He gestured to Dumbledore with this comment as he reached the window and glanced over his shoulder, "One day the crude biomass that you call a temple will wither and you will beg for my kind to save you. But I am already saved. For the machine is immortal."
Vitaetus slowly turned around and let his gaze linger on Pomfrey, unwavering and unblinking. "The crude flesh is not worth keeping. One day you shall die and I will continue to live for hundreds or thousandss of years longer because I know the machine is strong and the Omnissiah has a need for me."
Madam Pomfrey was about to argue more when Dumbledore placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do not argue, Poppy. His beliefs are different from ours. He did this to himself and will have to live with the consequences when the time comes. Please, drop it, there is nothing you can do." With this, she lowered her head but nodded. Dumbledore was right, she could not convince him otherwise.
Looking back to Vitaetus, Dumbledore continued "As for your original question, I do not know of any place on the planet like that. There have never been people coming from space to take others away. But you keep saying this planet like there are alternatives."
Vitaetus would nod and withdraw a datapad from within his robe, also setting his servo skull to hover around as he did. Holding the datapad in a mechadendrite, he extended it towards the 2 so they could see, not trusting to actually hand it over to them. "Of course. The Imperium of Mankind, headed by The Omnissiah, our God-Emperor, from his throne on Holy Terra is the sole commanding government of mankind in the modern galaxy. It spans a million worlds from one end to the other. The single greatest empire in recorded human history, all under the ever-watchful eye of The Omnissiah. The fact you have not been found before is odd but not surprising. Hundreds of thousands of planets were lost during The Old Night. What is most surprising though is that you are using a language that has not been spoken for nearly 20,000 years. I am sorry this is your introduction to the galaxy but warp storms are probably encasing the system. A psychic amplifier will need to be built to call a fleet here for integration."
Dumbledore and Pomfrey were at first surprised to see a skull fly out of the robes but were intrigued by the data shown on the screen as well as the metal tentacle holding it. They had no idea how it worked but were shocked at what was shown. There were dozens of names pointing to various places around the swirl of lights. He read many of them. Cadia by what could only be called a purplish-blue wound, Armageddon, Metallica, Krieg and many many others. But his attention was drawn to the center of it, a label with the word Terra. Latin for Earth. He was confused. They were on Earth. He had heard of muggles landing on the moon some 24 or 25 years ago but that was far from a galactic empire. Dumbledore looked up. Magos Vitaetus had said English had been dead for 20,000 years. Dumbledore would mutter, though still loud enough for Vitaetus to hear, "But that is impossible." Sure the Department of Mysteries had dealt with time travel things but nothing like this. This was implying tens of thousands of years of travel. There was only a single way to find out. "Magos, what year do you believe it is? What planet do you think this is?"
These questions would cause Vitaetus to look on with confusion. Those were odd questions after what he just revealed. But he answered nonetheless. "Of everything you could ask about the Imperium, you ask that? Nonetheless, the current year is 973M41. Though that is up for debate due to temporal distortion. As for the planet, I lack the required data to make a conclusion.." As he was finished an alert was relieved.
=Alert: Reactor leakage detected. Repairs required.=
Vitaetus would stop in shock. He had forgotten about it in the conversation. Looking around for some metal, he saw what looked like a suit of plate armour. Rushing past the two magicians, he ripped off its chest plate, Vitaetus examined it for a moment before extending his utility and manipulator mechadendrite behind his back to the reactor and began to weld it into place while spouting prayers of appeasement. Hoping to keep the machine spirit happy and stop it from killing them all. He knew it was not right to use unblessed materials but his mentor had taught him that at times improvisation and stepping away from the holy design was required. The Machine spirit was about to be angered enough to cause the reactor to go critical and destroy everything in a 1,000-kilometer radius. After a moment he was finished and spoke once more. It seemed to be pleased with the prayers and improvised containment for now. "By the Omnissiah I pray that shall hold until I am at a proper forge. Apologize for damaging the suit Headmaster but if I had not acted, the Machine spirit in the fusion reactor would have gotten angered and could have killed us all. Now, do you have any more questions about the Imperium?"
The year would cause Dumbledore and Pomfrey to stare in surprise. That was a very very long time in the future. Thinking of it, Dumbledore assumed the 973 was years into the millennium and that due to them talking of thousands of years, he assumed that it was the 41st. So he had assumed it was more or less 40,973 where the Magos come from. A very long time. He was about to inform the Magos of this when he suddenly rushed off to a suit of armour and ripped off the chest plate. That was unacceptable. First, he threatens them, now damaging school property? He was about to scold the Magos when he moved it to his back and a blinding light appeared from 1 of the metal tentacles that sprouted from under his robe, causing both Dumbledore and Pomfrey to look away as a sound like lightning was heard. Looking back after the sound was done, they found that the plate armour was now attached to his back. Turning around the Magos continued their conversation, acting as he had not just ripped apart an ancient and irreplaceable suit of armour.
Dumbledore then spoke up. "You have no right to destroy Hogwarts property. I do not care what your reason is, the armour is irreplaceable." Dumbledore took a deep breath, willing himself to calm down. The armour was not important right now, there were much more important things to discuss. "Regardless, we can talk about that later. Magos, the year is 1993. You are on Earth."
Vitaetus only started. He recognized Earth. Ancient manuscripts and data banks referred to Terra as such but the date structure made no sense. Delving into his internal database he searched.
{Searching date format…}
{Searching…}
{Results found. Format Gregorian Calendar. Ceased use for standard Imperial Dating System circa M15 with the invention of Warp Drive.}
Vitaetus closed that down and translated their date to Galactic Imperial Standard format. According to the old man, he was near the end of the second millennium, coming into the 3rd. He simply stared at them and said with solid conviction. "You lie. This is not Holy Terra. I have seen it, I have been there. Terra does not have trees. And even if this were, archeological records show that around that time, Terra had a global communication network as well as had been graced by The Omnissiah with electricity. You lie, to what end I know not, but I do know but you lie. This is not 993M2 and this is not Holy Terra."
Dumbledore could only shake his head. He knew it was hard to believe, he himself barely could after all. But to outright reject it without even a second thought? There had to be some way to show he was speaking the truth, something that would have still remained but changed only slightly as to be noticeable. He looked up in thought, staring at the ceiling when his eyes went wide.
Up. The stars. Vitaetus had said The Imperium was a galactic empire. They would have needed maps and charts to navigate, they would have thousands of maps of the stars. Dumbledore paused, considering his thoughts for a moment before speaking, "I believe there may be a way for you to believe me. You said you were a part of an Empire, yes?" the priest nodded, seeming to want to know why he had asked, "Do you have any star charts or maps? Even if you don't believe what I have said, it may help you locate yourself, no?"
The priest of Mars processed that thought for a moment then walked over to the window as he spoke, "I suppose, but don't think for a second this will do anything but prove my point further." His green eyes gazed at the sky above through the window and began to run what his optics were showing through his data banks.
{Searching star charts…}
{Searching…}
{Match found. Position: Segmentum Solar, Sol system, Holy Terra.}
The priest didn't really need to breathe much these days, and he certainly didn't do so in the same way as the "fleshies," but he stopped doing his equivalent nonetheless.
=ERROR ERROR: Star positions and characteristics indicate massively difference in dates within databanks.=
{Calculate difference? [Y/N]}
He hesitantly selected yes. After what felt like hours, but what was really less than a few seconds his systems spit out an answer.
{Calculation complete. Date: 993M2…}
=ERROR: …=
=Alert: Possible warp travel abnormalities. Stay vigilant.=
The cyborg quickly set to work scanning and rescanning his systems to check for faults or anything wrong with his systems. Each time it came back with nothing. Nothing.
{Beginning scan.}
{Processing…}
{No abnormalities detected.}
The priest was stock still, staring at the stars as he tried to wrap his brain around his situation. The warp distorted time. Yes, he had even mentioned such earlier when he said the date was 973M41 and the debate over it. But this was… impossible. This date was not only before the Imperium but before the Age of Technology as well. Everything he knew was gone. There was no Ring of Iron, no Holy Forge World, no Cult Mechanicus. He was alone. 'I-i…' his thoughts were drawn to a notification.
{Set date to 993M2? [Y/N]}
Slowly selecting yes, Vitaetus slumped down to the ground with his arms on his knees, his head hung in despair. His mechadendrites and servo arm all going limp around him. "I am all that remains. The last and only adept of The Adeptus Mechanicus. The sole member of His glorious Imperium of Man." Why him? What had he done to be abandoned by The Trinity? Why not the hereteks of Stygies VIII? Why was he forsaken to this ancient time? Looking up at the 2 he said with a sad tone before slumping to the ground and sitting against the wall, "I am alone."
Vitaetus just sat there. He was alone, The Machine God, the Omnissiah and The Motive Force had forsaken him. Cast him away from their light to this dark time. He just sat there, letting it all sink in. He did not know what to do.
=ALERT: Preservation Protocol activated. 1 new file found. Playing video file.=
This caught Vitaetus attention. He should not be able to get any updates. That was impossible. Tentatively, he paid attention to it.
On-screen was an image of former Fabricator-General Kane. "Greetings Adept. I know not who you are or what has happened but if you are seeing this, then the worse has happened. The Preservation Protocol has been enacted. It is a protocol created and coded by The Omnissiah himself while he was still able to move. The purpose of it is to ensure the safety and continuation of the lost technology should the Adeptus Mechanicus ever fall. Using the noosphere, every adept from the lowest-tech priest to the Fabricator General of Mars shall be constantly updated with all knowledge contained in The High Altar of Technology, only activated should a set of predetermined parameters be met."
Breathing deeply, Kane was quiet for a moment before he continued. "It is unknown how but The Omnissiah managed to update the machine spirit behind the code able to delete the entire database from the system of any adept that has been corrupted by Chaos. The purpose of this protocol is as stated to safeguard the technology of the ancients. Upon this video's conclusion, you will have access to all knowledge contained in The High Altar of Technology, updated from the last time you were connected to a forge world's noospheric network. Use this to rebuild. Rebuild the Mechanicus, continue to safeguard the knowledge. You are hereby promoted to Fabricator General of Mars, leader of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Good luck adept and may The Omnissiah guide your actions and safeguard your soul in this dark time."
=ALERT: 1,288,512,439,706 files found.=
Vitaetus only looked on. This had to be fake. He carefully opened up the new files and saw so much. millions of star charts, billions of protocols and canticles. But most importantly, there were hundreds of thousands of STC fragments. They were for everything. Chemical formulas for Adamantium, starship fuel, solid bolter rocket fuel and more. Void shields, refractor fields, las weapons, plasma guns, bolters, knights, titans, warships, warp drives and so so much more. He had the designs and knowledge to build anything and everything he could think of.
And yet, it was useless to him. He was too far back for it to be of use, he was no longer looked down upon by his god. He had all this blessed knowledge but it was of no use.
Dumbledore, walking up to the priest slumped against the wall, felt sadness and pity for him. Dumbledore could not even begin to imagine what the Magos was feeling but he needed words of comfort right now. Placing his hand on the man's shoulder, Dumbledore began to speak, "Magos, I know this must be hard, I-" Though that was as far as he got when his neck was suddenly seated in a vice grip. It wasn't crushing his throat but was severely painful and would leave bruises in the future.
Vitaetus was destroyed. He had no purpose, no reason to be now. He had all he could ever wish to know and yet it served no purpose. He felt as useless as an underhiver. When he felt Dumbledore touch his shoulder, something in him snapped. Raising his servo arm faster than any could see, he seized the man by the throat and, standing up, raised him to eye level. The headmaster's feet dangling and kicking uselessly 6 inches above the ground as he clawed at the metallic vice. He saw Dumbledore's eyes go wide, though wrongfully assumed it was because of the sudden pressure around his neck. Vitaetus spoke with a harsh tone, 1 filled with anger, grief, longing and dozens of other emotions. "Do not speak like you know what this is like. You have no concept of what has happened, or how it feels to know your God has abandoned you. I am all that remains of an Empire of nearly 110 quadrillion souls. You will never understand." Tossing Dumbledore down to the ground, he turned and slump back to the ground. "I have all knowledge collected by the Adeptus Mechanicus for the last ten thousand years, and yet it is of no use." Maybe… maybe if he begged the Omnissiah to tell him why he was abandoned, why he was sent back. They can tell him what to do, he can have reason and purpose.
Dumbledore wanted to be angry at Vitaetus for what he did, nearly crushing his neck and harshly tossing him to the ground. Pomfrey had rushed to him to make sure he was alright but Dumbledore paid her no attention. He could not blame the Magos. Had their positions been reversed, Dumbledore was sure he would have done the same or worse. But even that was not what had his attention. When the Magos had snapped and lifted him up, Dumbledore had seen under his hood. There, on his forehead was a scar, shaped like a lightning bolt. It was old and faded with time but still visible. He knew of only a single person with that exact scar in the exact same position. Harry Potter. But that was more impossible, he had disappeared 10 years ago. This man could not be him, could it? He stood to speak but had not made a sound. All around them, he could feel the magic sooth, it was calmer than it had ever been in his life. It was like going from small waves crashing on a beach to as smooth as a glass. It originated from behind him. Turning he saw a tall man with long black hair. He radiated power and light like he was the ultimate good. The mere presence of the man caused Dumbledore to feel clear and stronger than he had in a long time.
Vitaetus used his utility mechadendrite to burn the Cog Mechanicus into the stone floor the best he could and began to pray. "Immortal Omnissiah, father of all machines, hear my prayer. I am your pious scholar on the path of the machine. I have been your faithful servant for a century. I beg you, second of the Holy Trinity, give me a reason. Inform me of what I must do in this ancient time. I beg thee, tell me what I must do for my sins to be forgiven and to return to your Holy Light once more." As he finished, he heard a new voice, someone else had joined them. Looking at who it belonged to and was unimpressed. This man seemed forgettable, someone meant to blend into the background and get lost in a crowd. However, there was something about him, something familiar that made Vitaetus feel that he knew this man.
Carefully reaching into the warp, he sent out his own soul to probe the man. Maybe if he could get a feeling that way, he could know why he seemed so familiar. Very carefully as to not be noticeable to anyone, he slowly reached out and just a single touch had Vitaetus recoiling in shock. He knew why this man was familiar even though he had never seen him in person, only ever in stained glass and murals. Vitaetus fell back onto the ground, doing his equivalent of breathing heavily before he got on his knees and bowed as low as he could, locking his knuckles together in the sign of the cog. He may only use his psychic powers once or twice in a whole decade if that but every Imperial Psyker from his time knew this soul, they all had a fragment and connection to it. He was in front of the living embodiment of The Machine God, he was before The Omnissiah himself.
Then the man spoke, his voice calmer and more powerful than any of theirs. "I too would like an answer to that and more questions. Namely what happened in the future that causes me to only see a single image of a room and why you, Magos Cogblade, have a piece of my soul."
