Armorum Fidei Chapter 11
Excitement filled Ratsy as he clutched his shovel and sweated in a thick overcoat. His heart fluttered and the soles of his feet tingled, a sense of breathless anticipation filling his chest. He was about to do something he had never done before, something he had dreamed of all his life and the prospect thrilled and terrified. To go outside, it was a moment never to be forgotten.
In the dank loading chamber fifty men fretted, stamping their feet and trying not to look afraid. To leave the sheltering wards of Narthi was a risky prospect, leaving only their collection of talismans to protect them from the Far Strangers. Men muttered under their breath and clutched their shovels and picks tight, all of them wary of what was to come. Volunteers all, most of them were here for the pay, the Enginseers would hand over a fortune for Archeotech, but a few like Ratsy were here for the excitement and novelty, or to prove their manhood to friends and sweethearts.
"Right you 'orrible lot!" a red-faced man shouted from the front, "This is my work detail and I want this done good and fast. This place has been picked over for centuries, so all the surface stuff is long gone, but there's always more buried under the rubble. Use your shovels, look under every stone and remember our pay gets split evenly, so no hoarding any loot."
Ratsy listened intently but beside him a burly man with short sleeves and stubble on his square chin leaned over to whisper, "First time?"
"Uh-huh," Rastsy breathed.
"Don't be scared, nothing to it," the man scoffed, "Just keep your eyes on your feet and watch out for Greevils."
Ratsy frowned as he turned to the man and asked, "Greevils?"
"Yah, nasty buggers, lots of legs and teeth as sharp as razor blades. Not so dangerous alone but in numbers they'll strip the meat off a man's bones in a minute."
"No one said anything about dangerous animals," Ratsy gulped.
"Too late to back out now! But you stick by old Derrad and you'll live through this. And remember what I said about your feet."
Their conversation was cut off as a massive ramp began to lower, letting stark daylight into the interior of Narthi. Ratsy blinked furiously as his eyes tried to adapt and a cold wind blew straight through him. Knots of men were already starting to make their way outside, walking down the long ramp that extended from their carriage to touch the ground. Ratsy gripped his shovel tight and followed, feeling the enveloping cold as he stepped outside for the first time.
Harsh light smeared green blobs over vision and the smell of endless fields of algae crammed its way up the nose. He blindly stumbled down the ramp, pushed forward by men behind. For a minute he descended the long slope, then his feet squelched into something soft and he knew he was touching the ground for the first time. It felt strange, he had lived in constant motion, even when halted the vibration of engines shook his legs, but this was still and unmoving. He felt like he was swaying, his balance trying to compensate for something that wasn't there. Then his eyes cleared and he saw a sweeping horizon and the sky above.
Ratsy's legs went weak as the vast grey bowl over his head was revealed. It filled his vision, so endless and deep. There was no roof over his head, for the first time in his life there was no safe barrier above and the sight made him feel drunk. Guts turned over and his feet went numb as the world began to spin. The entire planet was rotating around his skull and there was no sense of standing upon solid ground. He was falling into the sky, being dragged into those infinite depths to be lost forever.
A strong arm caught his elbow and a gruff voice barked, "Dammit lad, what did Derrad tell ya?! Eyes on your feet."
Ratsy complied and dragged his eyes down gasped, "So... so... big..."
"Ah, it always takes first-timers that way. Just look at the ground and catch yourself. That's better... So, you need to throw up? Better to do it now and get it over with."
"I'm hale," Ratsy wheezed, "I can cope."
"Good, come on then. And keep an eye out for Greevils."
Ratsy forced his stomach back into his gut and followed Derrad on wobbling legs, gaze locked on the ground. The party was moving away from Narthi, leaving the shadow of the immense train-city. Ahead lay piles of heaped Ferrocrete, mouldering pillars sticking out of the ground like mushrooms from a disused waste pipe. This was why they were here, the ancient ruins of a city, left to rot when the people abandoned sedentary lifestyles and adopted the Train-cities. Rasty didn't know its name, nor its history, but he knew troves of lost archeotech could lie within.
The group split up as they headed out and Ratsy followed a knot of men. All of them were keeping their eyes down and touching their talismans frequently. Outside Narthi they were vulnerable, and they feared losing their souls to the Star Wraiths. They crept into the abandoned city like thieves in a home, hurrying between piled rocks with scurrying gaits. Ratsy knew enough to see the outskirts would have been picked clean centuries ago, any worthwhile treasure would lie further in.
As they walked Derrad called out, "What you reckon Yoer, hab-blocks?"
"Nah, too big," another man with a pick sniffed, "Warehouses, gotta be."
"Warhose?" Ratsy asked in confusion.
"Storage," Derrad explained, "Time was Suna had cities like any other world, vast cities brewing bio-fuel for the Imperium."
Ratsy sighed, "I can't imagine it, being still for so long, never leaving one place. It's unnatural I tell you. And to simply sit and wait for Them to swoop down and take you..."
"Wasn't always a problem," Derrad mused, "Legend tells there was a time before the Far Strangers, a time when the stars caused no fear. My pa told me the tale, when hourglass starships darkened the heavens and scooped people up by the millions. Then came the great techno-archaeologist Kekest, who brought forth ancient secrets to build the first Train-city and carry off the survivors to safety."
Rasty had never heard of such a man and asked, "Is that true?"
"Who knows," Derrad sniffed, "Could be, it was so long ago."
Yoer however snorted, "If you listen to the Eagles it was their God-Emperor himself who commanded the cities to rise up and drive, with a wave of his hand he tore them from the dirt and set them on wheels."
Another man snorted, "Yeah and lightning bolts shoot out of His nostrils and he craps gold. Please, they make up any story they think will get us to kneel. One god is stupid, more is better. If we didn't need their trade for machine parts, we'd show them the door permanently."
Derrad added, "Trust in the spirits, they can protect us."
Silence fell as the party made their way deeper into the ruins. Mouldering stonework came and went as the shadows grew long as they searched. Ratsy was amazed at how extensive the city was, miles and miles of it passing with no signs of reaching the centre. He had thought Narthi was big, but this was enormous, far grander in scope than anything he had ever imagined.
After a time they came to a four-story building with intact walls and a roof, it leaned ominously but the party greeted it warmly and moved to a yawning opening, peering into the darkness within. "Anyone got a light?" Yoek called.
"Here!" a man replied and hoisted a lamp. Revealed within was a cavernous space, dripping with fungal growths. It was wide and echoing; with piled stones around the edges indicating where stairways and balconies had collapsed. In the wan light a statue remained, drooping and indistinct, outline long since decayed by dank air and blurred by mould. Beyond stretched a dark cave, reaching far beyond their light's feeble spread. Ratsy had no inkling as to what this place was or what function it had served, its purpose lost to the ages.
"You know the drill," Derrad announced, "Poke about and find something valuable. Tech, rare metals, heck even a few girders that can be melted down, anything that we can salvage or trade. But don't mess with the walls; I don't want this place caving in on us."
The men spread out and started lifting up loose debris with their tools. Ratsy however paused before the statue and mused, "Wonder who this was?"
Yoek shrugged, "Maybe Kekest himself, maybe some Space Marine or a rich toff who wanted to see his own face every day. Doesn't matter anymore, he's dead as rest of this city, killed by Them."
The thought of that made Ratsy shudder but then he heard a noise and he spun about, shovel raised high as he yelped, "There's something in here!"
"What do you see?" Yoek asked.
Ratsy cried, "That noise, I think it's a Greevil!"
There was a faint spluttering noise and then suddenly all the men started chuckling, "Ha...haha..."
"What..." Ratsy murmured, "What are you all... oh no... Derrad! You complete bastard, there's no such thing as Greevils!"
Derrad grinned ear to ear as he chortled, "Gotta make your own fun in this job!"
Ratsy turned red in anger but the men seemed content with their teasing as they went back to work. Ratsy swallowed his indignation, he'd had worse humiliations in his time and knew to kick up a fuss would lose him respect. Better to take his lumps and grin, knowing they'd get worse if he protested. He let them chuckle as he set his shovel to work, lifting fallen slabs alongside the others. The stone was heavy for his slight frame but working together they managed to overturn a few blocks. The results were disappointing, a few scraps of broken pipes and smashed junk, worth only the value of the metal itself. Still they laboured on, looking for fleeting treasure.
After half an hour his thin arms were burning and he sagged against a wall, gasping for breath. Water bottles were passed about and Yoek came to lean nearby, sucking on his teeth. The man held his coat close as he said, "I hear you know how to get things."
Ratsy went very still as he said, "I don't know nothing."
"Relax, I'm no stooge for the Enginseers. I'm looking to talk."
"Talk can get a man dead," Ratsy countered.
"Or rich," Yoek quipped, "I got something here to trade for the Good Stuff."
Ratsy thought about it and said, "Not saying I got any but supposing I do, whatcha got?"
"Show me the stuff first."
"I don't carry it on me where I can get caught. Show me or no deal."
Yoek lifted his coat and revealed a small creature tucked away. It was furry with four legs and a thin tail, dead but still warm, freshly killed. Ratsy blinked as he asked, "What is that?"
"Good ain't it?" Yoek exclaimed, "Found it under a rock and nabbed it before anyone else saw. Off-world vermin, nothing local to Suna. It's called a mouse, we get them sometimes. Meat, boy, actual meat, not that processed Algae and bug-guts we eat. Have you ever tasted meat?"
Ratsy gazed long and hard as he muttered, "Meat... Some folk would pay an arm and a leg for a taste of meat. You got yourself a deal. Find me after we get back and you'll get the Good Stuff."
Yoek nodded and scurried away but Ratsy leaned back and grinned. He knew some people who would pay handsomely for meat, enough to set Ratsy up nicely. Yoek was willing to trade it all for a sniff of a good time, but that wasn't Ratsy's problem. It looked like he was finally on his way to a better life and he couldn't wait for it to begin, his dream was about to come true, or so he thought. Sadly he had little idea that his dreams would soon be shattered into dust.
