Elsewhere

"Rychek we have been patient. Now our Lord is displeased with us, and so we are displeased with you."

"I said it would be foolish to be hasty."

"Was it foolish to support you, were we hasty in trusting you to keep your promises?"

"No that..."

"We are coming to collect our due. Be ready."

The viewscreen flickered and died. Rychek gripped his staff hard enough for small cracks to appear in the casing. Sometimes he wondered if equipping this body with the ability to feel emotions was necessarily a good idea. He relaxed his grip and the cracks shimmered and healed. There was now a timer on his actions. He needed to proceed apace.

Transit Point Hive Prime

Station 1 Prime was a set of platforms that stretched for well over 85km. The passenger terminals alone dealt with up to 100 million passengers a day as workers headed to the forges of Tetran II for their 2 month contracts of 6 day weeks and 12 hour shifts or returned for the month's leave that followed. The huge triple-decker trains crammed in workers by the thousand in their oversized compartments. The cheapest on the lowest level were standing room only for the five hour journey. Clerical staff fought for the luxury of a padded bench on the second floor while the important or merely rich took to the third floor where the glass ceiling gave spectacular views of space and the planets as they dined on the choicest fare. Every platform every fifteen minutes one of these behemoths pulled its way out of the station following the gradual slope of the mountain until they were travelling vertically along the massive strut that held Tetran I and Tetran II together. Seconds after its departure another would take its place and the process of filling it would begin anew. An equally vast set of platforms awaited those arriving from Tetran II and the emptied trains would circle round tracks, undergoing refuelling and maintenance before setting out on the return journey in a never ending loop. Yet more lines carried the huge array of cargo trains that shipped raw materials and goods from one planet to the next.

Despite this industry and even on this, the most heavily trafficked of the pillars, the 5000 separate rail lines barely covered half of the circumference of the mountain. Tarik touched the glass separating him from the seething mass of humanity. Feeling the vibrations as yet another mammoth transport moved out. The small lounge they were in was reserved for guests of the mechanicus and unusually appeared to have been designed to put other members of the Imperium at ease. Lush carpets deadened the noise from outside and luxurious sofas promised comfort for the duration of any stay. A small but well stocked bar filled one corner and Ulrich had already helped himself to a large measure of one of the local spirits.

"Any good?" Tarik asked.

"Takes the edge off." Ulrich joined him at the window and a brief shudder went through his frame.

"What's wrong?"

"Them." Ulrich's gesture took in several of the platforms, each crushed end to end by thousands of people. "It's like they are fog. At least this way I can pretend it is because I'm drunk."

Tarik looked at him with a concerned expression, but the pysker seemed too lost in his own thoughts. Eventually Ulrich looked over and gave a rueful grin.

"Any other world I would be trying to block out a crowd this size. Surface thoughts alone would be overwhelming. But here, it's like they are muffled, behind glass. I have to work hard to pick up the most powerful emotions. Most worlds' minds are a sea of sparks with the flare of the odd latent psyker. Here there is barely a glow. I could close my eyes and think I was alone." He rubbed his eyes with his free hand, then finished the rest of the spirit. "Sorry, trying to explain to a non-psyker is hard. It's not visual or sound but..."

"But something is strange with the people here."

"There are always some who shine less brightly. And if it was the odd individual... maybe not, but all of them?"

There was a staccato burst of static and they turned to see a robed tech acolyte who bowed in greeting then lowered his hood to reveal a face that was both youthful and relatively unaugmented.

"My Lord bids you welcome. If you would follow me I will take you to your transport." The messenger turned and led the way to a door by the bar which opened at his approach. Inside was a spacious lift, its walls a plain steel that had been polished to a mirrored finish making it appear even larger than it was. The three passengers could have been multiplied a dozen times and still have fitted comfortably. As the door shut it dropped quickly, opening moments later at a private platform beneath the main concourse. Here the human favoured luxury ended and the writ of the mechanicus was evident. The cog and skull icon flanked every lumen globe and a windowed steel wall cut the platform itself from where the tracks would be. Tarik strode and looked through. The other side was a train, but it was small compared with the behemoths above, there were no wheels and it hovered just above the floor of what appeared to be a perfectly circular tunnel. As he watched something very akin to a starship's airlock extended to the wall and an door hissed open, its seams so fine it had not even been visible.

"Will you be joining us?" Ulrich asked the acolyte who was staring in awe at the revealed carriage.

"No sir. No acolyte is worthy of the honour of travelling in the "Riftia Pachyptila". To be allowed to see it is an honour that I thank you for. Please enter. You are the only passengers for this trip." With that the acolyte began to leave, throwing many longing glances over his shoulder at what was obviously a technological wonder.

Tarik and Ulrich exchanged a look then entered. It was small by Imperial standards, and certainly compared to the trains above. The walls were bare metal, engraved with equations and sigils from the mechanicus order. The floor and ceiling were similarly metal, but embossed with a cross hatched pattern than provided extra traction for passengers. Fifteen pairs of seats flanked the central isle each worn leather with a sturdy harness. They picked out a seat each and no sooner had they sat down than the airlock hissed shut.

"Please engage belts. Departure in 40 seconds." The announcement was flat and sounded pre-recorded, but could as easily have been a mono-tasked servitor or tech priest with a low resolution voxcoder. They did as was asked and precisely 40 seconds later the train accelerated pressing them firmly, but not uncomfortably back into the chair.

"So what is so special about this train then?" Ulrich asked. Realising the answer a few seconds later when the acceleration did not drop off but kept to the same constant pressure.

"Listen." Tarik demanded. Ulrich did.

"I hear nothing."

"Exactly. No wind noise, no mechanical sounds. Nothing."

And still the acceleration continued.

"How fast do you think this gets?"

"Much faster than this. A simple belt would have sufficed for this level of acceleration." Tarik gestured to the 7 point restraint harness he was strapped into.

The acceleration continued for nearly fifteen minutes, then stopped. The chairs which had been facing the direction of motion abruptly spun round to face the other way. Now the acceleration reversed itself. Tarik looked at a wrist chron and whistled.

"If I don't miss my guess we are going to have covered 1000 kilometres of pillar in about half an hour. And I think this thing could do it faster if necessary."

"Looks like the mechanicus are trying to impress us."

"They succeeded."

"What do I need to know about this Fabricator General?" Ulrich asked. "I thought it was a title reserved for the ruler of a Forgeworld?"

"That would be a sore point here. I wouldn't mention it if I were you. In terms of bulk output Tetran II is a Forgeworld. Expect everyone to have robes similar to the acolyte who brought us here, the rust red of the main robe shows fealty to Mars, the crimson collar a desire for status as a forge world that they would spill blood to gain." Tarik explained. "Cormack gave me an interminable lecture about it along with the iconography of the Fabricator General: Yterbus Majori. Usual skull and cog, but often suspended in a tetrahedron, for obvious reasons given the location. Yterbus has the title of Fabricator, but not the power that usually comes with it due to Tetran's status as a shared Imperial/Martian system."

"Sounds political."

"The mechanicus deals strictly with logic and rationality, it has long since superseded such petty emotional traits as politicking." Tarik said in a neutral tone while rolling his eyes. "Do assume we are being monitored here on mechanicus territory. It would only be polite of our hosts."

Ulrich nodded and sat back in the relative comfort of the chair to wait out the rest of the trip.

Fifteen minutes of deceleration later the transport came to a halt and the speakers spluttered back into life.

"Prepare for disembarkation. Praise to the Omnissia for the successful termination of our voyage."

Ulrich and Tarik shrugged off the straps and the small clicks of the catches preceded the first mechanical sound of the trip. A solid thud, followed by a hiss as the airlock door opened. An acolyte stood in the doorway waiting for them. Ulrich did a double take momentarily thinking their escort on Tetran I had somehow arrived before them then realising that this one appeared to be female.

"Welcome to Tetran II. If you will follow me I will take you to the dig site where the Fabricator General will meet you." The voice was slightly higher pitched, but otherwise almost indistinguishable from the previous acolyte.

The two men followed her Ulrich looking puzzled. A series of lifts and moving walkways conveyed them swiftly away from the station at Tetran II and into the mountain itself, a mirror image of the one on Tetran I. Their progress continued until they reached an immense shaft, nearly half a kilometre across. One side was a midnight black stone that appeared to absorb the weak light from industrial lumens. Two sides were rough hewn rock. The remaining side had been smoothed by an application of rockcrete and had a pair of lifter platforms attached. The acolyte gestured to the first and they stepped on. The grating beneath their feet was gridded giving a view below that seemed to stretch to the centre of the world.

"How deep does this go?" Asked Tarik.

The acolyte set a few controls then turned to them as the platform dropped vertiginously.

"10.78km. Though we will be meeting the Fabricator General at dig site Alpha which is a mere 1523.7m below our current position."

A few minutes later the platform arrived at a grating that covered the shaft. Other lifters were set on a different rock face for those going deeper. Standing on this grating apparently oblivious of the pit visible through it or the majesty of the black wall behind them that seemed to stretch unblemished to eternity were a group of tech priests in dull red robes, as Tarik had predicted each trimmed with a crimson collar.

++Greetings honoured Inquisitor++

Tarik and Ulrich walked together towards the group. A chorus of cyber-skulls echoed every remark made by the Fabricator General in a range of pitches that was harshly musical.

Tarik undid a small pouch on his belt and handed over a small package to one of the waiting tech priests.

"Our credentials."

++You are known Tarik of Tetran I and Lord Ulrich T'Cheris Alloest Fane of clan Fane of the system Drogues Ultima.++

"Are we free from outside observers?" Tarik asked.

++This meeting is private. Those here are mnemonically implanted and may not reveal what they see or hear without my express permission.++

"Then with your indulgence." Tarik had left his armour behind and wore his simple bodysuit. He unfastened it to the waist then touched his skin in several places. The flesh of his arms and upper torso peeled away like the skin of an orange revealing a metal skeleton overlaid with fibre muscle bundles. "It is a regret that I cannot appear like this more often."

++Indeed, the workmanship is beautiful. May I examine you more closely?++

As Tarik nodded the Fabricator hovered closer. His original legs twisted and withered were visible under the hem of his robe as it billowed. The face that appeared under the hood was a steel visor, voxcoder grill where the mouth would have been and hundreds of optics clustered across the rest of the space. Talons extended from the arm of the robe and caressed the metalwork of Tarik's ribcage.

++You are blessed by the mechanicus. And have fully earned that blessing. I have talked to my colleagues on Beshic V. They commended your valour and that of your master.++

"My former master. Inquisitor Belash was lost putting down a genestealer cult 6 years ago."

++My sorrow for your loss. How may the mechanicus aid you.++

"We would like to know what you know about this system, particularly..." Ulrich gestured to the pillar behind them.

++You have come a long way for information the Inquisition already has. Excavations to the base of the pillars were abandoned when rediscovered seismic techniques showed that they all extend to the very centre of each world and meet at a sphere of radius 123.49km. Being impenetrable to all scanning equipment this has prevented further study. ++

"What are they made of?" Ulrich asked over his shoulder as he walked over to touch the pillar itself.

++Unknown. They are highly resistant to cutting and abrasion. Any weaponry powerful enough to penetrate runs an unacceptably high risk of catastrophic damage to a pillar, and hence the destruction of the entire system.++

"Liar." Ulrich gestured to the pillar with one hand and a ring burned as bright as a star for an instant. The plasma bolt it produced struck the pillar and a small pebble of material, the size of a fingernail flew from it. "Jokero digital weapon. Though I am sure you have any number of equivalent devices you could have used."

Tarik bent to pick up the fragment then grunted in surprise as the tiny piece of stone felt like it had the mass of a large boulder.

"What could posses the mechanicus to tell a direct lie to the Inquisition?" Tarik mused staring at the black stone in the centre of his metallic fist. "Dissemble, equivocate, yes. Refuse to answer... but tell an easily proved lie?" He stared at the Fabricator General. Even had the tech priest possessed anything approaching human features the chances of him crumbling under a glare was limited. Tarik looked back at the stone and grimaced. "Unless somebody with authority told them to."

"But we have ultimate authority..." Ulrich began. Then winced.

"Fabricator General. I apologise. I believe we have placed you in an awkward position. That was not our intention. Lord Inquisitor Ngyun gave me this. Codephrase 'the long game'." Tarik held out a small datapad. The Fabricator General took it a mecha-dendrite attaching to its transfer port.

++Credentials confirmed. Tarik and Ulrich are permitted full knowledge of the long game protocols.++

"You were ordered to hide the results of your research by the Inquisition?" Ulrich blurted.

++As you say. Examine the pillar.++

Tarik ran his hand over the site of the blast. There should still have been residual heat from the blast and a crater from the impact, but the stone was smooth and almost ice cold despite the moderate temperature at this depth.

++Chemically the stone is a match for a type of obsidian analogue found during numerous excavations of ancient xenos remains++

"Necron."

++Indeed. Chemically it is identical. But its mass is more than 400 times what would be expected. The pillars posses some sort of gravitational field that compresses the stone amplifying gravity to overcome the materials sub atomic structure. As a side effect any damage to the pillar causes the stone to flow like water and is immediately negated. The surface is frictionless – at least to the limits of our measuring abilities. The gravitational anomalies continue. Underground there is no detectable anomaly, The hyperdense mass produces measurable gravity, as expected, but it is not detectable without specialised equipment. Above the planet's surface the pillars exert a gravitation pull of approximately .987 terran standard. This extends for 53.46m above the surface before stopping.++

"That isn't how gravity works."

++As I stated: anomalies. All facilities suspended at 54 metres in height or above are effectively in zero gravity hence the loading docks.++

"How long has the necron presence been suspected."

++Come.++

The Fabricator General turned and led the way to the second set of lifter platforms. The other tech priests moved back in deference to an unvoiced command and only Yterbus, Tarik and Ulrich descended orbited by the chorus of cyberskulls. The next platform was identical to the first, but there was a cave cut into the rock with a phalanx of skittari warriors at combat alert. The Fabricator General emitted a burst of machine code and the warriors pointed their weapons away from the arrivals but remained in a constant state of movement, scanning for trespassers and seemingly as wary of the cave behind them as the lifter platforms that were the only other viable means of approach.

Tarik and Ulrich were beckoned through a triple set of blast doors, each with armour that would not disgrace a Titan and there was the smell of ozone that suggested that void shields had been deactivated for their approach.

Ulrich grunted "Psy-dampened."

++Yes. It is a precaution we would have taken anyway, but much of the rock surrounding the pillars is Psy inert. This storage facility was built into a large existing formation.++

"Is that a by-product of the pillar construction."

The Fabricator General span to lock eyes with Ulrich – though his speed and direction did not change at all.

++Do you really not understand? Did your Ordos not tell you anything? This planet is a construction. So are the other 3. Our working hypothesis is that the Pillars were built first and the planets were constructed around them. The asteroid fields are the remains of 20 separate solar systems worth of material brought here from the surrounding stars. Survey ships show each nearby system denuded of any matter more than 1.07cm in diameter. Every atomically different material type was separated out and put in a parking orbit for later use. Each pillar is a 70km diameter cylinder wrapped in 2.14m of granite and covered by 2.14m of topsoil. The planets are perfect spheres, almost entirely granite with only a few of these pys-inert formations which are laid out in a geometric manner branching symmetrically around the planet's internal structure. The surface formations appear natural but are carefully laid out to ensure a rainfall cycle that waters every square metre of the surface equally. The planets' orbit and spin ensure that with the exception of the triangle between pillars there is uniform light levels. Each mountain is precisely 534.6m tall, every sea and lake 268.3m deep. The topsoil is a uniform 4.28m deep across the entire surface. The natural biota is in a fully closed loop that stabilises gas levels in the atmosphere and maintains perfect fertility in the soil. Nothing about this system is natural. It was built from the molecules up. Everything you see, touch, taste and smell is entirely artificial.++

"Why? Why build this?"

++Because they could?++ The fabricator shrugged in a surprisingly natural gesture.

"But it would have been so much easier to just put 3 or 4 habitable planets in close orbits than to make this... construct." Tarik muttered. Kicking the wall as though it deserved his frustration with the whole planet.

++Agreed. The rotational mechanics alone are chaotic...++

"There is warp activity?" Ulrich exclaimed.

++No chaotic in the mathematical sense. Small changes in initial conditions lead to large changes in outcomes. Every model we have show the tumbling eventually changing and light patterns falling apart. Yet the system follows a precise 412.39 solstan day cycle then repeats. The pillars themselves change length by up to 5 metres a day to maintain that cycle in no predictable pattern so must be reacting to stimulus.++

"The builders are still here and controlling the system?"

++Or their constructs are.++ The Fabricator General finally stopped in front of a glass walled stasis pod. Inside was what appeared to be a giant mechanical insect. Obviously ancient, pitted with micrometeor impacts. One if its multiple appendages had been torn off completely and others showed heavy damage. Something had caved in a cluster of lenses that in a living creature would have marked the head. Despite the damage both Ulrich and Tarik recognised it immediately.

"Tomb Spyder."

++Yes. It is to my knowledge the first evidence of the Necrons to be found by the Imperium. This object and several others were found amidst the asteroid belt. Though, given the Inquisition demanded we kept our find secret, they may have had prior contact that they kept from us.++

"You kept silence about an active Necron presence?"

++Not active.++

"The pillars are moving."

++A monotasked servitor could do as much. Stimulus response. Not evidence of Necron activity.++

"We encountered a Necron battle group. Warriors, wraiths and Flayed Ones. We have evidence of multiple strikes at other locations."

The Fabricator General paused then led the way to an unremarkable cogitator attached to some archaic data storage device. He removed a vial of sacred oil from inside his robe and anointed the machine, canting prayers of activation that were echoed and repeated by his cyberskull chorus before he gently stroked the activation runes. The machine purred into life it displayed a simplified representation of the Tetran system, showing only a few of the larger mining operations in the belt.

++This is a recording of the Ork invasion of the system.++

A group of bright green intruder icons appeared in a swarm at the edge of the display. Imperium vessels in mechnanicum red withdrew from patrol patterns across the belt and gathered in a defensive huddle around the Tetran planets. A handful of the intruders split off and headed for various orbital and mining stations, obviously too eager for havoc to await planetfall. The rest began a slow remorseless approach to the habited system. It was clear they outnumbered the defenders many times over.

"I wasn't aware there were that many Ork ships involved in the invasion. The histories always gave the impression it was a splinter group, a couple of Roks with a few escorts, but this looks like the main orkish advance."

++The histories were written by the Inquisition. They permitted us these records as a justification for the construction of the Pitdog vessels.++ Despite the monotone the resentment of the mechanicum at requiring permission to retain their own records was clear.

"If they stood against a fleet that size they are better than I thought."

++Wait and observe.++

A cluster of new icons appeared. Marked in blue as unidentified, their speed and clear formation marked them as none orkish. But while the Imperial Navy might have been able to match the precision of the manoeuvres, no human ship could match the speed. The new fleet engaged the ork fleet while still in the belt and cut a swath through it. They then pulled a turn that would have snapped the spine of any Imperial capital ship and repeated the butchery twice more. The ork's formation, always more of a stampede than a tactical arrangement shattered as some turned to flee, others tried to engage their attackers and the rest headed for the planet at full speed. The unidentified vessels efficiently eradicated those that tried to fight, then turned as one and headed back out system leaving the drastically reduced orkish fleet to the human defenders.

++In terms of tonnage around 43% of the total ork fleet was destroyed including virtually all of their capital class vessels which appear to have been the main target of the aggressors. 15% fled and another 2-3% continued to pillage. In terms of vessels only three ork roks and their immediate escorts actually engaged the Tetran fleet and the escorts were destroyed. One Rok had sustained enough damage that it impacted at full speed on Tetran III killing its inhabitants outright and causing massive planetary damage. The other two landed, in ork terms, successfully.++

"So where did that other fleet come from, who were they?"

++Officially they never existed. Those who dug were ordered to stop, or if they had too much authority told the Black Ships of the Inquisition intervened.++

"Not true?"

++Black ships are built by the Mechanicus. We know their capabilities.++

"A Necron fleet?"

++Only they and the Eldar have ships that fast and manoeuvrable. And Eldar craft lack both sufficient firepower and shielding to survive a frontal assault on an Ork fleet.++

"How many ships?"

++20 confirmed capital ships. There may have been additional escort vessels as most of the auspex devices at our disposal were focused on the Ork threat. By the time we had retrained them, the Necron fleet was heading out system. We estimate no more than one or two kills from Ork fire. No debris was recovered from any Necron vessels. It was a complete victory.++

"You were there?"

++At the time I was tech priest in charge of one of the auspex facilities. Specifically the one that this recording comes from.++

Tarik whistled. The wholesale replacement of organic parts that the mechanicus went through extended their lives even beyond that considered normal even by the standards of high imperial society where juvenat treatments could extend a lifespan threefold. To be in charge of even a minor facility suggested a precocious talent, or a century of experience. Given the heights that Yterbus had reached either was possible.

"You said this was connected with the Pitdog program."

++The rotating dock was constructed immediately after the routing of the Ork ground army.++

"I take it that was more or less the way it is in the history books?" Tarik asked.

++The PDF formed a human shield around the pillars of Tetran III while the Skittari and additional reservists were called up and deployed. The army of vengeance was 3 million strong. With complete air dominance and massive numerical superiority it should have been an easy victory.++

"But wasn't?"

++It was easy. Final tally was over 103,439 greenskin dead for less than 15,391 PDF casualties.++

"That's... that's not credible. Even seasoned guardsmen take losses against a large Ork army. OK you're going to kill a lot from the air, but at some point you have to face them." Ulrich looked confused. The Ordo Xenos had detailed files on Ork combat capabilities. They may be despised but they would not be underestimated. In battle their incredible resilience and brute strength made them dangerous opponents at close range and given their usual lack of worry about casualties at least some always got to close range.

++The two landed Roks should have contained at least ten times that many Orks. Each. Skittari kill teams reported mass orkoid casualties when they investigated the wrecks to plant demolition charges. At least before they were ordered out by Ordo Xenos. The Ork battle tactics are baffling even by their alien standards, they ran into killing grounds with headless abandon. They have too much feral cunning to be butchered that easily under normal circumstances. But if you assume a band of survivors running from a more powerful enemy...++ The Fabricator paused. ++That this world is a Necron artefact seems clear. That they want to protect their investment from Orks is also clear. Why they tolerate our presence? That would be your area of expertise.++

"You said there was a reason this recording survived when others were purged."

++Construction of the Pillar Dock and mass production of the Pitdog class vessels began immediately after the purging of Tetran III. It involved a significant diversion of planetary resources in order to build a ship of questionable efficiency in a conventional sense. The Necron threat was enough to overrule questioning. The production improvements were sufficient that it appears be a wise investment on its own merits, but that was not evident at the time.++

Tarik looked thoughtful for a moment.

"One last question if I may Fabricator General: Why is it so important to you to gain Forgeworld status?"

Ulrich winced at the bluntness of the question, but the Fabricator appeared unmoved.

++The title means nothing. But without it many schematics are withheld from us. We may not build the Titans or the greatest of Battleships. We have the skills and the capability, but we are denied the chance to worship the Omnissia by giving form to His mightiest works.++

Tarik stole a look at Ulrich and gave him a quick nod. The tall Psyker reached into his overcoat and brought out a fist sized data crystal which he handed to the Fabricator General. The Tech priest took the artefact reverently in both hands and a small mecha-dendrite snaked around it transferring the data that was stored on it.

"Many worlds were lost when the rift opened." Tarik began. "Including forgeworlds. This was retrieved by a Deathwatch kill team."

++The schematics are... wonderful.++

"Warhound Titans and Dauntless class Light Cruisers. "

++There are those who will say such wonders must remain on forgeworlds.++

"This is a direct appeal from the Inquisition that you commence production. Surely anyone suggesting that you cause a rift between the Mechanicus and Inquisition while denying the Imperium much needed armaments for the sake of some bureaucratic paperwork, would practically be committing an act of heresy."

There was a strange crackling sound from the Fabricator that after a moment was echoed by the skull chorus. It dawned on Ulrich that it was the closest the augmented man could come to laughter.

"The Inquisition has treated you poorly, while you have loyally maintained the secrecy you promised. I hope this goes some way to restoring the balance." Tarik bowed deeply and he and Ulrich moved to leave the chamber.

++Inquisitor++

They both stopped and looked back.

++You have dealt fairly and with honour. Go with the blessing of the Omnissia friend of the mechanicus. May your circuits glow and your actuators never seize.++

They walked back to the lifter platform in companionable silence, Tarik reattaching his outer dermal layer to the metal body it hid. As they returned to the platform of the "Riftia Pachyptila" Tarik finally broke the silence.

"How does it feel to be a friend of the Mechanicus Ulrich?"

"I assumed he was talking to you."