Chapter 13: The Mastermind's Confidant
"Roughly a year and a half ago, there were 'advertisements' throughout the sector that welcomed all to a world of paradise. Whether one was a beggar or king, barbarian or scholar, scribe or Inquisitor, all were welcome to this world of rest and relaxation. No more than a few thousand people arrived before the true intention of this world was revealed. The Planetary Governor, whom upon further research was found to be the good friend of one very elusive Commissar Grissom, was using the world as a ruse. It was meant to be a regimental tithe world, randomly kidnapping civilians and transforming them into they cyborg equivalent of demonic abominations. Every few weeks a small squad of ships would land on the roof of a building near the Capital Tower and if anyone had a good enough view, could see mysterious packages and crates of all sizes changing hands. That was when the first distress signal reached us. At first we ignored them, but when five signals detailing different aspects of the situation reached our fleet within a single week, we took action. Days later we had many ships in orbit and a heavy presence on the ground, both determined to find an answer to the question of what was going on down there."
Norman told the terrible story of how they became stranded on the empty world they were on now. He sat atop a school desk, eating some sort of food from a disposable plate between sentences. Miranda and Shepard sat nearby, taking it all in. Legion, whom did not need to be engaged in the conversation to hear the man's speech, stared out of the small window that stretched across the wall. The night sky gave way to the bustling vista of bright and flashing city lights, rivaling the splendor of similar pleasure towns like Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi, and many others across the galaxy of the 22nd century.
"What did you find?" Shepard asked.
"They… were waiting for us. The people that arrived before us were beyond dead. They were experimented on, transformed into something that I simply don't want to lay eyes on again."
"Take your time Norman, explain it too us… It's important." Shepard tried to calm the man down, but he had obviously endured extensive trauma, and was very strong in not letting it affect him as many others Shepard had seen before.
"I was the Sergeant to one of the 11th Kasrkin Stormtrooper division. We were sent as part of a three-pronged spearhead assault into the inner city from three sides. One was entirely Sentinel Walkers and Hellhound Tanks, one was a stealth assault comprised of Snipers and Catachan Teams specializing in urban combat, and our attack was heavily armed, fast moving infantry, made up of Cadian Veterans and Kasrkin Troopers. They weren't prepared to be assaulted on all sides, but they still overpowered us. Most of the citizens were warped or transformed into… They were… like these zombies, only more machine than undead."
"They were transformed into husks, drained of all bodily fluids and replaced with cybernetics." Miranda stated, which was confirmed with a nod from Norman.
"They swarmed our ranks in slow but unending numbers. We could easily outgun them, and they could barely scratch through our armor, but in such swarms they slaughtered us all. But it did not end with those simple creatures. Some of them glowed a fiery red, and charged our lines, exploding into a ball of bitter fire when they were within arm's reach. And if our men were not dead from such beasts already, a few horrific things stood atop roofs and balconies just out of range. They were hideous beings that looked to be made of several bodies, and possessed some sort of sorcery that was not tied to the Warp. From afar they shot invisible shockwaves at our ranks, tossing them dozens of feet in every direction and crushing others where they stood. Our Sanctioned Psyker could see no presence in the Warp from any of them, as if they were all dead. Our broken forces swiftly retreated to the outer edges of the city on this continent, and thankfully the 'husks' did not follow. But only when we regrouped did we learn of the terrible extermination of our armor at the hands of these utterly alien constructs. We only have blurry photographs of the machines, but even among the veterans who had survived campaigns against the Necrontyr had never seen such things." Norman showed a worn photograph taken by what looked like the camera on a Chimera or Leman Russ tank, and high in the sky was the silhouette of a screaming Praetorian construct, perched on the edge of some building.
"Looks like this Governor has some connection to the Reapers." Shepard stated.
"I don't know who these Reapers are, but I know they are as merciless and cunning as they are evil. We sent distress messages to the fleet in orbit, but moments into our communications the Planetary Defense Forces' anti-ship defenses rose from hiding within common skyscrapers. But their weaponry sat twisted and augmented by whatever evil lurked within the city center. They bombarded the ships with hailstorms of fire, and we all watched with our heads turned to the sky as our only way home was turned to ruin. They sent a long-range distress call in time, but we can only assume that they had no time to send through an Astropath or use other means of speeding the signal. The nearest outpost, if it still stands, is twenty-three months away without Warp travel. So we waited."
"Why did the husks and the Praetorians not leave the inner city?" Miranda asked.
"The tower must be the origin of whatever is controlling them. If they breach its maximum range if the controller is immobile then they would simply wander and attack anything perhaps even each other. I have a theory." Legion turned to the group when Shepard was beginning to put the pieces together, "This Governor is related in friendship or some other agreement to the Commissar, whom we are almost certain is either an agent of Chaos or the Reapers, against his will or no. If Grissom is a willing agent of either, than he may have swayed the allegiance of this world's leader through this friendship or agreement. Now, if the Governor has turned against humanity, then his 'employers' would most certainly reward him with proper tools to do what he pleases."
"Which can mean only the Reapers are pulling the strings, since no known alien race or faction of Chaos possesses these types of troops." Miranda began to help Shepard, bouncing the single idea back and forth between their churning minds, unraveling the confusion and mystery before them.
"So the Governor somehow created an entire world, or at least a city, filled with resorts, casinos, and the like, and uses it as a lure for the unsuspecting civilian. He draws in a few thousand and somehow turns them into husks or other creatures, repairs any damage caused by a panic. But how did he get the Imperial Bastions and defenses?" Shepard scratched his brow, his armored fingers warm but smooth to the touch.
"They could have used materials given by Grissom or taken from mining the areas below the city's surface, and then replicated them to look like Imperial weapons, albeit modified using Reaper tech for maximum efficiency. And they also add to the illusion of safety when advertised to the public, if they saw an obvious presence of defenses it could have swayed many others to come in the first place." Miranda added again. Norman was caught in the confusion of getting so many questions answered after all this time and having those questions be replaced by new ones.
"So what is his purpose now, rather what was his purpose to begin with?" Shepard asked, now pacing.
"I'm sure those questions can only be answered directly, and the man is probably at the top of that tower, guarded by battalions of Husks, Abominations, Scions, and Praetorians. We will need to contact the Fate Breakers and ask for a significant amount of Space Marines. As for the anti-ship defenses, we will need to take care of them ourselves." Miranda proclaimed.
"We can construct a long range communications tower by dawn if the proper materials are available." Legion added.
"This is all well and good, but there is something else you should know." Norman interrupted, "The survivors… took the news differently. After we all regrouped, we took up residence in the buildings far from the watchful eye of the tower. We also found some of the civilians who got away, and had managed to find adequate supplies and a good place to hide. We took them in, taught them how to use weapons as we did, and even treated them as fellow soldiers, especially when things got real bad. Some of the regiment, or their remnants at least, saw this as an opportunity for freedom from the life of a Guardsmen and even the dedication to the Emperor. They embraced anarchy, becoming degenerate brigands whose only purpose was to live by pillaging and killing as they pleased. There were true horrors in the city's center, but we have been at war with those rogue bandits for these painful sixteen months. We can successfully get to the defense towers and shut them down, but they will need to be eliminated first."
"Shepard stopped pacing and smirked, "Not a problem."
Atop the mostly flat roof of the schoolhouse, Legion was one knee tinkering at the inner workings of a comm. tower he had recently constructed using only the materials he had available and his miraculous Meta-Gel. Although it looked to be made of rusted scrap and worn steel, the six foot tall construct was complete and functioning. Legion turned away from the pylon as Shepard came into view from a small service entrance that led from the school's inner depths to the roof. Opening the light aluminum door Shepard's eyes widened with surprise.
"I leave you alone for twenty minutes and you make this?" He asked, moving closer to the tower to inspect its design and craftsmanship.
"Organics cannot do manual labor as efficiently as we do, given the flaws and drawbacks of using lactic acid as a cooling system on your muscles." Legion added in his monotonous voice, but Shepard swore he could hear the hint of an ego.
"Did you calibrate it to match Imperial comm. frequencies?" Shepard asked as he brought the side of his left wrist to his torso. Starting up his Omni-tool, Shepard began to interface with the pylon.
"We completed the task exactly as ordered, Commander." Kneeling to tinker with the base of the tower, Shepard would have discerned his answer through the lack of complications in getting a connection.
"Commander Shepard to Astartes Battle Barge ISC Daedalus, coordinates one-two-five mark zero-five-six." He stated his commands to his Omni-tool in a clear and understandable tone.
"Connection established. This is Daedalus Battle Company. It is good to hear from you Commander Shepard." The voice of Epistolary Kuzon echoed into his earpiece. "You remember me, from our discussion a few days ago?" The man's very proper tone and choice of language was hard to forget, but neither was it something Shepard was eager to be rid of either.
"I thought the Captains were in charge of the battle companies."
"The Fate Breakers do rival the Black Templars in number at around six thousand, but we have a limited command staff. Instead of even and rigid Battle Companies we roam in small fleets of three to five Barges along the western edge of the Tempestus Segmentum. Each Battle Company is named after the ship at the head of each fleet, and has the same functionality as any single Chapter. To answer your question would be a simple 'yes'. But I reckon you wish to know where he is?"
"Do you have the answer to that question?"
"Second Master Ventralis is not of Daedalus Company. His title designates him as the master of the Second Battle Fleet, Immortal Valor. The Captain that leads Daedalus Company, the third of the six, is Captain Ephraim Kagetono. He is newly appointed to serve as my partner in leading this company but as one would expect even of a newly promoted Space Marine he is more than experienced. And if I know Ephraim, he is down in one of the barracks of the Vanguard, honing his skills through sparring."
"Did you say you were also the commander of the Fleet Company?"
"I am, and as the Chief Librarian, and in fact the only psyker among the Fate Breakers, I do not bear such a title lightly. But enough of this distracting conversation, tell me, what is the situation on the ground?"
"Worse than expected. We have almost definite proof the Commissar is aligned with the Reapers, and through his friendship with Governor, so is he. We have firsthand accounts from the stranded remnants of an Imperial Guard regiment who were sent here to investigate the Governor… only to be slaughtered by creatures only the Reapers can create."
"How did they become stranded?"
"Their entire fleet was destroyed by augmented anti-ship batteries hidden within the buildings at the city's center. Any Space Marine warships whom attempt to bomb such structures would most likely suffer the same fate. The remaining ranking officers can only hope that a distress signal went out, but it would take another eight months for a signal to reach the nearest outpost outside of the Warp. Also, half of the survivors seemed to become fond of pillaging and anarchy. The Guardsmen here have been admirably surviving by holding off the roaming gang for the past sixteen months."
"What about the Reaper soldiers?"
"They cannot leave a certain distance from the city's true center, which is the humble residence of the Planetary Governor," Shepard turned slightly to look at the tower only a few miles away. The morning fog made the many architectural details indiscernible, but he was only interested in its size, "Standing at a few hundred stories tall. So the two warring sides have been at each other's throats for all of this time, and have not come across a single creature since they landed. If I may be so bold, I do have a plan. If my team and I can get rid of the gang, we can mobilize the remaining Guardsmen and aid in whatever offensive you wish to use."
"You have the expertise, Commander. I think it is a good idea, but it would be best if you were to coordinate with the Company, specifically to best deploy a precise force insertion."
"Are you sure? Space Marines are more than qualified to assault any location, and taking orders from a simple human no less?"
"You get us down there Commander, and we'll take care of the rest." Kuzon smirked.
"Fine, but to help even the playing field, my synthetic friend will send you all intelligence regarding the Reaper soldiers, in files applicable to the Space Marines." Shepard turned to Legion and stressed the last sentence to him personally. Legion did not make eye contact, but understood the message. His brow plates fluttered and his eye lens focused, causing two blue lights to blink in succession on the base of the pylon.
"Hmm… This is quite interesting. Yes, this information is quite useful. Very well, good luck routing those anarchists. We will move into communications range but stay clear of the city's defenses. Daedalus out."
"Come on, we've got work to do." Shepard waited for Legion to get up, which ended up being several minutes. When he stood up, Legion nodded and followed the Commander back into the schoolhouse.