As always, there are three advance chapters on P-atreon (remove the spaces and dashes):p-atreon/ SkySage24
The Forge of Olympus Mons, built around and within the greatest mountain of Mars, was the beating heart of the Mechanicum.
Though it was called a forge, such a description did not do it justice. A city was more accurate; the greatest city on Mars, nay, in the entire Solar System.
The volcano of Olympus Mons itself could scarcely be called such in this day and age anymore. It had long since been wrapped in glass and metal, carved into so deeply that it was a hive city more than anything, filled to the brim with secrets and technology that lesser minds would have started wars over.
Here, there was the Temple of All Knowledge, a pyramid of black marble shot through with pink, capped by a dome of blue stone from which a crown of iron spires released a steady stream of smoke and steam into the air, ensuring the sky above Olympus Mons was always thick with dark, toxic clouds.
And inscribed upon the great marble gateway of the Temple were countless mathematical formulae and proofs, each of them devised by a genius adept of the Mechanicum and known to be true beyond any shadow of a doubt. It was a testament to the wisdom and glory of the Mechanicum, for who else could boast such knowledge in this dark and barbaric age? Who else had reclaimed so many of the secrets of the Ancients, and sought to rise once more to those venerable heights?
No one.
Upon Mars, within Olympus Mons, more marvels and technologies were produced than anywhere else in Sol. In the towering factories and workshops, in the forge-temples and tech-shrines to the Machine God that covered every square inch of the thousands of miles that made up the Olympus Mons region; thousands of adepts, tens of thousands of workers and millions of servitors worked tirelessly to unearth the secrets of the Ancients, to rediscover all the glory they had lost.
Kelbor-Hal folded his arms behind his back as he looked out upon his realm, brooding upon recent affairs. The Fabricator-General of the Mechanicum was tall, more machine than man. More than half his face had been replaced by metal plates, and both eyes were glowing red orbs. His hands, emerging from the folds of his deep red robes, were claws of pure steel, capable of morphing into any number of tools or weapons.
And yet, any observer knowledgeable in the ways of the Mechanicum would have realized that Kelbor-Hal was young by the standards of the Tech-Priests, despite his high status. He still retained a mostly humanoid shape, and the thick golden hair atop his head was still entirely natural. And even if half his face was metal, the fact that the other half was not would be a surprise.
Kelbor-Hal had ascended through the ranks of the Mechanicum rapidly indeed, and achieved full mastery of the Red Planet at the age of just over two centuries. His discoveries had pushed the Mechanicum centuries ahead in the Quest For Knowledge and through a mixture of cunning and charisma, he had gathered the various sects of Mars to his side; through charm, bribes, or even the threat of pure force where it was required.
Ambitious and brilliant, Kelbor-Hal had barely begun to fulfill his ambitions. He intended to unify Sol properly, to have Mars not merely be the greatest power in the system, but to rule it all. To quell the savages that populated the other worlds, squabbling amid the ruins of ancient majesty, and to rebuild the glory of the Mechanicum.
Perhaps even to expand beyond Sol, and to reclaim the wayward colonies built by the expeditionary fleets sent out in ages past.
But now all of that was threatened by a primitive upstart from Terra.
The self-proclaimed "Emperor of Mankind".
Kelbor's lips curled into a sneer at the very thought of that arrogant blowhard.
The Emperor and his Imperium had expanded across Terra, and pushed back the Mechanicum's raids. Once, Mars had regularly deployed expeditions to demand tribute from the petty kingdoms of Terra and excavate ancient technology, but the Emperor had put an end to that, claiming the spoils of the Golden Age for himself, hoarding and hiding them away from the rightful heirs of the Ancients. He had even employed those heretics of the Terrawatt Clans, who thought themselves oh-so brilliant.
That in itself had been troubling enough, but in the last twenty years, the Emperor's expansion had accelerated dramatically.
Previously, he had been dismissed as just another warlord. A particularly successful one, granted, but not unprecedented. The Mechanicum had seen such warlords rise before and outlasted them and their empires. Eventually, they would have mustered the forces to crush him themselves, or he would have died to one of his rivals.
But in a mere two decades, the Emperor had gone from merely a particularly prominent warlord to conquering almost all of Terra, with only the Pan-Pacific Empire and the Ethnarchy remaining as his rivals.
And most troubling of all was the cause of his success.
Somehow, the Emperor had found the ability to create unlimited crops and medicines of frankly absurd potency for his empire, things which he had used to buy the loyalty of those who would have otherwise fought to their last breath. The Panacea Fruits, Aqua Ghyranis, the array of vaccines and cures for even the most potent bioweapons…
Biologis Magi had obtained a handful of samples, and the most brilliant minds on Mars had been befuddled by those things. Kelbor-Hal himself had studied the objects, and been astonished by the beauty and complexity of their work.
The incredible knowledge that had gone into the Imperium's new treasures combined with how the Emperor handed them out to everyone as if they were mere trinkets, meant there was no doubt about it. The Emperor had found, at the very least, a partially functioning STC, and was using it to bolster his empire.
The very idea of a primitive barbarian who barely understood what he had in his grasp having one of those glorious artifacts was infuriating. And as it became clear that the Emperor had no intention of stopping at conquering Terra alone, it became apparent that steps would need to be taken to deal with him.
Kelbor-Hal had begun supplying resources and weapons to Luna and the Ethnarchy, even as he began preparing a more suitable response to crush the Emperor and bring Terra firmly under the Mechanicum's control once and for all. In a way, the situation had been a golden opportunity. The Mechanicum could have conquered Old Earth long ago, but the political will had always been absent. The great mages and priests of the Machine God were reluctant to dedicate the resources needed to pacify and occupy Terra, preferring to send in task forces to scavenge for lost technology.
But the threat of the Emperor and the virtual certainty that he possessed an STC meant that there was now a real way to motivate the Mechanicum from its lethargy.
Kelbor-Hal had merely needed the time to cajole the various sects, to convince them to support him and organize the invasion. A counter to the Emperor also needed to be devised. Primitive upstart he might be, but he was clearly a powerful psyker, and a transhuman on top of that. He would be difficult to deal with, but Kelbor-Hal had a project in the works.
He had just needed time…until his careful plans had been ruined by those idiots.
A cough sounded from behind him and Kelbor-Hal spun on his heel to scowl at his subordinate. Fabricator Lector Kane looked visibly nervous, a servo-skull hovering behind.
"What is it?" Kelbor-Hal snapped, a harsh burst of binaric code erupting from his vocalizer. It was unfair, perhaps, to take out his temper on Kane, but he could not find it in himself to care much at the moment.
Kane winced. His assistant looked even more human than Kelbor-Hal did, actively working to ensure his augmentations were as subtle as possible. It was an odd quirk for an adept of the Mechanicum, but Kelbor-Hal overlooked it due to Kane's competence.
"More reports have come in, my lord," Kane buzzed in binaric cant. "The Enyo Squadron has launched an assault on Terra directly."
Kelbor-Hal's jaw clenched, his metallic teeth grinding. "Of course they have. Those bloody imbeciles."
The Enyo Squadron had been deployed with strict orders to serve as escorts for the supplies being funneled to the Selenar Gene-Cults. Their job was strictly to ensure the Selenar tried nothing funny, and in the worst case scenario that the Imperium's fleet became functional sooner than expected, to help protect Luna from any assault until the primary forces arrived.
Instead, Augustus, that idiot, had decided to directly ally with Luna and launch an assault ahead of schedule, alerting the Emperor to their plans before the invasion force was ready.
Augustus will become a servitor for this, Kelbor-Hal vowed to himself. It was obvious he was already as brainless as one. Clearly not fit to command a battle squadron of the Mechanicum in the slightest.
"The servo-skull has all the data on the assault so far," Kane continued. At Kelbor-Hal's curt nod, Kane issued an order and the servo-skull began transmitting, flashing streams of data appearing on the gauges inside the Fabricator Genera's artificial eyes. "More reports are still coming in, but they are fragmentary so far. And…" He trailed off, the modulation of his cant suggesting a deep reluctance to finish his sentence.
"And what?" Kelbor-Hal snapped, briefly distracted from his analysis of the battle reports.
"Enyo Squadron has requested reinforcements," Kane said, clearly wishing he was anywhere but here.
Kelbor-Hal's eyes flashed, the already crimson glow deepening.
"Augustus dares to demand reinforcements from me?" Kelbor-Hal hissed, his already harsh cant becoming a sound that would have made the ears of a menial bleed. Even Kane couldn't help but wince, but Kelbor-Hal was furious.
Forge Master Augustus was one of the most brilliant adepts on Mars, a pioneer among the Magos Biologis. He had raided Terra before, and clashed with the Imperium's defenders. Because of those things, Kelbor-Hal had chosen him to manage relations with Luna, believing he would be able to earn the trust of the Gene-Cults and monitor Terra as needed.
But that decision had been a mistake. Augustus's ego had overcome his sense, and now Kelbor-Hal's plans were ruined.
For a moment, he was sorely tempted to just abandon Enyo Squadron and progress with his plans as originally intended. Enyo would die, but they would inflict some damage in the process, which would be helpful once the invasion proper was launched.
Then, common sense reasserted itself. The element of surprise had been lost. Between Enyo Squadron and the gene-cults launching a simultaneous assault upon the Imperium, there was no doubt that the Emperor would go after Luna at once as soon as he had crushed the immediate threat to his empire.
And if Kelbor-Hal wished to buy the time needed for his plans to come to fruition, he would need to extend this war.
"Deploy Nike Squadron and House Taranis to support Enyo," Kelbor-Hal said, a little sourly. "But Lord Commander Verticorda is to assume command of the campaign once he reaches Terra. Augustus has proven himself an idiot, he can't be trusted with this."
Kane bowed. "As you say, Fabricator-General."
"What news of the project?" Kelbor-Hal asked, changing the subject. "Has Chrom provided any updates?"
"The reports from Mondus Gamma are most promising. Forge Master Chrom predicts the project should be complete before the end of this solar cycle."
"Excellent," Kelbor-Hal said, his mood improving slightly. Lukas Chrom, at least, was reliable and could be trusted to handle his work well.
As Kane left, Kelbor-Hal turned back to the window, surveying his kingdom once more.
Be logical, he told himself firmly. Do not give into the weakness of emotions.
Forcing him to rationally consider the situation as he analyzed the data reports, Kelbor-Hal realized the situation was not as unsalvageable as it seemed.
Augustus had been a fool, yes. But by all indications, even if the fleet the Emperor had commissioned the Terrawatt Clan to make reached completion soon, it would only be sufficient to secure Luna. The Ring of Iron could easily produce a fleet many times that size, it was merely a matter of cajoling the various sects that controlled the different parts of the Ring to work together.
The fact that they would most likely not be able to use Luna as a staging ground for the invasion was unfortunate, but not catastrophic.
Above all, Mars was still safe. As powerful as the Emperor was, he was still just a man, still just another barbarian warlord among many. He lacked the ability to strike directly at Mars even if he united Terra and conquered Luna tomorrow.
And once Chrom's project was complete, then dealing with the Emperor would be easy.
No, things were still going according to plan, if with a few hiccups.
Soon, the Mechanicum would claim its rightful destiny as The Heirs of the Ancients and masters of Sol, and then…the galaxy awaited.
Author's Note: Here's an invite code to my Discord: fapZ8K2n
This chapter draws heavily from the novel Mechanicum by Graham McNeill. The characters Fabricator General Kelbor-Hal, Fabricator Locum Zagreus Kane, Forge Master Lukas Chrom, along with Knight House Taranis and Lord Commander Verticorda are from there. That said, being two centuries young, Kelbor-Hal is obviously different from the man that Mechanicum portrays.
I would also note that despite the heavy influence, Mechanicum is not entirely canon to Everqueen, mostly because of things like the Akashic Records which aren't really compatible with my canon.
Enyo Squadron and Nike Squadron are my own inventions, since I couldn't find any material covering what the Mechanicum's fleets were like before they joined the Imperium. Forge Master Augustus is my own original character as well.