The Stormbird drifted down through the noxious layers of heavy-metal-laden clouds on its plasma jets, buffeted by strong tidal winds and occasional lightning strikes. After several minutes they finally passed through the cloud base, revealing the small planet's surface. Vast plateaus of hewn rock and weathered metal superstructures stretched out into the horizon, lit by the faint, gloomy light of the blue supergiant filtered through the dense cloud layer and the occasional bright flash of thunder. Slick with acidic rain, the sprawling half-buried complexes crisscrossed along the ground like the angular metal roots off a felled tree. Beneath the toxic cloud layer, the air at the surface was cold, damp, and stagnant. Beyond the muffled sound of distant thunder and the low hum of the Stormbird's engines, they were enveloped by an eerie silence.
As the shuttle descended closer and closer to ground level, the true scale of the environment became clear. The small ship was dwarfed by the impossibly huge tangles of pipes and lattices, themselves simply the miniscule tips of a far larger megastructure poking up through the bare rocky surface of Thrain II. Like a fly hovering over the scarred hide of a mighty beast, the shuttle drifted along towards its target: a great, yawning hole surrounded by dense networks of pipes and channels leading deeper into the seemingly bottomless pit. Were it not for its perfectly circular construction, it may have been mistaken for some sort of natural depression formed by millennia of erosion and weathering. The Stormbird descended into the dark abyss, turning on its external floodlights which only managed to keep the darkness that surrounded it slightly at bay.
"We've almost reached the landing platform, ready yourselves to move out." Leman said, climbing down the ladder into the aft cargo bay of the Stormbird.
"Aye, outsider." Vêlyma said. She then turned to Admu, who seemed to be slightly shaken up. "Tia, are you sure you're alright? You really gave us a scare."
"I'm fine, really." Admu said with a smiling facade. "It was just… motion sickness. You needn't worry about me."
"If you say so." Vêlyma said, turning to help Ykkhí ready their equipment.
Leman approached Admu, taking her aside and out of earshot of the Kin.
"What are they talking about? Is something the matter?" Leman said.
"It's… nothing. I just need to focus on the mission." Admu said, with a somewhat distant look in her eyes.
"...Very well." Leman said.
"We're here!" Dóri said, descending into the cargo bay. "I've got the ship in an automated landing sequence, roughly 1 minute before we reach the platform. It'll take me at least an hour to extract the purifier safely, not accountin' for travel time and any other unforeseen… difficulties. Just stay sharp, move quickly, and keep your eyes open, and we might just make it out of here with all our bits intact." He said, laughing nervously. Leman could tell just how afraid the Kin really was.
The rear cargo doors slowly winched open, and a rush of the cold, damp air flooded the shuttle's interior. It carried a sickly and industrial scent that made Leman's nose instinctively wrinkle.
"All right, let's get goin'! The fate of our Kinsmen depends on us!" Dóri said, rushing out alongside Vêlyma and Ykkhí.
Nestled within its mechanical den, the hulking mass of rotting flesh and corroded metal shifted and stirred as it watched the video feeds of the tiny shuttle descending into his domain. It watched the screen intently as the ant-like figures crawled out of their vessel.
"Kiiinnnn…?" the daemon groaned. "No, there is something else…"
Ever since the shuttle had descended into the planetoid's atmosphere, the daemon Mekegare had felt an unknown presence shivering through him. It was uncanny, unlike anything he'd felt before. He stared intently at the display, watching the Kin emerge followed by two much larger figures.
"What's… this?" he said, zooming the surveillance camera in further. "That one… an Astartes? A captain perhaps… and the other…"
His video feed zoomed in closer to the tallest figure, pausing on a frame of her slightly blurred face. The daemon's control over the surveillance system extended far beyond mere visual feeds, the entire thing acting as an extension of himself. Thus, he could feel the psychic energies emanating from this being even from so far away. It was obscured, veiled somehow, yet he could feel the shadow of its presence all the same. It was at once alien and yet somehow familiar, alluring yet repulsive. As a being that subsisted on souls and psychic energy, the potent psychic aura was irresistible to his daemonic appetite. Yet, something inside of him was… disgusted by it. It was too pure, too alluring. As if it was something uncanny, something that should not exist.
He unpaused the video feed and when the frame skipped to the present, he saw the object of his hunger staring directly at him… or rather, at his surveillance camera. His beady, red eyes widened with anticipation and in an instant, he understood her intent. He did not have to waste any time drawing this creature into his lair. She would seek him out all on her own, he only needed to lead the way.
The lumbering cybernetic maggot crawled out of its nest on its mechanical limbs, emerging into a large chamber filled with a haze of industrial pollution. It was once a cooling pond, the largest of several that had surrounded the immense supercogitators known as Votann. The cooling vats kept them running at stable temperatures, a counterbalance to the fiery geothermal plasma furnaces that powered them. Now, the furnaces were cold, the Votann were silent, and the vast lake-sized cooling pond was nothing but a putrid repository for all of the corruption and filth which had accumulated thanks to Mekegare's takeover of the Kin hold. The screams of countless digital souls could be heard shrieking and crying in the gloomy abyss. The daemon turned, its back lit by the faint radioactive glow of the toxic pit. Before him, countless forms were gathered in the darkness, their rusted metal hides faintly glittering with baleful light. The daemon raised its bloated arm, studded and interwoven with industrial machinery, and addressed the gruesome assembly.
"My servants…" Mekegare said. "Locate the intruders… bring the morsel to my web… kill the rest."
The shambling masses wordlessly obeyed, grinding and shifting out into the halls and passages of the Kinhold. A single, serpentine figure of jagged edges and glowing red eyes loomed in the darkness, awaiting its command.
"One of their numbers is formidable… you, Bazylisk… destroy him."
The Bazylisk opened its maw, revealing a morbid display of saws and drills. It roared like a bellowing furnace, thundering along its misshapen limbs and staggering out of the chamber. Its cries and scraping claws echoed endlessly through the dead halls of the abandoned Kinhold.
"Alright, the purifyin' device should be just through this hatch." Dóri said, unscrewing the bolts to a large metal plate. They were in the middle of a long, dark hallway a short distance from the landing pad, so vast that their flashlights and lamps did not even reach the ceiling. Dóri and Ykkhí slowly shuffled backwards, carrying the heavy plate before gently placing it down in an attempt to remain undiscovered. "It gets tight in here, so only us Kin can navigate the passages. You two stay out here and be on the lookout for any trouble." Dóri said.
"Understood." Leman said, unsheathing his sword.
Dóri, Ykkhí, and Vêlyma knelt down and began crawling into the vent, into a tangle of wires, pipes, and tubing. It reminded Leman of a wild, overgrown jungle, though instead of life and heat there was naught but cold and death.
"Well, I guess we'll just be waiting here for now." Leman said.
He turned to Admu, who had her back turned and did not respond. She simply stared out into the darkness.
"Admu?" Leman said.
"They're coming." Admu said.
Before Leman could question her, the sound of clanging and scraping metal began echoing from the dark. Shadowy figures swayed and shambled beyond their vision, indicated only by flickering, broken indicator lights and the occasional sparking of flayed wires.
Is this what the High Kâhl was referring to? Leman thought.
The horde of mechanical horrors stumbled into the range of their lamp-light, revealing the countless reanimated corpses of Ironkin, their electro-mechanical innards dangling from shattered and corroded casings, and the long-dead husks of Fleshkin trapped within possessed exo-suits and power armor that had long since outlived their wearers. Long wires dragged at their feet, extending from the darkness and feeding into their open chests and caved-in skulls. They did not speak, or groan, or make any biological noise at all. Instead, they emitted a low and nauseating electrical hum, a dissonant buzz that reminded one of a soon-to-fail bulb or transistor multiplied by several magnitudes. Leman raised his sword to fight.
"Admu, are you-"
Leman turned to see Admu in what looked to be a fit of rage. Her teeth and fists were clenched tightly, and her eyes emanated pure hatred. Before Leman could even move, she leapt into action and began tearing the mechanical zombies to pieces, with Leman rushing in soon after. He cleaved mechanical limbs and impaled sparking torsos with his flaming blade, dismembering his robotic foes one by one. In the corner of his vision, he saw only a blur of light and fists as Admu shredded the cybernetic creatures like a whirlwind, leaving nothing but shattered metal, glass, and circuits in her wake.
Leman knocked down the last of their number, plunging his sword into its chest and twisting it. The malfunctioning husk reached its remaining arm towards its attacker, before finally falling limp to the ground.
"I think that was all of them. Admu, tell me what's going on-"
Leman turned to see Admu sprinting away into the darkness, towards the same direction that the mechanical horde had emerged from.
"Wait! What in the fires of Hel are you doing!?" Leman shouted, chasing after her.
"I'm sorry Leman, there's no time to explain! There is something I must do; you have to stay here and protect the Kin!" Admu said, her voice determined yet shaken. "Don't worry, I will be back soon!"
"Damnit, Admu-"
Before Leman could respond, the section of the wall between them exploded without warning. Leman skidded to a halt, raising his arm to shield himself from the hail of shattered rock and broken metal. A torrent of stale air blew past him, obscuring the already dim surroundings. As the dust settled, Leman lowered his arms and his eyes adjusted to the darkness. An immense figure loomed over him, a titanic dragon-like beast of rusted steel wreathed in layer upon layer of jagged scrap and frayed wires. It looked like a great heap of colossal mining machines and industrial equipment had been animated and been given form by arcane magic. Its hulking, misshapen arms were a crude amalgamation of pistons and servos, bound together by oversized rivets, thick straps of metal and daemonic energy. A great, beating heart of blue-violet plasma crackled and pulsated in its opened chest cavity, nestled within a dense and tightly wound tangle of knotted wires and cords. Atop its segmented, serpentine neck armored with great plates of corroded metal, the beast's horned skull dripped with boiling oil and steamed with toxic haze, rows upon rows of misaligned drill bits and buzzing power saws whirling inside of its gaping maw. The machine-wyrm raised itself from the ground, puffing out its disemboweled chest and releasing a thunderous roar.
"You've got to be kidding me." Leman said, gritting his teeth and raising his sword. "Another one of these!?"
Its spiked tail swung towards him, but he did not dodge. He bent his knees and bore the full weight of the strike, stabbing the beast's metal frame with his sword and digging his feet into the floor. It let out a high-pitched cry that seemed to indicate surprise and began writhing about to free itself. Leman's unexpected strength kept the wyrm in his grasp, his feet barely budging as it flailed its limbs fruitlessly.
"My turn." Leman said.
He shifted his stance, planting one of his feet to his side and twisting his torso. He flung the monster by its tail against the wall, slamming it into the thick metal sheeting. He shifted his stance again, dragging the beast further and sending it careening towards the opposite wall. With a thunderous crash, the mechanical dragon smashed into the wall. It thrashed in a mad frenzy, using all of its arcane pistons and mechanical muscle fibers to escape the Primarch's hold. While his grip would not budge, the segment of the beasts' tail that Leman had impaled with his sword was beginning to fray and tear, until at last the rapid convulsions had torn it free. The dragon leapt away and swung around in a circle, keeping its beaming red eyes trained on Leman. The Primarch kicked the severed tail section to the side, drawing his sword from the metal husk and readying it for another attack.
"This won't be nearly as difficult as the last one." Leman said.
The machine-creature did not charge him again after being repelled. Like a cornered animal, it kept its distance and arched its spine, snapping its mechanical jaws. Leman readied himself to charge the dragon and strike the killing blow. Yet, before he could attack, the scrap wyrm reared up on its hind legs and puffed out its chest, its distended metal ribs and the tangle of circuit-innards within its chest stretching open to reveal the pulsating plasma core within. The metal plates and strips all over its body began to shift and open like the quills of a porcupine, electrified energy from the plasma core charging along the exposed surface area. The dragon's plasma heart began to glow with an ominous energy, releasing tube-shaped limiters that only increased its output. When he realized what the creature was doing, Leman only had enough time to raise his arms to protect himself from the oncoming attack. With a harrowing shriek, the mechanical dragon erupted in a torrent of indigo energy, expanding outwards in a perfect sphere of electrified plasma that arced with tendrils of bright violet lightning. The energy wave engulfed everything in the long hallway, enveloping Leman in a blinding light.
Leman blinked his eyes open, rapidly trying to assess his situation. His armor was sizzling and smoking, but otherwise seemed untouched. Moreover, he felt no pain aside from a faint numbness on his skin that quickly faded away. The mechanical dragon, enveloped in clouds of steam and discharging the remaining static energy from its body, returned to its former position as its body returned to normal.
It seems the attack was ineffective. Leman thought.
"Let's get this over with." He said.
Leman raised his sword arm to prepare for another attack-
Yet his arm would not move.
"What?" Leman said.
He flexed his arm with all of his might, eliciting a loud, grinding noise from his armor as it slowly moved in the intended direction. He attempted to take a step forward and encountered similar resistance. Suddenly, his knee buckled and fell to the floor, his arms hanging limply at his sides. He slowly raised his arm with extreme effort, the act of merely flexing his fingers a herculean labor.
"My… armor… what is this?" Leman said between gritted teeth. "An… EMP? It's not possible… power armor should be immune to… unless…" His eyes widened as he remembered his observations on the Kin hearthship, and their advanced mastery of technology. "Damn Archeotech!"
Realizing that the towering beast was still there, he looked up to see the mechanical dragon prowling towards him, dragging its clawed feet and creating sparks as they scraped along the metal floor. It raised its largest claw, bearing 4 sword-like talons, preparing to strike its immobilized prey. With a piercing, metallic screech to herald its victory, the wyrm swung its immense claw crashing into the ground.
The dust slowly settled around the gouged and smashed remains of the impact crater, revealing a scattered assembly of armor. Grieves, gauntlets, pauldrons, an empty chestplate… and no corpse. The dragon focused the apertures of its mechanical eyes, searching for the remains of its fallen foe… only to feel the searing heat of a flaming Powersword cleaving off 2 of its right claws. The dragon reeled backwards, screeching and howling, turning to face its opponent - Leman Russ, wearing nothing but the thin, skintight that lay underneath his armor. He gripped the hilts of his sword and axe tightly in his bare hands, scowling with bared teeth.
"You bastard… guess you wanted to do this the hard way, eh?" He said.
The dragon bellowed thunderously from its drill-bit maw, and Leman roared back with a mighty battle-cry before leaping into the fray.