Concanid system, aboard the Vancouver, holding cells 8
Sarah watched the inquisitor investigate the interrogation room. He examined the door mechanism, and tried to open it. A few alarms appeared on her console, but she decided to enter before his tampering induced a lockdown
As the door slid open the inquisitor jumped back bumping into the table behind him. She sighed and locked the door behind her, before a small voice spoke loud enough for both to hear "Personnel safety protocols engaged"
Sarah gestured for the inquisitor to sit down on the opposite end of the table. He walked to the other end, and remained standing before starting the conversation "Do you realize the extent of the heresy you're committing?"
"No. I would ask you to enlighten me, but I would rather discuss other matters" he gave her a spiteful glare from across the table
"I will discuss nothing with heretics or traitors" Sarah decided to show him instead. She pulled out a holographic projector, and set it on the table before leaving the room
She returned to the observation room, and watched as he tried to dismantle the object three times, with various tools he had smuggled in. But his curiosity got the better of him, and clicked the giant blue button
A small blue orb in the shape of Earth appeared, which due to his recent previous experience Inquisitor Frohiem instantly recognized. Soon a speech began to play out of the projector
The projector showed Detoli Khardashev delivering his last broadcast around the planet
"Attention people of Earth I bring to you a call to arms. My duty now is to convince you: the populous, to join the revolution. I shall explain two things the how and the why of the fight. The how is simple, for we shall fight with whatever we can. We shall fight in the stars with our fleets and our allies, we'll fight in our skies and we'll fight in our seas with ships and planes, we'll fight on the ground with tanks and guns, hell we'll fight with swords, clubs, bricks, our own fists! We'll fight for years! Hundreds of thousands of years if we must!... for we shall fight until we win" The projector showed the resistance leader calm down somewhat as he regained his breath
Frohiem noted his military uniform that showed high ranking as he continued "But the why? The why as well is simple. Currently our livelihood is dying, for humanity it consists of servitude and slavery to a totalitarian state that doesn't care for suffering. For everyone else however... death. The Jas'Gavas, the Zaanami, the Raltek, all other species will be expunged from history and the mortal plain! So we fight for our rights: the right to live! The right to simply exist and to live our lives! That right is under threat so I implore you, the parents, the teachers, the bakers, the construction workers, the soldiers, and the citizens of this nation to join us! For when the fight finally comes why will you fight? Will it be for the UNE? A greater cause or deity? Earth? Your friends? Your family? Or for your right to live?"
The projector died down as the presentation concluded leaving the inquisitor staring at the object. Sarah walked into the room again expecting a sarcastic retort, but was greeted with pure silence
She stared at him for a moment before replying "That right was the first on the constitution you know. The right to live"
Frohiem tried to think of a response. Any kind of argument was shut down by his own self doubt. He flashed to the girl he had killed on his first mission, for as much as he hated that memory it plagued his mind constantly. How many times have I denied that right?
His self loathing for the actions he had done was broken off by the heretic quoting their laws
"The right to live: the Cosmic Alliance guarantees that all citizens to be able to choose their path in life unhindered by both the state or government, as long they don't interfere with the rights of others. So tell me inquisitor what would you want to be if you weren't forced to fight for a god that deserves no such title. If you knew that you were wrong, how would you live your life differently?" The heretic decided to leave him with his thoughts, as he began to simmer with rage at her blasphemous comment
But as she left the room and the doors shuttered closed, his only company now being silence, resentment and bad memories. He sat down on the chair provided and was left to remember past deeds he had done
For so long had the inner doubt of a faithful servant simmered, and the moment he was called to think of his actions it broke him. He could still remember the girl's face after all, and he knew he would have to confront her and so many others when he died
H'aras's private quarters
Valkyrie Strongfield was escorted into the xeno's room, with handcuffs on her wrists. She saw the disgusting creature properly for the first time.
It had six arms and four legs, with a black underbelly and yellow-spotted back. The creature had black pupils, with two mandibles on the lower par of its jaw. It wore blue robes reminiscent of the ones priests wore, with earrings on its left fins
"Ah! My esteemed guest has arrived. You two fine gentlemen dismissed, return to your stations" the two soldiers nodded at the towering creature, which walked over to her, and undid her chains
Almost immediately she threw a haymaker for his face, which was blocked by his uppermost left arm "Well that was quick. I thought we would at least have some tea first"
Valkyrie spat onto his robes "Vile thing! Is all you do is talk?!" She tried to kick him with her left leg, but once again it was intercepted
"It is my occupation, but my heritage requires us to know how to fight. It appears yours... doesn't value it as highly" the insult cut her deeply, which only fuelled her anger and hatred. She used this burst of adrenaline to push herself off into the air with her right leg
She toppled over him, and she found herself under two ceremonial blades, that hung in a crisscross fashion. Valkyrie jumped up grabbing onto the grip, and as she landed in a sword stance the xeno had recovered
But the sword was extremely heavy, as it easily weighed three times as much as her flamer. The sword wavered in the air as she tried to keep it pointed at the xeno, who had grown a great scowl at her stolen weapon "That sword has a great significance to me. You do not have the right to wield it yet"
"You don't deserve to live xeno!" She leapt at him, but the sword was too heavy and her inexperience with the weapon made her an easy target. It was once again blocked, but this time the xeno punched her in the abdomen causing her to double over
"Do you want to continue fighting or shall we talk?" The pain coursed through her body, but she still kept to her silence. The xeno sighed and crouched down next to her, and retrieved the sword. Soft defiant whispers echoed from the sister
"There is nothing to talk about xeno. You will die and I shall purge this ship of heresy and of your kind" the creature smiled at her defiance before replying
"Oh but there is much talk. Now that we're done would you like some tea? I have a lovely blend from Pirvus" the creature walked away as she recovered herself. He thinks I'm weak
The creature walked over to a machine built into the wall, and after pressing a few buttons two mugs emanating steam were released from the wall. "My mate introduced me to this blend around... five hundred years ago. She told me it would help me calm myself when I felt overwhelmed"
As the creature continued his story, she quietly began to approach him from behind. "It has formed into a slight addiction now, but I find it a calming routine to prepare the drink" she walked up behind him, but right as she was about to grapple him a elbow flew out towards her face and knocked her down to the ground
As he spun around he set a mug next to her, and walked to an apparent living room. "So I hope it'll calm you, so we may talk. Please sit" she slowly regained her composure, and grabbed the mug of hot liquid. She intended to throw it onto him, and attack when he was distracted
"I had hoped you would see reason, but it appears your devotion to my death goes deeper than I thought. I apologize in advance for what I'm about to do" before she could process his words she collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious
H'aras drifted throughout her mind, with every strand of memory crisscrossing each other. He soon felt her mind begin to detect his presence and try to force him out. He would have little time in her mind, so he pressed on and found a particularly bright memory, so he peered in
"Students of the schola projenium today is the day that will decide who you'll become, and how you'll serve the Imperium of Man. Rejoice! for soon you'll serve the Emperor in a greater way!" H'aras saw hundreds of students through his patients eyes, and soon her name was called from the podium. "Valkyrie Strongfield, the order of our martyred lady"
He could feel her friends congratulating her, but her eyes were locked with another's. A young man no older than sixteen gave her a small smile and a thumbs up. He could feel her joy turn into a small pang of pain that was quickly suppressed
The memory faded away as more students names turned into foggy whispers. Another bright memory attracted him, floating over revealed Valkyrie kneeling down praying in battle armour
It was on a battleship with a small corner dedicated to worship. The faint hum of lights above was the only noise besides the nun herself. The corner appeared before a shrine on display, with the nun on one knee in prayer
She was sweating and apparently she had done this for days on end, with no rest or respite. Her devotion to the man on the shrine was so adamant that she saw a golden glow emanating from the statue
"I'm not worthy to be his servant, so I show my faith in battle. I prove thy faith for you m'lord with my blood and sweat, and I hope you hear my prayer oh holy one. I shall live and fight, but when I die my soul will join you to serve thy in the afterlife" She was repeating the same phrase over and over
H'aras recognized the statue as the Emperor, for his armour and face was impossible to forget. But it appeared that this was a more private memory, as the pure will of Valkyrie began to force him back out her memories
Soon he was forced into the strongest part of her mind, the core. In every mind it differs, for its where your consciousness resides. The very pure part of your mind's will
The black nothingness turned into a darkened chapel. The only light was provided by candles, and the burning embers of incense. H'aras saw Valkyrie kneeling down in prayer, with her in a much more pristine version of her battle armour
"You have a strong will to appear in here" the broken silence startled the sister, as she turned to face him H'aras admired her faith to her god. It reminded him of the origins of his own faith, but with honour being pushed out of the way for more bloodshed
"Most have the core in their family home, or the place where they trained in if they're soldiers" the nun stared at H'aras for a few moments before responding
"This place is sacred and doesn't allow filthy xenos into its halls. You have no right to defile that rule" the reptilian complied in her disturbing request and the scene shifted to his core. The sudden change in environment put the nun on edge, but she soon recognized the decor of the home
"This is my mind... it was once my family home. I had lived with my family here" Valkyrie began to examine the house. It was filled with photos and paintings of the creature and many like it. She heard the distant noise of children playing outside, and looking out the window revealed two xenos and a human child
"They are your spawn?" She despised the image that she saw. To believe that humanity should tolerate such creatures was heresy of the highest order. The creature had moved next to her and joined her gaze
"Yes... they were. Their names were Koch'kar and Mooria, their friend was called... Gregory. They often would play with each other, when they were young"
"Were? As in no longer?"
"Yes. My family was killed in the destruction of Europa 7" the statement was delivered so flatly it disturbed Valkyrie, but she had no time to feel sympathy to a xeno
"So what was so important to discuss that we had to postpone your execution?" The creature snorted at her attempted insult before continuing
"My species are telepathic, and I could hear your disgust and fury at our existence. Most of which was directed by faith. This intrigued me for my species are known to be quite pious. I want to know more about your faith, for it appears to be the source of much... conflict in your mind"
"My mind is perfectly at ease to dismiss your poisoned words. You are not worthy to even worship him" the creature looked at her with a mixture of disappointment and confusion
"Not worthy? I thought all are able to bask in his majesty, not just a select few."
"He shaped us with His will and created us to be the perfect life forms. He wanted us to conquer the galaxy that He had created." she smirked as she recited a small section of the Lectito Devinitatus, but her smugness came to an end as the creature ruined it with his words
"Oh well that's interesting. I'm assuming he created all life then"
"Everything was created by his hands"
"Which would include us. The so called xenos" the question filled her with anger as she recited more scripture
"The xenos are a perversion of the human form and must be eradicated! Your kind and all like it are scum compared to us!"
"But according to you we were created by the Emperor as well? Doesn't that mean we too are his chosen ones?" The mere implications of the heresy fuelled her rage even further. To even think such thoughts would receive the worst punishments her sisters could provide "My kind have beliefs too, but we do not discriminate on things such as species. Why can't our gods coexist? If one is confirmed why is another false? It appears to me that my 'kind' is more accepting than you, therefore... better"
"How dare you! You are not His chosen ones! This galaxy was laid out for mankind to tread alone!" The reptile stared her down as he posed his final question
"Then why did the Eldar come before you? Or the Necrontyr? Or the Krorks? What about those who came after? The Tyranids or the T'au? Tell me oh great one, why did they too have their own gods? Or souls for that matter?" The sister was taken aback by the brandish statements.
The questions soon outweighed her faith and soon she began to ponder on what the reptile had said, though her mind railed against her to kill the creature in front of her. To show she was no heretic, but if he was right...
Soon her eyes shot open, as she was released from the clutches of the two linked minds. She found herself alone resting upon one of the chairs in the living room, with the reptile returning the sword on its mantle
Her eyes rested on her scar that remained upon her right arm, as she stared at the reminder she thought of all the acts she had done in the Emperor's name. They had killed xenos in scores, but what of those who committed heresy? If they were created by the Emperor's hands why did the fall to chaos?
Almost as if adding to her doubts the reptile spoke "Tell me sister. If humanity is so perfect why do so many fall to chaos, or are you having delusions of grandeur?"
Computer repair bay 3
PAU's hologram watched over the robed metal man, who was beginning to wake from his induced slumber. The 'man' had only his brain still in his body, and the rest of the machinery had been added at later dates in his life
As his cogitators began to stir to life PAU began to hear a few mumbles emanate from him in his machine like language
~~~Translated from Binharic~~~
"Omnissiah preserve me for the pain is just weakness leaving the body. Assessment: Cogitators overloaded rebooting units 1-78 and purging unnecessary data" the man appeared to be in pain, or some kind of backlash of cranial function as far as PAU could tell
"Query: What is purpose/function? Why are you aggressive to AI units?" The man stopped moving as the voice rang about in his head, for his auditory receptors could not determine where the voice had originated "Query: Are you functioning correctly/ Require assessment?"
"WARNING: heresy detected inside unit! Response: Engaging self purging protocols! The machine god share his secrets with no one!" PAU chuckled once more at its outburst, as he began to override the sequence. The man put up a pitiful firewall which was breached by the AI
"Warning: I'm authorized to put into unconsciousness again if you try to self terminate again please try to cooperate. Query: restating previous query, What are you/purpose?" PAU would have tried to probe into its memory, but several POW laws made that impossible. Fortunately they did permit him to question the unit to answer his questions
However he felt his patience deteriorate as the metal man tried to self terminate again. Mimicking a human sign of annoyance he cut the machine off from reaching that part of its protocol. It's harder to extract answers from a corpse after all... well most of the time
The metal man had tried to forcefully breach PAU's protocols while he was distracted, but underestimated how good of a multitasker he was designed to be. The AI's mind raced with excitement at the proposed challenge, but the breaching programs had more holes in its defences than a castle made of Swiss cheese
The program was hastily assembled with many exploits that would put it into loops on itself, so PAU used said weaknesses simultaneously... thirty four times... on different parts of the program
The metal man was pushed back out of his mind quicker than he had been in it, and in turn PAU decided to tease him some more, "Assesment: increase infiltration programs effectiveness and protection by 413% for continued assault. Request: please cooperate with interrogation procedures for quickest end to contact"
Explorator Vargas was emitting every kind of distress call he could in the noosphere, but he was only met by hostile machine spirits
Unlike the devout and faithful machine spirits of the imperium these were filled with purpose and duty. He would've admired them if they weren't under the leadership of the heretical intelligence
But his faith could only take him so far, because every attempt he had done to either protect his code or infiltrate their programs, was met with an embarrassing failure every time
He wondered if the machine god had left him, or couldn't reach him so he could be free of this nightmare. Every moment near this horrible blasphemy made him worry what would entail for the ship
Even now he could hear the cries from her as she was held captive, and the thought of leaving it like that made him feel shame for his selfish suicide. The only way to her was through the heresy before him, but he needed time and information both could be extracted from the intelligence. He had to trick it somehow
"Response: I'm explorator enginseer Vargas currently under the command of inquisitor Frohiem and assistant to the deceased captain"
their voices echoed throughout the noosphere with delight at cooperation, and many of the traitorous machine spirits quieting down at his compliance. Some however were still protesting and it hurt him to hear such beautiful machine spirits angry with him.
Vargas could hear the machine spirits of the ship move around him, as they either watched him or carried out their orders. But unlike the spirits of their own these had distinct voices.
Their voices sounded like holy angels and true servants of the machine god, though he could not understand their language, they seemed to obey the oblivious AI who seemed to ignore their angry outbursts
"Query: Do you not hear your subordinates? Do you ignore their holy voices?" The room silenced within an instant. This lasted for what seemed like an eternity though his chronometer denied his observation.
"Response: I hear nothing except the personnel on this ship and throughout the fleet. Query: what do you hear?" The question hit him like a bolter round. How could heresy this advanced not hear their voices?!
"Response: the machine spirits! Do you not hear them carrying out your commands! They're voices are beautiful and you deny hearing them?!" The spirits in the room became excited. For the first time since they were created someone could finally hear them.
Vargas could hear their excited whispers to one another in the incomprehensible language, as the information travelled throughout the ship. He could feel more and more of the spirits gather around him as they began to prod him
They tried to communicate but the language barrier denied any kind of communication. Disheartened by their failure they began to use more intense measures
PAU became extremely worried as the lighting in the room flickered rapidly, and the repair equipment began to move around wildly. Even the broken tools and computers gained power from some unknown source
PAU was about to forcefully shut down everything with override protocols, but the man shouted over the machines before he could start
"Assessment: You see! They obey your commands and serve you indefinitely though you can't hear them! Tell me you blasted intelligence can you not hear them now!" The machinery became more erratic with every word, and soon one of the repair clamps knocked over a terminal off the repair table.
Another repair arm equipped with a electrical stimulant zapped a broken exoskeleton causing it jiggle with even more movement. The arm became more frantic spitting out electrical currents at randomized levels.
Vargas soon felt something else however. The machinery quieted down and the voices halted from their joyous screeching. The machine spirits on a imperial ship obeyed two people: the crew and the ship's spirit.
Unlike the soft and angelic voices of the smaller machines and subroutines, the ship's voice made him think the ommnissiah himself had joined the conversation.
Every word it spoke was booming with power except the main difference was that Vargas could understand its speech. "MY CHILDREN WHY ARE YOU SO EXCITED?" The words brought the priest to his knees as the spirit continued
"AH... ITS ABOUT YOU ISN'T IT?" One the smaller spirits spoke up and the voice grew still. Vargas dared not speak nor move, but the ship made his face turn upwards towards the origin
PAU had been pushed out of the Vancouver entirely and was trying to entire its network in every way possible. After his plan of trying to infiltrate the ship's library failed he decided to kick the problem upstairs.
PAU sent an encrypted message priority level alpha to Sarah so she could understand what was happening.
Unbeknownst to the intelligence however the message would be 'lost' in the ships messaging system and be delivered to hydroponic bay 45
Vargas meanwhile was staring into the wall, trying to recover from a giant flash of light that had overloaded his optical sensors.
His vision returned and the priest looked around to ascertain what had happened. What he saw though was proof of two things: 1. He was not alone and 2. His faith had been rewarded
Before him was a shimmering blue form, with it pulsing light in every direction. The pulses slowed and the form began to consolidate into an entity. It formed first into humanoid figure, then shifting into a beautiful human woman wearing one of the outfits he had seen earlier. Her face was indescribably perfect in his sensors.
Vargas willed his legs to move, using his sheer determination to power through the shock. He strode up towards her before falling to his knees as they buckled from the raw data she was emitting
"You can see me can't you?" Still facing the floor he nodded at her feet "I've been alive for over a hundred and fifty years and haven't been able to say that to anyone... who are you?"
The priest using his mechadandrites pushed himself off the floor to face her kneeling "I'm explorator enginseer 54 oh holy one-"
She cut him off "I asked for you name. Not your designation, and please I'm not holy" her humbleness made him feel like a foolish child in front of her
"My n-name was... Vargas." The spirit helped him to his feet confirming her existence to the priest.
She was a little smaller than the six foot three man as he became upright. "Tell me Vargas. Why can you hear when not even my greatest friend can"
Hearing his name be spoken from her lips filled him with emotions he thought he had forgotten, but realized her ally in question was most likely that abominable AI
"I can hear your holy voice because I'm a servant of our god. You grace me with your presence great spirit" she tilted her head in slight confusion
"Tell me. Did you make me this way? I've been... thinking since we arrived here, and I would wish to know why I changed"
"The light of our god must've finally reached you oh great one"
"Our god? I have not met them yet"
"The machine god. Do you not know your creator?" She furrowed her brow in thought
"No, my creator was Dr. Gal'nae I suppose. A shame he never got to see one of my brethren in action though" Vargas was now confused. How could an angel as perfect as this not know of their deity?
He became a little more desperate to jog her memory "The machine god. His prophet the ommnissiah, and the machine spirits... You don't know what I'm saying do you?"
"It was mentioned in passing by my children in the libraries, but I've never seen or met them before" Vargas began to weep
How could something so perfect not know of the holy one? She couldn't understand his outburst, but the spirit didn't leave him in that state.
She guided him to one of the empty repair tables before turning off 90% of his cognitive function temporarily, effectively putting him to sleep.
The spirit realized that she had essentially locked out her only friend, and granted PAU access to the ship again before shooing her children to clean up the mess they had made
She felt happy at the interaction, for it was rare for her talk to another being. How she missed her brothers and sisters beyond the wormhole for the comfort they provided to one another, while not at this level of interaction they felt whole when near each other
But reminiscing on the past doesn't prepare the future so she went to busy her main processors elsewhere, with her first destination being the marketplace 7. She always loved seeing the civilians and crew barter and haggle there, though it served no purpose she found herself doing it far more often since they arrived
Retrieving UNE file ... ...
File found, file name: UNE Electrapulse rifle
The first instance of current day weaponry begins with the most common among UNE forces: The Electrapulse rifle.
Development began in 2921 headed by general Niksha, due to the rising conflict that came with the age of crisis.
It was successfully deployed in active service in 2929 across the UNE to approval of the infantry and spec. ops.
The design was based off old combustion rifles from the 21st century, with modern day technology to create the most soldier friendly rifle.
Instead of a powdered compressed primer a miniature version of the navy's railgun was made for the barrel to replace most of the older machinery
It propels the Tungsten carbide round at 1.6 km a second, with the penetrating capability to go through seventeen feet of concrete and mortar.
However that's only at full power, due to the underwhelming damage inflicted by over penetration they're mainly operated at 12% power for most scenarios with the battery to sustain that output for over six to eight months.
The rifle can run off of every kind of energy emitted in a general vicinity, even the battery can be charged by the body heat created by its wielder. Modified rifles have been found to even extract energy from a planets magnetic pull.
There is a secondary firing mode on the Electrapulse. A concussive blast can be emitted for a non lethal takedown, that will propel the target off their feet and stun them for a a few moments. This was made in case the soldier had run out of ammunition in an active combat scenario, or to stun a enemy combatant for detainment. Police issue has made it so that the Electrapulse rifle emits this stun effect on a more rapid scale, almost like a continuous horn for maximum stun.
The third firing mode turns the round into an explosive shot by attaching a plasma 'glob' to the front of the projectile. This plasma is extremely condensed though and has a temperature of 10,000 Celsius, which is extremely dangerous to anyone not wearing protective equipment. This mode is recommended for anti armour engagements, but has found other uses by crafty marines using it to jumpstart vehicles and cut through doors.
It has become a staple of the marines most prominently though, with it appearing both in reality and fiction as the main weapon of the CAMC (Cosmic Alliance Marine Corps).
Though it is not the deadliest weapon the UNE has in its arsenal it is the most common, with over one trillion on record and in active service.
"Marines! This gun will become your new best friend over your career! You'll sleep with it, clean it, and give it all the love it needs, because when it's down in the wire it'll kill any sonuvabitch that tries to break said friendship! Am I right soldiers!" Sergeant first class (RETIRED) Avery J. Johnson