Chapter 4: Ascension
With a booming shock wave the Normandy SR-2 arrived into the Skepsis system. The sleek craft passed by the relay and was proceeding to a nearby refueling depot. Commander Shepard was at his post at the CIC looking at the ship's position on the galaxy map as the vessel maneuvered to dock. Shepard was a rugged man who kept himself in good shape evidenced by his tanned skin from time spent outdoors. He sported a black beard that matched his hair, which he kept regulation short. The whole ship shook slightly as the fuel depot docking arms connected with the ship. A prompt came on the display to pay for the refueling fee which Shepard quickly agreed to with a finger tap. The sounds of fuel lines connecting and liquid fuel pumping was barely heard amidst the hustle and bustle of the CIC as Shepard came down the steps from the galaxy map. He walked to the cockpit to meet Joker at the helm, who spun his seat around and promptly asked, "Well, what's the plan now Commander?"
"Keeping our ears open for any sort of issues in this cluster. Probably wouldn't hurt to work on our tactics a bit before we get back to building the team." Shepard replied.
"Ah, hunting down bad guys and kicking ass just like the good old days right Shepard?" smiled Joker.
"Yeah, I think I could use some of that after Horizon." replied Shepard with a tinge of forlornness in his voice.
"Oh...yeah...that. Well to be fair we got there as fast as we could and at least the colony wasn't completely taken." said Joker trying to stay positive though Shepard clearly wasn't convinced.
"It's not good enough Joker, we have to do better next time or more people are going to be lost."
"Hey I'm just saying it wasn't a total disaster and we're doing the best we can, especially you. Though...yeah, that meeting with Kaiden I can agree could have gone better." said Joker grimacing at remembering the argument that Shepard had with Kaiden at the end of the mission.
"Sigh...I tried to explain it to him, but he wouldn't listen. It's not like I could help the fact that Cerberus rebuilt me and gave me a ship. Kaiden let his emotions get the better of him, but you're right I should have handled that better." The commander crossed his arms and let his head droop slightly as he thought about what had happened.
"It sounded like an episode out of that one show uh...oh! Citadel Towers yeah! Where two guys got angry over an asari cause one of the guys cheated with her while she was dating the other one. Not exactly the same but it was similar with the amount of yelling going on." replied Joker still trying to keep the conversation somewhat light.
"Well, I guess hes moving on now. I can't blame him, especially after everything that's happened." Shepard sighed as he looked to Joker and got back on task. "Anyway monitor communications and scan for anything out of the ordinary Joker, I'll be in the crew quarters." He said as he turned to head to the elevator.
"Aye aye Commander. Just..try not to get too hung up on Horizon. Like you said, we'll get em next time." Joker acknowledged as Shepard turned back to say, "I hope so, talk to you later Joker."
"See ya commander." said Joker as he turned his seat around.
Shepard proceeded back through the CIC to the elevator. As he rode the elevator down he tried not to dwell on it, but Horizon in a way reminded him of Akuze. Where an attack by thresher maws left him the only survivor of his squad. After the attack he had to survive on whatever he could find and endure being alone in the harsh wilderness. Eventually after several weeks he finally made it back to the landing zone. Later on after becoming a Spectre he found out about another survivor of the incident, Corporal Toombs. Toombs was recovered by Cerberus after the attack and experimented on. Toombs escaped and joined with mercenaries to take revenge on the science team that caused his suffering. Shepard was able to talk him down and get Toombs to turn in the scientist that was responsible for tormenting him. However, Shepard recently got a message from Toombs and he was incensed that the commander was now with the very people who had destroyed their team all those years ago. Toombs swore he would kill Shepard if he ever met him again as well as any other Cerberus group that got in his way.
Now Shepard turned his thoughts to Kaiden who was also leaving him to deal with this situation alone. Shepard would often talk with Kaiden for post-mission analysis and to get his friend's thoughts on things. The commander offered him a spot on the new Normandy but Kaiden adamantly refused. Kaiden told Shepard to his face that he had betrayed everything he stood for by being on that ship and an argument between the two erupted. In the end Kaiden got too fed up talking to Shepard and walked away, though he did wish the commander luck in his mission. Shepard supposed that maybe Kaiden was right, yet at the same time when it comes down to survival you do what you have to do to save lives.
The Alliance and the Council were doing nothing, while an alien force was abducting human colonies. No one was investigating it and while what Cerberus did to him and Toombs was monsterous, for now he had to set it aside so that lives could be saved. Shepard still was planning to get out of this Cerberus cell at the earliest time possible but for now he would play along.
The commander came out of his train of thought as the elevator doors opened and he stepped into the crew quarters. As Shepard passed through the mess, Mess Sergeant Gardner and other crew members having lunch gave him a salute which he promptly returned. Shepard arrived at the Main Battery room past the galley and saw Garrus still working away at his terminal. Garrus glanced over his shoulder and noticed Shepard saying, "Oh! Shepard! Need me for something?"
"You got time to talk?" Shepard asked.
"Yeah sure, just let me...get..one last...there! Check it now EDI." Garrus had been working on this latest calibration for the past hour. EDI quickly chimed in reporting,
"Processing...thank you Mr. Vakarian. Javelin disruptor torpedo guidance and detonation sequence has been improved two point five percent."
"Only two point five? Come on..I was hoping for at least three percent." said Garrus, slightly disappointed.
"Simulations using your calibrations only displayed a two point five increase in effectiveness due to unaccounted for variables against evasive enemies, i.e. fighter craft." EDI replied.
"Ugh...guess I'll have to go back and check my math again. Oh well, I'll worry about it later." Garrus shrugged as he turned to face the commander. "What do you need Shepard?"
"Just wanted to bounce ideas and thoughts about the last mission." Shepard stated.
"Sure, though I think my opinion will just be what everyone else has told you. I kind of overheard you talking to Miranda about it a while ago though I didn't catch all of it." Garrus replied.
Shepard crossed his arms and said, "Yeah, we need more warning and time to intercept. Miranda says that the Illusive man has been doing all he can on that front but I can't help but think he's holding back on purpose."
Garrus wasn't so sure about that statement saying, "Maybe, but what would the Illusive man have to gain by doing that? Combat data? Can't imagine he would have too much use for what we encountered down there other than maybe Mordin's countermeasure for the seeker swarms. The Collectors were certainly unique but not too dissimilar from what we have faced before."
"Though it did confirm the Reaper connection with that last creature. I got a good look at the heads underneath those glowing eyes. Human husks, all fused together." Shepard grimaced at the thought of it.
"I was too busy dodging its damn beams from its eyes to see it in detail but I'll believe you on that. Still doesn't answer the what if question. What would the Illusive man gain by not giving us more time to intercept the Collectors?" replied Garrus.
"There's a lot of things Cerberus has done and continues to do that doesn't make a lot of sense at face value. That is until I realized it was all about control, turning animals and people into weapons." said Shepard, his disgust for Cerberus' past actions evident.
"Oh yeah, I haven't forgotten. The Rachni, Thorian Creepers, what happened to you and Toombs on Akuze. All to try to get data on how they could be used for humanity's benefit. The guys behind those experiments were scumbags and they got what they deserved in the end. Yet Cerberus also seems to have some decent people in their ranks, like the ones here on the Normandy." replied Garrus, still playing devil's advocate.
"So Miranda tells me. She says the operatives we faced before were just people taking the freedom that Cerberus offers too far. After all, they operate as isolated cells free to complete their missions how they see fit. Though the people on this ship I agree are good people I'm not too sure about the other Cerberus cells. Considering the Illusive man is no doubt aware of what all of them are doing and most likely is fine with all the torture and suffering they cause. He doesn't care about what the cost is as long as he gets results. What the Illusive man's end game is, who can say at this point." Shepard shook his head at all.
"It is nice to be able to operate freely with no rules or regulations to stop you Shepard. Even as a Spectre you still had to report to the Council, now you don't have to answer to any of them." said Garrus still trying to look at the positives of their situation. But Shepard just gave his friend the stink eye replying,
"Yeah, but then I would be betraying everything I've fought for if I go down that road. Doing whatever I please with nothing to hold me back, no accountability, no principles. Then I'd truly be what Kaiden said I've become..."
"Sigh...that...was not exactly the reunion any of us from the old days would have wanted." Garrus conceded.
"I've lost a lot of friends coming this far. I swore after Akuze I wouldn't lose more and...then Ashley died for the cause. For a short while after, that I dreamed I was back on Akuze again, all alone with everyone else dead. Kaiden helped me through what happened with her, got me out of my own head. To focus on what I needed to do." Shepard said, reminiscing on the past.
"You certainly did. We got through that last mission together. The Conduit..." Garrus replied.
"Saved the Council on top of all that, but In the end it still wasn't enough to convince them of the real threat. Then I end up spaced and my crew gets scattered. I come back and now everything is different, just like when I came back from Akuze." the commander said, dispirited by it all.
Shepard turned away from his friend and rested his arms on one of the railings off to the side of the battery. Garrus could already feel Shepard slipping back into that dark place of thought. The turian knew he needed to say something to get Shepard out of it before he got in too deep.
"Well...maybe after all this business with Cerberus is done..maybe they'll come back."
"Sigh...I want to believe that Garrus. But I don't know right now."
Shepard's head drooped into his arms for a moment. Though he didn't stay like that for long which Garrus was thankful for. Shepard sighed and then pushed himself back off the railing and stood up straight.
"Right now, all I can do is keep moving forward. Whether people come back or not, we still have a mission to do." Shepard said as he turned to look towards Garrus again who nodded in response.
"We've just arrived at Sigurd's Cradle, right now we're simply looking for any terrorists or merc groups causing trouble. Since we're in the Terminus I figured that won't take too long. We can use it as an opportunity to work on our tactics and teamwork." stated the commander. Hearing this perked Garrus up a little as he slightly smiled and replied,
"Heh, out on patrol looking for criminals causing trouble, just like old times. Speaking of our team, I figure you should probably take Grunt out on the next mission. Last time I saw him at the galley he looked pretty irritable and a Krogan cooped up too long on a ship with no outlet is not a good thing."
"I noticed that too, I'll tell him later. For now I'll go over tactics with Miranda and hopefully we can make a unit out of all these new crew mates coming in." Shepard said, though Garrus picked up on something and couldn't help but let his commander know about it.
"We'll see, though you certainly seem to talk to her a lot about things." said the turian, which made Shepard look back with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
"Heh, What are you implying Vakarian?"
"I'm just saying most officers don't spend an hour or two talking with their XO just about drills and tactics." Garrus said smiling back to his friend.
"Well...I suppose I was curious about the person who did bring me back from the dead. From what we've talked about she's not like the other Cerberus officers we've encountered though she does have a shade of that ruthlessness. But it's more of living up to the perfect ideal of what is expected of her than anything. I know how hard that can be and the stress can push you to be pretty rough on people." Shepard relented.
"So...what? You're hoping to get her to switch sides when it comes down to it?" inquired the turian.
"Like I said we're not staying with Cerberus forever. Once this business with the Collector's is done we'll go our seperate ways. I'm hoping that if we just keep talking, that Miranda eventually can start to see Cerberus for what it really is." said Shepard.
"And it has nothing to do with the fact that she has some, how to put it uhm...asari like qualities? To be fair though I am not the best judge on human features but...what is with her teeth?" asked Garrus. Shepard quickly crossed his arms and looked slightly flustered but his tone betrayed it.
"Hey now! Her teeth are perfectly fine...an overbite is... just an odd quirk for someone who supposedly was engineered to be physically perfect." said the commander still smiling.
"Yet they couldn't make perfect teeth for her..." Garrus replied sarcastically.
"Heh heh, well I personally don't mind it, I think it adds to her charm a little. Gives her a more...youthful expression I guess." Shepard said as he scratched the back of his head.
"In other words you find it cute, heh heh heh." said the turian as he continued to smile at his commander's embarrassment.
"Hah...well-" Before Shepard could continue the banter Joker interrupted over the intercom.
"Commander, you there?"
"Yeah Joker what's up?" asked Shepard as he looked up to the ceiling.
"Looks like we've got an emergency transmission coming from an Alliance missile base. It's from the planet Watson's moon Franklin. Looks like someone is trying to take control of the base and use it to launch an attack!" Joker reported. Shepard shifted to his commanding posture and ordered,
"Take us in Joker, sounds like a good warm up for us."
"Roger that!" Joker acknowledged. Shepard looked to his turian colleague and asked,
"So do you want to stay here and try to calibrate again Garrus or take a break with me and shoot some bad guys?"
"Heh, wouldn't have it any other way." Garrus replied with a grin.
"Alright, let's get Grunt and get ready." Shepard said preparing to go, but Garrus interjected,
"You could take more than just the three of us on this. I mean Jack could probably use some fresh air sitting in that hidey hole all the time. That and smashing some terrorists could probably improve her mood a bit."
"Not a bad idea." Shepard agreed as he considered the proposal. "She and Grunt can take the front while we pick them apart from the back."
"Now it's really getting to be like old times." Garrus grinned again.
As the Normandy turned to go into orbit around Franklin, it's movements were being observed by unseen eyes from a black and green crescent craft. The Shuvat was watching it all unfold silently, taking note of the Normandy and other incoming and outgoing traffic from the relay. Despite the Normandy hiding it's heat emissions, the Necrontyr had other ways to detect such vessels. The Shuvat continued its observations as it stealthily slipped through the system, it's main objective a thorough scan of the Mass Relay itself. The crescent escort ship waited for the latest arrivals from the relay to pass and then quickly began sending sensor pulses along the transit device's purple hull. While it scanned, the Shuvat's necrodermis shifted like a chameleon to match it's surroundings making it difficult to see with the naked eye save for a slight distortion. Once it had gathered its data the Shuvat moved to do a fly-by over the Franklin moon. It watched the Normandy deploy a shuttle to the surface as it continued observing just out of the Normandy's sensor range. Taking note of the military and civilian installations on the moon, the Necron ship didn't stay to watch how the fight below unfolded. The vessel moved on to the colony of Watson to continue its mission of observation but it took special note of the ship that had previously intervened on Franklin. While the Normandy's stealth systems were primitive by comparison, it did indicate to Solvatas sitting on her command throne that some other faction's presence was in the cluster. A few minutes of observing and cataloging as well as a quick fly over the other planets before the Shuvat quickly flew to the edge of the system. When Solvatas was satisfied that she was far enough away she engaged her ship's phase shifter. The Shuvat then disappeared from the system in a flash of green light.
Du'Maat continued his work within the makeshift laboratory in the processing facility. More bodies were now hanging from the claw arms in the lab including the salarian that was recovered as well as several turians. The asari he was working on earlier was now face down naked on an obsidian slab. Her back and skull were now cut open with the metallic tubes still plugged in. She was still alive but unconscious with a tube going down her throat to keep air flowing into her lungs. Du'Maat was using a scalpel-like tool to cut away some of her flesh when Veronakh with several Lychguard came into the room.
"Is your examination proving fruitful cryptek?" Veronakh asked as he came in to see what his cryptek was working on.
"Ah, yes vymark. I am currently gathering samples of nodules within this creature's nervous system. They seem to be the source of these "biotic" abilities I have processed from the colony's files. The human male also possesses these nodules but they are more indicative of haphazard mutation as opposed to this female creature. I would daresay that this asari species may have had some...intervention in their biological evolution at some point. Reminds one of another species we have encountered on numerous occasions." Du'Maat explained.
Veronakh narrowed his eyes and rasply replied, "Aeldari...damn them and their thrice damned creators."
"I wouldn't say these asari are anywhere near such a level of organic creation vymark. Though their abilities can be potent, their powers are still subject to physical laws. Additionally, I have made some progress on a proposal I wish to share with you." stated Du'Maat as he gestured his arm off to the side.
The cryptek motioned to a more darkened part of the room, where a body rose to the unspoken command of the cryptek. It walked into the light and the body revealed itself to be a human male, however it had been severely changed. The man's lower half was now covered in obsidian necrodermis armor and implants that seemed to be fused with his flesh. His spine had seemingly been replaced and reinforced with necrodermis up to the back of his head which was now hairless. The human's expression was glazed and a slight brilliant green tinge in the back of his eyes could be seen.
"What is this that you bring before me cryptek?" Veronakh inquired as he looked at the cyberized human before him.
"My proposal, though it is still early in development as you can see. The powers these biotics displayed during our capture of the facilities here, piqued my interest greatly. Thus I have been plying my understanding of organic manipulation in order to see if I can make them of use to you. I have cross-referenced a similar attempt that other dynasties have used in the past to utilize a human sub-mutant called a pyschic null. In their attempt crypteks would convert organic subjects into Necrontyr servants they called Pariahs. While the initiative of my ken was praised at the time, the difficulty in acquiring subjects along with their weakness in having organic components made them quite difficult to create and manage. My current attempt is to apply similar principles with refinements. Such as furthering reinforcement of the necrodermis along with reducing as much organic vulnerability as possible." explained the cryptek.
Veronakh put his skeletal hand to his chin and paced around Du'Maat's creation. After taking it in for a quick moment Veronakh asked, "Can it be made presentable quickly within the next few hours?"
"Yes, though may I ask why?" Du'Maat asked.
"An agreement with the colonial administrator was made with the understanding that these two would be alive at the end of your...examination. I wish to show the people under our rule that I keep my word..." sinisterly replied Veronakh.
"I understand vymark...or should I say..great one." stated Du'Maat.
Veronakh rasped a slight chuckle at that, "Not yet, hence why I am here Du'Maat. The time has come for my ascension, prepare my form for the coronation."
"Of course." replied Du'Maat warmly.
The obsidian floor began to part and another contraption arose. An elaborate chamber that Du'Maat had been preparing for this very moment. Veronakh proceeded to enter the chamber while his Lychguard stood on either side. Du'Maat went around to the back of the chamber and entered commands into a holo display behind it. Veronakh was now facing the entrance of the chamber and crossing his arms together almost looking like a corpse would in a coffin. Within the enclosed space, metallic tubes of necrodermis gently interfaced with his form as the door of the chamber began to close. Along the back of the dark contraption were glass-like containers filled with what looked like liquid metal. Du'Maat input more commands into the chamber and the liquid metal began to drain. Inside the chamber machinery could be heard beginning to work and within the next hour a new overlord of Solvatakh would be born.
The Veridine colonists had been all gathered on short notice as the skies darkened with more thunder rumbling overhead. Like what had happened to Jerry before, they were all taken by those strange skimmers to the larger ship which was now docked. The colonial administrator saw alot of familiar and worried faces from his colony as they were herded before the pyramid atop this giant spacecraft. After a few days the dreadnought ship had seemingly docked with a form of docking arm that had been built. It was being worked on by countless robotic drones and it amazed Jerry how fast they had gotten it up. The perks of being a race of robots Jerry figured, there was no wasted time and they certainly knew what there were doing with all these robotic beetles.
Jerry was pulled from his gaze at the working mechanical bugs by the sound of one of his fellows asking nervously, "What's going on Jerry? Why did they bring us here?"
It was Vern, one of the head engineers. He had helped in rebuilding the small outpost they had setup not far from their benefactor's new headquarters. However, the entire time they were rebuilding they were being surpervised, armed skeletal guards watching their every move. It was unnerving the whole time and the lack of privacy even for the most mundane things put everyone further on edge. Now after doing everything they were told to do they were suddenly pulled from their bunks and forced to return to this alien ship. They still hadn't seen any of their non-human or biotic comrades in days and Jerry still couldn't find any answer that Vern would be happy with.
"I don't know Vern, all I know is the one leading these guys said we'd be seeing things soon. I don't know what he meant by that."
Before Vern could respond one of the large ornate guards came up from behind them and rasped menacingly, "No more talking...remain silent."
To illustrate its point, it activated its blade sheathing it in green energy before them as they backed up with the rest of the remaining colonists. After a moment of waiting, another of those strange boat-like skimmers appeared and Jerry saw an entourage of the large ornate guards. Amongst the formation of skeletal giants were five individuals that stuck out to Jerry. One was darker in appearance than the others with golden pauldrons that had a dark green metallic cape. Another walked beside it that was lighter in coloration with golden metallic bits on its chin and cheek with a more bluish cape. But the biggest shock of all was seeing the last of the figures in the rear of the formation. There was a skeletal cyclops with an ornate staff in its hand that was flanked on either side by what appeared to be a man and an asari. The humanoids were in some kind of makeshift looking obsidian armor and It didn't take long for Jerry as well as the others to know who they were. Some colonists covered their mouths to silence gasps at the realization. The armor didn't cover the pair completely and their faces could be seen but the expressions were neutral and automoton. Their skin was pale and full of what appeared to be cybernetics. Their eyes were vacant and if one gave a closer look there was a slight green glow. Murmurs began to be uttered as the colonists talked amongst themselves. Suddenly one couldn't hold back his disgust at the sight any longer and cried out, "You monsters!"
The whole formation stopped, the colonists ceased muttering and looked to the one who spoke out. Jerry realized it was one of the members of security who survived the invasion. The ornate skeletal guards looked towards the human as well, though surprisingly they didn't come after him but another did. One of the figures from the formation strode quickly towards the colonists. It was the dark skeleton with golden pauldrons pushing through the crowd as it strode towards the human who dare spoke out of turn. It grabbed the man by the throat and dragged him out of the group of colonists.
The dark skeletal figure turned toward the crowd of humans holding the man up by his throat, speaking with an angered metallic rasp, "Monsters are we, fleshling pest?" Said the mechanical lord as it then shifted its gaze to the colonists, "Perhaps you would all like to see a demonstration of how truly monsterous we can be!"
One of the Lychguards came up behind the dark skeleton passing its sword to the dark one's free hand. With one quick motion the dark lord activated the blade and bisected the man at the waist instantly. The colonists wailed and cried out at the sight of the man's lower half hitting the deck of the ship. The dark figure then carried the top half of the man away, still gurgling on blood and bile to the edge of the ship. There the robotic lord threw the upper half of the human over the side, his entrails flailing in the wind as he fell to the ground below.
Solvatas could only shake her head at the display, as Xamutet returned the blade to the guard and came back to the formation. In her mind it was not necessary to kill every lesser servant that spoke out of turn, merely instill pain and or remove a lesser appendage. Still, such was Xamutet's style of rule, utter brutality and no mercy for any kind of infraction.
As he approached Solvatas spoke to him through their internal communication, "Was that really necessary cousin? You may want to cleanse your frame before we reach the steps."
A metallic grunt from Xamutet came in response, followed by a small swarm of scarabs. They moved to clean the top of the hull of entrails which made the colonists nervous. Soon they flew over to Xamutet's body, cleaning the blood off of him. Within a mere moment, his skeletal body was pristine yet again.
Xamutet huffed once more before saying, "Let one dissenting voice linger and soon thousands more join it. I will not allow even one on this day, even if it is Veronakh's coronation. These fleshlings have no capacity to comprehend our ways, so I made it simple enough for even them to understand."
"Sometimes that only emboldens them further." Solvatas replied.
"If that is what they prefer, then I will simply cut them down until there is only silence." Xamutet replied, still angrily annoyed with the humans.
"Hopefully that will not be necessary, come we have been loitering here long enough." Solvatas said as she signaled the formation to move on.
While wasteful in her mind the brutal slaying did succeed in silencing any more detractors from the humans. The formation of lords and guards along with the crowd of mortals made their way to the pyramid on top of the ship. There another of their kind awaited them. Kor'Pharas, stood at the steps that lead up the pyramid with a gild bladed crown in his right hand. The guards in front of the formation of metal bodies parted, while Xamutet and Solvatas stepped forward. They both bowed slightly to the Praetorian who returned the gesture in kind. The sound of a Ghost Ark was heard and then it appeared from the starboard side of the Teqyt. This one was gilded with gold highlights and it proceeded to land between Kor'Pharas and the lords now present. They saw Veronakh, now in his new form disembark along with a cadre of elite warriors and the difference was quite stark. His frame, once like their own skeletal forms, was now greatly reinforced with additional armor. Veronakh was also slightly taller least by another foot and he now sported a great armored collar plate that also went down to his back. It connected with his new metallic cape which now sported a brilliant viridian green shimmer as it flowed in the wind. His face was still as gaunt and grim as ever, but its necrodermis surface now sheened in what limited sunlight shown down. The only thing missing now was the crown which protocol demanded it be installed in ceremony.
"Now you truly look the part, dear bro-...I mean..great one." Solvatas said as she caught herself.
Veronakh nodded slightly in approval at her change in tone, Xamutet by contrast merely gruffly nodded in acknowledgement.
"Veronakh...it is time." Kor'Pharas said.
Veronakh turned to look towards the steps and moved at a nominal pace up the pyramid. The crowd of mortals were then seperated individually, with a guard posted to each. Along each step of the pyramid at least one human and their guard were assigned off to the side. The guards then had the humans get on their knees with either a blade at their neck or said neck in the nook of an axe bayonet. Normally in a ceremony like this it would be the enemy leaders of a defeated foe that would be placed along each of the steps. The enemy's hierarchy would then be positioned in order of their rank, with the top leaders of Solvatakh's foes to bear witness to the Phaeron who bested them.
In this case it would be Jarold Knox and Matthew Varkin who would fulfill that role as they were positioned last at the top of the pyramid. A Lychguard each held a sword to both their throats as they saw Veronakh stride to an elevated throne at the center of the top of the structure. As Veronakh sat, Jerry thought he heard the sound of some kind of pounding noise. It only grew in loudness and tempo as time went on until finally he saw the other lordly looking skeletal robots coming up to the top of the steps. Another moment later and the noise was getting louder and faster. Kor'Pharas bearing the crown was finally arriving at the top of the steps as well. Those warriors not holding down a prisoner began to pound the ground with their weapons at his approach. When Kor'Pharas reached the top, Lychguards used their shields and war sycthes to add to the crescendo as he approached the assembled lords. He walked past them to Veronakh who sat upon his throne and then suddenly without a word, the drumming of weapons on the ground stopped.
"A new age for the dynasty of Solvatakh has begun! Each step on this path has been paved with the defeat of your foes and the glories of your victories Veronakh, son of Kotorin!" Kor'Pharas declared to the assembly. He then took the crown he held in both hands and raised it high for all there to see. "Within this crown are the engrams which will complete your ascension and free you from the shackles of a lesser lord. For a mind of a Phaeron is the most potent and able of all, one to see the path a dynasty must take. By the authority of the Triarch, and the Silent King, I dub you Veronakh...Phaeron of Solvatakh! May the Necrontyr reign over all forever!"
"Over all forever!" declared the other lords and other higher ranking Necrontyr in unision.
Thus, Kor'Pharas gently placed the gilded crown upon Veronakh's head. As it was made of necrodermis, the bladed winged crown molded and fused with Veronakh's brow. While from the outside not much was happening, within Veronakh's artificial brain events were moving incredibly quickly. Protocols and blocks that subdued certain aspects of his mind and personality were undone. For the first time in millennia Veronakh felt such freedom that his mechanical mind was almost overwhelmed.
Quickly after the crown was placed upon Veronakh, obsidian monoliths began floating all around the Teqyt and thunder began to ring out as the air began to destabilize. Then Veronakh began to chuckle, unable to contain this amazing feeling of freedom. His chuckle soon turned to abroarious laughter as lightning began surging above. Kor'Pharas stepped back as Veronakh continued to laugh. Suddenly a strike of lightning hit the throne. Jerry and Matt looked away and gritted their teeth from the strike, while the Necrontyr didn't move or say anything save for Veronakh who continued laughing.
Eventually Veronakh's laughter began to slow down as he rose from his throne undamaged by the lightning. With staff in hand he rose to his full height while flights of Necron Doom Scythes soared past the pyramid. The fighter craft spun and broke formation as more lightning surged across the sky. Finally Veronakh gained control over himself, looked to all those before him and declared, "Our time has come! Before us a galaxy writhes in disorder and chaos, but soon it will know us and soon it will bend its knee before us. For we are Necrontyr and we have returned!"
Forbytr along with the other Lychguard began chanting "Ver-o-nakh!" and began pounding their weapons and shields on the ground. Jerry could only mutter under his breath, "...my god." as he watched the event conclude before him.