Author's Note: Apologies for the long delay in the release of this chapter, I got a new job several months ago and it has been utterly draining on me. But I finally was able to accumulate enough time to get a chapter out to you guys. Hopefully my work schedule lets up so that I can release in a more timely fashion but we will see. Anyway I appreciate your continued support and feedback. Yes I will look into that google drive issue.

Chapter 9: The Cradle Falls

The Alliance fighter patrol flew through the void of space. A wing of eighteen Alliance fighter craft doing a standard sweep around the Mass Relay of Skepsis looking for anything out of the ordinary. Patrols had been doubled and shifts increased due to the recent Batarian raid on the Franklin Alliance base. While the pilots and personnel understood the situation, patrol and guard duty was a boring endeavor for anyone in the service. Especially for Second Lt. Juan Veris, who was in formation with the rest of his squadron on the far left of the fighter wing.

The Alliance pilot turned on comms sighing as he did, "Guess we're going to be doing this for what? Another hour or so?"

The fighter's comm link clicked as another of Juan's fellow wingmen chimed in, "Hey you never know if more of those Batarian assholes are going to show up. Good thing Shepard came when he did to mop up those terrorist bitches or god knows what could have happened."

Juan shook his head, "Yeah but they got their teams in via our supply transports, I doubt we'll be seeing any kind of serious raid from the four eyed fucks anytime soon after their latest ass whooping. They always gotta fucking hide to get away with their bullshit."

Another click and the sound of the wing's commander was heard over all comms, "I know how you feel guys but we have our orders. We'll do another sweep here before we switch to the next sector."

"Ugh...worst part of all this is the waiting." said another of Juan's wingmen.

"Another check on the list as to why modern war sucks ass." Juan replied, with a slight smile on his face.

One of the more senior pilots added his own outlook to the conversation, "Look kiddos the reality is the last thing you really want, is to get stuck in the thick of serious shit. Especially if said serious shit is something where you have no idea what to fucking do."

"Yeah yeah but for real, would liven things up a little if they did do something stupid like raid us again. We could use the target practice and we owe 'em for all the clean up we had to do." vented Juan as he recalled the aftermath of the Batarian attack.

Juan's senior however wasn't about to let that comment go by, "Ease up there 'Rambo', if they do want to be stupid and die for their cultural 'rights' I'll be right there with ya. Until then, just chill and take the boring shit with the crazy shit."

The Commander of the fighter wing responded, "Alright cut the chatter girls, stay focused on your instruments and keep your eyes peeled."

The fighter squadron continued their sweep as they flew away from the Mass Relay; but unnoticed by their instruments and eyes a barely noticeable distortion passed them by, moving underneath the fighters towards the Mass Relay. The distortion soon was flying next to the relay's front end where it stopped and maneuvered close to the giant construct. Solvatas spoke to Du'Maat over the comms watching the fighter squadron leave the area on her holofeed.

"You are clear to proceed Du'Maat." Solvatas communiqued.

"Understood, beginning transference." responded the Cryptek.

A small green flash appeared on the surface of the massive relay and dissipated, leaving Du'Maat along with his Pariah thralls following him along the surface of the alien station.

"Intriguing..." said the cyclopean Necron over his internal communication as he brought a metal hand to his chin.

"What is it now Cryptek?" asked Solvatas.

"Unable to complete phase transference to interior due to shielding of the hull and unknown variables. Attempting to locate nearby access port." answered Du'Maat. He began to scan the surface for said port when Solvatas gave a less than enthusiastic response.

"Be quick about it, the last thing I need is Veronakh bemoaning me over your lack of progress."

It took Du'Maat and his thralls a few minutes to locate an entry point. It appeared sealed tight and according to the layout from the readings of his sensors, it looked as though the relay could only be interfaced with a large circular connection of some kind. Cross referencing this data with that of Sovereign, Du'Maat hypothesized that only a Reaper could truly interact with a relay using its tendrils in certain junctions. This coincided with Commander Shepard's claim that the relays were Reaper constructions utilized to trap organic civilizations for their harvests. All he needed to do for this mission was to be able to convince the Mass Relay that it was time for harvest and thus initiate a shut down. However, to be able to even get in he would need a way to interface with it. His machine mind quickly came up with a kind of work around, though he would need to convince Solvatas. Du'Maat spoke through the internal comm link to the lord of the Shuvat once again.

"Thanatar, I will need a scarab swarm for my task. It would appear that the constructors of these relays have complicated the ability to interact with their function."

Solvatas was understandably skeptical, "Unleashing a swarm of scarabs may draw undue attention Cryptek."

"A possibility, but such a necessary risk is required for entry." responded Du'Maat adamantly.

Solvatas relented with a quick groan, "Fine, but should it draw attention and we are attacked, you will take responsibility for the failure of the mission parameters."

"A fair trade for swift victory."

Appearing underneath the cloaked Shuvat, a black swarm of scarabs began to form. Growing in size, the cloud descended towards the Cryptek. Du'Maat provided the scarabs specific instructions as his eye analyzed the interface. He then instructed the scarabs swarming above him to bind together tightly forming a tendril of mechanical bodies. The scarabs moving as one slowly began to dock with the relay itself. Du'Maat wirelessly guided the tight tendril slowly into the circular interface and with his staff in hand Du'Maat used it to activate a holofeed that appeared in front of him. Instituting commands at a swift pace, the scarab tendril began to intersect with each part of the relay's internal connectors.

Finally on his holofeed a connection was established, however access required encrypted Reaper algorithms that the Necron Cryptek had very little data to go on. Instead he brute forced it using the scarab tendril to hit the security system with a power surge and implanted a Necron virus into the system while the security rebooted. The virus created a back door in the security program that the Cryptek exploited. With access in hand, the Necrontyr engineer began cycling the access point, making the system believe that the relay was going to undergo maintenance by Reaper thralls.

The circular access point opened and Du'Maat and his Pariahs dropped into the hold to find a tunnel. The tunnel was cramped, allowing only enough space for individuals to move single file down the corridor but Necrons didn't complain when dealing with such things. Du'Maat simply proceeded forward with his thralls in tow analyzing the interior of the relay. Scarabs followed as well and they began interfacing and meddling with anything they could get their mandibles into to increase Necron control of the relay.

With more data of the internal structure of the relay, Du'Maat sent signals to the Shuvat's phase shifter to perform a series of quick phase shifts to get him swiftly to the main control of the relay's core. Upon reaching the control center, they found some kind of insectoid creatures manning terminals. Du'Maat recognized the aliens as "Keepers" according to the codex recovered from Veridine. The Cryptek pointed his finger at them and the Pariahs moved to subdue the insectoid aliens. Swarms of scarabs quickly arrived from the tunnel entrance to attack others and pin them under their bodies.

While the Keepers were carried off from their stations back down the tunnel by the Pariahs and scarabs, Du'Maat accessed the terminal closest to him and noted the progress the virus was making. Surprisingly Reaper security systems were actually making progress on isolating his virus, but once it spread from central control it would only be a matter of time.

From her command throne on the Shuvat, Solvatas had her arms crossed and was becoming rather impatient. Normally she would take her time, but the Phaeron had informed her that part of her mission parameters was to complete her tasks quickly before Xamutet began his attack. Again, it didn't bother her until Veronakh revealed just how long, forty-five minutes. She hated being forced to play these games with her brother, but she had no choice. She quickly recalled the last conversation she had with Veronakh stating, "I understand this all seems trivial, but if you continue to fulfill what I ask of you...I might return what our father took from you."

While the moment of contemplation faded a sensor ping drew her attention. A holofeed from her ship's aft cameras took note of incoming signals, eighteen to be precise and moving at speed. She narrowed her eyes at them as the holofeed switched from signal pings to ship schematics. Alliance fighters... she did not fear the weapons on those pitiful human craft. Her concern was her loss of standing with the court if her ship were to be discovered too early. The last thing she wanted to hear was more of Veronakh's snide comments about her inability to follow simple instructions.

The swarm tendril needed to maintain a continuous connection in order to sustain the assault on the relay's systems. Out in the void the scarabs hung like a dangling cable from below the Shuvat. If Solvatas moved to engage the fighters now, the security system of the Reaper construct could possibly lock them out indefinitely. The invasion would still succeed but at a greater cost of time as well as resources. Solvatas would get all the blame, and no doubt that buffoon Xamutet would get into Veronakh's good graces at her expense.

Solvatas contacted Du'Maat over the internal comms, "Cryptek, I hope you are working at maximum efficiency because it seems that the fleshlings are on their way here."

Du'Maat was working at a feverish pace, his skeletal fingers inputting commands at blistering speed. He was matching the security system line for line, overcoming firewalls and blistering through command protocols. Then the console's connection was abruptly severed. The metallic engineer's cycloptic eye narrowed in annoyance but he quickly moved to another and began working again.

Solvatas took note of the fighter squadron's distance. They were several kilometers out and closing quickly. She then tapped into the Alliance's comm channel and overheard one of the pilots say, "Hey...what's that by the relay?"

Her ire rising rapidly, Solvatas grumbled over the internal comm, "Cryptek..."

Du'Maat found that his second console was being locked down as well, but took note that the virus was still doing it's work in the background. Slowly but surely it was eating away at the security system's runtimes; drowning it in junk data and false issues that diverted resources away from the real threat. Unfortunately, before he could finish, the lockdown sequence on the terminal completed.

He reached for another terminal only to find it locked down as well. Time was running out. However, he computed another solution. He could force an automated shutdown on the Mass Relay's core by causing enough physical damage to the regulatory systems. It was inelegant but necessary. He prepared his Voltaic staff and it quickly brimmed with electricity. Raising it at several junctions in the center of the room he unleashed its full power. A powerful stream of electrical energy surged out of the staff. It cut through heavy cables and panels surging through other affected junctions causing a cascade of failures throughout the control center. Lighting failed as the Cryptek unleashed more green lightning along the left side of the room causing even more electrical explosions.

Solvatas was still listening over the comms when the pilots began commenting on what they were seeing, "Whoa, what the fuck is going on with the relay man?"

The Thanatar noticed as well when she looked through her holofeed and saw the lighting across the massive construct begin to flicker. Suddenly the giant core of the relay began to slow down and the energy it contained within begin to dissipate.

Du'Maat then sent a communique back to Solvatas reporting, "It is done, though not in the most efficient manner. The relay is now powering down and eventually my virus will attain complete control of the system. I will remain a moment longer in order to send a signal to other connected relays to deny all entry to Sigurd's Cradle."

"Well done...mission parameter satisfied Cryptek." Solvatas replied with warm satisfaction before her gaze turned to the now approaching fighters, "Now if our liege doesn't mind, I have pests to incinerate."

The Shuvat then spun one hundred eighty degrees to face the fighters. The scarab tendril sticking out from the ship's underside now dispersed into a cloud of swarming blackness. With a wireless command, the swarm suddenly reached out towards the fighters now only six hundred meters out.

The fighters broke formation. Some of them even fired torpedoes and guns at the cloud of scarabs. The small machines simply absorbed the incoming rounds and explosions. Most of the squadron went full speed, either diving or pulling up and out of the way of the oncoming horde. But several fighters weren't so lucky, they slammed into the swarm which then shredded their fuselages and cockpits within fractions of a second. As they exited out the other side of the black cloud of micromachines, the fighters that were caught exploded or were ripped apart and left to spin in the void. Their pilots shredded pieces of meat spinning in space.

It was then that the Shuvat revealed itself. The remaining fighters attempted to either bank away or flip around to retreat as the Necrontyr vessel unleashed it's Lightning Arc batteries. The barrage of green energy lightning arcs destroyed four fighters in the first volley before charging to fire upon the others now attempting to flee and report back. The Necron vessel fired its thrusters to full power and pursued them, although the smaller craft were much quicker.

Now that it was no longer maintaining a cyber assault on the relay the Shuvat proceeded to jam the Alliance pilot's comms as they attempted to raise command, "Contact! Repeat we have encountered an alien ship at the Mass Relay send reinfor-"

But it was all in vain, for the comms were continuing to be jammed. The sudden appearance of the Shuvat made the pilots gasp in response as the alien ship phase shifted in front of them, glowing bright green. Before they could even react the Necron ship's weapon systems evaporated the remaining fighters into viridian electrical explosions.

Solvatas opened a channel to the Teqyt, "It is done Great One, the relay is secure and Sigurd's Cradle will soon be cut off. I was forced to destroy a swarm of flies but it was of no consequence to the mission."

Veronakh congratulated her, "Well done, though you may wish to move quickly before they react to the sudden loss of their fighter wing. I would hate to see your efforts to capture the missile base run afoul because of the humans actually making a defense or destroying it entirely to deny us." More snideness, it irritated Solvatas but she squelched that slight and replied.

"That won't happen..."

"See that it doesn't."

"Someone want to tell me why an entire squadron just disappeared?!" yelled Alliance Commander Hugh Watkins, storming into the communications room after receiving the latest update on one of his patrols. The grey haired tanned officer had hoped that after the whole fiasco with Batarian terrorists and Shepard intervening things would finally settle down. But of course something else had to happen and once more he had to deal with it. The Commander of the Alliance naval base looked to one of the comm officers, a dark skinned woman whom he recognized as Operations Lieutenant Barbara Welsh. She was on her console still trying to get a hold of the fighter group as he walked in.

She looked back to him with a worried expression before replying professionally "Still trying to get them back sir. I got nothing!"

"Commander! We have an anomaly from one of our surveillance satellites, look!" said one of the operations staff. He stepped away from the screen as the Commander walked up to it and a series of green flashes appeared in the void of the satellite feed. The loss of contact with the fighters within that same area of the flashes told the Commander what he needed to know.

"...Bring the base up to full alert, we may have incom-" Hugh was interrupted by the sound of some kind of electricity from behind him in the room. He turned to look and only caught the tail end of some kind of green burst of light. The last thing he saw was some kind of mechanical figure bringing a glowing green scythe down on top of him. Before the poor Commander could understand what had just happened, the top half of his body fell back hitting the floor followed by his waist and legs crumpling to the ground. The last thing he heard was the screaming of Barbara and some kind of energy weapons firing before the base's alarm klaxon rang out.

Du'Maat and his thralls along with cadres of Necron warriors and Immortals suddenly appeared in the missile control center of the Alliance Base. The Marine guards and personnel were caught completely by surprise and fumbled for their weapons only to be gunned down by Gauss flayers or caught in melee with the armored robots. The alarm rang out as Du'Maat casually strolled to the main console in the center of the room. Humans screamed, dying from the Gauss flayers and axe bayonets, while the Necron Cryptek focused entirely on his task; to lock down the Javelin missiles and to prevent the humans from sabotaging them. The Alliance's security systems proved no match for the Cryptek as he initiated the complex's lock down sequence.

"Thanatar, the missile complex is now locking down." Du'Maat stated.

"Good, I have just finished my objective in cutting off the head of their command structure as well as their communications. Purge the complex of any Alliance stragglers and then join me to finish off their reinforcements." Solvatas ordered.

"Understood."

Du'Maat then locked out the console while also sending a wireless command to his thralls to secure the perimeter outside the control center. The Cryptek's sensors had detected Alliance Marines gathering and taking up positions around various points in the open interior space outside missile control.

A squad peeked through the left door into the control center and tossed in frag grenades towards the now mobilizing robots. The fragmenting explosives had little effect other than slightly scarring the surface of the Necrontyr warriors and the male Necron Pariah that was now approaching the door. The Marines backed up with their weapons pointed at said door. The male Pariah led the Necron's counterattack; a green biotic throw field slammed into the Marines in front of them as other Alliance squads opened fire on the mechanical bipeds.

Before the human squad could regain their footing the supporting Necron warriors opened fire with their Gauss flayers to their chests. Several Marines screamed as their innards and armor turned to ash. The Pariah grabbed another Marine with a pull field and flung the pitiful human into another squad as the Alliance forces continued to open fire.

From the other side of the control center the female Pariah with her own forces began their attack. She started by holding out her metal arm and creating a green biotic barrier around herself and the warriors behind her. After enough kinetic energy from all the Alliance Marines weapons was absorbed by the barrier field, the female Pariah reversed the polarity of the field and the barrier exploded. A wave of green energy knocked down several squads of Marines in front of her.

Then the Necron warriors attacked. Gauss flayers turning heads and limbs to ash among the downed Alliance forces. Meanwhile the female Pariah braced herself and began charging her biotics into her forearm devices. The Marine survivors in turn fired concussive shots and lobbed grenades only to find the Necron warriors form up to take the hits for the Pariah as she charged her attack.

The Marines attempted to find cover from whatever big attack was coming, but it was too late. The Necron warriors parted and the former Asari unleashed a blast of biotic power that washed over the remaining Alliance detachment. The chamber resounded with screams from the poor soldiers as they were enveloped in green biotic fields and began to melt away. Some struggled to get their armor off but still found themselves melting as their flesh turned to ash and bone. Others took off their helmets, showing the slow erosion of their bodies as their faces turned into glowing ashen skulls from the biotic attack.

The Necron warriors from both sides began to spread out and end the suffering of the Marines with their axe bayonets while the two Pariahs met up and looked to their Cryptek standing at the missile control room window. His cyclopean eye glowed green as he transmitted to them new instructions. The pair then split with their forces of Necron warriors to the east and west entrances into missile control where they found the locked doors began to open to them. They were both met with weapons fire from more Alliance Marine security who had setup a checkpoint. The un-modded mass effect weapons had little effect on the Necrons as they weathered the storm of fire and the Pariahs on either side unleashed their abilities. On the western side the male Pariah used a pull field to draw in a poor Marine into his metallic hand and grabbed him by the throat. The Pariah took a knee and began repeatedly smashing the human into the floor creating cracks in it while the warriors behind him opened fire with their Gauss flayers. After enough hits the Pariah released the rag doll of the broken soldier and looked on at the Marine squad being decimated into half ashen corpses. The surviving security forces fell back in good order despite the screams of their dying fellows shouting, "Fall back! Get to point Delta!"

Meanwhile on the eastern side, the Asari Pariah and her warriors pressed into the hallway and unleashed a combined fire of biotic warp and Gauss flayers. Several Marines went down or braced themselves in pain as the energy field wracked their bodies. The female Pariah flung a throw field into a group of Marines all affected by the warp field and a chain reaction of biotic detonations erupted in the base security's ranks. The explosions sent men flying into walls and cracked helmets and bones, leaving scorching piles of glowing green ash where some of them once stood. The Necron force casually strolled forward and proceeded down the hallway until at an adjacent connecting corridor more Alliance weapons continued to fire on them along with rocket launchers. The ambushing Marines waited a moment for the smoke to clear before continuing to fire only to see a green biotic barrier held up by the former Asari Pariah. She dropped the field and Gauss flayers fired into the rocket wielding Marines, turning heads and chests into atomized ash. The survivors of the squad attempted to fall back firing on the Necrons as they ran back down the hall only for the former Asari to send a biotic throw field that sent them smashing into nearby corridor walls. As they struggled to stand they soon found metal figures walking up to them and then smash them down with their feet or axe bayonets while the Asari Pariah herself crushed a Marine's head with her fist.

Du'Maat observed all this through his wireless connection to his thralls with a pulse of satisfaction from his matrix. While the abilities from his current creations were useful, it would be the one called Jack that would be his masterpiece. Her potential was so much more that he decided he would take his time to ensure that every bit of biotic power was not wasted. Suddenly, more warriors and Immortals arrived via green electrical flashes of light around him.

The Cryptek was contacted by Solvatas through their internal comm link, "I send these warriors to hold your position Cryptek, the humans from the nearby secondary Alliance base are attempting to rally reinforcements. Finish securing the Javelin missiles before they arrive."

"Understood."

It had only been about twenty minutes since the attack started but it felt like hours. In that time the base communications got knocked out and now they were being cut down by the dozen against the invading robot aliens. Local comms between squads were a mess, Sgt. Halawitz just had a few Marines and some combat engineers under him left to figure things out.

"This is fucking crazy, they just came out of nowhere and are killing everyone! What are we supposed to do!?" asked one of the Marines.

Halawitz remained silent in thought as another private voiced his thoughts,"We're fucked dude...maybe if we surrender.."

"Fuck that...I've seen what they're doing first hand. I was at comms when it all started." Halawitz said frowning at the memory. "They killed Commander Hughes, took over comms while at the same time melting down anyone who got in the way. I ran out of there and went for my tactical gear from the armory while avoiding contact. Everyone who has been taking them head on is dead or dying."

The Marine sergeant looked to his scared subordinates, "They're exterminating us to the last man and at this rate the bastards are going to succeed soon."

The Marine privates hung their heads while the techs wore faces of despair. Halawitz however remained calm and focused as he continued to elaborate, "If they want this base and all of us dead why not give it to 'em?"

One of the engineers' eyes widened as he internally ventured a guess as to what the sergeant was implying, "Are you kidding?"

"No...I'm not. We're all fucked at this point, the best thing we can do is try to take as many of the bastards with us as we can and we're running out of time."

"Maybe we can make it work but its going to take more than just us." said another of the Marine technicians.

"Yeah, we might be able to rally a few of the others on the way if we run into 'em. But if we're going to do this we better do it fast."

One of the Marine privates still hadn't understood what was being implied and asked, "Uhm, Sarge what the hell are you talking about?"

"...We're going to destroy the base, The Javelin missiles are our best bet." The Alliance Marine sergeant activated his omni-tool with layout of the base and began marking specific points on it. "I figure if we detonate missiles at these silo positions here we can cause a chain reaction that could destroy everything."

One of the techs opened up his own omni-tool and cross-referenced the sergeant's data, after a moment he nodded, "Yeah, looks like it could work but we would have to do it fast. Last I heard, the robots are nearly finished securing missile storage."

"Then we have no time to lose...follow me." With that the Marine sergeant readied his Avenger.

The squad readied their own weapons as well but several, namely the privates, were hesitant as they looked to their sergeant who was now loading a fresh clip into his rifle, "Is this really necessary Sarge? What about the officers have you talked it out-"

Halawitz yelled, "There's no time to "talk it out" kid! We're doing this now or never...so are are you in on this or not?"

The private began backing away and shook his head, "...I'm sorry...I can't..I can't go back out there."

"Fine, then you can die here or in some corner somewhere, lets move out boys." with that, the Marine sergeant rallied the rest of the squad to follow through the door behind him.

The group of Marines left, leaving the lone private to find a hiding place. The screams of the dying echoed throughout the halls as the scared Marine began looking for a way out. He opened a door to his right and a metallic arm reached out and grabbed his throat before jerking his neck hard sideways snapping it. He crumpled to the ground in a heap and a squad of machines stepped into the room staring at the door where Halawitz' squad stepped through.

Meanwhile Sergeant Halawitz and his squad made their way into the halls trying their best not to be noticed while double timing it. The screaming was beginning to die down, which meant that the robots would soon have complete control of the facility. The team made their way past several junctions until they got to one labeled J-743 in white paint on the wall. One of the techs in the squad moved up to the wall and pulled out an oddly shaped key from his pocket.

"Maintenance access point here, we take that and we should be able to get into the silo nearby." said the tech as he inserted his key into an indentation in the wall. Motors were heard activating as the indentation spread from the keyhole and formed a hidden hatch which then opened outwards. The techs checked inside with their omni-tool flashlights, it looked clear. The team then proceeded into the access hatch, the techs moving in first with the sergeant close behind. Suddenly at the rear of the squad, two Marine privates were heard screaming out as green energy beams lanced out and pierced their back armor turning their spines and insides into ash. Halawitz looked and saw a squad of the robots that had been hunting them. They were entering the corridor and now were forming ranks to unleash more green death. The Marine sergeant moved quickly into the tunnel, pressing himself against the interior to get out of the line of fire shouting, "Seal it! Go!"

One of the techs that was up ahead of Halawitz rushed down the tunnel while another attempted to seal the door. Attempting to stay out of sight the tech with his omni-tool began inputting wireless commands to the hatch. While working the Marine tech peeked through the open hatch and saw the squad of machines all aiming guns his way. Unfortunately, when he activated the hatch's automated sequence to seal itself more green beams of energy struck close to him, scarring his back plate. In a panic he ran down the tunnel toward the others, only for several beams to hit him in the back of the head. He collapsed as the back of his head seemingly liquefied into ash.

"Geoff just flatlined!" said the surviving tech as he watched his fellow tech's vitals via his omni-tool red line.

Halawitz kept moving forward past his compatriot, "Nothing we can do, keep going! Its just you and me now!"

The two of them made their way down the tunnel to the silo but it was slower than they would have liked. They were forced to squat down as the tunnel got tighter and closed in. The only sound now was the humming of the surrounding electronics and their own footsteps.

After several minutes the remaining Marine tech opened his omni-tool and checked their position, "Looks like we're close. There will be a ladder at the end of this leading to a gangway we can use to get to the Javelin's warhead. Although I think at this point Sarge, one warhead is all we're going to be able to get probably..."

The Marine sergeant gave a resigned sigh, then went quiet for a moment before responding, "If that's the way it is...so be it. Make your peace Nurran, this is going to be a one way trip."

"Fuck..." was all Nurran could say in response. The two of them finally reached the other end of the tunnel that led into the silo. Nurran checked his omni-tool and patched into the security feed of the silo. There were none of those robots in the silo's catwalks as far as he could tell. The tech pulled out his key and activated the hatch but backed away quickly, there was no telling if the noise from the hatch activating would attract attention. After waiting a moment and checking the feed again Nurran gave a thumbs up to Halawitz and the two Marines made their way down from the tunnel entrance.

It was now eerily quiet aside from the hum and sounds of the missile silo still working. Nurran and Halawitz made their way off the ladder and onto the highest catwalk that lead to the warhead of the missile. Nurran got to the missile's warhead first. Activating his omni-tool he began to input codes to try to open the warhead's hatch but he found the code wasn't working. Halawitz handed Nurran a piece of a note he had scribbled on a piece of a broken notepad. It read, "latest missile maintanence code 5693yO0229". The Alliance tech entered the code and the hatch began to open. Halawitz kept an eye out and was understandably wary, his Avenger's scope moving from nearby door to nearby door, expecting one of the robots to appear at any moment.

Nurran motioned the sergeant over, the tech's omni-tool screen displaying a count-down timer and various coding scrolling behind it, "Alright since we don't have any ignition keys, I'll have to hack into the warhead to arm it. Bring up your omni-tool."

Halawitz did so and found a transfer request waiting for his approval, "What's this?"

"If one of us goes down, as long as the other keeps their tool up and the data stream going eventually the security will be bypassed and then you can detonate the missile remotely."

The Alliance sergeant acknowledged with a nod and hit accept on his omni-tool where the screen then began to match the tech's. Out of the corner of Nurran's right eye he thought he saw a green flash on one of the catwalks below, he drew his sidearm while Halawitz turned around. Suddenly a blast of viridian green electrical energy lashed out from below them. It struck the Alliance technician sending him flying off the walkway and down the silo shaft. Halawitz reacted quickly and jumped down the walkway onto one of the lower catwalks. It was a bit of a fall forcing him to roll as he hit the grated metal platform. Estimating where the shot came from he attempted to use the missile as an obstacle between him and his best guess as to where the enemy was. Halawitz knew fighting was pointless all he could was hold out for the timer. He checked his omni-tool, it read one minute. Faster than expected but those sixty seconds may as well have been an hour to the sergeant. The Marine than heard that familiar sound of metallic footsteps on the catwalks slightly above him. Keeping the missile itself between him and the sounds he glanced at his tool again, forty seconds remaining.

The footsteps stopped and Halawitz froze. He glanced at his timer, thirty five seconds and counting down. In that instant a green flash and the sound of electrical energy caught the corner of his right eye. The Marine swept his Avenger to his right on the catwalk and opened fire on the now single cyclopean robot now before him. Mass accelerated rounds merely pinged off the machine's body as the staff in its hand powered up as the machine pointed it at him. A beam of green electrical energy shot out towards Halawitz from the top of the staff. Halawitz attempted to roll forward but the beam caught him in his left shoulder.

The Marine sergeant found himself on his right hand and knees. He looked left and saw the ruined blackened stump that was once his left arm, along with said sizzling arm itself on the ground. The cyclopean machine took several steps forward, its staff charging for another blast to finish the Marine off. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, Halawitz cried out in pure rage from both the pain and his hatred of these mechanical bastards. He pulled a knife with his remaining good arm and lunged at the robot.

The machine's free hand reached out and grabbed Halawitz by the throat, while the Marine's knife bit into the robot's neck. The Marine sergeant felt the cyclops begin to squeeze his throat down to crush it as he desperately worked his knife in the neck of his enemy in some vain hope to inflict some damage before he suffocated. Instead the knife blade broke and the machine's grip tightened. As the Marine's vision dimmed, he thought he saw the robot tilt its head and mutter in a low metallic voice, "hmmmm, perhaps you could be of use..." The last thing Halawitz felt was a prick in his neck before everything went dark.

Solvatas observed from the eyes of her watching warriors as Du'Maat took his latest subject. The Cryptek summoned a small group of scarabs that came into the silo to carry the human away from the area while he secured the silo. The Cryptek then phase shifted to the upper catwalk and brought up a holographic display in front of him issuing wireless commands to the missiles, shutting down any algorithms still running on the warhead of the Javelin missile.

A communique from Du'Maat quickly followed, "Thanatar, mission parameter has been achieved." he said as he finished scrubbing the last of the Alliance tech's programming.

"So I saw and just in time. The Alliance is bringing a...token force to try to take back their precious missiles." Solvatas replied.

"Your command?"

"Return to the Shuvat and give me fire support at my designated coordinates on my order. Send forth the rest of my forces to the outskirts of the base. Between my vessel and my army they will be sundered from the face of this moon in one fell swoop."

"By your will Thanatar."

Solvatas' vision was then engulfed in green light and then a moment later she viewed a moonscape plain on the outskirts of the base with more electrical blooms of green energy appearing around her. From these brilliant cascades came the rest of her army, warriors, immortals, Spyders armed with heavy ordinance. With a wave of her scythe, Solvatas directed her warriors and war machines to take up positions among the craters and hills of moondust.

The Necron lord moved to a hill ahead of her and and looked out from a higher elevation. She witnessed the enemy moving forward several kilometers from her position. Her machine eyes zoomed in and saw Alliance Mako tanks rapidly approaching. Twelve of them, more than likely filled with troops ready to assault and disembark. A Mako fired its main cannon at her and Solvatas quickly stepped back from the hill. The accelerated round sailed over her as she came back down the slope looking to her troops, the shell impacting upon one of the Alliance's buildings in the background. Several of the Mako tanks charged forward guns blazing, while others attempted to flank around to what they presumed was their enemy's main line

Solvatas sent her directives to her warriors, relishing what would follow next. The Alliance tanks charged forward cresting the hill where Solvatas was, only to find Gauss blasters unleashed upon them from several squads of Immortals. The first wave of tanks that crested the hill found their front ends melted down or blasted apart which caused the whole attack to stall. The surviving Alliance vehicles took cover to deploy their infantry as they backed away from their smoldering fellows. Meanwhile the flanking Makos were still attempting to maneuver hoping to catch the enemy in the side while they were engaged. Instead they encountered Canoptek Spyders armed with Particle Beamers hulled down in craters. With mechanical precision they unleashed their beams of anti-matter into the sides of the Makos ripping them apart in a flurry of explosions.

The Alliance tanks at the back of the flanking advance withdrew to a dune to drop their troops off and take cover. Suddenly massive blasts of electricity and energy hit them from above evaporating the poor Marines and causing the tanks to explode. The Shuvat had entered low orbit and was now providing orbital bombardment with its Arc batteries. Solvatas along with her warriors proceeded forward to engage the Alliance Marines that had disembarked. The human soldiers saw the wall of mechanical bodies cresting the hill and opened fire with everything they could pull from the Makos. Their small arms had little effect however, for the army of Necron warriors simply continued forward and took aim even with hundreds of rounds pinging off their metal hides. Screaming filled the Alliance comms as men started getting ground to ash from multiple Gauss flayers hitting them at once. Some attempted to flee to find better cover only to have Gauss flayers rip open their backs.

A squadron of Mako tanks was still providing fire support from afar and fired several salvos in an attempt to assist their fellows. To their credit the mass accelerated rounds smashed into several squads of Solvatas' warriors and actually caused some Necron casualties. Those caught directly by the shells were easily smashed apart into pieces. In response Solvatas directed the Shuvat's fury upon the enemy tank's position. Before the Alliance vehicles could shift position they were engulfed in massive lightning strikes that penetrated the tanks, turning the crews inside to ash as the Alliance vehicles exploded.

Solvatas continued her forces advance all along the front grinding down the pitiful defense of the Alliance Marines among the wreckage of their Makos. The Necron lord gave the order to Du'Maat to lay waste to the Alliance support base since at this point the enemy attack had been smashed and time was pressing. Acknowledging, Du'Maat brought the Shuvat to bear over the last vestage of Alliance resistance and unleashed all of the ship's firepower to the structures below. Human personnel scrambling in the open were struck with precise lightning strikes that rended them down into ash or blackened smoldering corpses. Equipment and vehicles all over the base exploded and sections of buildings were torn asunder as multiple beams of lightning smashed into them. The Lightning Arc batteries didn't stop firing and any hope that the buildings would provide shelter were dashed as the lightning arced inside and struck several people hunkering behind a staircase furthering more panic. After eight minutes of non-stop bombardment, the Shuvat had finally finished its grim task leaving smoldering ruins of buildings with glowing green potmarks and blackened ash.

Meanwhile Solvatas was finishing off the last of the Marines back at the plains. A Marine private had fallen, attempting to run from the inevitable. He rolled to face her while on his back firing his rifle and shouting aloud, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She brought her war scythe down upon his head slicing his head and upper body in half.

With that dealt with, Solvatas took stock of her warriors. For the most part they were finishing off the remaining dying Marines who had been cut down. Some pleaded for mercy, others were simply too worn from the pain of having limbs rendered into ash to resist. In the end, they would all die by Gauss flayer or axe bayonet.

Du'Maat's voice sounded in her internal communications, "Directive complete Thanatar, Alliance base destroyed."

"Good, remain in position while my forces move to secure the site. I will inform Veronakh." She opened a channel to her Phaeron's ship to report, "Mission is complete Great One."

"Hmmmm, and just within my parameters as well. Excellent sister, you continue to show your dedication to the dynasty with efficiency and punctuality."

"I am pleased to have served you adequately Great One."

"Finish securing whatever possible assets that are currently on Franklin, Xamutet and I will complete the remainder of this conquest."

Within the city of Crick, Minister Herbert Williams paced within his conference room looking at his omni-tool in the municipal building of the Colonial Magistrate. His office had been flooded with calls and concerns for the past hour and they were still coming in on his holographic display. Confused and enraged commercial enterprises, subordinates asking what to do in this unique situation, and even ordinary citizens filing e-mails of outrage at the lack of response which was stressing him out. Just then an older portly man came in, causing the Minister to turn towards him and scowl.

"What in the hell is going on Robert?! I've got alot of people with money and careers on the line asking why the Mass Relay is down!"

"Herb, I don't know anymore than you do! I've got my people doing what they can and getting in touch with the other ministers and their people. We'll figure this out."

Minister Williams was still fuming in spite of Robert's best efforts, "I'm losing tens of thousands upon thousands of credits in goods and services every minute that relay is down. In several more hours that will be millions Robert."

"We can only do so much Herb! This won't be all just on you, no one I've talked to has any real idea whats going on. Try to relax, we're still in control."

An aide who was listening to a comm piece in his ear spoke up to report, "Still no contact with traffic control at the Mass Relay and the Alliance isn't picking up either."

Both the Minister and Robert exclaimed, "What?!"

"Hang on...sir turn on the news!" the aide replied.

The minister had his omni-tool turn on the holoscreen at the end of the conference room. The news was apparently showing amateur footage of something strange happening. It wasn't clear just yet from the camera bouncing around until it focused on objects flying in the sky towards it. Said objects turned out to be some kind of crescent shaped craft that then started firing green beams of energy on Watson's PDF building in what appeared to be the city of Xīn jiāngsū.

The news anchor suddenly spoke in over the action of the building being rent apart in a green explosion, "Within the past ten minutes we have had reports that defense forces all around the planet are being engaged by these alien aggressors."

The screen then returned to the news anchor, a dark skinned elderly man in his fifties as he explained the situation, "PDF officials have told us that they advise all civilians who cannot evacuate to emergency shelters to stay indoors and to avoid getting involved in the fighting. Unfortunately we have been told some locals did attempt to engage and have died in the attempt. For now we can only-" the anchor was suddenly cut off into static.

Warning klaxons suddenly began blaring throughout the city limits, causing everyone within the conference room to look out to the skyline.

"My god..." said one of the aides as they saw a large shadow growing over the city. When they looked to see where the shadow originated from they saw a massive starship hovering over the city interior.

Small crescent craft as well as some other kinds of flying machines began to swoop down and descend on the city from their giant mothership. Green beams lashed out from the crescent craft throughout the urban sprawl while the other unknown craft began to fly between buildings. Upon closer inspection, using their omni-tools with a zoom in function, the other craft appeared to be some kind of flying boats filled with metallic skeletons attached to their frames.

Suddenly a loud sound like that of an odd sounding air car boomed and slammed into the floor above the conference room startling everyone present. Some went under the the table others looked for some furniture to hide behind. The Minister himself fell back to the other end of the table and hid behind a chair. Security personnel came into the room Carnifexes drawn. A moment later the sound of heavy footsteps was heard above them. The security guards looked up and then looked to the doors ahead, their weapons trained on it and waiting.

The footsteps went along the floor above towards the stairs nearby, then suddenly the doors blew open and the security guards opened up. They found only large shields wrapped in energy waiting and some of their own rounds ricocheted back. One guard was hit in the head and went down while the others were dumbstruck and stopped shooting. The two shields blocking the door parted and revealed a pair of nine foot tall metal warriors in elaborate ornamentation.

Both were armed with some kind of halberd and suddenly they rushed into the room smashing the door frame to skewer the two security guards in front of them. The last guard attempted to run but a shot of green energy rang out from between the two large robots as the poor man was severed at the waist. The large mechanical warriors then formed up at the end of the conference table creating a space for another of their kind. This one was slightly taller than they due to the large collar plate it had on that extended down the back. This larger skeletal figure was clearly some kind of leader, demonstrated by his more elaborate appearance and the fact that it wielded a staff in one of its hands.

With a friendly gesture of its free hand, the large metallic skeleton leader spoke, "Greetings Minister Williams."

The various aides and said minister himself slowly peeked from their hiding places, still terrified but now slightly curious as to the sudden greeting from the giant metal skeleton.

The metallic figure continued speaking, "I am Veronakh and I have come to discuss the terms for your surrender."

"Surrender?" the minister said confused.

"Yes, as you can see the annexation of your planet is already assured. While it proceeds to its conclusion I surmised that I can discuss with you what will happen to your colony and its citizens moving forward."

"What the hell?" Said Robert, "You break in here, kill our security and PDF, then declare you're annexing us?! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"I am the sovereign of Solvatakh. I take what I will and do as I wish." Veronakh then strode over to the obstinate human, the difference in their height and power growing with every step, "Whether it is taking a planet, its people, or simply resources fulfilling MY designs, in the end it will become mine."

To the human's credit he held his ground though looking at his leg and hands he was shaking, "And...what are we to you?"

"An opportunity..." a chuckle came from the skeletal giant as if it was wearing a grin, though its face was still gaunt, "Believe me, there will be opportunity for you as well provided you understand and follow my terms."

"What are your terms?" Minister Williams said, finally standing up.

Suddenly more footsteps approached from outside the room again, more metallic soldiers marched in with captives in hand. The human minister realized who they were after a quick once over revealed it was two other elderly gentlemen and one woman. They were the ministers that represented the other human factions on the colony, in charge of their own respective cities. How had they been brought here so quickly? Williams thought to himself.

"Ah I see they've finally arrived. It is good to see you all here promptly before we begin." Veronakh turned to look on the captives being brought to the table. They were then forced by their skeletal charges to sit in the seats around it. One of them protested only to be buffeted physically by their guard's weapon.

The skeletal lord began returning to his previous position by his giant guards as he spoke, "First you will call upon your citizens to stand down. I gather you have been paying attention to the news and it would be unfortunate if more citizens lost their lives needlessly. Second you will call a conference that you will broadcast across this world and to any others within reach in the sector. You will help the public understand the transition of power and what will change moving forward. Finally, we will require manpower and materials after your official induction into the dynasty. We will be scrutinizing your citizenry for individuals suitable for the tasks that we desire."

"You realize not everyone will comply with this!" said one of the elderly ministers.

"Of course, and they will suffer the consequences should they choose poorly. Already I have my servants watching for suspicious behavior as well as monitoring local extranet traffic. My warriors will ensure order until you have enough local forces of your own again to maintain the new status quo."

The female minister perked up at that, "New local forces?"

"Oh yes, we are...preparing a means to educate those we deem necessary for such a role."

"Sounds like brain washing..." grumbled the elderly minister from earlier.

"So hostile Minister Grubel, nothing as extravagant as that. Rest assured it is simply an education in understanding Solvatakh's form of law and governance."

Minister Grubel scowled in response, "Sure... but what if we say no...in spite of everything you've done to us what if we refuse to comply and insist on people that WE designate. The very reason we came out here was for independence, to be free from despots like you!"

"Well in that case..." Veronakh's eyes narrowed, "I suppose I'd make your families suffer for your defiance first..."

Gasps and wide eyes appeared around the table, leaving silence for a few seconds before the Necron Overlord continued, "Or...perhaps I deem your free will forfeit. Which would be quite unfortunate as well...a willing subject is more useful and productive in the long term. You've seen by now my dynasty's might ladies and gentlemen...would you have any reason to doubt that we would resort to such measures should you prove unreasonably...combative?"

Grim faces were worn by the ministers as they took stock of their situation. Veronakh by contrast seemed satisfied by their reaction, "Good...know that while this transition has been rather violent, that in the end your compliance will ensure the safety and security of your world. I will not interfere with your trade or local economy or industry...at least not too severely once your tithe is complete. But afterward you may live your lives as you always have and you will be under the banner of our dynasty along with all the protections it grants. Compliance after all, has its benefits for those who see the opportunity it presents."

Across the city of Crick, frightened citizens stayed indoors as the skeletal machines patrolled the streets. Frieda Williams, niece to the Colonial Minister of the city was at her home with her boyfriend Gregory when it all went down. Crescent-shaped fighter craft burned down the police HQ, squad cars, and any kind of colonial authority with burning green energy weaponry. Boat like transports deployed mechanical troops that now patrolled the streets and while they didn't attack anyone they did defend themselves from anyone who attempted to assault them. Thankfully most people just chose to stay in-doors and watch the holo feeds...until they too went dark. Gregory and Frieda just stayed in the living room, waiting for the static of the holo feed to clear as they heard another patrol of mechanical bipeds march past their street. Frieda held tighter onto Gregory as they passed by their window and relaxed as they moved on yet again.

The young woman made a relieved sigh as the robots left but slightly filled with anger at her feelings being pushed high and low from the stress, "Argh, God...I just want this to be over."

"Well, it hasn't gotten any worse so far." Gregory said trying to reassure her.

Frieda was still concerned, "It's been several hours since the holos and the extranet went down and I tried calling my uncle and nothing."

"It'll be okay...maybe the feeds are back on now?"

Frieda looked down contemplating whether to check again. A moment later she activated her omni-tool and turned on the holo projector in the living room and surprisingly the news was back on. It was her uncle! He was at a podium giving an address but the sound was muted due to the earlier static.

Frieda quickly un-muted the feed as Minister Williams continued his address, "I want everyone in our city and the entire world to know that we have been able to come to a peace agreement with these aggressors. There will be changes yes but life will otherwise continue as normal. The casualties from the fighting has been lamentable and unfortunately was made under false assumptions by our uh... new guests."

Gregory quickly interjected, "False assumptions my ass! No offense to your uncle but that's bullshit."

Frieda shushed him down so she could hear the rest of the address, "Restructuring and reorganization are already underway. I and the other Colonial Ministers have been assured that we can maintain our positions so that we may continue to serve you, the public, as we have done so far. For now, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who fell in the line of duty tonight. The wounds from those hurts will take time to heal, but...life on Watson will go on."

One of Minister Williams' young aides came up to him and whispered something in his ear, the older man nodded then turned to the cameras again, "Now I would like to introduce you to the leader of the uh...Necrontyr as they call themselves. He will finish the rest of this address."

The Minister then stepped back and camera zoomed out to take in the scene. Several giant mechanical robots with shields and halberd weapons came into the conference room in formation, followed by a more elaborate looking metal giant holding a staff. The four warriors took up positions around where their leader would be addressing the planet.

The mechanized lordly looking figure took up the podium and began his own address, "People of Watson...of Decoris...of the entirety of Sigurd's Cradle...greetings. I am Veronakh, Phaeron of the Solvatakh Dynasty. I do apologize for the unfortunate disruption to your routines and activities. I can...empathize to a degree with your plight. For when my people awoke after slumbering for millennia we discovered to our horror strange peoples squatting upon our own planets that had been ours for generations. As for why we were asleep that is a tale for another time but as you can imagine we were quite...grieved to see our homeworlds being occupied. Naturally, we undertook operations to reclaim and annex them back into our dynasty proper as you have clearly witnessed. Your leaders and I have negotiated terms so that you may remain on our planets while also serving a use for our dynasty. To this end, all citizens within Sigurd's Cradle shall be screened for useful traits and skills to determine where you will fit in the upcoming hierarchy."

"What?!" Frieda exclaimed.

"The screening process shall begin immediately. I would advise against resisting, as our warriors tend to be quite... insistent... when executing our commands. Thus obey our instructions, follow procedure, and once it is done you may return to your lives peacefully. After all, cooperation and compliance lead to prosperity."

Gregory and Frieda heard a strong pounding on their door causing Frieda to gasp and hold onto her boyfriend. The pounding stopped for a moment, then it came again even stronger. The couple stayed on the couch staring at the door, then they looked and saw green glowing eyes peering through the windows past the curtains. Suddenly something crashed through the window and Frieda screamed in response. Several metallic figures with large weapons in their hands moved in to grab them both. Gregory tried to fight them off with a kick only to cry out in pain as he hit hardened necrodermis. The young man found his leg being grabbed as he was dragged away from Frieda. She continued to scream before another robot grabbed her by the throat which caused her to gag.

"Frieda!" Gregory called out as the machines dragged them both outside of the apartment. Gregory looked and saw pandemonium out in the street. Squads of metallic robots and bug like machines going through other apartments and residences. Some had people readily complying and following the mechanical bots out. Others, like them, were being dragged outside where some kind of hovering boat-like crafts waited. Gregory's eyes widened as the machine holding his foot let go and grabbed him by the shoulder instead to take Gregory up into the floating craft. He tried to look back to find Frieda. He then saw her still struggling against the machine grabbing her by the throat, dragging her to another of the boats with other humans. Another machine came up behind her and hit her with its weapon from behind to knock her out.

As Frieda's form went limp in the robot's hands Gregory flew into a rage struggling against his captors, "NO! Hrrgh! LET HER GO YOU FU-"

Gregory felt something hit him from behind and everything went dark.