Chapter 14: Hazardous Vault Cracking

"The Ursus empire seeks to expand its borders at every single time they can. They only wish to fight for themselves and to make sure the Infected never see the light of day. It's for that reason that I kept hearing about Infected rebellions happening across the country. There were underground clinics just to treat people like me. I hope they're doing alright…" Voxlog recording by Katya Kerenov.

Resources are scarce commodities, even in a galaxy wide empire such as the Imperium, and as such, any and all must be secured for the good of humanity. For Rogue Traders, this varies between rare and valuable treasures, weaponry and equipment, to even actual resources—such as adamantium. Such things are held in vaults or cargo holds, as is typical for any smart Lord-Captain.

Unfortunately, Faust wasn't in Imperium controlled space—or their galaxy for that matter—and did not have the luxury to let someone else manage his keepsakes. This was mostly because he'd been frustratingly reminded that separate parts of his voidship had broken off in the crash every time he walked outside. He wasn't sure when that mental wound would fade, but it had certainly gotten old.

One such vault was something he had arranged to recover later since it would be surrounded with Originium particles as they left. The one where he had previously encountered the Ursus Empire and drove them out of his claim. Today was the day he checked in on the progress of the camp set to retrieve what he needed.

The black spires of Originium were already becoming much larger as the Melior flew closer. They weren't the biggest ones they'd encountered, but they certainly weren't there before. It was unlikely these spikes had grown just from dead Infected and were more indicative of a previous Catastrophe laying waste to the region. Still, he had sent a team fit for hazardous areas to recover the surroundings, and more importantly, start drilling into the vault.

The only other outcropping was the massive piece of the ship lying dead center. Sure, it was surrounded by other scrap metal chunks, but this was the largest of the bunch. And most definitely contained a vault—one of many that were splayed across Terra's landscapes.

It seemed they were moderately successful, as an Imperial campsite was just outside the area, with a few tents, a makeshift landing site, and even a speedily built vox-array. Hopefully, they hadn't just started breaking into the vault, but that event was likely given the increased hazards to lessen the casualties.

"We've arrived at our destination, Lord-Captain," the skitarii pilot nicknamed One-O said. He was currently hooked up to the customized Thunderhawk seat, allowing for comfortable and effective usage—at least to admech standards. Should the need arise, only the skitarii could get out of the seat or be torn out in emergencies. The co-pilot's seat was occupied with a servitor who could never escape from its confines, made for its one purpose and specialized as such. He didn't even have a face, as his helmet was linked to the auspex and the minor weapon systems, though if need be, could handle being the auto-pilot.

"Thank you, One-O. Land us away from the landing zone, I'd rather us not ruin it with our weight. I'll leave you to do the maintenance and rites as always."

The skitarii merely nodded in response, following orders dutifully. Good man.

Faust walked down the stairway from the pilot's cockpit, going towards the seating area. Brogg was seated in a slightly undersized Space Marine seat left over from previous modifications, half-asleep. Katya was beside the Ogryn—separated comfortably to not be squished—and slightly relaxed upon seeing Faust arrive. Next to her was Otto, surprisingly awake and acknowledging the Lord-Captain with a small nod. The rest of the seats on that side were filled with Delta's personal skitarii and tech-priests. These cohorts were of a higher rank in servitude to her, to the point they even reflected her and did different duties other than being bodyguards and researchers. Their metal implants were pleasantly balanced with their flesh augmentations—actual faces being more prominent—but not enough to look different to typical admech.

Rulk, on the opposite side of the cabin, sat bored out of his mind. He idly twiddled his fingers, occupying himself at the far end of the seating area, a considerable distance away from Otto. Delta was mysteriously missing, but the open ventilation compartment right above her seat announced her current whereabouts. That was all the people Faust had taken, leaving a good ten extra seats—plus a vehicle that could fit in the bay as there wasn't a need for Lucky 12's services today.

Rather than the usual attire Katya and Otto wore, they were given Imperial Guard hazard suits. They were snow white, with gray lines running down the flak-fabric mesh, and had a specialized guard helmet with a face mask made of glasscrete. Otto still brought his cameleoline cloak with him while Katya's suit accommodated her shoulder lesion. And while Otto hadn't been affected last time, Faust wasn't keen on leaving it up to fate. Besides that, they had the helmets off for now.

Faust had no need for new gear, as his void armor definitely wouldn't change in results—the same as how Rulk was fully covered. That being said, he had brought a simple black coat worth more than a normal guardsman's salary for a solar year. It had absolutely nothing special, only being expensive for the sake of being expensive. The humor in that was not lost on Faust.

"Sah," Brogg said sleepily, audibly yawning.

"We're about to land near the outskirts of the biohazard zone. Helmets on when we land. We'll be near Originium, and I'd rather not risk a short medicae run."

Katya visibly shuddered, before speaking in broken Low Gothic. It was understandable enough to get her words across. "Ugh, why're we going near that?"

Faust nodded, slightly impressed. "That is because we're recovering priceless artifacts I had previously acquired. You're also getting better at speaking Low Gothic. I take it Rulk's lessons have been effective enough?"

Rulk snorted, "Of course my lessons have been effective. I would rather her speak our tongue than have to wait for that annoying voice box to finish speaking."

Katya nodded, grasping her Elucidator to translate her next words. She seemed a tinge somber while she spoke in her original language. "Yeah… it's helped me a lot. I won't need it as much down the line, since I might be able to speak for myself, but I think I'l miss using it."

Melior touched down a moment later as Faust felt his legs lightly buckle underneath him, while everyone else barring Brogg shifted in their seats forward. Delta's head popped out from the vent undisturbed, glancing around. "Ah, we've arrived 12.4 seconds earlier than anticipated. How wonderful!"

Faust lightly ignored her absurdity as he walked towards the vent, reaching a hand out for Delta to grab. She accepted his hand easily, coiling down from the space as the rest of the entourage unstrapped themselves from their seats.

"Thank you, Faustie," Delta cooed.

Faust rolled his eyes with a shake of his head, slipping away from a grappling hug before her mechadendrites could snatch him—a pout being her only outcry. He put his helmet on before walking towards the bay doors of the Melior, now lowering. The sunlight glared into the bay as the doors lowered, but his visor filtered out the brightness in the rays.

A small squadron of skitarii and a contingent of biohazard-geared guardsmen were already aligned in neatly organized columns, each respectively on a different side of the bay doors lined up and at parade rest. Meeting them in the middle was a tech-priest, martian red robes droopily hanging from his form like loose skin. Two metal servo-arms were propped up from his back, eagerly clicking like a crustacean's claws. Uniform to any tech-priests was his power-axe, though this one was smaller, but bore a heftier blade. His face had two simple blue lenses, but his chin was completely covered by a beard of wires. Finally, the last detail Faust noticed was the numerous spider-like legs poking underneath his clothes, barely poking out.

Faust strained to remember the name of this tech-priest, but didn't need to as Delta slithered forward. The ensuing Lingua-technis was lost on the Lord-Captain, but he was sure they were conversing about their mission to crack the vault in person. The Tech-Priest gave her a grumbling whirr before begrudgingly scuttling off, his skitarii following him. At least the other guardsmen stayed behind, if only because their true allegiance was to their company—despite the original mission. Had it not been for Faust's general agreements and exchanges with their Reginald, they likely would have scampered off too.

Delta creeped back to Faust, smiling slightly. "Reclaimator Oros 'graced' our presence for an explanation, wondering what we are doing here without so much as a warning. I have dutifully reminded him that it is not within his parameters to ask such a question, and to only be grateful we are here to oversee his operation."

Faust could feel the smugness radiating off of Delta hotter than a plasma reactor. The name brought back memories of long talks with Delta in not "removing" their top Reclaimator. "Must you always be at odds with him?"

"Yes! I do not enjoy lowering myself to his snobbery; they always act the same. Besides that, Oros always snubs me at every possible chance. He is lucky you prevent me from dealing with his annoyance any further than sabotaging his servitors," Delta grumbled, her arms crossing.

"...You sabotaged his servitors?"

Delta seized up, grinding her head away like a stone statue to avoid Faust's condemnatory gaze. She stayed deathly silent—to the point not even a single mechadendrite wiggled.

"Delta."

Delta ducked slightly as if she had avoided a bullet. With how intense Faust's glare was, it very well could have been a bullet striking at her mentality.

"Delta," Faust repeated, a slight bark in his tone.

Delta cringed with an awkward smile as she turned to face Faust. "...Okay… I may have… ordered it to my underlings while he wasn't looking," She spoke quickly without so much as missing a beat. "There is a slight possibility I used a servant with proficiency in espionage to accomplish this task."

Faust facepalmed, rubbing the stress off of his eyes as the rest of his entourage assembled. "We will speak on this later," Faust sternly reprimanded. "For now, let us hope it does not bite us at this current moment. And you will send a gift to him at the very least."

Delta bowed with a jolt, nodding erratically, "Yes, Faust, of course!"

Faust relaxed as Brogg hopped off the lowered metal doors, already taking his role as a bodyguard with his eyes scanning the surroundings. "Very well. Let's not waste our time."

The group started to walk toward the camp, where most of the actual personnel and equipment were. It was only then that Katya had noticed their current location, causing her to grimace.

"Oh… of all the places it's this one… I should've stayed home for this."

"Why's that?" Brogg asked, curiously, before the puzzle in his brain clicked. "Oh, yeah, this p'ace! I stomped on one of 'em Ursus sold'yas. Tha' was a good time."

Faust ignored their little conversation and focused more on making their way closer to the innards of the previous prison camp, approaching the gate. Rulk clanked up beside him on the left, since the right was preoccupied by a sulking Delta.

The gate was guarded by two skitarii guards, each holding Arc Rifles in their hands. They stood at attention, with the guardsman who followed Faust's group now beginning to line up with the admech guards. They weren't about to enter the heavier biohazard zone, but they would make sure no one else interfered. The crystal dust was beginning to gather in the air as they made their way past the gate, with Faust giving a second glance to make sure everyone had their hazardous gear on correctly. Otto was, of course, missing, but the rest seemed fine.

Katya, Brogg, and half of the skitarii split off from the group, roaming around the area. The other half, Rulk, Delta, and the rest, followed Faust further to the center where the large piece of the ship laid. The broken vault laid as the centerpiece, sticking out in the middle of the wreckage as its towering form hulked over anything else in the surroundings.

Many of the Imperial machines and vehicles were centered on mining, ironically enough to the camp's former ownership. Only this time, rather than barbarians, the rightful owners were in charge. Still, some of the previous gear laid around, which the admech were all too eager to collect for research. Some areas were sectioned off, clearly taped off by red biohazard tape.

"The warp here… it's disturbed." Rulk rasped, shifting his helmet with each glance at a crystalline spike. "The Originium rips at the current too much, yet I get the distinct feeling it is not on purpose."

Rulk walked up to a crystal, his hand scraping at its side to feel it more. He held his gauntlet up, closing his hand softly, before tilting his head. "Truly a strange phenomenon…" Rulk turned to face Faust, "It is unlike that Blackstone we had found deep beneath the jungle of Yrigon IV; it is, however, of a unique property in concerns to warp manipulation. It stings to even be so close to it, but not enough to warrant true discomfort. I still apprehend it's… revolting nature."

Faust nodded, his hand coming up to stroke his helmet's chin. "Delta, do you have any ideas churning?"

Delta propped herself up, smiling as she mimicked Faust's stance. "At this moment, just one." Delta crept towards the crystal, her tail coiling around the ore and breaking off a chunk. It vanished as it was moved within the confines of her cloak by her numerous tendrils. "I shall request for more, but for now, I will test its capabilities with the limited resources at my disposal here." Delta beckoned for her skitarii to gather, each already able to research at their own rate and just be her general assistants.

"I suppose I shall help you in this endeavor," Rulk said. "I would hardly enjoy its usage against my safety, though, I shall leave this place should you be a nuisance, Delta."

"Yes, yes, complain while you stay, you contradictory Navigator."

Faust slipped away as he let Delta do her specialty undistracted, Rulk staying with an acknowledging nod. The Lord-Captain's disappearance went successfully unnoticed, thank the Throne. On his stroll, he glanced at Katya and Brogg's location, but decided against walking towards them. Faust still wanted to confirm some things first.

After walking for a minute, the Lord-Captain arrived at the prime structure still stuck deep in the snow and mud. Snow had begun to fall, blending into the motes of black in the air. The ruined structure was jagged, sections of broken doors or previous walkways cut in half now viewable for all to see. White clumps were gathering on its exposed innards as it rotted in the frost. The actual vault within its broken section was slightly exposed, but mostly protected by the remnants of its surroundings within the Clad in Ire. For just this moment, Faust felt alone—even while others remained close by.

Faust couldn't help but gaze solemnly at the fallen hull as he stood motionlessly. Only now did he feel a form of previously neglected loss for his ship. He hadn't the time in his weeks of reports, organizing his crew, and keeping things in line to truly consider his feelings on the matter. Even while he was outside his ship, it was still there. It was like looking at an angel that had lost its wings and its flesh, wounds bandaged in an effort to display the illusion of fortitude in the face of defeat.

Yet here Faust was, looking at a chunk of its original meat. It was another deep, ghastly wound to his pride. Rarely did he enjoy uncomfortableness in that term; At this moment, it felt necessary to endure it.

Faust stood in the drowned out silence of the world, watching as the snow fell past his golden visors. As he held out his palm, he watched snow clinging to the touch. He clenched his hand, drinking in his melancholy as he stared back at the vault.

Faust looked for a way to climb up, seeking a way to enter the wreckage and see if he could find anything that could be retrieved firsthand. He didn't exactly trust the other admech that weren't truly under Delta's orders nor the admech who didn't specify their goals first. He could only trust them with the bare necessities, such as data recovery or item retrieval. If some rare artifacts went missing under their supervision, it would be a lengthy process to find it again. Faust would've rather skipped the trouble altogether by having this be his reason to explore. After all, he couldn't track all the things his ship carried nor the quality of said items.

The ice crunched deeply beneath his heavy boots as he lumbered close with the animal girl. Brogg was initially going to walk with his Lord-Friend, but he didn't need to. Nothing felt out of place, and it felt safe enough. Plus, Mr. Faust was in his armor, and didn't really need more help to be safe.

Baker girl was also pretty friendly. It was different from the caution other, less meaty, humans had towards him. It made him feel normal. That was something Faust only did. And Delta. And also maybe Rulk, but he had a weirder feeling about that one. Katya was a good addition to Brogg's routine.

She was even strong enough to move a person easily on her own, despite her size. That was neat.

Some of the more metal guys—Delta's people, he assumed—were also following them. Well, not really, but they stayed close enough doing their own things. Brogg couldn't figure out why. Brogg was already tough enough to keep Katya safe. It didn't make sense why they couldn't figure that out, but he wasn't against it.

Brogg scratched the back of his head, dusting off the accum-ulated snow on his trimmed mohawk. His mouth felt itchy, but that would mean taking off his mask. He bit his lip instead. That felt nice.

Katya walked up to one tent that was crumpled like a bug. It had some markings he couldn't figure out, but it was important to Katya. She seemed to be lost in her mind, like how Faust does sometimes. Moving on her own, but not knowing where she was, only that she had something to do.

It kind of freaked out Brogg when he thought about them doing that. How can the smarter ones not know what they're doing, but also know what they're doing? That also didn't make sense. Brogg walked behind Katya, shadowing her like he usually did with Faust.

She stopped at a pile of crystals that had a big amount rising from its left side. The rest of the stuff grew smaller in the right direction, but they were all in a pile. It strangely looked like a person. Some of the… black crystals always did—he forgot the actual name of it. They were weird. It harmed true humans, but not him. Very weird.

Katya seemed angry as she looked at the pile, her hands clenched. Brogg didn't know why, but it was enough for him to ask.

"Should I break it for ya?" Brogg asked, hefting his shield in his hand. It would do the job.

Katya snapped her head to the left, looking up in slight surprise. "W-What? I…" The animal lady sighed, shaking her head as she looked back at the pile. "That's not… that's not needed…"

"Why's that?"

"...He can't hurt me anymore. No need to defile his body; I already got my vengeance." She whispered.

Brogg looked back at the pile. He wasn't sure if Katya could talk to the rocks. Maybe that was another part of her skills. That part didn't really matter; if he didn't need to break it, then he wouldn't. But he would make sure it didn't harm someone again.

He eyed it one last time as Katya walked away, huffing to himself as he began to follow her once more.

It was cold today. He could feel it on his skin. On his clothes. He didn't really mind the cold, but he knew how others felt about it. The cold could kill. Not much to think about that, no sir. But it was also pretty. Those little flakes that fell from the sky were nice to look at. It was pretty like home. Pretty like some places on the ship.

Katya stopped at another place. A bunch of cloth was half-buried under ice, enough to be a little too hard to get rid of. It was untouched by the black, leaving it clean. She seemed to want to see what was under the cloth, as she was dusting the ice off.

Brogg hummed, stepping next to her, and grabbed the edge of the cloth. With an easy tug, being careful not to rip and instead lift, he threw off the snow in one heavy motion. And then he threw the blanket away.

Underneath the pile was an armored body slumped against a crate, his head tilted down. A sword stuck out of his side, with frozen blood still on his coat. Dead. By the sword, Brogg deduced. Brogg was sure of it. Well, as sure as he could be.

Katya looked disgusted at the sight of it, but not in the way someone would throw up. More like… hatred. Like how Lord-Friend Faust was when warp monsters were mentioned.

"Tch… fragging Ursus Enforcer. Nothing to see here, Brogg. Let's move on."

Brogg looked at Katya before kneeling at the body, noticing a hidden detail she hadn't. Something was clenched in their hands, unwilling to let go. Brogg tried to pry it carefully, only to accidentally snap off a few frozen fingers. He winced with a slight shrug, being very regretful about that.

"My 'polo-gies."

"Brogg?"

He gently placed the broken digits next to the hand before grabbing what was inside. Brogg brought the thing up to his eyes. A pendant. Wasn't shiny or special—pretty much any other pendant. At least this time, he could reveal the inside without it breaking.

A picture of a pretty woman was on one side, with the other picture being of a very young girl. Family. That took him back. It'd been a long time since he remembered Papa's. Been longer since he took the time to honor his planet's job. Before he became a true bodyguard, before he could take the mantle of a gravedigger. Planetary governor needed someone to protect him after all. He placed it in his pocket for now.

Brogg put his shield on his back, before beginning to dig with his hands. He didn't have a shovel to use, but it's not like he needed one. It didn't take long before he shoveled snow away to reach the mud underneath, dirtying his hands with muck.

"What are you doing?" Katya asked, with a slight annoyance in her tone. Brogg understood why, but he still had a job to do.

"Bury-ing 'em."

"He doesn't deserve it. He's just like the rest of them. Let him stay in the–"

"It ain't right," Brogg said calmly. "He's a soldier. Not on our side, ye', but he was human. Had a family."

Katya fell silent, only watching as Brogg dug the grave.

"Papa use'tah dig for the dece– dis-eased? Ah whatevuh, it was for tha' dead. Wasn't 'portant work like Sah Faust, buh it was 'is. He taught me some stuff, 'fore I became who I am. Bury the dead. Honor 'em. Ne'er know when you'll meet da Emprah when ya time's is up, so is best to do the same for others. Papa's words. I'll 'member 'em forevah."

Katya grumbled, muttering a few curses. Brogg could hear the crunch in the snow as she walked away. She was hurt by these people. He could sympathize with that.

It surprised Brogg when she came back with a shovel and started to dig with him.

Katya growled, "I don't like this. Murderers shouldn't be respected."

"Don't 'ave to do this."

"I know."

They continued to dig a right and proper grave for the body. Hopefully, it would be good enough.

Faust had made his way inside the hull, now lost within its guts. It pleased him to be somewhere familiar, even while distant sparks were the only source of light within its darkness. His visor had switched to night vision to accommodate him, permitting him to continue his search.

He ducked under a broken steel bar, traversing the corridors as he traveled deeper into the depths. This vault was unmistakingly sunken into the ground while the snow portrayed otherwise. Still, that didn't dissuade him from going deeper.

Faust approached a door, its valve locked tightly. Next to it was a servitor with a skull as the only access key.

"Servitor?"

Silence. Dead. No words came out of its mouth, and it was past its prime—likely destroyed on impact.

Perhaps there was another way to get through? He wasn't in the mood to deplete some of his power sword's charge; it was too simple of a solution. The hull was half-broken, after all. Faust looked up, seeing an opening within the roof high above. To the right of him were a few ledges made definitely not meant to be climbed.

Faust made for a running start, jumping off the ground to reach the first ledge. He climbed the next two fluidly, jumping backward to grab a pipe, which groaned from the weight. Afterwards, he swung to the next outcropping, an arch, before climbing up that and reaching a toppled railing. He carefully grabbed it and tugged to make sure it would hold him.

It would not, as it broke off and clanged as it hit the floor. He sighed, throwing himself at another arch before seeing a broken rebar jutting out from the roof. He grabbed it with another tug. This one would hold. He jumped from the second arch to the rebar before lifting himself up to the next floor.

He dusted himself off, his cloak miraculously not snagging on anything from the entire process. He always felt proud of his athletics backed up by years of training, experience, and slightly boosted by his armor. Faust looked around for a slight moment before walking in the same direction as the shut door.

After a while, another section of the floor opened up, with the walkway turning into a steep ramp. He steadied himself as he went down it, before allowing himself to drop down. Faust felt his boots hit the floor, looking around. Still nothing but empty air and himself.

This time, another door was in his way, but no servitor. He accessed the cogitator next to it. It sparked with electricity before turning on with a low green glow. No amount of buttons pressed would open the door. What was it that Delta did during these times?

Faust kneeled down, clasping his hands together. "Machine spirit please…"

The door still did not open.

That's a shame. Faust thought to himself. I thought I'd get lucky…

Faust moved his hand to his sword, ready to slice the door open, only for the hatch to shudder and slowly widen. It, unfortunately, didn't open all the way, jolting shut at the halfway mark. Faust sighed, forcing himself through as he pushed one of the side hatches aside to squeeze through.

He grunted for a second as his armor refused to slide through without a few scratches, until he gained precious freedom. Faust straightened his cloak, before noticing what room he was in. It was similar to an armory—save for the armorers. The amount of identical weapons here was more akin to an Imperial Guard storage facility, mostly being lasguns and a few autoguns. It was a valuable find for a squad, but not so much for Faust.

Faust felt his senses alert him to someone else's presence, much like eyes staring from the darkness. The Lord-Captain spun around with his pistol drawn, only to find Otto dropping from the ramp.

Faust let out the steeled breath he had taken. "...You really must warn me when you do that."

Otto shrugged, shining the flashlight from his long-las down a corridor Faust had missed. It was hidden and blocked by fallen steel, but it was possible to move through.

"What are you even doing here in the first place?"

Otto silently regarded Faust with a disappointed look that said everything.

"Oh, whatever, I don't get into trouble on my own. There wasn't a need to follow me when you do your own thing half the time."

Otto ducked under the steel beam, holding a hand out for Faust to grab, letting them continue walking through the armory until they reached a large hallway. It was much more regal, gold trims on the walls and unused candles scattered. A Servo-skull laid dead on the floor, crunched by the crash from the looks of it. The end of the corridor held a large hatch and a servitor's exposed body. Faust was about to walk down it until Otto pulled him aside, ducking behind a column.

Faust tilted his head at Otto, nodding and shrugging off his grasp, before peeking to look for himself. Two red-dots had trailed from their position back to slowly moving around. It would seem the automated turret system was still active, and Faust wasn't sure whether they'd fire at them. It was a good thing Otto had done that, otherwise his armor may have had a few new scorched rounds.

"I aim right, you aim left." Faust said, kneeling to hold his position.

They readied themselves before Faust fired once. The bullet landed dead center, exploding the turret. Before the other turret could react, a lasbolt burned through instantaneously, causing it to shut down.

Faust shot one more time just in case prompting Otto to do the same. They both walked out to the open before slightly relaxing. As they approached the door, the servitor sparked to life without their need to interact.

"I wish to serve," the servitor spoke automatically, its head straining to meet them by the eyes.

"Good. Open these doors," Faust commanded.

The servitor's head jittered, "Access denied. Please verify access code."

Fragging… "Access Code: 125-7791-Faust-is-the-Best."

"Access Granted. Welcome, Mistress Delta."

The door shuddered before opening monumentally slow. Otto side-eyed Faust with a small grin.

"I would ask you to not speak a word, but I severely doubt you would."

Otto snorted a laugh away before scanning the room as he entered, Long-las moving at each corner. He slowly lowered it as the lights flickered to life, blinding everything for a moment before settling on a bright white luminescence. Otto fell into a trance of amazement, while Faust raised his brow at the sight before him.

This section of the ship—if it had an aura—was a reverent radiance to the God-Emperor's might. Pure gold was masterfully etched into every object, material, or backdrop. Weapons of various craftsmanship were aligned and organized, completely unbothered by the outside world and in displays.

Candles burned brightly, lit by a single Servo-skull who had refused to quit. The Servo-skull was heavily damaged, a portion of its bone missing and wires hanging out, yet it lived on. It didn't even regard them as they entered.

A profound holiness shaped the feeling of the room, almost as if the highest rungs in the Ecclesiarchy had blessed this place personally. Perhaps Davis had in his free time, but it gave Faust pause on merely basking in the light. He felt himself a slight bit unworthy, but perhaps these were mere thoughts to strive for greatness. Still, he bowed greatly to the single shrine in the room, a sword held aloft by skeletal hands. Otto had felt the same, fully kneeled, and making the sign of the aquila as his head faced downward. Faust kneeled on his own, bowing in silence.

Blessed be your strength on the Holy Throne for preserving such masterpieces. Art has graced my presence, and in your name, I shall wield them for the good of humanity. I am your sword against the unknown; I am your word made manifest. This I promise.

Faust finished his prayer but didn't stand up for another few minutes. He analyzed more of the weapons he had found. A flamer, unsullied by dirt and never having been used as its golden muzzle remained unburned. Boltguns—the proper size befitting for one of His angels—had eagles striking from its barrel all the way to its receiver. A plasma cannon took up an entire display cabinet, three purity seals below its plasma chamber, and another on its stock.

An Eviscerator was in the middle of the room, standing upright in a glass display. This wasn't the sword in the shrine, but it was noticeable enough to draw attention. It bore a single purity seal on the hazard striped covering of the blade. The case was solid wood—of an expensive variant, no doubt.

Faust walked past it as Otto stood up, walking to another cabinet. He could hear it unlock, causing Faust to watch as Otto pulled out some type of Long-las. It had a slick midnight hue, with a purity seal on the high-powered scope attached to its top. A silencer was on the end, which felt incredibly odd for a las-weapon. He held it in his hands, feeling the design, before shaking his head and putting it back.

He looked back at Faust with a slight grimace in his expression. He shuffled awkwardly towards Faust.

Faust sighed. "Do not feel unworthy to have held such artisanship in your hands. In due time, you will hold and wield it true. When the time is right, I'll find a way to let you keep it. I declare it so." Faust held out his hand.

Otto grasped it with a hefty grip and shook on it. He cheered up more before whistling at the weapon behind Faust.

Faust turned around to see the sword on display. Laid in between the cloth separating steel from bone was a magnificent blade, its metal an odd contrast to the typical color. It was like peering at the void, as Faust could not even make out his reflection in the weapon. It was trimmed in gold and silver and he oddly couldn't make out a battery pack.

Such beauty called to him, asking for him to take it. Keep it. Never use it again and place it within a mantle for all to see, but never touch.

He growled at such impurity, gently reaching to hold the power sword in his hands as he grabbed it by the cloth. It was heavy to even hold it in his hands, but that was more the specialized cloth than the blade.

The skeletal hands retracted before making the hands of the aquila as the skull in the shrine bowed. Faust glanced down to read the words of the inscription of the shrine.

In the heart of darkness, lies the depths of humanities vices. Of rage all knowing. Of treachery and change. Of blight unending. Of temptations and excess. And so, we bestow upon this blade the might to cut such demons of the past, present, and future, out. Ye who shall grasp this blade shall wield might in the form of darkness, for it shall protect you from the void's embrace. Ye shall wield it in the Emperor's duty, to protect humanity, and to kill the xenos, the mutant, and the heretic. It's name, Everlasting Eclipse

Faust pressed the button near the speakers on the shrine, causing the servitor within it to speak a recording

"What you see here is the original description of the shrine found on Yrigon II. Its master is unknown and its machine spirit yearns for battle, yet it has not chosen a warrior. Its battery refuses to work and its material is of an unknown process and creation. We suspect it is of a damnable tech-heresy and should be forgotten. Yet, we cannot deny it is of a special property not seen before. While alluring to destroy, it is equally tempting to keep, thus we have decided to hide this for Magos Ferexa to find later. In the name of the Omnissiah, we will find its purpose." The servitor clicked, "Recording has ended."

Faust and Otto eyed each other, both straining to come up with any clue on what this is or who the tech-priest was. Well, it didn't matter now that it was in Faust's hands.

Faust gave the heavy covering to Otto to hold, allowing himself to truly grasp at the weight of the power sword. He held it up in one hand, inspecting it. Its blade was of a midnight hue, a strange and unlikely pick for a power sword. True enough, it also didn't hold a battery pack, and was for the most part an abnormal blade in its current state. There was, however, a strange familiarity to the material, like he had encountered it once before. The blade's hue was jet black, save for the hilt which mimicked everything else in the room. It seemed to have a power swords build, but nothing to quite back the claim up. It was simply too difficult to really make out any other defining properties, other than it was of human design.

He'd use this blade when the time was right, but for now, such a thing was to be made sure it was thoroughly researched, as the device had said. Faust didn't enjoy the possibility that he held a weapon not meant for his hands or it being of greater importance than a Rogue Trader, but if such a thing didn't arise, he would without a doubt use it. For now, they needed to transfer this back outside.

"Otto, we're done here. Leave a tracking beacon for Delta's skitarii to recover this for me, and let's get outside. I've spent enough time being within this place."

Otto nodded, giving the hefty covering for Faust to wrap his sword with. Faust would make sure such a piece of deadly art wouldn't be lost within his ship. They both gave one last look at the holy arsenal of weapons before leaving.

AN: I'm a bit late, but I may had a little bit of life interference. But I did it! Been thinking about extending my usual posting time to either a week and a half or two weeks, but we'll see. I haven't even touched the new Babel event for Arknights but from what I hear, it's PEAK. Anyhow, that's about it.

Julio: Yeah, Closure would be a deviant to most Tech-Priests. A real "nuisance," that one.

Sagi: Yeah... I don't like those stories very much. I think they can be done, but not usually well since it's only one author bashing on the other universe without really realizing its boring if one side stomps everything (also my response to Guest, but I'm not sure if he read past chapter 1). Other times, they don't seem to realize some characters and universes can actually fare pretty well in Warhammer, and vice versa. Like, why not choose a specific character like, idk, Titus and thrust him onto a completely different universe he could survive, adapt and/or react in. But who cares, my opinion is subjective after all. Anyway, there will be times casualties happen on both sides, and you'll see that in Arc 2 and definitely Arc 3 due to what I'll put them up against, it just hasn't happened yet because Faust has only breached the surface level. After all, they're technically outnumbered and outsmarted should a certain perpetual Feline feel the need to unite Terra. There's only so many tougher bodies you can throw at the enemy until they run out of supplies–without counting actual strategies, resources, and unknown techniques; it's the Imperial Guard's strategy too, but this time, their reinforcements are beyond the distant horizon.

SilentRobin: SPOILERSSSSSSSSS, so, I can't reveal anything that detailed yet. But perhaps you'll see it.

Bastion: I love to world build, but I do understand that some readers aren't too into that type of thing. That being said, in about a chapter or two, you guys'll get another look at Faust's expedition to somewhere. My hint is that the "where" is in one of the previous epigraphs (the small blurbs before a chapter in a book or story). Good luck deciphering which location that is.

Hope I don't lose too many for the direction I'm trying to take it. Roseblade out.