Chương 34: Chapter 33: Heavy Metal Blitz

POV: Lord Cornelius Aarark Cornelius was reeling from the shock of learning the Inquisitor had been an imposter, his mind was still struggling to process that fact and his attention was elsewhere when the conversation progressed rapidly. He had been prepared for Lord Drakios and the other guests to act when he permitted them to do so, but he had not expected the response to be immediate, swift, and brutal. While the other Lords were barking orders, he sat stiff in his chair.

He hadn't noticed the Princeps divesting herself of her outer robe until she called for her guards and sprinted towards the large window with a small terrace-style balcony. Cornelius felt like his heart was about to stop as he watched the Princeps defenestrate herself! As she vanished he looked around wide-eyed but the Archmagos and Mechanicus Magi seemed utterly unconcerned.

"I… she… What!?" He sputtered flabbergasted at the Princep's suicidal jump.

"The Princeps is taking the fastest route to her chosen landing location. She is equipped with a personal jump pack. Your concern is appreciated but unnecessary." Archmagos Doll told him without even turning his head to look at Cornelius.

"You called for her sword? Why did she have to leave so drastically." Cornelius asked. His officers looked just as puzzled as he felt, and he realized there was likely context he was missing.

"Ah, my apologies Governor. The Sword of Vengeance is the name of her Cerastus Knight Castigator." Lord Drakios said with a small smile.

"Oh." Cornelius said politely. They had deployed a Knight. Via drop pod. Into his city. His eyes drifted over to the tactical display as several dots appeared heading straight for the areas of conflict. One of the larger dots was rapidly heading for the area the Princeps had indicated, and a smaller dot was currently falling along the side of the spire on an intercept course for that same location. Cornelius closed his eyes and repeatedly told himself 'This. Is. Fine.'

—------------------------------------------------------------- POV: Nicole Freefall was a rush, I muse while simultaneously using pulses from the thrusters to angle myself away from the main hive spire and into the more open air as I plummet towards the planet below. Little flexes of my wings maintain my course and provide just enough drag to keep me from reaching terminal velocity.

Brother Silverwalker is right behind me, keeping pace with me, and the Thallax have arrayed themselves into a V-formation a dozen meters behind us. I can see the large drop pod break the cloud cover in the distance, its heat shields lightly glowing from incredible friction as it speeds toward its destination. I reach out through the Noosphere to connect with the few wireless systems in the Sword of Vengeance and connect to the drop pod.

All systems are fully functional in both so I start preparing my Knight for activation even as it falls. I notice quite a lot of people staring out the nearby windows, looking agog as we dart past. There is a thunderous roar as the jets on the bottom of the drop pod fire, working to slow its massive bulk as it reaches the final stretch of its journey.

Despite the best efforts of the landing thrusters the noise created as the immense mass of the pod impacts the ferrocrete echos for miles throughout the hive, kicking up a wave of dust as the hull steams. There are bolters dotted throughout the Knight's pod to make sure nothing gets too curious about it. The chances of someone showing up are minimal though as I chose the landing spot close enough to the fighting but just far enough that there shouldn't be anything close by to interrupt me.

I fold my wings as Brother Silverwalker hovers above the pod and the Thallax land around the drop pod weapons at the ready.

"This is Princeps Cavalerio, arrival imminent, package received." I vox in. I swoop forward as I twist myself so I'm facing feet first. I flare my wings and use the thrusters to rapidly slow myself just as the drop pod opens explosively, revealing the crouched form of the Sword of Vengeance with its upper hatch already open. I glide the last few meters feeling light as a feather before my feet touch the armored shell of the Knight.

As soon as I enter the Knight the hatch closes behind me, I reach the bottom of the ladder and rush to the weapons locker to stow most of my arms and gear. I sit on the command throne and line up the connectors with my spinal ports.

"Alright, Sword of Vengeance time for your first proper field test." I whisper as the throne activates and I establish the link. The engine behind me thrums to life immediately as my senses merge with the Sword of Vengeance. I bellow out with my war horns and as I move to stand I notice the present sitting next to my right hand, grinning. I grasp the handle and heft the massive spear. The fine work of Brother Cogmane and Brother Cogfist accepts my commands with ease as I bid it to extend to its full length.

The former twin blades of the Dimacheron are coated with adamantine and are sharpened to a razor's edge, and crackle with energy as I engage the storm field.

"This is Princeps Cavalerio. I walk." I declare as I step out of the confines of the drop pod smoothly and plot a course to the closest enemy units. The other combat theater that had been in a stalemate is being brutalized by Baldos. The industrial area is a more cat-and-mouse game between the fast attack vehicles of the enemy and friendly units. I command the Thallax to guard the drop pod and let Brother Silverwalker do as he pleases.

A smile creeps up my face as I walk down the road and accelerate, twirling the as-of-yet-unnamed weapon. I consider the spear and hum softly.

"You will be the Di-pole Storm Spear" The newborn machine spirit accepts the name happily before returning to dormancy. The first foe unfortunate enough to cross paths with me is a Sentinel. The Sentinel panic fires its las guns toward me but its fire is effortlessly deflected by my ion shield as I close in and swing the spear down. I drastically underestimate the sharpness of the power fields as the massive blades cut clean through the entire central chassis and the pilots with just a single swing.

The enemy machine collapses into two large chunks, spewing oil and fluids as the engine's two halves combust, while a thin third sliver of metal drops to the ground with a thunk. The blades also slice a pair of massive furrows into the roadway on the follow-through. I trace the route the Sentinel was on and swiftly find myself facing a column of scout vehicles and light tanks moving through a narrow corridor between two large factories. The leader slams on the brakes as they spot me but it's far too late for that.

I'm already spooling my Castigator bolt cannon. I strafe the corridor, the massive bolt rounds punching holes through the light armor, the heretics, and their vehicles." BRRRRRRRT" What follows is a series of secondary explosions and then silence.

"This is Princeps Cavalerio, be advised. I believe invasion group beta has scattered into smaller units." I call out as I kick the lead-wrecked Tauros and watch it sail through the air almost a hundred meters before crashing down and rolling into a wall. I examine the terrain and click my tongue. The narrow areas are a poor fit for my spear. I reluctantly retract the haft and sheathe it for now, pulling out the shorter Tempest Warblade. I can detect fighting nearby and quickly move to the next block.

I quickly identify the friendly vehicles and sidestep around them as I charge the enemy convoy. I swing down with my Warblade and cut the cab of the Praetor Armored Assault Launcher in half. A controlled burst from my cannon perforates the side armor of a nearby Chimera and leaves it smoking and dead. I quickly find myself facing and the focus of a trio of enemy Leman Russ tanks, an Eradicator, a Demolisher, and a standard Leman Russ.

I bull rush the Eradicator with enough energy and momentum that when I slam into the tank I upend it and leave it flipped over. The Demolisher gets off a shot that gets past the Ion Shields only to ricochet off my armored pauldron. I pivot in place and bring my blade around, sliding it right into the turret of the normal Leman Russ with a discharge of lightning that cooks off the shell they were loading into the barrel and blows the upper hatch right off the turret.

As I am about to round and finish off the Demolisher it is struck in the side by a Hunter Killer missile and a blast of plasma from a friendly Leman Russ Executioner. I turn and give the tank a small nod as I pull my blade free of the Leman Russ. The Commander of the tank is sitting out of the hatch staring at me and shouting something to his men. He lifts his pistol and cheers.

I sheath my sword and taking a page from Baldos's book I grab part of a nearby wreck in my right hand hefting the chunk of steel and adamantine before I sling it over and let it smash into a Scylla Light Tank that was trying to get away, buckling one of its side panels, knocking the track off which leaves the hull mounted main gun facing naught but a wall.

"Now where did the Sorcerer leading them run off to?" I mutter as I stalk forward into the hive's industrial labyrinth leaving the clean-up to the friendly armored convoy. —------------------------------------------------- POV: Venerable Baldos Baldos was having a grand old time. Having landed right on one of the units of enemy armor, one step put him right in the thick of it.

He swept his sensors through the battlefield and flexed his combat claw, feeling the new monomer fibers as he reached out and grabbed the chassis of one of the enemy Taurox and chucked it across the field where it smashed into a Chimera with a cacophonous clang. Baldos hadn't expected the loyal guard to rally around him like they had. They weren't half bad for simple mortals.

"How many kills you at, Whelp?" Baldos voxed Brother Solantar who was running around in his Ironclad.

"This one makes twelve, Venerable." He replied, followed by the sound of a distant explosion.

"Bah, pick up the pace! Only half my kills." Baldos shot back as he sprinted forward and tackled one of the light tanks, crushing it under his bulk before he ripped himself free from the bent and twisted armor.

"You'll be pleased to know then that the Princeps is at thirty." Solantar replied curtly. That made Baldos pause for a millisecond as useless las fire continued to plink off his armor.

"They let our little terror off the leash? She landed a minute after us!" Baldos yelled as he lifted his Twin-lascannon and vaporized the cockpit of a Sentinel.

"That's a fine kill count! Rip and tear littlest one!" Baldos laughed.

"She's in a Knight!" Solantar protested.

"No! Excuses!" Baldos replied as he grabbed onto the front of a Scylla one-handed and heaved. The new monomers strained but he managed to lift the entire thing overhead, much to the horror of the enemy troops nearby before he used it as a bludgeon to crush another.

"Twenty-Eight!" Baldos announced as he looked around he spotted a Salamander Command vehicle and stepped towards it. An individual popped out of the hatch looking furious and slightly crazed.

"WITNESS YOUR DOOM!" The sorcerer screamed as he fired a rather large bolt of warp lightning straight at Baldos. Baldos lifted his arm to block and braced himself for the pain he expected to come. However, after a moment, he frowned and stared at his arm, which was glowing under the onslaught. Arcs of power slithered up his arm and spread across his torso where little marks showed under the outer layer of armor.

"By the Golden Throne. Did… Did she Hexagramatically ward ME!?" Baldos exclaimed in surprise as he stepped forward into the stream of lightning. The wards hidden inside the layers of his armor glowed as they repelled the psychic force. Baldos stepped again and again, and suddenly, he was within reach of the panicked sorcerer.

"Impossible! This cannot be!" he shrieked.

"Shut up and DIE, traitorous witch!" Baldos growled as he reached out and closed his fist. The head and upper torso of the sorcerer squished with a sickening wet crunch and the lightning abruptly ceased. Just for good measure Baldos leaned over and fired his Twin-Lascannon down the hatch of the interior of the vehicle.

"I have slain the Sorcerer commander of this group." Baldos called in.

"Acknowledged Venerable, the Princeps is hunting down the other." Bolaar replied.

"Ha! Got mine first." Baldos said, sounding pleased before he looked around at the piles of burning wreckage.

"Point me towards the Heretics. I've run out of foes, Bolaar."

"Updating your tactical display, friendly forces have secured their vehicles. You can head south and cut off a pack of retreating hostiles." Bolaar explained as Baldos loaded the data.

"Bolaar. Did you know she Hexagramatically warded me?" Baldos asked as he walked.

"What? ALL of YOU?" Bolaar asked incredulously "I was not aware, hold on I will ask the Archmagos…" Bolaar returned exasperated.

"The Archmagos is aware. She apparently added the wards to all the armor she worked on. That includes mine."

"Well. They work." Baldos said casually.

"What do you mean, they work?" Bolaar asked him pressingly.

"Sending you data." Baldos chuckled as he sent the recording of his fight with the Sorcerer to Bolaar.

"Baldos!? What is this? … By the Emperor's will. Please refrain from doing that again. You could have easily just shot him!" Bolaar asked pleadingly.

"No." Baldos replied as he left the vox call. —---------------------------------------------------------- POV: Lord Cornelius Aarark Cornelius had called for wine to be delivered to the war room and was deep into his third glass when the next batch of updates came in. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"We have full orbital and aerial control of the region. The intrusive forces of the enemy have been annihilated. We are working to mobilize the Ur-Haven Imperial Guard 2nd Superheavy detachment along with the 14th, 16th, and 18th Armored Brigades." Castellan Krag stated looking down at the report in his hands with raised eyebrows.

"It's been an HOUR." Cornelius said incredulously as he looked over at Lord Drakios and Captain Bolaar who were having a quiet discussion.

"Yes, Lord Governor, the Star Dragons deployed four Dreadnoughts into the field. The hostile Outrider Battalions fell quickly before them. The Princeps in her Knight utterly routed the second force with minimal support from our forces. The enemy sorcerers are confirmed dead. The reports from my commander are slightly concerning." Castellan Krag admitted as he leaned in to speak privately with the Governor.

"One of my commanders was recruited from a Knight world, I trust his opinion. He said, quoting him verbatim, 'That is the most terrifying knight I have ever seen. Its speed, strength, accuracy, and agility dwarf every other Knight of that class I have seen. I thank the Throne it's on our side.' I got a similar report from my Tank commander regarding the Dreadnoughts. The main Drakios forces are still in the process of deploying." Castellan Krag leaned back and gave General Styr a nod of acknowledgment.

"What do we do now?" Cornelius asked the room.

"We push out into the area between Halo Alphos and Cycladon, crush any forces we encounter, and make ready to siege the city." Captain Bolaar explained calmly.

"While doing so we look for opportunities to send strike teams in to take control of critical locations, the city void shields, power stations, Imperial Guard depots, and the spaceport. We also need to search for the false Inquisitor and the leader of the enemy forces. The more time we give them the more time they have to perform their accursed heretical rituals." Bolaar growled.

"I agree, I am mustering my forces around our forward operating base. We can move out shortly. We also detected a build-up of vehicles in Cycladon" Lord Drakios said as he leaned back in his chair. —----------------------------------------------------------------------- POV: Imposter Radic Dhamne After landing back in Cycladon he descended to the main compound he had secured months prior.

"Master, you have returned!" The leader of the cultists, a tall gangly man with wrinkled pale skin, bowed towards him.

"Yes, what is the status of the ritual circle?" He asked, glancing around the underground chamber. It had once been a secure bunker or perhaps a storage area when the hive was still developing. Thick dark metal walls gave the place an industrial feel and the entire area was filled with the tang of iron and rust.

"We are still lacking a proper catalyst to open the gate, but we should be finished with the formations within the week." He said proudly. Radic clicked his tongue.

"That's not good enough. We have at most two days before we have Imperial dogs harrying our heels. As for the catalyst. I have a solution to that." Radic said as he pulled out the Vortex Grenade he had confiscated.

"With this how long will it take?" The sorcerer stared wide-eyed at the grenade for a moment before grinning.

"We can have the stabilization arrays ready within two days. However, we will likely need to… commit most of the lesser sorcerers to the ritual. Yes." He hissed.

"That will work."

"Do it." Radic handed over the Vortex Grenade and then walked briskly towards the chamber that held ZR-999 and the massive amalgamation of cogitators and wires he had constructed like a spider web.

"ZR, I need you to slow down the loyalists as best you can. How many of your preparations did you get done?" ZR-999 skittered out on nine mechanical legs and waspishly replied, "I set up several Scrapcode bombs in key network locations, however, they are not as omnipresent as I would like. Halo Alphos Primary Access: Compromised. Target: Archmagos and retinue. Status: Unfortunately skilled. Committing to this path will hamper them for a time but will also rouse the total ire of the Mechanicus." ZR-999 warned.

"They're already furious with us. It's a calculated risk we must take. Get it done and then make ready for our excursion into the depths. The sorcerers need two days before we can open the portal and summon aid. Until we have a stable warp gate we're on the clock. We need that STC fragment." Radic replied.

"Query: Intentions. Target: You. Subject: Mask?" ZR-999 asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Ah right, I'd almost gotten used to this thing." With a burst of Biomancy, he reached down to his neck and then peeled away Radic's face and hair revealing pale smooth skin and a bald head underneath. Dropping the remains of the Inquisitor on the floor as he wiped his face off.

"Much better!"

"Preparations: In progress. Master Therius." ZR-999 said as he turned around and scuttled off plugging himself into the maze of cables. Engaging his secondary connection to Halo Alphos he located the node housing the first package, one of the primary relay towers at the city's edge, and triggered the activation code. Therius Grimn departed the module to gather his team.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------- POV: Nicole I am still linked with the Sword of Vengeance as I kneel in the Drop Keep forward operating base, letting the Servitors and Tech-Priests top up my ammunition reserves. I am quite content with the Sword of Vengeance's performance in its first proper combat. I have little else to do so I use one of the nearby relays to connect with the Noosphere. I check the status of the other units and get updates from Master Doll.

Baldos is on his way over with the other Dreadnoughts and Star Dragons. The Drakios heavy tanks are being airlifted in, the largest of which is a Super Heavy Shadowsword that the Machine spirit of the Sword of Vengeance feels innately wary of. Lighter support vehicles are being teleported in the size of the vehicles appearing around the teleport homer slowly increasing as the crew gets used to operating the teleportation suite.

The more time I spend in the Noosphere the more the various lines of code and programs take on anthropomorphic representations in my interpretation of the digital space. The node towers are like trees with roots spread around to all the various locations. The distant form of the Argent Drake is still a massive coiled dragon. Most Mechanicus personnel are little orbs of code, larger and denser the more potent their implants are.

Billions of signals travel through the air and various cables and wires every second creating an enthralling display. There was a sudden flicker in my peripherals as I sit there gazing into the Noosphere. A red spot appeared in the distance and began to rapidly multiply and spread at an alarming rate. In the time it took me to bring it into focus, it had expanded exponentially in all directions.

It was primarily located in the normal binaric networks but a portion of the code had been tweaked and was trying to spread inside the Noosphere as well. The code had the appearance of a wave of wiggling disgusting worms. Revulsion floods my system and a moment later I feel my implants flare. Warning: Hostile Code Detected: Designation: Scrapcode. Scrapcode type D. Threat level: Minor P. R. I. N. C. E. S. S. Defensive modules engaged.

Executing Response: Dispensation of Edict Edict Selected: Rebuke Preparing Rebuke I felt an intense sense of ire and abhorrence as I watched the Scrapcode. Time slows down as my perception accelerates with the activation of my implant suite. A string of code writing itself in front of my Noospheric avatar. The code is unlike any I have seen before and seems to flex and adjust itself as it coalesces into the form of a small snarling wyvern attached to me via a thin line of code, a leash.

In my view, the name of this unusual program structure is called 'Rebuke'. I glance at the Scrapcode and then take a deep breath and let go of the leash. Rebuke rushes forward straight into the Scrapcode and I watch in awe and horror as the wyvern attacks the virtual wave of worms, devouring parts of it with each strike. The Scrapcode worms surge against Rebuke and tries to tear Rebuke apart, the little wyvern splits like a cell performing mitosis.

The little wyvern tears through the Scrapcode worms like Baldos through traitor guardsmen. After a moment the number of wyverns doubles as copies split off of the original and immediately dive into the violent digital battlefield. One of the new wyverns separates itself from the skirmish and leaves the noosphere to enter into the local vox network and cut off the proliferating Scrapcode. As I watch them work, a small viscous grin forms on my face.

Within thirty seconds, Rebuke goes from losing to stalemating and then to pushing back the Scrapcode. My senses lock onto the access point that was used to transmit the activation signal for the Scrapcode and the original Rebuke seems to sense my intent as it rushes towards the location with a burst of digital violence.

"Find the source!" I hiss and it is all too eager to obey. When its head snaps to a specific conduit, it lunges in, traveling back along the route like a monster on the hunt. I track the original Rebuke Wyvern with my senses as best I can trusting the copies to deal with the Scrapcode. Rebuke leads me to what looks like a massive hidden bank of cogitators that reek of the stain of warp corruption.

"You dare use Scrapcode against me!?" I yell and it echoes through the Noosphere and over to the Vox network. Rebuke makes contact with the cogitator stack and moments later both the digit-wyvern and the stack of cogitators are gone and all that remains is a residual power fluctuation. I mark the real-world location of the stack and forward it to Master Doll and the other Magi.

—-------------------------------------------------------------- POV: ZR-999 ZR-999 watched with a sense of pride for several seconds after he sent the activation as the Scrapcode he had personally developed spread through the various networks. His attention moved on to the second location and was about to log in and send the next activation signal when one of the contingency codes he had installed pinged an alarm.

"You dare use Scrapcode against me!?" That was the last thing he processed before he felt an intense pain surge through his left arm as electricity surged out from his cogitators and through his dendrite connectors It felt like a vicious beast had latched onto his wrist.

He screamed and moments later all the cogitators in the room detonated violently, the blast throwing him across the room where he landed and rolled, eventually coming to a stop in a smoking twitching heap forced to lay there motionless and watch as his work went up in flames.

"ZR-999!? What the hell was that!?" Someone yelled at him, they sounded far away.

"Un-Un-Unknown." He rasped even as some of his minions rushed over to provide first aid. None of them noticed the strange bite pattern burned deeply into his metal wrist and forearm. —--------------------------------------------------- POV: Archmagos Doll Doll hadn't moved in over an hour as he monitored the progression of the assault on the Heretic forces, one thread of his conscious processing power kept an eye on Sword of Vengeance.

The engine was performing well above expectations and was generating wonderful combat data. The Star Dragons Astartes forces were in their element. Fighting Chaos forces in urban environments was where their heavy weapons teams excelled. The local guard and PDF forces were performing as expected. All communications incoming and outgoing from the primary hive spire were being fed through a complex combination of filter programs designed to gather information and identify potential enemy units.

The Inquisitor had in his retinue a Tech Priest when he had first arrived. The identification codes for that turned out to be almost entirely fraudulent aside from the identifying designation listed. Checking all the key systems in the hive for backdoors, traps, and corruption was exceptionally tedious. When the alert rang in the Noosphere of a Scrapcode attack on the local network it was almost a relief.

Doll's head finally moved, and the Governor jumped as Doll's gaze snapped to look off in the direction of the disturbance. Doll moved to stand up, Xor mirroring him.

"What's wrong Archmagos?" the Governor asked in a worried tone. Doll went to reply when a signal came through the vox and an echo passed through the Noosphere.

"You dare use Scrapcode against me!?" Focusing on the thread monitoring Nicole he managed to observe the end of the exchange. Nicole had deployed an unusual wyvern-shaped code bundle that was actively hunting the adaptive Scrapcode.

"Xor, do you recognize that code structure?"

"I do not. However, it bears some similarities to certain… forbidden Dark Age code strings." Xor admitted as he scrutinized the program to the best of his ability. Doll spotted one of the code fragments slink off to another node and uncovered another bundle of buried Scrapcode. He reached out and assisted the fragment with purging it with one of his personal attack strings designed to purge such code.

Xor likewise used Nicole's unusual code as a guide and destroyed two traps buried within the Halo Alphos infrastructure. As Nicole finished dealing with the Scrapcode she transmitted the origination point of the Heretek responsible.

"Master Doll, Master Xor, I believe I have located the Heretek's den. I took the liberty of detonating his corrupted cogitator stacks." The location provided was deep in the underhive of Cycladon.

"Well done, Nicole." That was all he felt inclined to say. Internally there was a faint bubbling fury at the gall of the Heretek to employ Scrapcode attacks in his presence. He would have been less offended if they had slapped him across the face. Doll returned his perception to the present and glanced around the room at the various confused faces. To them, it had only been a few seconds after all.

"The attack has been dealt with. I must return to the Argent Drake for an urgent matter. Magos Xor will remain here for consultation." Doll informed the group before he turned and headed for the exit.

"Magos Zeta 9-Kane, the recovery of the Ordinatus has become an immediate priority. Join me at the Argent Drake. There has been a Scrapcode attack on Halo Alphos. We shall remind the forces of the Archenemy why they fear the Mechanicus."

"At once Archmagos. By your will and the will of the Omnissiah!" Zeta 9-Kane replied.