After the Shadows of Order seized the orbital facilities above the Olamic Quietude's homeworld, black warships and the grey-stone vessels of the "Penumbral Heirs" of the Word Bearers fanned out across orbit. Thousands of weapons aimed down at the orange-yellow planet below.
The Shadow's Sovereignty fired the first shot. The Prometheus-class reactor surged. The bow blazed, and an ice-blue beam stabbed downwards.
The searing beam, like the finger of a god, tore through the amber sky, only to strike the Olamic Quietude's planetary ice shield.
The artificial ice, of astonishing thickness and hardness, rippled with shimmering light. Rainbow hues reflected off the warships in orbit.
Ship after ship joined the orbital bombardment. Hypersonic shells punched through the clouds, their multiple sonic booms rattling the ice sheet, echoing across the towers below.
Melta torpedoes rained down, hammering ceaselessly against the ice, gouging cracks.
Dazzling energy weapons streaked across the sky, leaving trails of fire and pockmarks.
A Shadow-pattern Stormbird, silent, glided out from the Shadow's Sovereignty. Nelson, the Primarch's personal pilot, was carrying passengers other than Nareth for the first time.
The "Winner" worked the controls, glancing at his dials, letting his intuition select an ice cave.
He raised his left hand, quickly marking it on the tactical network. The uploaded information would ensure the orbital bombardment force avoided the designated point.
With his right hand, Nelson pushed the quantum domain suppressor to maximum power. The Shadow-pattern Stormbird, silent, flew into the churning mist and dove into the ice cave.
In the passenger compartment, Anacharis Scoria, the Archmagos who commanded the Xana Invictarii, had his cyber-familiars rise like serpents, swiveling as green runes flickered.
"Orbital bombardment is of limited effectiveness. The Olamic Quietude's artificial ice is capable of absorbing most of its force."
"Forces inserted through such narrow apertures pose no threat to the energy towers."
"Their defenses appear impregnable, but they have a flaw." Arkhan Land's assessment was sharp.
"Once we upload the viral program to their social network, their entire social system will be paralyzed."
He stared at Anacharis, who was as massive as a Dreadnought and, like the Olamic Quietude's citizens, possessed only a head and a pair of organic arms, and delivered a warning.
"The Olamic Quietude's flaws show that humanity should not become mechanized. This is not the path to the Omnimessiah."
"No," Anacharis rumbled, his voice a metallic drone. "You cannot fathom the benefits of sanctified mechanization."
"You can hardly imagine the power of my strategos array." As he spoke, his thermal cannons, phase-plasma guns, and other weapons rose in unison.
"I could destroy an entire squad of Astartes in eleven seconds."
"Of course, excluding the Shadows of Order blessed by Lord Nareth."
Arkhan shook his head. "I have no need of such things. The power over the celestial bodies granted by the Omnimessiah is more than sufficient."
The "Astronomer," also known as a "Stargazer," unlike before, when he relied on the power of magically crafted weapons, now possessed his own combat capabilities.
He could, to a degree, borrow the power of celestial bodies to unleash abilities similar to a psyker's.
"The power granted by the Omnimessiah is certainly formidable, but the weapon systems of my strategos array can also unleash the fury of the Machine God."
"Archmagi." Zadkiel interjected. A major point of contention within the Mechanicum was the degree of bodily mechanization.
Most believed that mechanization represented sanctification, a path closer to the Machine God.
A minority argued that the flesh should not be abandoned, and that mechanical augmentation should only be undertaken when necessary.
Anacharis and Arkhan were archetypal representatives of these two schools of thought. Their debates and disagreements had begun with their very first meeting.
The full-fledged"Lawyer," Zadkiel, had repeatedly mediated their conflicts throughout their collaboration.
He would not allow their disagreement to cause this mission to fail.
The Black Emperor had trusted him with the planning and execution of this operation. He would not disappoint Him.
The full-fledged"Lawyer" steered the conversation towards their objective. "How close do we need to be to upload the program code?"
His cyber-familiars swiveled, a red light flickering.
"Ten point six kilometers," Anacharis's chest emitted a mechanical voice.
"How long will the upload take?" the full-fledged"Lawyer" redirected the discussion.
Arkhan Land spoke. "Breaking through the social network's defenses will take twelve seconds. The upload itself will require three minutes and forty-nine seconds."
"Archmagi, the Olamic Quietude will detect us in one minute and twenty-five seconds."
"Two minutes and twenty-four seconds is the critical window for this operation. It is also our most dangerous period."
"Correct." A metallic voice and a human throat spoke in unison, confirming the key point.
The sound of an electronic loudspeaker suddenly crackled. Nelson's voice came through to the three men and the two squads of Honour Guard "corrupted" by Zadkiel.
"All hands, prepare! Soft landing in fifteen seconds!"
"Fourteen seconds, thirteen..."
The Shadow-pattern Stormbird shuddered slightly. The roar of its engines was masked by the quantum domain suppressor.
Cold mist billowed as landing struts slid silently from the fuselage. The ramp lowered, settling on the ice.
The warning lights shifted from red to green. "Good luck with your operation."
Zadkiel was the first down the ramp. At the same time, he opened a comm channel and sent coordinates to Wiltshire, Lord of the Shadows of Order 2nd Chapter.
After closing his helmet's internal comms, he surveyed the surroundings.
The Shadow-pattern Stormbird had dropped them close to the summit of a tower, which was completely encased in artificial ice.
The white structures around them resembled rocks arranged along an icy ridge.
Lantern-like gun emplacements, aimed skyward, throbbed with a malevolent light.
Zadkiel surveyed the area, rapidly marking points on the tactical network.
The twenty Honour Guard members fanned out, establishing a defensive perimeter among the surrounding structures.
Bang, bang, bang...
Anacharis descended the ramp with heavy, ponderous steps. His two cyber-familiars swiveled.
Runes flickered, triangulating the position of the Olamic Quietude's social network's central cogitator-like device.
The logic engines embedded in his strategos array raced. A binary stream of 0s and 1s flowed along the electronic pathways, transmitting to the cyber-familiars.
The two familiars projected flickering red and green lights. Silent code spread rapidly.
Second after second. A piercing alarm suddenly sounded.
From all directions, tens of thousands of Elite Warriors, each the size of an Astartes, surged forth.
Among them were squads of blue-skinned giants, as large as Dreadnoughts, with four arms.
Zadkiel immediately recognized them as the Super-Elite Warriors mentioned by the Black Emperor.
They were the elite of the Elite Warriors, as dangerous as their massive size suggested.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu