The Bridge of the Fist of Iron
The data streams flickering across the holographic display froze for a single frame.
Scan signals relayed from the Rhino APC were flooding the command console in encrypted bursts.
Ferrus Manus closed the fingers of his left hand ever so slightly, the data-interface at each fingertip pulsing with a faint blue glow.
"Father."
Karon Santos stood three meters away, the visor of his power armor mirroring the scan readout in real time. "Squad Seven has detected an artificial structure sixty-two kilometers northeast of the Redblaze Wasteland."
The projection expanded.
A cross-section of nine-meter-high double-layered walls rotated in the air before them, the alloy-reinforced inner strata rendered in pale crimson heat signatures.
More telling was what lay within.
A grid-pattern road system. Clearly delineated sectors—barracks, farmland, an industrial zone. At the center, a seven-story structure whose antenna array had been arranged with obvious computational precision.
"This is not a bandit camp."
Ferrus Manus's grey pupils contracted slightly. "Bandits don't build double-layered walls. They don't engineer clean water pipeline systems. They don't attempt to cultivate crops in an irradiated wasteland."
He pulled up historical data for comparison.
In the official archives of Aurelian IV, the Redblaze Wasteland's last recorded entry was eighty years old:
Dawn City's Seventh Administrative District—struck down and crash-landed, causing large-scale irradiation. Radiation contamination classified at Level Seven. Settlement not recommended.
Eight decades of Mechanicus observation logs showed nothing in this region but mutant predators and scavenger activity.
"So either the records were falsified."
His fingers drummed across the console as he called up the asset registers of the four major factions. "Or... this was really built within the last three years."
"Three years." Ferrus let the words fall like iron. "Three years to raise a base capable of housing at least twenty thousand people. On an irradiated wasteland."
The servos in Karon Santos's power armor hummed softly.
"How many resources would that require?" the Fourth Company Captain asked.
"Calculating."
Ferrus's mechanical eye flickered blue, and a data cascade spilled outward:
Vast quantities of steel, stone, and alloy.
Life support: three or more large-scale water purification units, atmospheric filtration systems, radiation shielding layers.
Agricultural systems: soil reclamation agents, rad-resistant crop seed stock, irrigation.
Power systems: generator arrays—estimated daily consumption... two tons?
The Primarch paused for one full second.
"Where did they get the promethium?"
Every promethium vein on Aurelian IV was controlled by the four major factions. Every gram traded on the black market was on record.
Not a single major promethium transaction had been traced to the Redblaze Wasteland in three years.
"Smuggling? Theft? Or..."
Ferrus recalled the combat methods of the unit he'd observed on the industrial district battlefield. Efficient. Brutally so.
But their equipment was a patchwork—certain weapons clearly self-fabricated or modified.
"They have the technical capability."
The Primarch rendered his judgment. "They can manufacture and modify their own equipment. They solved the problem of surviving in an irradiated zone. And they built a fortress of this scale."
"I want to know who leads this force, what their ideology is, and what their ultimate objective is."
"And if they resist?"
"Assess the threat level."
"If they open fire first... return fire is authorized. But take prisoners where possible."
Ferrus paused, then added: "The leader especially. I want them alive."
–
"The Rhino is moving!"
Atop one of the watchtowers on the Crimson Dawn base wall, [Have You Been Loyal Today?] pressed a pair of binoculars to his visor, his voice cutting through the area channel:
"Speed's up to 120—coming straight at us!"
The channel erupted.
[Tax Bro]: "Holy sh*t! They're actually coming?! How many?!"
[Did White Scars Speed Today?]: "One! Just one Rhino! But these are Astartes! One vehicle means at least ten Space Marines!"
[God-Tier Mechanic]: "Standard Rhino capacity is twelve. That's a full tactical squad. If those are Iron Hands veterans inside, those twelve alone could rout our regiments in a straight fight."
[Eternally Loyal to the Emperor]: "Then what do we do?! Fight or run?!"
[Schrödinger's Loyalist]: "Run where exactly?! You think your legs outpace Astartes?! You think your two feet are faster than a power armor thruster?!"
The channel devolved into chaos.
Paul's voice cut through it all, as calm as a man deciding what to have for dinner.
"Everyone. Quiet."
The channel went dead silent.
Paul stood at the window of the sixth-floor conference room, watching the plume of dust rising above the distant wasteland.
"First, keep all weapon systems on the walls on standby—no charging, no aiming. Next, Tax Bro, lead three hundred men to form a line at the city gates. Wear your work overalls and don't bring any heavy weaponry; just sling your lasguns behind your backs. Meanwhile, White Scars, take the mobile unit and stand by on both sides of the wall to cover our retreat if things go sideways. Schrödinger Bro and Blood Angel, organize the residents to stay clear; keep the elderly, women, and children out of their line of sight. Finally..."
He turned to Cogboy at his side.
Crimson Dawn's chief technical officer was at that moment calibrating his right arm—a model upgraded just three days prior, its surface laced with precision hydraulic tubing and sensor arrays, the hand itself a biomimetic five-fingered structure with precision tools that could spring from each fingertip.
"Your turn." Paul said. "Remember—you are the founder of the Crimson Dawn shelter. A hobbyist who loves mechanical modification."
"Years ago, unable to endure the oppression of the four major factions, you led eight hundred workers who were equally exploited into the wasteland. You built this base with your own hands."
Cogboy nodded, his eyes pulsing blue. "Script's memorized. We are loyal subjects of the Imperium. We simply couldn't stomach the corruption of the local powers, and wanted to build a better life with our own hands."
"Exactly."
Paul lowered his voice. "My condition... isn't suited for a face-to-face meeting."
During the battle in the industrial district, he had used his [Wisdom] trait to suppress his psychic resonance to its absolute minimum—sinking like a stone to the bottom of a deep ocean—and that was the only reason Ferrus's sensors hadn't detected him.
But close-range contact with Astartes, especially the Iron Hands with their advanced mechadendrite sensor suites, was far too great a risk.
The Astartes surgical modifications. The Five Traits. His identity as a Champion... any one of those exposed, and he'd be classified as a "non-standard human variant" and dragged into a laboratory for dissection.
"I'm counting on you."
Paul clapped Cogboy on the shoulder—metal rang against metal at the prosthetic joint with a sharp clang.
"If we can earn the Primarch's recognition—even just his tacit tolerance—we move from underground to above ground."
"As a recognized organization of loyal Imperial citizens, we develop openly. We absorb the power vacuum left by the four factions."
"And if we fail?"
"Then we execute the evacuation protocol. Abandon the base. Take the core personnel underground."
Paul looked out the window.
"But I think... we have a shot."
–
The Rhino decelerated three kilometers from the wall.
Sergis sat in the driver's seat as detailed scan data populated his visor display.
"Confirmed: nine-meter height, five-meter thickness, double-layer construction. Outer stone layer at 1.2 meters. Inner alloy plating at 0.3 meters. Sandwich layer fill material... some kind of high-molecular shock-absorbing compound. No database match."
"Thirty-two watchtowers distributed across eight vectors. Each equipped with one heavy bolter emplacement and one rocket launch position."
"Northeast and southwest corner towers show signs of modification—equipment consistent with a laser anti-air array has been installed."
"Main gate: alloy blast door. Actuation system: hydraulic combined with gear-drive. Structural design... remarkably sophisticated. Doesn't look locally fabricated."
The co-pilot added: "Life sign sweep registers approximately twenty-seven thousand individuals inside the wall."
"Of those, approximately three thousand show abnormally enhanced vital readings—muscle density and skeletal strength exceeding standard human baseline by forty to one hundred twenty percent."
"Psyker count?" Sergis asked.
"Faint psychic fluctuations detected at five hundred and thirty-seven source points. Official level or above... twenty-seven."
That number silenced every Iron Hands warrior in the vehicle.
On an Imperium fringe world, a settlement of twenty-odd thousand had over five hundred psykers?
The standard ratio should have been one in ten thousand—or lower.
Five hundred and thirty-seven meant either this settlement was specifically collecting psykers, or... they were producing them wholesale.
"Continue scanning."
Sergis pacCaged the data and uplinked it to the Fist of Iron, then pushed the control yoke forward.
The Rhino rolled on, coming to a complete stop one kilometer from the wall.
At this distance, those on the wall could make out the vehicle's details with the naked eye—while remaining on the outer edge of effective range for most conventional weapons.
The door opened.
Sergis stepped out first.
Two point three meters tall. Silver-grey Mark IV Maximus power armor. The Iron Hands' gauntlet insignia etched into his left pauldron.
His hands rested naturally at his sides, bolter mag-locked behind his hip, no aggressive posture assumed.
But an Astartes needed no aggressive posture.
Even from this distance, the players on the wall could feel the weight of his presence.
Not psychic force. Something older and colder than that—the natural gravity of a battlehardened veteran, the stillness that settles into a man who has killed, and killed, and killed again.
–
At the gate, three hundred players had already formed up.
They wore matching grey work uniforms—fabricated by the logistics department from shop-bought fabric, rough in cut but functional.
Laser rifles slung across their backs. Hands at their sides. No movements that could be misread.
Cogboy stood at the head of the formation.
He wore no armor—just a plain mechanic's coverall—but his highly sophisticated, cybernetic right arm drew the eye immediately, its surface polished to a mirror sheen, the hydraulic tubing pulsing with a faint blue glow in the dying light.
Sergis's gaze fixed on it.
Structural complexity rating: A-. Material strength rating: B+. Integration rating: A.
Not Mechanicus standard-issue. But by no means a crude field-build either.
"I am Sergis. Squad Seven Commander, Iron Hands Legion."
The Astartes's voice came through his vox amplifier, flat and mechanical as a servitor's broadcast.
"Acting on the orders of Primarch Ferrus Manus, I am here to investigate this region."
"Declare your identity and the purpose behind this settlement's creation."
Cogboy drew a slow breath.
Following the script he had rehearsed countless times, he opened with as level a tone as he could manage.
"My Lord, I am Cage Lawrence, a mechanical engineering hobbyist. This is the Crimson Dawn shelter. Established three years ago. The founders—myself among them—were eight hundred and twenty-seven workers. We were all once laborers in Dawn City's middle hive. Unable to bear the exploitation and oppression of the four major factions, we fled here."
He turned slightly, gesturing toward the wall behind him.
"Over three years, with our own hands, we built this home from nothing."
"Cleared wasteland. Built housing. Established clean water systems. Learned mechanical engineering to defend ourselves."
"We have never raised a hand against the Imperium. We have never participated in any anti-Imperial action."
"We only wanted... to live. To live with dignity."
On Sergis's visor, the real-time voice analysis data ticked steadily:
Voiceprint variation: normal. No deception markers detected.
Emotional index: tense but stable.
Keyword frequency: Imperium (7 instances), live (5 instances), dignity (3 instances).
His gaze dropped to the mechadendrite arm. "Who performed your modification?"
"I did it myself."
Cogboy raised his right arm. The mechanical fingers flexed open, closed into a fist, and cycled through a series of precision gestures.
"I've been interested in machinery since I was young. When we fled, I brought a few tools and some books. Over the years, through self-study and... a certain stroke of fortune, I developed a foundation in mechanical modification."
"A stroke of fortune?"
"About a year ago, we discovered the ruins of a collapsed civilization deep in the wasteland. There were some fragmentary technical documents inside."
Cogboy lied without so much as a flicker—this was the background story Paul had designed, constructed to account for the players' anomalous technical knowledge:
"We studied what we could and applied it to improving our lives. The filtration modules in our water system. Soil radiation purification techniques. And... this arm."
Sergis fell silent for a moment, as though receiving an inbound transmission.
Then, in a voice like cold iron:
"Come with us. The Primarch wants to see you."
--
Next Goal = 500 Powerstones.
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