The whole incident yesterday where the chaos spawn was doing its best Predator impression seems to have embarrassed the Astartes and made Master Doll more upset than he let on. I know this because when I woke up this morning instead of my typical two Skitarii guards there were six individuals outside my door. Delta-A3 was there as always, however Lael was also there in her full combat gear. There was a third Skitarii and even a space marine waiting for me. I have a video message waiting for me from Master Doll and decide to watch it first. "Nicole. Myself and the other Magi will be occupied with overseeing the salvage processes and assisting the Star Dragons for the next two cycles as we work to harvest raw materials from the remains of The Hollow Star. We also intend to dissect some of the more intact enemy strike craft. They appear to have come up with a new model. I have allotted you several blocks of free time so you may peruse the ship. Otherwise you have been given access to 82-Rahane's Data Vault. We only ask that you flag anything unusual you may find for us to examine. You have been assigned temporary additional protectors at the behest of myself and several others. May the Omnissiah guide your path." I have been given two days of free time to go hunt for the parts of The Argent Drake that need fixing. The Sky Eye map covers nearly a third of the ship at this point and I have flagged several areas where my map deviates from the ship map I was provided. Those seem to be as good a place as any to start. I also seem to have been heavily discouraged from going anywhere near the hangar bay or the Hollow Star. I get ready and pop my head out of my door "Hi Lael, hi Delta-A3" I say before turning to look up at the Astartes "Who might you be?" "I am Brother Harval Silverwalker of the 9th Devastator Squad. I have been ordered to ensure your protection." I look Brother Silverwalker up and down. He's clad in Mark VI Corvus armor, armed with a Storm Bolter, and a Power Axe. Not the loadout one thinks for a Devastator but one better suited for inner ship combat. All his gear looks well cared for so I give him a nod of approval. "Okay! Welcome to the squad Brother Silverwalker! I am mostly just going to be exploring the ship today. Let's go!" The first point of interest on my map isn't very big, it's more like a room or a closet space that isn't marked on the map. I ping the door and it informs me that it is already unlocked, however I pull on the handle and the door refuses to budge. I give it a firm yank and it still refuses to open. I could try to pry it open but I have another solution standing next to me. "Brother Silverwalker. I think this door is stuck. Would you mind?" I gesture at the door and take a step back. He shrugs and approaches the door, grabbing the handle with one power armor clad hand. The other hand hovering by the axe on his hip. With the sound of metal scraping on metal the door is opened for what is probably the first time in ages. The inside of the room is dark, I try flipping the switch to turn on the lights but all that we get is a spark from the back of the chamber. The lights clearly need to be replaced and most of the room is bare. However there is an object in the middle of the room that catches my attention right away. I gasp excitedly "Oh my gosh! It's a C.A.T!" "A what?" Asks Lael peering down at the little device curiously. "A Cyber-Altered Task unit. A small drone primarily used for infiltration, scouting, or repairs." Delta-A3 informs the group while I fuss over the robot. "Look at its cute treads and little grabby claw arm!" I lift the C.A.T. up to show everyone. It's about the size of a housecat but much heavier than any living creature. The C.A.T. reminds me of a small bomb disposal drone. It's not as gothic as I might have expected, no skulls on the chassis, just a little practical looking drone. It's an old design, probably from M30 or earlier. The machine spirit isn't responding to my attempts to wake it up yet. It's clearly been left alone for a long time but thanks to its rugged design and high grade parts, I am fairly certain I can get it working with a bit of effort. I sit down and get to work making note of the few worn parts, the rubber seals are cracked and worn, the bearings are shot as are most of the rotors, they need to be replaced. Several of the more important parts are just dirty and gunked up requiring a good cleaning. I give the tracks a bit of oil and move it out into the hallway. "I think it's alright to leave that door open for now. I want to see if I can power this little guy." My minders seem more than happy to let me tinker with the C.A.T. It takes me an hour before I finally get it to boot up mostly due to how slowly it seems to be charging its power cells and I have to individually and physically troubleshoot and replace several worn out fuses. Syncing with the antiquated vox connection system also takes me a few tries. In the end I have added a second drone to my mapping team! The C.A.T. will need to spend a day or so fully charging its power cells before I let it contribute to my efforts to map the entire ship. The C.A.T. is slower than my Sky Eye but it has the ability to open doors which is definitely useful. I wipe some residual grease off of my hands using a little towel and stretch as I stand up. "Alright that is one room down. I would like to get through several before I break for a meal and some study time." The next few hours are an exercise in testing my patience. Several of the marked locations are just abandoned rooms devoid of anything useful. It is not an entirely fruitless effort. Besides finding the C.A.T. two of the areas end up being worth repairing and informing the ship's officers to have them crewed. A small water purification station and a cargo lift respectively. While both of those locations are beneficial to the ship overall none of them are the big reveal I am searching for, something like an entirely lost component. I am still mulling over the 3D map I have generated using the Sky Eye scans of the ship as I am having dinner, fresh veggies, rice, and a mushroom steak. A missing component should take up a noticeable chunk of space. Even the smallest ship components were the sizes of full compounds or estates at least. I dismiss the ship's map I downloaded and focus on my own map while chewing on the surprisingly savory and meaty fungus. I flick my hand and spin the map around rotating it along the three axes. There is something obvious I feel I am missing. It finally clicks when I get on the main lift to return to my quarters. There is a deck level that the main lift does not stop at. A conspicuous gap for a spot centrally located above the spine of the ship. I check the map and notice a discrepancy. The Sky Eye should have fully mapped that area but there is a vacant bubble in the map data. Pulling up the pathing data from the drone I notice right away whenever it gets too close to that area the drone is naturally directed away by some rather elaborate and labyrinthine corridors. "What are you hiding?" I muse as an eager grin forms on my face. "Hey guys, I know where we are checking first thing tomorrow! I have a good feeling about it" I tell my escort with a flourish. —----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up early the next morning. My excitement in exploring the nature of the discrepancy in my map bubbling through. My usual morning meal passes in a blur. Getting to the location I want to explore takes us along a convoluted winding route. Even with a map I have to pause several times to check and ensure we are going the correct way. Reaching the area of interest reveals a long circular hallway around the perimeter of the area with nothing but what appears to be uniform sections of walls. Find the newest release on NoveI(F)ire.net It is not until I get closer and start following the walls that I realize the ruse that has been put in place thanks to my Auspex. There are hallways behind exquisitely well disguised portions of the walls, the walls are also covered in the same obfuscation runes that were present on the structure of the cryo bay and interlaced with active Filed Bracing. I have to poke around before I find a door with a machine spirit willing to listen to my coaxing. The majority are steadfast in their duties to remain sealed until unlocked from the inside. The ship's hexagrammic warding from the hull is also present in an unusual patterning. When the wall suddenly hisses and opens up into a dark corridor I cheer "Yesss!" It isn't until I turn around that I notice everyone in my protection detail has drawn weapons and aimed them down the corridor. "Sorry! I probably should have warned you about the door." I say meekly as they all slowly lower their weapons. I take a step forward and take a moment to plug my dendrite into a wall port. "This part of the ship is drawing practically no power. No wonder it's gone unnoticed for so long. It's practically invisible and hidden away." Retracting my dendrite I use my Auspex to look ahead. "Straight shot to the next door. These corridors look like intentional choke points don't you think?" "They are very defensible. They have been made to defend from either side." Brother Silverwalker states as we slowly move towards the next door. Our boots start to leave footprints in a fine layer of dust coating the floor. I stop in front of the large bulkhead door to examine it. My auspex is struggling to read through it but I'm not picking up any life signs or major energy signatures. "I think we can open this. No motion, life signs or energy signatures within fifty meters." Delta-A3 examines the mechanism next to me. He touches the pad but gets an admonishing beep and a flashing red light when he attempts to open it. Brother Silverwalker even tries but the console rejects him too. I go over and try to touch it and much to my surprise I also get rejected. I do notice however that there is a familiar keyhole shaped opening above the pad. I pull out my personal Icon of Passage and slot it into the node. Hearing it click once it's fully inserted. I turn the key and the bulkhead door growls and starts to slowly raise itself upwards. Withdrawing my key I turn to face the door. Being the shortest I am the first to get a look at the room beyond. It's a massive, mostly open space. Much to my surprise several of the wall sconce lights flicker to life when the door opens providing some much needed illumination. There is no mistaking the object resting in the center of the chamber however. We've found the Teleportarium. The Teleportarium chamber was a massive room, the chamber housing the device was a grand hexagonal space, the ceiling rising a good fourteen meters above the central dias. The platform was a raised dark circular matte black metal with six thin pillars dotted at equidistant points around the perimeter of the dias that rose roughly seven meters upwards. The area leading away from the dias between pillars alternated between smooth gently sloped ramps and short squat staircases. We move forward. Every step seemed to echo inside the spacious chamber. The chamber is far larger than I expected. "Stop." Brother Silverwalker states in a serious tone. I pause and only then do I realize I had been focused on the platform itself and ignoring the room at large. Once I shift my attention I spot the first of the corpses. What looks to be the remains of armor lay scattered around the room, half melted, torn apart and ruined. It clicks for me as I fail to spot any bones, it has been so long that the dust we're stepping in is the remains of everyone in this room. There are Tarantula turrets positioned in each of the six corners of the room. Multilaser and Lascannon turrets would be my best guess. It's hard to tell, they're all in disrepair and some have battle damage. "What happened here?" I ask in a whisper. Delta-A3 is looking around and is the first to speak. "Heavy combat. Troops in a fighting retreat. Heavy losses. Room was sealed. Lack of enemy remains eighty four point nine percent chance the enemy was Daemonic in nature." Most of the objects in the room are heavily damaged and barely recognizable. Many have also degenerated over time in the millennia since. Brother Silverwalker calls me over to one of the far walls. "What are these?" He asks me as he gestures towards the remains of a trio of large battle automata. "That is a Maniple of Thanatar-Calix-Class Siege Automata. You can tell it's the Calix because of the Sollex Heavy-Lascannon and Graviton Ram on the lead one, the rest have or would have had the Twin-linked Mauler Bolt Cannon." The lead Automata had three massive claw gashes through the torso, nearly bisecting the bot and shredding its internals. One had been crushed against a wall and the third looked like it had been mostly slagged by intense heat. "Are they still of any use?" "Hard to say. They're not tainted, thank the Omnissiah, just wrecked. It might be possible to salvage a whole unit, maybe two, from the remains of the maniple." "I see, what about the turrets?" "Those need repairs but I don't see why we wouldn't be able to repair them." I gesture out to the chamber. "This entire component needs repairing. There are three lifts connected to this room. The Teleportarium is conveniently situated right above the main thoroughfare we use to transport vehicles between the hangars and storage. That large lift is obviously for them. The second lift leads to the barracks. The smaller third lift looks like it goes up to the bridge." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on NovelHub. "The Teleportarium has a lot more defenses than I thought. It's not like they could choose where enemies would try to… Wait!" I whip around and stare hard at the floor. The wards in the walls, floor and ceiling all stop within a certain range of the Teleporarium platform. "It's a funnel!" I exclaim excitedly as I approach the dias. "Please elaborate." Brother Silverwalker inquires as he continues to examine the various corpses. "Do you know much about Teleportariums?" "No." He says in a flat tone, bordering on boredom. "Well normally ships protect against teleportation with their void shields. Aside from the shields you can also rely on wards to make it more difficult. Whoever designed this is a genius. What they've done is warded every part of the ship against teleportation except this room! When you teleport the path wants to take the route of least resistance and minimize the risk of telefragging yourself. They've made a trap ensuring almost anyone who tries to teleport onboard will end up here. In a heavily defensible location." "That's a slang term for when you rematerialize off target within solid matter with fatal consequences." I say brushing off his confused tone. I poke around one of the consoles and much to my surprise it responds to my inputs right away. "It looks like it has been damaged a little. Fixable but it's a little odd." I frown as I glance back at the lift to the vehicle bay "I don't understand why they would need to access the vehicle bay…" I take a look around the room and suck in a sharp breath. "Brother Silverwalker, can you please confirm the dimensions of the pillars attached to the platform? Height from the platform please." I let out a high pitched noise of distress which draws the attention of all my guards. I start to pace around the platform with my Auspex in hand. Taking detailed readings of the platform, the floor, anything and everything. While the floors are incredibly durable under the dust are the remains of old scratches. "Oh. Oh dear. Oh wow. Oh no." "Nicole, please calm down." Delta-A3 states as they approach. "Delta! We need to tell Archmagos Doll!" I say frantically. "I have already notified the Archmagos of your discovery." He states calmly. "No! You don't understand! This Teleportarium! It's ancient and arcane! I think its size limitations are above the Imperial standard!" "What limitations?" Brother Silverwalker asks as he nudges a pile of remains with his power armored boot. I take a deep breath but my hands are trembling slightly as I explain "Normally Teleportariums are limited on the size of objects they can transport. Objects more than twice the standard height of a man cannot be teleported using Imperial teleportation technology and any attempt to do so will usually cause the device to malfunction. It's why most of the time when teleporting the largest units sent are Astartes Terminators. However this one… based on the residual scratches on the floor and the height of the stabilizing pillars… I… I think it can teleport slightly larger things like vehicles!" Out of everyone in my protection detail only Delta-A3 seems to process and comprehend why what I said is such a big deal. "I have alerted the Archmagos a second time." —----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Deep in a forgotten corner of The Argent Drake Gronk screamed with surprise and shock as he turned his gaze upon the sacred light panel. The Fu-se B-ox has guided his family for generations. Fortelling disaster and fortune alike. "Red blinky gone! Yellow blinky of the Tele-purt-um has come!" He said loudly. "Hail! We hail the yellow blinky!" His family cried prostrating themselves before the box. "As is foretold the coming of the glorious green blinky is heralded by the yellow blinky! We must sacrifice a glorious rat to appease the Fu-se B-ox!" "Rat! Rat! Rat!" They rose and began to chant. The chant echoing down a series of small tunnels. Reaching the guards loitering up on a gangway overlooking this particular section of the lower sumps. "Do you hear something Rolf?" a lower deck guard asked his fellow guard. "I think one of those crazy stowaway families that lives down in the bowels of the ship is going on another rat crusade. Don't worry about it Frank." "Shouldn't we get rid of them or something?" "Hell no! Best pest control we've ever had! I haven't seen a rat in years!" —---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: The Argent Drake conference room The command staff have gathered along with Doll and the Magi to hear the news that Captain Bolaar brings. "Cadia has fallen. The defense fleets could not stop Abaddon the Despoiler's Thirteenth Black Crusade." Captain Bolaar looked like he wanted to spit just uttering the name but he contained himself. "They took Cadia?" One of the ship's officers spoke horrified. "No. They broke Cadia. Rammed a Blackstone fortress into the planet when they couldn't take it from us. Our chapter is a part of the Kappa containment fleet. Many of our reports from the ground were second hand. But that scar across the center of the galaxy, the Cicatrix Maledictum, is a result of Cadia's fall." "Dire news indeed. While I would like nothing more than to plot a course to our home system the warp storms stirred up by that terrible scar have trapped us here for now. Our plan now is to finish stocking up on fuel and head for the nearest Imperial world. One with an orbital yard capable of hosting us while we repair the two other vessels in my fleet." There was little more to be said as everyone around solemnly nodded. Captain Bolaar sat down in a large chair that had been provided, even bereft of his armor he was a massive man. "Captain Bolaar you wished to be informed of the situation surrounding Technographer Nicole, yes?" Doll asked, looking around the table. Bolaar nodded his head "I did." "I also had planned to bring up Miss Nicole's situation in this meeting but you may go first Archmagos." Lord Drakios said as he leaned forward resting his elbows on the table as he steepled his fingers. "Nicole was awoken from a hidden cryostasis pod within the ship after our forceful escape from the warp around two weeks ago now. She and the other individuals inside had total amnesia and according to estimates and data procured from items of some of the crew they had been inside those pods since M31. There were six VIP pods containing a Navigator, Astropath, Nicole, the deceased Magos also of house Cavaleiro, A Solar Auxilia bodyguard, and a Remembrancer." "Nicole and her uncle had vaults filled with valuable archeotech and other rare assets. At first I believed the most valuable thing we found was an STC fragment we recovered from the belongings of the deceased Magos. I no longer believe that is the case. I believe the most valuable thing we have is Nicole herself." "Nicole is a genetically engineered individual. She was literally born to interface with her implants which are some form of ancient Dark Age technology of a material we are unable to identify at this time. Her father was Indias Cavalerio Princeps Senioris of the Legio Tempestus who fell during the Schism on Mars in M31." "That is not all. Nicole has shown an incredible capacity for learning and over the past few days have confirmed she is at least Machine Touched. My fellow Magi and myself have seen it first hand. She communes directly with machine spirits easier than even myself. Shortly before your arrival Nicole communed with the core spirit of The Argent Drake. This resulted in every ship system across the board increasing in efficiency. The plasma drive I have spent over a century fine tuning increased both its efficiency and power output." "I would like everyone here to watch a short clip recorded by Skitarii Delta-A3 an hour after Nicole's communion. Where she met with young Lady Drakios." Doll plays the clip of Nicole going into the details of the origins of The Argent Drake and then her remarks that seem to herald the firing of the lances. "This could have been a side effect of communing with the ship or perhaps a lingering connection to the Argent Drake's spirit. However it happened, the ship fired its wondrous ancient lance weaponry at our foe and smote them from the void in a single volley." "Since then many of you have been around Nicole. Captain Bolaar, would you care to describe your interactions with her?" Doll prompted. "When she first encountered my Brothers… She lightly rebuked them and, she outright scolded one of my veterans and according to my Chief Apothecary properly identified one of my Brother's internal injuries with the right organs by name. She was able to discern corrupted and damaged items with seemingly minimal effort. Then according to the Dreadnoughts when she eagerly approached and began to perform maintenance they found themselves unable to remove her. Because her presence on their friend or foe sensors was permanently set to that of a friendly VIP. They now no longer care about her casual attitude towards them because she and I quote 'gave them the best maintenance their machines have ever had and if anyone had a problem with her they were to direct complaints to Venerable Baldor.' I would like everyone here to be aware that the last prominent individuals to complain to the Venerable in the last hundred years died violently and unexpectedly." "We have confirmed the ship's internal defenses will not target her. It seems that any device with advanced IFF features refuses to target Nicole. The source of this effect is unknown and she doesn't seem to be aware of it herself." Mangos Altair states as he pulls up a series of files he compiled confirming his statements. "When she first met me she was polite, charming but she spoke with confidence and surety when we were examining artifacts. Everything she said has proven quite accurate. My granddaughter is having a wonderful time playing with that Flip-Belt. While that behavior is fine aboard this ship where we all know her unique status we are about to head to an Imperial world. We need a way to help screen her from the machinations of the nobility." Lord Drakios stated as he leaned back in his chair. "The easiest way to avoid her offending someone would be to raise her station. There are several titles she could be given. Technically she is the last heir to a noble house, she has not been formally trained but she meets the criteria to be a princeps. We are considering repairing a knight we have in deep storage to confirm. We were simply loath to do so since it may cause friction with the Titanicus later." Doll explained with a sigh. "What class of titan did her sire pilot?" "Warlord-Class, the records indicate he operated two different Warlords before he fell." "She does not yet qualify for the title of Magos, she is just starting her tutoring on the various Divisio of the Mechanicus. Though based on our estimates she will likely be elevated to Adept in at least one by the time we make orbit." Xor mentioned. "Princeps seems like the safest bet." Lord Drakios added "It doesn't draw intense scrutiny that reinstating her noble house would have and while it makes her a target it is the one title we can justify and validate without her age being pulled into question like it would if we made her a Magos. If we can get the Knight working and she can pilot it, the title would be one that is known but only other high ranking Mechancius individuals would possibly question it." Doll seemed reluctant to agree "I suppose we can…" Doll paused suddenly "We can allocate the needed resources to repair the Throne Mechanicum by the time we reach orbit. It seems Nicole has located the ship's Teleportarium." "She actually found one?" Drakios was both surprised and quite pleased to hear that. Doll was about to continue when the second message came through and he shot to his feet. "Lord Drakios, I believe we should all head to the Teleportarium. There is a lift located nearby that will take us directly there. Nicole suspects the Teleportarium she has located is a Dark Age relic." "Well, let's go see it!" Lord Drakios got to his feet eager to inspect this long lost component. "A warning to those who choose to follow. The chamber itself has suffered damage from an ancient incursion." Doll informs the command staff as he rises from his chair. Most of the command staff got up to follow Archmagos Doll and Lord Drakios. Captain Bolaar followed as they went down a level and found the well disguised lift exactly where Nicole stated it should be. When they finally arrived in the compartment Nicole was there fussing over the primary control console. "Master Doll! You have to look at this data! This chamber is a work of genius!" Doll allowed himself to bask in the moment of wonder and elation as he took in the magnificent structure of the Teleportarium and observed the wondrous child the Omnissiah had blessed him with educating. She had much to learn but everything he knew and even some long suppressed instincts his implants informed him he was having. All of it was telling him he was on the right path.