The entrance to the new module is slightly jarring. The traditional Imperial and Mechanicus aesthetics stick around until the corridor splits in a Y-shape. The left side continues the Imperial aesthetics and the right side shifts abruptly a few meters in, transitioning to a stark sterile white and chrome that would look more at home in a less grim and more traditional sci-fi setting. As I move to step forward the skull from the archway speaks up. "Lady Cavalerio. Will you authorize the presence of a guest?" "This is Delta-A3, Skitarii and part of my personal protectors." "Entity Delta-A3 designation updated to guardian. Guardian Delta-A3 equipment is… adequate. Total number of guardians… lacking. Releasing Cavalerio personnel to rectify. Please retrieve personnel from stasis storage 2, Matriarch." "What?" I ask as I hear the sounds coming from the left branch. "Please retrieve personnel from stasis storage 2, Matriarch." The skull repeats in response to my query. As I head inside I note my noosphere connection has been unavailable since the door opened. Sophisticated isolation arrays have come to life to ensure privacy inside the compartment. I turn left and enter a large Mechanicus styled storage space. Right away I halt as six extremely rare and valuable stasis pods have arrayed themselves in a bay marked in Roman numerals as II. The pods all deactivate as one, and six figures move forward in unison. I almost mistake them for automata at first before they all kneel and salute me. ""Long live House Cavalerio!" The Thallax cohort remains that way as they transmit their kill codes to me in an absolute show of loyalty. "We greet the Matriarch!" The lead unit says as they continue kneeling. All six Thallax are clad in their Lorica Thallax power armor with an Incunabulan jetpack. All sport a close combat weapon and a ranged weapon. The lead unit who spoke wields a Lightning gun with a chain bayonet, the next has a Photon Thruster, the third a Phased Plasma-fusil, the fourth carries a Multi-Melta, the fifth a Multi-Laser, and lastly the sixth has an Irad-cleanser. Giving me the entire collection of possible load-outs for the Thallax. "Rise." I say softly as it slowly sinks in that these Thallax are not assigned to me but are mine. They are one hundred percent loyal to the house and myself and would follow my orders without question. They stand up at attention and I gulp softly. "This is Delta-A3, the Skitarii in charge of my protection. You have been in stasis for a long time. He will help get you caught up and you will work with him to ensure my safety." "Yes, Lady Cavalerio!" They all declare as they move out of their berths to flank Delta-A3 and myself. I work to add them to our noosphere network. Thankfully they have the implants for it. Before I can even start to move on the opposite side bay one hisses and releases four creatures. A quartet of Scyllax Guardian-Automata, the smallest amount for a maniple, slither out. I get a ping with their control codes moments later. Each unit is armed with various interchangeable claws and mechadendrites forming a mechadendrite combat array. One unit has the traditional Scyllax Kraken Bolter, one has traded it out for the Maxima Bolter variant. Another has swapped their Bolter for a Rotor Cannon. The last unit has traded their Bolter for a Meltagun. "Directive: Guard. Target: Nicole Cavalerio. Authority: Absolute." I stare at the automata for a long moment, taking in the paint scheme they have on their armor. Both the Thallax and the Scyllax units have the Cavalerio house crest emblazoned on their rear armor plates. They bear the blue and gold house colors along with hints of Mars red. The most update n0vels are published on novel✶fire.net I look at Delta-A3 who is frozen stiff. I can sense he is trying and failing to contact Master Doll due to the jamming. "Well, let's see what else is in here. We already emptied half the room." I head to bays III and IV and examine the contents. "Three Castellax-class Battle-Automata. One Vultarax. Two Vorax Battle-Automata. One Domitar Battle-Automata." I slowly sit down in the middle of the floor space to take some deep calming breaths. "Delta… this is a lot isn't it?" I ask with my eyes closed. Each automata sends me their control codes one after the other as I examine their storage profiles. "It is, Princeps." He replies curtly. "You can stop trying to call Master Doll, this compartment is isolated. We will call him once we leave." I tell Delta who stops his attempts. "I do, however, approve. This is an adequate level of protection for your person, Princeps." Delta says as he looks around. He has already started sharing data streams with my new Thallax and Scyllax Guardians. "Delta… remind me to nominate you for an upgrade." I say as I slowly stand back up. "The sentiment is appreciated but unnecessary, Princeps Nicole. This unit has been slated for elevation to Alpha, and the augments required are being prepared to the highest standard." Delta says as he examines the Thallax with the Photon Thruster. "Oh! No one told me that! Congratulations!" I say, happy for the momentary change in topic. "This opportunity was made available to me due to your favor. It is I who should thank you, Princeps." Delta admits as he turns to give me a bow. I wave it off and sigh "Honestly. You deserve it. You've been nothing but fantastic. Now let me just ask the machine spirit in charge of this storage area if there's anything else. Then we can go inspect that lab." I turn around and plug a dendrite into the main terminal. "Oh, there is a weapons locker. They also have spare parts and ammunition storage bays for most of the automata and their equipment." I walk around to the weapons locker and tug it open. Only to my surprise I find there is only a single item inside. "Huh? Some kind of Archeotech missile launcher?" The launcher was a bit large for my small frame and looked heavy until I picked it up. It was a lot lighter than it looked and despite being a bit awkward due to the size it was manageable for me to hold it. The tube itself looked simple and it was a single fire weapon with a fairly advanced targeting system. The machine spirit inside seemed friendly enough when I coaxed it awake. The Launcher seemed to really want me to give it a nickname for whatever reason. "Hehe, I'm gonna call you TOOB. You're coming with me TOOB." Though I decide to pass it over to one of the Scyllax to hold for now. "No ammo in the locker… kinda weird we'll get you some missiles later, TOOB." "Alright! We can come back for the rest of the Automata if we want to take them with us later. Time to investigate that unusual lab area." I say as I leave the storage room and head back towards the junction. I look down at the floor where the metal changes color and frown. "This looks like whatever this lab is, they just ripped it out of something and stuck it inside the ship." Turning my gaze to the interior of the space I am rather confused at what awaits me "What!? Did a bomb go off in here?" —----------------------------------------------------- Archmagos Doll looked around at the assembled individuals as he stood off to the side of the briefing room near Captain Bolaar looming over the normal humans. They had the entity of the House Drakios command staff on hand, The Castellan was leading the briefing. They also had Skitarii officers and Astartes Lieutenants lingering in the back here to listen to the briefing. "The creatures are continuing to probe out defenses. They spend roughly half an hour to an hour at each entry point before moving on to the next. Our troops are holding but are suffering higher than expected casualties due to the power, ferocity, and intelligence of these genestealers." The Castellan explained as he stared at the holographic map. "I have one section that managed to actually push back the enemy and secure an even more stringent choke point. The methods they used were unusual but we plan to attempt to replicate them in a few of the other areas. As it stands they have stopped trying to fight us here in the entryway and reorganize with the synapse network now in play. According to the data provided by the Archmagos they have other more dangerous bioforms." A few officers looked over to Doll who returned a small nod of acknowledgement. "We have heavy armor where we can but a lot of the access points make using vehicles impossible. As such we'll be heavily reliant on the Star Dragons when we push in for extermination. They have graciously asked to spearhead the assault so our troops and Skitarii will support them. The Archmagos has arranged for support teams with high resolution auspex units tuned to detect any and all biomass in their range to accompany our vanguard." "We appreciate the honor, Castellan" Captain Bolaar said stoically "We understand our company is onboard as guests. However many of my men wish to prove themselves after the events on The Hallow Star. The Venerables in particular are… eager. To say the least." "Given what we saw them do to the xenos at the entrance while we set up the fortifications, I am more than willing to let them unleash the fury of the Emperor on our foes." The Castellan said with a wry smile. "We have several priority targets. Starting with this one." The holo-display shifted to a representation of the Broodlord. "The number one target leading these bugs is this ugly thing right here. Everything awful about those genestealers is made much bigger and enhanced. It's also a psyker. Do not engage in melee if at all possible. Our secondary targets include this big bastard; a Dimachaeron, which I have been informed is effectively a cruise missile made of hate, meat and chitin the size of a small Knight. It is by far the largest enemy bioform we are currently aware of. The use of heavy ordinance on this target has been approved." The Castellan said as he took a moment to take a swig from his canteen. "In addition to that there is this creature, a Malanthrope. It is not a particularly fearsome combatant on its own but it is capable of extruding a dangerous miasma. There are also Tyranid Warriors. These should both be prioritized as they boost the synapse network. Tertiary targets include a Carnifex, which for those of you unfamiliar with Tyranids is a living tank, and Lictors, which act as xenos assassins, which we need to take out before they spread to the rest of the ship. There are also Raveners which are larger serpent like entities that like to use ambush tactics. Thankfully, they won't be burrowing into the steel floors here. We have not seen ranged weapons amongst the xenos, but that does not exclude them from existing. Keep alert. We can't let a single one of these creatures escape. We move out in thirty minutes!" "Commander Yoshi, your light armor will keep pace with the Mechanicus vehicles behind the vanguard. We'll push the heavy armor forward as far as we can but they won't make it too far into the module with the various obstructions within." "Major Milo, your troops have our left flank with the Skitarii." "Sir!" Milo saluted and turned to leave and ready his men. "Captain Felixis, your scouts are going with the vanguard." The Castellan glanced over at the humanoid Felinid. The Felinid unit wasn't particularly large, but they were by far the best scouts they had. "Sir, Ny-yes sir!" Felixis replied. He saluted as his feline ears perked up and his long tail twitched behind him. "I don't want a fair fight. I don't want a war. In the name of our glorious Emperor, I want an extermination." The Castellan declared as he clasped his arms behind his back as the officers dispersed. —----------------------------------------------------- In the center of the otherwise pristine and sterile room is a large obvious scorch mark on the ground that is nearly thirty meters across. Where there likely should be additional equipment, tables or a desk or more pedestals is just blank slightly marred floor space. On the left there is a cogitator bank and a series of terminals clearly installed after the fact connected to a singular sleek terminal built into the room. There are cables leading from the bank towards the center of the room that just end as if they were cut violently. In the very back of the room are three large cylinders built into the back wall of the chamber. On the right side of the room are two pedestals, one of which has a holographic data signature floating on display. The shape of the display is an STC fragment. I look down and notice at the edge of the blast area is a small patch of red cloth hanging from a hook. Lifting it up shows that it's a piece of fabric with Mechanicus markings on it, the edges of the patch are frayed like something ripped the fabric away violently. "I think I found my lost robe. What's left of it anyway." Shaking my head I move over towards the terminals. I try them and to my surprise they power on. The cogitators take some prodding from my bypass spike and a few lines of override code to get them to cooperate and let me access the remaining files. Files which seem to be audio logs. I click on the first one in the series. "Data Log. Entry One. Magos Cavalerio. Indias is insistent I use his genome for the project to increase the chance of the result producing a Princeps candidate. This has caused issues. Emotion: Frustration. He does not comprehend the Dark Age gene template base deviates drastically from known standards. Most major Psy gene markers are present. These implant sets are far beyond our current means. Emotion: Desire." "Data Log. Entry Two. Magos Cavalerio. Indias's suggestion has resulted in a viable subject. Emotion: Vexation. My attempts to tweak the genetic code and produce a more potent psychic unit have failed. One subject was overloaded with energy and reduced to particles. The other has begun rapid unchecked mutation and has since perished. Without returning to the source I will have to be content with simulations. Emotion: Disappointment." "Data Log. Entry Three. Magos Cavalerio. Indias has named the viable subject Nicole and intends to treat it as an heir candidate. A preposterous consideration. Emotion: Irritated. I have been informed that the glorious station we stripped for components has been lost to the gravity well. Emotion: Disappointment. The experimental Grand Cruiser design has proven sufficient and we have transferred both the lab and various components to the vessel which nears completion. I have spared no expense to ensure it exceeds Mechanicus standards. Advanced forging facilities, storage, and the ability to process raw materials along with exceptional firepower. Emotion: Pride." "Data Log. Entry Four. Magos Cavalerio. Entity 'Nicole' has been extracted from the growth chamber. Implants have fully bonded to its weak flesh. Emotion: Disgust. I have assigned minders for it. Emotion: Disdain. My secondary research has proven fruitful and under orders I have begun liquidating static family assets and exchanging them for more portable transient assets. Emotion: Self-satisfied." "Data Log. Entry Five. Magos Cavalerio. Entity Nicole has developed. Implants have grown with it. Its intellect and proficiencies are… high. The original purpose of these units continues to elude me. Emotion: Vexation. The station where the units were discovered was well hidden but still showed signs of battle damage. Damage obtained at some point during the Age of Strife. Emotion: Curiosity. I have obtained several relic items from other magi as we prepare to depart Estaban III now that the experimental vessel is in the finishing stages. Emotion: Pride." "Data Log. Entry Six. Magos Cavalerio. Entity Nicole's constant queries have become vexing. I have attempted to distract it by giving it an advanced weapon to study. This has resulted in it collecting similar items. The other Magi are humoring it, giving it items in exchange for its consultation. Describing it as bubbly and cute. Relying on its advanced implants to help solve their own failings of comprehension. Emotion: Disgust. I have acquired both an STC fragment containing all Bolt ammunition and a digital STC providing the production data related to a restricted ordinance via a favor and exchanging resources with a local Magos. Emotion: Smug." "Data Log. Entry Seven. Magos Cavalerio. Indias insists I treat entity Nicole like a niece. Preposterous, I have studied its genomic sequences. For all its outward appearance would suggest, this creature is more transhuman than an Astartes. Its genetic code holds many secrets. Emotion: Disgust. My attempt to glean data from the Omnissiah's vaults relating to the Custodes and the Primarchs was denied. Emotion: Disappointment. Other families have taken note of my unusual trading and the disturbances and discontent noted by Indias have become more prevalent. Emotion: Concern." "Data Log. Entry Eight. Magos Cavalerio. We have fled our holdings on Estaban III. Indias has directed us away from Segmentum Solar to bide our time while the others remain on Mars. I have begun having Entity Nicole to perform minor psychic phenomena under duress to observe the results. Results inconclusive so far. Emotion: Apathy. The majority of the Automata I acquired have been placed in stasis and storage as we prepare for long distance warp travel. We will make use of the cryogenic chambers for the duration. Emotion: Annoyance. I also paid an individual to discreetly acquire one of the vaulted Omnissian Rods. They did so successfully. Emotion: Pleased." "Data Log. Entry Nine. Magos Cavalerio. I have obtained a fragment of a presumed Silica Anima for study and kept it in storage. Its reaction to communication attempts have been violent. Anima fragment has attempted self detonation multiple times. Emotion: Confusion. The fragment behaves oddly around Entity Nicole, further observation required. I discreetly obtained the genetic sequences from Primarchs: Magnus, Ferrus and Vulkan. Their coding does not match the abnormalities found in Entity Nicole. The fledgling forge world we are to visit will provide an engine for Entity Nicole to bond with. It has earned the title of Honorary Magos and has Princeps potential. Emotion: Frustration. None have noticed my procurement of and stowage of an Ordinatus-Minoris Engine which I shall personally outfit after we arrive. Emotion: Smug." Finishing the last of the available logs I wrinkle my nose. "Uncle was a huge asshole and dabbling with the heretical?" I growl and shake my head. There is some experimental data saved on the terminals including the various genetic sequences he had been examining. However a large portion seems to be missing, and according to the inventory the explosion seems to have taken more than just the AI fragment but also most of the equipment that was in here originally. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I attempt to access the room's original terminal and find that it firmly rebuffs my attempt to access it, even with all my credentials. The terminal locks me out for twenty four hours for even trying. I sweep my gaze towards the back of the laboratory "So, this is where I was born which would make those two… the failed attempts at making me siblings." I look towards the two liquid filled jars. One just has metallic dust coating the bottom and the second has a huge tumor-like mass with bits of metal sticking out floating near the top. The flesh is gray, rotten and long dead. My eyes drift over to the pedestal holding the digital STC fragment. I get out of the chair and head over to it. My initial attempts to probe it over the noosphere get no reaction. I reach out and frown as I am met with a surprising level of security. I insert my bypass spike into the base of the pillar and start systematically getting through the onion-like security. When I manage to get past the last layer I am unprepared for the file to jump out from the digital marker and imprint itself deep in my mind. The moment the imprint is finished the copy it left behind on the pedestal terminates itself. The code on the file is absolutely brutal and ensures that only one version of itself is viable and attempts to copy it will result in termination. What data would require such stringent protections? Cyclonic Weaponry. The methods to make Cyclonic missiles from man portable to planet exterminating is now imprinted deep in my cortex implant. I slowly disconnect from the pedestal and take a deep breath before putting both my hands over my face and let out a small but shrill scream. "Uncle you greedy rat you're lucky you're dead!" I yell out in frustration. I move one of my hands over to massage my temple. "At least we don't have to deal with that." I glance towards the explosion and shake my head doing a quick calculation. I realize the large blast radius almost exactly matches the listed size for the man portable Cyclonic missile. Delta is looking at me with concern from across the room. "Princeps?" "Sorry, Delta, that was unseemly. Turns out my Uncle wasn't just a horrible family member but also a greedy megalomaniac practically begging to get censured by the Mechanicus. You heard the logs. He was dabbling in several forbidden subjects or matters close to them. We'll have to ask Master Doll what to do with all of this. Some of the items from his vault may have been acquired illicitly. Oh and let us not forget he may have hidden an Ordinatus-Minoris weapon somewhere inside the ship." I say in an exasperated tone. Delta nods slowly "May I ask what was on the file you recovered from the pedestal, Princeps?" "No, sorry" I tell Delta flatly, giving him an apologetic smile and he takes the hint. "Oh. Shall we depart?" He asks, looking around the room warily. "Yeah… we can go. But I'm bringing ALL the Automata with me." I say with a determined tone. "We're gonna go help out a little." —---------------------------------------------------------------- Doll was letting 45-Zul, their Master of Skitarii, manage the Skitarii for the most part. He and Zephyr were there to help coordinate vehicles and automata as well as provide insight. Zephyr and himself each had control over one of the massive Thanatar Automata. Zephyr controlled the Cavas and Doll the Calix. It was times like these that made Doll feel their lack of a Magos Dominus. The data from the Magos of The Hallow Star had proven enlightening. He had several promising candidates pursuing the Divisio Mandati and Militaris paths studying the large swaths of combat data with fervor. He had hundreds of processes running in the background to monitor the current situation however one minor process was set to monitor Nicole and Delta-A3. They had gone to the prow section of the Drake and the data streams from Delta-A3 had abruptly cut out. That was unusual but nothing he needed to worry about. There were a handful of warded rooms and the data he had gotten moments before suggested Nicole was exploring one of them. Nicole and Delta-A3 rejoined the network just as the first stage of the assault got started. Delta-A3 sent him a massive stream of priority data. However Doll was more interested in Nicole's new digital identifier. Matriarch of House Cavalerio. Only after he let that information sink in did he move to process the information from Delta-A3. Nicole had found the private storage and lab of the deceased Magos Cavalerio, and Nicole had inherited the title as the last remaining member of her House on board along with a staggering amount of Automata. In addition there was a small Dark Age laboratory which appeared to have been transplanted to the ship during its construction. Delta-A3 didn't have information on the strange data Nicole had absorbed from the pedestal but her incensed reaction spoke volumes. The recordings certainly hadn't put the deceased Magi in a flattering light. Probing into various forbidden topics like the genetics of psykers and abominable intelligences was enough to have him executed. One of Doll's eyes twitched violently when he processed the implied origin of the Omnissian Rod and the mention of a potential Ordinatus-Minoris weapon onboard. In the few moments he had to process the stream from Delta-A3 Nicole had reached out. "Master Doll, I am bringing the automata forces of House Cavalerio to reinforce you. I hope this is permissible?" Nicole was being polite and as Doll looked over Nicole's new list of guardians he couldn't really find a reason to deny her. Just the Thallax and Scyllax Guardians was more security than he had himself. "Nicole… We are going to have a LONG talk about this later." He told her sternly. "However you may bring your reinforcements to the right flank and join me there. You will NOT join the vanguard. Is that understood?" "Yes, Master Doll!" It would take her a while to traverse the length of the ship anyway. Doll compiled and forwarded an info packet to the other Magi on Nicole's latest discovery. Doll could imagine the furious screeching from Xor who was still handling the Xenos Librarium situation when he read about the more illicit studies the former Magi had been indulging in. Doll turned his full attention back to the battle at hand as reports from the scouts indicated enemy movement. It seemed that they had finally decided that the vanguard had pushed forward too far for their liking. —-------------------------------------------------------------------- Venerable Baldos had reloaded all his weapons and now stood at the fore of the formation. The entire company at his rear and aided by both the ship armsmen of Drakios and the Mechanicus. The enemy lay ahead, his sensors could just sense the swarm of genestealers adjusting their formations as they made their way forward. "Looks like they've had enough. Here they come brothers!" Baldos shouted as the genestealers surged out from hiding like a carpet moving as one across every surface surging towards the vanguard. "For the Emperor!" The Astartes as one opened fire, Bolter shells pounding into the enemies along with las, autocannon, and plasma fire. High explosive shells from the armored units behind him arced overhead and detonated among the xenos, obliterating them in droves, sending blood, viscera and limbs flying. Frag missiles soared upwards blowing foes from the walls and ceiling. Despite the heavy casualties inflicted on the xenos they surged forwards. It was nearly impossible to miss as they poured massive amounts of firepower into the surging lines. Their advance was organized to elicit this exact response. Force the enemy to commit to pushing them back in an open battlefield that gave them the ranged advantage over the genestealers. Baldos's Storm Bolter reached out to rake through the enemy lines, his Multi-melta spooled up and ready. Out of the four of them, Brother Dragonmaw in his Deredeo reaped a brutal toll on the charging Tyranids. At a hundred meters he started taking pot shots with his Multi-melta. Within seconds they closed to half that distance. For each foe that fell it seemed like two more rushed forward to take its place. "Come, foul xenos! Break yourselves upon my body! I am the bulwark of the Imperium. I am your death!" The xenos threw themselves as a salvo of frag grenades soared out to meet them and shred the first wave of the creatures. One of the creatures that survived leapt at him and Balos struck it down from the air with his combat claw. Baldos stepped forward as the second wave rushed in just behind the first, and the chaotic melee began. Several gashes were scoured on his armor for each enemy he killed, the barrels of his weapons burned hot as he fired them continuously. He allowed himself to indulge in the slaughter and mayhem of battle, trusting his brothers to guard his back, and handle any foes that made it past him or around his sides. "Venerable. I believe you have earned the ire of our foes." Brother Dragonmaw informed Baldos. Baldos raised his gaze across the field where the massive form of the Dimachaeron was glaring straight at him. "So I have, Brother." The monster darted out from behind the cover of a metal wall and charged. It was unsettlingly fast. Baldos barely had a few moments to prepare himself. Hunter Killer Missiles leapt into the air from behind him seeking the monster. It swatted one of the missile out of the air with a massive clawed arm and shrugged off two more, another managed to draw blood but failed to dissuade it. It let out a fearsome roar and leapt across the remaining distance, crashing into Baldos with enough force to send him skidding backwards. The massive scything talons struck down at him, scoring hits on his armor. He responded in kind using his Multi-melta to blow one of its arms off at a joint. He only managed to parry and deflect two of the strikes. One of the blows skidded across his sarcophagus. His powerful Dreadnought combat weapon met chitin again and again, breaking off huge shards and smashing armored pieces off. Earning gouges on his weapon arm for each strike. Stray shots soared in from his allies and struck the beast's sides but it was firmly and solely focused on Baldos. Baldos only got one more Melta-Salvo off before the weapon was disabled by a vicious swipe from one of the talons that slipped under the shoulder actuator, and scythed through the hydraulic lines and power cables. "Now you've gone and gotten me in trouble with the little miss." He growled as he reached upwards and clamped his combat claw onto the largest appendage he could reach before he leaned back, his motion yanked the creature forward as one of his legs came up and collided with the chest of the creature with a sickening crunch. Baldos rotated the claw and twisted, ripping the limb free from the shoulder socket in a fountain of blood. However as the creature entered its death throes the remaining claws lashed out. Baldos took a vicious series of hits to his right leg which sent him down onto one knee as that limb failed him. Only a psychic barrier from young Astrovas deflected the last talon away from his torso. Dropping the arm he had ripped off as the beast collapsed Baldos reached out and grabbed the head of the beast and ripped it free. "I'll be taking that." "Venerable!? Status?" Solantor asked as he moved up next to Baldos. "I'll live. I've called a retrieval team. You three keep going. For honor and glory Brothers!" Baldos told them, sounding content with his performance. "For honor and glory!" They replied as Silverfury and Solantor moved ahead of him into the enemy wave. Baldos waited for a moment as he privately messaged the Librarian "Thank you, Brother Astrovas. You saved me from a grievous wound." "It was the least I could do, Venerable. I regret not being able to aid you further against that monstrous beast." Astrovas replied as he was reloading his Bolter. "I've got myself a nice xenos skull. You youngsters better not slack off just because I need to go sit down for a bit." Baldos told everyone over the open vox channel and got a few amused chuckles from his brothers. "Venerable Baldos. I have been informed Princeps Nicole was already on her way here. We have informed her that you require repairs." One of the Tech Priests that had come forward to help with his retrieval informed him. "Frak… Make sure you grab my trophies too" Perhaps a nice bribe would keep him from getting scolded. Baldos just hoped Nicole liked giant bladed xenos limbs. —-------------------------------------------------------------------- Doll took in the datastreams as the news of the Diamacharion being brought down was shared. They had a dozen Astartes casualties, including Venerable Baldos, but no fatalities. Several Astartes would be needing replacement cybernetic limbs in the coming days. One of the Raveners had targeted the vanguard Skitarii Tribune. They had lost several units when they brought it down, but it served to confirm that the swarm could and would identify and target leader units. The biggest issue aside from the Broodlord itself in his opinion were the Lictors. Due to the fact the army had to press forward those creatures could hide from all but the most focused and directed auspex scans. Doll strode forward in the rear lines as the forces advanced steadily. "Perhaps I was overestimating your intelligence if you fell for this ploy so easily." Doll said aloud as one of the Lictors that had been lurking high above in an alcove on the ceiling leapt down and landed directly behind him, its bladed limbs aimed for his exposed back. His armored servo arm snapped out to block and grab onto one of the bladed limbs, and Doll rotated his arm to swing his Omnissian Axe cracking with the power field on to block the second. "Foolish." Without turning his head Doll raised and unloaded a full-auto salvo of Hellfire Bolts at point-blank range straight into the creature's skull. The mutagenic acid inside the rounds liquidating the Lictor's skull as it slumped to the ground. "Hellfire Bolts confirmed to be highly effective against Tyranid chitin." Doll nodded and continued forward at a leisurely pace. The Thanatar he was directing was performing above expectations. However the twin-linked mauler bolt cannon seemed to be consuming its ammunition reserves faster than anticipated. The Solex heavy-las was more effective against singular larger targets. Where the plasma mortar on the Cavas unit was devastating to the Genestealer swarms. Doll looked across the battlefield, and he took a moment to take everything in as the Astartes continued to slowly push forward. "It seems the Felinid scouts brought down one of the other Lictors, an impressive feat for unenhanced individuals. That leaves one remaining somewhere." —------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Alright boys. The push just started." Sergeant Su announced grimly. "Isn't that a good thing sir?" One of the men manning the choke point they had secured asked. "It is, but think about it Leo. If the main force starts putting the squeeze on the xenos where are they gonna try to go?" Jari asked as he looked around as the various faces morphed into barely disguised horror. "That's right so get ready I expect we'll have company soon." Jari stated as the men all seemed to explode into motion, moving with energy and purpose as they reloaded and checked their weapons. Jari turned to look for the red robed individual among them. "Enginseer L3-3T can you do me a favor?" Waving the Tech Priest over. "Yes, Sergeant Su? How may this one be of assistance?" L3-3T's face is fully obscured by a simple digital display helmet mimicking eyes and a mouth. "Do you think we can fit all these mines in that stretch of hallway?" Gesturing to the short stretch straight away stretch connecting them to the primary chamber. "Not Reasonably." L3-3T replies looking from the mines to the space and back. "What if we aren't reasonable?" Jari asks pointedly. "Well… Hmm… probably?" The digital face looked pensive as he performed the calculations. "Please, I expect we're going to need them. We'll cover you." Jari waved over Jackal "Jackal please give our favorite Enginseer overwatch while he fills the kill-zone with explosives." "Sir!" Jackal went over and grabbed his rifle, said rifle sported a new barrel and a bi-pod. He mounted the bi-pod on a small pile of sandbags. He racked the bolt and zeroed in. The servo arm on L3-3T's back reached out and grabbed the box filled with mines before he trudged down the corridor. "Fine. The mines yearn to be used. The foul xenos will feel their wrath." L3-3T sighed as he headed out the eyes on his mask turning into thin slit like lines "Purging is so tedious, when this is done I'm going straight back to the forge." L3-3T grumbled as the first mine was set and armed. L3-3T managed to swiftly and methodically fill the hallway with an uncomfortable number of anti-personnel mines while the fighting progressed back in the main chamber.