A different Earth in 40k: A Glorious Golden Future: IC, Part 2

Lord Sia

Lord Sia

Location
East of Sun, West of Moon
As Karl watched the presentation he could barely restrain the combination of Awe, Terror, Surprise, and sheer Glee. Slamming his chair back, he rose to his feet and point accusingly at Schneider, his voice trembling over-dramatically.

"This is heresy! This is Madness!"

Only by freezing his face with a bit of shapeshifting (which was rather noticeable, had anyone actually cared to look) could he restrain the grin that threatened to form as he stared with anticipation toward the Midnighter...
 
"Putting aside the need to give Karl a Stone of Mental Health, I've run some of the numbers. It should be possible." Arndt said this as he typed on his laptop, running several simulations with what he had available.

"We can even go a step farther and use a version of those things as the cable for Space Elevators. As cheap and easy to make as Class 2 Artifacts are, we should be able to put up several thousand of them across the planet. I'd also try to anchor our end of the cable onto a War Manse. That way we can safely stop it and use the Manses defences against them. What worries me is that if the cable is easy to cut, the Chaos Astartes will use their weapons to simply cut it. I'll likely include a feature that makes it immune to mundane and chaos corrupted weapons."

Leaning back in his chair, he continued. "With that many Elevators it should be a trivial exercise to put as many ships into orbit as you want to. Of course, there's no reason to do half measures. If we do Magitech cables, we can also add magitech elevators that can pull accelerations and deaccelerations that make optimal use of every cable. Can't forget a way to compensate for inertia either..." By now Arndt had taken out a piece of paper and was scribbling furiously on it, sketching out ideas, possible enchantments and calculating what would be needed for it all.
 
Pouting a bit I sat back down - 'Damn humourless prats, they don't want me happy-go-lucky? Then don't schedule these meetings during the full moon!' - and resumed doodling on my notebook, half-paying attention to the lecture. After subtly (well, relatively) catching the chairman's attention and getting his (seemingly exasperated) permission, I once more drew attention to myself.

"Forgive me if I am mistaken - I've been trying to catch up on all your reports, but... Anyway; have you checked near-space for Webways? I mean, while shrouding us in the Warp should help avoid the attention of the Eldar, I worry a bit about the Dark Eldar. We are in no way, shape or form ready to repel a Raid, no matter the scale. Also, I imagine the possibilities of studying a stable and predictable alternative to Warp Drives for FTL is tantalising."

With that said, I leaned back and sipped on my glass of water. Ah, sweet, salty brine - now if only the rest of the guys would stop joking about pregnancy affecting my tastes...
 
"Our entire Solar system was transported here. Unless there were any Webways in this Earths original reality, we don't have any in the system and the Oort Cloud. Depending on the importance of the surrounding area, there might be some Gates. But that possibility is remote. We are also working on some ways to go to FTL safely. Right now, however, we need to get Earths industry ready to produce the needed ships."
 
Every computer screen sitting in front of an Exalted flicker minutely, before a window opens up on the top right corner of each screen. Within that window, Hadrian Eversol can be seen, Anima flaring as he shapes another amalgam. "My apologies, but I do not have time to attend in person. However, I have been listening to the conversation thus far, and I have a question. That being, how do you plan to attach this cable to the Hulk? Are you planning to send one of us to deal with it, or a drone system?"



"Also, Arndt, if it helps your plans for space elevators, I would be happy to provide the use of my orbital construction teams. I have extensive resources in orbit, and they will be growing over the coming years."
 
Mandalayain said:
Every computer screen sitting in front of an Exalted flicker minutely, before a window opens up on the top right corner of each screen. Within that window, Hadrian Eversol can be seen, Anima flaring as he shapes another amalgam. "My apologies, but I do not have time to attend in person. However, I have been listening to the conversation thus far, and I have a question. That being, how do you plan to attach this cable to the Hulk? Are you planning to send one of us to deal with it, or a drone system?"



"Also, Arndt, if it helps your plans for space elevators, I would be happy to provide the use of my orbital construction teams. I have extensive resources in orbit, and they will be growing over the coming years."
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Watching Hadrian work reminded Arndt uncomfortably that his Essence regeneration time was nearly up. Once this was over, Arndt promised himself, I'll never want to use that damn spell again.


"It may help, but the current idea would allow us to send up a couple hundred of them and extend the ropes down. There needs to be done little more than manufacturing them, shooting them up and fixing it to the ground."
 
DakkaMania said:
Watching Hadrian work reminded Arndt uncomfortably that his Essence regeneration time was nearly up. Once this was over, Arndt promised himself, I'll never want to use that damn spell again.


"It may help, but the current idea would allow us to send up a couple hundred of them and extend the ropes down. There needs to be done little more than manufacturing them, shooting them up and fixing it to the ground."
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Hadrian sighs, shaping a limb carefully. "Yes, but what are you going to attach them to in space? Unless you stiffen them, or give an anchor, they will hardly stay in place without reinforcement.
Rask said:
"Oh, a probe dragging the rope will zoom around the hulk several times, weaving a web around it. Or several probes. No reason to try something complicated."
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"Hrm. Fair enough. Do you already have suitable probes, or should I have my people create specialized models?"
 
Rask said:
"Yes, please do so. Our current models are lacking the necessary manoeuvrability, being optimised for reconnaissance."
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Hadrian nods, black-red energy, with hints of gold, pouring into the amalgam. "Very well. While our drone tech is improving, it is hardly perfect. However, as this job is not particularly detail oriented, I believe we should be able to arrange something. Can I make use of Magitek, or do we need to use purely mundane to avoid detection?"
 
Mandalayain said:
Hadrian sighs, shaping a limb carefully. "Yes, but what are you going to attach them to in space? Unless you stiffen them, or give an anchor, they will hardly stay in place without reinforcement.
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"Ah. That. Yes, I was thinking about attaching some kind of counter weight so the inertia imparted by Earths rotation would keep the rope in place. Adding a few maneuvering thrusters wouldn't hurt either. I think our current laboratories in orbit would make for excellent targets for the first few. Resupplying the labs will be much easier from there and they make decent starting points for more infrastructure."
 
DakkaMania said:
"Ah. That. Yes, I was thinking about attaching some kind of counter weight so the inertia imparted by Earths rotation would keep the rope in place. Adding a few maneuvering thrusters wouldn't hurt either. I think our current laboratories in orbit would make for excellent targets for the first few. Resupplying the labs will be much easier from there and they make decent starting points for more infrastructure."
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"Indeed. So long as you have a plan. I would appreciate it, if you would be willing to connect Eversol facilities in the same manner. I will, of course, allow you to use he orbital construction facilities to make the anchors needed for others, to save time on that."
 
Mandalayain said:
"Indeed. So long as you have a plan. I would appreciate it, if you would be willing to connect Eversol facilities in the same manner. I will, of course, allow you to use he orbital construction facilities to make the anchors needed for others, to save time on that."
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Arndt chuckled at that. "Hadrian, those things could fit in a backpack before they are extended. With current lift capacity, we can really produce and launch thousands. The bottleneck will be the counterweights. But those can be produced en-mass as well. It will just take a while to get them all to orbit. The lifts are easy as well. If we can run a current through the rope, we can use electricity to get into orbit."
 
Chewing on my own cheek I suppress the urge to click my pen, tap my feet, or any other of ten thousand things to do other than sitting still, any of which would most likely see me kicked out through the nearest door, literally - if I was lucky. Finally having had enough, I stand up, drawing the attention of everyone at the table.

"I really appreciate being a part of the decision making process and everything," I begin, taking a deep, calming breath before continuing, "but unless there's anything that requires my immediate input, I have to go before someone ends up insane - and I still have in-laws to deal with." I shuddered theatrically at the last part, but only elicited one or two chuckles. Tough crowd, go figure.

With that, I nod respectfully towards all those in attendance, and trot off towards the exit. Pausing in the door, I turn around to leave one parting message;
"And if at all possible schedule the next meeting when it isn't full moon, please?"

Closing the door, I sigh in relief, before changing into the now-familiar shape of a giant bulldog, complete with my slightly modified collar - "Property of Min" - before taking off at a good pace toward the stairs leading to the roof. One advantage of being a shapeshifter; air traffic isn't anywhere near as bad as ground traffic, especially in the big city. And while I had yet to find the opportunity to hunt a peregrine falcon, I did score a bald eagle not three days ago.

Barely two minutes later I was soaring above the skyscrapers, crying that oh-so-distinctive cry...

'Fucking Sunday fliers, did you fall out of the nest too many times or were you born this stu- Helicopter! Yeah, fuck you too mister pilot, what are you, blind?! I swear to Luna...'
 
Year 2022

Eversol Orbital Shipyards

"Final pre-launch verification is complete sir, everything checks out. Launching probes now."


After a bout of inspiration produces Unlimited Work Load rope and pulley systems, the Deliberative's engineers were directed to produce a series of rope pulling probes with the intent of snaring the Cromwell Anomaly, with the end goal of tethering it on the far side of the moon. To this end, the Creation Island designated Anchorpoint had been built, and fitted with tremendous essence powered engines designed to drag the hulk into place. Nearby, on the surface of the moon, an enormous series of fortified bunkers and underground base was being constructed to house and deploy the infantry force being built to deal with the hulk's passengers.


Four months later . . .

Creation Island Anchorpoint

"All lines secure. No sign of any interference by the locals. Beginning to retract lines now."


Two tears later . . .

Priority Alert to AEGIS Command

As of 0945 today, observation stations registered a simultaneous set of light producing events consistent with explosive charges. Station Anchorpoint was able to confirm the loss of calculated inertia on their lines. Immediately afterwords, observation stations reported a large, highly energetic event that analysis confirms is the operation of the main engines of the largest Chaos controlled vessel.


Since then the forces aboard the Anomaly have used their propulsion to redirect the vector of the hulk. Currently, if their propulsion was negated, the hulk would impact the Earth at significant velocity. Estimates range between 40 and 70% of human built structures located on hemisphere struck would sustain critical or major damage. However, the hulk does appear to have sufficient self direction and delta-v to enter nearly any orbit desired in jthe Earth-Lunar vicinity, or could blow past us entirely. Assuming our estimates of their capabilities are correct, we have a little under 6 days before they reach Earth, or pass by.
 
Taking a quick break from my training, I whipped out my smartphone to see what the emergency was. Reading the brief message from HQ, I felt my face turned pasty white, before flushing red. With a snarl I slammed my fist into the sandbag I had worked over earlier, causing it to tear free from its chains and fall down onto the floor with a loud thump. Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, I pictured Min and Mirabelle, my soon-to-be two-year-old daughter. Opening my eyes, I felt strangely calm even as my essence boiled beneath my skin.

"So they want to make a house call?" I muttered to myself as I set off toward the showers, my fingers flickering over my phone's screen as I sent out a couple of text messages to the command centre. "They'd better be prepared for a warm welcome..." I continued, my mind flashing toward my new battlegear, the last piece - a gigantic Moonsilver longbow - barely three months old.

I had Min on the phone before I entered the shower.

"'Lo sweetie, bit of a mess just came up - I probably won't be able to meet you for lunch after all... I'll try to make it to dinner, but no guarantees - it's a pretty big mess..."

Now, whether to wait for the Think Tank to solves this, or try to convince the Deliberative to send in the Vanguard to, what was that expression, oh yes, "pacify the local resistance"...
 
Mikel frowned lightly and lit another cigarette as he regarded the latest news


"It seems, the Chaos Forces have accomplished their goal......this is not good. Not good at all. If they have engines, they likely have some kind of defence system in place as well....how annoying."


He took a drag and exhaled as he made his decision.


Typing in a command, he sent out the message to his department. A pre-organised message. High Alert. Be on the immediate look out for all signs of Chaos incursion. Report all incursions. Report suspicions. Be prepared to look into anything. We are now at war.
 
"Far less of an issue than one would think." Daniel Smith muses.
"In a few days, they will be within our area of the Warp. At which point we can enter them via teleporting."
 
"The problem there, is their Influence upon the Warp, may corrupt, or speed up the corruption of our local warp. We already know it is occuring, but this may speed it up."
 
Link sighed. Note to self: Just because no attack is planned, doesn't mean that they're helpless. Maybe I should ask for defensive plans next time...

His Essence spider scuttled out into the web with questions, as he sat down to ponder his options...
 
Arndt Hartmut, Twilight Caste

C&C Manse

"Do you have that data already?" Arndt sounded irritated. No wonder if the fate of the world was uncertain.


"Yes, sir!"


Opening the file that was sent to his station by the technician Arndt could finally start working. Before him were the precise measurement of the Hulk, the mass and it's estimated distribution as well as all the data recorded from when it activated it's drives.


Grasping his Essence, Arndt got to work. Simulations were created and modified before being deleted again as insufficient. Data was assembled, taken apart and correlated with everything else they had on the Hulk.


Slowly it gave a precise picture of what would be required to push the Hulk into the desired Orbit.


Double and tripple checking it was done quickly enough before Arndt saves his work and sent the data to Mission Control. It was now in their hands to figure out how to use that data.
 
Sitting in a hotel room in Rio, Mikel lit up a cigarette, ignoring the sleeping girls on the bed. He had given the alert signal, now it was time to take the next step.


Clicking through commands, he activated several programs and sent out some orders.


In Singapore, a shipment of Ammunition for a Heavy Machine Gun began to move, heading for northern Thailand.

In Seoul, a cargo container was loaded onto a ship bound for Argentina.

In Germany, two Firearms companies recieved large orders. Legitimate ones.

In Russia, Land Mines, Claymores, RPG's and more were ordered and shipments begun to be sent out.


All over the world, Agents of The Deliberative, dressed in nice black suits, took receipt of large crates and boxes and had them delivered to Warehouses, Cellars, remote secure Bunkers and more.


Looking out the window, Mikel took a drag and sipped his scotch.

"The problem with last time, and any invasion, is the locals need to be ready to defend themselves. If they land, anywhere on the planet, they will find Humans. Humans with guns and a grim willingness to die for their planet. Humans who will hold the line until the Army can get there. Local Humans, with my Agents advising them. Showing them. Guiding them. yesssss"
 
"All checks clear; Chimera 1, you're ready for launch." The voice of the operator was clear and strong in my ears, the new micro-beads transmitting and receiving with almost (or so the uninitiated think) supernatural clarity. The communications gear was built into the helmet which was part and parcel of the void-suit I was wearing - mandatory for everyone on the shuttle.

"Roger that control, initiate countdown." I heard the captain reply. While the cause for my urgent need to get into space post-haste was... Less than encouraging, all was not lost. While scrambling a shuttle to high orbit in less than a week would have been a desperate race against time barely a decade earlier, nowadays it merely involved me using my authority as a "special agent" to secure a place on the first best shuttle available, what with the daily traffic (sometimes - like now - even more frequent) to the space stations.

"Initiating countdown; 10, 9, 8-"

I did not envy the rest of the Deliberative. Much as I hated not being able to contribute directly, I also knew that if I was able to contribute, I would be running myself into the ground, hard, while constantly worrying myself into hysterics thinking about priorities, wondering what I should have or should not have done instead of what I did or did not do.

"- 7, 6, 5, 4-"

After all, I was already going insane as it was, thinking about my hunting trips at the edges of the Creation Island, my "unofficial" assistance to Mikel, the suffering at the hands of Arndt, "in the name of science" (Vengeful, who, him? Never!)... Even the odd job or two for Mr Schneider, helping him with stubborn competitors who really should have known better.
Oh, and R&R with my wife and daughter. Neither of whom was very happy with my sudden departure due to the latest crisis. The latter one was especially vocal about "Daddy not go!" Just thinking about the two of them made me smile like a lunatic, in every sense of the word.

"-3, 2, 1; Lift-Off!" With a jolt the shuttle began to accelerate, the roar of the thrusters drowning out everything else as we began our ascension... And what awaited us there.

My face turned grim. I was all too aware of the nature of the Warhammer universe, and the latest reports from "Intelligence" indicated that the Hulk was packed with a choice selection of the worst available, save the Dark Eldar - thank Heaven for the small mercies. I would have to contact the Deliberative again and discuss the possibility of a Vanguard assault on the Hulk once I reached Starbase Alpha. I wasn't in a hurry to die, but - and the smile returned, this time with less happy-go-lucky, more shark-like anticipation - if there was something I was suited for, it was killing and surviving. And really, Chaos and Orks are bad enough; Genestealers is not the sort of thing you want to send "normal" troops against. Not to mention the chance of them drawing the attention of something even we can't defeat... Yet.
 
Arndt Hartmut, Twilight Caste

In the distance, one shuttle after another lifted off, all headed for the moonbase. Karl, Rolf and Alice along with them. With his Sorcerers Sight active, he could even see their immaterial anima banner writing around each craft like a living being.


It was a majestic sight that represented the culmination of years of work on all their parts. Even now he couldn't help but worry that the weapons he helped create wouldn't be enough. That he may have not taught the Praetorians all they needed.


He pushed those thoughts away. It was too late to change anything. They did everything in their power to prepare for the coming storm.


"Do you think they will succeed?"


She looked radiant as ever. The wonders of Age Staving Cordial.


"Failure is not an option."


I sighed.


"Let's get to the Fortress-Manse. The next few weeks are likely going to be rough."


Leaving the viewing platform I couldn't help but wonder how things would proceed from here. As things stood, they were on the cusb of breaking through to the next level in bringing Earth into a new age.
 
"I'm kind of wondering how we're going to do this" Alice muttered, staring off into the distance as the armies prepared for the whole oncoming assault. Her own armor wasn't anywhere near as spectacular as some of the others... Mostly because she wasn't personally some paragon of being able to outmatch super-tech with a wrench and some magical materials. Light, coppery plating here and there to deflect bullets, environmentally sealed--just enough to let her operate in hostile conditions without needing to hope that low pressure needed special Charms to Not Die in.

"Sooooo..." She asks, looking up at Rolf then. "I can't really say I'm looking forward to trying to punch through some of those tougher guys though... Don't we have anything a bit more... Punchy I guess? You know, like a big spike or a drill or something? It was a huge pain fighting those big marine-guys during the last attack, with all their fancy armor and all that. Do we have any ways of getting around that yet? Or should I worry about other things?"
 
A tap on the shoulder, and Warp currents suddenly ravel around her. "Yes, but last time you didn't have every Fate I could fit on your Exaltation backing you up," Link said. Sighing, he continued wistfully: "I should've taken more combat Charms - I'd be very amused to see their response to an unarmed-and-armored man taking out Space Marines. Eh, well. Everyone here is just that much more likely to succeed on anything they try, and I've given you all the information I can think of. If you need more, I'll be in contact during the mission. Got your Mortality-Entangling Gem?"
 
Karl stood silently, watching the troops parade, listening to the Solaroids quiet discussion. He was virtually the perfect counterpoint to Alice minimalism and Schneider's ornate yet functional gear; his armour was a virtual mountain of polished Moonsilver, a design that -while strictly utilitarian - was only made possible by his own brute strength and the flexibility of Moonsilver when infused with his protean essence. Combined with his own size and bulk, he made for an impressive sight - and if he used it on the Hulk, he'd be surprised. The artificers had convinced him to take one of their custom battle rifles, and he had yet to be disappointed by it - while still preferred his Moonsilver compound bow, and the rifle couldn't compare to the bow's ability to adapt to his own power, it had a fixed output, no matter how small a form he took. No matter how much he wanted to, he knew that he wouldn't be spending all his time taking down the CSM's in glorious hand-to-claws/jaws/tentacles/OMGWFBBQ!? And no matter how much damage he could survive, he knew that there was always the possibility of running into something that could simply shut him down without damage, or simply rend him at such a fundamental level that not even his defences would do him any good.

Stirring from his musings as Schneider elaborated a the number of possible methods for the resident speedster to get through mark IV Imperial Maximus-pattern Astartes Power Armour, he couldn't help but put in his own two cents.

"Mmm, Metody on a stick. Glargh..." Clearing his throat, he continued in a normal voice. "Seriously though, Metody on a stick isn't a bad idea at all. I'll have to see if I can shoot Metodies with my bow... Worst come to worst, just remember; Loot and Shoot."
 
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