- Location
- Florida
This is giving me ideas for a omake (maybe even multiple!).
An Extra Primarch
- Thread starter ilbgar123
- Start date
Sir LagsAlot
Yandere Dice Magnet
- Location
- In the fridge
Don't take it to far my statement there was pretty hyperbolic in this case as the collective mass of the platforms would eventually create a gravity well strong enough that would threaten to crush the platforms under their own gravity. So unless we invent anti-gravity crystals at some point we can only colonize most of the universe.
- Location
- Ohio
over billions of years, will any of that extra energy cool down into matter? And could we build worlds or at least better space habitats?
Those rogue planets we found, are they inhabited? or what are they like?
Sir LagsAlot
Yandere Dice Magnet
- Location
- In the fridge
Why not just throw the energy directly into replicators and use them to build space habitats?
- Location
- Ohio
I had not thought about that. it sounds good. Sounds like a way to make ammo for ships as well.
Burgeoning Doctrines (Canon)(Potential Doctrine Research Modified)
ExNihilo
SPACE!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Doctrines of Bastion
As Bastion advances and becomes more integrated, the hodge-podge ideas, strategies, and doctrines of the former states are brought together, and improved upon, to allow Bastion to become more than the sum of its parts.
Naval Doctrine: The Toolbox Fleet
Toolbox Doctrine is a difficult doctrine to master, requiring excellent ships and skilled officers at all levels. In short, it consists of specialized ships in constant contact with each other, able to adapt to enemy decisions and exploit any weaknesses left. Officer initiative is encouraged, but no ship acts alone, as each ship and its various escorts and drones means a real-time map of the battlefield is available for every captain and the fleet commander's strategists, so it is rare there is a weakness in the enemy not visible to all. A well functioning Toolbox fleet is a thing of beauty, each ship acting in coordination, reacting to changes and cooperating with allies.
The principal advantage of the fleet is how adaptable it is. A pure siege fleet may function better against planetary fortifications, but if reinforcements arrive they are put at a significant disadvantage. A pure Main Battle Fleet may outmatch them in fleet-to-fleet combat, but if all goes well, they would never meet in a pitched fight. Ambushes are likewise more easily countered, as the OODA loop is exquisite and reaction times rapid.
Another advantage is its power in cooperation. So long as the allied fleet has something resembling communications technologies, they can be integrated simply, with the Toolbox fleet shoring up their weaknesses. A battle line to defend artillery-type ships, an anchor fleet to support a fleet built around speed, whatever the situation, a toolbox fleet will be useful.
The main disadvantage is its expense. The ships must be fitted with expensive communication centers and tactical arrays to give the greatest advantages there. The officers, from the lieutenant of the lowliest gun battery to the Grand Admiral herself, must be highly trained, as each action they make has an important effect on the battle. Such a doctrine can only be pursued by a polity that can support it, in some fashion, the battles can be won or lost before the launch of the ship.
Another disadvantage can be the versatility. Though such situations are attempted to be avoided, a Main Battle Fleet would beat it, ton to ton. Though it is excellent in all areas, it is not a master at one, which a more specialized fleet could use to it's advantage. However, the trade-off is generally considered to be worth it.
Planetary Doctrine: Unified Battle
Similar to the space doctrine, the Bastion planetary doctrine is focused around versatility, a tight OODA loop, and a combination of overarching strategy and universal officer competency. Like the naval doctrine, it is expensive to maintain and would lose in a fight where the specialized force has its advantage, also like the naval force it is astoundingly adaptable, efficient, and able to cooperate. The main difference comes in how mobility works.
Fundamentally, naval ships are single entities. Though they can target many different locations at once, thousands is the general soft cap on how many ships are on one side, rarely ever millions. In an army, however, each soldier, tank, walker, jet, or jeep is capable of, in theory, moving independently. Through a combination of intense learning and simulations, each soldier is given at least the basics of what would be given to an officer, and when combined with comms and scanners, allow for an unprecedented degree of accuracy, maneuverability, and precision of strategy across the battlefield, at the cost of making the soldiers even more expensive to train. However, seeing the effect of real-time microstrategy updates in simulations and test skirmishes show how powerful this doctrine can be.
Economic Doctrine: New World Economy
There is a common misconception about replicators, in that they can make every item equally well. This is not the case. For most consumer goods, there is no need to specialize replicators, as a 1% savings in power is not worth having 20 replicators, each that can only build one type of thing. However, when it comes to bigger things, like large-scale construction material and spacecraft, some specialization is beneficial. Now, all worlds need structural plating and shuttlecraft and building a specialized replicator for those, a couple per planet, isn't too hard. However, more specialty items, large complex items that are needed relatively infrequently, are built in specialty replicators.
Take, for example, a Titan Freighter. Still too big to be immediately replicated out of a single replicator, a Heavy Industrial Park exists on certain worlds (and in space) throughout Bastion, with replicators each building specific parts. This still allows for customization, as the difference between structural pieces for a Solaris class and an Expanse class (the two most common) are relatively minor, even if the final project is quite different. Then the pieces are assembled, with the help of large structural robots, to the final product. The completed product is quite spartan, as adding customization doesn't require the Park, just a smaller replicator, but a full ship it is, enormously faster and requiring fewer people than a traditional factory, no matter how automated.
The military, especially the space force, has upscaled versions attached to their shipyards. Navy ships are more complex and require more replicators, but the Park concept still exists there, as well. It is said that the sight of one of these shipyards, with replicated armor and hull moving rapidly and assembling into the hull of the first Keter, once brought a Mechanicus Fabricator to tears, as what could have been a lifetime of work was being created at a pace more commonly seen in escorts.
These systems, for all their advancements, are massive power hogs. A full third of most Parks are devoted to energy production because more efficient Fusion just means you can build faster. However, as this is fusion, the byproducts are mostly harmless, and the Parks are remarkably clean in comparison to standard factories. The Parks, and replicators in general, have lead to a noticeable improvement in air quality standards in many Hive worlds, even after taking into account the more direct repairing of their environments.
There still exist some industries outside the Park system and replicators in general. Agriculture, for instance, and highly specialized work too complex for current generation replicators. However, they do reveal a weakness of sorts: there are just not as many manufacturing jobs available anymore. Thought on many civilized worlds this isn't a huge problem as most were employed outside of industry directly, and new options like Asteroid Mining are becoming more viable, there is definitely an unemployment crisis coming up. What happens to an Agriworld, for instance, when a replicator can make food more efficiently, with less shipping, and much more customizable?
AN: Many of these will probably need individual research to do, but will confer massive advantages when done.
As Bastion advances and becomes more integrated, the hodge-podge ideas, strategies, and doctrines of the former states are brought together, and improved upon, to allow Bastion to become more than the sum of its parts.
Naval Doctrine: The Toolbox Fleet
Toolbox Doctrine is a difficult doctrine to master, requiring excellent ships and skilled officers at all levels. In short, it consists of specialized ships in constant contact with each other, able to adapt to enemy decisions and exploit any weaknesses left. Officer initiative is encouraged, but no ship acts alone, as each ship and its various escorts and drones means a real-time map of the battlefield is available for every captain and the fleet commander's strategists, so it is rare there is a weakness in the enemy not visible to all. A well functioning Toolbox fleet is a thing of beauty, each ship acting in coordination, reacting to changes and cooperating with allies.
The principal advantage of the fleet is how adaptable it is. A pure siege fleet may function better against planetary fortifications, but if reinforcements arrive they are put at a significant disadvantage. A pure Main Battle Fleet may outmatch them in fleet-to-fleet combat, but if all goes well, they would never meet in a pitched fight. Ambushes are likewise more easily countered, as the OODA loop is exquisite and reaction times rapid.
Another advantage is its power in cooperation. So long as the allied fleet has something resembling communications technologies, they can be integrated simply, with the Toolbox fleet shoring up their weaknesses. A battle line to defend artillery-type ships, an anchor fleet to support a fleet built around speed, whatever the situation, a toolbox fleet will be useful.
The main disadvantage is its expense. The ships must be fitted with expensive communication centers and tactical arrays to give the greatest advantages there. The officers, from the lieutenant of the lowliest gun battery to the Grand Admiral herself, must be highly trained, as each action they make has an important effect on the battle. Such a doctrine can only be pursued by a polity that can support it, in some fashion, the battles can be won or lost before the launch of the ship.
Another disadvantage can be the versatility. Though such situations are attempted to be avoided, a Main Battle Fleet would beat it, ton to ton. Though it is excellent in all areas, it is not a master at one, which a more specialized fleet could use to it's advantage. However, the trade-off is generally considered to be worth it.
Planetary Doctrine: Unified Battle
Similar to the space doctrine, the Bastion planetary doctrine is focused around versatility, a tight OODA loop, and a combination of overarching strategy and universal officer competency. Like the naval doctrine, it is expensive to maintain and would lose in a fight where the specialized force has its advantage, also like the naval force it is astoundingly adaptable, efficient, and able to cooperate. The main difference comes in how mobility works.
Fundamentally, naval ships are single entities. Though they can target many different locations at once, thousands is the general soft cap on how many ships are on one side, rarely ever millions. In an army, however, each soldier, tank, walker, jet, or jeep is capable of, in theory, moving independently. Through a combination of intense learning and simulations, each soldier is given at least the basics of what would be given to an officer, and when combined with comms and scanners, allow for an unprecedented degree of accuracy, maneuverability, and precision of strategy across the battlefield, at the cost of making the soldiers even more expensive to train. However, seeing the effect of real-time microstrategy updates in simulations and test skirmishes show how powerful this doctrine can be.
Economic Doctrine: New World Economy
There is a common misconception about replicators, in that they can make every item equally well. This is not the case. For most consumer goods, there is no need to specialize replicators, as a 1% savings in power is not worth having 20 replicators, each that can only build one type of thing. However, when it comes to bigger things, like large-scale construction material and spacecraft, some specialization is beneficial. Now, all worlds need structural plating and shuttlecraft and building a specialized replicator for those, a couple per planet, isn't too hard. However, more specialty items, large complex items that are needed relatively infrequently, are built in specialty replicators.
Take, for example, a Titan Freighter. Still too big to be immediately replicated out of a single replicator, a Heavy Industrial Park exists on certain worlds (and in space) throughout Bastion, with replicators each building specific parts. This still allows for customization, as the difference between structural pieces for a Solaris class and an Expanse class (the two most common) are relatively minor, even if the final project is quite different. Then the pieces are assembled, with the help of large structural robots, to the final product. The completed product is quite spartan, as adding customization doesn't require the Park, just a smaller replicator, but a full ship it is, enormously faster and requiring fewer people than a traditional factory, no matter how automated.
The military, especially the space force, has upscaled versions attached to their shipyards. Navy ships are more complex and require more replicators, but the Park concept still exists there, as well. It is said that the sight of one of these shipyards, with replicated armor and hull moving rapidly and assembling into the hull of the first Keter, once brought a Mechanicus Fabricator to tears, as what could have been a lifetime of work was being created at a pace more commonly seen in escorts.
These systems, for all their advancements, are massive power hogs. A full third of most Parks are devoted to energy production because more efficient Fusion just means you can build faster. However, as this is fusion, the byproducts are mostly harmless, and the Parks are remarkably clean in comparison to standard factories. The Parks, and replicators in general, have lead to a noticeable improvement in air quality standards in many Hive worlds, even after taking into account the more direct repairing of their environments.
There still exist some industries outside the Park system and replicators in general. Agriculture, for instance, and highly specialized work too complex for current generation replicators. However, they do reveal a weakness of sorts: there are just not as many manufacturing jobs available anymore. Thought on many civilized worlds this isn't a huge problem as most were employed outside of industry directly, and new options like Asteroid Mining are becoming more viable, there is definitely an unemployment crisis coming up. What happens to an Agriworld, for instance, when a replicator can make food more efficiently, with less shipping, and much more customizable?
AN: Many of these will probably need individual research to do, but will confer massive advantages when done.
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The Good C'Tan (Canon)(+10 to roll of your choice)
- Location
- Wherever I feel like being
- Pronouns
- He/Him
And here's part two
"For every sword, a shield."
Serras kept herself from fidgeting only with the greatest of self-control. The leadership of these "Transformers" had agreed to a meeting on the Forgeworld that they were trade partners with, a place called Ghennix. The city they were meeting in was the capital of the planet, a major trade center between the Transformers and the humans here. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but she was nervous. Everything that Mehtrya had told her of the Necrons unsettled her on a soul-deep level. But these Transformers, for all their superficial resemblance to the soul-less terrors that her friend had described, seemed to be their antithesis.
She had passed humans engaged in trade with the mechanical beings, ranging in size from as tall as a building in one case to very near human height. The people of Ghennix had shown absolutely no fear in their interactions, and while the Transformers were obviously careful of their smaller and squisher trade partners, they seemed to have a very close relationship with the people here. But what stood out to Serras the most was their presence in the warp. The Transformers blazed in the immaterium, like bonfires in the night. And their interactions with humanity seemed to stoke those fires, every positive emotion being caught and resonated, as if each Transformer were a crowd of people somehow condensed into a single point without pain or trauma.
Mehtrya was here with her, the Eldar watching with fascination as well as well-concealed shock as they wended their way to the meeting place that had been proposed by the Governor of Ghennix. Witwicky had a good head on his shoulders she mused, he'd recognized the need for a neutral space, and volunteered a small meeting hall near the edge of the city; then graciously allowed the Webway exploration troops to set up there and secure the building to their satisfaction.
Entering the building, Serras was gratified to see the troops ready and waiting, coming to attention and snapping off salutes so sharp they could cut glass. The Lieutenant that had made contact stepped forward. "Ma'am, perimeter is secure, situation is aces." She nodded, smiling slightly at the minor use of code to inform her that none of the troop was under duress.
"Very good. And the meeting room?" The Lt. nodded as the rest of the men went to parade rest.
"This way ma'am. Optimus Prime and Megatron arrived a couple minutes ago. The governor has provided local refreshments for the meeting." Unsaid was that the stuff had all been surreptitiously scanned for any trace of toxins. "Oh ma'am, avoid the cube things, I was told that the," his jaw worked over the unfamiliar word, "Energon, in them isn't safe for human consumption. Apparently it's the Transformer's main source of energy, though some of their factions are capable of digesting bio-matter." Serras smiled slightly at the extra information the man had slipped her; the Transformers apparently weren't completely homogenous in some ways. That… actually made it a little easier to relate to them. Then the Lt. paused, and she looked at him inquisitively.
"Ma'am, they brought a third with them. The Governor was a bit surprised, but according to Prime this one acts as the leader of one of the major factions; and was on-planet already. I think he's just here as an observer though. Polite, erudite… and ma'am to be frank he's intimidating as hell."
Serras took a small breath to prepare herself as they approached the doors, before looking down to Mehtrya. "Last chance, you don't have to be here if you don't want to be." The Eldar tossed her head, giving the Primarch an arch look.
"You know as well as I do that I'm not going anywhere. This must be investigated. Better to do it openly than risk unfortunate repercussions through covert operations. And it may be information that you need as well." She paused, raking a hand through her hair, before letting out the tiniest of sighs. "And my curiosity is incredibly roused by this whole situation, I will admit." Serras nodded, before reaching for the handles of the doors.
Walking in, she instinctively reached out with her psyker abilities… and very nearly tripped over her own feet. It was like she had walked through a lead-lined room into a veritable solar flare at point blank range. The two leaders of the Transformers were seated in chairs sized to them, and were in conversation with a third crimson and cream transformer that appeared to outmass either of them, if only marginally in Megatron's case. But what had stopped her was the sheer presence the three of them exuded in the Warp. It was incredible in close quarters, but seemed to be somehow contained, hiding them from discovery at long range; bleeding into the local warp and somehow grounding the power there rather than radiating out further. It was far more intense than anything she had seen from the Transformers on her way here.
The best comparison she could make was to herself and her brothers. While Megatron and the mysterious third were both otherwise mundane with no hint of access to the warp, Optimus Prime met her gaze and she felt the barest grazing of another mind, another Psyker. It was tentative and calming, before withdrawing. The three stood as she entered, her honor guard of Astartes taking up positions at the door. The Governor stepped forward from where he'd been seated to the side, giving a deep bow.
"Lady Serras, allow me to introduce my good friends and the leaders of the Transformers. Optimus Prime, diplomat and statesman." Optimus gave a short bow.
"It is an honor to meet you. Thank you again for agreeing to this meeting." Serras smiled slightly and bowed back.
"General Megatron, overall commander of the Transformer armed forces." Megatron grinned even as he gave his own short bow, displaying sharpened teeth that still somehow managed to give him a rakish expression.
"Your men are exemplary soldiers; they were of great assistance in covering the civilian retreat to the ground bridge. If we get the chance I'd enjoy comparing tactics with your commanders." Serras gave a small smile back along with another bow.
"Something to discuss in the near future, but I'm certain the General Command would be very interested in comparing tactical doctrine." Megatron nodded and acknowledged the point.
"And Predaking, leader of the Beast-former faction and a statesman in his own right." The newly identified Transformer bowed as well, and then in a move that was rather unexpected took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles. The sensation of warm mobile metal on her skins was… odd, to be sure.
"Lady Serras, truly an honor to meet a ruler of your magnitude and grace." Serras very nearly missed the exasperated but somewhat fond expression on Optimus' face, as well as the roll of the eyes that Megatron gave. And it was only her own control of her biological functions that kept a blush from breaking out on her cheeks.
"Thank you for the welcome. And may I introduce a dear friend of mine as well. This is Mehtrya, one of my mentors and a close friend." Megatron's brows rose as she brought attention to the Eldar (and wasn't that a shock, the Transformers had parts specifically meant to aid their communication through body language keyed towards human norms.)
"An Eldar…" the grey giant gently stroked his chin, before nodding. "I imagine certain facets of history have been shared with you then, and our race's resemblance to a certain threat?" Serras looked at him in surprise, and the Transformer chuckled. "As a general I also concern myself with the history of warfare and conflict. The legends our race has of our origin are rather intertwined with a conflict that shattered the very warp." He looked at Mehtrya knowingly as the Eldar's eyes widened in shock.
Optimus chose that point to speak. "Peace. My brother is correct, and it is something I believe that we must address before we can move forward in attempting to craft a bridge of understanding between the Bastion and ourselves. While the Witwicky family and Ghennix as a whole have been our close friends and allies, I would not force them to choose between re-establishing contact with their brethren, or maintaining the bonds we have built with them. Please," Optimus gestured to seats sized for Serras and two others sized for normal proportioned humanoids, "be seated."
Serras sat, looking at Optimus curiously. Mehtrya was barely able to control herself, the repeated surprises having completely destroyed the usually unflappable Eldar's equilibrium. Optimus nodded at Megatron, and the latter gestured, causing a hologram to spring to life.
"Cybertron. Our home… and according to our legends, our progenitor's very body." Optimus' voice was solemn. "But our legends speak of a time before Cybertron existed. Before our people as they are now were created." Optimus sighed heavily. "Before there was Cybertron… there were the C'tan. Beings of incalculable power and ethereal being, their bodies were almost pure cosmic energy. They were… parasitical, living a relatively simple existence siphoning energy from stars to feed themselves; before moving on to the next feast. Unheeding of the material world around them. Until they encountered a blighted race that had attempted to take by force what they considered their due; and been beaten soundly for their grasping ways. The Necrontyr." The hologram shifted, showing a sumptuously dressed but absolutely miserable looking humanoid.
"They managed to contact the C'tan, and through unheard of feats of engineering crafted bodies that would allow these ethereal creatures to condense their energies into a form that could touch and interact with the physical world. They wished to use their power to war upon the Old Ones, creatures of great power and greater intellect. The C'tan were… not as appreciative as one would think. Instead of taking joy in the great gift they had been given, they began to desire more influence, to extend their power in new directions."
Mehtrya shook her head slightly. "This is known to us, my people have… if not precisely detailed records, then some knowledge of this happening. The Necrontyr became abominations, soulless husks of metal and wrath, intending to wipe the universe clean of all life."
Optimus nodded sadly, even as Megatron smiled grimly. "Ah, but here is the question, Eldar. The Necron were crafted by ripping the minds of the Necrontyr, every man woman and child, from their physical bodies and implanting them in metallic shells. But," he raised a clawed finger, "what happened to their souls?"
Mehtrya gaped for a moment, before looking thoughtful. "All of our scholars agreed that their souls were consumed by the C'tan as a way to further empower them."
Optimus smiled gently. "Your scholars were mostly correct… except for one thing. You see, every race, even the most evil and vile, still has the potential to produce outliers. One such was the C'tan that simply named itself 'Primus'. It… he, was fascinated by the material world, and the Immaterium that reflected it. He studied, learned and gathered a small cadre of Necrontyr that were willing to set aside the seething envy and hate that had festered in their race for so long. He learned of the plans of the Deceiver, and recognized the danger of what would happen to the souls of the Necrontyr once their minds had been stripped from their bodies. To that end, he began a secret project. With the aid of his acolytes, the Thirteen, he took the husk of a dead star and began to change it, infusing it with necrodermis alloy, as well as other forms of technology. With the help of his psionically capable followers, he crafted a sort of trap in the immaterium. It served to divert the energies of the souls torn from their bodies, and channel it into the modified stellar body."
Megatron took up the tale then. "When the Necrontyr were… modified into the Necrons, and then subsequently enslaved; Primus used the secrets of the warp he'd uncovered in conjunction with his own power to save as many souls or even fragments of souls as he could. The souls of the Necrontyr were taken into his very being, even as Primus invested his essence into the planet-sized mass of metal he and his followers had prepared. The Thirteen themselves, the cadre of acolytes that had assisted in the execution of this plan, gave up their own physical forms, allowing their souls to join with the rest of their brethren to calm them. Then… the real work began. Primus sought to give the souls comfort, to allow them to have the full measure of the lives they had been denied. However the Necrontyr's souls on their own were… mangled, stunted and shredded by the C'tan's attempts to consume them. So Primus improvised. Using his acolytes as a sort of base, he gently bound up multiple compatible souls and fitted together the shards as best he could. Thus, he crafted the first Sparks."
Optimus once more took up the tale. "Primus was able to manipulate the material that composed his body. He crafted liquid-metal bodies, amalgams of necrodermis and other alloys, to create a housing for the Sparks of life he had created. Which he then introduced to these new proto-forms. The result was… unexpected, even to him. The interaction of multiple souls granted a certain flexibility of form to the resulting entities. They were able to create alternate forms, either based upon other life forms, machines left from the War in Heaven, or even a form of 'memory' recalling the craft that the soul fragments constituting a Spark had observed."
"Considering the experiment a success, Primus dubbed the new race 'Transformers', and the Thirteen as the first Primes, the new leaders of the fledgling race. In the centuries to come, we grew, evolved, adapted… There were periods of strife and even cataclysms that threatened our species. Primus eventually went dormant, to avoid drawing his brethren to his location or alerting the forming Warp entities of our location. Before he entered torpor, he enacted a… patch, one could say, on our framework and our Spark/Body interface. The psychic imprint we leave in the warp is scattered, like a laser hitting a many-faceted prism, keeping us relatively safe from warp entities, though it does curtail our race's ability to produce what you humans call Psykers. At best we have sages able to perform some basic divinatory acts, or attempt to commune with Primus and the Allspark for guidance."
Mehtrya looked absolutely fascinated. "Incredible. Absolutely incredible…" She looked confused then. "But, the Webway. How did you gain access to it?"
Optimus chuckled. "By complete accident. We found a complex on one of our expeditions into space, and our researchers were able to reverse engineer enough of it to allow us to break into the Webway. Combined with our race's unique physiology, we were able to create what we call "bridges". Minor tesseracts that act to allow us entrance into the Webway and move from point to point both on planet and in space. When we made contact with Ghennix, we were able to do a study of human physiology and adapt our short-range teleportation effects to accommodate them, though only in extreme emergencies."
Megatron once more took up the thread of the conversation. "From there we entered into an accord with our new neighbors. We aided them in defending their home in return for trade and the chance to exchange scientific knowledge. It has been a mutually advantageous arrangement, especially for ones like myself; who may have more than our fair share of battle-lust. It provides an outlet… and a certain perspective, battling alongside human forces." The deep blue eyes were introspective as he said this.
"And thus you have our story Lady Serras. Our race is one that would exist in peace with those would accept the hand of friendship. And a tenacious foe against those that would seek to harm those we call our own." Prime smiled gently at Serras, extending a hand. "I hope that our peoples may come together in friendship as strong as that we have forged with Ghennix and its inhabitants." Serras smiled as she shook the hand.
"I think we can come to an equitable arrangement."
AN: So, yeah. Megatron, Optimus and Predaking are all reincarnates of the Thirteen in this instance. Megatronus, the thirteenth Prime, and Onyx Prime respectively.
"For every sword, a shield."
Serras kept herself from fidgeting only with the greatest of self-control. The leadership of these "Transformers" had agreed to a meeting on the Forgeworld that they were trade partners with, a place called Ghennix. The city they were meeting in was the capital of the planet, a major trade center between the Transformers and the humans here. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but she was nervous. Everything that Mehtrya had told her of the Necrons unsettled her on a soul-deep level. But these Transformers, for all their superficial resemblance to the soul-less terrors that her friend had described, seemed to be their antithesis.
She had passed humans engaged in trade with the mechanical beings, ranging in size from as tall as a building in one case to very near human height. The people of Ghennix had shown absolutely no fear in their interactions, and while the Transformers were obviously careful of their smaller and squisher trade partners, they seemed to have a very close relationship with the people here. But what stood out to Serras the most was their presence in the warp. The Transformers blazed in the immaterium, like bonfires in the night. And their interactions with humanity seemed to stoke those fires, every positive emotion being caught and resonated, as if each Transformer were a crowd of people somehow condensed into a single point without pain or trauma.
Mehtrya was here with her, the Eldar watching with fascination as well as well-concealed shock as they wended their way to the meeting place that had been proposed by the Governor of Ghennix. Witwicky had a good head on his shoulders she mused, he'd recognized the need for a neutral space, and volunteered a small meeting hall near the edge of the city; then graciously allowed the Webway exploration troops to set up there and secure the building to their satisfaction.
Entering the building, Serras was gratified to see the troops ready and waiting, coming to attention and snapping off salutes so sharp they could cut glass. The Lieutenant that had made contact stepped forward. "Ma'am, perimeter is secure, situation is aces." She nodded, smiling slightly at the minor use of code to inform her that none of the troop was under duress.
"Very good. And the meeting room?" The Lt. nodded as the rest of the men went to parade rest.
"This way ma'am. Optimus Prime and Megatron arrived a couple minutes ago. The governor has provided local refreshments for the meeting." Unsaid was that the stuff had all been surreptitiously scanned for any trace of toxins. "Oh ma'am, avoid the cube things, I was told that the," his jaw worked over the unfamiliar word, "Energon, in them isn't safe for human consumption. Apparently it's the Transformer's main source of energy, though some of their factions are capable of digesting bio-matter." Serras smiled slightly at the extra information the man had slipped her; the Transformers apparently weren't completely homogenous in some ways. That… actually made it a little easier to relate to them. Then the Lt. paused, and she looked at him inquisitively.
"Ma'am, they brought a third with them. The Governor was a bit surprised, but according to Prime this one acts as the leader of one of the major factions; and was on-planet already. I think he's just here as an observer though. Polite, erudite… and ma'am to be frank he's intimidating as hell."
Serras took a small breath to prepare herself as they approached the doors, before looking down to Mehtrya. "Last chance, you don't have to be here if you don't want to be." The Eldar tossed her head, giving the Primarch an arch look.
"You know as well as I do that I'm not going anywhere. This must be investigated. Better to do it openly than risk unfortunate repercussions through covert operations. And it may be information that you need as well." She paused, raking a hand through her hair, before letting out the tiniest of sighs. "And my curiosity is incredibly roused by this whole situation, I will admit." Serras nodded, before reaching for the handles of the doors.
Walking in, she instinctively reached out with her psyker abilities… and very nearly tripped over her own feet. It was like she had walked through a lead-lined room into a veritable solar flare at point blank range. The two leaders of the Transformers were seated in chairs sized to them, and were in conversation with a third crimson and cream transformer that appeared to outmass either of them, if only marginally in Megatron's case. But what had stopped her was the sheer presence the three of them exuded in the Warp. It was incredible in close quarters, but seemed to be somehow contained, hiding them from discovery at long range; bleeding into the local warp and somehow grounding the power there rather than radiating out further. It was far more intense than anything she had seen from the Transformers on her way here.
The best comparison she could make was to herself and her brothers. While Megatron and the mysterious third were both otherwise mundane with no hint of access to the warp, Optimus Prime met her gaze and she felt the barest grazing of another mind, another Psyker. It was tentative and calming, before withdrawing. The three stood as she entered, her honor guard of Astartes taking up positions at the door. The Governor stepped forward from where he'd been seated to the side, giving a deep bow.
"Lady Serras, allow me to introduce my good friends and the leaders of the Transformers. Optimus Prime, diplomat and statesman." Optimus gave a short bow.
"It is an honor to meet you. Thank you again for agreeing to this meeting." Serras smiled slightly and bowed back.
"General Megatron, overall commander of the Transformer armed forces." Megatron grinned even as he gave his own short bow, displaying sharpened teeth that still somehow managed to give him a rakish expression.
"Your men are exemplary soldiers; they were of great assistance in covering the civilian retreat to the ground bridge. If we get the chance I'd enjoy comparing tactics with your commanders." Serras gave a small smile back along with another bow.
"Something to discuss in the near future, but I'm certain the General Command would be very interested in comparing tactical doctrine." Megatron nodded and acknowledged the point.
"And Predaking, leader of the Beast-former faction and a statesman in his own right." The newly identified Transformer bowed as well, and then in a move that was rather unexpected took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles. The sensation of warm mobile metal on her skins was… odd, to be sure.
"Lady Serras, truly an honor to meet a ruler of your magnitude and grace." Serras very nearly missed the exasperated but somewhat fond expression on Optimus' face, as well as the roll of the eyes that Megatron gave. And it was only her own control of her biological functions that kept a blush from breaking out on her cheeks.
"Thank you for the welcome. And may I introduce a dear friend of mine as well. This is Mehtrya, one of my mentors and a close friend." Megatron's brows rose as she brought attention to the Eldar (and wasn't that a shock, the Transformers had parts specifically meant to aid their communication through body language keyed towards human norms.)
"An Eldar…" the grey giant gently stroked his chin, before nodding. "I imagine certain facets of history have been shared with you then, and our race's resemblance to a certain threat?" Serras looked at him in surprise, and the Transformer chuckled. "As a general I also concern myself with the history of warfare and conflict. The legends our race has of our origin are rather intertwined with a conflict that shattered the very warp." He looked at Mehtrya knowingly as the Eldar's eyes widened in shock.
Optimus chose that point to speak. "Peace. My brother is correct, and it is something I believe that we must address before we can move forward in attempting to craft a bridge of understanding between the Bastion and ourselves. While the Witwicky family and Ghennix as a whole have been our close friends and allies, I would not force them to choose between re-establishing contact with their brethren, or maintaining the bonds we have built with them. Please," Optimus gestured to seats sized for Serras and two others sized for normal proportioned humanoids, "be seated."
Serras sat, looking at Optimus curiously. Mehtrya was barely able to control herself, the repeated surprises having completely destroyed the usually unflappable Eldar's equilibrium. Optimus nodded at Megatron, and the latter gestured, causing a hologram to spring to life.
"Cybertron. Our home… and according to our legends, our progenitor's very body." Optimus' voice was solemn. "But our legends speak of a time before Cybertron existed. Before our people as they are now were created." Optimus sighed heavily. "Before there was Cybertron… there were the C'tan. Beings of incalculable power and ethereal being, their bodies were almost pure cosmic energy. They were… parasitical, living a relatively simple existence siphoning energy from stars to feed themselves; before moving on to the next feast. Unheeding of the material world around them. Until they encountered a blighted race that had attempted to take by force what they considered their due; and been beaten soundly for their grasping ways. The Necrontyr." The hologram shifted, showing a sumptuously dressed but absolutely miserable looking humanoid.
"They managed to contact the C'tan, and through unheard of feats of engineering crafted bodies that would allow these ethereal creatures to condense their energies into a form that could touch and interact with the physical world. They wished to use their power to war upon the Old Ones, creatures of great power and greater intellect. The C'tan were… not as appreciative as one would think. Instead of taking joy in the great gift they had been given, they began to desire more influence, to extend their power in new directions."
Mehtrya shook her head slightly. "This is known to us, my people have… if not precisely detailed records, then some knowledge of this happening. The Necrontyr became abominations, soulless husks of metal and wrath, intending to wipe the universe clean of all life."
Optimus nodded sadly, even as Megatron smiled grimly. "Ah, but here is the question, Eldar. The Necron were crafted by ripping the minds of the Necrontyr, every man woman and child, from their physical bodies and implanting them in metallic shells. But," he raised a clawed finger, "what happened to their souls?"
Mehtrya gaped for a moment, before looking thoughtful. "All of our scholars agreed that their souls were consumed by the C'tan as a way to further empower them."
Optimus smiled gently. "Your scholars were mostly correct… except for one thing. You see, every race, even the most evil and vile, still has the potential to produce outliers. One such was the C'tan that simply named itself 'Primus'. It… he, was fascinated by the material world, and the Immaterium that reflected it. He studied, learned and gathered a small cadre of Necrontyr that were willing to set aside the seething envy and hate that had festered in their race for so long. He learned of the plans of the Deceiver, and recognized the danger of what would happen to the souls of the Necrontyr once their minds had been stripped from their bodies. To that end, he began a secret project. With the aid of his acolytes, the Thirteen, he took the husk of a dead star and began to change it, infusing it with necrodermis alloy, as well as other forms of technology. With the help of his psionically capable followers, he crafted a sort of trap in the immaterium. It served to divert the energies of the souls torn from their bodies, and channel it into the modified stellar body."
Megatron took up the tale then. "When the Necrontyr were… modified into the Necrons, and then subsequently enslaved; Primus used the secrets of the warp he'd uncovered in conjunction with his own power to save as many souls or even fragments of souls as he could. The souls of the Necrontyr were taken into his very being, even as Primus invested his essence into the planet-sized mass of metal he and his followers had prepared. The Thirteen themselves, the cadre of acolytes that had assisted in the execution of this plan, gave up their own physical forms, allowing their souls to join with the rest of their brethren to calm them. Then… the real work began. Primus sought to give the souls comfort, to allow them to have the full measure of the lives they had been denied. However the Necrontyr's souls on their own were… mangled, stunted and shredded by the C'tan's attempts to consume them. So Primus improvised. Using his acolytes as a sort of base, he gently bound up multiple compatible souls and fitted together the shards as best he could. Thus, he crafted the first Sparks."
Optimus once more took up the tale. "Primus was able to manipulate the material that composed his body. He crafted liquid-metal bodies, amalgams of necrodermis and other alloys, to create a housing for the Sparks of life he had created. Which he then introduced to these new proto-forms. The result was… unexpected, even to him. The interaction of multiple souls granted a certain flexibility of form to the resulting entities. They were able to create alternate forms, either based upon other life forms, machines left from the War in Heaven, or even a form of 'memory' recalling the craft that the soul fragments constituting a Spark had observed."
"Considering the experiment a success, Primus dubbed the new race 'Transformers', and the Thirteen as the first Primes, the new leaders of the fledgling race. In the centuries to come, we grew, evolved, adapted… There were periods of strife and even cataclysms that threatened our species. Primus eventually went dormant, to avoid drawing his brethren to his location or alerting the forming Warp entities of our location. Before he entered torpor, he enacted a… patch, one could say, on our framework and our Spark/Body interface. The psychic imprint we leave in the warp is scattered, like a laser hitting a many-faceted prism, keeping us relatively safe from warp entities, though it does curtail our race's ability to produce what you humans call Psykers. At best we have sages able to perform some basic divinatory acts, or attempt to commune with Primus and the Allspark for guidance."
Mehtrya looked absolutely fascinated. "Incredible. Absolutely incredible…" She looked confused then. "But, the Webway. How did you gain access to it?"
Optimus chuckled. "By complete accident. We found a complex on one of our expeditions into space, and our researchers were able to reverse engineer enough of it to allow us to break into the Webway. Combined with our race's unique physiology, we were able to create what we call "bridges". Minor tesseracts that act to allow us entrance into the Webway and move from point to point both on planet and in space. When we made contact with Ghennix, we were able to do a study of human physiology and adapt our short-range teleportation effects to accommodate them, though only in extreme emergencies."
Megatron once more took up the thread of the conversation. "From there we entered into an accord with our new neighbors. We aided them in defending their home in return for trade and the chance to exchange scientific knowledge. It has been a mutually advantageous arrangement, especially for ones like myself; who may have more than our fair share of battle-lust. It provides an outlet… and a certain perspective, battling alongside human forces." The deep blue eyes were introspective as he said this.
"And thus you have our story Lady Serras. Our race is one that would exist in peace with those would accept the hand of friendship. And a tenacious foe against those that would seek to harm those we call our own." Prime smiled gently at Serras, extending a hand. "I hope that our peoples may come together in friendship as strong as that we have forged with Ghennix and its inhabitants." Serras smiled as she shook the hand.
"I think we can come to an equitable arrangement."
AN: So, yeah. Megatron, Optimus and Predaking are all reincarnates of the Thirteen in this instance. Megatronus, the thirteenth Prime, and Onyx Prime respectively.
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So does this mean 'Unicron' is a C'tan that has become or will become a Chaos God due to having a link to the Immaterium but hates all life and the other members of Chaos? Basically the C'tan version of Malal but wants to 'End' everything in existence?
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A C'tan, yes. Not a Chaos God though. Primus himself didn't ascend either, not to that level.
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Is anyone else reminded of the Tau when you look at the Necrontyr's picture?
Sir LagsAlot
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Hey TempestK so uh your omake comes with a problem the Transformers didn't accurately describe what happened to the Necron's souls. In canon their souls were universally devoured by the C'tan with only the higher ranking Necron retaining any sort of free will after this. So in your omake either the transformers are straight up lying to us, are misinformed or you've just changed canon if Ilbgar wants to go that route.
Also researching scaling replicators and replicators that can produce food is a great idea Nihilo.
Also researching scaling replicators and replicators that can produce food is a great idea Nihilo.
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I'm changing the canon then I guess; because nothing I found in the wiki mentioned anything about the C'tan eating the souls of the Necrontyr. I found one mention of the C'tan drinking the "life energy" of the Necrontyr, but that's a separate instance from their souls as I understand it.
Edit: Part of the reason the C'tan wanted to wipe out all sentient life was because they couldn't touch the Warp anyway, from what I'm reading; so the souls weren't something that they could have eaten.
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Don't the C'tan consume the Bio-Energy/Electricity of their victims? Also during the mass Bio-transference event of the Necrontyr into Necrons, don't they still have souls? Just heavily degraded/faded away?
Sir LagsAlot
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Life energy from what we know is the soul and it was stated that during the Necrontyr's bio transference the C'tan fed upon the Necrontyr's life energy. Although the other assumption is that life energy represents a beings spirit rather then their soul but no one really knows what a spirit is and their is no other evidence that spirits exist so the only assumption that can be made is that life energy is souls and since the C'tan feed on energy they can feed on souls.
The Necron are stated to entirely lack souls unlike machine spirits and sentient beings. With the their strength of mind determining their left over intelligence.
Also the C'tan consume energy the Warp and Souls are just another type of energy in 40k so the C'tan can consume them even well they are totally immune to the Warp's effects.
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Except it's explicitly stated in all the wikis I went into that the C'tan can't touch the Warp on their own. But I'm going to let this argument go and just let the Boss decide.
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Sir LagsAlot
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Your mistaking the Warp for souls in this case as the Warp isn't made of souls and vice versa it's just that the Warp is usually the method that most beings use to interact with souls but it's not the only way to do so.
So the C'tan don't need to interact with the Warp or even by Psykers to devour souls AKA life energy.
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Okay, so do you have a suggestion that could maybe make this viable somehow? Because frankly everything I know about WH40K I know from fanfiction and quests.
Sir LagsAlot
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Just go with the C'tan lied to the transformers and they don't know. Maybe when we do some research we'll figure this out later IC. This way you don't really have to change anything and it's not like the Eldar would know any better since they weren't created at the time.
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So basically invalidate the entire premise and make Primus a sleeping villain?
Sir LagsAlot
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Him lying doesn't have to make him a villain. He could be equally misinformed or lying for the benefit of the Transformers I mean for all we know he tried to save as many Necrontyr souls as he could and then spat what was left of them into transformers later.
Although it's up to you as long as it is your omake.
King Arthur
The Once and Future King
As is the grand Warhammer tradition.
Sir LagsAlot
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It's all cool we've all been corrected on something or another related to lore at some point on this thread. It's just a part of posting on an online form and were all the better for it as we move forward with a better grasp of the universes lore.
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I'm going with the interpretation that Primus misled them. He did manage to save some souls, which is where the Primes came from, but the other Sparks were part of the reason he went dormant. He invested so much of himself into them that he grew increasingly lethargic. He would have gone dormant eventually anyway, but the slowly awakening Chaos gods, the threat of the C'Tan detecting them (Primus didn't know they'd been shattered because he went out of his way to hide in the most remote star system he could find) and possibly and extremist Eldar factions was more than enough for him to hibernate early, after making sure the Transformers wouldn't have to deal with Warp nonsense.