By the Will of the Machine God

[012345]

The chamber was vast.

Everything was still. Everything was cold.

The chamber was old.

There were signs of battle/struggle/VICTORY! just few years old.

The chamber was full of machinery older than many civilizations.

Then there was change. A movement/noise as a gate high as hills are tall began to open.

The procession of Faithfull have entered.

It was not cautious. It was not quiet.

The procession had tools/arms/gifts of Divine a plenty. It had sounds of Prayer shouted from lips/speakers to declare to World.

They came to reclaim/repair/heal that what was stolen/broken/WRONG.

It was twelve Adepts.

For number is Holy.

Each leading twelve Servitors.

For number is Holy.

Each fallowed by twelve Servo-skulls of Faithfull.

For number is Holy.

For their mission is Holy/RIGHT.

And it just started.

---

Twelve times they journeyed throught chamber visiting each machine.

Each time leaving behind trail of incense to calm Spirits of Machines even as eyes/sensors didnt move from needles of Warp Geigers to seek out any taint left behind.

For number is Holy.

Only after such pilgrimage was finished did they move to first machine up close.

And so they checked its records for what it was. What is its task. And what ills it.

And so Motive Force gave them answer First.

Then they queried Machines Spirit for what it was. What is its task. And what ills it.

And as Omnissiah decried it answered Second.

Finaly they look at it with their own senses and reasoned for what it was. What is its task. And what ills it.

And so Machine God enlighted them closer to Divine.

---

The work was meticulous as each Machine was examined if it can be brought to back to its function.

And so they cheered for its return from being Lost.

If it broken beyond their means to right and so will have its crude matter recast in another shape.

And so they grieved and Prayed for Machine Spirit to be reborn into new life.

Or if Demons passage left it to twisted even after its banishment to let it exist.

And so they wept and let World know their Hatred as they broke what remained to deny Heresy any hold over anything.

Thus do we invoke the Machine God.
Thus do we make whole that which was sundered.​

---

The true work began as they started repairing what was left.

To bring new life and purpose to Machines older then their Order.

To not just bring them back to what was in past.

But to guard them for future.

To each be taken into their parts.

And for each part to be incribed.

With Wards of Protection.

So they are safe from Empyreal.

With Words of Hatred.

So that Demon will knows Pain.

With Words of their Purpose.

So that Machine will always Remember what it is.

Lines of Inscribtions fallowing from parts input to its output.

So that Motive Force will empower them.

All Warded.

From smallest cable and bolt.

Up to entire Machine when assembled back.

So that Heretical will find no hold in future.

As it should be.

The soul of the Machine God surrounds thee.
The power of the Machine God invests thee.
The hate of the Machine God drives thee.
The Machine God endows thee with life.
Live!​

---

AN. So basicaly I thought how would our guys go over industrial areas that after Conquest were for sure set aside for their own use even as other bigger Factions would gobble most of stuff that was taken from Conquest.

And that how it ended.

 

[Ancient One]

Material Studies

One thing was quickly becoming clear to the Empyric Engineers. Their work was only truly starting. The dangers of the warp were manifold and would not wait for them. There was so much work that needed to be done.

It was their goal to find ways to not only overcome the madness of the immaterial, but to conquer it and wield it. To impose the logic of the machine guard upon its chaos and channel that infinite possibility into something more constructive. For now though they needed ways to actually reliably do so. Means by which to safely access that power. The tools to build the tools so to speak.

There in lay the issue. The warp was a corrupting and destructive force. It twisted and violated materials that it came into contact with. The campaign into the depths of Mars had proven that much. The dread AI was proof that the empyrean could twist machinery in all manner of ways. To say nothing of the other machines created. Daemon possessed automatons had rushed their lines blasting scrap code and shifting in unnatural ways. Moving like beasts and crazed berserkers in a way that should have been impossible with their original design and programming.

They needed a way to counteract the corruption. Their current ward schematics were useful, but in the long-term would be insufficient. Battle gave far too many opportunities for such to happen. With that in mind, they had begun work on new psy tools and machinery. It was proving to be difficult however due to the aforementioned issues.

They needed a way to better overcome the corruption of the warp without being overly reliant on the warding. Gellar fields were useful but needed time to produce and deploy. They also ran the risk of mechanical failures common in advanced devices. No what they required was something more expensive yet simple to use. Something that could be widespread throughout their forces with minimal maintenance requirements.

So they had arrived at their conclusion that they required better materials. Something that they could use to fend off the predation of the impossible energies.

First and foremost was the need for resistance to the Warp. A material that could be used to protect against witchcraft and the passive influence of lingering energies. Something that would let them act within contaminated areas with succumbing. Ideally without the need for the ward designs though they of course be incorporated.

This could not be taken too far though. Many of their devices worked by measuring or exploiting some piece of the warp. They could not afford for the energies of the Immaterium to be pushed away like that. To say nothing of effects on sensitive devices like Warp Drives. Perhaps cogitators could be encased in such materials to protect against scrap code. Or layered armor with the wards hidden below an outer shell.

The vaunted phase iron could be a starting point for this research.

Secondly they needed materials that could channel the energies. Like how a circuit channels of electricity they needed a way to safely control the impossible energies. Tie them to principles of the material to make them predictable and measurable. This would be essential in the construction of devices harnessing the energies.

Such a material with the warding schematic engraved within could be very potent indeed. The wards themselves were psychic phenomena and could not be inhibited. Though it could also become hazardous if it became infected with passive corruption. They will need to find a balance between its ability of the channel energy, and yet contain it safely in predictable manners.

Perhaps examination of electro weaponry could yield some insights. The entire principle behind such devices was to channel large amounts of energy safely in a controlled manner.

@Khororhoth

 

[012345]

While development of Warp Geigers opened countless new possibilities in military doctrines of Mars with how simple it was in form and function, such would be ignoring the sheer effort needed during its creation.

For while most either dont want to think or know of it, since Age of Strife began materium realm within entire galaxy was a washed in constant low tides of Empyreal power.

It was those tides being themself but a pale shadow of storms ravaging Warp that by leaking into reality caused the bloom of out of control psykers that in turn ravaged worlds of Humanity.

Which also meant that any detector of those energies would be buried under a constant barrage of positive results that are of no difference to everyday life.

To make it into a device useful for any operations out of laboratory setting required titanic effort.

Effort to gather data on its readings in all manner of situations so to assemble enough to construct statistical models.

Entire years of gathering data not just from Warp Geigers used in different situations but also accompanying data from all possible sensors and reports attached to those sorted by every second that then needed sorting.

All to correlate in what way both sets of data affected each other or not.

To know that masses of menials moving to their work stations wasnt instead a single weak Warp manifestation near.

To difference a God-Machine waking up for test of its shell from tide of energy from Warp being higher that day.

To know if Demon is right behind the door instead of an entire mountain away.

To distinguish Demon infested wargear pulled from Vaults from a piece of archeotech.

But when all of that data was being assembled into an algorithm on how Warp changing affected Geigers reading, lead Tech Acolyte had an epiphany.

For as Saint Nitoon 3rd Excerpt declared that if Warp Geiger was affected by Warp in consistent manner, then couldnt in return Warp Geiger affect Warp in consistent manner?

---

That realization led to entirely different project, Geigers warp reactive/ressonant mechanism were tested.

Deep within Ephemeralis Astra Castellum heavily warded bulk special room was prepared.

Where not just were walls of it were warded with utmost care but so did all rooms around it.

Favors were exchanged to acquire a limited amount of priceless phase iron that none knew how to produce anymore.

All to create environment as warp null and cut out from outside effects of it as possible.

So that when test begin, there would be no doubt from where a result came from.

And so work began.

First at most simple level where they tried to simply inverse Geigers function so that its parts would affect Warp.

Yet, such didnt made any effect on banks of detectors in room walls.

So they started months long work of trying different ways to cause a detectable reaction.

It took effort until priesthood in a way stumbled upon situation their beastly ancestors stumbled in ages past.

They got a reaction.

And so as those ancestors of theirs no different from other monkeys when they found/made their sticks.

They started pocking with it to see what happens as it is in humanities nature to do when faced with something new/unknown.

---

Enlarging devices.

Using more power.

Using it in patterns/sequences based on Holy Numbers or Payers rhythms.

Making entire banks/arrays of them in parallels.

All of those just to see what kind of different reaction they got.

Yet, all came upon fundamental issue.

They were like blind person trying to reason out shape of world from feeling they got from single of their body hairs.

A swarm of pixel points within the entire night sky.

Until an opportunity came upon them.

One of great danger but also of greater reward if successful.

For one of routine patrols had detected a psyker newly awakened to their power among menial population.

Their power feeble and psyker itself unskilled leading to being easily subdued instead of needing to killed by warded automata.

Heavily sedated and covered in wards psyker was of no danger and normal procedure would be to kill them.

And yet if used they could provide a window into Warp.

Akin to letting previous blind person to finally see.

There were arguments and discussions yet in end it was decided it was worth of risks.

So began process of preparing of psyker for its purpose.

Its skin and muscles would be unneeded and so went away.

Even as limbs themself where cut away nerves in them were preserved and reeled in for none knew what truly made one a psyker but their Soul/brain.

Remaining exposed bones and skull in particular were inscribed with wards to shield them.

Organs were replaced with systems to keep them living yet their hormones controlled.

Their eyes, ears, tongue similarly replaced so to cut of their senses or edit them as needed.

Top of skull carefully opened up to expose brain to record its patterns.

For while none knew what truly made a psyker one all were interested in changing state of such knowledge.

So having chance everything about psyker was measured.

From their blood, bones and organs being disassembled to their atoms for patterns to seeing how their neurons wound up in their brain even as their knots were slowly straightened up.

For so long their were unsure what made them a psyker Acolytes were unwilling to remove more then needed from psyker least they stop being one.

And so their brain was unfolded out of their skull and as it hung like a spiders web above psyker delicate strands were woven into it.

Finest mind machine interface possible warded with care connected to each part of psykers brain to know their inner thoughts/sensations better then psyker itself ever would.

Filigrenine veins letting them administer hormones/drugs/enzymes to singular neural clusters if desired to affect psykers thoughts.

All so that when slowly woken up they would have total access and control over psykers mind.

And what it perceived with its power.

---

Next came pure progress as their never had.

For now they finally could SEE into Warp.

They had to filter it through psyker and metaphors it perceived it as but it was magnitudes better they had previously.

Warp Detectors were reaching new heights of precision when they could easly see what they reacted to instead of guessing by interference with materium.

New designs for them and tools to affect Warp were made as warp resonant/reactive materials were created in much bigger amounts by directing psykers power into their easier creation.

That then were shaped into new patterns calculated by observations or grown into organic shapes mimicking psykers own neuron clusters for different effects.

Until disaster struck.

---

After Bloodletters struck, first reactions were to blame outbreak on bound psyker.

Yet months long investigation have shown that protections have held.

None liked conclusion its was random chance that caused disaster.

For that there were nothing that they did wrong and yet simple fickle chance could cause them to be struck down by Warp.

Especially when they were reminded that Demon were not of this world.

That they were not bound by its rules even as they were struck by their weapons.

And yet something had to be done to be better next time.

Wards were seen as answer as always and yet while inscribed automata could contests Demons in melee one would prefer to strike them down from afar to at least keep automata undamaged.

And yet wards could not be yet inscribed on many energy weapons of priesthood.

While trying such on stubber bullets would mean enormous effort for little effect when their enemies lacked weakness of flesh.

An alternative were looked for in archives until one possible was found.

An older, simpler design that could work.

To strike Demons and rip them apart as physical weapons would do from a range while also not being a waste of effort.

A bolter.

---

There sat a servo skull in the workshop.

Wired it was into an engraving device.

Day after day it directed it to work on bolter shells brought before it.

It inscribed upon them words.

Words of full of HATE!/ANGER!/DEATH! for Demon.

For that skull knew those things.

They were a parent in live.

Whose saw their child and mate be stuck by Demon.

Hate and Anger filled their mind even as they grabbed a lose tool and struck Demon.

They died.

But by chance so did Demon that struck them down in turn.

They were found.

Their body dead yet that was not an obstacle to still serve Faith.

For others saw their act and their knew power in its story.

And so now their tool recast into new shape for their usage they write their Hate/Anger.

Stronger then before.

Stronger then any human could ever feel as by arcane means they are brought to ever higher peaks of HATE!/ANGER!/DEATH! for Demon as they constantly relive that moment.

So that bolter shells they work on carry a shadow of their feelings/action and Hate all Demons.

---

Wooh.

This took a while to write out and look over for obvious mistakes but it just couldnt leave my mind until I finished.

For possible reward for it maybe an upgrade to Trait "The Procession of 12" from my previous omake?

 

[012345]

The battle have ending didn't mean the work was done.

Quite the opposite, in fact as titanic effort to repair equipment and workshop rooms of Castellum began to be obvious to Ætheric Engineer's as they examined their station for damage created in battle.

Never mind the need to find and educate replacements for all Acolytes lost to Demons.

Yet such efforts paled to work that needed to be done by Tech Priests in Noosphere.

For it was the second time in recent years that Demons have struck halls of Castellum.

For some, it means the need to reexamine their battle doctrines, as Warp attacked them in their labs and workshops instead of them going into lost sectors of Mars.

As they came without warning en masse within their defenses, instead of being hunted down in groups over days among the ruins of Mars glory.

And yet, even as such task loomed before them, there was an even bigger one with greater weight and possible reward.

For Demons have attacked Castellum twice.

For Demons have attacked the Ætheric Engineer's seat of power.

For Demons have attacked the Ætheric Engineer's center of their effort for Enlightenment/Knowledge.

For Demons have attacked the Ætheric Engineer's and exposed themselves to all of theirs collection of sensors used for Warp research.

And so that meant there were entire cogitator towers full of gathered data to shift through to see what nuggets of insight they may have.

---

From the start, it was known much could be gained from such effort.

And yet, such knowledge quickly paled when confronted with the realization of just how much they actually gathered thanks to decades of work upon Castellums structure.

For they had no just simple snapshots of Demons to dive into for data.

But entire sequence of events they have undertaken while on station.

And beyond.

For station's sensors saw the beginning of the attack as Warp began to metaphorically boil right before it surged into stations rooms, spewing Demons into Materium.

They saw as Demons came from within Immaterium into Materium, seemingly materializing from thin air to human senses. Each copy of each other, yet having different Stories to themselves despite common core.

They saw as they battled Ætheric Engineer's defenses overwriting Laws of Physics to enact their Stories upon Ward's refuting them with their own Narratives, even as they were smashed by physical implements.

They saw as defenders surged back in the end, winning and banishing Demons to go back scattered into Warp and yet already starting reforming back before they went too far away in its nonsensical dimensions to detect.

They had entire Vaults of corrupted artifacts to examine. Each with wonderful abilities and more terrible costs to them.

And in each one of those things, they saw one thing in common.

They lost many Acolytes to this work, despite their safeties.

But they had it.

They had the Shape of Demons.

And what was at its core.

BLOOD and WAR

And more importantly, they recognized the edges in Demon's Shapes.

One that cost them they cybernetised psyker to See.

An image that could be reasoned of existing when enough of such Edges were examined to feel out its own Shape.

They lacked enought of such Edges to get its Name.

And so they Titled it The Demon King, the one behind attacks on them.

One that already interrupted their work twice and would for sure try again in the future.

And yet now they had its Servant Shapes and road to get its in future.

So it was time to Sharpen their Edge to kill them.

First, its Infernal Court.

Then to topple Demon King.

---

So first of all its often a thing especially in 30k that nobody knows of Chaos Gods or their names.

Hell even in 40k there are many Cults or Xenos that don't know Fours Big Names using some lesser titles or distorted names despite their proper Names/Symbol shown to have some serious power by themself.

So getting it know to us would be important, especially as its knowledge and nature of its existence would by time of GC be know to most of Mars and many Forgeworlds.

And for title of Demon King.

Well for Mechanicum there is only one god. Deus Mechanicus/Machine God. And so its Heresy to imply other Gods being a thing. And yet they need to somehow categorize them especially when they reason out other three being around/Names.

So instead of canon clasification of lesser/greater/exalted/God Demons of Chaos they may go for Ars Goetia nobility like ranking of Demons with King at head of its Court.

Also I dont expect any possibility of 'killing' Chaos Gods untill we at least have Divine for everything in all tech trees.

Sorry for double posting but wanted the omake to be alone in post.