Chapter 15 Part 6

Chapter 15: Our enemies bring us together

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Part 6

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Victory Bay

Kronus

There was one dubious benefit to incarceration. It left you in peace and quiet to run simulations on the topics that interested you. While not as good as actual hands-on research, it wasn't like Karom had the free time for that. There were too many busy-bodies around, not to mention, all the people who got themselves torn up and someone, like him, had to put back together. That at least wasn't that bad. There were so many interesting wounds and other assorted injuries caused by exotic alien weaponry, radiation, toxins… Combat and its aftermath could be precious sources of data. And when you were one of the persons putting the Guards back together, they tended to appreciate it and do more than usual to keep you alive.

That was as good a deal someone like him could get these days. Such arrangements had saved him before, and imprisonment notwithstanding saved him again. Karom doubted that if he hadn't been vital to patching the Inquisitor up, Veil would have been merely content to leave him to his own devices. Instead, he might have had Karom shot when the Magos tried to share what he learned.

The typical arrangement proved useful once again. Just after a few days of peace, the guards let him out. People needed his expertise, as expected.

Karom dutifully followed and stretched his electronic senses around. The noosphere, as pathetic as it was on Kronus, was abuzz with news. An alliance with the Necrons was in the making, one of a more permanent sort. While it was unlikely they had to offer much that would interest him, the prospect of getting his hands dirty did make him happy. The more new technology, alien or not, there was to distract his colleagues the better. That way, the other Tech-priests, would be even more likely than usual to leave him alone!

Karom's guards led him to a field hospital with heavy security – there was at least a regiment busy digging in, along with a lot of heavy equipment. Swarms of the Necron Drones filled the sky. A large number of their Warriors patrolled the area scanning for threats as well. That was enough to confirm what he already deduced – someone important got themselves blown up or worse, and he would have to stitch them back up. Doing so was usually trivial but still important.

The Magos Biologis passed by several choke-points and under the searching eyes of many scanners. Finally, he reached a large, mostly empty operating room. An unfamiliar human woman stood by the operating table flanked by three colorful and very large Necrons, who barely fit into the operating theater. A man in blue-tinted carapace armor laid strapped in securely on the table.

Perhaps he had to keep a prisoner alive for interrogation? He hadn't done that lately.

"Karom Beta 31?" The woman demanded.

"Yes." He answered simply and to the point.

"Inquisitor Amberley Vail." She raised an arm that was hidden by her body, showing her symbol of office.

Karom sent an inquiry and got back valid codes.

"Lady Inquisitor." He bowed. "How can I be of assistance?"

"We have a group of soldiers and a fellow Inquisitor under the influence of alien mind-control technology. They might have been subjected to further mental conditioning."

Brainwashing she meant.

"You want my aid to reverse the process?" Karom perked up. This was new and exciting! He already liked this Inquisitor!

"Inquisitor Veil recommended your talents, and here we are."

Karom had to concede that the young Inquisitor might not be so bad after all, even if he overreacted over the Magos merely doing his job.

"These are Crypteks Zaa of Tomorrow," The Inquisitor pointed at the largest and most ornate machine, "Seeker of Truth," that was the closest and smallest one, "and last but not the least, Cryptek Novis of Arkay. They're familiar with the technology in question and will offer their expertise in removing it. Corporal Victor Sentensa here volunteered to be the first subject you'll work on. I'll leave it to you. You'll have access to any resources you need within reason."

The Inquisitor left with those words.

"Greetings in the name of the Omnissiah." Karom decided that being very polite might be in his best interest. "What do we have to deal with?"

"Mind-shackle Scarabs." The largest Necron spoke in a surprisingly normal-sounding, not to mention polite and erudite voice.

A crystal clear hologram appeared above their patient, showing the man's insides in incredible detail. The image zoomed in on the head, briefly flickering through skin and bone until it showed a deep scan of the brain. It was a real-time projection of what was happening inside right now. While Karom had worked with blessed medical equipment with similar capabilities, it tended to be rather large, and quite rare. There wasn't a single example on Kronus. Perhaps the Astartes' Apothecaries had something like it on their ship in orbit.

What got Karom's attention, in particular, were the thousands of glowing green machines within the brain, most of them in the cortex region. They had no business being there.

"We need to get those out while keeping the subjects functional." Zaa of Tomorrow stated the obvious. "The usual counter-measures we have against them will prove messy and fatal if used on something as fragile as mere flesh and blood."

Karom nodded, while silently agreeing. It was surprising, or perhaps not, that the Necrons shared the Mechanicus disdain for mere flesh. They had discarded it, after all, he had to remind himself. Those three were prime examples of what the Tech-priests saw as the pinnacle of evolution. He vowed to ask some leading questions about how they achieved such a feat while working on the current project.

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Necron Stronghold

The Thur'Abis Plateau

Kronus

Necron facilities rose from the ground, casting long shadows. A veil of artificial clouds saturated with energy and tiny machined provided cover from aerial and orbital observation. It would also shred most airborne treats that attempted to pass through and would disperse energy weapon strikes offering additional protection.

Drones and simple-minded warriors busied themselves with clearing up the area, making it properly presentable, not that the facilities themselves were active and well defended. The sight alone almost made Amarkun content. The multiple weapon emplacements ensuring they wouldn't be taken out of orbit surely helped in that regard.

Herald of Victory phased through the ground and offered him a sphere.

"Here it is. A hard copy of the data we agreed to share."

The Nemesor would have smiled if he still could. He interfaced with the well-protected data repository. An exchange of all the necessary codes followed. Then he had to pass an additional authentication process, before finally gaining access to the data. His filters went on overdrive while he scanned the information and got a copy within his memory. While he wasn't a Cryptek, Amarkun was familiar enough with how their technology worked to conclude that everything appeared legit.

Data on anti-warp Pylon research, including the schematics and research notes for multiple models with different effects and capabilities. Data on War in Heaven Pariah research, which indicated interesting parallels between ancient Necron efforts to counter trans-dimension entities and phenomena and the Human Pariahs. Scans and a stealthily taken blood sample from the Pariah child Selene proved the commonality further. What was the relationship between the Necrons and the Humans?

That was yet another thing they had to investigate.

Next was data on other assorted Null-tech research, which would provide marginal to moderate upgrades for the Nepheru Dynasty.

Finally, he received raw combat data and military analysis of encounters with trans-dimensional entities falling under the designation Chaos Forces.

When all was said and done, Amarkun in particular and his Dynasty, in general, would profit mightily from answering the call for help. In exchange, they were going to provide military support, access to resources from orbital mining, and most importantly, naval support and transport.

It was more than a reasonable exchange for what Amarkun already gained and might yet gain from future research conducted on Kronus. A problem that had always plagued research in countermeasures against trans-dimensional incursions was the lack of willing subjects with access to abilities fueled by such energies. In the fullness of time, the alliance with the Humans might change that and offer new insights.

"The bargain is well struck, Nemesor Amarkun the Gatherer." Herald of Victory declared after Amarkun confirmed he received what the Planetary Lord promised.

"Bargained well and done, Herald of Victory." They sealed the exchange with ancient words, which while mostly fallen out of use, were still important to many. Then it was the turn for the more modern and binding exchange of digital signatures and long code sequences.

"Do you have anything to add about tonight's negotiations?"

"We have an accord about the goals we'll pursue and the restitution we'll offer. My Crypteks have the gifts finalized."

"Mine as well."

There was little more to say about tonight. The Necrons spent the rest of the early evening discussing the implications of Trazyn being active for at least nine thousand years. The number of artifacts he might have stolen in that time and their origin. It was concerning to consider what else he had taken from the Humans and how they might react if they became aware of the thievery.