Chapter 357 (2/2)
Each of the robed figures had learned their lessons. Taken by those who understood the secrets of dark forbidden science to a place where they had all the time they needed to understand the nature of life and death and the dark science in between.
All of them looked as if they were wearing close fitting armor that was somehow biological yet mechanical at the same time. A light drinking black material that pulsed with a life of its own. All of them had the burning eagle in molten warsteel on their chests. There eyes were burning chrome that leaked smoke as violet as the skies they had stared out for eternal moments.
Shuffling silent workers brought forth heavy pieces of equipment. Each piece of equipment was put in its proper place and slowly a form took shape.
Heavy footpads with four claw-like toes evenly spread. Heavily armored legs, the thick armor concealing pistons, gears, drive-belts, and struts. Articulated hips to allow the legs to move and provide stability to the torso portion. The torso was large, blocky, heavily armored. Gaps were in the armor, the weapons that would normally be mounted there missing. The arms were missing below the elbow, the implanted weaponry being built to the side by technicians who had devoted lifetimes into studying exactly how to put the custom built jewel mechanism machinery together.
It had no head. No reason to provide a small target.
The torso was open, the main hatch opened to reveal the armor was a foot thick of warsteel laminate armor. Inside the torso were complex mechanisms with a dark and terrible purpose, created and imagined by dark minds unfettered by something as simple as morality.
Finally, the mechanisms were prepared, the massive machine trembling slightly, not with the power of the reactor that drove its mighty heart, but with terrible purpose.
The rent and damaged body of the Telkan was brought forth. The wound below the ribcage, where the rest of his body had been obliterated, was sealed with thick biomechanical tissue. The missing arm was sealed at the stump. Covering his face was a heavy mask, more akin to a skull than a living creature. It was bolted to the Telkan, the heavy warsteel bolts sunk into the bone structure.
The chest rose and fell slowly as the mask inflated and contracted.
On the bare flesh of the chest implanted metal gleamed and shined. Cybernetics, something largely unheard of for the Telkan people, invaded the body, giving purpose to the surrounding tissue.
The body was lifted, kneeling Telkan reciting prayers from the Book of Telkan, and placed in the opened torso of the massive machine.
Technicians dark and terrible moved in, connecting the quasi-corpse to the machine. Heavy probes went into the skull, the drill bit biting deep into the bone to bring forth a gush of blackish blood. The probes were sunk deep into the neural tissue, microscopic filaments squirming out of the probes to link up with neural tissue.
The one remaining eye opened at one point, the pupil contracting, and the quasi-corpse writhed for a half second before going limp.
The technicians secured the damaged body into the massive machine, sometimes cruelly with heavy warsteel bolts, other times with gentle webs of cloth woven from the shed down of podlings, other times without emotion using plasteel straps.
The body was protected from kinetic shock, radiation, sound, biological hazards. One by one each threat of the modern battlefield was negated as best as the silent technicians could create it. Once it was done the empty internal spaces were packed with specially woven cloth inscribed with runes, prayers, and symbols of faith and devotion.
The inner lining was closed. Parchments inscribed with prayers were pasted to the metal alloy. More shock dampening was added.
The outside of the hull was closed. Two black armored foot tall mantids were lifted up and placed gently in the twin housings on the upper rear of the torso, covered with padding, and the shells closed.
Computers, nearly covered with strips of paper inscribed with prayers, whirred to life. Ancient style storage platters spun up with a scraping whine. Nanorelays and cyberware linkages clattered to life, clicking to themselves.
The gathered Telkan, one of which still reading from the Book of Telkan, watched as the great machine shuddered and shivered.
The blackish-bronze alloy square in the middle of the chest, just above the burning eagle, suddenly lit up with a gold light.
A rune slowly inscribed itself on the alloy square.
KAPPA
”Arise, Kappa, and serve!” the Telkan with the book cried out.
There was silence for a long moment.
”Beyond death, I still serve, buoyed by the laughter of podlings,” the massive machine intoned.
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In the wreckage of a city on a small planet a puff of purple smoke erupted, billowing out to cover a large area before suddenly vanishing, sucking back into itself and disappearing with a purple flash.
Standing in the wreckage was a massive war machine. One arm terminating in a powerful four fingered clamp with a plasma napalm ejector at the palm. The other arm a heavy tri-barrel autocannon capable of tearing through the heaviest armor. Its chest contained mortars to provide indirect fire support, battlescreen projectors better fit to ships of the line, and was covered in runes.
It stood still for a moment, the only sound the wind making mournful noises as it moved over the heavy armor.
Finally it raised a thick antenna and broadcast a simple message.
”Warbound Kappa. Online and awaiting instruction. Even beyond death, I still serve.”
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AKLTAK SOARING WORLDS
I don't know about that. Are you sure you should do that?
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
TELKAN FORGE WORLDS
What's wrong with it?
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
TNVARU GRIPPING HANDS
Where did you learn to do that kind of thing?
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
TELKAN FORGE WORLDS
The Imperium of Wrath guys that Daxin leads.
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
TNVARU GRIPPING HANDS
Oh. OK.
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
AKLTAK SOARING WORLDS
I still don't know about this.
I wish TerraSol and the others were here to talk about this.
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
TNVARU NEW WORLDS
So do I.
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---
TELKAN FORGE WORLDS
Yeah. It really feels lonely without them.
---NOTHING FOLLOWS---