Shrill alarms echoed through every corridor of the Warship like the death cries of a dying beast.
The vast hull, which had been operating steadily moments before, now shuddered ominously and groaned with the sound of twisting metal.
The lights flickered, and the air reeked of scorched, overheated wiring and an almost imperceptible, acrid odor like metallic dust. The invading Nanocloud was eating away at the systems.
After the bridge issued its highest emergency directive, the entire Warship plunged into a frantic, chaotic struggle to save itself, like an anthill torn open.
Deep within the Warship, the Main Power Conduit Array Chamber, as magnificent as a cathedral and packed with thick power conduits and enormous valves, had become the front line of this battle for survival.
It carried power from the main reactor to the Lance Battery at the prow—the Warship's "artery."
Karathos, an Adeptus Mechanicus Sage, and more than twenty Tech-Priests had gathered around the control console at the center of the array chamber.
Their brains were linked directly to the Warship's core systems through data cables. They tried to build firewalls with binary hymns and purification prayers, fighting the nanite tide that seeped into every opening while activating the system's internal purging routines.
Their augmetic eyes flashed frantically, and their mechanical appendages twitched spasmodically as they waged a silent, ferocious digital war incomprehensible to those around them.
"System defense routines activating... resistance encountered..."
"Purification protocol loading, 37%... Nanite Swarm replicating..."
"Restart failed! Physical isolation of Sector Seven's power conduit required!" Even Sage Karathos's emotionless electronic voice took on a hint of urgency.
Meanwhile, the captain's orders roared from every functioning loudspeaker, drowning out the alarms. **"We can't just wait! All crew, to your stations immediately! Activate shipwide manual override protocols! Repeat, manual operation! We must fire before the