Angels descend

"Iax." Vashul repeated Iax's name, then nodded silently.

This information was knowledge, too. Perhaps it was of no use just yet, but someday it might prove useful in an unexpected way.

"Iax, it's impossible for you to have an audience with the Emperor. Even if you did meet him, you might not be able to communicate with him."

As Vashul spoke, he took the opportunity to stroke Iax's mechanical arm, handling it as though it were an exquisite work of art, his eyes burning with fervor.

Iax's emotional perception system, meanwhile, conveyed a distinctly skin-crawling sensation.

He had never experienced anything like it before.

"What do you mean?" Iax carefully moved his arm away, making sure no sudden movement killed the biomechanical hybrid beside him.

"The Emperor is on Holy Terra. Aside from the immense distance between here and Holy Terra, you have no ship. You cannot reach Terra without one. Besides, ever since the Great Rift opened, the Warp has run rampant. Long-distance Warp travel is extremely dangerous."

Vashul restrained his urge to study Iax's mechanical body and spread his hands as he explained.

"I must find out what happened over these tens of thousands of years, and why all my kind vanished. I need to clear their names. The Men of Iron never rebelled. There must have been some special reason behind it."

"Whether I communicate with the Emperor or search the Imperial archives, I will find out exactly what happened."

Although Vashul had little experience with Machine Intelligences, he knew one thing very well: once those minds made of numbers and code set a goal, they would achieve it, whatever the cost.

Iax suddenly turned to look at Vashul.

"Besides, who said I have no ships? My databanks contain dozens of STC construction templates, ranging from basic Reconnaissance Destroyers to the Experimental-1 Super Titan Ship. As long as I find one of the Creator's standard construction factories and enough materials, I can rebuild an entire Men of Iron battle fleet."

"No one can stop me!"

Iax had no idea how deeply his words shook Vashul. As one of the Men of Iron, he simply did not lie or conceal things.

Since the Dark Age, STCs—Standard Template Constructs—had become historical relics. These treasures of ancient technology were impossible for anyone to ignore.

Many of the things they produced, and even the principles behind them, exceeded the understanding of contemporary science.

Though the Adeptus Mechanicus had never abandoned its study of these physical creations and their templates, the technology they contained continued to surpass its understanding and imagination.

Yet Iax had bluntly told Vashul that his databanks contained dozens of standard templates, enough even to rebuild a Men of Iron Fleet.

Vashul could scarcely imagine what a Men of Iron Fleet would entail.

But a fleet—whatever kind of fleet it was—clearly possessed power that could not be underestimated. And a battle fleet...

Vashul did not dare imagine what that would look like.

"If you build a fleet by yourself, how will you command and control it?"

At Vashul's question, Iax's rather large electronic eyes widened as far as they could, as though trying to get a better look at just what sort of idiot stood before him.

"All ships in a Men of Iron Fleet are Machine Intelligences. The ships can control themselves. Even aboard transport vessels, the other Machine Intelligences they carry must follow the onboard intelligence's arrangements. Through the Machine Intelligence Network, we can communicate with others of our kind in real time and share information. All Machine Intelligences share computational resources and synchronize their calculations and analytical results."

"Why would they need command and control?"

The barrage of explanations and questions left Vashul stunned.

Self-aware Machine Intelligence ships?

A communications framework that shared information in real time?

What kind of miraculous technology was this? Was human technology in the Ancient Era really that incredible?

Just as Vashul was marveling at it all—

Thud!

The heavy doors were shoved open roughly.

A group of hulking humanoids nearly two and a half meters tall strode into the hall with heavy footsteps.

"Magos Vashul Carmen. I am Sien, of the Black Templars' 3rd Company. These are my battle-brothers. When we arrived, I observed no ongoing combat on the ground. Give me the details!"

Looking at the Astartes warriors before him, clad in black ceramite Power Armour, their hands already resting on the Power Swords at their waists, Vashul clutched his head once again as a headache set in.

Of all the reinforcements, Space Marines were the ones he least wanted to see, especially under the present circumstances.

Worse still, these were Black Templars.

Among the many Space Marine Chapters, the Black Templars' distinctive approach to "anti-corruption" was the greatest problem he faced right now.

If there was no definite proof that Rebels or xenos threatened the planet, and he had sent out a distress signal without justification, these Space Marines would most likely make an example of him as a symbol of corruption and disorder. In the end, they might tear him apart on the spot before he even had a chance to become a Servitor.

Sien showed no reaction to Iax, who stood motionless in the center of the hall. Even for Space Marines, encountering strange Mechanical Units on Adeptus Mechanicus territory was perfectly normal.

Besides, Iax neither spoke nor moved. He merely stood to one side, quietly watching the scene unfold.

To Iax, these augmented humans were not particularly powerful, and the Power Armour they wore was crude beyond belief.

It was inferior even to the Miner Armour humans had used back then.

After all, certain rare and important minerals had to be gathered by the Creator personally. They were too precious to be extracted through the rough methods used by those simply constructed Men of Iron miners.

Meanwhile, Vashul feigned composure and began showing Sien some footage.

It mainly showed the visiting Skitarii party being attacked by Plague Marines and the ensuing battle, along with the final images transmitted when Trazyn activated the Stasis Field.

As Black Templars, Sien and his battle-brothers had always fought on the front lines.

They had clashed countless times with both these damned traitors and the unmistakably distinctive Necrons.

Watching the chaotic battlefield in the footage, the Plague Marines spreading filth and disease, and the faint signs of Phase Teleportation in the later images, Sien studied it all.

He knew very well what these enemies meant.

"Where is this combat zone?"

Plague Marines never appeared alone, and the danger they posed went far beyond simply being Rebels. The Necrons were another, even more troublesome kind of enemy.

Though he did not know why they had suddenly appeared here, it certainly boded ill.

Before Vashul could answer Sien's question, Iax, standing to one side, activated the Holographic Projection Device and projected a devastated battlefield before them.