Although Lox and the others had yet to return to Terra, Malcador activated the Assassinorum's hidden networks left behind earlier and discreetly spread news of Draconyen across Mars.
This trap had only one target: Magos Ezekiel. To that end, the Assassinorum drew upon every minute detail it had gathered about Ezekiel and built a logical algorithm perfectly tailored to him.
Though the Assassinorum's primary duties were to assassinate enemies who posed grave threats to the Imperium and purge the corrupt and derelict within its ranks, its operational scope was actually quite broad.
Most of the time, its specialists did not obsess over killing. Instead, they lurked, infiltrated, surveilled, pursued the truth, and, when necessary, shaped public opinion.
Unlike past missions that involved spreading false information and steering public sentiment, Malcador's orders this time placed greater emphasis on concealment and precision.
There was only one target: Sennett Ezekiel, a senior figure in both the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Advanced Technology Consortium.
The Assassinorum, which had remained hidden throughout Terra's political turmoil, swiftly began to move.
The Grand Master of Assassins activated the Callidus assassins they had planted within Mars, specialists in concealment, infiltration, transformation, and disguise.
These operatives of the Callidus Temple could use an extraordinary drug known as polymorphine to alter their body shape, including their appearance, bodily structure, and even their material composition.
It was no exaggeration to say that Callidus assassins could disguise themselves as any living creature. Even nonliving objects fell within their range of imitation.
While hidden on Mars, these Callidus assassins disguised themselves as the most ordinary tech-priests, no different from the busy, mechanical colleagues around them.
Upon receiving the Assassinorum's orders, the sleepers were activated at once.
They then began leaving traces of restricted terms related to Draconyen within Mars's internal data network, without