Chapter 22
Misdirection and Locuras
*Various*
21st January, 3025
Weldry
The mood in the camp had become sombre and increasingly angry as the day went on. Timothy Serkis looked at the dataslate in his hand for the fourth time as if the contents of it would change. The Highlanders had been in this dirt-loving hell of a Periphery state for months now pursuing ghosts they could not catch, and now, following suggestions from the Taurian, they'd set down on Weldry and begun to oppress the people for, it turns out, no reason at all.
Instead of being forced to come here by some sort of inner nobility, the Raven Guard had struck yet further targets! One unit going to recover some sort of intel, the other conquering a system just about as far as it could get from Weldry without leaving the Coalition. And here they were stuck with a planet they had overcommitted to.
The Taurian Commodore stood in the tent with him practically quivering with rage. The only thing worse for him than being stuck here was something else he'd learned, though the bastard was unwilling to share it. "The Concordat has given me orders to withdraw." The rage reached his eyes and he started at Timothy. "Arano's Lord Madeira sent a transmission to my people."
The anger threatened to boil over as if he was a hairs breath from turning his men on the people outside. "MONTHS pursuing the god-damned Raven Guard, and we discover... WE DISCOVER... that the snide shit on the Aurigan throne, not only orchestrated the gas attack, but ordered his own daughter to murder my son while we were supposed to be allies."
Ostergaard calmed down, forced himself to as he sat down. "Here I have been torturing, persecuting and committing war crimes for the very man that ordered the death of my sun, that organised a false flag gas attack designed to increase tensions in the area." Though he wasn't sobbing, tears flowed freely. "I don't know why you're doing this mercenary. But I have been ordered to recall my people. And i've given the order. Mostly."
Timothy frowned at that.
"Mostly?" He said curious, and suspicious, thought Ostergaard never finished the sentence.
"I'm sorry but I won't be able to support you any more in this. And I advise you see if you can get your terms commuted, you've got a single battalion of mechs and support. This isn't your fight." He said instead, standing up and brushing off his eyes. "Do it for your men."
"I wish I could Commodore. But our employer is just about the worst kind of person you could piss off. If we return to the Confederation without certain heads, then our families will probably get ours in a box." Timothy said feeling some remorse for the events.
Ostergaard looked confused. "Strange, I thought Maximilian Liao was one of the best leaders they'd had in some time?"
"He is," Timothy said wearily, "his daughter Candace isn't too bad either. But Romano... she's insa," He arrested his tongue, "Forget I said anything please, my life probably depends on it."
Ostergaard stood and headed for the flap. "Said what?" He left closing the flap behind him.
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Ostergaard moved back towards his own encampment, rejoined by his aide Tatiana. "Sir?"
"Everyone we trust has joined us on the Iberia, the rest have been moved to the other ships to return home correct?" He said all business as he made for the Fortress class Dropship.
"Correct sir."
"Good. Because these orders are beyond the scope of our involvement, following these orders we officially received, I received a special order from Protector Calderon, he wants us to take the Iberia and head for the Raven Guard and make contact." Ostergaard said weaving past some mektechs hauling some myomer fibres.
"Sir? That sounds highly irregular."
"If he hadn't, I'd have taken a damned Dropshuttle if I had to and sign up with the Raven Guard. I want justice for what happened to my son. But officially we'll be going AWOL to sign on with the Raven Guard to see that justice done, unofficially, Protector Calderon wants me to see and get readings on every possible technology the Raven Guard have, if possible, even steal some." Eventually their walk culminated in the Iberia's main loading ramp. "The Protector believes that a Fortress full of men loyal to me will be too valuable to turn away."
Tatiana nodded. "A sound strategy. But what if he does turn us away?"
"I don't know Tatiana, I don't know..." Ostergaard said looking confused for the first time, "our orders didn't cover that possibility. But why would they turn down a Dropship and more mechs? They refused to face us, and we have proof that we were deceived. I would hope they're the kind of people who can understand wanting vengeance, for I most certainly do."
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Artru
It had taken weeks but finally the Argo's computer had been decoded revealing the location of the Star League facility, and Kamea had been almost angry beyond reason at discovering that she just promised away the world that the Castle Nautilus was on until agreements were made to share what we found there within reason.
And now we stood outside the facility, her Knight approaching as I heard it. The Locuras. I shouldn't have been able to hear it, or see it, and yet it registered on my Noospheric feeds. That was impossible, a Star League era computer virus should not be behaving like this. And yet, when the Star League drones began emerging from their bunkers, I was unpleasantly surprised when they paused, frozen, as if considering the situation. Binaric language flowed through the ether, not the crude programming of dumb machines but of something that I feared might have been objectively worse.
I realised with shock that the presence appeared to be studying our own binaric-code IFFs.
"What's going on?" Kamea asked terrified as I marched the Dominus up towards the door slowly so as not to provoke a response.
"It's recognised the Noospheric signatures of my technology, of the machine spirits. We're not dealing with some sort of code goblin...." I said as I began composing a binaric reply.
My recitation of genetic legacy going back until that critical name was mentioned
"I'm working to signal the codes we acquired from the Argo now." Murad said before I shouted.
"NO. Do no such thing. Cease all transmission to the site and isolate the communications equipment. But give orders for the Legacy to burn for Artru and take up Geostationary orbit over the site first, if I get so much as a binaric squirt aimed at the site from orbit you can consider yourself dismissed."
Kamea's Knight moved up next to me, not showing the proper caution as suddenly a dozen emerald beams reached out and began to play over our Knights, and more as the others moved up to join us, the SLDF drones following cautiously.
I blinked in surprise, but saw a small quadrotor headed for my position and popped the hatch, though remaining seated due to my connection to the machine spirit. The device dived into the cockpit and I watched the syringe warily, but true to its word, I got jabbed and blood was withdrawn. The drone left and I closed the hatch before freezing to death.
"What now?" Kamea asked in awe. This was far different to how she expected it to go.
"We wa..."
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Behemoth
I looked down in awe at a real, genuine, Star League facility, the directors office I stood in with Kane overlooked a vast storage bay packed with SLDF mechs. Atlas, Highlander, Spiders, Black Knights. Vaults of Lostech weapons, and yet Kane was unimpressed by any of it. Instead he faced the wall.
"Who are you?" He asked the screen.
"What were you made for?" I asked as Kane studied the displays being presented.
"How?" Kane asked cocking his head.
"Please, continue..." I said trying not to distract from the explanation.
"But you were left behind?" Kane asked as he turned back and looked out of the bay window.
"Those Drones weren't SLDF issue."
Kane stiffened at the mention of the Standard Template Constructor.
"What other technologies remain here that Zachariah could not take with him?"
There was silence for some time and I turned to see the displays flickering as if deep in thought.
"Is there anything else related to the Lathe projects stored here?" I asked as I searched the desk.
The machine spirit paused again thinking.
"Tell us about them."
Kane moved over to the screen and began keying in commands. "Locura, what is the viability of these projects based on your work so far?"
"Explain." Kane said as he studied the files he was calling up.
"Kane, could the materials used to produce Knights armour do it?" I asked as I watched, below us Arano's people were moving in looking over the Star League mechs. However Arano found her way up to the overlooking command centre as Kane watched putting an arm on my shoulder.
"So Kane, we'll be needing to tak..."
Kane didn't turn. "You're allowed to take eighty percent of the mechs, but I'm afraid that's the best I can offer." He said and I went pale at the thought of giving away such a vast stockpile.
"This was an Aurigan world before I granted your request I might add, this facility is my birthright, the secret of it handed down through my family with the Aurigan Reach."
The room wasn't silent however as Kane sat down behind the directors desk and began calling forth information with binaric code, the speed with which he typed it in surprised me until I noticed a datajack on his wrist had extended into a receiving port in the desk, his multi-tasking mind going through multiple piece of work at once.
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As I searched through the files while Locura ran its DNA analysis I saw what I had half-expected to find. The list of staff originally populating this facility was small, but various temporary colony units had contained the colonists that were slowly shipped out to Lathe, but the staff list for heads of department were the interesting parts.
Director Project Lead: Zachariah Cameron.
Director Research: Zachariah Cameron.
Director Construction: William Tennyson.
Director Administration: Amanda Yu Singh.
Director Appropriations: Sylvia Milliard.
Director Security: Aloysius Arano.
I stopped at that name. My blood turning to ice as LOCURA spoke up once more.
"Process list of Directors for Project Lathe. Identify connections."
"Well 'cousin'," she phrased it as a joke, but my blood chilled at even the implication, because it meant the familial bonds enforced by the Throne Mechanicum would dig in even deeper to her psyche. She pressed on however, "Machine. How come my family was entrusted with its security after it moved. Did no other elements remain behind?"
"And unofficial record?" I prompted.
The machine actually hesitated, as if unsure whether to answer.
Kamea looked surprised. "So he just abandoned a far ancestor to guard it until a nebulous return?"
"Is something amusing Mrs Giordino?" Kamea asked somewhat mortified.
"Very Ms Arano. It is clear that there was in fact an intent to return, if you'll process it for a second. When Kane came from beyond the Periphery, what happened first? He ended up signing on with the Aurigan Coalition, becoming your very bodyguard for your coronation." She said calling up files herself now. Maps, transmissions, things i'd told her.
"Your uncle betrays you. Kane rises to power, begins building a legacy with a terrifying speed, only to eventually rejoin and find you also return as the Sword of Restoration. And, together, you find your way back to where it all began. Rediscovering a pot of gold of technology. The first machine spirit. SLDF mechs. Various other pieces of advanced technology. If I were inclined to religion, i'd say something was tugging the strings, trying to knot off a plan laid in motion centuries ago."
My blood ran cold as she spoke. It made too much sense, I knew the hand of fate that had placed me here, upsetting the apple card had ordained this, granting boons and tying our history inexplicably, and inextricably, from what should have been.