V2 Chapter 134: Yes, Cawl. What Is Beneath Your Feet Is a Men of Iron STC.
Duvette straightened up and let out a long, quiet breath.
Delavere's faint admission was still in his ears. An Imperial general had conceded defeat to a Major General-Commissar, had said the words not your equal. He was not certain how much of that had come from Augustus.
Perhaps the new skill had made his words land more easily in Delavere's mind. Perhaps Heldane's psychic method had given Delavere a genuine, visceral understanding of how close death had come. More significantly, what Delavere had understood in that moment of near-death was that Heldane had wanted him dead and that Duvette had saved him.
Whatever the cause, the most immediate threat from his own side had been settled for now.
Delavere's flagship had ceased fire. Most of the Fifth Army Corps regular formations were implementing the ceasefire order. The Gantine noble soldiery's main force was collapsing. Heldane's directly attached Inquisitorial strike team had been pushed back by ground forces.
Now there was only one genuine problem remaining.
The Chaos-corrupted Men of Iron STC beneath the surface of Menazoid Epsilon.
Duvette stood on the command bridge of Delavere's flagship and opened his System panel. Checking the cooldown, he confirmed that Purification had finished its cycle.
That was a measure of relief.
Purification could address corruption, of course. What it could not do was teach him how to shut down, seal, dismantle, or read a complete STC. And this particular STC involved Men of Iron. Even with the corruption stripped out, the manufacturing protocols, logic locks, automated defences, and prohibited data inside it could reduce anyone who did not know what they were doing to complete helplessness.
Duvette could lead troops through a cruiser boarding action. He could use Silence to sever a psychic kill-switch.
But he was not an Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus. He knew nothing of arcane technology theory.
This could not be handed to ordinary Astra Militarum forces, and it could not be handed to an Inquisitor of Heldane's type either. Duvette needed Cawl. Even if he could not fully trust the man, this situation was already beyond the handling capacity of a conventional military force.
He was preparing to leave the flagship and head immediately to the planet's surface when Evan's voice came through on his private channel.
"Commissar."
"What is it?"
"There is a new energy signature at the Mandeville point at the system's edge. The source has broadcast its identification signal voluntarily."
Duvette stopped. "Who?"
"Archmagos Belisarius Cawl." Evan paused briefly. "And the Carpé family fleet."
Duvette was quiet for several seconds, then let out a quiet laugh. "Convenient timing."
He looked up at the planet through the bridge viewport. "Tell the ground forces to maintain the lockdown on the ruins entrance. Notify Kleist: no one approaches the canyon without my authorisation."
"Understood."
"Arrange a surface meeting as well." Duvette said. "I will go down and receive them."
Duvette chose to receive Cawl and the Carpé family on the surface.
The outer approach to the ruins canyon had been surrounded by a temporary military camp. Kleist's Eisenmark Armoured Regiment vehicles sealed the roads leading to the canyon. The Fury of Balhaut sat facing the entrance, main gun lowered, which was enough to make anyone approaching understand the area was under control.
112th Combat Group soldiers had established multiple inspection lines outside the camp. The Tanith light infantry regiments maintained observation posts across the surrounding rock formations and high ground. The air still carried the dust and chemical smell left behind by artillery fire, and scattered shots could be heard in the distance.
Delavere had been left in the flagship's medical bay, held under joint guard by the Inquisitorial Storm Troopers and 112th Combat Group soldiers. The General had already issued orders for all forces under his command to cooperate with Duvette. He would not obstruct the operation again, at least until this matter was resolved.
Several hours later, new landing signals finally appeared in the sky.
Adeptus Mechanicus and Carpé family landing craft descended from altitude, setting down on flat rock ground outside the camp perimeter to the sound of deep engine rumble. Displaced air kicked up dust clouds. The guard soldiers raised their arms to cover their visors.
When the first hatches opened, well-equipped Skitarii walked out.
Their pace was precise. Red robes moved in the wind. Weapons and mechadendrite limbs caught the dull grey light. Following them came large numbers of technical acolytes, servo-skulls, and Mechanicus priests, who quickly began setting up scanning arrays around the landing area.
On the other side, Carpé family armed retainers poured from their own landing craft. Their equipment was considerably better than the average Rogue Trader household's household troops. The formation included a considerable proportion of family household guard and heavily armoured close protection.
Then a vast mechanical figure stepped out of the largest landing craft.
Belisarius Cawl.
The Archmagos's frame still resembled a moving mechanical reliquary. Numerous mechadendrites and appendages moved slowly at his sides. Several Mechanicus priests and Skitarii officers followed at a respectful distance behind him.
Duvette came forward to meet him, Evan and several guards alongside.
"Archmagos Cawl."
Duvette opened the greeting.
Cawl's enormous mechanical body inclined slightly. Multiple mechadendrite optical sensors lit in sequence as they swept across him. The hum of cogitator mechanisms came from somewhere deep within the construct's frame, the entire structure reminiscent of a large weapons platform not yet fully deployed.
Duvette's gaze moved across the Mechanicus priests and Skitarii near Cawl, then found a familiar face among the Carpé family's accompanying group.
Venus Carpé stood among the family household guard, watching him with narrowed eyes.
Duvette gave her a small bow.
"Lady Carpé. It has been some time."
Venus returned it with an elegant smile and a slight inclination of her head.
"Major General-Commissar Duvette. It has been some time indeed."
Her tone was measured, but something in her eyes she could not quite conceal.
In her assessment, Duvette seemed somehow different from the last time she had seen him. She could not identify the nature of the change precisely. He appeared more composed and settled in himself, as though he felt capable of resolving anything this universe set in front of him, and more accustomed to being watched.
He stood between the camp perimeter and the landing ground, and the Astra Militarum soldiers, the Rogue Trader armed retainers, and the Skitarii around him all seemed to orient their attention toward him with a naturalness that reminded her of the way people looked at someone born to lead.
Venus frowned slightly.
Could a promotion to general rank change a person's presence to that degree?
Duvette noticed her looking, smiled briefly, and offered no explanation.
He turned back to Cawl.
"I had not expected you to arrive this quickly. I estimated at least a few more months."
Cawl's mechanical voice responded.
"We made all possible speed. The remainder depended on the Warp."
Duvette gave a nod and did not press the point. Warp transit was never predictable. That Cawl had arrived when he had was sufficient.
"Your timing is well judged." Duvette said. "I have not yet entered the ruins core. Now that you are here, we go together."
Cawl did not move immediately.
His enormous frame inclined slightly forward. The optical sensor lenses at various points across his body lit one after another.
"Before we proceed, I need to know what is actually down there."
Cawl said.
"The message you sent me used carefully chosen language. A legacy from the Age of Darkness. Significance considerably exceeding that of the Entropy's Song. About to fall into the wrong hands."
He paused.
"Now I learn you were willing to defy an Imperial Warmaster's direct orders and force a lockdown of this location. Duvette Erdmann—what exactly have you found?"
Venus was watching Duvette as well.
She knew perfectly well that every time Duvette took the initiative to contact her, trouble and opportunity arrived together. But this time the scale of the situation was plainly larger than anything that had come before.
Duvette did not answer immediately.
He looked around first.
"Everyone not directly involved, step back."
Evan carried out the order at once.
112th Combat Group soldiers extended the security perimeter outward. The Carpé family household guard and the Skitarii withdrew at Venus and Cawl's gesture. Within moments, the area around the temporary command tent held only Duvette, Cawl, Venus, Evan, and a small number of essential guards.
Wind came through from the canyon direction, carrying dry dust with it.
Duvette looked up at Cawl's vast mechanical frame and let a meaningful expression cross his face.
Then, with the air of a man making a completely ordinary observation, he said the words.
"Yes. What is beneath your feet right now, Cawl, is a complete, operational Men of Iron Standard Template Construct."