Over the next few years, I mostly travelled my lands, constructing more planetary data-cores, orbital elevators and other infrastructure projects, while the next generation of cloneskeins are being gestated in our genetic Crucibles. Stronger, faster and far more resilient than any human had a right to be, matching the Catachans and often exceeding them.
Our genetor Anzion is in charge of that project, while Strategos and the AIs are taking care of providing our new army with Votann-class exo-suits and weapons. My other two Forge Worlds had also increased greatly with the addition of a STC Constructor for each of them, as well as metal planets and blackstone moons to mine for their needs.
Maybe copying the Fire Caste a bit, but specialized clones fo warfare does make sense.
The Lancefire Knights have also grown to a full planet hold on Natale, with their own STC constructor for Knight suits that I 'found' on the Raven House's homeworld. Experienced pilots slowly receive the larger models armed with Neutron Lasers and Torsion Cannons, while the new pilots train on Armed Sentinels until they get their own Armiger Knight. We can only make 100 big walkers per year, but the Armigers are basically better Sentinels so we have reached 1000 per year rapidly.
As for Sentinels, all 4 of my Forge Worlds produce the walkers at a fast pace, and have reached 40000 per year already, with new factoriums and production lines being opened every year.
We could make many more, but at a lesser quality, which would only make them die fast and waste resources.
Even so, a less-upgraded model of the Sentinel is being prepared for the PDF regiments, a simple Chain-glaive and Ion Beamer model made from plasteel, with an early radar on top.
Turns out, once you figure out the basic science, producing radar antennas is rather easy, much like the new radio sets which are now spreading to every city and hab-block.
Making vox-beads is still a Mechanicus secret, and only released for Auxilia officers and important officials, but lunch box radios are here already!
Despite having the printing press and knowledge of radio waves, printing transitor chips is not that easy. We'll figure it out, maybe alongside television.
Work is still going on at the Temple of Knowledge, but we only have a few black-and-white analog TV devices which break down constantly.
Anyways, the ground army was never the problem. Lose the orbitals and any planet is doomed. So my efforts are mostly focused on the navy, as is my mental energy and Breath.
Battleships are important fleet assets and extremely durable, more so when plated in adamantium and blackstone. No more looting and finding old relics though. I can construct the base shell and armor in a single day, skipping hundreds of years in the fabrication process of a Forge World. The other internal systems and weapons are far more delicate, but this is why I have 100 orbital dockyards at the Machine Forge, and a billion tech-priests to lend a hand.
In 3 or 4 years, I expect the first batch of 100 Victory-Class Battleship to leave the docks, and 40000 new torpedo-corvettes as well.
It's a boring life sometimes, mostly sleeping. Sometimes sleeping with women, then falling asleep again. I feel time is passing by like in a dream, which is oddly appropriate in this world.
Then a wake-up call arrives, as the Explorer Mechanicus fleet mapping the Fringe gets blown up by a roaming planet.
The command center at the Machine Forge is full of tech-priests and some Astartes and Inquisitors, all eager for revenge.
"I searched all the data-vaults and I found something, Lord Lancefire. I believe we are dealing with a Dark Mechanicum planet called Ulan_Huda . They escaped the Scouring after the Horus Heresy, and were pressumed crippled or lost in the Warp. They were known to have a Titan Legion of their own called Legio Phasma . " Fabricator Gemma spoke while gesturing at the holoscreen with an alabaster-like hand, containing more weapons and firepower than an entire Invictus Dreadnought.
A blue-and-red planet with Warp Drive engines and thousands of defense lasers and other dangerous weapons appeared on screen, dotted with hive cities and fabrication forges.
I nodded slowly. This kind of threat was far beyond what the Imperium could manage, much like that Necron World Engine.
Luckily, I was here. "Capturing this world should provide us with great knowledge and maybe even an STC or two. Moving a planet is quite a feat, so they didn't do that by accident. Right?"
'You will need to disable its Warp Drives first, Pef Lancefire. Want me to paint this world with the Pharos beacon?' the C'tan under Sotha asked in my mind.
I thought for a minute. I could indeed draw a Tyranid Hive Fleet towards this thing, and block their Warp Drives with the Shadow in the Warp. But then I would also need to deal with Tyranids while fighting the crazy Dark tech-priests.
Then again, I had a Demigod murder-clown following me now, called Mnemorach. This guy's Pariah powers were off the charts, outmatching our strongest Omega-minus Silent Sisters.
I should try that option first.
"Prepare your Skitarii and Sentinels to escort the Deus Ex Machina Legion for deployment. We'll meet up with the Knights at Natale and some Astartes Chapters for deep strike missions." I commanded in a calm voice.
"Even the 5 Castigator God-walkers?" Gemma asked in mild surprise.
"We'll take only 3 of them and no Scout Titans. Techosorcists and tech-marines will be more valuable for this action than simple firepower. We want to capture as much as possible, after all." I decided with a wide grin.
"Technological aquisition approved, Lord Lancefire. The Quest for Knowledge never ends!" The Fabricator Domina of the Machine Forge proclaimed while nodding towards me with a sweet smile.
I guess I was getting fucked tonight. By a sex droid. Errr. On the other hand, an android body was much nicer to hold, even if she could twist me around a finger with that enhanced bionic body of hers.
Apparently, such human-like bodies were used by the Mechanicus sometimes, for diplomacy or infiltration. Gemma only made hers much better.
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Moving on the Black Lament Fortress, I gathered my Astartes sons around the holographic floating planet in the middle of the holotable.
"Black Lamenters, I want you to deploy at the North Pole, and disable the defense lasers and the Warp engines. Insertion by dimensional shift, concurent with the Steel Rain from your Drop Cruiser. The airspace will be too lethal for a normal combat drop, but we can send extra power packs and sentry turrets via pods anyways." I commenced while moving their Chapter icon over the pole.
"Understood, Sire. Other units in our drop area?" their Chapter Master asked while smacking a fist over the auramite Aquila on his breastplate.
"As usual, yes. A Division of Thalax cyborgs, about 120000 of them, plus tanks and Knights as needed. Depending on enemy forces, extra Skitarii, Sentinels or even Titans may join, alhough I would prefer not to mix Lancefire blood with the Mechanicus creatures." I said with a slight scowl. Separating the corpses was always a problem post-invasion.
"I would also prefer not to be stepped on by a Titan." Master Hughes muttered as I turned towards the other Chapter Masters.
"Star Lamenters, South Pole, same thing. Void Lamenters and Astral Mourners, you two get the STC strike on the main spire. The Mechanicus will have Titans in support, at least 100 Warlords and one Castigator. Don't fuck it up." I added while moving their icons on the holomap.
"If there is an STC, Sire. There might not be." Master Astor from the Astral Mourners spoke with a deep frown.
"Worst case, I will insert an old STC cube for you to find. But I meant, don't blow up the real one, if there is one. Or you all get to watch black-and-white TV for the next century." I growled in warning.
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"...Oh, the humanity! Not the old TV!" my son uttered in fake panic.
"Void Pirates and Star Pirates, you get to board any ships or dockyards. The Space Pirates may also join in, depending on how many targets we find. Try not to get lost in the Warp, right?" I offered with a kinder voice.
"Roger that, Sire. We'll rush to disable any ship engines before they Warp away. We'll need extra Rapiers and Guardians though." the top Void Pirate answered, nodding at me with a determined face. I did ask my boys who wanted to be a pirate. Being young and stupid, some of them said yes. Thus, 3000 of them got the brave duty of boarding enemy ships and risk their lives that way.
"Lamenters and Red Lamenters, you will go after the leadership. Decapitation strikes, preferably literally. Since Daemon Engines are guaranteed, you will have Silent Sisters support, as well as the Leviathan Dreadnoughts. Laur, you take this bolt and use it on the worst enemy. Try to hit any flesh bit, for a guaranteed kill." I said while handing over a Darkstar bolt to the Acting Chapter Master of the Lamenters. I was nominally still the actual Chapter Master, but I also didn't have the time to manage a single Chapter.
Laur held the Votann-made death bolt for a second, then loaded it first in another magazine. "Dark Fabricators would have refractor shields and such. I'll use it after we draw first blood."
It made sense, so I agreed. It would be a pity if the rare bolt simply got deflected by a shield.
"Grim Mourners and Silent Grievers, you are newer so you get to follow in the second wave, or else get displaced in enfilade positions if the opportunity arrives. And do try to stay over 90% hit rates this time." I ordered at the last Chapters joining the battle.
"We have trained every day, sire. But simulated shooting range is not the same as real battle. I cannot guarantee more than 80% hit ratios. Even less if the Dark Mechanicum uses target jamming."
Jason 'Grim' Lancefire said with a grim voice.
His brother from the Silent Grievers only nodded in silence. They took the 'silent' part a bit too far, but they were also striving for perfect silence on the battlefield, using many of the Raven Guard tech and tactics.
As the Lancefire Fleet slowed down from hyper-speed, the Eternal Lament Fortress moved in front, with its Necron Pylon glowing green as it became active.
Mnemorach blew me a kiss as he vanished from the bridge, and I tried to show him a finger only to find my hands glued to the Command Throne's armrests. Somehow, the Solitaire managed the trick in full view of 40 Astartes guards, 300 Thalax cyborgs, a van-sized Fenrisian Wolf and the on-board Machine Spirit with its hundreds of scanners and cameras.
Fine, I got the point, damn clown. Not moving from my seat to join the melee. I did use my Breath to dissolve and displace the strange super-glue, which managed to bond blackstone and adamantium to a plasteel armrest.
Then I smacked the big red button and fired the black Immaterium beam from long range, killing millions of cultists and lesser daemons in a single second. The Eternal Lament followed with their purple beam, while the space around the Ulan Huda Dark Forge became locked by a crazy Solitaire with reality bending powers.
"Begin landing operations. Notify me of any Warp portal!" I ordered on the Sounding Board, directly to all Captains in the fleet.
Tiny holograms of the Blade and Speranza lit up at my sides. "Heavy noosphere jamming, Lord Captain. We are basically blind until we get much closer."
Well, that was expected when attacking any Forge World, not to mention a Dark Forge. I used my tesseract to pinpoint any dimensional shields, finding four of them covering four Chaos Temples on the planet. Hmmm. Chaos Undivided?
These guys were far behind the times. I focused my Immaterium beam on the dick-with-claws temple and it burst into gore and screaming souls in less than a minute. Suck it Slaanesh!
The Khorne temple with the huge axe crumbled as Librarian Valerian crushed it with the purple beam of the Eternal Lament, and then we both focused our beams to tear appart the green ball temple which was likely Nurgle's.
'Jamming reduced by half. Keep going!' the Blade encouraged me in my mind, as our Blackstone Fortresses focused the last blue feather temple.
However, even a minute later, the dimensional shield over the Tzeentch Temple still held, while my temples began to pound in pain.
Damn it!
"Let me go next. The Light of the Emperor will shatter this foul corruption!" Sister Stern demanded in a stern voice, then flew out and straight towards the damned Forge World on wings of Faith.
Like a white-and-gold comet, the Demonifuge stuck the Warp God's temple with a fist, and then another. The dimensional shield cracked, and then she added a kick that shattered the entire Warp bubble to reveal a host of Chaos Marines and Daemon Engines.
Lady Valyene sighed and displaced herself onto the planet as well, with her bodyguards in tow. Tall spires got sliced off and fell as lightning bolts the size of Titans struck the Chaos Temple, while Alaric and Semnai blurred into melee with C'tan swords in their hands.
All over the planet, drop pods fell in the Steel Rain strategy, while Thalax cyborgs and Astartes appeared by dimensional shift to blow up defense batteries and bunkers.
Huge doors opened at the base of a large mountain range to release the Chaos Titans of the Legion Phasma, including shimmering Mirrage Titans and other ancient models.
Two of our Castigator-B Titans dropped from the sky to stomp on the small Chaos Titans, and scattering them like panicked pigeons.
The third Castigator landed at the North Pole to punch out the Warp Drive, while its secondary batteries leveled any turrets and deformed Skitarii.
In orbit, the Astartes Pirates began boarding the Chaos Fleet, while I made sure the engine rooms were empty. Two Forge Ryza Cruisers were still docked in bad shape at the orbital ring, its crew dead and desecrated all over the walls.
Oh well. This was not a rescue mission anyways, but recovering two cruisers would be nice.
I just kept watch over the battle from my Command Throne, wincing slightly whenever another of my sons died in glorious battle. Most of them died so quickly I couldn't even react, either crushed by a gravity beam or splashed by a plasma ball spat by a Daemon Engine.
Their Invictus armor suits were strong, but not invincible, even if their Blank genes protected them from Warp spells and other Chaos tricks.
The wounded Primaris Marines were much easier to recover and send to our Apothecaries, while the Thalax cyborgs would only need a few replacements organs and limbs to get back in action.
As our tanks and Sentinels appeared on the battlefield, corrupted servitors and cultists became mere cannon fodder, while I diverted the remaining Astartes to board the rest of the Chaos ships, just as soon as the South Pole Warp Drive got blown up. The Errax automata of the Traitors still posed a great danger due to their power claws, but the trick was simply to blow them away with ranged fire.
Mnemorach jumped out from nowhere to stab the leading Chaos Sorcerer and grab a large Soul Stone, then he vanished again.
Then Canis howled, lighting up the entire brige with his golden aura as a certain Thousand Son bastard broke though the wards and emerged in front of my Command Throne.
My Tempormortis device lit up with 3 blue lights, which probably meant something about the past. "Ahriman, a hard man to find." I said in an easy voice as my shoulder mounted stormbolter cycled and loaded the Darkstar bolts.
"She's not here, the little girl?" the crazy Librarian asked in surprise, his helmet scanning the crew bridge and the Thalax Blanks without concern.
The first bolt stuck his knee, shattering the ceramite plate and blowing up his right foot. Canis rose to attack as well, but I urged the wolf to wait. The Sorcerer leaned on his staff, still scanning my fleet with confused eyes.
"Purity is with the Emperor now. Strange that you would fail your prediction this bad, Sorcerer. Still trying to undo the Rubrik spell?" I asked in mild amusement, while waiting for the damned psyker to die. A Darkstar bolt should kill anything, right?
"Hmmm. Terra is too dangerous to reach right now. The sleeping child is waking. Wolftime is coming!" Ahriman spoke in a gibberish voice, and crumbled into old armor bits and dust instead of flesh.
Canis ran and brought me the still living foot, and proof I failed to kill the damned Sorcerer once more. Got his right leg though, so it was fine.
The thing about Purity wasn't so fine though. Janice could fight off Ahriman probably, but Purity was still too young.