Warhammer: Dark Knights

015.M36

Kar-1

Ghoul Stars - Segmentum Ultima

"We have landed." The pilot said as the Stormbird landed with a loud thump.

As the ramp lower itself with a groan, releasing a cloud of pressurized air as it lowering. The landing point is silent, not what you expected especially with what you hear from the vox. But, as you activate the armor's enhance auditory system, you still can hear the echoes of gunfire and explosion, far from your current location.

As the ramp have fully lowered, you can see a massive structure, the main foundry of Kar-1, or what was once the former main foundry. It's once pristine exterior have been destroy by time and war, leaving only a shadow of it past glory. According to the information, this foundry is where the STC being store at and all the important production lines also lies here.

Standing before the ramp, Gideon awaited your arrival, flank by ten 2nd company marines, the 1st squad. Silent and discipline, acting as Gideon personal squad, other than the command squad.

"Gideon, what's the situation?" You ask him as you descent from the Stormbird and continue towards the front gate of the foundry with your honor guards in tows.

"Supreme Grand Master." Gideon said while lowering his head slightly, same with the ten marines. "The mutants are larger in number than what the tactical cogitators have anticipated. While they didn't have any surface bastions, they strike out from the tunnels that seemingly connected to the foundry."

"However, while their numbers are higher than us, the mutants seem to lack the knowledge to operate advanced weapons. The mutants that we encountered have only armed themselves with melee weapons, such as swords, hammers and spears. With some of them only using their hands that through mutation, have sharp claws on it to fight." Gideon continue.

Gideon gestured to the piles of mutant corpse scattered around the landing point. "We successfully thwarted their attack on the landing point and we have destroy multiple tunnels already. While they might be more, but the surrounding area of landing point have been clear. They may be more of those tunnels, but for now, it's safe."

"I have send two squads in to the foundry, to scout the area for us." Gideon continue, as he show the dataslate that contain a report from the squads. "They have enter the foundry and secure our early route to the main elevator." Gideon tone suddenly change to more of worries. "However, the mutants have taken foundry as their home and the under sectors is crawling with them."

True to his words, the information that you reading from the dataslate show the same result. As the foundry structures extended five-level deep, each more infested than the previous levels. And unfortunately, you mission objective is a secret vault in the fifth level.

"The deeper we descent, more of them we need to deal with." You said, giving back the dataslate to Gideon. "With damage done to the infrastructure during the Great Scouring and the possiblity of Dark Mechanicum had altered the structure for their own purpose, the map that we currently have may not be reliable. I trust the 2nd company squads are prepared for it."

"Yes, Supreme Grand Master." Gideon said. "The squads that will be entering the foundry have been equiped with auspex scanners, demolition charges. While the heavy weapon specialists have equiped the flamer to deal with the possible tight space and corridors."

You nodded. "Then, let's complete the mission quickly, we still have many things to accomplish."

With that, you turn and move towards the entrance into the foundry. As you move, your honor guards follow closely. Gideon move alongside you, his command and personal squads flanking him. You can hear clicking coming from Gideon as he giving out orders to his company through their company's personal vox-channel.

As you crossed the threshold into the foundry, your HUD flickered as the tactical network been updated, displaying information of the squads that will be entering the foundry. 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th and 9th were assigned the mission with 5th and 6th squads have already waiting at the elevator.

Taking point, you advanced deeper towards the elevator with your honor guards forming protective wedge around you. To your flanks, 2nd and 9th squads take their position, prepare to meet the mutants that might attack from the flank. Gideon and his command squad secured in the center, using the advanced auspex scan to scan the area for movement. While 1st squad formed the rearguard, their eyes scan for danger from all directions.

The sound of your boots echoed through the vast, decayed hall of once-glorious foundry. Broken machinery stood like relics of a forgotten age. Bolter holes and blackened burns of lasgun impacts can be seen on the walls of the foundry, with spend bolter casings and lasgun's power packs scattered on the ground.

Every step stirred the dust of the bygone era, mingling with faint, stance of rust. The silence only emphasis the sound of your boots and the faint hums of the auspex scanners.

As you move closer to the elevator, the corpse of the mutants starting to appear, littering on the ground. Most had been felled by bolter fire, their bodies torn apart with missing limbs or sporting gaping wounds from the explosive rounds. Some displayed the devastation cause by flamers, their bodies reduced to smoldering husks.

Others have the savage marks of chainswords, their bodies slashed and torn in jagged, bloody patterns. The corpses were few in number, scattered thinly across the path. They were likely sentries or perhaps outcasts from their mutant society, left behind to guard the entrance or abandoned to fend for themselves.

As the main elevator come into view, the large structure of metal that had clearly endured a long times of neglect. The structure bore the scars from the battle, yet it still stood firm. Around the platform, 5th and 6th squads awaited, watching the surrounding area for any possible mutants.

The sergeant from both squads move forward, saluting as you move closer.

"Supreme Grand Master." Sergeant of 5th squad reported. "The elevator is operational, though the integrity is questionable. We managed to reroute power from the auxiliary generator to the elevator, but it may not withstand repeated use."

"We have secured the surrounding area." Sergeant of 6th squads continue. "We have not encounter fierce resistance and the mutants didn't mount any counterattack. But the auspex scan show heavy movements in the level below. It's seems they are moving deeper."

You nodded. The concentration of the mutants at a specific location can be problematic, but it's also an opportunity. If they all at one place, it reduced the probability of being attacked from behind and you can even wipe them out in one strike, or at least destroy it's society, reducing their threat.

"This can work to our advantage." You said thoughtfully. "5th and 6th squad shall remain here, make sure our exit is clear of enemies. The rest will continue the mission. I and my honor guards shall take point."

Hearing this, the two sergeant salute you, though you can sense their reluctant of your order. But, the discipline and their duty to the chapter outweigh their personal desires and they obeyed without question.

Turning back to your group, you raised your voice so they all can hear you well. "The mission proceed. The mutants have gathered around the objective, so we will go directly to the lowest level. Expect heavy resistance."

As chorus of acknowledgement come from the group, you lead the way, stepping onto elevator. The others followed in order, taking their position. Your honor guards stand with you at the front, ready to fire their weapons the moment the mutants appear at their front.

The elevator creaked under the weight of all the armored figures. Gideon move to the control panel, as the cogitater screen light up, it only show four level. Without hesitation, Gideon type a string of codes into the panel. Before long, the system is overridden and the fifth floor appeared on the screen as an option. A deep rumble can be hear from the machine as it's started to descent into the depths of the foundry.

As the elevator descent, the only sounds that you can hear is the rhythmic thrum of the elevator and the occasional crackle of auspex devices scanning for movement. Your HUD display tactical readouts, highlighting the positions of the squads and the flickering red indicators of potential hostile contacts below.

The air grew heavier as you went deeper into the foundry, the faint stench of decay and rust seeping into the elevator. The light dimmed and replaced by the eerie glow of the squad's helmet lamps.

Just when you though the journey have been too long, the elevator finally starting to slow down. The sound of grinding brakes filled the elevator, as it shuddered and come to a halt.

Ahead, the door starting to creak as it slid open, revealing only darkness of the level, with distant echoes proving there are something moving in there.

You are the first that stepping forward, with your honor guards standing around you, weapons raise and ready to fire. Gideon step behind you with his auspex scanner in hand, scanning the darkness.

"Level five, multiple signatures ahead with more at the last room." His voice come through the vox, cold and calm.

You pull out your power sword and making sure your storm bolter is loaded. "Let's move. Keep a tight formation and watch out for the corners. Flamers to the front."

The formation changed without any sound as the flamers move to the front with your honor guard equip with the flamer standing in the center. As you move deeper into the darkness, you hear guttural snarl from the darkness. Before you can react, the shadow explode with movement.

As if programmed, all of the bolters, flamers sprang to life in a synchronized movement, a symphony of death rang out.

The flamers roared, the burning promethium casting long, flickering shadows across the chamber. The mutants can only been seen in a split second before they are consumed by the flames entirely, their agony screams lost beneath the sound of bolter fires.

Bolter rounds teared through the air, shredding the mutants with high efficient. Explosive impact leaves their mutated body to chunks of flesh, spraying wall and ground with blood and gore.

Still, the mutants charge your group, not bother by the carnage. Their mutated forms moved with recklessness, claws outstretched, snarls echoes off the wall. They mindlessly threw themselves on your group, driven by their primal instinct.

Each time your storm bolter flash, it's destroy a target. As you firing, you suddenly swipe your sword upward, with the power field up. Before long, a rain of blood cover you from above and a severed body drop to the floor with a thud.

Your honor guards with storm bolter snapped, aiming into the darkness above. With flash of lights from their storm bolter, mutants on the ceiling scream as the explosive rounds found them, their bodies dislodged and crashing to the floor.

"March forward." You order through the vox. "Flamers, return to your squad and aid your brothers. Maintain the formation and beware of the threats from the ceiling."

The flamers, done purging the immediate threats, return to their squads without disrupting the formation. The light from the burning promethium once again light up the chamber, leaving more charred bodies on the flanks and the rear.

As you march forward, the bolters fired with high precision, with each shot hitting their intended target. With each step, leaving a trail of dead bodies behind as the mutants being drive back.

After a long hallway and passing multiple chambers, you finally see it, the massive vault with the Mars icon, the unmistakable cog-and-skull symbol of Mars. This is it, the vault that you need to get in. Unfortunately, the path towards the vault is block by the mutants, snarls come from them as they push forward, mindlessly.

The air erupts with violence as bolters roar, their explosive rounds tearing into the charging mutants. The flamers spit out streams of fiery promethium, engulfing groups of the mutants in searing flames. The acrid stench of burned flesh and chemical propellant fills the air.

Before long, the floor is carpeted with the corpse of the horde. Bodies lies on the floor, charred beyond recognition or ripped apart by the explosive rounds. With the last mutants hit the floor, the path to the vault is clear.

'Easier than what I expected.' You thought as you move towards the cogitator embedded in the wall beside the vault door. It's surface is worn but still intact, an excellent product from the Mechanicus.

Reaching the cogitator, a servo-arm unfolds from your back, it's claw extending forward. The arm whirred slightly as it connect to the interface port on the cogitator.

"Intializing interface." The word flash on your HUD, overlaid on a diagnostic feed from the servo-arm. Lines of binary scroll rapidly as the cogitator powers up.

A faint hum resonates from the cogitator, followed by a flicker of light on its screen.

"SYSTEM ONLINE. VERIFYING ACCESS CREDENTIALS."

Seeing the prompt, you transmitted the access code that store in the armor system into the cogitator using the servo-arm.

"Authentication in progress..."

The cogitator paused, and you can hear clicking coming from it.

'I hope the code Nine gave me is correct,' you thought, watching the screen intently. Hoping the code is right and you don't have to find a way to blow the vault door.

Finally, the cogitator's screen updated:

"ACCESS GRANTED. VAULT LOCK DISENGAGED. OPENING SEQUENCE INITIATED."

The vault groans as its lock began to disengaged. The gears shriek loudly, grinding against each other as the door began to part.

Seeing the door open, you disconnect the servo-arm from the cogitator, but not before redirect part of the power from the auxiliary generator that still running to the light inside the vault.

The dim glow flickered before the light sputter to life, bathing the vault in a dull, amber hue. As you look inside, you see massive, cathedral-like chamber.

In the center of the room is a massive cogitator, nearly as large as the main cogitator on Anvilus-Nine. Its surface is a mix of polished metal and brass, decorated with symbols and the mark of the Omnissiah. The thick cables spread out from its base, connecting it to smaller terminals and data-stacks lining the walls.

"Gideon, hold position with your company," you command through the vox. "Make sure nothing gets in while I extract the data."

Without waiting for his response, you move towards the cogitator with your honor guards following you. As you move closer, the hums of the cogitator can be hear, which means it's still have power.

'Good, it still have power.' You think, as your servo-arm once again unfolds from your back and extends toward the interface port. The clawed tip connects with a soft click, and the screen of a smaller cogitator embedded on the larger cogitator flickers to life.

Lines of binary code flash across the cogitator and your HUD as the cogitater starting to power up. After a few seconds, the lines of binary codes disappear and replace with.

"SYSTEM ONLINE. VERIFYING ACCESS CREDENTIALS."

Seeing this, you input another code that also provided by Nine. The cogitator pause for a second, processing the code you just enter. Then, another text is display.

"ACCESS GRANTED. PRIMARY DATABASE UNLOCKED. WELCOME BACK, ARCHMAGOS NINE. PRAISE THE OMISSIAH."

You let out a quiet sigh, relieved that the cogitator recognized the code and nothing went wrong. However, when you read the text welcoming Nine, a sense of curiosity stirs within you. What is the connection between Nine and Kar-1? Did he once serve here? If that's the case, it would make sense that he knew about the secret vault on this world, and by extension, the codes required to access this cogitator.

But now is not the time to dwell on these thoughts. As long as Nine remains loyal, that's all that matters for now. As you now focus back to the matter on hand, you started to access the database to search what technologies that it possessed.

"Hello, beautiful." You said quietly as your eyes shine behind your helmet. Many of the technologies that the Imperium and Mechanicus have lost because of the Heresy are store here. 'Luckily that neither the traitor or the Mars know about this vault.' After all, only the secondary cogitator that located on the other side of city been discover and been looted by the Nigh Lords.

As you don't have much time to look more detail on all the information, you only able to glance at the names of the entries when there appears on your HUD.

'MK III Power Armour'

'MK IV Power Armour'

'Deimos Rhino'

'Anvillus Pattern Dreadclaw'

'Sicaran Battle Tank'

Each names represent the might of the Astarte Legion in the past. With this, your chapter combat ability already surpasse some of the other chapter with the unique equipment, if you have the ability to produce them.

Other than this, there are also others names display. Unfortunately for you, some of them are written with Lingua-technis, some only have designation representing it. Requiring Nine or his clones to decipher and see what the contents in them.

With you unable to learn more about what data being downloaded, you decided to thinks about the future plan for the chapter, and what you will be doing in the near future.

With Goge Vandire rise to power around the corner, you need to decide what you should do to minimize the damage done to Imperium, and if possible, find a way to strengthen your chapter.

'I definitely going to join the Terran Crusade, but how should I get the most out of this?' You think, mind racing with possibility.

The reign of Vandire, 'Reign of Blood' are inevitable, his rule will destroy the Imperium and cost the Imperium large resources and times to recover. Yet, amidst the chaos and destruction, there are undeniable benefits, even if they pale in comparison to the cost.

The establishment of Ordo Hereticus, arming the Imperium power to root out internal threats, ensuring heresy, corruption and disloyalty can be prevented and be swiftly punish. Adepta Sororitas, Sister of Battle, militant arms of Ecclesiarchy, providing Imperium zealous and incorruptible force to protect humanity's faith and bolster the Imperium's ability to combat both Chaos and internal insurrection. While also serving as chamber militant of Ordo Hereticus, helping the inquisitors with their missions, serve as the eyes and ears of Inquisition within the Ecclesiarchy to prevent event of Goge Vandire to happen again, preventing the corruption of any members within the Ecclesiarchy.

'The best thing I can get out of this is a homeworld for the chapter.' While being a fleet-base chapter have it's benefit, but having a homeworld is better, at least that your thoughts. The idea of a stable, permanent base of operation is very appealing. It would provide the chapter with steady streams of aspirants that will be built by your vision, a base where the chapter can train and build. While also can recruit personal for the ships and for forming an auxiliary force for the chapter.

Fleet-base chapter can travel wide and far, able to respond on crisis in different area. But, it's not only can easily overstretch your chapter, it's also put the fate of the chapter to the warp. Only with a chapter like the Black Templars, who have an immense fleet and a massive number of marines, can this risk be effectively managed.

Even if you need to lead the chapter on a crusade to conquer multiple system or even a sector, the cost can definitely be cover in long-term. After all, your chapter and your personal influence can be projected on multiple systems or a sector, creating a stable and loyal region so that you don't have to worry about the safety of your homeworld, unless an Ork WAAAGH happen or a traitor invasion. But, if you can get the permission to gain a homeworld, no matter by conquest or being assigned to, you hope to get the chance to choose the location. After all, you don't want your homeworld to be at the Imperium Nihilus side when you unable to stop the destruction of Cadia and the Cicatrix Maledictum form.

Other than this possible benefit, another is the recognition and reputation that you and the chapter can gain. It can let the Imperium, Mechanicus and other chapters to learn about your existence. Increasing the chance of you forging agreement with the others, and gaining helps from them too.

While what you thinking and planning are heretical, and you admit, this thought shouldn't even pass your mind as Space Marine, not to talk about a chapter master.

But, you can actually succeeded depend on what you do. If you can get the support from the 12 members and some members or even one from High Lords of Terra, and avoid doing anything that border heretical, you might be able to get what you want. The support or at least the neutrality from the other Astarte chapter is also crucial, though it might draw Terra's attention. But it's also can help you avoid direct conflict with Terra.

The key is to play it smart, make the right alliances, and keep your actions within the boundaries that Terra would accept. The High Lords understand that the Imperium need Space Marine to maintain stability, especially on the border and the front lines. If you show your chapter value to them and don't push the rules too much, you can secure a place where Terra will let you operate with minimal restrictions.

"Download complete."

The cold and mechanical voice jolts you from your thoughts, pulling your focus back to the present. It seems when you are thinking, the download have already completed. After confirming you have downloaded all the data, you then raise your plasma pistol. Beside you, your honor guards also aim their weapons on the main cogitator. Without a word, all of you fire on it, shredding it to scraps, making sure no other people can gain anything from it.

With the room silent expect for the faint hiss of cooling plasma and the hum of power armor, you nod in satisfaction. "Let's move," you said. "We have what we came for."

As you exited the vault, two of your honor guards armed two of their melta charge to fully destroy the cogitator. Outside the vault, Gideon is there waiting for you, while the other squads are all holding the perimeter. You nodded to Gideon, signaling that the mission is complete. Gideon nodded back to you, and he then issues order to the other squads.

"Form up." Gideon order through the vox. "The mission is complete and now we are leaving this place."

Around you, the squads form up with the same formation that you use to enter the foundry. But now, the only thing that change is you are now standing at the center, an adjustment to make sure the safety of the data.

Moments later, the two honor guards exited the vault, taking their places in the formation. Just as they settled in, a deafening explosion erupted from behind. The melta charges detonated, obliterating the cogitator and any trace of the information it once held. Hearing it, you know it's time to leave.

"Move out." You order while making the first step.

As the group moving out the chamber, the same snarls once again come from the darkness. It's seems more of them have come to kill you and your men.

"Keep moving. This time, we stop for nothing, punch through them." You order, reminding the group of their duty.

As you move into he darkness, the whole place silence down, no sound other than the thunding of boots against the metal floor can be hear. Suddenly, bolter fire and roar of the flamers can be hear within the darkness. The light cast by the weapons illuminate the mutants in the void, charging at the group in a senseless drive, only to be consume by the bolter rounds and flame.