Warhammer : Machinist and The Exile

- Moon Tear Station, Briefing chamber.

The Briefing chamber of was a stark contrast to the hellish surface of Luna.

Here, the war was waged through data streams, fleet telemetry, and hololithic projections. Gleaming panels and cogitator banks lined the chamber, the air filled with the hum of precision-machined systems.

No statues of Imperial saints, no gilded eagles adorned the walls — only the cold, utilitarian insignia of the Machinist's sigil engraved upon steel wall.

At the heart of it all, Nusa, the Machinist sat upon his command chair, a faint grin curving his lips. The vast hololith before him displayed the closing warp rift, the sealed containment of Magnus the Red, and the rout of traitor forces.

With him are his member of war councils. Men and women handpick from their extraordinary talent and service in their own service. General Reinhard, Marshall Zukov, General Lee, High analyst Nyla, Nadia, and Marshall kyros.

He clapped his gloved hands together, sharp and measured.

"Excellent. That was our first true combat deployment since resurface, and I would say… a satisfactory field test."

His voice carried the warmth of a commander genuinely pleased with his people.

He looked to the officers stationed around the nexus — the faces of his senior command cadre projected in life-sized frames upon the walls. Each saluted crisply in turn.

"Well done, all of you," Nusa nodded.

"Now. Honest reviews. I want combat feedback, no ceremonial flattery. Tactics, logistics, operational cohesion — speak plainly."

The first to answer was Fleet Admiral Zukov, a stern man with a hawkish face and a voice like cut glass.

"Fleet support operation executed at 96.4% efficiency, Lord Machinist. HVL deployments were flawless. Minor deviation on LZ Delta-9 due to terrain instability — corrected within permissible window. Air superiority maintained throughout. Enemy Hellblade losses exceeded projected ratios by 31%. Orbital overwatch coverage clean. No civilian or allied crossfire incidents."

He gave a brief nod.

"Recommend adjustments to atmospheric insertion corridors for future mass drops on lunar-gravity worlds. Turbulence layer interaction at altitude band 14 caused sensor distortion. Non-critical, but worth refining."

"Noted." Nusa gestured, and the data was flagged on a side display.

General Reinhard, commander for ground forces, and the mission overseer spoke next his face scarred, his voice cold as iron.

"Ground campaign saw primary objectives achieved within operational window, Lord Machinist. Daemonic and traitor forces routed. Experimental containment weapon performed above expectations. Zaku II units accounted for 15 high-threat daemon engine eliminations."

"Additionally," Reinhard continued, activating a new hololithic file, "experimental anti-warp energy armaments, mounted on Zaku II squadrons, proved viable under full combat conditions."

Nusa nodded in satisfaction. Further improvement is already on his enhanced mind.

General Reinhard continued.

"However."

A fresh hololith flared to life, displaying casualty figures.

"Our CTG Shinobi strike forces suffered unacceptable attrition rates. Seventy-two percent dead, seventeen percent critically wounded. Sealing Corps suffered heavy psychic backlash casualties during the Magnus containment phase. Losses are within predicted models for engagements against daemon primarch-tier targets, but morale and unit strength will require immediate replenishment."

A grim silence settled.

"The shinobi forces was gene engineer by lord machinist himself. i have crafted the best training program set. those shinobi forces was meant for shadow strikes, assasination, intel gathering but not frontline soldiers. it is evidence by the first part of rescue mission where they are doing their suppose role, none died but as soon the alarm klaxon they immediately shift roles unto frontliners. that is going to be costly in casualties rating" Marshal Kyros suddenly argues.

Marshal Kyros was an older woman by Exile standards, her close-cropped hair streaked with silver, face lined with the fatigue of centuries in the of ensuring the stability of geneclone supply.

The crimson trim on her command collar denoted her authority over clone-birthing facilities and military personnel conditioning across the fleet.

"They knew the risks." Reinhard nodded. "And executed flawlessly. Nonetheless, I recommend pulling frontline CTG Shinobi for rotation and reinforcement immediately. Field hospitals are operational, but psychic fatigue at these levels will impair combat effectiveness for the remainder of the campaign."

Nusa exhaled, the weight of command settling upon his shoulders once more.

"Agreed. Rotate them out. Commendations and posthumous honors to be prepared for the fallen. Seiji's units saved this battle."

Reinhard nodded sharply.

"Of course, my Lord."

The next report came from High analyst Nyla, war council member with great accument of analysist that she was recommended as an in-house council in the war council membership.

"Tactical pattern review confirms high unit cohesion among mechanized detachments. Zaku II and AMP armor performed within 5% of stress-test predictions. Machine spirit resonance minimal. However…"

She adjusted the projection. Her eyes still show the sharpness inside her wrinkle face.

"Our interoperability with Imperial command structures remains a point of concern. Multiple vox cross-traffic incidents. Imperial Guard units failed to recognize IFF tags in three recorded engagements. Friendly fire incidents narrowly averted by the 3rd iron cohoer override protocols. Recommend immediate establishment of joint operations command liaison on Imperial flagship to mitigate further incidents."

"Excellent catch. Make it happen." Nusa said, already tapping a command rune.

"Also," Nyla added, "Mechanicus units have begun attempts to scan our forces. A Magos identified as Lurien personally attempted binharic handshake requests with our Zaku internal system. Standard response protocols held, but persistent attention expected."

"Let them watch. But no tech left behind. Reinforce retrieval protocols immediately."

"How about you?" Nusa ask looking at the next commander reporting to him.

"Lord Machinist," Kyros began, inclining her head.

"Marshal Kyros," Nusa acknowledged, curious. "Your assessment?"

Kyros's expression was grim.

"Geneclone operational performance from shinobi data stream show they are within predicted tolerances. Physical combat efficiency at 98.3% sustained through peak engagement. No material failure or neural overload. That said—" she brought up a fresh display of datastream logs

"—a weakness has been verified."

The display listed combat footage, biometrics, and field psych reports from the after battle report.

"Post-engagement evaluations show persistent psychic contamination effects on multiple CTG and general ground detachments. Elevated rates of irrational behavior, disassociation, and post-combat trauma not attributable to conventional battlefield stressors."

She didn't need to name it. Warp-taint. The insidious psychic filth that clung even after the daemons died.

"This flaw was anticipated in theoretical projections but remained unconfirmed until live combat against sustained warp incursions. Existing mental conditioning protocols are insufficient. Our medical teams can purge toxins, treat psi-burn, repair organics — but cannot stabilize psychic trauma on this scale."

Kyros met Nusa's gaze directly.

"It is a strategic vulnerability, my Lord."

Seiji, Reinhard, and Nyla all exchanged glances in their hololithic frames.

Nusa leaned forward.

"Cause?"

"A doctrinal blind spot. Ten thousand years of exile bred combat-optimized clones, not warp-resilient troops. No mental resilience modules against residual metaphysical corruption were built into the gene-sequencing programs. We have no null-hybrid personnel. No anti-psychic corps embedded at the line level."

She gestured toward a final hololith — a playback of one of Naon's exhausted sealing operatives, muttering incoherently post-battle.

"Their rituals stabilize the warp — but we have no defense once it stains the soul."

A long, heavy silence fell over the nexus.

Finally, Nusa nodded.

"Marshal Kyros. Begin immediate revision of training protocols. Prioritize resilience conditioning for psychic anomalies for the next. Draft proposals for integrated null-ward units or augmentation programs. Pull every archived case study from the old war. Even forbidden records."

He turned to Nyla. "You'll coordinate."

"How do you want to implement this?" Nusa ask Kyros.

"The first wave is already deep in-theater, and the second wave has reached final deployment staging. It's too late to retrofit them without compromising readiness. The third wave, however still within pre-field conditioning phase thus can be adjusted. I will initiate resilience module trials within seventy-two hours, with full integration into subsequent generations within thirty days." Marshall kyros momentarily paused before answering.

"Expedite it. I won't have our people breaking apart because of a flaw we refused to see." Nusa ordered.

Kyros saluted.

"By your will, Lord Machinist."