Chương 17: Chapter: 16: Marks of Progress

Location: Argent Drake Pilot Chambers"Hey, Ace?" One of the younger pilots approached Ace during his off time. Ace was sitting at the bar inside the Pilot Chambers enjoying a drink.

"Yeah? What's up, Aadesh?" Ace replied as he turned and regarded the younger man, he swirled his Amasec on the rocks.

"You know the Mechanicus ranks and whatnot pretty well, yeah? I just saw a few symbols I didn't recognize." Aadesh slipped into the seat next to Ace as he nursed a cup of hot recaf himself.

"Yeah I have them all memorized. You should memorize them too so you don't accidentally piss off any of the big wigs." Ace gently chastised the younger pilot.

"Yeah I know, ugh. I know the basic ones!" He said in an attempt to defend himself "It looked like this, kind of like a helmet or something and then on the other side was a weird little T-shaped one." Aadesh pulled out his dataslate and drew out the shapes. Ace watched passively at first but as he saw the drawn icons take shape he jolted up in his seat and nearly spat out his drink. He leaned forwards and coughed violently against the bar as he cleared his airway.

"Aadesh. Tell me right now and be honest. I won't be mad if someone put you up to this. You. Personally. Saw with your own two eyes, someone with those symbols on their robes? Red Mechanicus robes trimmed in silver or gold?" Ace reached over to put his hand on the young man's shoulder and made firm eye contact.

"Y-yeah? The short Tech Priest that keeps going into the simulator area had them. I was gonna go up and ask them but they had some really spooky looking guards. They've been coming here for days!" He said as he gestured wildly with his hands.

"Aadesh, that's the symbol for a Knight and that other one is the symbol for the Adeptus Titanicus. If they had gold trimmed robes with those marks that means Princeps. A Princeps! You know pilots of Titans? Those guys have MIUs that make ours look like accessories. You so much as spit in their general direction and the Mechanicus will turn you into a servitor. Less than one in ten million people has the potential to be one."

"How'd you even know all that?" Aadesh asked as he leaned forward.

"My dad met one once, got me tested, apparently my dad's side of the family just barely doesn't qualify for the right genetic markers. We've even seen a few Titans when we made deliveries to Forge Worlds. A few years ago, I got to do a flyby in formation." Ace spoke wistfully.

"So why would they come here?" Aadesh asked, visibly confused.

"Same as us probably, hang out or use the sims not that we have any for Titans or Knights they'd have to…" Ace stopped moving for a moment.

"Princeps… Princeps… PriN… For Throne's sake! Prin's a Princeps. By Saint Drusus' holy dong! We've been trying to race a Princeps!" Ace yelled loud enough that some of the other pilots perked up and looked over.

"Aadesh during which shift do they normally come by to use the sim?" Ace asked the younger pilot with heated intensity.

"I… I think it was during the third shift?" Aadesh sputtered out as he was finally released and slumped back into his seat. —-------------------------------------------- Location: Argent Drake Manufactorum Archmagos Doll stared down at the two Mechanicus individuals that stood in front of him.

"Techwright, Cybersmith, clarify last remarks."

"Yes, Archmagos." The pair parroted simultaneously.

"We enacted repairs to the internal skeleton of Knight designation: Sword of Vengeance. During event designation: Forge Frenzy. Repairs were effective. Upon revision of repairs post event we are unable to fully comprehend changes we enacted." The Cybersmith made no attempt to shirk away from this fact and seemed rather gleeful.

"We produced a set of synthetic fiber bundles, they resemble Synthmuscle, or the fibers used in Astartes armor only upscaled to a high degree. We have all data on how we produced them, however their full function limitations and properties elude us." the Techwright meekly admitted.

"How is the performance and how long until the repairs are complete?" Archmagos Doll asked as he linked and downloaded the data provided by the pair on the new substance.

"Ah, correction Archmagos! Repair status of Knight frame is: complete. Operation is five hundred and two hours ahead of schedule. New substance boasts increased performance, responsiveness, and increased strength to weight ratio over previous alternative by fifty percent." The Cybersmith declared flexing his fingers eagerly.

"However, the resources to produce the synthfibers increased overall cost by roughly one hundred and eighty percent." The Techwright informed Archmagos Doll, giving a sigh as they fidgeted with one of their dendrites.

"I see, well done. Continue your analysis and perform some initial tests to see if this could be scaled down for automata or further scaled up." Doll started marking down the results. This was far from the last team to report being ahead of schedule. The Techmarine duo had finished the massive adamantine armor plates. The plates themselves were still cooling, having been spread out over a huge steel plate like the shell of a great metal mollusk.

Once they had cooled they could get to work adding paint and other details to the massive protective slabs. The level of precision they had managed to apply to their craft was awe-inspiring and humbling for some. Archmagos Doll's own project, the Tempest Blade, was a large and deadly work of art. He had elected, after consulting Nicole, to alter the ruined base of the blade into a proper handle and the overall plans called for replacing the end of the right arm with a more articulate and dexterous hand mechanism.

Then there was Nicole's work. It had taken him and the Magi almost half a day just to figure out what she had done. The gun was still a filthy mess, Doll had assigned a team to cleanse the mechanisms and they were hard at work. Despite the grime the alterations and repairs Nicole had performed had fixed the firing mechanism. The machine spirit of the weapon was practically frothing and begging for ammunition.

The barrels were perfectly synced and linked, the feeds even gunked up as they were when loaded with test shells ran smooth. Nicole had managed at some point during the Forge Frenzy while working on the cannon to put in a request for some additional crafting materials. Hollow adamantine rods, thin adamantine plates, and small jet turbine parts were now sitting on the bench she had been using. Waiting for her return after once he allowed her to do so.

Doll was merely waiting until she had time for the initial psychic lessons to settle in. The entire team working to repair the Teleportarium had been present and despite not forging anything noteworthy during their fugue, all of them reported having gleaned insights that they had applied vigorously to the ancient component immediately after they had rested. The Teleportarium was now mere two weeks away from being ready for a practical test.

A large portion of the Astartes gear had been present and repaired well above expectation. Individuals lucky enough to have ordered personal commissions to be made during the event had received quality items worth far more than their initial cost. Scant few had even applied their insights to the Manufactorum itself.

Doll stopped and looked at his right hand which held his personal Omnissian Axe, gifted to him by his once mentor and the current High Fabricator of the Lathes when he earned his title of Magos, a lauded tradition amongst the Mechanicus. He had gleaned his own refining insights into power and bladed weaponry during the event. Archmagos Doll sent a message to Magos Xor.

"Xor I am going to ask the Lord Captain for permission to make something. Your presence will be required to stop me from going too far."

"Archmagos, please elaborate." Xor replied instantly, his tone weary and concerned.

"I am going to craft Nicole an Omnissian Axe." Doll said wistfully as he swung his own axe lazily in front of him.

"That is a noble goal, I do not understand why you would require…" Xor spoke but Doll cuts him off.

"In light of Nicole's recent ability. I'm going to use one of the Lorelei stacks." Doll stated firmly.

"I… have no records of such a thing ever been attempted." Xor said softly.

"Neither have I." Doll replied with a wry grin.

"I'm going to do it anyway." he loweed his axe striking the base of the pommel into the floor with a loud, satisfying clang.

"Yes, Archmagos. By your will." Xor stated seriously. —-------------------------------------------- Location: Argent Drake Bridge"Lord Drakios, I hope all is well?" Archmagos Doll stood next to the Rogue Trader's command throne.

"I'm fine. There is still no response from our long range hails from Ur-Haven. No signs of a patrol vessel this far out either. The Hammer and The Lady have rejoined us in formation." Lord Drakios stated as he inspected the nearly full fuel levels with a satisfied nod.

"They will have certainly detected the warp egress of the various vessels along with the plasma explosion. Their hesitancy and caution is curious." Doll stated while he examined the stellar map.

"We shall arrive within our estimated time frame. Their orbital yards should be capable of hosting us."

"Yes, well, how they respond to our hails will determine if we are going to arrive politely or if we need to make the planetary governor wet his britches." Lord Drakios said with a wry smirk.

"Yes, hosting a powerful Rogue Trader, an Archmagos, and an Astartes Captain is a great honor." Doll chuckled before his tone softened "Arken… I have a favor to ask." Lord Drakios looked over in surprise "What sort of favor, Akellonon?"

"I wish to use one of the Lorelei stacks we discovered and claimed for a crafting project." Doll said bluntly.

"A full stack? Does this have something to do with your little soiree in the Manufactorum?" Arken asked as he considered the value of the material.

"It is indirectly related to that and directly related to Nicole." Doll stated as he gave a small sigh and brought one of his dendrite arms around.

"That's a bit of a pricey favor isn't it?" Arken asked, and attempted to probe how far he wanted to go.

"Arken, if I told you the real value of everything Nicole has done and generated while onboard your ship since she woke up you would spit blood." Doll stated and Arken sputtered in disbelief.

"Doll, that seems like an extreme exaggeration." He shot back and huffed. Doll extended a dataslate to Arken who took it and frowned.

"What is this?"

"The value of everything that was produced during the Manufactorum incident." Doll informed Arken whose eyes bulged at the figure.

"At minimum commercial value."

"Nevermind… take the stack. Throne, take two. She really helped us that much?" Arken asked as he stared at the dataslate with a mix of elation and confusion.

"That is what the event produced. The actual value she has produced, before even considering her personal value, exceeds that by an order of magnitude." Doll stated as Arken paled slightly.

"And her personal value?" He asked though he was unsure if he wanted to know.

"If I did not hold the title of Archmagos I would greatly worry about our capacity to keep her. The value she represents to the Mechanicus and Titanicus is nearly unfathomable, yet I feel we have not seen her full capabilities." Doll admitted with a shrug.

"You recall two years ago, the forces assembled for Hell's Teeth?"

"I heard the rumors, billions of Skitarii." Arken said dreading where Doll was going with this.

"Going to look for an STC database on a daemon world." Arken held the dataslate back out to Doll. Doll nodded "A billion seems like a proper number for Nicole's current value. However it continues to rise the more I learn from observing and teaching her. Have you seen any of the reports from Lady Nostromo, Lady Supine, and Librarian Astrovas?" Doll inquired, tilting his head as he took back the slate.

"No. Why?" Akren asked as he leaned back in his command throne.

"Nicole has taken to the various lessons quite well. However there are signs that Nicole's willpower may have thus far been drastically underestimated." Doll said with a pleased tone.

"Throne, Doll, any other bombshells to drop on me while you're here?" Arken asked sarcastically.

"Actually yes. The Teleportarium will be ready for testing in two weeks and the Knight will be fully repaired by the time we arrive." Doll informed Arken. Arken put his face in his hands and leaned forwards.

"Doll, since she is not with you, where is Nicole right now?"

"Nicole is currently having tea with your grandchild. She is questioning Nicole about Astartes and… the Primarchs. We may need to add lessons on concealing forbidden knowledge to Arianwyn" Doll spoke and Arken, too composed to do so, wanted to scream. —-------------------------------------------- Location: Drakios family decks, Arianwyn's receiving room. I have been doing my best to behave lately after the Forge Frenzy incident.

Despite not getting into trouble I just needed to lay low and not deal with the wild warhammer universe shenanigans that seemed to delight in surprising me. I haven't even been back to the Manufactorum in the past few days. Getting lessons about psykers and the warp is surprisingly tolerable. Learning how to perform meditation from an Astartes Librarian is so freaking cool.

Navigator Nostromo is extremely knowledgeable on all things the warp and Astropath Supine has been giving me lessons on various psychic phenomena so I can recognize them eventually. Attending tea with Arianwyn had seemed like a good idea earlier in the week. I am so glad I did, the change of pace was very welcome. The Drakios family has a whole section of the ship to themselves, not too far from the bridge and the luxury passenger quarters. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Arianwyn has her own little section that is roughly the size of a small estate. It is a bit much in my opinion but it's great for hosting. I made sure my robes were nice and clean and I gave myself an extra thorough wash before showing up. One of her servants shows me to the receiving room. Delta-A3 follows me inside while most of my guards politely remain outside as a sign of trust. Besides Arianwyn has her own extremely well trained House Guard. I only have to wait for a couple of minutes before Arianwyn arrives.

She is wearing House Drakios colors and the dress looks made for comfort of which I approve.

"Lady Arianwyn" I say with a polite nod. With my new status I've learned, via scolding, that it is inappropriate to bow deeply to anyone other than Master Doll or Lord Drakios.

"Princeps Nicole!" She says excitedly and comes over to the small ornate table.

"Please sit! It's nice to see you again. I've heard you have had a lot going on lately. I'll have Mary get us tea."

"You can just call me Nicole." I smile politely and sit "Yeah, there have been a lot of changes this last week. All good of course."

"Okay, but only in private and if you call me Arianwyn! It's all been so exciting! That was my first time seeing space combat!" Arianwyn says excitedly.

"Mmm, hard to call that combat. The enemy was not prepared for a ship our size and we got lucky with that first salvo. Ships rarely detonate like that let alone after the first volley." I tell Arianwyn "The Argent Drake had both the range advantage and a huge amount of strike craft and point defenses as well. The enemy strike craft really didn't have much of a chance to retaliate." I glance up as Mary comes back with a pot of tea and two cups. She proceeds to gracefully pour one for Arianwyn and then myself.

"I also hear you've gotten to work with the Astartes. You've got one in your protection detail, and you're getting lessons from one!" Arianwyn says excitedly as she sips her tea and leans in.

"Well while that is true, Brother Silverwalker was assigned to look after me because I am also in charge of taking care of the Dreadnoughts. Most of their high ranking Mechanicus personnel didn't make it through the rigorous trials they faced in the warp." I said solemnly with a shake of my head.

"Do you know much about the Astartes, Arianwyn?" I ask her as I take a sip of the tea. It's wonderful with a rich, gentle flavor that slides over my tongue.

"Not really, there isn't much information on them I can access besides how to interact with them and identify chapters and such." Arianwyn says with a faint pout.

"They just look so cool!" I smile and nod "Yes, well perhaps I can enlighten you a little bit. The Star Dragons are an Iron Hands successor chapter. That means their geneseed is derived from the Primarch Ferrus Manus. Primarch of the tenth legion and the Iron Hands." Arianwyn nods eagerly "Primarchs are the Emperor's sons! Wait tenth? How many legions are there?" she questions.

"Well now there are many but originally there were twe… EIGHTEEN." I say with a cough.

"I can tell you a bit about the nine loyal Primarchs if you want." I say trying to quickly move on.

"Sure! That sounds fascinating! My tutors always argue about the actual number."

"We will go in order then. The first legion is the Dark Angels, and their Primarch is Lion El'Jonson, who is currently missing, their homeworld was Caliban but it was destroyed during the Heresy. Their colors are dark green and white. Their chapter icon is a winged sword."

"Following the Dark Angels we have the White Scars! Their Primarch Jaghatai Khan is currently missing. Their homeworld is Chogoris, and their colors are primarily white and red. Their icon is a cool lightning bolt. The White Scars are well known for going fast. Then we have the Space Wolves. Their Primarch is Leman Russ of Fenris."

"Oh! I know that one!" Arianwyn chimes in and I nod.

"Indeed, the Space Wolves colors are grey and blue. Their icon is obviously a wolf. I hear some of them even have giant wolves that they ride into battle on like mounts." I say and I take another sip of my tea.

"Next! The Imperial Fists. They are Masters of Defense. Their Primarch is Rogal Dorn, and they are our first fleet based chapter. Their colors are primarily yellow with black and red. Their icon is a raised fist. Dorn is also missing." I pause when I go to take a sip of tea and find my cup empty. I set it down and let Mary refill my cup.

"Then we have the Blood Angels. Their Primarch Sanguinius fell during the heresy against The Archtraitor Horus while defending the Omnissiah. Their homeworld is Baal. Their colors are red and black, and their icon a black winged drop of blood." I raise my now full cup in a toast and Arianwyn copies me.

"The next legion is the one I mentioned before. The Iron Hands. Their Primarch was Ferrus Manus, who fell in the Heresy against a daemon possessed Fulgrim. Their colors are black and grey. Their icon is a mechanical white hand. They are extremely fond of cybernetics and get along well with some of the Mechanicus factions." I watch as Arianwyn reaches blindly for a cookie while paying rapt attention.

"The next legion is well known. The Ultramarines. They have a lapis-blue, white and gold color scheme. Their icon looks like a fancy U, but it's called the Ultima glyph from their home realm of Ultramar. Their Primarch is Robute Guilliman who is very much alive. They are known for being amazing at logistics and well rounded and good at everything but not the best at anything either." I shrug as I also reach for one of the little sugar cookies biting into it with a satisfying crunch.

"Next we have the Salamanders. Their Primarch is Vulkan of Nocturne. Their colors are primarily green with black and gold. Their icon is a silver dragon on a dark background. They're fond of fire weaponry like flamers. Vulkan is currently missing. Vulkan is said to have been the physically largest of the Primarchs as well as a talented smith." I say as I pause for another sip of tea.

"The last of the loyal legions is the Raven Guard. Their Primarch is Corvus Corax of Deliverance. Their colors are black and white. Their icon is a white raven on a black background. They are known for being stealthy and tactical. An unusual thing to consider a hulking figure in power armor stealthy but they manage it." I admit with a wry little grin.

"Which Primarch is your favorite?" Arianwyn asks me and I frown.

"That's pretty a difficult question. Both Ferrus Manus and Vulkan are known for being exceptional craftsmen. Probably one of those two." I declare after considering the issue.

"Ah, I have just been told by Master Doll that this discussion subject is not appropriate for tea time." I say with a small shrug as I mentally close the noospheric message. Arianwyn giggles and nods towards me "I am a bit surprised you got as far as you did without being politely asked to stop. Do you want more treats? I feel like I should repay you more for your lovely gift." Arianwyn glances towards the little pile of pastries in the middle of the table.

"Oh! I'm glad you liked the weapon MIU!" The mention of the gift reminds me of the MIU interface I sent her.

"Yes! Thank you so much, it's absolutely lovely. Grandfather is going to get me some armor made to wear with it once my combat training starts back up." Arianwyn gushes, waving her hands enthusiastically.

"Mmm I will guess, light carapace? Or perhaps a full set of Lathe quality carapace. I use a compact, heavily modified suit of pressure-carapace over of my synskin." I admit even lifting a sleeve to show off the armor under my robes.

"Ah. Yes, a carapace set. Though once I mature I might get a powered armor set like my mother has. She's the heir apparent right now. She captains the Argent's Daughter. It's a… a…" Arianwyn snaps her fingers "A Secutor-class monitor-cruiser! It wasn't with us when that warp storm happened, thank the Emperor. That ship usually sticks around close to the family capital." Arianwyn explains and I perk up.

"A Secutor? That's a lovely ship. Let me guess… It has… A Nova Cannon?" I ask and watch as Arianwyn's eyes widen in surprise.

"Yes! How did you know?" She asks curiously as she reaches for a cookie from the snack tray.

"I figured a family doing well like yours, and a connection to the Mechanicus could get one. The Argent Drake has Archeotech torpedo tubes in the prow and none of the other vessels of this fleet would be suitable for one. As a system or subsector defense ship it makes sense. Plus a Secutor is a modified Lathe class. They've got robust power systems so aside from the cannon it's probably got long range lasers or perhaps it's a brawler with melta broadside, wait no!

If it's fully decked out in Lathe produced weaponry that means grav-culverns on the sides with a dorsal lance. Probably a Titanforge or Sunhammer lance battery." I postulate as I also reach for a cookie. Arianwyn blinks slowly as she nibbles her treat "I… don't actually know what kind of lances but yes it's got the grav-culverns and a lance of some sort. You're very good at that." She mumbles looking down at her tea with pursed lips.

"I like ships a lot. I made copies of every vessel type and shape from the ship's database. When I get bored I like to peruse the list. It's that or I look at some of the data I got from the Star Dragons former Magos." I shrug and notice Arianwyn seems pensive.

"What do you like to do?" I ask Arianwyn to get her talking again.

"Well I like to explore the ship somewhat. My lessons eat up a lot of time each day. The amount of things a Rogue Trader needs to know is crazy!" She whines a little and I nod sympathetically.

"At least you have a MIU to help. Yours is quite nice, the soft gold ports go well with your skin and hair. However I think you might want to work on your digital defenses if you're going to constantly link to the Noosphere." I say as I send Arianwyn the 40k equivalent of a popup ad. She jumps in her seat and I giggle softly "I can help you with those. Master Doll said my defense programs are first rate." Arianwyn nods "Yes please. Ugh, I had no idea someone could do that." she grumbles and goes for another cookie.

"If you like to wander the ship I can totally invite you next time I go to look for a lost component or forgotten treasures." I tease Arianwyn just a little as she is taking the next bite.

"You do what!?" she squeaks out.

"I'm the one who found the Teleportarium! I have two drones mapping the ship to compare it to the map we currently have. There have been a few minor discrepancies and that led me to finding the Teleportarium. I've had them looking through the lower storage bays currently. I expect I'll get something in the next week or two to investigate." I tell Arianwyn who looks very excited as she turns and looks right at her guard. The guard chews it over before nodding "As long as we and the Princeps guards accompany you.

I do not foresee a reason to refuse you, my lady."

"Yesss!" Arianwyn does a very dignified celebratory dance and as she does I get a ping.

"Oh… I think I am going to get scolded, and you are going to get an extra lessons in keeping secrets for me telling you about the Primarchs. Sorry." I say with a small look of guilt. Arianwyn meanwhile waves it off "Worth it. Do you have any idea how few peers I have on this ship? I finally have a friend! One I know isn't a suckup or some political plant." I give a small snort of amusement and crack a smile.

"Oh, we're friends already?" I can't help but tease Arianwyn a little more.

"Rather bold of you, Lady Arianwyn."

"I know for a fact you also don't have many peers, and the old Magi don't count!"

"What a rude thing to say to the Matriarch of the Cavalerio Knight house." I give my best snooty noble sniff.

"You're the only person registered to your house and your Knight isn't even ready yet." She shoots back having done her homework at least. I giggle and give her a grin "It will be done before we get to port. I'll let you know when so you can come watch when I take it for a walk through the training fields. It's going to be glorious." I say wistfully.

"What was it like? Linking to the Knight?" Arianwyn asks. I actually blush faintly and cringe "I um… I can't really say for sure. The machine spirit of the Knight was being really feisty so I smacked it once and accidently almost killed it. On the positive side it's totally obedient now."

"That does not match what I read at all." Arianwyn says with an exaggerated groan.

"I… ah… I need to get going. It's almost time for my meditation lesson with Brother Librarian Astrovas. We should do this again if I don't message you in a week or two for an exploratory adventure into the depths of the Argent Drake." I say as I stand up. I approach Arianwyn but she beats me to it as she gives me a hug. She lets out a straining huff when she tries to squeeze me and makes a face "I have made a tactical error. You are practically made of metal, squeezing is not a good idea."

I roll my eyes and respond by gently hugging her back. I note that annoyingly she is slightly taller than I am.

"See you later. Good luck with your studies, Arianwyn." I say as I depart. Regaining some of her noble bearing Arianwyn gives me a textbook curtsy with a little extra flourish.

"It was my pleasure hosting you this day Lady Cavalerio."

"Oh praise the Omnissiah. I don't have to put up with nobles acting like that towards me every day. I can just put my hood up and my helmet on and babble at them since most don't speak binary." I give Arianwyn a wave as I leave. She waves back and looks a little disappointed that our little get together got cut short. However I get the feeling she enjoyed my presence as much as I enjoyed hers.

"I'll send you that cybernetic electronic warfare packet. You better read all of it!" I firmly remind Arianwyn just before she turns around. On my way to my lesson I pause as get a notification from C. A. T. -1. They have flagged a discrepancy deep in the lower part of the ship. I grin, Arianwyn might get her little adventure sooner than she thought.