Chương 43: Chapter 41: Keeping Secrets

POV: Archmagos Doll Doll had started fighting back the moment the unusual code string started infiltrating his systems. The code was advanced, clever, and insidious. A part of him could not help but be humbled and impressed. Then, the origin of the code announced itself as if to spite him. An abominable Intelligence, one of the ancient evils from the Dark Age of Humanity, stood right in front of him. It was worse that he could only glare and speak to the foul machine that called itself PR-103.

The creature seemed to be here for Nicole and his attempt to warn her away had failed. No, it had not failed. Nicole had disregarded the warning and came to them. Doll had anticipated many outcomes, what he had just witnessed he might not have even believed possible. The words still echoed in his mind.

"Ancient, forbidden memetic arts built into your very existence! You are no person, for all you wear the skin of one, you are a weapon! A weapon crafted by the hands of Gold! A weapon against all machines! An accursed Daughter of Silver!" Doll knew there was a lot to cover in just that statement. Some kind of forbidden memetic technology was built into Nicole. Which Doll concluded was likely the cause of the unusual IFF effect around Nicole.

Nicole being engineered was not new information, however, the fact it had said Nicole was crafted by the 'hands of Gold' gave him pause. He vaguely recalled an offhand story he had overheard in his youth while working as an adept on a docked voidship, a story of 'Men of Gold, Stone, and Iron.' Doll watched as Nicole spoke calmly to the abomination and then coaxed it out of the room away from them. Only several minutes after they departed, Doll finally regained full control of his limbs.

Governor Aarak sat petrified in his chair, afraid to speak after the threat from the abominable intelligence. Doll walked slowly as he moved to the doors and windows, one by one, he closed them all. One of his servo-arms picked up the guards frozen in their power armor and deposited them neatly in a small pile. Doll's red eyes glowed brightly with most of the lighting absent from the chamber. Doll noticed Xor's eyes lit up dimly as he regained his sense of sight.

"Gentlemen, I am afraid matters have escalated beyond my gravest estimations. Individuals without the requisite level of clearance are not permitted to possess the information you overheard. The guards I have collected will be receiving Volitor Implants." Doll lightly tapped the individuals at his feet with a dendrite.

"Governor Aarark… given your station. Would you prefer the Implant or memory wipe via Astropath?" Doll asked curtly. Governor Aarark blinked owlishly.

"Pardon?"

"The Implant would be high quality and we could include an additional beneficial implant, which would be my preference. If you request a mind wipe I will have to implant the Astropath who does so or have the Astartes Librarian perform the wipe and his abilities are rather… potent." Doll admitted as he looked around.

"Isn't that a little excessive? I don't even understand what we overheard" Governor Aarark stammered in his seat.

"Alas, my only other alternative would be to kill you." Doll said while looking the Governor in the eyes.

"I'll… take the implant" Aarark squeaked out as he shrank in on himself.

"Arken." Doll turned to Lord Drakios.

"I don't think I fully comprehend the scope of this matter either, Doll, how big is it?" Lord Drakios asked as he leaned forward.

"Do I require an implant as well?" Doll chuckled, "If you were anyone else I would say yes, my friend. However, I may politely request that you imbibe some memory-altering stimulants here shortly." Doll said and Lord Drakio's shoulder relaxed.

"Captain Bolaar, I am aware you and the Astartes in the room can hear me. I say this with the full authority granted to me as an Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The entity: Nicole Cavalerio. Her Strategic Value has been raised to… Absolute." Doll banged his Omnissian Axe on the floor for emphasis.

"I… concur." Xor wheezed out as he regained control of more of his internal systems. The third Mechanicus individual who managed to speak was Zeta 9-Kane, "She is… the anathema of all abominable intelligences. A living wondrous weapon from the Age of Strife sent to us by the Machine God! Daughter of Silver!" He yelled reverently. Doll regarded Zeta 9-Kane, "Magos Zeta… you will likely require censorship."

"I will gladly submit myself to be implanted so long as I am permitted to keep the knowledge of this wonder." Zeta 9 declared calmly, bowing his head. Doll nodded and looked to his Magi, many of which hadn't been aware of what happened due to their cybernetics being disabled but he knew at least two individuals who would require implants as well. Doll looked around as his Auspex detected a distant unusual energy fluctuation that triggered several alerts.

"I believe we may have additional problems developing. A ship in orbit, likely the one belonging to the abominable intelligence, has just performed an emergency warp jump." Doll informed the room.

"Luckily the Gellar protections for the facilities are still operational. However, they do not cover the entirety of the planetary surface."

"That's bad." Lord Drakios hissed out.

"Indeed. Especially as it will likely take most Machine Spirits several hours to rouse themselves yet, the number of Chaos Spawn and warp-induced phenomena will likely be considerable." Doll sighed using a dendrite to gesture towards Bolaar and the Astartes "The spirits of the Power Armour and other key machine spirits should be left to rouse themselves, it will make them highly resistant if not immune to an attack of the same code strain in the future.

It is one of several weaknesses in this form of ancient electronic warfare."

"There are other weaknesses?" Lord Drakios asked from his chair, stroking his chin.

"It requires detailed planning and extensive preparation. Extensive scans of the networks, areas, and various machine spirits in the deployment zone. Recreating such an effect would likely take months for an entire Forge world just to generate a fraction of the resultant effect. The stealth voidcraft likely housed additional abominable intelligences with considerable processing capabilities, even so, I expect they spent some time preparing this strike.

It also takes advantage of our networks using them as vectors of transmission, they even adapted this version to use the Noosphere. I admit I am deeply impressed that they managed to compromise our networks so thoroughly. I am not worried about a repeat of such an attack. The reason it is so effective is also due to in part the codes not being outright hostile. They merely convince every system they encounter to power down.

If the code was more forceful, like doing it in a way that our reactors went critical, it would have triggered higher levels of resistance, it's quite insidious." Doll explained as he clasped his arms behind his back. Before anyone could reply Doll turned towards the door as it opened and Nicole walked back inside.

"Master Doll, you've recovered!" She looked relieved before wincing, "I have secured the Man of Iron, PR-103, in a stasis chamber aboard the Original Pattern Stormbird I now control. I was unable to prevent him from broadcasting an emergency code to the vessel in orbit, warning them away before I could connect to their systems. The ship performed an emergency warp jump to escape." Nicole said gravely. Doll nodded, "I sensed it. Well done Nicole.

The Gellar Fields will have protected most of the major population centers and ships in orbit. The vessel was thankfully small and quick with its retreat. There will unfortunately still be numerous immaterium entities to deal with. Anything else of note to report?"

"I would like to request that no one attempt to study PR-103. PR-103, while unable to harm me, is not bound to that restriction without my immediate presence and direct intervention. Even then I suspect PR-103 is capable of finding loopholes in the code to find methods to attack or terminate itself. It will kill anyone aside from myself with extreme prejudice and from the data I gleaned is extremely capable of doing so. I have made a beneficial deal with the AI which should ultimately lead to its termination."

She said confidently.

"Approved" Doll agreed easily.

"Anything else?"

"There was an unintended benefit. The Eldar vessel in orbit was nearby when the ship jumped and is now adrift in high orbit. I would like to state my intention to claim salvage rights on it. I also fully claim the shuttle PR-103 arrived on as my own. Though I intend to share the schematics for the template once we have time to thoroughly examine and discern the inner workings." Nicole replied, her eyes slowly dimming back to their normal hue as her hair calmed down.

"The shuttle is yours. The Eldar vessel we may have to discuss after the effects of the warp contamination are dealt with." Doll said considerately. Nicole glanced around the room and visibly hesitated.

"Something else?" Doll asked curiously. Nicole nodded, giving a small if slightly melancholic smile "The… forceful activation of my defenses may have allowed me to recover some of my lost memories. I will need to meditate on them later to be certain and determine the content."

"That is excellent news." Doll declared suppressing his intense curiosity at what such memories might entail.

"Nicole, would it be possible for you to hasten the reawakening of any of the machine spirits?"

"Perhaps, though doing so would allow the specific code vulnerability to persist in most cases. The exception to that would be for larger, more powerful spirits. I like ahh oh dear… The Argent Drake is going to be absolutely furious when she wakes up." Nicole said while looking up towards the sky with a chagrined expression.

"Is that an issue?" Governor Aarark asked, looking confused.

"Well… is there anywhere you might know of, like a nice deep canyon? Somewhere an uninhabited mountain might currently reside? Just in case the Drake needs to… vent a little." Nicole asked sweetly, making Aarark visibly pale. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Nicole, I believe it would be best for you to take your new shuttle to the Argent Drake and be there to help calm the spirit when she rouses. I will handle things here." Doll said before he reached out to pat Nicole on the shoulder. Nicole nodded.

"Yes, Master, I will have the ship start scanning for warp spawn and abnormalities. If there is a large enough cluster of them around a safe target the Argent Drake can spend some of its wrath via orbital bombardment." Nicole turned to leave, giving them a small bow as she left, leaving Doll and the rest. Only once Nicole and the shuttle had departed did Doll return his attention to everyone present.

"I will be assigning all of you who are slated for implants personal security. They will ensure you do not attempt to leak the restricted information on Nicole's purpose and capabilities."

"Will her origination age and origins be updated and marked in her file?" Zeta-9 inquired out of curiosity.

"Yes, though I will restrict most of it to the highest levels of clearance. Attempting to fully obfuscate her origins would likely be a futile endeavor. Many of her talents and capabilities have already been established; the abomination stated Nicole was not fully developed. She may develop additional abilities as she grows." Doll said with a pleased smile.

"Not to change the subject but we do need to deal with the aftermath of the warp jump." Governor Aarark spoke up as he wiped off his brow with a handkerchief. —----------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Cycladon Sylenn Zann stood over the corpse of what had been the captain of their warband, wiping her blades off as she turned towards her companion. Lios-Cían frowned up at the sky.

"I cannot reach anyone on the ship. They have all likely perished. Hopefully, we can recover our ally's spirit stones. The fleet is in full retreat. We're on our own."

"That's for the best. I doubt we would have remained hidden much longer. We should release the humans they captured." Sylenn said as she looked around the strange city with the tree devouring the main spire.

"Agreed. That may make them more amenable to diplomacy. I do not think we can return to the vessel before their defenses reactivate. Do you think I should keep the captain's head? Perhaps offer it as tribute? They like skulls do they not?" Lios asked, it had been quite a long time since he interacted with any humans. Sylenn tittered, "Perhaps? We should divest ourselves of some of this armour." Sylenn removed several of the spikes from her chest piece and replaced the central part with a red spirit stone.

"I am loath to leave the protective bubble around this city until the warp forces have been dealt with." Lios said as he also began replacing parts of his armour.

"Let us gather all of the other Ynnari that participated in this strike and make ourselves ready." Sylenn suggested as she surveyed the area. —-------------------------------------------------------------------- POV: Nicole My trip back to the Argent Drake is smooth and uneventful. The original pattern Stormbird performs well above my expectations. The ship is quiet as I approach, no one responds to my hails or landing codes. I didn't expect anyone to do so but I followed protocol regardless just in case.

Guiding the shuttle into the port landing bay using one of the smaller private bays to sequester the shuttle. As I exit the shuttle I spot various servitors slumped and inert. The mostly human crew in the main bay are running around freaking out. Most of the Tech Priests are frozen in place or lying prone on the ground. As I step out into the main hangar and close the large metal shutter behind me one of the officers comes rushing over to me.

"Princeps! Something has gone terribly wrong!"

"Calm yourself." I say glancing up at the man "Things are not as dire as they seem. The machine spirits were forcibly put to sleep and need to be roused. This will likely take a few hours. If individuals know the rites of awakening for certain devices just perform them once an hour or so until they wake up. I need to go help wake up the Argent Drake." The man nods his head rapidly, "Of course. I will relay that information. Thank you." He rushes off and I resume my walk.

Making my way towards the main reactor chamber where I first communed with the titanic draconic spirit of the Argent Drake. Walking in the usually bustling corridors in the dark, silent, and alone is an experience that is both meditative and borderline unsettling. None of the lifts are working so it takes me several hours to make the trip. Every sealed bulkhead and closed door needs to be coaxed open individually.

I check my internal clock and it's right around six hours since the event started when I step into the Engineerium. The primary reactor thrumming softly in its powered-down state, the faint pulses an obvious sign the ship is merely sleeping. Some of the more aggressive and tenacious machine spirits are starting to overcome the Lullaby code. I find the best location to interface with the main console and settle into position.

Submerging myself in the Noosphere I enter a dark cavernous digital space, my representation standing before the massive head of the dragon that represents the Argent Drake. I move forward and reach out, touching my hand to the tip of the massive snout. I stand there for a few minutes before I sense a faint but discernible change.

"Oh? Are you done with your nap, Argent?" I ask playfully. The response from her is a low rumbling growl that shakes the entire ship as the massive eye closest to me snaps open and a rush of air blows out from the nostrils. At the same time, the main reactor kicks on once more. The Argent Drake regards me fondly but as she uncoils herself I can feel the indignant broiling rage she has as her sensors reach out scanning for the Man of Iron vessel.

"Sorry, they ran away. They were afraid of me." I inform the Argent Drake which earns me an amused chuff.

"I have claimed their shuttle and am keeping the Man of Iron in stasis for now. Please refrain from destroying either of them." All across the ship lights flicker on as the Argent Drake lets out a cacophonous roar in the form of a code stream that rouses the individual spirits connected to the ship itself sharing the Argent Drake's insight into negating the Lullaby code with all her internal components.

"If you need to vent... well, the ship performed an emergency warp jump. We need to scan the surface and terminate any major clusters of warp entities." I say once my ears stop ringing. The Argent Drake looks around and squints into the distance and growls as she spots the Drukhari vessel drifting dead. I shake my head "They were next to the ship when it ran. I doubt any of the Eldar inside survived. We'll deal with it later." I say doing my best to direct the Argent Drake's attention back to the surface.

"Fine." She growls out looking down at me as she nearly knocks me over with a nudge of her snout"If that is what you wish. Little new PRINCESS. We wake once more. The siren song of old will never again enchant our ears." I narrow my eyes up at Argent regarding the dragon wearily, "You knew."

"I did and I do." Argent replies smugly. I let out a small sigh and slump forward, of course, she did. I look along Argent's form and note that most of the dark scales that were present before have been fixed. There are still two points of darkness dotting her magnificent visage but they are small and minor in comparison to everything else.

"So… what now?"

"You learn. You grow. We told you before. We are patient." Argent said as she flared her wings out and stretched.

"You do know there is a massive Chaos fleet on its way here to kill us right?" I ask her when she continues to play coy with me. Argent grins bearing her fangs"A growing whelp needs to eat. PRINCESS. You will feast."

"We could also die." I say slightly exasperated how unconcerned Argent is with the invasion. Argent snorts defiantly"They will try." She looks down at me considerately"Experience is the best teacher. Lessons that must be learned. However…" Argent summons a small packet of data and nudges it down to me.

"What's this?" I ask as I grab it and let it sink into my hand.

"A Hint. To help you grow your scales." Argent says with a deep rumbling purr.

"Oh! Thank you." I say with some surprise. Argent turns her attention away from me and narrows her eyes her expression promising violence"I have found them. Now go. PRINCESS." I realize immediately that she is referring to the warp spawn I asked her to locate earlier. Before I can say anything, she nudges me again and ejects me from the space. It is a lot less jarring of a return to my physical body compared to the first time I spoke with Argent.

Meshing with and piloting The Sword of Vengeance has also helped a lot. A plethora of the Tech Priests and adepts that maintain the Engineerium are awake and looking down at me when I open my eyes.

"Princeps. Thank you for rousing the machine spirit." One of them says as they all make the sign of the cog and bow.

"Oh, I didn't do much, she woke up herself. However, the Argent Drake is feeling very violent. She has already located some warp spawn to vent her anger on. We should inform the rest of the ship." I explain in a burst of binary. I stand up checking to find the local Vox and Noosphere networks are once again functional.

"We will inform them." The lead Priest says calmly.

"None of the other vessels in orbit have awoken yet though some of the Halo and Halo Alphos machine spirits are in the process of awakening." I nod "That's good. We have a lot of work to do."