+++ SEGMENTUM SOLAR +++ DEEP SPACE BETWEEN PHAETON AND NECROMUNDA +++ ORDO MECHANICUS REPOSITORY SHIP - ARIMAN'S TOME +++
Biologis Initiate XIM-C34 knelt in the dull blue glow of the stasis module, performing her rites of maintenance on the unit. The faint readings from the pod indicated all was well, the subject inside was perfectly maintained in suspended animation, and that she could mark this pod's checks as complete for this ten solar year service interval. Extending a small mechandrite which automatically heated, she left a tiny mark on the wax panel inlaid in the side of the module. For a moment she looked over the wax. Her mark, containing her designation, was the previous five on this panel. Before that, twenty two were her predecessor, and sixteen another Biologis she did not know. In total, Four hundred and thirty years since this pod was activated.
Gently sweeping some dust from the cool glass, she peered inside. The subject was a slightly wrinkled metre-wide fleshy ball of red and yellow. A Chbal Bouncer, an unusual but mostly harmless creature, chosen to be taken as a prototype sample aboard this vessel - the Ordo Mechanicus Repository Ship, Ariman's Tome.
XIM moved along the aisle of pods. After a rest cycle she would return to this row and check the next pod in line. And the next. Continuing along this row of one thousand pods, in this stack of five hundred rows, in the fourth hold of the ship, diligently doing her duty until one day her services may be required elsewhere. Or not.
XIM, a speck in the dullness of the hold, moved almost silently to the long-closed ten-storey tall hold doors emblazoned with a vast Mechanicus insignia, and disappeared through much smaller, plain hatch beside it. On her way she had passed another large set of doors, these with vast bars welded in place and chains taut across their surface. Two heavily armed servitors ceaselessly patrolled back and forth in front of them, the floor where they moved polished over centuries to an almost mirror shine compared to the starship standard hard wearing dark grey grip-paint of the rest of the flooring.
It was the entrance to the fifth hold of the ship. The Xenos Extremis hold. Dangerous sample storage. Her clearance was not high enough to even enter there. If XIM had any ambitions beyond doing her duty, utmost was she wanted to see the biological wonders stored safely in there.
As XIM made her way back to the crew quarters, she became aware of an excited noospheric chatter emanating from the nearest refectory area. Instead of going directly to her rest chamber, she headed there to see what was happening.
The large eating area full of functional metal tables and benches had far more Mechanicus assembled than usual for this hour. She picked up that the reason was a broadcast from the ship's command decks to the other areas. She tapped into a nearby console to read the message herself.
The ship was going for resupply. Although repository vessels like this one tended to stay out in deep space longer than most human vessels, the news should not have cause such excitement. Then she picked up the world they would be supplied at - Necromunda - The Eye of Selene. A manufacturing jewel in the Imperium's crown. That would be a sight to behold, and XIM couldn't quite contain a little chitter of excitement herself.
After acknowledgement and brief discussion of what an interesting prospect a visit to Necromunda was with a few Mechanicus she knew in the room, she headed for her rest chamber. The ship would be entering the warp within a few hours, and XIM wanted to be resting when it happened - the Gellar field being activated always glitched her sensors for a few hours and she would prefer to not be working at the time.
******
She was woken to the blare of sirens and a string of ship-wide noospheric notifications pinging away in her mind. Quickly sifting the messages she established that there had been a partial failure of the Gellar field and a warp incursion on the command deck. Her notifications beckoned her to return to her work area and scan for damage.
She immediately made her way to the small door to Hold Four. The air was a little smokey with vented coolant from somewhere above. Several of the stasis modules had blinking orange or yellow lights on their control units indicating system instability. She passed one flashing between red and orange as the creature inside writhed. For her whole time here the samples had been statues sealed in the pods - her biological components felt the cold wash of what she recognised as fright and fear at the realisation that some of the samples - the most psychically active species - were moving. Gellar field damage within the warp must have acted like a shot of adrenaline to their dormant minds, but so far none had broken free.
She began working her way amongst the rows of pods, using the row master control units to increase stasis field power in entire batches where the most active samples were, dashing down the rows to boost individual pods where only one or two in a row were showing strain.
It was whilst dashing between rows that the deep booming klaxon shook her on her feet. Status lights along the wall turned from yellow to red. She knew what that was. She knew it deep in her memory banks. She turned to face the massive armoured doors of Hold Five. Twirling alarm lights were flashing all around the door. The two servitors had turned to face the door and she could hear their targeting systems echo-locating against the huge metal slab.
There was a thunderous crash as the door shook. Streams of rust flitted from above. She focused her sensors on the door and started to open her nosspheric comms up to as many and as high clearance channels as her profile allowed, and transmitted:
+++EMERGENCY - CONTAINMENT BREACH - HOLD FIVE XENOS EXTREMIS+++
Immediately the chatter in the noosphere redoubled as the door thundered again. XIM tried to return to her directed work as whatever was in high security containment tried to get out, her biological matter flooded with adrenalin she was struggling to subdue, several of her mechandrites had started to twitch without her direct input.
More armed servitors trundled into the hold, along with a detachment of Skitarii and a couple of higher ranking Biologis, who immediately ran to the door controls and began interrogating the system for integrity reports.
The whole ship seemed to shudder violently as the huge door shifted on it runners. XIM, unable to focus on her work any longer, turned to look in time to see a shiny white and purple Xenos head peek through the small gap. Its jet black eyes seemed to fix on her for the briefest of moments before a storm of stubber and las fire shredded it. One of the other servitors began firing upwards - at the top of the door another such creature was slinking out through the gap. Two massive sets of claws appeared and began to pry the doors open as the storm of gunfire into the breach intensified.
XIMs attention was drawn from the horrors escaping the hold by the sound of shattering glass behind her. She tentatively turned her head to see a strange combination of millipede and scorpion pry itself out of a stasis pod one tier back. It saw her just as she sent an alert. Its tail coiled back and it leapt at her with a hiss...
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
+++ TWO WEEKS LATER +++ SEGMENTUM SOLAR +++ NECROMUNDA SYSTEM +++ OUTLIER DEFENCE STATION GAMMA SIX SIX +++
Rettis, System Defence Lieutenant, picked his way behind the various sensor monitoring servitors to the workstation of a rating who was repeating a message into his vox over and over.
"Something wrong, DeReiss?" he asked the Rating.
"A Mechanicus vessel, sir. Ariman's Tome. They have exited the warp but are not responding to hailing. The system shows they are expected on a supply run to the Eye of Selene."
"Bloody technos," sighed Rettis. "Probably been fiddling with their com system and broken something. Send them their berth information for the Eye, we'll have the log of sending it even if they've broken something. Cover our own arses if they don't hear us."
With that he made his way back to his plain steel desk and sagging chair. He sighed as he checked his watch and saw there were still six hours of his shift to go.
+++ THREE HOURS LATER +++ SEGMENTUM SOLAR +++ NECROMUNDA SYSTEM +++ EYE OF SELENE DOCKING CONTROL +++
"Ariman's Tome, respond immediately, over."
A pause of a few seconds for any reply.
"Ariman's Tome, you are out of pattern. Slow down and proceed to holding patter Sigma Six."
Still no reply.
The docking control supervisor turned to the system port captain behind him - "Sir, the Mechanicus vessel incoming is approaching hot, won't move to the pattern and won't respond to hailing... that's never happened to me before. They are due to arrive though. What am I supposed to do?"
The Captain sighed deeply. Doctrine said to fire a warning shot at the incoming ship. The Doctrine didn't consider that the ship might be an Ordo Mechanicus vessel, undoubtedly containing a great many people who greatly outranked him.
Not immediately coming up with a suitable excuse to do nothing at all, he sighed: "Tell them we will be forced to fire on them if they don't acknowledge our instructions".
"Are you... sure sir?"
"Just do it."
"Uh... Ariman's Tome..." the docking supervisor's voice cracked "...Slow down and proceed to holding pattern Sigma Six, or... we will be forced to fire on you."
The supervisor drew his lips back apprehensively as he awaited a reply. None came.
The supervisor turned back to the captain... "What now, sir?"
"Where exactly are they heading?"
"At their current speed and vector they will hit atmosphere just north of Primus."
"So they won't hit the Eye?"
"No"
"So they're no threat to the Eye?"
"...no?"
"Looks to me like they know their business and aren't docking. Acknowledge that they've chosen not to dock and wish them well on their journey."
"Really?"
The Captain gave him a look to emphasise that the matter was closed.
The supervisor turned back to his vox - "Ariman's Tome. Acknowledged that you are not in a docking pattern. Proceed clear of the Eye of Selene. Out."
Both the Supervisor and Captain smiled at a job well done.
+++ ONE HOUR LATER +++ SEGMENTUM SOLAR +++ NECROMUNDA SYSTEM +++ NECROMUNDA +++ 322.4 KLIKS NORTH NORTH EAST OF HIVE PRIMUS +++ FRIDAY +++ TWO FIFTY FOUR PM +++
"Hey, Skuzzit, lookit that!"
Skuzzit, annoyed at being interrupted as he picked through the pouches of the long dead Van Saar ganger sticking stiff and dried from the side of the ash dune, looked up to where Fezza was pointing. He was not expecting to see what met his eyes. A fireball was glowing in the sky slightly above the looming spike of Hive Primus.
Fezza continued excitedly - "I ain't not never seen nuffin' like it b'fore! Hey, Skuzzit... is it... gettin' bigger?"
Skuzzit got a sudden, horrible sinking feeling as he watched the new sun grow in the clouds. A faint rumbling noise made its way through his head wrappings.
"Fezza..."
"Yeah?"
"RUN!"
+++ SEGMENTUM SOLAR +++ NECROMUNDA SYSTEM +++ 322.2 KLIKS NORTH NORTH EAST OF HIVE PRIMUS +++ FRIDAY +++ TWO FIFTY FOUR AND TWELVE SECONDS PM +++
Ariman's Tome made landfall for the first time in her long service life. The gouge in the surface of the ash wastes was forty three kilometres long, half a kilometre wide, and three hundred metres deep in the centre. Rubble, wreckage, and waste from generations ago were thrown to the surface. Radiation wash from the engines killed every living thing within ten kilometres of the gouge. It would be sixty hours before the burned and cratered hull cooled enough to touch.
Fezza and Skuzzit, and their entire nomad clan, were never seen again.
But the crash had not gone unnoticed.
Everyone was coming.
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