The Forge of the Magma City.
A field of shimmering, ethereal stars swirled around the "Astronomer," Arkhan Land.
The crackling within Polk's body ceased. His trembling form stilled.
Black smoke rose from the serpentine sensors on Remiyal's head. Sparks danced along her raised arm.
A beam of light shot from Arkhan Land's eyes, flashing through the "False Astral Configuration."
As it passed through the ethereal lights, the initial beam coalesced into a blade.
Remiyal activated her magnetic-gravitic thrusters to evade.
Crackle!
Her modified legs' magnetic-gravitic thrusters sparked and failed.
'My legs are demagnetized.'
Bang!
Heavy footsteps echoed. The Ares of House Taranis, Forrik's Knight, charged from the city.
Behind it followed the Aegitos War-Knight.
As its mechanical feet slammed to the ground, the Ares stopped.
Magus Mazh quickly gripped his control gauntlets, pushing right to avoid colliding with the Lord Commander's Knight.
Magos Dominus Quamar Argos of the Macro-Hypori Legion, Exom, walked past the Knights as the ground shook.
The Magos Dominus, his eyes fixed on Arkhan Land, his dynamic-static sensors flickering with red and green light, his fully sanctified form gripping a Magos' staff and a power axe, his war-engines rapidly analyzing all captured data.
Countless questions arose. Some were answered.
Some questions spawned more questions, tangling together around a core issue: How had Arkhan Land, in his flesh-and-blood form, defeated a mechanised assassin?
Zeth, the Lady of the Forge, stared at Arkhan as if seeing the renowned Archmagos for the first time.
She watched him raise his hand. Beams of coalesced starlight shot towards the terrible assassin.
The phantasmal assassin was pinned in place, as if struck by something, as the starlight consumed her gene-forged form.
In the flowing starlight, her body dissolved to sand.
Melgator, seeing the assassin's death, turned and fled.
He raised his ebony staff. The snarling wolf-head on it howled.
A torrent of irregular, arrhythmic techno-language erupted from his internal augmenters.
The ebony staff shrieked at his words. Gun emplacements and weapon platforms on the walls exploded, one by one.
The scrapcode-paralyzed platforms erupted in flames, crashing down.
Melgator seized the chaos, fleeing.
"Zeth, do you see?" Arkhan said, raising his hand, pointing at Melgator.
"They are the attackers."
"They have fallen."
The Magos Dominus watched Arkhan raise his right arm, a beam of starlight shooting from his fingertip, striking Melgator.
His sensors tracked the beam's trajectory. His war-engines performed thousands of calculations, feeding back the results.
[Stellar-light energy attack.]
[Energy pattern unknown.]
[Database comparison complete. Closest match: archaeotech pistol beam, radiation-layer harvested. 36.52% similarity.]
Melgator's spine, along with its attached augmentations, erupted, mingling with twisted flesh.
His arms slammed to the ground. Like a canine, he let out a terrible howl. Mechanical tendrils writhed around his body.
"You made them mutate." Zeth stared at the flesh-and-machine hybrid.
"Just exposing what he truly is." The "Astronomer" said.
"I wanted you to see what the scrapcode had done to Melgator, what he had become."
The "Astronomer" raised his left arm, a beam of starlight shooting from his fingertip.
The Magos Dominus again captured the entire process. His war-engines fed back the results.
[Database comparison complete. 49.17% similarity to Unknown Energy 12. 28.03% similarity to planetary radiation-layer energy rays.]
Zeth watched Melgator, the Fabricator General's most trusted confidant and personal envoy, erased by starlight. She knew she and the Forge of the Magma City were irrevocably on the opposing side.
She sent orders to the medicae servitors, then asked on the Archmagos-only noospheric channel.
"Arkhan, what power did you just use?"
She sensed Argos's and Forrik's minds focusing on him.
"That was the sacred power granted to me by the Omnissiah."
"The Emperor." Zeth said, thoughtful.
"No!" Arkhan denied.
"Not the Emperor?" Argos pressed.
"All of Mars knows you are a firm believer in the unity of the Omnissiah and the Emperor."
"I was wrong." Arkhan confessed.
"I thought He was, but He is not."
"Melgator was right about that."
"Who is the true Omnissiah you speak of?" Forrik asked.
"Nareth." Arkhan said, his voice full of devotion.
"He has discovered STCs of unparalleled value."
"He granted me the power I just used."
"If you were to worship Him as I do, you might also receive His gifts."
"Nareth!" Argos's and Forrik's thoughts clashed.
"The Omnissiah?"
"Yes." Arkhan's unwavering conviction overwhelmed their doubts.
"I think you can all foresee the course of the war."
"The Fabricator General and his followers have overwhelming power on Mars. We cannot hold out forever."
"You can choose to die in glory, or you can choose another path: temporarily withdraw, build your strength, continue to strike the traitors, and ultimately return to Mars."
"You mean Lord Nareth will help us?" asked Magos Dominus Argos.
Since the birth of the Cybernetica Legions, maintaining independence had been a cornerstone of their philosophy.
Until now, he had not committed to a side in the internal conflict.
His situation in the Macro-Hypori Legion, also prevented him from deciding. He had not been favored by the Fabricator General, but neither had he been particularly targeted.
Argos had temporarily sided with Zeth simply because he lacked the strength to escape the devastating orbital fire.
Also, Zeth's noosphere had saved his Legion from a crippling attack when the systems were compromised.
Arkhan's proposal offered him a way out.
"Yes." Arkhan confirmed.
'Could Nareth truly be the Omnissiah?'
'He has granted Arkhan these mysterious powers, giving him the strength to kill a mechanised assassin.'
'No…' Zeth was silent for a long time, then spoke.
"I do not believe in a Machine God or an Omnissiah. All mysteries can be explained."
"But I am very interested in the power you have shown. I will consider your proposal carefully."
"You have time to consider. We will not hand victory to the traitors. We will use our walls and forges to strike them as hard as we can." Arkhan said.
"I will go to Ipluvien Maximal immediately, to offer him aid and advice."
"Arkhan, I will accompany you." Argos decided.
....
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