A grey nanite mist descended from the void. The Eridium gas, which had begun leaking once more due to the regression of the vessels, was the first to be consumed upon contact with the silver tide.
Everything remaining on the planet's surface began to disintegrate.
Solid rock fractured into perfectly uniform grains of sand before the very eyes of any who might watch; then, these grains dissolved into fine powder, vanishing into the roiling grey haze. The nanomachines blanketed the world, gnawing through every scrap of matter starting from the crust. The entire planet resembled an effervescent tablet dropped into water, continuously emitting vast clouds of silver-grey vapor.
Driven by magnetic alignment, the nanites coalesced into two immense, astronomical-scale conduits, tethering the Heart of the Forge to the planet where the Augus base resided. The spectacle was profoundly eerie. The smaller celestial body was rapidly dissipating, its rendered mass siphoned continuously through the silver mist corridors and fed into the waiting maw of the Heart of the Forge.
Superfluous swarms of the grey tide surged into the planetary depths, draining into six colossal metallic shafts like water down a pulled plug. These two-thousand-kilometer-long structures, along with the gargantuan subterranean frameworks that braced the crust against the core, possessed staggering mass. Behind the metallic walls of every shaft lay vast arrays of embedded gravity-control apparatus.
This matter was swiftly deconstructed and repurposed to reconstruct the missing sections of the Heart of the Forge's hull.
The planet soon began to exhibit anomalies due to its catastrophic loss of mass. With the outer layers losing the integrity required to withstand the inner pressure, the world, under normal physics, should have collapsed and imploded into its own core. However, the nanomachines overrode all natural laws. The outer geological structures were devoured clean before they even had the chance to buckle. Within minutes, the planetary core, along with its surrounding starports and storage depots, was exposed to the void.
Utilizing vacuum-negative pressure, the nanites formed specialized pipelines, siphoning the entirety of the Eridium mineral wealth from the storage systems directly into the bowels of the Heart of the Forge. Simultaneously, countless gargantuan containment vats rose within the ship's interior, constructed in real-time.
Amidst the rapid consumption of the world, Axion quickly located his objective.
A specialized metallic crate had been secreted within a support structure on the outer layer of the planetary core. Its exterior bore no script or markings; it was embedded in isolation deep within the framework. The nanomachines gnawed through the outer casing without hesitation, identifying additional markers within.
The inner container was clearly labeled SWPDP, protected by a specialized explosive device composed of localized nanites. It was evident that had the crate been opened incorrectly, the charges would have detonated instantly, releasing nanites to utterly annihilate the contents. However, faced with the nearly infinite numbers of the Grey Tide Annihilators, these few specialized charges were themselves devoured in a fraction of a second.
The storage arrays within the crate were integrated into the grey tide, their encoded data synchronized and recorded directly into the core logic of the Heart of the Forge. Axion performed a cursory check of the data integrity before initiating the decryption process.
To his surprise, the information was entirely unencrypted. Yet, Axion immediately understood the logic. Given that the data had been preserved via a "cold" physical air-gap, encryption was redundant. Only physical disconnection could truly ensure that such vital secrets remained undiscovered.
As Axion loaded the data, the contents revealed a complete series of STC module schematics. The project header was inscribed in an ancient Terran script: Special Weapons Project Data Package. Below it, a formal annotation in High Gothic read: Specialis Arma Proiectum Datas Fasciculus.
The package contained three distinct types of temporal devices, along with extensive field-test records and application logs:
Offensive Temporal Device Module: This module is compatible with any weapon assembly. It channels unstable temporal energy from the Warp into the weapon's firing system, imbuing attacks with a time-distortion effect. Upon discharge, whether a bolt shell from a bolter or a beam from a lasgun, the projectile triggers a violent fluctuation in the local chronal flow upon impact. The target's physical structure is torn apart by rapid temporal shifting; limbs or tissues may age decades or rot into dust in a heartbeat, instantly neutralizing the threat. Furthermore, the module features a temporal-lock function, allowing attacks to track targets with unerring precision. Even if the target moves at high velocity or utilizes terrain, the mechanism calculates the target's trajectory across the temporal dimension to ensure a confirmed hit.
Temporal Dilatation Field Shielding: A specialized shield generator integrating advanced materials and unique energy-conversion technology. Upon activation, the generator projects a translucent, shimmering pale-blue protective barrier around the user or a designated zone. While functioning as a conventional energy shield against kinetic and energy weaponry, it possesses the miraculous ability to induce temporal deceleration. Any object passing through the field, enemy munitions, energy lances, or even encroaching foes, has its local time-flow forcibly slowed. Projectiles decelerate to a near-halt, appearing suspended in the air to the point where a soldier might pluck them by hand; energy beams lose velocity and intensity exponentially; melee combatants entering the field find their movements agonizingly sluggish, with every action requiring several times the normal duration to complete. The shield's strength and radius are adjustable based on power supply, ranging from personal protection to fortification-scale coverage.
Micro-Spatiotemporal Solidification Unit: This device applies spatiotemporal "freezing" to matter, allowing for a rapid regression of the object's state should it undergo physical change. Note: For sapient devices, ensure the removal of the sapient core prior to solidification to avoid interference with subsequent iterations. WARNING: Biological solidification is strictly prohibited. Living targets will experience instantaneous systemic death.
Beyond these three STC technologies, Axion discovered a specific command set within the data. These directives clearly originated from the peculiar machine that had stolen the data. They contained highly specialized trigger mechanisms and obfuscation protocols. The final entry in the mission log confirmed the machine-construct had been commanded to plunge into the planetary core for self-destruction.
However, as these instructions bore no record of their origin, Axion remained unable to identify the specific faction or power that had issued the commands.
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