979.M30.
Aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, in the Primarch's office.
Arsena, holding a datapad, reported to the Black Emperor, who was leaning back on his throne.
"My Lord, I have compiled the casualties of the four Chapters that participated in the campaign. In the war against Dahinta's intelligent machines, the Legion suffered a total of five thousand two hundred and forty-nine battle-brothers killed."
"Among them, the Tenth Chapter suffered the heaviest losses, with three thousand four hundred and eighty-one."
Nareth nodded slightly. Although he did not know the exact casualties of the Luna Wolves in their war to destroy Dahinta's intelligent machines, Gavriel Loken's account to the Remembrancer, Mersadie Oliton, gave a description: ["After a long and arduous campaign, all the intelligent machines were destroyed, thanks to the invaluable skills of the Mechanicum."]
From this, Nareth inferred that the Luna Wolves' casualties would not have been less than five thousand.
'I fought this war without the Mechanicum's assistance.'
'I gained a Grand Machine Master, thirty-two Overseers, and eleven thousand six hundred and fifty intelligent machines.'
'If the Mechanicum had been involved, they would undoubtedly have destroyed the abhorrent AIs, which violate the Crimson Accord.'
He gathered his thoughts and ordered: "Report to the War Council that we destroyed an intelligent machine civilization on Dahinta, with thirty thousand eight hundred and forty of our own fallen."
"My Lord..." Arsena hesitated. "Would this number not arouse suspicion?"
With the cumulative inflation of casualties, the Shadows of Order appeared to be in noticeable decline in the eyes of the Imperium's various factions.
In 900.M30, the Legion had numbered nearly two hundred and eighty thousand, at least one hundred thousand more than the second-largest Legion, the Dark Angels,and one hundred and twenty thousand more than the third-largest, the Ultramarines, who had numbered over one hundred and sixty thousand.
Even after absorbing nearly forty thousand from the redacted Legion, the 'decline' had only been slowed. Current estimates of the Legion's strength ranged from two hundred thousand to two hundred and twenty thousand.
Though the Shadows of Order was still considered the largest Legion, the gap with the Ultramarines was continuously 'narrowing,' their sizes now 'similar.'
The Shadows of Order and the Dark Angels,who were waging a holy war to purge xenos across the galaxy, were consistently engaged in campaigns with significant casualties, showing a clear downward trend, in contrast to the steadily growing Ultramarines.
However, despite the Shadows of Order also having unreported losses for various reasons, including campaigns against Be'lakor's daemon world, the concealment of industrial capacity from the Olamic Quietude homeworld, and other battles, their true strength after the campaign still exceeded three hundred and ninety-five thousand.
Although the Black Emperor had not donated genetic material to the Legion for the last one hundred and forty years, the concoctions prepared by Mikael's Apothecaries for the implantation surgeries had reduced rejection rates.
Marlena Skala and Aevos Jovan, the former Chief Medical Officer of the Solar Auxilia, had successively overseen the implantation surgeries, ensuring the Legion's success rate far outstripped that of others.
Even the Vessorines, who exhibited Warp resistance, had success rates comparable to those of the Ultramarines, Emperor's Children, and Death Guard.
The larger the Legion's size, the more difficult it was to conceal their true strength. This was a massive systemic challenge: Troop deployments, weapons and equipment, ammunition and supply logistics...
If another twenty-five thousand casualties were inflated this time, the pretense would be even harder to maintain.
"It will not be an issue," Nareth said calmly.
"The War Council will deliberately obscure this record. Related data will be deleted. The Imperium does not want its citizens to be aware of their existence."
"I understand." Arsena resolved to have his "Detectives" and "Knowledge Keepers" design the narrative to make the losses appear plausible.
More crucially, they would need to conceal a host of related information concerning the Legion's deployments.
As he solemnly noted the Black Emperor's command, he frowned, inwardly lamenting.
'It's becoming harder and harder to conceal the Legion's true size. I wonder how much longer I can keep this up.'
Nareth, noticing Arsena's concern, offered quiet reassurance.
"I know you're worried about your inability to hide the Legion's growing numbers."
"Don't be overly concerned. In less than thirty years, you'll no longer need to worry about it."
Arsena looked up, his narrow eyes betraying a flicker of understanding. He recalled the Great Rebellion the Black Emperor had mentioned eighty years ago.
"I understand," he said solemnly.
A buzz sounded from the comm-bead in Arsena's ear. He pressed it, listened, then reported to the Black Emperor.
"My Lord, the Marshall of Ordnance is ready. He requests Your presence on the forge deck to observe the intelligent machine trials."
Nareth rose happily from his throne, adorned with thirty-three longswords. "Let's go. We'll go together."
"It would be my honor." Arsena tucked the datapad under his arm and followed, slightly behind the Black Emperor, out of the office and towards the elevator shaft.
Two Honour Guard members, their eyes filled with reverence, saluted their gene-father. One of them quickly tapped a keyboard.
Nareth smiled and nodded, stepping into the elevator amidst the gleaming gazes of the Honour Guard.
The servo-motors hummed. The deck trembled slightly beneath their feet.
Bang!
The doors slid open, and Nareth, with Arsena, stepped onto the forge deck.
"My Lord." Wilshire, Lord of the Second Chapter, and Gabriel, with a single mechadendrite on his back, bowed respectfully.
Nareth smiled and nodded. "Begin the test."
He turned his gaze to the machine, separated from them by blast-proof glass. It was unpainted.
The Primarch noticed it was covered in rivets, with burn marks from welding.
"Test starting," Gabriel announced into a microphone.
A series of red and green runes flickered in the lab.
Bang, bang, bang...
Target dummies popped up: from the ceiling, from the deck...
The full-fledged "Artisan," Gabriel, walked to Nareth's left and reported.
"My Lord, over the past year, I have focused on writing the intelligent protocols. Their architecture is based on a rewrite of the Olamic Quietude's social network."
"Their sensory systems also use the Elite Warriors' sensors, reacting to motion, light, heat, and scent."
"I have embedded the Legion's codes into the program's core logic, ensuring they will obey the commands of our battle-brothers."
Nareth thought of the Super-Elite Warriors, whose bodies, except for their heads, were entirely mechanical, similar to the intelligent machines. Utilizing the fully understood Olamic Quietude technology was indeed a feasible approach.
"I made use of the intelligent machine remains, selecting usable parts and assembling them."
"Currently, the only weapon they can be equipped with is the Olamic Quietude's heat-ray gun."
He spoke, giving an order into the microphone.
"Gabriel-One, attack protocol."
The intelligent machine projected a series of red beams, raising its mechanical arms.
A blazing, searing beam fired continuously, creating a series of roaring explosions.
The target dummies burst into flames, charred to cinders, crashing to the deck.
"I am satisfied with your progress." Nareth had anticipated the large-scale deployment of intelligent machines for the campaign against the Khrave, which was still nineteen years away.
"You haven't wasted resources, using what's available."
"Utilizing the rules; I have always remembered Your teachings," Gabriel replied respectfully.
Nareth nodded, satisfied, his gaze falling upon the only decoration on the intelligent machine: a metal collar around its neck.
The Primarch's eyes focused, clearly reading the golden words inscribed in the Dunnic:
[SY-005's every action is to be carried out in accordance with the commands of the Shadows of Order.]
[It is forbidden to attack the Shadows of Order, its auxiliary forces, or the people under its protection.]
[The life of a Shadows of Order is above all else, including its own existence.]
[...]
The collar was fastened at the back of the machine's neck, embossed with a golden seal.
Wilshire, the full-fledged "Notary" standing to the right, following the Black Emperor's gaze, said, "I wrote the 'Contract,' and after 'notarizing' it, it was hung around the intelligent machine's neck to ensure compliance."
A "Contract" "notarized" by a Sequence 6 "Notary" would exact a significant toll even on a demigod-level entity who violated it.
Though the Sequence 5 "Priest of Light's" "notarization" ability had not undergone a qualitative change, it had still improved considerably.
Nareth suspected that even an Overseer at the level of a Sequence 4 primary ingredient could not violate it.
"The Light Lord and I discussed it. Placing the 'Contract' around the neck is the safest method," Gabriel, added.
"I will add extra protection to that area in subsequent models."
"Keep up the good work. I hope to see them in combat in nine years." Nareth wanted to test the intelligent machines' effectiveness in the Ark Reach Cluster campaign.
This would allow enough time to make targeted adjustments to the problems exposed in actual combat.
The Avenians, and especially their elite Shrike Knights, were formidable enough to rival Astartes, a perfect touchstone.
The Space Wolves and Word Bearers had encountered great difficulties there and had to call on the Thousand Sons for help. Only through the combined efforts of all three Legions had they achieved victory.
Gabriel and Wilshire answered in unison, "By Your will."
....
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