The first few days were terrible, with constant attacks coming in waves. Thankfully, not as bad as the first, so we'd held, but the lack of sleep was getting to me. Same with the rest of the troops. Tempers flared, and mistakes were made. There was a constant stream of people to the temporary building set up as the medical centre.
The first day it was packed, with 100s there, most from when the lugger broke through. But with our supplies, many that might have died actually lived.
But our wait was over.
I watched as the trucks rolled in, stacks of equipment on the back of them. The two biggest items were the autocannons that I had fixed up ages ago. There were not many of them, so they had to be moved from the other front, but with them here, I would be able to move on soon.
Katra had similar success holding some of the other fronts, though not without casualties, but things had stabilised, and Zardelle wanted to start pushing them back in places to secure our line and dig in. We had lost a lot of ground and a huge number of men and supplies to the surprise attack.
It was devastating, but not cripplingly.
We were just lucky the other fronts were holding, and Lanto had even started to push again. As soon as the turrets were set up, Snuffles and I were on the first truck out of there, off to join another battle. Then another, and another.
It took weeks of constant fighting, sometimes with Katra or other elite units, other times it was just the rank and file. Wherever it was, it was a grind.
I had quickly learnt that Snuffles were far more effective at taking them out than me. I was good, don't get me wrong, but compared to Snuffles, who could just mow through them?
Not even close.
Things were just starting to look up when we suffered another blow. With this front opened before we were prepared, we had to move troops and turrets from elsewhere. In this case, they were taken from the wall guarding Glow Gate against the ashen wastes.
There had never been a threat from out there, and we were on friendly terms with many of the nearby settlements.
Until now.
I didn't hear about it until well after the fact, but somehow a group of raiders found themselves a missile launcher. They broke through, killing and causing untold chaos and damage. They were pushed back with the mastiffs showing their worth.
But it was another hit.
I was just thankful that they never reached the Fortress and that all my people were safe.
"Right updates." Zardelle said as she marched into the meeting room.
She'd really come into her own. She'd always been commanding, but the fighting and her leadership turning the tide had filled her with a sort of quiet confidence that shone through everything she did.
It was amazing to watch.
"The last of the turrets have been set up in the new points. With them set up, we should now be fully secure on both flanks." Torch said. He was alive and still thriving. For such a small and scrawny guy, he packed a lot of personality.
"Good Milda?"
"I sent the scouts out like you asked and can confirm there are no tunnels that can let them sneak behind us."
"Good. Then it is time to really start to push them back."
"Is that a good idea? We are stable and can hold them for as long as we want."
"Maybe not, but I want to push them back to these tunnels here," Zardelle said, pointing at the maps. "With that secure, we have pushed them back to an easy-to-hold area which will remove much of the pressure on the right flank, freeing up even more manpower."
Several others disagreed, mostly the older, more grizzled gangers, before I leaned forward. "I agree with Zardelle. If we can get there and secure it, we can then decide if we want to keep pushing or send the men to Lanto to finish up that side. But we are spread thin right now."
Catching Zardelle's eye, I nodded at her as we silently communicated.
Even if it had been a bad idea, I would have told her separately. It would probably be fine to tell her with others around, but for now, I wanted to show a unanimous front. Not that it mattered in this case, as it was the best option.
My vox crackled to life, distracting me. 'Aleric.' Peggi said. 'We have a problem.'
Standing, I said, "Sorry I need to take this." Once I was out of the room and somewhere secure and couldn't be overheard, I replied. 'Okay Peggi, go ahead.'
'We have a problem. We've been too successful.'
'Okay and…'
'Several Houses are sending down nobles in Praevestora armour.'
Well shit. That wasn't good. I almost ran my hand through my hair, but thought better of it. Several weeks of no showering. I shuddered to think what my armour would be like when I took it off. 'What information do you have?'
'I got the plans from their systems.'
'Which are?'
'Disrupt our operation. They need the gang to collapse.'
'And we can't ask for support?'
'Unlikely, we are trying, but things are already in motion. By the time we get support, it might be too late.'
I started pacing up and down the room in thought. 'Who are they?'
'Three are from rival houses. House Veyne and House Dravannis, to be exact. But the other 3 are from House Valtorin.'
So our house as well. That made it harder. Sadly, I wasn't surprised. With our access, I had been able to dig into the nobles, and it was as cutthroat as Selina and Lanto said. With the value seen in our gang, we were a prime target for rivals both within and outside the house.
'You said you had their plans. You must know their route then?'
'I have their path and the checkpoints.'
'Okay good. How long do we have?'
'3 to 4 days depending on how fast they move.'
Hmm, tight, but it might be doable.
It would need to be an ambush, which just went without saying. The Praevestora were some of the best in the hive. Proper power armour. Without the element of surprise, they would tear through us like they did to the Brethren of Bones all those years ago.
'Leave it with me.'
'Thanks Aleric. Let me know if you need anything.'
'Will do and I probably will.' As the line fell silent, I paused pacing and leaned against the wall. This was going to be hard.
Shaking it off, I sprang into action.
First, I voxed Zardelle. 'A problem has come up. I need the Red Corsairs and the Sealed Host.'
'What!? I need them for my offensive.'
'I know, but you will have to delay it for a week.'
'But that will—'
'Zardelle. I know. Sorry, but I need them. We have Praevestora's inbound.'
'Shit. Shit. Okay they are yours. Do you need anything else?'
'Not for now.'
'I will send them over.'
Signing off, I finished jogging to my room and packing my stuff, still making calls to get everything I needed. Mostly a crap ton of explosives. Autocannons would be able to get through their armour in concentrated fire, but the likelihood of hitting was low. I had only seen them in action briefly, but they had moved fast.
I was already waiting in the truck by the time the Red Corsaire and the Sealed Host jogged into view. As I saw them, I said to the driver. "Pull away as soon as they are in and go as fast as you can. We get priority at any crossing. If there is a problem, let me know. We are in a rush."
"Got it Thumper."
As they piled in, Katra and Torq in the front, I filled them in. The plan was pretty simple, all told. It boiled down to planting a huge number of explosives in their path, setting them off and then killing those who survived. It was a bit more complicated than that, not least as I would need to acquire the explosives and make sure they were housed in something or placed in such a way that they weren't discovered. Both by the nobles, but more importantly by their auspex.
Some of the supplies I could get from the quartermaster.
But I would need to use my fabricator to make the others. It would be a stable blend that I'd fashion into landmines. The attack had to be instant and overwhelming. If even one got away, it would be an untold disaster. In fact, it might actually be worse because they knew we had ambushed them, which would cause them to investigate.
It was unlikely they would discover our access, but the mere possibility...
We'd had a few close calls over the years that had required some pruning up and down the hive to make sure it didn't go any further. I had been involved in a great many of them. The guilders were easy enough; I normally handled them.
The few nobles had been much harder.
But our courtesans had access; it just required some careful planning.
---
Brakka screamed and whooped with the rest of the raiders as they poured over the dunes into the swamp. He made sure to follow the path they were told to, a few didn't and sank into the sludge, but Brakka didn't care. They should have listened.
He could feel his heart pounding in anticipation. This would be the largest raid he had ever taken part in. Glow Gate itself. The stuck-up bastards.
It was going to be great getting back at them.
As he neared the wall, he stopped and shouldered the missile launcher and locked onto the gate. A whoosh and a cloud of smoke erupted from it, the force of it forced him back a step, but he was too focused on watching it hit the gate, erupting into a fireball, to care.
Throwing the missile launcher aside, he charged into the now breached gate.
He didn't want to miss out on any loot. It wasn't his anyway.
He was high enough up in the raiders to go with them to the crappy mining town deep within Pomaria. One of the few still producing metal within the hive. It had been a hellhole, far worse than any he had lived in; not surprising that was where most of their recruits came from.
Anything to escape that.
But they were there to meet with Half Face's contacts. They travelled deep into the town, into a hidden fortified section that gave Brakka the fucking creeps. It was like he had been watched the entire time; it made his skin crawl. But he knew they were in the right place when he saw the same symbols they had back at their camp.
He always thought the stars and pentagrams looked cool, but those had been different, more. Like they were pulsing to an unseen beat. They had been greeted by their sister gang, with the same big boss. Brakka had never met him, but he was some sort of scientist guy always working in his labs.
They had done jobs for him, and rumour was they had done so for years. Just recently, they formed a convoy and smuggled some fucked up skull things into other hives. They gave him the creeps, but the pay was good.
Other than that, they invariably brought him fresh bodies for him to experiment on. The more they brought, the better. He remembered last time they brought in a big haul, they'd been rewarded with a combat drug. It was fucking potent shit and permanent too. He was so much stronger now.
Sure, his skin had changed colour slightly, but that was a small price to pay. It also looked pretty badass if he did say so himself.
Just last week, he'd taken a shot to the side. Should have killed him, but his skin pulled itself back together. There was a slight bump or maybe a nub there now, but he was sure it would be fine.
Fucking awesome shit. He was hoping for something more after this big raid.
Apparently, the Court had slighted them, so they were going to show them a lesson. Hence, all the weapons they got from the creepy spiked guy. He knew some people were mutated; hell, so was he from his time working in the polluted factories, but he had been a bit much.
He was huge, with red skin, horns and spikes sticking out of his shoulders. Brakka would admit he looked pretty badass, but his eyes gave him the chills. Like they saw him as a delicious meal.
Screaming they flooded into the city. Many fell from the heavy gunfire still coming from the walls, but Brakka was past that now and looking for prey. He had lived in Glow Gate before, so he knew where to go, running down streets deeper into the city.
Slashing at the retreating hivers as he passed them. Revelling in their blood and fear.
This would teach them for turning him away. They should have welcomed him, not complained about his discipline. That slut had it coming. But they took her side. Fucking scum.
An involuntary growl came from his throat as his battle rage clouded his vision. But he pushed it away for now. He needed to think first. The rage was becoming more and more of a problem, ever since his enhancements.
Not that it mattered. It made him powerful, able to tear through men with ease.
He was near the Fortress when he spotted a good target. A young woman carrying a pup. Why the fuck did she have a pup? Brakka didn't know, but maybe it would be good eating. But she was cute. He could pause his looting for a moment for a bit of fun.
Charging her, he slapped her weapon out of her hand and knocked her to the ground. The pup went flying, screeching. When it landed, it barked at him and charged. Laughing, he kicked it away, harder this time, watching it sail over the street to smack into the wall opposite.
Resilient little fella, it actually staggered back to its feet. Still barking. Then it lifted its head and released a pathetic howl.
Putting it from his mind, he carried on dragging the screaming girl further into the alley out of the way. Dropping onto her, he got annoyed at her screaming and backhanded her. Stunning her.
Much better.
Relishing in his power and what he was about to do, a small thump landed on his shoulder. Looking back, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. "You are a persistent little shit, aren't you?" He said to the pup now hanging off his shoulder, teeth biting into his skin.
Reaching over, he grabbed it and threw it once more, taking the time to watch it fly and bounce off the wall. And still it looked like it would come back for him.
It let out a weak little growl and charged him again. Getting annoyed now, he had other things to enjoy. He reached for his knife, ready to gut the dog. But it stopped short.
"Fucking learnt, have you?" He was just turning away when the pup once more lifted its head and howled.
Only this time, something answered.
The hair on his arms and neck stood up on end as the deepest growl he had ever heard rumbled through the alley, echoing off the building and seemed to come from everywhere. Jumping up, the girl forgotten, he saw the mastiff.
What the fuck? He heard the Ash Stalkers were dead. There should be no fucking cyber mastiffs in Glow Gate now. And even if they were, he had seen them in the past; they were nothing like this beast.
Coming up to his hips, in smooth, well-made and well-connected armour. "Well, you have fucking ruined my fun, so let's make this quick"
That seemed to enrage the dog as it saw the girl still weakly stirring behind Brakka. Lifting its head, it let loose a long, enraged howl, far louder than the pup. This carried across the city. Brakka was about to joke again and charge, killing the mutt, when it was answered. All around him, dozens of howls replied.
And more kept answering, blending into a chorus that blanketed the city.
Brakka could feel dread start to coil in his gut, managing to push through his bloodlust. Something wasn't right.
Soon there was a cacophony of howls, barks and snarls coming from all directions. He could make out the screams, once the hivers of Glow Gate, now were of his raiders.
His bloodlust started to overtake him. His fucking men were dying. How was he going to get a cut of their loot if they fucking died?
"What the-" That was as far as he had time for, having to throw himself out of the way as the mastiff lunged at him. Its powerful robotic jaws slammed shut just to the left of his neck. Rolling back to his feet, he turned, expecting it to be lunging at him again.
But it wasn't. It just stood over the girl, protectively.
"Huh, so she is important to you, eh? Well, we will do something about that." The other cries all but forgotten, his rage rising, and he no longer stopped it. No, he welcomed it. He should be enjoying himself, not fighting some fucking mutt.
Growling, he started to advance, grinning manically. But his back was to the alley entrance, to his detriment, and a huge weight slammed into him, hurling him forward. Looking over his shoulder, he just had time to see four more mastiffs of the same quality as the one protecting the girl, before his face darkened as the huge metal jaws clamped over his head.
He didn't even have time to scream as his head was crunched or see his body get ripped to shreds.
Nor did he see the rest of his raiders slaughtered as more and more cyber mastiffs poured in from across the city, all answering the call. The Mother was in danger.
Not one raider escaped.
---
Cael Dravarn of House Valtorin revelled in the feeling of power as he and their small party ran through the tunnels. There were six of them in total, three from House Valtorin and the others were from rival houses. They had been dropped off by their transport a few miles back and were now taking the path that would take them to the underhive and the territory of the Midnight Court.
He was looking forward to bringing the jumped-up gang to its knees.
They had become too much, they knew too much and had far too much of a reach. Their information broker was the best on the hive, having information they should not have. But not just in Noxium but the other hives as well. It was their information that allowed Morwenna to beat him, destroying his chances of being made the Principal heir.
That and a contract lapse on some petroleum, which they had to spend an awful amount of credits to fix. Or they would've been brought up on charges by the Administratum. Just thinking about it infuriated him. Did they not know who he was?
Shaking his head, he turned his attention to his surroundings. The metal walls of the tunnels were rusted and eroded over time. Some had worn away completely, leaving holes to see behind them at the tangle's wires, pipes and machines. The auspex didn't detect anything around them.
Swaggering forward with the knowledge he was safe. And even if there had been enemies, he was in a Praevestora armour. Bionically synced to his nerve system with some arcano technology, he was invincible in it.
Unlike Morwenna, who was on borrowed time.
He was very much looking forward to her fall from grace. Maybe he could keep her as a concubine, or better yet, a pet.
Her faction was too strong, having eyes and ears everywhere, thanks to their gang. That needed to stop. Just last week, several heirs banded together to try and defeat her but were outmanoeuvred. If they left it much longer, there would be little that could be done.
Still, it wasn't all bad. When Cael realised he had no chances at becoming the principal heir, he pivoted and managed to use his influence to get access to a Praevestora. The stories did not do them justice; he felt like a god in it.
Its sensors meant nothing could surprise him, its enhancements meant that he was stronger and faster than any man. He could take on an army and win. He was looking forward to getting to unleash it on the scum of the hive. Show them the futility of opposing him.
The blood sports used to happen more frequently, mostly hunting in the hive. Beasts, or if you were lucky, humans. Cael had only been able to slip away and partake a few times, but each time it was a rush, comparable to the best drugs or sex he had ever experienced.
'We are nearly there.' Elira Vorn-Hest said. She made a strange bedfellow, but an enemy of my enemy and all that. She was from a rival house, and they should be fighting, but they both had the same goals. She planned to weaken House Valtorin as a whole, which lined up nicely with his. For now.
Which had not been easy.
They had supported the Slump Revenants, helping House Veyne smuggle in supplies for them. When that didn't work, they bribed The Iron Choir to get involved. They had to use an intermediary, a tech priest if you could believe it and give up some ancient technology for it.
But even that wasn't enough. Fighting on all sides, and still the Court pushed them back. He would have found it admirable if they had been under his control.
As he slowed down to a walk with the other, he started to look around in distaste.
A hideous place, but still safer down here than up there. That was another reason, one he didn't voice. The spires were in full war, assassinations, poisoning and more. Sure, that was normal to an extent. But now it was far past that; there had been full assaults, troops, tanks, the works, just to kill off some rivals.
Shifting alliances, both within the family and outside it, meant that at any moment a friend or ally could stab you in the back. And it wasn't just in their hives, no, it was across the planet, hell, it was in the entire solar system, even if most of the power was concentrated on Gravis Prime, their hive world.
'This is the turn.' Elira said, consulting their maps. They had come to a narrow tunnel that would lead them out into the wider tunnels, marked 'Transrail' that the Court called home. From here they would go their separate ways, none trusting the others not to slide a knife in the others' back at an opportune moment.
'Remember to keep count and have your bets ready for me to claim.' Cael said, smirking. They had bet on how many each would kill, and the winner with the most kills would get the pot. Something Cael was looking forward to claiming.
As they approached the last few hundred metres, something didn't feel right. Cael wasn't sure what it was; none of his sensors picked anything up, but something wasn't right. The others looked around cautiously as well. The tunnel looked much like the other. Plasteel sides and a messy floor. There was a bit more debris than most, piled in a dozen lumps, but otherwise nothing.
The pile of rubbish wasn't anything he was worried about, but he gave them another scan just in case. Nothing.
Laughing at himself, he moved forward once more. As if there was anything that could harm him down here.
He was just turning back to boast at the others when his sensors suddenly started screaming a warning, but it was too late.
The tunnel erupted, shrapnel knifing out, punching through his armour in several places. His HUD flashed warnings and indicated where he had been hit. Cael was thankful he had one of the heavier armoured variants. Staggering to his feet, he saw two others, Elira and another, torn to shreds, their lighter but faster Praevestora not providing enough protection.
He turned from his once allies, uncaring, looking for what had hit them. The others were following his lead, clambering to their feet, when his auspex pinged that the rubble piles were moving. More importantly, it had analysed the material. Which now told him that it could block his sensors.
Swearing, he jumped out of the way as more explosions went off and a heavy barrage of gunfire rained down on them. Several of them hit him, cracking his armour. Cael looked for a way to retreat, full of fear now. This was not how it was meant to be.
They should be the ones attacking. Two more of their number went down. He and Drenk fled back the way they came, but Drenk fell to a heavy shot that slammed into his back. His sensors that were still linked to his suit, so he saw they hadn't pierced the armour, but it was a near thing. A second shot found a gap in his armour as he struggled to his feet.
That did punch through.
Ducking and diving, squeezing every ounce of power from his suit, the world blurring around him, he shot forward to safety. 10, 5, and he made it out.
HE had made it! As he knew he would.
As their father before them said. 'We are the true leaders of this world; every rival merely pretends.'
Even as he was laughing with relief, making plans to get back at the gang for scaring him, a shadow fell over him. But his sensors barely warned him when a weight slammed into him. Screaming, the last thing he saw was a pair of glowing eyes and a large metal mastiff with chipped grey metal and gold peeking through it, then its jaws crunched down.
---
I relaxed as the last noble died, jumping up, I slung my rifle over my back and jogged to the tunnel. 'Sound off.'
'All clear. No damage.' Everyone replied. Which was better than I feared. A lot better in fact. If they weren't so arrogant or unlucky, it would have made things much harder. I was just glad I caught them all in the explosion. Not surprising with its size.
I would need to get the tunnel checked to make sure it was still stable after this.
I had made a huge number of shaped charges and then packed them into the tunnel. I'd made sure to cover them with an auspex-resistant material, which reminded me of lead but not quite the same; it had a consistency more like playdough. But it hid them from my and Snuffles' sensors. So I'd just had to hope it hid it from theirs as well.
Something to remember, nothing was infallible.
Stepping into what was left of the tunnel, I could see the damage. The two squads were milling around me, and I slapped Katra and Torq's shoulders for a job well done. "Good job everyone. Let's clear up the evidence."
"What are we doing with the bodies?" Torq asked.
"They're coming with me." I said without hesitation. I was salivating at the chance to dig through them. Actual power armour? I couldn't wait.
We cleared up as best we could, hiding what went down there. It wasn't perfect, but hopefully by the time they were missed, enough time would have passed. The six bodies were thrown into the truck, and the blood had been scattered or buried along with the few body parts that were separated. Just so there was nothing to be found in the area.
With the area cleared up as best we could, we hopped in the truck and headed back to Glow Gate. On the way, I let Peggi know we were clear before delaying my deployment. The others would leave immediately, but I needed to look through the armour first.
My excuse was to make sure there wasn't anything transmitting from them. But that was a lie. I mean, it wasn't, I did need to check, but it was mostly because I wanted to take them apart.
It took a few hours, but soon we were in my workshop. I had asked them to pause after they had helped me bring the corpses in.
"Thank you for your help today. It goes without saying, but none of you can speak about today. Not a word." I made sure to make eye contact with everyone present so they could understand how serious I was. I left the threat off, but if one of them did slip up, there might need to be accidents.
We couldn't have that sort of rumour floating around.
When I had everyone's promise, I grinned. "Good. As a reward for this. Torq, Zardelle, collect a list of things your squads want and send it over. I will see what I can do."
That sent off an excited chatter around the room, more so for the Sealed Host, as the Red Corsairs already had a lot of equipment from me. But they were still happy. I made the best stuff in the gang after all. Saying our goodbyes, I immediately got stuck in.
I had six sets of armour. They were slightly different, specialising in different things, but at their core, they were the same. It was definitely Xeno Tech, I could see that straight away. It was based on a fundamentally different design than anything I had seen the Imperium make. Now I hadn't seen it all, but I was fairly confident in my guess.
Time would tell.
I first took apart the armour, removing the bodies from within. I didn't really want to, but dug through them as well. It was a good thing I did; they all had some very impressive bionics, which I put to one side. That done, I disposed of them down the Gulf so there would be no evidence of our wrongdoing.
It could never come back to us. Not least because we would lose the armour.
But our deaths as well.
That finally done, I could turn my attention to the armour. Two were damaged beyond repair; they'd been the least armoured and closest to the blast. There was little I would be able to salvage from them, but it would help me understand the others.
Happily, the other four were in much better condition. With two only needing minor repairs. The others needed a lot more, but not insurmountable.
I wanted to stay locked up in my lab, but sadly, it wasn't to be. I had a meeting with Peggi to go over things. I was just packing things away when a hot flush passed through my body. The hair on my arms stood on end.
That was all the warning I got as energy pulsed through me, more than I had ever experienced before. I could feel my soul groaning under the strain, but my religious training with it paid off as it held. As quickly as it started, it stopped.
Slumping to the floor, I started to laugh. Not least because Snuffles started to nose me. But there in my mind, six sparks blossomed to life. I had made it at last.
The next stage.
I expected it, but I couldn't deny the relief I felt with it here. I'd always had my doubts and fears about it.
So, six sparks, what to use them on? I had thought long and hard on how to use them and had a very clear idea of where to spend them. Something I had been putting off for a while. I knew that already gained information synchronised with the spark, reducing the cost of it, and as I had been running across more and more high-level tech that was getting harder and harder to reverse engineer, even with the spark helping me, it was pretty clear it was time to work on my foundation.
I was a long way off the next threshold for Technician, so that was out. I did have plans to slot in some more for Self, slowly getting that to the next threshold. But first, a point or two for my foundations.
And what was better than physics in learning how the world worked? But rather than focusing it on any one race or faction, I left it as broad as possible. What better way than to learn the full spectrum of how the world was put together? Decision made, I directed my spark to physics, just physics.
No other qualifiers.
I had a second as time seemed to freeze, and then all six points were sucked into the fragment at once. I froze waiting for the wave of knowledge, but it never came. Diving into my mind, I could see the fragment hanging there, but it wasn't crystallised like the others.
Poking it, it felt incomplete. Judging by the brightness, I guessed it would need at least four more sparks to fully form. I could feel a sickness in my stomach, desperately hoping that I hadn't wasted the sparks. But with nothing to do, I tried to distract myself rather unsuccessfully until I had to meet Peggi.
I could only hope they wouldn't vanish next year.
I found her in her office. Giving her a brief hug, I sat down opposite her. "How's it going Peggi?"
Grinning at me, she said. "Good. Very good. There has been no alarm about the missing nobles. There have been a few check-ins, but they won't get worried for a few weeks yet. By that point, there will be no trail to follow apart from the one we have laid. We might even see if we can send some fake messages to them."
"So the trail has been laid?"
"Yes, we are setting it to point at an old acquaintance. The noble we had the pleasure of meeting a few years ago."
"That's relieving to hear, so how can I help?"
We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting over the projects she needed from me, mostly crafting ones, thankfully. It gave me an excuse to stay in my workshops tinkering. One I used extensively over the next few years.