Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah

by Thorpe, Gav

  How had Harkas done it? The thought of billions of lives resting on her decision made Ghelsa want to shrink into nothing and hide, crushed by the figurative weight of it.

  Only one thing kept her going. The buzz of the Imperator’s spirit through her activated godplate brought her closer to the Omnissiah. Ghelsa couldn’t think about the fates of planets and star systems, but she could focus on the future of her personal world, the entirety of which was encompassed by the Casus Belli. She felt the hurt in the machine, just like the corrupted tissue inside the augmentatii – one taint physical, the other spiritual.

  The gunfire fell silent, and its absence chilled Ghelsa as much as its presence had terrified her. Shouts replaced the din of weapons – calls of happiness.

  She peered past the hulking automatons to see a crowd of tributai flowing down the passage towards them. Ghelsa recognised faces among the throng and stepped out to greet them.

  For the time being the kastelans had fallen dormant, unassailed by the enemy and defensive in their programming.

  ‘Wait here!’ Ghelsa called out to the thirty or so people streaming around the immobile metal warriors. ‘The kastelans will protect you!’

  ‘Ghelsa!’

  Notasa’s voice cut through everything else. Ghelsa desperately searched the tributai for his face, and his slight features appeared behind the hooded figure of an overseer. There was a sizeable cut along the side of his head and red matted his pale hair.

  The tributai parted as Ghelsa charged forward as though wading into surf, calling her lover’s name. The smaller man threw his arms around her, almost crushing himself against Ghelsa’s exo-skeleton. Ghelsa reciprocated as delicately as she could, hooking her free hand around him and lifting him so that they could kiss.

  For a heartbeat, and then another, nothing else mattered.

  Someone barged past, jostling the pair, forcing them to part.

  ‘Where have you been?’ Notasa demanded, hands on hips. Then his anger broke and he started to cry, burying his face in his hands. ‘The skitarii imprisoned us in one of the guard rooms. They killed Safua and Kodush, beat them right in front of us.’

  Ghelsa reached out to comfort Notasa, but before she could say anything a loud burst of binaric erupted close by. She looked left and saw a tech-priest in scorched white robes striding towards her, yellow-lighted lenses fixed on the tributai.

  ‘Ghelsa vin Jaint!’ The tech-priest thrust a finger towards her. ‘The magos dominus demands to see you.’

  Notasa moved close, wrapping an arm protectively around Ghelsa’s.

  ‘She’s not going anywhere,’ the tributai said defiantly. ‘She’s staying with us.’

  There were angry murmurs from the other duluz, voicing their support. Ghelsa felt a muted buzz of noospheric communication tingle on her godplate and realised the tech-priest was in communion with Exasas.

  ‘Ghelsa vin Jaint, the magos dominus requires your assistance. He awaits you at the antae. You may bring your companions.’

  ‘What does the dominus want with you?’ asked Notasa. ‘Let’s just find somewhere safe.’

  Ghelsa looked at her lover, then to the other duluz, both tributai and epilekhtoz, and finally to the tech-priest. All of them seemed to expect something of her, though she was not sure why. She was nothing special.

  The thought triggered a memory, of the vision implanted into her mind by the blessing of the magos when she had entered the antae – of her place within the cosmic workings of the Machine-God.

  She certainly was not special, but nobody was until they were needed. The gears and levers of the cosmos worked their impenetrable mechanisms, requiring each component to do its part when called upon. The Machine-God had set that engine into motion, and now the time had come when Ghelsa would be a fulcrum upon which the workings would hinge.

  There had to be purpose to what had happened. It was not simply random chance that had led her to find Harkas in his moment of need, of all the people that might have descended the downdecks at that time. She had been moulded over the years, her temperament forged by the Cult Metalica since her induction, and then she had been placed in a situation to intervene.

  The inquisitor was the embodiment of the Emperor’s divine authority. Through Harkas the Omnissiah had touched upon Ghelsa’s life, awakening in her the latent soul of her creation so that she could protect the Casus Belli, the sacred vessel of the Omnissiah’s will.

  ‘I have to go,’ she told Notasa. She looked at the rest of the crowd and knew that they too had a purpose, be it great or small. ‘The Casus Belli calls for us to act, and we must listen. Almighty Machine-God whose data binds the universe, look upon your humble servants and let the tangents of your intersection be beneficent.’

  Restoring order to the akropoliz proved almost as difficult as wresting control of it from Magos Olvatia. Exasas subroutined four separate personas to deal with dispatching the kastelan datasmiths, shepherding the displaced populace of duluz from the lower levels and reorganising the augmentatii and skitarii into a fighting force that could mount some kind of defence against the incoming heretek-guard.

  While these matters were being dealt with, the magos dominus – how good it felt to be adorned with that title once more – concentrated on the issue of accessing the czella to stop the princeps senioris and her conspirators. He stood with a small group of fulgurite battle-priests outside the entrance to the antae, but so far the systems of the gateway had resisted their attempts to overload the locking program with combined electrical discharges and Exasas’ own noospheric manipulation.

  Major Dazi and her troopers had done good work trying to stop the upper batteries of guns from firing on the other Titans of the Legio Metalica, but the hellstorm cannon and plasma annihilator were theoretically operational. The only reason they had not yet fired, as far as Exasas could determine, was stubborn resistance from the spirit of the Imperator itself. Such status was unlikely to continue indefinitely, and so teams of skitarii had been deployed to force entry into the weapons control chambers, but they were facing a stiff fight from tech-priests that had barred themselves within.

  A faint but familiar shiver on the noosphere alerted Exasas to the approach of Ghelsa vin Jaint. He rotated several sensor clusters in her direction to let the tributai know that he was aware of her presence though the bulk of his attention was fixed upon the security gate. She had at her back a crowd of fellow tributai and epilekhtoz, their expressions all fixed in grim determination.

  ‘Thank you for attending, Ghelsa vin Jaint,’ said the magos. ‘My companions are attempting to bypass defensive protocols set by the hereteks, but I think it may also be necessary to employ mechanical means to access the command deck.’

  ‘Mechanical?’ Ghelsa vin Jaint cocked her head to one side, and a few seconds later comprehension dawned. She slapped her multi-tool in the palm of her other hand. ‘You mean brute force? It will take forever to pull apart that wall and gate.’

  ‘I concur that it is time-consuming, but I cannot envision an alternative at this time.’ Exasas hoped that he did not betray his growing frustration. Ghelsa vin Jaint’s physiology was already demonstrating symptoms of extreme, prolonged stress, and he realised that her current usefulness as a focus for the duluz workforce would be rendered null by any unnecessary provocation. ‘While the Casus Belli combats those that would corrupt on the spiritual plane, we must do what we can to aid from the physical.’

  Exasas detected a sudden surge in Ghelsa vin Jaint’s heart rate and feared that his appraisal had prompted a panic response. Instead, the tributai laughed. Exasas was not sure what was happening – her unexpected behaviour verged on hysteria.

  Exasas regarded the laughing tributai with suspicion.

  ‘Could you help?’ Ghelsa vin Jaint said, mustering a semblance of control. ‘If you had access to the Imperator’s soul-circuit, would you be able to take on the hereteks?’

  ‘It is possible in theory, but in practice we would need to access the
czella and gain control of a mind impulse unit interface.’

  ‘There’s another way,’ Ghelsa vin Jaint said. ‘You need to find an epilekhtoz overseer called Adrina.’

  ‘How will this overseer assist in breaching the antae and noaz? My tech-priests are versed in far higher engineering theories than any epilekhtoz.’

  ‘Not Adrina himself, but something he is carrying. A forged noospheric datachip that can be used to enter the mind impulse unit network.’

  ‘Such a thing is impossible for a mere epilekhtoz to fabricate,’ said Exasas, while simultaneously broadcasting a command for all skitarii and augmentatii to locate the person named. ‘Also, possession of such an artefact would be highly illegal, punishable by excruciating death.’

  ‘I don’t know where it came from,’ said Ghelsa vin Jaint. ‘I thought it was a myth that’s been doing the rounds for years. Some stories say it was retrieved centuries ago from a tech-priest that was killed, but I’ve heard other people say that it was stolen from one of the moderati panels during a rededication of the holy decks.’

  ‘What would be the purpose in possessing this datachip?’

  ‘It’s an amazing high,’ explained the tributai, which Exasas knew implied a state of intoxicated heightened awareness in the colloquial of the lower ranks. ‘We can’t really interact with or even feel the spirit of the Casus Belli directly, but just to be close to that presence, that power… I suppose you wouldn’t understand what it means to have the sensation of being a giant god-machine for a few seconds.’

  Exasas received a signal from an alpha in one of the upper floors of the akropoliz that a face-match for Adrina had been made. He signalled the order to bring the overseer to the atrium as quickly as possible.

  ‘Your overseer is in possession of this mind impulse data chip?’

  ‘He won a loan of it in a dice game earlier. He was going to ride the war god when his shift ended, so I think he will still have it on him, or know where it is stashed.’

  ‘Thank you, Ghelsa vin Jaint. I believe you are correct. If the datachip is able to provide a direct interface with the mind impulse circuits from outside the czella, I predict that I will be able to intervene on behalf of the Casus Belli against the corruptive code infecting its systems.’

  Exasas did not vocalise a concern that, having been exposed to the mind impulse unit corruption, he might well become infected as well. Without knowing the exact parameters of the heresy-code it was impossible to codify the dangers. Ever since his disastrous encounter with Olvatia, Exasas had become more willing to engender risk for the achievement of his goals. In the particular case of the mind impulse taint, it would only be a matter of time before it leaked out into the main noospheric continuum and contacted Exasas. The only variable was how long, and in precipitating the exposure Exasas did not really endanger the Imperator any more than at present, while the plan introduced a far greater chance of success than trying to access the czella by brute physical force.

  Ghelsa vin Jaint gasped, a sign of distress, and dashed across the floor of the atrium towards a group of skitarii. A kastelan advanced with them, a limp form draped in its arms. A brief scan confirmed the identity of Adrina Ortaisa Vasi, overseer-beta-grade. Exasas also noted the lack of a heartbeat or brain activity.

  Exasas approached as the tributai lifted the corpse from the kastelan and laid it upon the floor. The upper-left chest and shoulder had been incinerated by a plasma burst, fusing muscle and bone within a fleshy crater.

  ‘Please, no, it can’t be,’ sobbed Ghelsa vin Jaint, cradling the overseer.

  ‘Your affection for your superior is testament to your bond, but it is obstructive at this juncture.’

  Ghelsa vin Jaint lowered the body to the ground and frantically ran her hands over the corpse.

  ‘Restrain yourself, tributai. Your grief must be expressed later.’

  ‘It will,’ she snarled back. ‘He didn’t deserve this, but that’s not why I’m…’

  She broke off, sliding a hand inside the remnants of the dead man’s robe. With an explosive exhalation, she sat back on her heels, something glinting between her finger and thumb.

  Exasas magnified his visual feed and saw that it was a type-4 Arterial pattern-wrought datachip. The tale of its removal from a tech-priest cadaver seemed a more likely explanation, although the exact details of why a czella-duty MIU teknikoz had even ventured into the service decks would never be known.

  ‘I thought it might have been destroyed by the plasma blast that killed Adrina,’ explained the tributai, standing up to proffer the datachip. ‘That’s what scared me.’

  Exasas extended a manipulator and plucked the sliver of etched metal from her grasp. An exhalation of incense cleansed the surface of microbial fauna left in the residue of sweat from Ghelsa vin Jaint’s fingers.

  ‘How do you use it to “ride the Titan”?’ he enquired, holding the chip in front of her.

  ‘There’s a… let’s say, broken noospheric node between the upper void shield generator chamber and the starboard motivator conduits. I can take you.’

  ‘It would be preferable if you were to remain here and be ready to seize the antae if it can be opened.’ Exasas waved the datachip towards the sealed gate. ‘If I am successful in entering the MIU loop I may be able to override the hereteks’ protocols.’

  A sudden boom made everybody freeze. It came from outside the akropoliz, but shook the whole structure.

  Exasas-secondary [datalog]

  Exasas’ sensor link followed a single round from the hellstorm cannon until it smashed against the Victorious Endeavour’s void shields, overloading the outermost energy layer.

  The duluz chattered in their panic, aware that the main gun had fired but not of the consequence.

  ‘The traitors almost have full control of all firing systems,’ said the magos. ‘When they have achieved total command it will be too late to eradicate their corruption.’

  ‘I’ll show you where we ride the Titan,’ said a slight, grimy-faced tributai moving out of the knot of lower deck workers. ‘And how to plug yourself in.’

  ‘Notasa…’ said Ghelsa vin Jaint, holding out a hand. ‘It’s dangerous down there. I’ll do it.’

  ‘No.’ The one called Notasa met Ghelsa vin Jaint’s look with defiance. ‘You don’t get to have a monopoly on dedication to duty.’

  ‘I’ll help,’ volunteered one of the other tributai. Others grunted their support.

  ‘Very well.’ Exasas summoned an alpha from the closest skitarii squad. The unit leader approached and bowed his masked head. ‘This is Kappa 1-Fade of the vanguard. He has operational command in my absence. Alpha, this is Ghelsa vin Jaint, temporary commander of the duluz auxilia.’

  ‘Auxilia, dominus?’ The alpha cocked his head at the workers. ‘Duluz do not fight. Skitarii fight.’

  ‘I am making them auxilia as of now.’ Exasas transmitted authorisation codes across the security network recognising all tributai and epilekhtoz as combat-faithful. ‘Ghelsa vin Jaint is tributai-alpha,’

  ‘I understand, dominus.’

  ‘This way,’ said the tributai identified as Notasa Ydna, taking a step away from the antae.

  ‘Your battle-form won’t fit,’ Ghelsa vin Jaint said suddenly, stepping in front of the magos.

  ‘Tech-priests and battle-priests aligned to the heretek cause still occupy parts of the lower decks. How am I to defend myself?’

  ‘They’ll defend you, dominus,’ she said, indicating the tributai that had moved forward to accompany the magos. ‘With their lives, if needed.’

  Exasas regarded the mob of workers armed with improvised weapons and scavenged rifles. He had tacitly entrusted his wellbeing to them for a long time, but this was a different matter. He considered taking a squad of skitarii as escort, but they were already overtasked trying to retake the main weapons as well as being stationed to assume control of the command deck if possible. The firepower could not be spared.

  ‘Very well,’
he said to Notasa Ydna. ‘My life and the future of the Casus Belli are entrusted to you.’

  CHAPTER 15

  ASCENSIONS

  ‘Whoever created this should perform daily rituals of absolvement to make amends to the Machine-God for such an affront,’ remarked Exasas as he examined the crude dataware installed around the remnants of the malfunctioning noospheric node. It was held together mostly with crude spot welding and overly abundant use of temporary fixing tape that had been layered up over a considerable length of time.

  There was barely room for Exasas to fit into the shelter erected underneath the sub-level lubricant overflow, and Notasa Ydna was required to perform instruction from beyond the misaligned doorway.

  ‘The jack-point on the left is where you insert the diktat terminal, which is on the shelf up there. And you need to cycle the timing reader underneath to break you out after five seconds. Any longer and your brain will fry.’

  ‘I do not possess an organic brain,’ Exasas pointed out.

  He scanned the mess of interlaced cables, ports and sub-assemblies, and mapped their connections, ignoring the stream of incomprehensible worker slang that continued to pour from Notasa Ydna.

  It was, despite the haphazard nature of its assembly, a relatively simple but effective arrangement. Exasas identified the primary connective relays and extended a peripheral digicoupler to interface with the power system. Running the array from his own energy cells seemed a safer alternative to entrusting his noospheric projection to the temperamental battery-fed system in place. Molecular cutters sliced through the housing of a purloined data filter to expose the interface within. Sounds of protest erupted from Notasa Ydna and the others watching, and Exasas imposed an auditory filter to silence their distracting noise.

  He paused, the datachip touched against the opening of the port but not inserted. Analysis of the rudimentary arrangement confirmed the testimonial evidence of the duluz that had operated the interface, but it was not failure that caused her to hesitate. He had little idea what to expect when he entered an operational MIU stream, and nothing in his experience or datalogs to provide a basis to extrapolate the possible effects of the corruption.