Chapter 122: Council Politics and Sacred Machinery
Terra - High Lords Council
Malcador, the Regent of Terra, sat at the head of the table wearing the simple robes of a Terran administrative lord. As leader of the council, he held a double-headed eagle sceptre that marked his authority.
"The fleet commanded by Tribune will arrive in the Sol System in three Terran weeks," the Custodian representative read from his report. "They carry Star God fragments with orders to transport them to the Labyrinthine Fortress for containment."
The Star God fragments touched many areas of Imperial interest. Their existence couldn't be hidden, only their purpose kept secret.
"Protest," Kelbor-Hal, Fabricator-General of Mars, spoke with mechanical precision. "The Star God should be handled by Mars."
"This is His Majesty's order," the Custodian representative said coldly. "The Star God fragments must be held in the Labyrinthine Fortress. This matter falls under the Unification Council's authority."
"The Unification Council also belongs to Mars," Kelbor-Hal insisted. "According to Martian law, Tech-Adepts serving the Unification Council must still obey Mars."
"No," Malcador corrected the error. "Before the Great Crusade began, Unification Council members were chosen to obey only His Majesty's orders."
Kelbor-Hal's voice carried complaint through his vox-grille. "Mars has been drained for the Great Crusade. My people work day and night producing weapons and vehicles."
"We have given everything but received nothing. The Imperium has acquired new technologies but refuses to share them in accordance with our agreement. Now you want to support the Unification Council in splitting Mars?"
"According to the agreement, recovered STCs belong to you," Malcador restated the pact signed between the Emperor and Mars. "The technologies currently held by the Imperium are not STC templates from humanity's Golden Age."
"All technologies should be handed over to the Adeptus Mechanicus," Kelbor-Hal declared. "Only we can properly preserve and use them."
"Refused," Malcador denied without hesitation. "Non-STC technologies will remain with the Imperium. This matter is not open for discussion."
Resentment flickered in Kelbor-Hal's logic circuits. All knowledge should belong to the Adeptus Mechanicus. This was betrayal. The Emperor was not the Omnissiah at all.
"Let's move to the next item," the Imperial Chancellor presiding over the meeting announced. "Representatives from the Cochlea System, please come forward."
A suspended platform glided from the wall toward the High Lords' area. Several people sat on it, dressed in matching robes with refined bearing, clearly from a civilised world.
A woman stood and spoke with practised diplomacy. "The Cochlea System is an ancient human colony that existed during humanity's Golden Age."
"We have always valued humanity's interests. When the Imperial Expedition Fleet arrived, we immediately signed documents joining the Imperium."
"However, the Imperium's communication network has been slow to connect to Cochlea. This causes confusion among our people. They wonder if the Imperium values us as much as we value it."
"Therefore, I request the High Lord Council connect Cochlea to the Imperial real-time communication network. We will bear the necessary expenses without requiring additional Imperial funding."
"We also seek to increase our trade protection quota to ensure employment and industrial output in our system...."
The meeting lasted nonstop for an entire day and night before it finally ended.
Malcador showed traces of fatigue as the heavy burden of administration weighed on his shoulders. The meeting's end didn't mean his work was done. Many documents and requests urgently needed his attention.
"The first team of remembrancers has been assembled." Malcador studied the dataslate in his hand. Inside was a list of remembrancers and reports on which fleets they would join.
From the beginning of the Great Crusade, many chroniclers and recorders followed the armies personally. Now it was just a matter of making it official and providing proper support.
Every civilisation needs history. Humanity is no exception. If the Great Crusade's glory remained unknown, how unfair would that be to those lifes?
Malcador examined the list with his exceptional intellect, quickly remembering what kind of people each name represented. Within minutes, he had reviewed hundreds of thousands of names. He found several errors, corrected them, and approved the document.
Malcador handled administrative affairs for two hours, then took a small break to rest. He thought of the Emperor and Raven on the other side of the galaxy.
"According to their travel patterns, after defeating the Star God fragments, they will definitely prepare to go to the next universe."
Malcador looked at the projection floating before him. Many pending administrative matters needed his urgent attention. He had so many tasks to handle. Not a single day could be wasted.
"Perhaps he will refuse me," Malcador thought with mixed relief. His duty was handling the Imperium's administration. How could he have thoughts of taking time off?
But Malcador also felt hope in his heart. He wanted the Emperor and Raven to fulfil their promise and take him to see other worlds.
His old bones had seen almost all there was to the world, and now, with Raven and other universes, the mere thought of it brought excitement he had not felt in millennia.
Mars - Biological Cultivation Complex
Biologis Hamares delivered a batch of tech-servitors to the Unification Council as agreed. These servitors were children grown in cultivation pods. Knowledge was instilled in them even during their formative years.
The recipient of this batch was the Chief of the Unification Council, Archmagos Mendel. His body was unusually large and massive. Mechanical implants and flesh were hidden beneath robes that shimmered with Martian red and Terran gold. His face was replaced by compound lenses and gleaming metal plating.
"This batch of servitors is excellent," Mendel reviewed Hamares's data report and nodded with satisfaction. "I hope you can provide more such high-quality servitors next month."
"The Unification Council's demand is growing," Hamares said, looking at the technical projection floating before him. His slender fingers rapidly tapped data operations on the screen.
"Another new project is about to go online," Mendel announced. "The Labyrinthine Fortress project has made a significant breakthrough. Now Fortress-01 will function as a Star God's prison, for recovered and awaiting fragments."
"Here, this is a gene template sent by the Regent. It can allow humans to transform and gain special powers."
Mendel extended a mechanical tentacle and inserted it into Hamares's interface. Large amounts of data flowed between the two Tech-Adepts.
After it ended, Mendel said, "Guard this knowledge well. Only the most loyal followers of the Omnissiah can earn the honour to know and share this knowledge."
"I understand," Hamares nodded with mechanical precision.
After a brief conversation, Mendel took the newly born servitors aboard a ship and transported them to orbit.
Belisarius Cawl was one of these newly born servitors. He curiously looked out of the transport's porthole. He could clearly see numerous vast metal structures floating in the void, majestic and grand, comparable in size to planets.
Countless ships and warships sailed into the Sol System like schools of fish, following designated routes.
Upon arriving at the massive orbital platform, Cawl and hundreds of his companions were selected by the Tech-Adept responsible for the Labyrinthine Fortress project. Their first task was to clean the cells and prepare to receive the prisoner.
"A cell? This is what they call a cell!" Cawl exclaimed in awe after entering Fortress-01 through the dimensional passage. He saw a prison more grand and magnificent than many cities.
Fortress-01 was the first Labyrinthine Fortress created by the Imperium. It held strong symbolic meaning. It represented humanity's first step into the Creator's authority. Therefore, Adeptus Mechanicus members working on the project held devoted attitudes.
"Praise the Omnissiah. Praise the God of All Machines. Praise the Motive Force."
Belisarius Cawl constantly chanted the blessings with a harmonious tone. But his thoughts weren't entirely on the chants. Most of his attention was focused on the recently implanted mechanical bionic eye. Inside, large amounts of data and code flowed, letting him fully understand his current work progress.
The servitors selected for the Fortress had all undergone basic modifications, enabling them to dedicate themselves to maintaining the sacred machinery.
Cawl had mechanical bionic eyes, a core chip for calculations, and metal appendages implanted. Three servo-skulls were connected to his main spine. Their hollow eye sockets held scanning devices. The red light they emitted could detect tiny machine details and receive machine code data, allowing him to understand the operating status of machines.
"The might of the Omnissiah allows many machines to operate."
Cawl was in good spirits. He greatly enjoyed this work. The mechanical mule behind him carried a heavy package containing useful parts and tools. There was also a servitor made of flesh and machinery, carrying a large binary analyser.
Its precise antenna continuously broadcasts code streams to the machines in the corridor.
He walked with them down a wide metal corridor. Dull footsteps echoed in the empty passage. The metal corridor was five meters in diameter, built from black metal and glowing circuits.
[End of Chapter]
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