What I am about to tell you is indeed classified and has only been re-categorized for your use on this mission, and afterwards will be redacted, as will the temporary security clearances you have been issued.”
Lord Indron paused to make sure everyone’s attention was now fixed firmly on him.
“The creation of reliable star charts on this side of the Ellisian Line has proven difficult. As many of you have guessed, the more active humanity has been in this region of space the more, for lack of a better term, ‘settled’ the star systems have become. We have yet to determine the cause of this phenomenon, though Grotto has a prevailing theory about the Line, and that is part of why we are here today,” said the man that Samuel now knew as Lord Soren of House Indron.
“Research indicates that somewhere between fifteen to twenty thousand years ago,” Lord Indron continued, “There was an ‘Event’, best described in layman’s terms as the detonation of an energy weapon which had apocalyptic results. The very quantum fabric of this entire sector, what we know as Ellisian space, became unstable. Over time that stability has returned incrementally as the quantum mechanics that govern this sector correct themselves. The more matter and energy we bring across the Line, the more momentum we have allowed that quantum correction to gain. Logic follows that eventually this entire sector will return to normal as the physics of Ellisian space and what we typically refer to as mapped space, achieve equilibrium.” Lord Indron then keyed an image of a gun spider in action, firing its built-in weapons off screen.
Samuel shuddered involuntarily even though it had been a long time since he’d seen one of the creatures. The image was likely one captured by the body cameras of one of the penal legionnaires during the initial conflict. Samuel had been focused on fighting other humans since the outset of the war. None of the marines in the Baen Reaper cadre had fought against the enigmatic machine race since the initial encounter on UK1326.”
“Most of you use the slang term ‘gun spider’ to describe these hostiles and that is certainly an apt description. Mossimo Gedra, the High Cognate in Service to the Board, has spent the better part of this war delving into the tomb-worlds and investigating their denizens. In his honor, the machine race is referred to as the Gedra, when depicted in any official capacity.
While Grotto has yet to fully realize the functional use of the Gedra’s weapons, cybernetics, or building materials, the Board is positive that this will only be a matter of time.” Lord Indron displayed another image, this one a close up of one of the alpha cyborgs with the cable-like hair, then he posted a second photo of another cyborg, and then a third of yet another. “Each of these creatures has similar devices that appear to be embedded in their chests. The High Cognate believes that they are, after a fashion, master control modules. His theory is that these alpha cyborgs have central command and control of the entire tomb-world functionality, including the gun spiders and the energy-reactive buildings.
This control also, in theory, extends to the resurrected human beings that have been encountered by certain marine elements. I believe you lot have taken to calling them ‘Hollows’. Dissection of the resurrected has shown that several machines were implanted, rather crudely, into the nerve centers of the corpses. Logic would hold that this was how the alpha units were able to control those reanimated individuals. To date, we have not been able to capture an intact alpha cyborg, and have therefore made no progress in resurrecting or controlling any of the re-animates or gun spiders, much less activate the building materials of the cities themselves. However, we are certain that it can be done, and it is paramount that we prevent Helion from making further progress.”
Lord Indron faced the room and curled his hands over the front of the lectern. “Helion forces have clustered around this system in significant strength. While Grotto is engaged in a hardening protocol throughout Ellisian space to further secure our existing holdings, Helion is making a bid for the system you see displayed.” As Lord Indron spoke he brought up several star charts on the main briefing screen to reveal a sector of space filled with battle fleet icons.
“Our recon elements have reported Helion’s discovery of a massive tomb-world, far beyond the scale of what we have encountered so far. Based on our findings from other tomb-worlds, we believe that Helion has set anchor above the planet prime of the machine race. We are part of the task force dispatched to claim that planet.”
His announcement was met with stunned silence as the realization of what was being discussed dawned on the assembled marines. The briefing room was a massive auditorium, and as was the custom, every marine on the tug was in attendance. Lord Indron looked out over the sea of faces and nodded grimly before pointing upwards at the screen.
“Rest assured that you will not be alone in this endeavor, as this same briefing is being given to the Kratos and Lovat Reaper Corps, and their tugs will be joining us in the offensive. All three tugs, and their full complement of marines, have been seconded to House Indron. You will be considered support units for a joint vanguard. Elites from the Merchants Militant will also be present in the field. Make no mistake ladies and gentlemen; this will be a massive undertaking.”
Samuel sat through the rest of the briefing in a shaken silence, his mind filled with a tempest of thoughts. This was just the sort of abusive treatment from Command that the unionists were trying to prevent. If Grotto would not let him expatriate, and then hurled him into the kind of warfare for which he was not trained or equipped, then how was that anything but oppression? And what fresh hell did this covert elite, Boss Aiken, or this Lord Indron III of House Indron, have in store for them on Gedra Prime?
7. GEDRA PRIME
The assault ship finally touched down and in seconds disgorged its cargo of Reapers before its thrusters flared and the battle-weary ship returned to the FOB.
Samuel knew that while Tango Platoon might be the first salvage element deployed into the engagement, the assault ship would likely be making at least a dozen more trips before the full company of Reapers was in the field. Ahead of him Samuel could see the skyline of the dead city and despite being wreathed in the smoky haze of warfare, the buildings literally crackled with visible energy discharges as the Gedra executed their security protocols.
As usual, the orbital photos did the necropolis no justice, and now that he was in the shadow of its great walls he understood what made this one so special. It was easily four times the size of the buildings on the other tomb-worlds, and certainly seemed as if it could stand as the center of the machine race civilization, or at least the civilization of whomever had created them.
The Helion battle group was trapped between the emerging horde of gun spiders and the relentless attack of the Grotto force.
As Samuel pumped his legs to keep pace with the rest of the marines he surveyed the scene, his veteran’s eyes picking up enough details on the ground to supplement the swift brief they had been given before being herded into the assault craft.
A sizeable occupational force of Helion troopers had dug in just outside the walls of the dead city. Helion techs were presumed to have established the closest distance that invaders could approach the city without activating the defense protocols that would awaken the gun spiders and the Alpha cyborg. At that position the Helion engineer corps had rapidly dug a network of trenches and hardened them with gun emplacements in addition to using fencing and metal barriers to create artificial kill zones above the trenches. In this new Dark Age the corporate armies fought more like the militaries of ancient history and that had always struck Samuel as the real indicator of just how cheap life was thought to be, by both Helion and Grotto.