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[legio-memoriam-blog]

Control. (Short)

Bethany was flung across the cavern, hitting her back against a metal door which lied against a rock. Not exactly the softest landing, but it was better than hitting the rock itself. A servo-skull fell out of her hands, it held a scroll with an Inquisitorial brand in its claws.

The Magos put his weight onto the Mega Nob’s stomach, pinning him into place. He raised his fists and punched the Ork in its face, several times over.

Its skull cracked, its blood splattered against his fists and his chest.

Yet he continued to punch, even past its death and its final twitches.

Bethany realized just how horrible this was, the pain in her head faded as she looked to the piles and piles of corpses around her.

There he was, a tower of Metal, Plastic and Hate, continuing to beat a corpse into a fine red mush.

“Magos Parrilli.”

“Ma-”

“GIDEON!” She shouted, breaking her usual emotionless facade.

This got his attention, he realized what he was doing.

He looked to his hands, bloodied, covered in bits of broken skull.

“Not--not again. It’s too soon.” He spoke, rising from his position, his eyes glued to the blood dripping from his hands. He slumped over against a wall of concrete, huffing quietly.

“Gideon?”

“Get the artifact, quickly as you can, Miss Arigard. We need to return to the ship before I--” He took in a deep breath, exhaling in time as a puff of steam exited his neck.

“Before I lose myself once more.”

“Mag-”

“Go!...Go, there’s no time to waste!”

Bethany grabbed a hold of the servo-skull once more, taking both the skull and the scroll with her.

“I’ll just rest here for now, call the Valkyrie--I need some time to rest.”

Gideon, had constant reminders to how old he was, how broken his body was.

It was only a mater of time before his mind became as beaten as his body and soul.

[legio-memoriam-blog]

Bethany sunk her head into a case she made with her arms and her legs, a little safe place for her to find comfort in this rather uncomfortable territory she was stepping into.

“Don’t--cry, or give me anything. I’ve only got one gift in this world and nothing can top it, so keep yours to yourself.” What sounded rather rude was meaningful to her.

That pistol, with its golden embellishments and busted handle had so much history to her, so much to treasure.

Nothing Koko could give her would top it, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.

But she also wanted to perhaps rectify her wrongs, she shouldn’t have been so offensive when she arrived. Like her, she was just a person...albeit much more muscular than her and with more combat experience, but still a person.

“Just uh--do you--”

She slowly scooted toward Koko, her head coming out of the cradle she made for herself with her arms and legs.

“--Do you wanna--hug it out?”

Chocolate. [binaryfreudian]

She turned to Koko, pulling her hood back so she could see her pale face in all its plainness.

She pointed to her chapped lips, the darkness surrounding her eyes pronouncing their brown color.

“Read my lips, Koko!” 

“Save. It.”

With a huff, she shoved her hood back on and crossed her arms. She still held her pistol in her hands.

She had no intentions of making friends with someone whom so reminded her of her supposedly dead Mother.

A cocktail of feelings swirled her mind, all of which leaned on hatred and betrayal.

The elevator slowed down, which was easy to detect as the feeling of their innards shifting from the force of the machine rising had settled.

With a clank, it came to a full stop, a few seconds later and the doors opened to reveal a high ceiling room with four gargantuan doors and a main hall, just down two also gargantuan wooden doors.

She gave two taps to her door with her knuckle, muffled footsteps followed and the door to her room opened, a Thanatar Class Siege Automaton holding onto the door with remodeled hands, in the shape of a human’s.

It towered above the both of them, yet seemed to have been doodled on like it was a Child’s plaything. A bright white number five was plastered across its chest.

“Your room is down there, in front of mine. If you need anything…”

She almost looked sad, looking to the floor and then back to Koko’s eyes.

“…Get Gideon.”

[legio-memoriam-blog]

Hours passed, Bethany’s face was covered in ash from working with her Automaton.

She wore a light grey dress that drooped down to her ankles, covered her arms and made it difficult to see her form.

She exited her room from a smaller door to the left, which locked behind her with a quiet hiss, she exhaled and stared into the night. Her eyes, bright and false peeking through the night-light hallway which split to the Council room and the elevator heading down the ship. 

She easily saw Koko’s form in the darkness, and felt the swirl of hate rise up once more--before fading.

In the time she stayed inside her room, she realized that while Koko shared many motherly qualities, she was not her mother, she was just a person, like her.

Now, the only problem was trying to get past all the emotional hullabaloo and actually apologize. 

Oh, if she only had removed emotions from her mind when she could’ve.

She exhaled, running a hand through her blonde hair and looking to the ground. Her back met the hallway, she slowly slid to the ground.

“Ssssss...” She inhaled through her teeth, a feeling of guilt rocketing up her spine and grasping around her lungs.

“Sorry.”

Chocolate. [binaryfreudian]

She turned to Koko, pulling her hood back so she could see her pale face in all its plainness.

She pointed to her chapped lips, the darkness surrounding her eyes pronouncing their brown color.

“Read my lips, Koko!” 

“Save. It.”

With a huff, she shoved her hood back on and crossed her arms. She still held her pistol in her hands.

She had no intentions of making friends with someone whom so reminded her of her supposedly dead Mother.

A cocktail of feelings swirled her mind, all of which leaned on hatred and betrayal.

The elevator slowed down, which was easy to detect as the feeling of their innards shifting from the force of the machine rising had settled.

With a clank, it came to a full stop, a few seconds later and the doors opened to reveal a high ceiling room with four gargantuan doors and a main hall, just down two also gargantuan wooden doors.

She gave two taps to her door with her knuckle, muffled footsteps followed and the door to her room opened, a Thanatar Class Siege Automaton holding onto the door with remodeled hands, in the shape of a human’s.

It towered above the both of them, yet seemed to have been doodled on like it was a Child’s plaything. A bright white number five was plastered across its chest.

“Your room is down there, in front of mine. If you need anything…”

She almost looked sad, looking to the floor and then back to Koko’s eyes.

“…Get Gideon.”

[legio-memoriam-blog]

She turned to Koko, pulling her hood back so she could see her pale face in all its plainness.

She pointed to her chapped lips, the darkness surrounding her eyes pronouncing their brown color.

“Read my lips, Koko!” 

“Save. It.”

With a huff, she shoved her hood back on and crossed her arms. She still held her pistol in her hands.

She had no intentions of making friends with someone whom so reminded her of her supposedly dead Mother.

A cocktail of feelings swirled her mind, all of which leaned on hatred and betrayal.

The elevator slowed down, which was easy to detect as the feeling of their innards shifting from the force of the machine rising had settled.

With a clank, it came to a full stop, a few seconds later and the doors opened to reveal a high ceiling room with four gargantuan doors and a main hall, just down two also gargantuan wooden doors.

She gave two taps to her door with her knuckle, muffled footsteps followed and the door to her room opened, a Thanatar Class Siege Automaton holding onto the door with remodeled hands, in the shape of a human’s.

It towered above the both of them, yet seemed to have been doodled on like it was a Child’s plaything. A bright white number five was plastered across its chest.

“Your room is down there, in front of mine. If you need anything...”

She almost looked sad, looking to the floor and then back to Koko’s eyes.

“...Get Gideon.”

Chocolate. [binaryfreudian]

[legio-memoriam-blog]

Upon entering the elevator, Bethany’s arms crossed over her chest. Her left eye twitched and her head shifted about several times. Her right foot tapped the metal interior of the elevator as she waited.

Once Koko entered the elevator, she quit shifting her head, meaning she had control over the motions of her head. Yet her eye continued to twitch and her foot kept tapping the ground.

Once she made the comment of her enjoying pistols, which was a half-truth, she stopped the tapping of her foot and let out a long annoyed exhale.

‘Effective.’ That’s what stuck in her head.

Now she just felt that she needed to make her pistol stronger, better, deadlier.

She gave a look to Koko, her face neutral, but her eyes burning with hate.

Pushing the elevator’s button, they would head to the second highest location inside of the Ark Mechanicus. The Counsel hall located some ways away from the bridge.

“Save it.” Is all that Bethany could muster to say. Emotions, for her specifically, were a pain to grasp, a foreign concept she had to live with.

The elevator at first rocked, its clamps being released from large holes in the wall. What started off as a loud screech soon smoothed out to a quiet whir as it climbed upwards at a grand pace.

She fell silent after this, crossing her arms once more and then pushing her back against a corner of the Elvator’s boxed interior.

Perhaps after escorting Koko to her room, Bethany thought of working on either her pistol, or Number Five. Either of which would help her calm down. 

Chocolate. [binaryfreudian]

Bethany’s look of murder faded away, turning into a look of shock. She inspected her las-pistol, countless hours, weeks had been put into it to make it powerful and effective.

Something snapped inside of the poor girl, something–perhaps pride.

“Just–just a pistol.” She muttered to herself, barely audible.

She became crestfallen, Gideon tapped her on her shoulder and whispered something to her, she went and sat on a bench some yards away from the two, clutching her pistol with both her hands.

Perhaps she had grown soft, like the rest, her weaponry could literally melt faces off and they were revered as powerful weapons aboard this ship–this echo-chamber.

Gideon watched her sit, oh, he could only imagine the maddened ideas rushing through her head, the many weapons of destruction she would create from this 

But nevertheless, he turned his attention to this stranger. He made gestures with his hands as he spoke, with the ammo belts connecting to his wrist mounted storm-bolters clinking ever so softly.

“To be truthful, we are unsure of the year–or how long we’ve been gone…but we do know where we are. We are currently halfway through the Segmentum Tempestus, we are very near to Terra. Our voyage has been–difficult…but soon, it will all be over.” 

He did not know why, but he felt that he should explain the situation to this stranger, whom seemed to relax his defensive stance.

“We’ve lost more than our track of time, we’ve lost perhaps millions of people and holy Machines on this voyage for knowledge…and most of my Kin have become soft, weak in the head, soul and body.”

“If you are to come with us, Stranger, to go back to Terra, I suggest perhaps exiting the wounded Machine you remain in so that we may repair it–or lay it and its spirit to rest. We have much food and many spare rooms, if you wish to stay.”

[legio-memoriam-blog]

Gideon was rather numbed to seeing some people wearing other people’s clothes, or appearing to be someone else when they aren’t.

He instead focused on her request and quietly stared at her for a few seconds before making a movement.

“We have many empty rooms, all equipped with plumbing and the necessary accommodations for anyone whom still has skin to clean.”

“Miss Arigard!” He shouted over to Bethany, whom slowly rose from her seat and walked over to him, her arms cradling the pistol in her hands.

“Yes?” She asked, with a defeated tone of voice, her eyes 

“Would you mind showing Miss Maducé to her room, please?”

Bethany gave a look of disbelief, making small disgruntled noises and failing to make complete sentences as she made gestures with her body, the last being her pointing to her with her thumb and sighing out.

“Which room?” She asked, looking to Gideon.

Gideon spoke, placing a hand onto Bethany’s shoulder.

“Counsel Hall--”

He begin to speak, only to be cut off by her.

“Ugh...”

And again.

“--By--”

And again, this time he gave out a little chuckle.

“UGH....”

“---Your room.”

“UGH!”

Bethany looked to Koko and sighed out.

“Follow me...”

She walked toward an elevator some ways away, her hands closed into fists.

She mumbled while she walked, hoping the woman would follow her.

“Just a pistol! I swear.”

Chocolate. [binaryfreudian]

Bethany’s look of murder faded away, turning into a look of shock. She inspected her las-pistol, countless hours, weeks had been put into it to make it powerful and effective.

Something snapped inside of the poor girl, something–perhaps pride.

“Just–just a pistol.” She muttered to herself, barely audible.

She became crestfallen, Gideon tapped her on her shoulder and whispered something to her, she went and sat on a bench some yards away from the two, clutching her pistol with both her hands.

Perhaps she had grown soft, like the rest, her weaponry could literally melt faces off and they were revered as powerful weapons aboard this ship–this echo-chamber.

Gideon watched her sit, oh, he could only imagine the maddened ideas rushing through her head, the many weapons of destruction she would create from this 

But nevertheless, he turned his attention to this stranger. He made gestures with his hands as he spoke, with the ammo belts connecting to his wrist mounted storm-bolters clinking ever so softly.

“To be truthful, we are unsure of the year–or how long we’ve been gone…but we do know where we are. We are currently halfway through the Segmentum Tempestus, we are very near to Terra. Our voyage has been–difficult…but soon, it will all be over.” 

He did not know why, but he felt that he should explain the situation to this stranger, whom seemed to relax his defensive stance.

“We’ve lost more than our track of time, we’ve lost perhaps millions of people and holy Machines on this voyage for knowledge…and most of my Kin have become soft, weak in the head, soul and body.”

“If you are to come with us, Stranger, to go back to Terra, I suggest perhaps exiting the wounded Machine you remain in so that we may repair it–or lay it and its spirit to rest. We have much food and many spare rooms, if you wish to stay.”

[legio-memoriam-blog]

Bethany’s look of murder faded away, turning into a look of shock. She inspected her las-pistol, countless hours, weeks had been put into it to make it powerful and effective.

Something snapped inside of the poor girl, something--perhaps pride.

“Just--just a pistol.” She muttered to herself, barely audible.

She became crestfallen, Gideon tapped her on her shoulder and whispered something to her, she went and sat on a bench some yards away from the two, clutching her pistol with both her hands.

Perhaps she had grown soft, like the rest, her weaponry could literally melt faces off and they were revered as powerful weapons aboard this ship--this echo-chamber.

Gideon watched her sit, oh, he could only imagine the maddened ideas rushing through her head, the many weapons of destruction she would create from this 

But nevertheless, he turned his attention to this stranger. He made gestures with his hands as he spoke, with the ammo belts connecting to his wrist mounted storm-bolters clinking ever so softly.

“To be truthful, we are unsure of the year--or how long we’ve been gone...but we do know where we are. We are currently halfway through the Segmentum Tempestus, we are very near to Terra. Our voyage has been--difficult...but soon, it will all be over.” 

He did not know why, but he felt that he should explain the situation to this stranger, whom seemed to relax his defensive stance.

“We’ve lost more than our track of time, we’ve lost perhaps millions of people and holy Machines on this voyage for knowledge...and most of my Kin have become soft, weak in the head, soul and body.”

“If you are to come with us, Stranger, to go back to Terra, I suggest perhaps exiting the wounded Machine you remain in so that we may repair it--or lay it and its spirit to rest. We have much food and many spare rooms, if you wish to stay.”

Chocolate. [binaryfreudian]

[legio-memoriam-blog]

Gideon stood unimpressed at first, but then grew worried once the spirit cried out in pain, and the smoke from the inside poured out into the hangar. The Techpriests by his side backed away, terrified, leaving Gideon alone.

“Why do I even keep you fools around?” He asked himself, but this rather annoyed outlook toward his Priests changed once he inspected Bethany whom immediately reached for a las-pistol. She held a look not of fear, but of caution. Her brows were knit together, her lip curled into a sadistic, bloodthirsty grin.

Very different than the calm, collected Bethany he had come to know and somewhat adore.

He paid no attention until the screaming erupted from the Valkyrie, sending the Techpriests in his company reeling back, petrified. Even the weakened, sleeping souls of the Titans within the gigantic, expansive hangar they stood in heard her shouting from all the way back. It nearly awoke them from their slumber, and who knows what they would’ve done at that time.

Bethany now held the Las-pistol up past her hip, she was prepared to shoot if need be.

With several thumps, Gideon made his way toward the figure whom hid behind the shield, his hulking metal body more than capable of taking quite a few hits from the rifle she brandished.

“I am Magos Parrilli, we welcome you to the Ark Mechanicus ship Remembrance.”

Gideon moved his arm back and flicked his wrist, asking Bethany to come to his side, which she did, still holding her weapon.

“This is my second-in-command Bethany Arigard, say ‘Hi’ Bethany.”

Her eyes, usually dead, distant, were piercing today.

“Get out of the wounded Machine.” She said in a rather rough tone of voice.

She did not seem to be afraid of the creature before her, but was instead worried for the distraught vessel.

Chocolate. [binaryfreudian]

@binaryfreudian

Gideon and Bethany stared out the window of the Ark Mechanicus ship Remembrance. It took several weeks to get here.

Gideon stood with his hands wrapped against the large metal guardrails of his bridge, Bethany stood beside him, quietly tapping at a data-slate.

So many problems, but they would soon be removed once they arrived in Imperium Space.

“Can you feel it, Miss Arigard? That wondrous feeling of returning home?”

“What do you mean?”

The Fleet came to a rather sudden stop, Gideon’s stomach hit the railing. The stop wasn’t too bad, just a bit of a surprise.

“What in blazes?!” Shouted Gideon, looking to his pilots and then out into space.

A small shuttle, dented and brunt floated across space in front of them. A few more feet, and the vessel would’ve become powder. 

“Hail it.”

Several minutes went by, they simply sat and stared, no response. 

Gideon was relaxed now, letting go of the guardrails, he realized he had crushed a section of the guardrail like a soda can.

“Just pull the damn thing in and let’s get moving along, then.”

Gideon took a look toward Bethany, whom held the look of a dead fish. A closed mouth, with distant eyes peering into the void. Yet–she also seemed to be restless, with her foot tapping the ground at a certain pace.

“Bethany, join me in the hangar, let’s see if we can make some use of this ship.”

[legio-memoriam-blog]

That Table. (Drabble)

Gideon tapped his metal chair with his finger, it was quiet in his hall. The scribbling of Bethany at his side and his exasperated breathing seemed to be the only things making noise in this large hall.

Down a set of steps sat the wooden table, it held its fair share of scrapes, bruises, hand imprints, spit--and blood.

“That table there.” Gideon spoke suddenly, lifting his arm with a creak to point at it.

“That’s been here for five thousand years.” He gave a sigh after speaking this fact, as if remembering something.

“I remember how I yearned to be a part of this council, how much I wanted to become a Head...so many good Techpriests back in those days.”

His chair gave a creak of relief as he pressed his weight onto his hands to rise off of the damn thing.

“What happened to them?” Bethany’s eyes remained the same, half-closed, glazed with a odd sadness to them.

“What always happens to us, Miss Arigard...”

“Foolishness, followed by pride and a rough fall from grace, followed by a horrible Death.”

“Rather specific.” Bethany commented, adjusting herself in the chair.

“It is--and rather common, sadly.”

He clanked his left hand against the Terminator sized body he owned, his masked head looked minuscule compared to the sheer size of the metal body.

“This body of mine, this--sarcophagus. I didn’t want to be put in it, I didn’t want to become this--this--abomination.”

“Abomination? I thought you liked being a Warrior.”

“Me? No, no, no. I used to be a Techsorcist, I fixed things, healed them from the taint of Chaos. But now--”

“--Well, look at me, Bethany! These hands are only made for war, these fingers made to make our enemies bleed! But this mind?” He gave out a heavy sigh, obviously exasperated or just tired of living. 

He paced about, putting a hand to his metal encased head, his fingers ran down from the faceplate down to his side with a scrape.

“I wanted to become closer to the Omnissiah through peaceful means. Meditation, a slow process of becoming fully mechanical as I aged and grew in mind...I have grown in mind...but I wish I could’ve seen myself age.”

Bethany spoke with curiosity, crossing her legs and placing the paper she sketched onto by her side, putting her hands onto her lap, she eyed him without her distant eyes for once, but with a childlike wonder.

“What exactly happened to you, then?”

He did not speak of it, he instead looked directly into Bethany’s eyes--not that she could tell. His eyes, hidden behind his mask did not reveal what he thought of...but it must’ve been horrible due to his silence and long breaths.

He strolled around enough, he moved back to his chair and sat with a huff, giving out a long exhale.

“I became the leader of this expedition, not because I wanted to, but because I needed to. I was the oldest member alive, perhaps just a bit older than you, Miss Arigard.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Miss Arigard. One day, I would like to return to my duties as a Techsorcist...if I live long enough to see us return to Imperium Space.”

“I would give you the Fleet, but that is not my choice--and it might be too much stress for you, as it was for me.”

His arms moved behind his back, he tugged on his robes and a click was heard. With a heavy sigh, he relaxed himself in the chair, which plugged directly into him.

“There’s many months to travel before we get there...if only we had a Navigator, this would be much faster.”

He slowly slumbered, Bethany knew it was time to leave to her room just down the hall. 

“I’ll be taking my leave.” She said, picking up her items.

“Bethany, before you leave.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for listening to an old man ramble on.”

“Of course.”

“Good night, Miss Arigard.”

“Good Night, Magos Parrilli.”

The lights within the Counsel hall clicked off, leaving Magos Parrilli to be alone...another relic within the room.

[legio-memoriam-blog]

Chocolate. [binaryfreudian]

@binaryfreudian

Gideon and Bethany stared out the window of the Ark Mechanicus ship Remembrance. It took several weeks to get here.

Gideon stood with his hands wrapped against the large metal guardrails of his bridge, Bethany stood beside him, quietly tapping at a data-slate.

So many problems, but they would soon be removed once they arrived in Imperium Space.

“Can you feel it, Miss Arigard? That wondrous feeling of returning home?”

“What do you mean?”

The Fleet came to a rather sudden stop, Gideon’s stomach hit the railing. The stop wasn’t too bad, just a bit of a surprise.

“What in blazes?!” Shouted Gideon, looking to his pilots and then out into space.

A small shuttle, dented and brunt floated across space in front of them. A few more feet, and the vessel would’ve become powder. 

“Hail it.”

Several minutes went by, they simply sat and stared, no response. 

Gideon was relaxed now, letting go of the guardrails, he realized he had crushed a section of the guardrail like a soda can.

“Just pull the damn thing in and let’s get moving along, then.”

Gideon took a look toward Bethany, whom held the look of a dead fish. A closed mouth, with distant eyes peering into the void. Yet--she also seemed to be restless, with her foot tapping the ground at a certain pace.

“Bethany, join me in the hangar, let’s see if we can make some use of this ship.”

[legio-memoriam-blog]

An Infestation, and the Return Home. (Drabble)

Three members of the Council shouted at each other in a mixture of Binary and Low Gothic, with some words being rather rude for polite company.

To his right, the young Artisan, Bethany, with her hands on her lap and quietly looking down at the floor, every other minute she gave a glance to Gideon and the other, rather young techpriests whom bickered.

Gideon pressed a finger to his masked face, tapping it, with the clacking of his metal finger against his masked face making a tiny ‘tink’ with every clack.

“I summoned the Heads of my fleet, I expected grown men and women. I got children.”

His booming voice silenced the others, while he spoke with no emotion, it still seemed as if he was angry.

“Nevertheless, you all command your respective heads, I, the Magos Explorator lead you all through the reaches of space. Bethany here constructs new machinery and works on the appearance of all of our constructs.”

“And you three bicker like children, as a matter of fact, you are children. Arrogant, selfish, chaotic children. You’ve done nothing to continue our quest, and have begun to spread this disease of procrastination to those under your command.”

Gideon, with his gigantic body pointed to Bethany, an audible crank and clack from his body as he rose from his seat.

“This girl here, the one quietly, patiently waiting for this meeting to begin. She has worked tirelessly to repair the robots and god machines we’ve uncovered, working on their appearance and ensuring the spirits are satisfied without rest. She is barely a hundred years old, younger than you are. Yet she holds a maturity you may never grasp.”

Gideon placed both of his large hands onto the table, leaning over to stare at the Techpriests gathered around.

“How many of your ilk have corrupted MY fleet? How many of you have sowed the seeds of selfishness and hate into the humble vessels and Priests under my command?”

The remained silent, their ignorance knew no bounds. They stared at him with angry eyes, their hate burning through their skin.

“No answer? Fine.”

Slamming his fists onto the table, he left two large marks and shook the Priests around it.

“We will return to the Imperium, we will cull this infestation and then we will continue our quest!”

“We return to Holy Terra immediately.”

Turning his attention the the silent Artisan, he again spoke in his booming voice.

“Meeting adjourned.”

Slurs, curses and more rudeness was flung from the Techpriest’s mouths, most of the directed at the Artisan.

“You will be my Second Head until and after we reach Holy Terra. You are not the best I’ve seen, but at least you understand the concept of good work.”

“Your room will be moved onto the Remembrance, I will ensure you get a better working environment, away from those--insubordinate pieces of--”

He fell silent, exhaling heavily.

“Go, go. You have much to move.”

[legio-memoriam-blog]

Bootiful.

Predatory Instinct

by John Dotegowski

[legio-memoriam-blog]

Miniatures.

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

The booming chorus of the Greenskins reached the Techpriests long before they Orkz had appeared.

The thick fog which clouded the grassy, dew covered hills made it even harder to detected from where they approached. Their only hope of figuring out where this wave would come from was due to the loud sounds they made.

“This--this is madness!” Shouted a younger Techpriest, holding a las-pistol in his unsure hands, he shook as he spoke, fear in his eyes.

“Hold...” said Gideon, slowly closing his gigantic hands into a fist. He adjusted his stance, slamming his feet into the ground, preparing for their charge. The belts of ammo tucked into his back lightly tapped against his armored, metal body.

As he prepared, so did his the Automatons whom followed him, their weapons; bolters, flammers, las-cannon, clacked, burped and whistled a tune out. 

Soon, very soon, there would be a blood bath. The things they recovered was simplistic at best. A few las weapons, some armor belonging to the Imperial Guard, and a chassis of Space Marine armor, dented beyond all recognition.

Sad, to say the least. Seeing as how much wreckage covered this land. But the depression they encountered from the lack of objects they recovered had been tossed aside. Now, fear and bloodlust flooded their hearts and minds.

The ground began to tremble, pebbles began to jump. Drums and horns were audible before their footsteps.

Ragged breaths came from the newer techpriests, those whom were unaccustomed to war. They knew what it was to repair machinery, to pray. But they did not know what came with being an Explorator.

“We must--”

Gideon made a hushing noise, keeping his eyes toward the rolling hills. 

Banners now appeared over the horizon, his mechanical eyes zoomed toward it.

“Hoooold...”

Las-cannons whirred with anticipation, the unarmored Techpriests continued to quake at the sights and sounds of the Ork tide.

Finally, the first waves showed up, Gideon stared at them with zoomed eyes.

“Prepare to fire!” He shouted, aiming his storm-bolters toward the tides.

“Waaagh!”

A techpriest called out, now they just questioned what was happening.

The Orkz, they were miniature in size. Perhaps the size of a Space Marine’s thumb. There were millions of them, chopping away at what could only be seen as Titans in comparison.

Gideon stood in angered silence, the only noise coming from his was his sigh of annoyance. 

He looked to the Techpriests whom scooped the Ork miniatures by the dozen, inspecting them closely.

Gideon shot three rounds into the tides, watching hundreds of tiny Orkz explode into a thin red mist.

Annoyance overtook his mind, this was a gigantic waste of time.

“Just burn them all and let’s get off this forsaken rock.”