Chapter 108: The Wrath of the Machine Spirit
Rifle shots echoed rhythmically through the conduit until the last of the wounded "maggots" went silent.
One of Kian's new warriors, a former factorum worker, buckled and vomited from the combined stench of cordite, blood, and ruptured bowels. Kian watched him, shaking his head.
"Buck up, soldier. If a few dead rats make your stomach turn, you'll never survive a full audit of the Fertilizer Syndicate. You want to eat steak? You have to get used to the smell of the slaughterhouse."
Kian scanned the carnage. "You lot, stay here and perform a post-combat sweep. Every scrap of metal, every pouch, every coin. If it's on a corpse, it's a Voss Asset now. Keep the choice cuts for yourselves."
The recruits stared at the piles of bodies. The transition from "cold corpses" to "warm spoils" was happening in their minds. Suddenly, the reality of being a "Warlord's guard" didn't seem so bad.
Kian walked three hundred meters to the opposite bulkhead. Shiv and the Kais (Big and Little Joel) were there, standing amidst a mountain of brass casings.
"Status?" Kian asked.
Shiv stood up, wiping soot from his visor. "All targets neutralized, Boss. We had three Lumberers and a dozen autoguns raking this funnel. Not even a shadow got through."
Kian flicked on his tactical light, sweeping the tunnel. It was a carpet of red pulp. "The Fertilizer Syndicate sent these rats to test our resolve. If we can't handle a mob, they'll send the 'True Guards.' It's time we showed them a 'counter-audit'."
"What's the move, Boss?"
"I'm bringing in the heavy armor. Shiv, you stay here and guard the vats. If any scavengers come back to lick the blood off the floor, shoot them. I'll be back with the tank."
Kian returned to his Sanctum, voxed Major Rudolphson, and prepped his survey crawler. He accelerated up the Great Ventilator and roared into the northern woods.
A massive PDF recovery hauler was already parked at the edge of the forest. Sergeant Niklas, the eccentric tank-specialist, was leaning against a tread-shield, sharing a Lho-stick with his assistant.
Kian pulled up and tossed a roll of 2,000 scrips to the Sergeant. "Move it, Niklas. We're on a schedule."
Niklas caught the scrip with a wide, yellow-toothed grin. He hopped into the hauler and followed Kian's small buggy through the fields. They ignored the roads, tearing through the dirt until they reached the rebel warren.
Parson met them at the camp entrance. He led Kian to a newly cleared field behind the shacks.
"Master Voss, look. The Voss-pattern Grapes have been transplanted."
Kian looked at the rows of sturdy, bio-engineered vines. They looked healthy, their leaves a vibrant, synthetic green. The soil was black with wood-ash and compost.
"They are taking root," Parson explained. "But these are Spire-varieties. They hunger for nutrients. They need high-grade nitrates within the month, or the fruit will rot on the vine. Without fertilizer, this is just a waste of water."
"Patience, Parson," Kian said. "I'm about to acquire a fertilizer factory. You just keep the vines alive. I'll bring the 'Grox-gold' soon."
He turned back to the blackened wreck of the Chimera. Niklas and his assistant were already swarming over the hull with hydro-wrenches and diagnostic slates.
"Well?" Kian asked. "Can she run?"
Niklas poked his head out of the engine compartment. "By the Throne, I can hear this poor girl's heart crying! What did you do to her?! There's enough ceramite grit in these manifolds to sand the paint off a battleship! I'm surprised she didn't explode out of pure spite!"
Kian shrugged. "Tactical necessity. Can you purge the lines?"
Niklas grumbled, diving back into the hull. "I'll have to use the 'High-Pressure Purgation' ritual. It's messy."
He connected a series of hoses from the recovery hauler to the Chimera's fuel intake and engine block. He toggled a compressor, and a stream of pressurized chemical solvent began to cycle through the tank, flushing the grit into a waste-drum.
Half an hour later, they replaced the treads, charged the cells, and topped off the promethium.
"Wait," Kian said, stepping forward. He pulled a vial of Sanctified Oil from his vest and poured it directly into the fuel intake.
"For the Machine Spirit," Kian whispered.
Niklas watched him with narrowed eyes. "I don't know what that 'perfume' is, but the girl seems to like the smell."
Niklas climbed into the pilot's seat. Kian stepped back, moving to the rear of the transport. He remembered what Niklas said about Machine Spirits being temperamental. If the tank was going to have a tantrum, he didn't want to be in front of the hull-mounted stubber.
VROOOOM!!
The engine roared to life. A cloud of thick, black smoke erupted from the vents, followed by a series of rhythmic, healthy thuds. The Chimera was breathing again.
The surrounding rebels gathered, pointing and whispering at the Imperial beast.
Niklas tapped the throttle, intending to move the tank forward out of the trench.
CLUNK.
Instead of moving forward, the Chimera lurched violently in reverse. The heavy treads bit into the mud, and the transport surged toward Kian with terrifying speed.
"SH*T!" Kian yelled, diving to the side.
The Chimera didn't stop. It pivoted on its left tread and accelerated backward, its rear ramp heading straight for Kian like a charging grox. Trees were snapped like twigs as the thirty-ton beast hunted him.
"SERGEANT NIKLAS! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Kian roared, scrambling through the brush.
Niklas's voice shrieked from the open hatch. "I CAN'T CONTROL HER! SHE'S FURIOUS! SHE HAS A GRUDGE, COMRADE!"
Kian dodged behind a massive boulder, the Chimera's rear bumper slamming into the stone with a bone-shaking CLANG.
"KILL THE ENGINE!" Kian screamed.
"I CAN'T! THE IGNITION RUNE IS JAMMED!" Niklas wailed, his hands flying over the controls. "SHE'S LIKE A GIRLFRIEND ON HER CYCLE, COMRADE! SHE WON'T LISTEN TO LOGIC!!"
"THEN THINK OF SOMETHING, YOU IDIOT!"
"BROTHER! TELL ME!" Niklas shouted over the roar of the engine. "HOW DO YOU CALM A WOMAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A BIOLOGICAL TANTURM?!"
"DAMN IT, NIKLAS! YOU'RE THE ONE MARRIED TO A TANK! FIGURE IT OUT!!"
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