814.M30 Segmentum Obscurus, Scarus Sector, Veridia System, Mora-Tau.
While Jorren battled the demons of the warp, Archmagos Ferrum-Rho has been rebuilding.
High King Mortian returned to the burning world late to participate in the battle. As a result he put himself and the missing knights in a state of constant training and re-education.
To him it was a stain on his honor.
Ferrum-Rho took his sentiment, as that, sentiment. What he has been doing since then has been rebuilding his forces to full capacity.
And now they have recovered to what they once were, stronger even than before. The few training princeps who survived controlling a god engine before they had been fully bonded with it…
Have now completed the bonding process.
Those who could not survive were forgotten, those still with a mind to serve were turned into Skitarii. With one of them able to support the enhancement procedure derived by Magos Biologis Theron.
With that achievement he was granted the position of Skitarii Secutor. Enhance with external carapace, high muscle density and flexibility, and fitted with an Arc axe and mounted Arc destroyer.
Ferrum-Rho also improved his own skitarii, changing them using the data he collected from the STC, into something more than just disposable army units. They have all approached the level of an Astartes.
With his incorporation of Custodian combat data, he created warriors fit for any battle. With additional biological enhancements to survive in almost any scenario, he moved onto the next step.
"[Query]: Archmagos, identify completion percentage for Prime-Activation." Magos Dominus Xerath-17 inquired
"[Response]: 98.3% threshold achieved. Marginal error negligible. Commencing activation." Ferrum-Rho responded
"[Query]: Transmit synchronization ratios for Warlord-class bonding units."
"[Data Stream]: Princeps Luthien-9 has initiated full bonding with Pretoras fury, bonding progress at 45%. Princeps Varek Tull current bonding ratio with Mane Dominus rests at 48.6%"
"[Query]: Define factors for sub-optimal synchronization velocity."
"[Response]: Engines exhibit hostile neural feedback, [Observation]: possibly due to lack of battle engagement during the siege of the xenos."
"[Data processing….]
[Conclusion]: I will speak to them, we cannot afford to be unprepared if the enemy is to try again." Archmagos Ferrum-Rho concluded.
He turned his gaze back to the machine he had once been building but stopped due to other reasons. Preliminary testing has shown that the god engine would perform fully when activated.
Moving closer he placed his metallic composite hand on the machine. A connection formed instantly, he could hear it thought, see its inner workings, feel its rage and thirst for battle.
The god engine had already been available before the war, but he had not completed the body.
It stood at 140 meters tall, with its arms fitted with a hellstorm cannon and a plasma annihilator on each arm. With a quake canon and anti-air gun batteries mounted on its carapace. Finally the Archmagos added something in its chest compartment.
A Graviton Annihilator canon.
He made a machine that will erase any and all within its sights. He even hoped that the Aldari would come again when it was done, let them taste the fury of a true god machine.
He named it Terminus Fulcrum.
'I know my friend you will soon be put into service, let me find you a princeps that can match your spirit.'
"[Directive]: Initiate full-immersion training for the Fulcrum-grade candidates"
This statement seemed to resonate with the god machine. A low hum sounded out as it escalated
VVVVVVRRRRRRROOOOOMMMMMMMM
The plasma core reactors came next as its power systems came online. The air in the lab doesn't just get hot it shimmers with ionizing radiation making only possible for Archmagos Ferrum-Rho's enhanced eyes can see comfortably
WWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEE-OOOOOOOOMMMM…
The Moderati began testing its motion parameters, with each motion the machine let out a noise that sounded like the crackling of thunder and lightning…
KRRR-CHHHHHHHH-ZZZZZZT…
With a WWWOOOMMMMMM… its shield came online, shaking the entire structure. Some acolytes and technicians fell and died because they did not gain a good footing on time.
Then… BWAAAAAAR-HHOOOOONNNNNNNNN!...a terrifying blast echoed through the manifactorum, and shook the very planet itself. As if the god engine announcing it has been completed.
The ground shook, loose stones fell in different sectors. Other Magi doing research felt the awakening of the machine. Some turned to face it and bowed their heads, others said the prayers of the Omnissiah.
The Archmagos had finally completed the great god machine. Many training princeps could not hold their minds together. Some slumped to the ground and convulsed, some stared in reverence.
But one princeps looked upon the god machine with a smile. A smile that carried with it a hint of madness, of a raw craze to raise the ground and bury the enemy with it.
His name would one day be known, Torvin Scorn.
With the testing completed the god engine was sent into its shutdown cycle. Awaiting the date of its full deployment into service.
'Current timeline suggests the recovery of the wolf would occur soon. For now that has no bearing on me.' Archmagos Ferrum-Rho considered before going back to his work.
His current goal now is to create a communication device that could span vast distances without the need for the astropaths.
He wants to use that as a bargaining tool when he returns to mars. Locating the panacea STC was supposed to be that, but now he could not risk allowing the soon to be Fabricator general the opportunity.
Now he already had an idea. Looking at the vox-comms panels installed all over the planet he saw new patterns evolve within them.
The regular long range vox-communicator was not the limit vox-communication could be taken to. What he saw was a device that could connect an entire sector into one faster than light communication network.
Although not at the level of say the quantum communicators, or subspace communications, he has seen theorized in films and movies of Caspian's original life, he does not have the time right now to come up with new technology.
The testing and development alone would take longer than the timeline of the great crusade.
What he wants to do now…
Only he knows where he is heading.