The Fate of Mechan 44: Prologue.
Happy Wargaming Wednesday!
We have a real treat for you today which involves a little light reading for to spice up your Wednesday afternoon! Our 40K Narrative Campaign is nearing it's conclusion. The final battle is all ready to be played out and trust us it will be well worth the wait! The War on Mechan has waged for months, but we're about to find out there is a lot more at stake than merely reclaiming a planet lost to the grips of Chaos...
As a little teaser to wet your appetites for the battle report which will drop next Wargaming Wednesday! (So get the date in your diaries folks!) we have this exclusive prologue from the battle report. The story of the final battle begins on the night before the two forces are destined to meet. In the darkest depths of night, merely hours before the final clash is set to take place Chapter Master Lorentus has summoned Captain Sejanus to his chamber to share with him a great secret about himself and the Bloodless Chapter...
Before reading this, we recommend you visit the 40K section of the website, under the Taint of Mechan 44 webpage and read up on the backstory and history of Mechan 44 so you can fully understand the ramifications of Lorentus' confession...
We hope you enjoy and we'll see you next Wargaming Wednesday!
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The Fate of Mechan 44 – Prologue
Lorentus’ Secret.
Lorentus sat patiently in the shadowed corner of his chamber; the faint light that radiated from the grand desk in the centre of his chamber barely illuminated his sillhoutte. But in the darkness the gleam of his remaining eye still sparkled as his gazed fixed stoically onto Captain Sejanus who slid his hulking frame into the room with a strange form of grace. Sejanus lowered himself to his knee before his Master and bowed his head low.
“There is no need,” Lorentus said quietly, “Please.” Sejanus’ confusion registered on his face only as a slight furrow of his brow. He raised himself back to his full height before his Master whose keen eye was still gazing at his favoured Captain.
“You called for me,” Sejanus said.
“I did,” Lorentus replied with a solemn ring to his voice. Sejanus had so often heard and sometimes rightly feared the booming commanding resonance of his Chapter Master’s voice, but here in his empty Chamber his voice seemed frail.
It rang with the eerie chime of a defeated man.
A silence passed between them. Sejanus took the time to study his master’s form as they exchanged a silent conversation of stares. He could see in the darkness that Lorentus was not clad in his ornate armour, and instead sat in his almost naked form. It was a rarity and indeed a privilege to see him like this. The remaining half of his face was the only flesh that still existed, the rest of him was a skeletal robotic form, made up of a mix-mash of Bionics collected over the centuries in countless bloody battles. Even in the faint light Sejanus could see the cogs and gears of Lorentus’ body turning, the bare mechanics of all his joints and muscles, the hinges, pipes and engines that kept his body running. Some of these mechanisms would be centuries old, Lorentus was as much a relic as he was a marvel, his body a mechanical masterpiece wrought with the skill of Engineers and Apothicaries that spanned generations. His form was what the Bloodless strove for, aimed for, and Sejanus marvelled at his Master’s progress and achievements, and felt the pang of pride he felt mix with that of jealousy.
Sejanus had a long way to go before he could resemble such a perfect Bloodless Warrior.
“We are nearing the end,” Lorentus said suddenly, his soft words cutting through Sejanus’ thoughts like the shell of Battle Cannon.
“Indeed,” Sejanus replied.
“Two hundred years,” Lorentus spoke loftily, “Two hundred years since Mechan was lost to us,”
“She is lost to us no longer,” Sejanus spoke proudly. Lorentus stayed silent, and Sejanus shifted uncomfortably on his feet as his words hung hideously in the air.
“Whilst the taint of Chaos remains here, she is and always will be lost to us,” Lorentus said flatly, “She was lost to us the moment the first foot of the first heretic set foot on our home,” Sejanus felt his cheeks flush with a deep shame and indeed his head bowed involuntarily. “Evil is the greatest enemy of progression,” Lorentus said suddenly, “Mankind is the greatest force of progression to ever exist, we strive to champion the force of change, and evil has always been at our heels, clicking at them, and dragging us back into the darkness of our ignorance. I wished you could have seen Mechan in all its glory Captain Sejanus,” Lorentus said with a great smile worming onto the scant flesh of his face, “Our home was a marvel, a hive of brilliant minds and new ideas. The greatest leaders, fighters and worshippers would have been born and bred here. The greatest of Mankind’s achievements were being accomplished within our libraries, factories and laboratories. Our home was a testament to the power of the human mind and spirit. Mechan was progression at its finest.” The gleam in Lorentus’ eye glimmered violently now, as it welled with tears. “We held in our hands the jewel in the crown of the Emperor. And we lost it. I lost it.” Sejanus opened his mouth to protest. The bravery and heroism of those who tried to defy those overwhelming odds was well documented, and indeed, even the forces of Chaos showed a rare glimmer of respect and awe at the defiance of the defenders of Mechan. But Lorentus silenced him quickly.
“We lost it, because we deserved too,” Lorentus said so silently it was almost a whisper.
“I don’t understand sir,” Sejanus said quickly.
“We were not visited by evil on that day Captain,” Lorentus stood now and stepped towards Sejanus his robotic frame moving swiftly and silently. “We invited evil, we welcomed the enemy of progression.”
“Sir,” Sejanus said alarmed, “You’re not making sense.” Lorentus stood before Sejanus now, his body illuminated now in all its glory. Sejanus could not help but cast his eyes on the intricate workings of his master’s robotic form.
“I have lived through much,” Lorentus stated plainly, “In fact, I have lived too much. I lived through that fell campaign, when the evil we enticed to us, finally came. On that final day, when Boltan fell, when Mechan breathed its last breath. I did not. I survived. I survived a day I should not. And I have lived and survived many more after that.” Lorentus lifted a skeletal, mechanical hand and placed it delicately upon Sejanus’ shoulder. It was strange to feel the warmth of a human touch radiate through a robotic hand. “I do not intend to live through another.” Sejanus recoiled in horror at these words, and Lorentus’ hand fell gently back to his side.
“What are you saying?” Sejanus demanded, so angrily he bared his teeth, forgetting his place in an instant.
“If I should fall.” Lorentus said softly, “Let me remain fallen.” Sejanus recoiled again as if he hand been struck. “That is an order.”
“It is an order I cannot follow,” Sejanus boomed defiantly.
“You can, and you will.” Lorentus said equally as fiercely. “It is an order that does not come from myself, Sejanus, but from the Emperor himself. I have escaped his judgement for too long now. I have done so knowingly, I have delayed his righteous vengeance for good reason, I had to help reclaim our homeland.” Lorentus fixed a cool eye onto Sejanus and held his gaze in a grip of iron, “More importantly, I had to ensure a suitable successor had been found, to rebuild our Chapter and our home. It has been a long wait Captain Sejanus, but at last I have found such a successor. It has been two hundred years, but I have finally found you.” Sejanus felt his mouth drop open involuntarily, it was an action not of shock or surprise but of horror.
“I could not.” He began, his words clawed drily out of his mouth, “It is an honour sir, of course. But I could not replace you,”
“Someone must,” Lorentus said flatly, “The Emperor has waited too long for me to repent for my failings. For our failings. I will not make him wait any longer.”
“Your service has been flawless. Your dedication unquestionable Master Lorentus. What could you possibly have to repent for?”
A long silence passed between them. Lorentus looked gravely into the eyes of his favoured Captain and a look of grim resolve settled over the sparse flesh of his brow.
“Every Chapter has its secrets,” Lorentus began, “Most are legend and rumour, but even those myths hold at least some truth. Only a Chapter Master may know which legends are true, and it is the duty of a Chapter Master to know and guard those secrets and ensure they remain nothing more than speculation,” Lorentus lowered his eye to the floor. “I have kept the secret for centuries, and I expect you to keep it for many more centuries to come.” Sejanus opened his mouth to protest, but he could not find the words.
Instead all he had was curiosity. A curiosity that froze his tongue and sent his mind racing.
“I have lost count now,” Lorentus began, “The first time I fell, I was only a Battle Brother, a lifetime ago. I can still feel the blade slipping through my ribs if I cast my mind back far enough, I can still remember what it felt like to lie there feeling my blood seep into the ground beneath me,” Lorentus allowed a small, almost warm smile to illuminate his face. “I feared the darkness of death, in those final moments. I am not ashamed to admit that. Even the last time I fell, in the Ruins of Caltar I feared that darkness, although I had seen it countless times before. Did you not wonder Sejanus? Did you not wonder how I survived? After so many saw me fall?”
Sejanus remained silent. He had heard whispers and rumours from the men about how Lorentus had been laid low. Brother Marxus was an incredible healer, one of the best to ever to serve the Chapter, but from the reports Sejanus had heard of Lorentus’ injuries, even he had believed that Lorentus was beyond even Marxus’ talents.
“Progression,” Lorentus continued, “Mechan was progression at its finest. We created much more than marvels in our laboratories Sejanus. We created miracles.” Sejanus watched as his Master now let his hand wander to his robotic chest. The mechanical fingers unclasped and unknitted the robotic flesh their and peeled it open. Sejanus watched in awe as Lorentus opened his chest cavity before him, allowing him to see the most inner and intricate workings of Lorentus’ mechanical body. At first Sejanus did not understand what he was looking at, the shock at what he saw stalled his mind. But soon his mind cleared, and he saw; not only that, he understood.
What he saw was a heart. A beating heart, nestled in amongst the workings of wires, gears and pipes. A human heart that pulsed rhythmically and gently. But the soft, velvety red muscle of the organ was not there, instead it was a shining, brilliant silver, the flesh was in fact metal. Sejanus could see his reflection shine it’s its brilliant surface, he could see the rivets that held the metal together…and yet, it moved with life, its tough surface moved with the delicacy of an intricate organ.
It was a heart yes. A beating metallic heart.
“We have mastered bionics over the centuries,” Lorentus said softly now, his voice resounding with a note of shame now, as he bared his open heart to Sejanus, “We have managed to replace limbs, we have cured blindness with bionic eyes, and eradicated paralysis from mankind. But here on Mechan we went a step further. We cured death.” Sejanus felt a cold sweat form on his brow, Lorentus’ tone became low; his Master’s voice that often rang with a righteous zeal suddenly sounded darker.
It suddenly sounded tainted.
“Lazarantium,” Lorentus said quietly, “That was what they called it. A metal that could replace the flesh entirely. A metal that lived and breathed, a metal that could replace the beating muscle of a heart or store memories and sustain neurons like a human brain. A metal that works like the flesh, but without its flaws. It never ages, it never tires. It feels no pain and is all but indestructible. A flesh that never bleeds, that never dies, a flesh made of metal.” Lorentus’ voice lowered to that of a dreaded whisper. “You will have seen such things before.”
“Yes,” Sejanus replied, even though he barely heard himself speak. He had seen such things yes. On the Daemon Engines and Hellish Daemon-forged creations that the Heretics of Chaos led into battle. And here stood Sejanus’ Master, with a heart forged of a similar hellish creation. “A miracle.” Sejanus said in a hushed tone, his shock and horror it his master’s confession made him forget his place when he added with a hiss: “This is no miracle. This is heresy.”
“It was supposed to be free of corruption,” Lorentus began, “Lazarantium would save Mankind. An entire human population wrought with it, billions of men and women that would never die, only grow in strength and number. A population that could conquer this galaxy. And the next. And the next. Spreading the wisdom and the progression of Mankind throughout the stars.” Lorentus placed his metallic hand around his beating heart. A heart that Sejanus now regarded with a horrified disgust. “There were only two of us selected. To test it. Our corpses taken from the battlefield and our broken, dead organs, restored and replaced with Lazarantium. We awoke from the eternal sleep of death. Restored. Alive. Ready to serve the Emperor once again. It appeared it was a success.” Lorentus gently closed his open chest cavity, and the pulsating, sickening metal organ was hidden from Sejanus’ disapproving stare. “But of course, the power to stay the hand of death, is a power that Mankind is not, nor never will be, able to handle.” Lorentus turned now, and returned to his seat in the shadowy corner of the chamber. “I shall not say his true name. It has been stricken from the records of our Chapter and our history. To even mention it would be an insult to the Emperor for his betrayal rivalled that of Horus himself. Instead I shall call him by a name that will be more familiar to you. Despotus.” Sejanus’ teeth knitted together with an involuntary hatred, for the Bloodless would never have an enemy as hated as Lord Despotus. Sejanus stared long into the eyes of his Master before he finally managed to ask with a furious growl.
“He was one of us?” Lorentus nodded solemnly before adding:
“I fought alongside him once. When I called him Brother. In fact we first fell on the same battlefield. I remember embracing him on that day we both returned to the land of the living. But he was changed. We do not know what changed him, whether it was remembering the horrors of his first death or whether the power of immortality was too much for him. His fascination with death became all too apparent, it became almost like an addiction to him. He would charge headlong into the fray, break rank, defy orders, all to seek out that final judgement he had evaded. He would hunt out death, almost desperate to find a way to destroy himself. I have seen him crushed beneath the Tank Treads of a Land Raider and obliterated by Lascannons. And each time he returned to us he would have slipped further from the Emperor.” Lorentus messaged his brow with his robotic fingers, his head bowing even further. Sejanus watched him, his stomach churning and heart racing. This was a conversation he wanted no part in. It was a secret he did not wish to know, let alone keep. “He fell to Chaos, of course,” Lorentus continued with a solemn and flat voice. “He butchered his way out of Mechan when we tried to capture him. For killing him would be nigh impossible. He escaped our grip, and of course we knew one day he would return. And return he did. With his entire Dark Crusade at his back. He left us a humble Battle Brother, and returned as an engorged Chaos Lord. The Dark Gods gifted him well for his Heresy.” Lorentus looked back at Sejanus now, his face fixed with a look of grim sadness.
“And so the evil we created, the evil we sent out into the galaxy, returned to us. He knew our planet and our cities well, we stood little chance of defending it. At first we thought he had retuned for revenge. But we soon realised he was back for a purpose much greater than destroying Mechan. He had returned for the Lazarantium. He had returned to forge an eternal army, an immortal crusade that would conquer the stars in his name. We managed to hold them back long enough to destroy all of our research, our remaining samples and equipment for forging Lazarantium. If that had gotten into the hands of the Chaos Gods, then we would have all indeed, been doomed. Once our factories and laboratories were destroyed all that remained of the Lazarantium was the first two test subjects. Despotus. And myself. We knew we had to destroy him. We knew that capture was the only real way to dismantle his immortal form. We tried, but we were outnumbered. Capturing him was not an option. And so. Master Boltan tried to destroy him himself. He sacrificed himself to slay Despotus.” The realisation dawned quickly to Sejanus. It was an epiphany that hit him like a Tank Shell.
“But he didn’t destroy him.” Sejanus said flatly, “It is Boltan’s legacy that he slew Despotus and that legacy is a myth. The legend is a lie.” Lorentus nodded.
“He laid Despotus low yes. Just enough to stall the enemy forces and cover our retreat. But Despotus did not stay slain for long.”
“He still lives.” Sejanus spat.
“He does.” Lorentus sighed, “He still rules Mechan 44 today,” Sejanus took a sharp step towards Lorentus, and swore he saw his Master flinch in the darkness at the fierceness and violence of the movement.
“He is here?” Sejanus asked angrily.
“He is,” Lorentus’ lips became a thin white ghostly line stretching across his pale face. “We will face him on the Battlefield tomorrow.” Lorentus stood now, and the gravitas and authority he radiated now was unquestionable. They had conversed as equals up until now, and that informality was instantly forgotten as he fell to his knee before his master. “If I should fall. I will remain fallen Captain. And if we slay Despotus, you will ensure he remains slain. Despotus and I will die, and the folly of the Bloodless, the disease of Lazarantium will die with us. Our Chapter has kept this dark secret for too long, our sins have been wandering this world for too long. Tomorrow you shall end it. You shall cleanse our Chapter.”
Sejanus rose before his Master.
“The secret will die with me Master Lorentus,” Sejanus said softly.
“It will die with both of us.” Lorentus replied. “And if it does not die with Despotus also. Then all is lost.”
“I will not fail you,” Sejanus promised, “Tomorrow we end all of this. Tomorrow we will cure the Taint of Mechan.” Sejanus clamped his hefty forearm across his chest. “I will not fail our Chapter,” He swore. Lorentus smiled softly before he added softly:
“You will not fail your Chapter, Master Sejanus.”
