With the affairs of the council starting to wrap up, the task of the various chambers and offices of the Primarchs being emptied so that they could proceed with the Crusade once all matters were settled began, though the efforts wouldn’t start in earnest until the Emperor called the Council officially complete.
For his part, Micholi’s spartan attitude towards luxury and personal comfort proved rather beneficial in that it had taken less than an hour to organize his offices on the planet and it was doubtful it would take much longer than two in order to have everything packed up and shipped out when it was over. As such, those laborers connected to him and his legion were currently enjoying a respite from their otherwise taxing lives.
A legion serf who was currently acting as a secretary respectfully led the figure that had requested an audience with the Primarch into his office, pausing at the doorway to glance towards said guest in order to ask “How would you care to be introduced?”
Ardel Mantz stopped dead in his tracks at the question of the Night Watch serf. His mind was alight with options as he processed the question. “I hadn’t imagined I’d have a choice in such a matter.” he admitted as he began to walk once more, “Pardon my surprise,” he offered with a calm smile, “however your Lord deems most reasonable for his guest’s introductions will suffice.” he finished with a nod as he followed the serf further into the Council’s back rooms and antechambers.
The serf in question offered a respectful nod of their head before the door to the Antechamber was opened. Stepping forward, they called out for the seated Primarch to hear “Historiographer Ardel Mantz of Hive world Nova Sulis to see you my lord!” While Primarch Micholi was well known for not investing too heavily in formalities and parade, there seemed to be some level of respect given to guests as Micholi looked up from the dataslate he was looking at and rose up to greet the new arrival properly.
“Thank you Reginald.” Micholi politely offered to the serf, who offered a bow as they stepped out to leave the two alone. “Historigorapher Mantz… or would you prefer Ardel? Please take a seat.” There was a gesture towards one of the seats on the opposite side of the basic desk that the Primarch had; There were several different sizes, clearly intended for the different sizes and bulks that came with meeting and talking with people of various sizes, be they human, xenos, legionary or even fellow primarch.
Stopping at the entryway, Ardel fussed with his overcoat as the serf moved to open the doors. Shifting from his jacket to his collar, then back to his jacket and up to his hair he barely noticed as the doors swung wide and he was introduced to the Primarch of the second legion beyond.
With a start he took an awkward step forward waiting to be addressed by a son of the Emperor, merely nodding meekly as he was directed to take a seat before the figure. So caught up in his own anxiety was he that he took a seat in a chair very obviously not made for a human. But Ardel was too engrossed in the primarch before him.
“Ardel Mantz…” he stated as his brain attempted to figure out what he should be called. “Ardel will do Lord.” he spit out far more composed than his initial offering. He bowed his head politely to the Primarch as his fingers finnicked with the cuffs of his jacket.
For his part, Micholi didn’t seem inclined to point out Ardel’s blunder. His centuries of service to the Imperium had gotten him somewhat used to a degree of awe being inspired in those he was speaking to after all. “So Ardel… as much as it is a pleasure to meet you, I rarely have the time for purely social encounters. At least in the sense of sitting back and enjoying a conversation with a member of what should be one of the Imperium’s most respected professions. How might I help you?”
“No no, of course right, why I’m here,” Ardel quickly spat out as he placed a ream of papers on the desk before the Primarch. He began to sort through the papers messily, pushing fastened packets of information out on the small area of desk he was now obviously claiming. Packets of densely packed script scrawled along the margins of old texts, the papers themselves obviously torn from old tomes and manuscripts. Here and there the writing wove between the lines of the pages original texts themselves, accompanied randomly by hand drawn diagrams and images. Ardel fussed over the pages before he pushed a small stack from the desk to fall out of the Primarchs sight and took a set of papers in his hands not so dissimilar from those he had been sorting through seconds prior.
With a smile that betrayed how far out of his league he was he thumbed through the papers and stopped on a page of text densely packed with handwritten notes. He ran a thumb down the page, mumbling to himself as he read and tapped pointedly as he found what he had been looking for.
“Here here, Lord, I’ve got it here.” he said quickly as he turned the paper around in his hand to reveal a crudely drawn ring of mechanical nature festooned by smaller groups of scrawling notes and what appeared to be a star in close proximity.
“Lord the ‘Sun-Snuffer’ as referred to in text dated back to the war against the abominable Men of Iron, Lord.” he pursed his lips and continued, “massive machines used to devour entire stars Lord, and there’s, there’s more…” he said hurriedly as he leaned down to sort through the papers he had thrown onto the floor just earlier.
For what it was worth, Micholi took his head to look over the documents that Ardel was revealing to him. They could have easily been absorbed and processed within a matter of seconds, but the Primarch was clearly taking his time in order to try and make his guest feel more comfortable… as well as have the time to get future documents in order. “Very interesting discoveries… They also help to define just how massive and destructive a scale this conflict must have been. After all, even if the Men of Iron only ever produced one of these devices to work in the field, that would still mean that there are entire star systems that ceased to exist due to its star being destroyed. A troubling thought…”
There was a slight pause, before the paper in question was lowered as Micholi gave Ardel his attention again. “I try not to make assumptions, but I’m guessing you’re trying to give greater understanding and context to the war with the Men of Iron, including what actual technological feats they were capable of?”
Ardel’s head sprung up from under the desk at the words of the Primarch, beads of sweat shaking free from his head as he righted himself fully. He lifted another bundle of papers and spoke now in an attempt to answer the demigods' question, “No Lord no, I know one of your status. You know, the,” he struggled a moment, a shade of ruby rushing across his cheeks as he realized he was rambling before he steeled himself once more to push for his theorems, “A child of the Emperor no doubt knows these things I say but I must say them,” he smiled meekly, “as almost proof of their validity. To put them against none other than one of the Emperor’s children, there is no better thesis defense.”
“This, this was known as the ‘Mechanivore’, machines that could decimate entire worlds and here, this,” he turned the paper to face Micholi as he grabbed another weathered page and splayed it out along with a few others to create an interlocked image of some ghastly mechanical construct, “it is said, through technologies most vile, that it could devour space and time as data Lord.” he wiped the sweat from his brow with the very page he was offering before dropping it and flipping one of the pages that made up the hand-drawn image of the Mechanivore to show yet more text.
“Your new theorem on Old Night, and these texts, born from the darkest crypts of the catacombs of the long lost Archmagos Messeppos’ Citadel, I believe they may be related Lord.”
For a moment it looked like Micholi was going to say something, but instead he shifted in his seat as he reached out to accept the paper on the ‘Mechanivore’ in order to inspect it for himself. “Might I ask how you have come to this conclusion?” He asked, even as he read… before he paused to lower the page to make eye contact again. “Don’t get me wrong, I can see the possible connections. I just would prefer to understand your point of view and the conclusions you have personally drawn.”
Ardel licked his lips as the Primarch scrutinized his paperwork and directed his questioning gaze to him. He leaned back involuntarily as he came under Micholi’s gaze, “Lord I’m saying, I
believe that these Men of Iron, and their weapons galactic terror, I believe that they
did build a weapon as you postulated… Though I…” he squirmed a moment before continuing, “I can’t be certain, my research thus far has been… limited. It is difficult,” he raised a finger to the sky pointedly, “Nay impossible! To make the journeys necessary to gather the information required to further corroborate this theory though I admit.”
He sat forward to the edge of the seat once more and sorted through the mess of papers at his feet before dragging a worn scroll of considerable age from within the pile. He unfurled it a map, obviously once extravagantly detailed, but long since ravaged by time. “Many worlds I believe have the information required to further these claims, many of them abandoned, predating the Imperium all.” He turned his gaze to Micholi, hope burning in his eyes, “With your blessing, Lord, I wish to travel to these places and continue my research… To prove your theory, and by extension mine, true as to our dark past.”
Micholi rested his elbows on the arms of his chair, bringing his hands together to clasp them just before the center of his chest as he offered a small, gentle and warm smile. “I would be more than happy to give you the permissions you require in order to investigate these matters further. Even in the event that this theory is proven incorrect and the Men of Iron failed to weaponize the warp in a manner that caused the warp storms of the Age of Strife, considering the nature of war I believe it is in our interests to investigate these worlds anyway.”
“If the crusade has taught nothing else, it is that relics and weapons of wars that happened hundreds, if not thousands of years ago can often remain long after the war in question has been over and forgotten, but still highly dangerous. Land mines are a good example of this, but some of the weapons and technology left behind can often be a lot more dangerous in nature… I would make the request to know what planets you intend to visit and that you make regular reports to detail your progress.” There was a look of concern on his face when he said this, clearly thinking in Ardel’s interests. “If nothing else, in the unfortunate event that in your search and studies you uncover an active threat from the past that proves deadly even after all this time, your silence and lack of reports will draw attention to it and your death will have saved lives in the long run.”
Ardel burst from his seat, a smile glowing from his face as he nearly took to hug the Primarch stopping just short of the Emperor’s sons oversized desk. “Lord of course! I can provide all relevant data of planets I believe to be worth exploration! I have,” he pressed the map forward excitedly, “this is not the only I have accrued, but it is where I’d like to start, Segmentum Pacificus, along the border of Segmentum Obscurus. I require only a ship for transit, though of course…” he took a step back and awkwardly sat back in his chair, squirming excitedly as he did, “a team could be greatly beneficial. Like-minded intellectuals could be a great boon to an expedition such as this.”
He nodded his head and pulled a crumpled paper from his pocket, obviously it had never been intended for viewing by the Primarch, and yet here it was, “I’ve assembled a list actually, of fellow Remembrancers present in the fleets, that could be of assistance. With your sway… We could assemble a true team for this undertaking, with the resources needed to make real forward progress in humanities understanding. We could unlock secrets long thought lost, Lord. A humbling thought, truly, and you are our gracious benefactor to push our knowledge ever further. I can not thank you enough.” he bowed in his chair as he finished.
There were but a few moments to review the planets in question and thus the most likely course to be taken in order to go from one to the other. As well as overlooking the list of possible personnel that Ardel would recommend to assist in the matter; Some of them Micholi knew personally having met them, but some were merely names on the sheet for him. There was a brief moment of thought… before he nodded his head.
“Yes… I believe I can make those requests happen. I will also bring in some members of the Mechanicum that have proven themselves to be…open minded enough to help the cause of progression, but not to the point of recklessness. I’ll also make a request to one of the Night Watch fleets to alter their patrol route somewhat in order to cover these systems… They’ll have other duties to perform in the region so they will not be at your beck and call, but they might be able to spare a squad to look after you and your team in the field, alongside being a relatively local source of reinforcements in the event that something happens. Would that be acceptable to you?”
“It’s far more than I could have ever hoped for Lord Micholi.” Ardel stated with genuine awe at Micholi’s willingness to back his expedition. “If it please you, I could ensure we are ready to leave at once and begin our search as soon as able.”
“Then I will send some messages out and see what I can get you on such short notice.” Micholi offered, before he politely nodded his head as he dismissed the man with a simple“I wish you good fortune in your efforts Ardel.”
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