The Beginning of the ED
"So glorious we'll fly
Like the
Eagle in the sky
And I know
it's gonna be
Victory!"
-- The bridge of Gamma Ray's Solid
. . . . //File Ich.12.15, Sub-clause:AngMors//
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//Data File decrypted//
//You
may proceed, milord//
Ichar, first and grandest of all Hive planets and once
home to the mighty Space Marine Legion carrying the name Angelicus Mortis, or
Death's Angels, seemed calm for being what it was. The reason was simple; there
were nearly no humans on it. The Fortress Monastery of the Death Angels had
been its reason for existence. Ichar was, along with Callidus and Secondus, the
only habitable planets in the Secondus system, Secondus being a huge moon to a
gas-planet. Callidus was the one closest to the sun of it; the star Betelgeuse.
Due to the numerous interstellar Warp-passages surrounding Betelgeuse, it appears
to our scientists that Betelgeuse is only 500 light years away from us, when
it's actually closer to 1,000 light years away. The Warp-passages also causes
the colour to dull and make Betelgeuse seem like a swollen gas-giant. Out Sun
looks the same to the Imperial citizens like Betelgeuse to us. For you
non-astronomy fans: Betelgeuse lies in the lower part of Orion; get a stellar
chart. Next came Ichar. Ichar was, as mentioned, a Hive world, but, unlike
Armageddon, its reason for existence is almost solely the Space Marine Legion
stationed there. Next in rank come the huge amounts of factories built by the
Cult Mechanicus. This makes the Death Angels one of the most mechanised of all
Space Marine Legions. But the Machine Shops also supply the nearby Callidussian
Imperial Guard regiments with armour and weapons.
The Fortress Monastery of the
Death Angels, or the Adeptus Astartes Legio Angelicus Mortes, to give it its
full name, was situated at the north pole more or less of the planet.
Surrounded by chilly oceans, it is impossible to make one's way to the
Monastery by other means than flight. The Monastery is a masterpiece of the
Gothic architecture, having achieved what the Gothic architects wanted to
achieve with Notre Dame but failed. The main reason that the Imperials made it
and not the medieval French is that the Imperials had access to things such as
rockrete and huge building machines. But despite this, the Monastery locks like
it's been carved from the rock of the mountainous island it rests upon. There
are no shores; kilometre high walls of rock make it impossible to reach it from
the sea, though there are numerous caves underneath the mountain.
In a way, the Monastery looks a
bit like a Hive, but much smaller. Still, it housed ten full companies of the
Emperor's finest, which are a few thousand warriors in the Imperial service.
Rarely, more than a few companies were out on duty at the same time. At least
once, nowadays there are barely any Space Marines left, and most have resorted
to the Dark and Corruptive Forces. The Monastery had training grounds, rifle
ranges, an armoury, a library, an Apothecarion and landing fields, and it was
on one of these landing fields that we find our motley collection of heroes:
"It's no use,"
Charleston said with an indication towards the Nighthawk. "That one ain't
going to fly any farther without any more fuel."
"Just great," Eddy
sighed and sat down on a moulded old crate. "Now what do we do?"
"Guys," McKenzie
calmed them down, "this is the Death Angel Monastery, and there will
undoubtedly be fuel around here. This is a landing port for the Emperor's
sake!"
"What do you mean
'Monastery'?" Ed asked confused.
"This is headquarters and
home to the Death Angels. We lived here, trained here, slept here. And the key
of the last sentence is that it's all in past tense... " McGranth said
with an unhappy look upon his face.
McKenzie sighed as he looked at
his friend. He knew McGranth felt bad and he knew why: Once, McGranth had
commanded one of the most lethal and most feared of the Imperium's forces; a
full Legion of Space Marines. He didn't want to accept the fact that most Space
Marines now were gone. A Space Marine is always male, always born in a certain
family and always leads a life of strict celibacy. No kids. That's what kept
the families going; as the one who became Space Marine trod down his path, the
others of it could live happily knowing their relative were conducting his duty
to the Emperor, and thus their names would also be listed. McKenzie didn't
understand it so well, as he weren't from a true Space Marine family. He was a
mutant, just like Rolf Yarrick was a half-breed. The Inquisition had spared
them from absolution on different bases; McKenzie due to that he was Space
Marine and Yarrick because of his faith and zeal.
McGranth was confounded over the
fact that he was now in charge of his two friends and colleagues, three
Outlaws, one young man sharing body with the soul of his blood-brother:
Commissar General Rolf Yarrick and a bunch of novices. He didn't like it at
all. Besides, he wasn't truly sure that he outranked the Commissar General.
McGranth sighed.
"Come, let's get inside. No
use standing here in the cold." McGranth said and led the way. His armour
held him warm, but he wasn't sure for the kids. That Nazz girl seemed a little
blue in the shade of her lips. McGranth didn't blame her. It was a lousy spot
for a Monastery, when one thought about it. Why couldn't it be situated at the
equator, on an island there? Nope, it had to be the North Pole... Sigh.
McGranth led them through the
gates that led into the huge Monastery. When they got inside, the cul-de-sac
kids, including the Eds (bar Rolf) gaped at the scene striking them. They were
walking on what looked like a road, much like the rail-lined steel gantries of
Hades Hive, but with the major difference these were made out of solid
rockrete. The gantry was at least five or six metres wide, with stairways
placed a little here and there, leading to a lower or higher level. There were
doors leading to other rooms or halls, each door intricately carved to either
represent an Imperial Saint, the double-headed Eagle of the Emperor or the very
Death Angel Legion mark. In the middle there was a gaping hole, an abyss
several hundred metres deep. Kevin walked close to the edge, grabbed hold of
the railing and looked down. He quickly pulled back his head, vertigo gripping
his brain. He joined the others. McGranth led them down many a flight of
stairs. Kevin had no idea of how many hours passed as he walked down with the
others. He checked his wristwatch. What good did it do when he had no idea what
local time it was and when they'd arrived? He took a hefty guess at two hours.
He looked up again. The Kankers, Nazz, the Eds, Johnny and himself included,
were all looking awe-struck a little now and then at their surroundings. The
huge pillars and cataracts that held the place up seemed carved from the stone
itself. The many gargoyles and thin-faced Saints looking down on them. Kevin
read the name of one as he passed a statue:
"Saint Renaro
Icharius," it read in Low Gothic, "Martyred at the claws of a
Bloodthirster deamon, first Grand Commander of the Blood Angels Space Marine
Legion." Blood Angel? Hadn't McKenzie said that they were members of the
Death Angels? Then, what was with the Blood Angel Grand Commander? Icharius had
been holding a mighty broadsword in his perfectly sculpted hands, angel's wings
spreading out behind him. The next statue the group passed was of Saint Ardel
Choison. He was also an angel winged warrior, but his face was hidden by a cowl
and his body by robes, unlike Icharius' who'd been standing in a suit of
archaic battle armour, his rippling muscles clearly visible. Choison's hands
held a single edged power sword in them, but it was obviously not meant for
twin-handed holding. Choison had been martyred at the hands of a Deamon Lord
named Fostoriaxx and he'd been the first of the Dark Angel Grand Commanders.
Two different Legions? This was confusing Kevin... McKenzie had a lot to
explain, and Kevin wasn't sure he wanted to hear it all.
As they reached the lowest
level, Kevin saw one last statue; the one depicting Grand Commander Dante.
Dante was clad in a massive Terminator suit and at his hands were a pair of
Lightning Claw gauntlets. On the back of each gauntlet a grenade launcher was
mounted. Dante was no giant of a man, but he was burly none the less.
Powerfully built with broad shoulders and big, strong muscles, he more than
well made up for his lack of height, if you can call 1m85 for lack of stature
that is... His face wasn't ugly either; a strong jaw but otherwise a look that
would classify him as the next James Bond, Kevin thought. He saw Nazz throw an
extra glance at the former Grand Commander (Dante) and felt a bit of anger
inside of him.
Kevin looked at his company. The
Marines, and Rolf strangely enough, were stern faced. They seemed embittered to
be walking here. McGranth walked up to the statue of Dante and made a dignified
bow at it. He then turned, looked at Charleston, who nodded, and the two
strongest of the bunch pulled open the doors to the Main Hall, where an entire
Legion of Space Marines could be at once. Being as empty as it was, it seemed
horrible to be standing in it as the thirteen were when they walked into it.
Like the rest of the entire Monastery, there were cobwebs all over the place.
McKenzie shot the chandeliers a look and the huge, gilt constructions flickered
into life. None of them took notice of the tiny creature watching them from the
entrance to the hall. It was short, maybe just over 1m50, and had green skin,
eyes with red iris, yellowed teeth and long elven ears. No hair on its scalp
and ragged clothing adorned its body. The body looked a little like a simian's,
with the exception it was made for upright walking and running. It dashed off,
as fast as its short legs could carry it.
Inside the hall, Charleston ran
a finger across a dusty chair. "I used to sit here," he simply
proclaimed. "And that's where you used to sit, Eddie." Charleston
meant McGranth and pointed towards McGranth's chair at the far end of the hall.
There were ten great tables present in the hall, each representing a company of
Space Marines. At the farthest end, one long table was situated, and it was
meant for the Grand Commander's personal staff and the members of the
Librarius, such as McKenzie.
McGranth looked around. It felt
great to be treading this ground again... He felt it obliged that he said
something, so he did:
"Charleston, take Ed and go
look for fuel. There has to be some in the other ports. Fly if you have
to." Charleston set off with Ed in tow. The whooshing sound of a jump pack
proclaimed that Charleston had made a jump, probably with Ed in his arms.
"The others of you; try to
find some food supplies that aren't rotten, anything edible. Personally I'm
starving and I think you are too. And don't just stop at food supplies;
anything that can be of use. Anything!"
The others started filing out,
but McKenzie grabbed Kevin by the collar. He was going to receive his orders
from McGranth last, and he wanted Kevin with him. McGranth turned to his Master
Lexicanum and smiled. The psyker knew what he was going to get for orders, but
stayed anyway.
"And you McKenzie, I give
you the privileged task of going down to the Armoury and try to find some
battle-suits that could be of use to us."
"Glad to be of use, my
Grand Commander!" McKenzie said, saluted and dragged Kevin with him
outside. As they got without earshot of McGranth, McKenzie told Kevin to follow
him into the depths of the Monastery, down to the Armoury.
"Kevin, I want you to come
with me, because there's something I want to show you." McKenzie said
without slowing down as the twosome strode down the stairs.
"Yeah, sure." Kevin
replied, unable to resist as he was more or less dragged along by McKenzie's
force of will.
When they got down to the
Armoury, McKenzie walked over to a data-terminal, removed a glove and placed
his big hand unto a plate in the wall, beside the gate that lead into the
Armoury. The plate glowed luminously green for a while, the machines hummed and
cogs clicked as the huge gate prepared to open itself. Upon the gate the skull
and cog sign of the Adeptus Mechanicus was inscribed. The cog behind the skull
turned a few times, settled and the gate opened itself. The skull, set in
silver, split itself in the middle as the gate swung open and revealed a huge
hall behind it. At first, Kevin saw naught, but after a few seconds, the old
electronics awoke and the Armoury hall was flooded in light. It is impossible
to even begin describe what Kevin saw, but the roof arched itself in its gothic
structure more than a hundred metres above him. There were no windows, so it
had to be under ground level. In the roof, huge tanks were held in place by
stainless steel/adamantium chains. There were Rhinoceros and Razorback
transports, the powerful Predator MBTs and Whirlwind Artillery tanks and of
course the most dreaded of all Imperial Tanks; the 60 tonnes monstrosities
called Land Raiders and a few variants on the original armament. The original
armament of a Land Raider is four lascannons and two heavy bolters. Imagine
this stuff augmented, for, say, anti-personnel? Kevin couldn't believe his
eyes. He felt a chill go through his veins as he thought a camera on one of the
elder looking 'Raiders followed their walk. McKenzie felt his unease.
"Don't be alarmed," he
said calmly. "It's just Old Julius checking who's entering." McKenzie
turned and looked up at the battered old tank, and raised a hand and waved. The
camera zoomed with its focusing rings, remained silent for a moment, and then
swung away from McKenzie and Kevin, obviously not interested any more.
"You trying to tell me that
thing has a soul?" Kevin whimpered.
"Yes." McKenzie said,
thought a while and then added, "A machine soul."
Kevin gave a shrug and looked up
into the roof again. The tanks weren't alone. Amongst them hung seriously
battered Land Speeder hovercrafts. They must've been here for repair when the
final hour came. They also came in different variants. Kevin took his eyes down
from the roof and looked around himself. Lined up at their sides as they'd
entered, a small column of five metre tall war-walkers had been standing. They
had been bulky constructions, not looking all too agile. McKenzie turned and
looked at Kevin as the youth looked back at the mobile suits at the entrance.
"Dreadnought class armoured
walkers." McKenzie explained. "Tombs for the Space Marine heroes
crippled beyond medical care. If a Marine officer is so seriously injured that
he can no longer lend his experience to his brothers in the fields in a normal
suit of armour, he may chose to be incarcerated in a sarcophagus, which can be
hooked up into a Dreadnought hull. He can thus fight for his Legion for aeons
more." After this McKenzie sighed. He remembered who they'd used every
available sarcophagus and Dreadnought at the Siege of the Emperor's Palace, and
still they'd had suits left over. They kept on walking.
Next they passed rows upon rows
of empty Space Marine power armour suits. Each suit stood upright, plugged into
the wall behind it, its helmet resting at its feet and the backpack hanging
from a contraption on the wall beside it. Each and every suit had the colours
that McKenzie had on his armour and the Death Angel insignia upon the left
shoulder pad. The shoulder pads had black trims, just like McKenzie's. There
were of course personal variations for each suit, but they were seldom more
than a different rank or company marking. Some helmets had beak like face
masks, others had a more gas mask like look to them. Some suits had kneepads,
some didn't. They also passed some suits painted white and some in a darker red
colour. McKenzie said they belonged to Apothecaries and Tech Marines. They
passed a row of black painted suits, and McKenzie simply said they were to be
given to Chaplains in the Death Angel Legion. After another row of Death Angel
red suits, they came to a dozen or so suits painted blue. Each and every blue
suit had intricately carved insignia on their legs or arms. McKenzie explained
them to belong to the Librarians, the Space Marine psyker caste. Kevin wondered
why McKenzie then didn't wear the blue armour of his caste?
"Because of the same reason
Rolf Yarrick refused to use the black and red trimmed uniform of the
Commissariat; it would give me away in battle. I like to have surprise on my
side." was McKenzie reply on this question.
The twosome left the Librarians'
suits behind them and got to the last of the suits in the rows; one lone
Terminator suit. It was equipped with a single Lightning Claw. McKenzie
remembered he'd taken the other in replacement for the one Eddy had lost. He'd
mounted an ordinary arm instead. Cursing himself for this, McKenzie turned to
the computer terminal before him. There was a screen covering most of the wall.
Kevin looked upon it with interest. It looked like one of those new plasma TVs.
McKenzie pulled out a cord with
a socket in each end from somewhere, picked up a data-slate from the floor,
dusted it off. He plugged in the cord in both the data-slate and the computer
before him. He opened the data-slate and as he did so, the big screen flashed
into life. Tapping in his security clearance, McKenzie tapped in some
search-information as he talked to Kevin: "You might have noticed that
battle-brother McGranth seems uncomfortable around you. I've brought you here
to help you understand why this is so..."
Pressing the activation key for
the search, McKenzie started a search through the Monastery's old data banks.
At first, the twin-headed eagle symbol flashed up with a text reading. Search
in Progress. A chime sounded from somewhere and the Inquisition's mark (=I=)
was seen on the screen. On the logo, written in green letters, stood: Enter
Access Code. If one had ones eyes with oneself, one could see the tiny note in
the lower-left corner that read: "Attempts at hacking through this level
is punishable with immediate termination".
McKenzie silently entered the
code that he'd learned so many years ago. It had been childishly simple to
break it, he'd remembered. He had done it as a young epistolary. Tapping the
confirmation key, the screen flashed again and now the service record of Kevin
Poole appeared. It was a long listing. Reports, DNA structure, fingerprints;
everything a sane person would want to know and more. Kevin just stared at the
photo of the young man that was obviously Kevin Poole. It was like looking into
a mirror. He tore his eyes from the photo and looked at the information
flashing by on the screen. Of what Kevin could make out, there were his days as
a Space Marine Scout, through his steady stream of promotions, all the way to
Poole being ranked Lieutenant Commander and placed in charge of the 8th Assault
and Reserve Company. Kevin let a low whistle go from his lips.
"You must've been a hero...
" He said very silently to the picture, so that McKenzie wouldn't hear. He
didn't.
"Your counterpart; Kevin
Poole." McKenzie said with a gesture towards the screen. "He was a
great warrior in the Emperor's service in his day. Slew many of the vile aliens
that attack us. Favoured by great Dante like a son, and to be the next Death
Angel grand commander after Dante. Then, something happened to change all
that."
McKenzie tapped lightly a button
on the data-slate. The screen flickered a while, before it settled. What now
rolled up before Kevin was the report that Dante had filed on Poole's attack on
McGranth that day many years ago, how Dante had declared Poole and the entire
of his Space Marine Company Outlaw from the Death Angels. But Dante's report
stopped there. It said nothing of how Poole was to regain his title amongst the
proudest of Imperial Warriors. Instead, it was McGranth who began filing
reports. He told of the vile betrayal of the 8th outlawed company of the Death
Angels on Armageddon, how they'd turned from the Emperor's guiding light on the
very day that they should celebrate the Emperor's divinity: The Day of the
Feast of the Emperor's Ascension. The report also told on how the once noble
Marines had turned to Khorne, Chaos God of Blood and Slaughter and renamed
themselves the Berzerkers. It also told how Kevin Poole, once Lieutenant
Commander in the Legio Angelicus Mortis had become the Dark Lord of Blood;
Kevlinn, King of Berzerkers. It also told the tale of his lightning raid
against Iyanden, stealing their C'tan artefact; the mighty battle-axe that was
to be known to man as the Axe of Khorne.
Kevin was torn from his awed
thoughts by McKenzie's soft voice: "Kevin Poole betrayed us all. He became
a monster; he killed countless people, just because he claimed it was the
insane will of his daemon God: Khorne." McKenzie seemed to choke on the
name of the Dark God.
He continued: "This huge
catastrophe," McKenzie gestured around himself, meaning the entire
Imperium. "He deserves the sole blame for it all. He caused it all, Kevin:
his ego, his animosity and his sense that his honour had been dragged in the
dirt. His ego because of the fact that he was to be the next leader, not
McGranth, his sense of honour because that he had been foiled of his promised
position of power and his animosity towards McGranth because of this. Although,
he always had that animosity towards McGranth, ever since we started out as
Scouts." McKenzie lowered his eyes towards the floor. "It wasn't made
better that McGranth became chosen to Terminator service early in his service.
Poole never would've succeeded in doing what Eddie did. Eddie became a veteran
sergeant in his scout training, Poole not until he was a full-fledged Marine
with many years under his belt." The tall, lean Marine sighed heavily. An
uneasy silence settled down as Kevin kept reading parts of the information rolled
up before him.
"I don’t get it,"
Kevin said, pulling his eyes from the screen to look at McKenzie. "What
does all this have to do with me?"
McKenzie looked up sharp and
fixed Kevin with a deep stare of his dark eyes. "Kevin, I've seen the way
you treat Eddy and his two friends. Your animosity towards him is very similar
to the animosity that Kevin Poole had against McGranth."
Kevin wasn't staggered at all at
this. McKenzie was impressed. Any other human would've backed away form his
stare, but this young man looked back. There was true grit inside of him. Maybe
he wasn't as Kevlinn after all?
"Oh yeah," Kevin said
and shrugged, looking round at random stuff in the armoury, "I admit I may
seem harsh on them sometimes, and they do get on my nerves, but I don't hate
them."
"So, you can control your
attitude towards them?" McKenzie asked, looking thoughtful.
"Yeah, I can." Kevin
replied smartly, prepared to show this super-human he could do whatever he was
asked to do.
McKenzie smiled softly.
"I'm surprised Kevin, I didn't expect you to be so reasonable."
"Well... " Kevin said,
scratching his chin, "What we're doing now is important. I guess there are
bigger things right now, then how I feel towards the do... I mean the Eds. I
guess I can lighten up a bit, for something this big."
"Thank you Kevin,"
McKenzie said, placing his hand Kevin's shoulder and smiling his gap-toothed
smile towards the youth. "Now, how about we tell the others about the fact
that the Armoury is intact?"
"Just a minute," Kevin
said, holding up a finger as to stop McKenzie. "I wonder; what role did
the other of my friends play? I mean, i know what role I played; traitor, and
the Eds are you, but what about Rolf, Nazz, the Kankers and Johnny?"
"Well, Rolf you know was a
famous commissar general. One of the greatest ever, in fact: a warrior without
match. Except in Kevlinn. He fought the Dark Lord with the sole ambition to
destroy him. The reason, as I see your questioning look, is that Lord Kevlinn
killed all Yarricks, except Rolf Yarrick, and he swore in blood that he
wouldn't rest until Kevlinn was laid to rest. The tool used to draw the blood
for the oath was no other than the Yarrickian sword. You know, the silver blade
that Rolf now has?"
"Yeah, seen it many times,
in its sheath. But what about the others?"
"It is as follows: Nazz
counter part was in fact an Imperial Saint: Canoness Nazerine Almita of the
Order of the Bloodied Rose. She was a great warrior as well as a beautiful
woman. Age didn't foul her appearance. She didn't die the martyr's death,
though. She died in her sleep, of age, which I find very nice in such a
war-ravaged life as she lived. Her armour is held forever pure in a stasis
field, her cloak being a thing that it said that not even power swords could cut
through. Before the Siege of the Emperor's Palace, I had the armour moved here,
because the safest place in the Imperium is the Armoury of a Space Marine
Fortress Monastery, with the exception of the Apothecarion, where our gene-seed
is held. Any way, Canoness Almita was a great tactician and solely devoted to
the Emperor. It was rumoured she'd met the Dark Lord once, but hopefully it is
only hearsay.
The Kankers undoubtedly are
counter parted by the Canoness sisters Kanker, that were taken by the Hive
Fleet named Canker by the Magos Biologis. They later altered the spelling to
represent the once-human sisters new status as Hive Queens. The Omega Squadron
Outlaws, your Eds, defeated them and they became devout sisters again, but
forever kept under the Inquisition's never-flinching gaze. Before they were
returned to the True Path though, they spread much carnage and mayhem with
their minions. I prayed to the Emperor every morning after they'd been turned
back that my brother would do the same... "
This last sentence McKenzie
spoke like a whisper. He didn't want to be entangled in a long and sentimental
story of his life and his brother: George McKenzie, or Hive Magus Grimjaw as
he'd called himself. He was dead now, Grimjaw, and McKenzie was both happy and
sad over this at the same time. He pulled himself together and started again.
"Now, Johnny, he's a
special case. His counterpart wasn't even human. Johnny's counterpart was a
powerful Eldar Farseer entitled Johnnaiskei I Laryetille, Guardian of the Mon-Keigh,
the Humans. He watched us humans for hundreds of years, until just after the
Outlaws left. We'll never know why the Craftworld named Vurupano in their
tongue, or roughly Plankian in Gothic. I know, it sounds weird; therefore I
prefer the Eldar word for it. Anyway, Johnnaiskei was an extremely powerful
psyker, outmatching me with ease. He was capable of crushing Deamons to pulp
with one word, awake a thunderstorm that could wipe out cities with a single
hand movement. Oh, I envied him, I did. But we were good friends the time I
knew him. He let me in on many Eldar secrets." McKenzie made a pause and
sighed. "What I heard, he died of age fifty years before the Imperium fell
to the claws of Chaos. He must've been very old, as Eldar can turn millennia old.
Dear God-Emperor, there are times when I feel that we are closer to the Eldar
than we might think...
"So, Kevin, there you have
it; the roles the others played in this great game of chess. A game that we
Imperial humans already have been more or less checked in."
"I see." Kevin
replied, reflecting on what McKenzie had said. "Alright, I think I get
this now. I doubted you before, but seeing how things are, black on white, I
can't deny what we're facing..."
"Very good Kevin,"
McKenzie beamed. "Oh, and do me a favour."
"What's that?"
"Don't ever let your anger
control your actions, it can lead you down a very dark path."
"I won't McKenzie, I
won't" Kevin smiled and ripped of a salute.
McKenzie chuckled at this.
"Good. Now, what do you say about that we find the others and tell them
that the Armoury has been untouched and that they can get new gear here?"
"No sweat, but, what if,
any one, you know... " Kevin's voice trailed off.
"Any one would come in
here? Please Kevin, there hasn't been anyone here for many hundreds of years.
Besides, Old Julius and the others can keep an eye on things as we're gone,
can't they?"
"Guess so... " Kevin
said as the two walked out to join the others. The living machines scared the living
daylights out of him. Machine soul? It was getting scary. The Imperial humans
had obviously trod down a track of evolution the Terrans hadn't.