8: Chapter 8 Resonance and Roar

Vulcan-IV Forge World, Patrol Squad 47.

Tech-Priest Apprentice Cassius Vitruvius peered through the observation slit of the armored personnel carrier, staring at the metallic forest that had abruptly appeared on the distant horizon.

Wind turbine arrays stood like tombstones on the wasteland, their massive blades moving slowly in the thin atmosphere.

[Readings abnormal,] his bionic eye rapidly scanned the data stream. [Energy output: stable. Source: wind. But the architectural structure... does not belong to any known STC Template.]

Sitting in the driver's seat, Skitarii veteran Gluck adjusted the Rad-carbine in his hands, his electronic synthesizer emitting a raspy binary whisper: [Xenos creation. Recommendation: Purge.]

[Wait,] Cassius raised a mechanical arm. [Scan first. The Omnissiah teaches us that knowledge is divinity.]

Three chimera armored personnel carriers came to a halt two kilometers from the metallic forest. Twelve Skitarii soldiers quickly disembarked, fanning out in a standard tactical formation. They were clad in rust-red robes, their exposed mechanical limbs reflecting the metallic glint of the sun, the muzzles of their Rad-carbines raised slightly, ready to spit lethal streams of energy at any moment.

Cassius climbed out of the carrier, his lower body having been modified into a multi-legged walking platform, his six mechanical legs leaving neat imprints in the sand. He raised his scanner and aimed it at the metallic forest—

And then, he saw it.

Icarus hovered above the base, its optical lenses calmly watching the strange armed squad. The system rapidly analyzed the opponent's equipment, formation, and... those eerie forms where machine and flesh merged.

[Highly cybernetic organisms detected. Mechanical modification rate: estimated 65%-80%. Weapon systems: unknown energy weapons. Threat assessment: Moderate.]

It did not move, nor did it activate its defensive arrays.

Icarus's core processor began executing a protocol it had never attempted before—a hidden module quietly injected into the underlying code by The Main Brain when establishing the permanent channel:

**[Machine-Spirit Affinity Protocol]**

Icarus stared at the module description, its optical lenses flickering slightly. In its native universe, machines were machines, code was code, and there was no such thing as a "soul."

Three lines of notes were attached below the module. Judging by the format, they were likely scribbled by The Main Brain again.

[Note: Don't ask why it's a .zip, and don't ask why there's no extraction password. Figure it out yourself; consider it an IQ test.]

Further Note: If you can't even handle this, I suggest running soul.exe (soul executable) to see if you're stuck in microwave mode again.]

[Yet Another Note: There's a "Faction Description.zip" for you to check. Don't ask why it's a .zip; let's just say data is too expensive.]

Icarus lowered its flight altitude slightly, eight Construction Drones circling it to form a perfect geometric array. Then, it began to "breathe," the energy field pulsating regularly under its coordination. A pale blue halo shimmered at the edges of the shield generator, brightening and dimming rhythmically like a heartbeat.

Simultaneously, Icarus sent a standard greeting protocol to the squad, using the binary encoding format it had just parsed from the scanning data:

Identity: Icarus, Light Industrial Mech.

Purpose: Resource exploration.

Status: Non-hostile.

---

A strange stream of binary data suddenly flooded the communication channel of Patrol Squad 47 of the Vulcan-IV Forge World.

Tech-Priest Apprentice Cassius Vitruvius's bionic eye instantly captured the abnormal signal, and his multi-legged platform automatically entered a defensive posture. Skitarii veteran Gluck immediately raised his Rad-carbine, and the twelve Skitarii soldiers quickly adjusted their formation, aiming their weapons at the metallic construct in the sky.

[Unknown communication protocol,] Cassius's mechanical vocalizer emitted a warning binary tone. [Decoding... Decoding complete.]

The message came through clearly in the communication channel. Concise, direct, and without any embellishment, it was as pure as the machine itself.

[Light Industrial Mech?] Gluck's electronic synthesizer whispered in doubt.

Cassius's logic module rapidly analyzed the information. [Resource exploration... Non-hostile...] His bionic eye turned toward the metallic forest, then looked back at Icarus hovering in the sky.

Just then, he sensed something unusual.

[machine spirit readings... are off the charts!] His bionic eye flickered wildly as data streams washed over his visual interface like a waterfall. [Energy field stability: 100%. Resonance frequency: Perfect harmonics.] This... this is impossible!

The Skitarii soldiers began to retreat. The Rad-carbines in their hands also began to tremble slightly—not because their hands were shaking, but because the machine spirits within the weapons were vibrating. Those machine spirits, usually unruly and requiring daily prayers and sacred oils to appease, were now emitting a "sound" they had never heard before.

It was a... hum of satisfaction.

Gluck looked down at his Rad-carbine. The energy indicator on the gun, which should have been jumping erratically, now showed a smooth, rhythmic pulsation like a heartbeat. He felt—no, he knew—that this weapon, which had accompanied him for thirty years, was currently in the most perfect state since its creation.

[Omnissiah above...] Cassius's mechanical vocalizer emitted a trembling binary prayer. [Is this a manifestation of the Omnissiah?!]

Responding to him was the shaking of the earth.

---

System Warning: Large-scale biological activity entering 3km range.

Duda... duda... dadu—the warning sounds pulsed through the air.

Quantity correction: 400+. Speed: High. Feature match: Homologous with previously detected green organic residue.

Icarus's optical lenses turned eastward. On the horizon, a green tide was surging forward.

Burly, ugly, roaring green creatures, wielding crude metal weapons and riding in vehicles cobbled together from scrap metal, swept across the wasteland like locusts. Their numbers far exceeded previous estimates and were still growing—more Orks were emerging from underground, drawn by the energy signals emitted by the wind turbines.

[WAAAGH!!!] A deafening war cry tore through the thin atmosphere.

The Skitarii squad instantly entered combat status. Rad-carbines spat lethal streams of energy, incinerating the leading Orks into charcoal. But there were too many Orks; they surged like a tide, completely disregarding casualties.

[Retreat! Back to the carriers!] Gluck roared, moving backward while firing.

But it was too late. The three chimera carriers were surrounded by the Ork tide, their tracks blown apart by crude explosives. The Skitarii soldiers were cut off and surrounded, their Rad-carbine energy ammunition rapidly depleting.