Far from the hubub of the Hives and the pressures of High Office, Carolynn and the Herders of the Lead Lands Clan were only now able to move their Morac far from the refuse and stench, back up to the clean, clear air of the high-pasture. To the relative freedom of the Worldspine Mountains and, what for them, would be home for the next 18 cycles’. By the end of the light, the Morac were grazing from horizon to horizon, and it the fold of one of the side valleys, Bronze-Hearth, their Ceramite City was laid out along the slopes once more and bustling with life. It was a way of life that had survived a lot, but not without cost, for Carolynn could not but help notice the gaps at the Herd-Meet that dark, the missing Hab-Blocks around Bronze-Hearth City earlier that light.
Before the end of the light, Carolynn stood on his way up to dark watch, with his eyes upon the sky, pleased that the Stars were now few in number once more. Though he still felt a very real unease, those that choose their life get little chance to dwell, for having moved home and herd some five hundred miles of late, along with the mountain air, most were fast asleep as soon as they had retired. And the new cycle ? Well the new light would bring fresh questions, though if they had known what those questions were to be, there are some would have rather wallowed in past miseries. As
for Carolynn, he was content for now to be still alive, alive in the land he loved with the surety of the solid rock of the Mountains beneath his feet !
And so Zalthar moved on another cycle, and for Carolynn and his brethren, the dark passed to light, with only once the distant cries of Lope Cats of any consequence. As light broke, Carolynn was sat with his leather cloak around his shoulders, high upon the warming rocks, gazing out across countryside below filled with peacefully grazing Morvac’s. The air was scented with Snowberry Wood smoke as the first of Bronze-Hearths fires were banked to prepare for breakfast and the tasks the new breaking light would bring. Slowly he gathered up his cloak, slung his recently acquired Needle Gun across his shoulders, and with the rest of his kith from the dark watch, began threading himself along the slope to the meeting, where they would talk with the day watch about the dark before. Then they would slowly descend back to the city, perched in its valley, to eat, wash and then some much needed sleep before the dark came once more.
“Busy Carolynn” asked Nathan, one of the older herdsmen that had taken care of him during his early days free of the Hive, trying times without a friend.
“All quiet, cept some Cats Nate“. he replied.
“Bout four“. said Jed, one of Carolynn‘s fellow night watchers,
“four we reckon, bout 2 mile off at least, to the North in them tall trees there !” pointed Jed with his right arm and forefinger outstretched towards a patch of dark looking trees towards the summit of the next ridge.
“We’ll listen out”, said Nathan, “and if anything changes, send someone down after mid-light should anything need be done.”
“You need,” Carolynn went to hand his Needle Gun to Nathan, but the older man shook his head and said with a smile, “No thank you my friend, Matt here’s good as any with one of those, I’d as like shoot myself as any Cat!“ At which Nathan’s infective laughter spread as the two groups parted, bidding one another farewell until there paths should cross.
Before he stepped away, Nathan touched Carolynn’s arm in a gesture than bought him up short, but otherwise went un-noticed.
“Kern is back !” Nathan almost hissed. “Rolled in on a Morac Train just after first Dark, Caravan Master says they got ‘Lost‘, but he looked awful worried and kept look-in at Kern every time he spoke !” Nate spat, “There’s always trouble from that one, I don’t care if he was my Bella’s Brother, than Morac turds no kin of mine. Just watch….. . .”
“I’ll keep an eye on him Nate, don’t you fret none. Besides, I’m just itching to play with this new toy !” at which Carolynn and Nate both found their laughter again as Carolynn patted his Needle Gun. ”It’s designed to kill large insects !” and his laughter followed him, fading off down the winding path back towards the City. Nathan looked back once more toward Bronze-Hearth, then dug in his boots, pushing off up towards the herdwatch where he’d spend the light
As soon as he’d settled, Nathan thought back to his conversation with Carolynn and felt somehow a bit ashamed about fretting so, but then he remembered the grief that Ken had caused Bella, his wife and the man’s own bloody sister. His only family and he had still caused her all that grief when she was dying . But then he remembered that speaking to Carolynn did that to him, and others to he’d heard, just made the worry of the thing fade no sooner had it been shared with the man. Whatever it may be, with the heating rays of the light fast taking the chill of the dark out of his bones, Nathan smiled to himself, remembering when he and Jed first bought Carolynn to Bronze-Hearth, a young awestruck lad who’d not long rid himself of the Hives, a lad searching for this, his legendary city. He could also remember the slight look of disappointment when he’d explained the whole thing was portable, and the name came from the fact that the 1st Space-Station Module used in it’s construction, still had the Bronze Parts Number Plaque across the lower lip of the empty “Chimney” for the absent Air-Filtration Systems !
“Yeah“, it had to be said, even though Bella had still died, the place had really picked up since Carolynn had arrived. It hadn’t found perfection over-one dark, it was just… “A feeling of wellbeing” thought Nathan out-load, “people seem to get on better, to share a sense of purpose, they, they …. Oh !” Well something like that, he wasn’t apt to invent things to fit ! No matter really ? But it would be in the lights and darks to come. For many, it would be all that kept them sane !
Back at Astromus, Zalthar’s Capital Hive City, things were slow at returning, and even then to a horrible parody of normal. The Planetary Governors’ were attempting to re-build a shattered economy, infrastructure and get exports going, at the same time as having a city-wide Inquisitorial Purge. They wanted results and answers, what had happened, who was to blame and how could it be fixed a cycle ago. The PDF were the only law in most cities by now, being one of the only organisations the Governors, Hengist & Horsa, trusted as it had purged them severely first of all ! Hengist & Horsa were also waiting impatiently for the Ultramarines and Black Templar’s to re-organise. They demanded that the Ultramarines and Black Templar’s be put under their command, so that they may increase the Purge of Chaos and along with the PDF, they could extend this Purge to include the blasphemous Dragon Kin. As the data pacts requested for data on the Dragon Kin had resulted in the information that the Inquisition had still not decreed them free of the taints of the Warp, to Hengist & Horsa it was clear, they were in Pact-Daemonicus and must be killed.
Within 3 cycles of the Hordes of Chaos departing, the first of the arrests across the Hive Cities of Zalthar took place. Some involved the apprehension of turn-coats, traitors and renegades, but far to many were just ordinary citizens who for one reason or another, were not deemed to fit ! Within 12 cycles neighbour was turning on neighbour and the executions began ! Panic gripped the populace and no-one was safe. If you were the slightest bit different, your name would find itself on a list, Get mentioned twice on a list and you could be summararily arrested, three times, held without trial and four times, well it did not happen to many living residents suffice to say !
Outside the Hives, normality and reason held sway. In the lands of the Herders and in Ceramite Cities, the “Council of 5” was, as ever quick to act. In each City, it formed the impromptu “Listening-Councils”. These consisted of 13 Men and Women from all groups, with all but 3 over and over the age of 18 Suns, chosen through lots from the entire population. It was the role of these “Listening-Councils” to hear every accusation and keep record of accused and accuser for 9 cycles after. The Council would then put its findings to the Population for their decision. Most saw innocent people freed to carry on with their daily lives, whereas the guilty soon came to light and were often handed to the “Council of 5” for final Judgement. Thus panic was avoided, the people of the Plains did not fall upon each other and their hard won peace held sway for a time.
But, in the Hives, fear and the judgement of the zealous Inquisitorial Mob had taken control in many areas, even the radical views of Hengist & Horsa struggled to hold any sway over the proceedings, And when such anarchy takes hold, things get out of control, and that’s when things go wrong and bad things happen.
The mistake, no, for in truth it was a greed driven act, took place in the Sigma Mine, just outside Astromus Hive, in the expensive residential district away from the main Hive but near enough to profit from it. The privately owned Sigma Mine, and the nearby Pride of Zalthar Mine, run by the states, Zalthar Mining Corporation, had wrestled over the dwindling beds of Lorelei Crystals, that lie deep here. Not like the huge Crystal beds that breach the earth out in the Deserts and in a few isolated Peaks in the Mountains, these are small and difficult to mine at depths of over 7 kilometres‘. It has long been understood that the Crystals ran deeper still, but there were also concerns about the effects this would have upon Zalthar’s Tectonic stability.
Doran Hart was the shift Controller at the Sigma Mine the dark that a revised order to set the new Drilling Angle forwards by 17 Degrees came through, and naturally he questioned this with the Dark Time Shift Manager and Director on Duty, though this would be denied. The controls were change, the drill bit on its new angle, and within 4 hours, the problems became apparent.
The first, and arguably the initially most obvious was initially thought to have been an accidental collision with a gas pocket, causing massive venting of gas from the primary shaft at the Sigma Mine. The gas was flammable, and when at low enough concentrations with Zalthar’s O2, ignited ! The ignition it was believed fortunately to have gone straight up, focused by the shaft, sending the equivalent of some 8 or 9 Fuel/Air Bombs up into Zalthar’s High Atmosphere and beyond, blackening the skies for 100’s of miles in every direction and terrifying Crews working to repair Zalthar‘s orbital Dock-Yards, trashed by the two recent Planetary Invasions. What was left of Sigma Mine was a glowing hole in the midst of a crater of glass, some 1 1/2 miles across, whose North-Eastern edge was only a mile from Astromus Down-Hive West, where fatalities were mercifully light due to the focus of the blast.
The resulting Tectonic disturbance ripped havoc across the Planet, chasms and sink-holes bursting open across the plains, in some Hives and destroying the smaller Hive-City of Hope, due South ofAstromus. At once the PDF was scrambled as Emergency Services could not cope.
In the Mountains, Carolynn had rejoined the dark watch of the City and the herds. High - up in the Peak s overlooking the high alpine pastures and at just past mid-dark, he was thrown of his feet by the initial quake. The valley was instantly plunged into the terrified braying of hundreds of Morac’s and the close-herders risked life and limb rushing in to key animals throughout the herd, that were chosen for their relative docility. It was a risky business as panicked Morac rampaged about, snorting and braying in terror, trampling all beneath great dinner-plate size hoofed limbs. But there was an urgent purpose to this, for if these beasts could be calmed, the effect on the herd would be rapid and linear, hopefully preventing the carnage of a full-fledged Morac stampede ! Frantically the skilled husbanders in the close-herders worked, weaving through the panicked beasts in a soothing, hypnotic dance, whilst Carolynn and the high-herders scouted the far edges of the herds, to check for threats and loose or injured animals.
One unlucky Morac that had been grazing near a rocky overhang, now lay beneath a pile of loose rocks, vegetation and earth.. Jed set to comforting the distressed cow with a strange and Ancient whistling song, passed down from generation to generation, whilst Carolynn and several others frantically dug. Fortune had lain with them that night, and the old Matriarch escaped virtually unscathed, save a few deep scratches, that Jed promptly cleaned with Snowberry pulp, which also acted as a mild anaesthetic, dulling the wounds as he sewed each one closed with fine stitches, using a thread made from Lope Cat sinew. Lope Cats were not true cats, they bore more resemblance to tall, gangly Dogs. Their frame was always thin and emaciated, almost hairless with no visible ears and disturbing, hollow sunken black eyes. They to like the Morac, were indigenous, though very little was known about them, and they never appeared to thrive, even in years when all other flora and fauna was doing so a plenty. They did however, have mouths of needle like teeth, covered by a saliva full of part digested prey, that was so rife with bacteria it was a powerful toxin !
Three other Morac had not been so fortunate. The young, immature beasts were grazing serenely, upon the freshest ice-grass in the highest of pastures when the quake came. A young male who in tall grass was first to flee, missing his footing he fell more than 80 foot to the mid-slopes below and the two frightened females simply followed him, to safety ! Their herders stay and complete their duties, long into the next dark.
Though the Hives were almost all still immersed in pandemonium, within less than a single cycle, the herders of the Lead-Lands and the West and East had things back on an even keel, with just the three Morac dead and one herder, a City Elder injured when his Ceramite “Pod” home tipped, its rounded body rolling on its foundation, causing him to fall ! Mercifully soon, the welcome sound of “all-clear-whistles“, echoed up high in the peaks and across to where the City nestled in its valley beneath.With the all clear, Jed parted for higher ground and Carolynn returned to his Herd-Watch on the flat rocks. There he dropped onto crossed-legs, pulling the heavy leather cloak around him to keep out the high alpine chill. It was a clear night, the Moon full and giving a glow like the light time, and his view was uninterrupted for miles around, and he again caught a glimpse of the small falls at the head of the valley, where each summer rested Bronze-Hearth City.
Earlier in light, he had kept his watch on Kern, as he had promised Nathan would do. He had expected him to meet with the Caravan Master, as he had done just after mid-light, but he had not expected Kern to slip away West up the rising High Valley, just as the Morac Train departed, and all eyes were following it South. Shadowing Kern was no hardship, for he was not at home in this wild land, he never had been. He seemed to find it all a bit too messy for his more “refined” tastes, an unpleasant aspect of his nature that also manifested itself in the way he dealt with the herder people too, though he was more careful with his attempts to hide this. As a result, he would often over-compensate, making him come across as patronizing and was yet another reason why so few liked him. For 3 miles or so Carolynn shadowed Kern from up the rocky valley sides, until he reached what Carolynn remembered were some very old pits and cuttings that were left from the days of Zalthar’s Lorelei Crystal Rush, when folk dug everywhere in these Mountains in search of their fortune. They were short lived though, for big business stepped in and huge deposits had soon been found out in the Western Desert where no man could survive, but where huge machines could mine all light and dark. This devalued the price of a single shard of Great Crystal almost over-dark, to about 1% of their former worth, putting all but the largest operators out of business. Now only these forgotten, collapsed and crumbling workings remained. It was into a well like structure amidst a group of such workings, that Kern disappeared, only to reappear several moments later clutching something that he shoved furtively into his pack whilst glancing anxiously around, as though checking no-one watched.
“Most strange“, pondered Carolynn, “ he is certainly up to something, Nate was right not to trust him !”
Carolynn knew what Nate would do, so sat back to do the same. He watched the retreating figure of Kern as it traversed High Valley back toward the City, picking his way awkwardly along the tumbled rock strewn floor, following the coarse of the Bright River. Once he had dropped out of sight, Carolynn was down to the old workings in moments, checking for signs in the damp valley bottom soil and shale to see what Kern had been up to. Tracing his steps down what seemed like a cut-stone lined shaft was easy, as Kern had done nothing to hide his passing, believing himself unobserved. What was curious, was the shaft came to an abrupt and apparently empty and uneventful end. There was nothing, so all Carolynn could think to do was to crouch, and listen. Nothing, just the musty smell of the damp shale and stones. It was not until he turned to leave, that he saw it, indistinct at first, but as he picked one up, you could easily tell that these were not stones. There were several fragments, and an indication that there had been at least 2 more larger pieces of a silverish circular pot, though it felt different to any pottery he’d felt either as a man or boy, back in the Hive. They were light to the touch, yet had obviously taken quite a lot of damage before breaking, given the surface damage. Whatever they were, they were clearly what had Kern all worked up, and so that was reason enough for him to take an interest too, and pass his concerns onto his friend Nathan. Nate would sure as shite want to know what his dodgy Brother-by-Law was up to.
Carolynn grabbed one more piece, wrapping them all in a cloth, before tucking them into his herd-pouch, were a herdsman kept all the kit necessary for a light and a dark watch, a tradition reflecting the number of times you’d be off for a light and wind-up with a dark as well. It was not much to carry anyhow, a length of rope, tinderbox, candle, needle and thread, two cloth squares and a triangle as could be tied many ways, a spoon, mug, hook and line and a small mirrored square of metal ! They also carried an often chest strapped separate wet-proof bag that carried a Slim Lined Cogitator with VDU, Sat/Map link, local Coms link unit and Vox adaptor, in addition to which Carolynn carried his sleep gear, Needle Gun, Ammo/Cleaning Kit case and x2 Knives, one long-bladed, one for close combat. They were not backwards. Just choosy and preferring to have a chance whatever turned up or they ended-up !
It was not for a further 5 cycles that Carolynn got sufficient time to catch up with Nathan, the two having reached their watch breaks, both having a dark and a pair of lights free. Nathan dropped by Carolynn’s “pod” and the he told Nate about Kerns second association with the Caravan Master and his trip to the mine workings Bright River Falls at the head of High Valley when he thought no-one was watching. Lastly, Carolynn un-rolled his pouch to reveal the well hidden but now carefully washed shards of Pottery. Nathan picked up a piece, but was as uncertain as Carolynn as to their provenance, or why they should hold such obvious fascination for Kern ? One thing was certain, their allure had Kern plotting and scheming, with an obvious desire to keep their whereabouts’ to himself, and that did not bode well.
“Any idea who may know who made such pots ?” asked Carolynn, appreciating that Nate had been with the herders of the Lead-Lands far longer than he and more likely to know someone if not something. “What about Alice or Ben, might they know ?”
Alice and Ben were the herds “Potters” in a way, Ben had once been a close-herder who one dark was down with the Morac when an Electrical Storm had fallen fast from the Peaks and was over the herd before many had time to act. Ben assisting with a difficult calving, was deep in the herd and despite the frantic whispers and Dances of the husbanders, a few Morac stampeded. For several cycles, all thought Ben would die, save Alice, for she, and she alone refused to loose his spark. And live he did, though would never herd again, and so took up clay and Alice taught him. Thus they became the Lead-Lands potters.
“Can’t hurt to ask”, said Nate, and so they set off toward the deepest part of the City, where it hung on terraces worked into the valley sides, where the Bright River cut deepest. Carolynn had always found this a magical place of fish-ponds and wet terraced field of rice, it was where Alice and Ben had their home and plied their craft.
With a quick tap, tap on the Ceramite, Nate followed with an “ Anybody Home ?”
“Come, “ replied a mans voice from within, and at who’s bidding, Carolynn and Nate entered the Kiln. Pleasantries and introductions dealt with, the four, for Alice soon joined them having just put a further batch of ware in for firing. They spoke for a while of life, before without any details, Nate took two pieces of the pottery from his pocket and presented one to each Alice and Ben. Ben pulled closer a lamp, whilst Alice closed her eyes as she thumbed the shard she held. For several minutes the pair were silent in their fascination, when at virtually the same moment, their eyes met, a look was exchanged, before Alice said to Ben, as much as to Carolynn and Nathan,
“Let me then !“
“Gentlemen, this is no Pot !“
“But the shape, size and appearance…“ Nate was saying, before Alice turned to Ben, and he cut in,
“Forgive me Gentlemen ! But what my Wife was trying to explain , is that this is neither Pot, nor Pottery ! Perhaps if I tell you more ! . . . . . . . . . .
Back in the Hives, disorder reigned ! Without clear leadership, many middle-management officials havening fallen to the wrath of the people, in the guise of them needing Purging, there was no clear plan of action. Tragedies unfolded, and there was no-one skilled enough to provide a coherent response. That was until the PDF arrived. From the moment they took over, peoples life expediencies rose, of ten by over 200%.
Search Teams searched, Medical Teams treated and the rest did what they could to restore order and ensure that essential services such as power came back on-line. Law was swiftly, if brutally in some instances, swiftly restored, with looting and engineering Civil unrest given a Zero Tolerance approach. To the now evidently deranged and psychologically failing Hengist & Horsa, this was finally an event from which they could gain some temporary relief, a moments calm in the latest storm to assail their Planet.
In the wreckage of the Hive-City of Hope, due South of Astromus, probably the strangest event of the dark was about to happen. With most of the City that had been above ground destroyed, work was concentrated on the lower levels, where it was believed some survivors may remain. The first anyone knew of what had happened, was when the following Closed Communications Channel, ONLY to be used by and between Rescue Workers, Emergency Workers and the Governors’ Officials, mysteriously Broadcast the following conversation between Hive-City of Hope’s Deputy Head of Disaster - Search and Rescue, Michael “Mike” Farra and Mechanicum Adept Omn-Mo-Tai-67/72,
LIVE,
on 278 to 298 Radio Zalthar,
Across the entire Planet and into the Void too on some limited Vox frequencies !
"Farra, you need to see this“.
“What is it?”
“Come and see.”
.....
....
“By the Emperor... what is that?”
“I think you mean who.”
....
....
“Do you think he is still alive?”
“I don’t know…”
“Adept? Come take a look at this.”
.....
.....
“Well, what is it?”
”Its a life support machine. An ancient one.”
“How ancient?”
“Heresy era.…”
“Wow…”
....
....
“Emperor ascendant... it's still working!”
...
“You mean he is still alive in there?”
...
“Yes, the vitals are all here, machine is still working sound.”
.....
“He must be ancient.... is he a Primarch?”
“No, to small. But he is Astarte’s.…”
.....
“We must contact the Salamanders, they need to know.”
The room was dark, only the flickering lights of pict feeds and binary decoders filled the room. One such pict feed was maximized in the center of the room. It showed what everybody was hearing, but nobody was seeing. An Astartes. He knew this immediately, for he had worked with them for many years before.
The sound of footfall alerted him to another presence, until he realized it was just his companion. She drew herself up beside him and simply pressed a few buttons on his chair and another pict feed became maximized on the screen. It was inside a hab-dome. A group of men were crowding around a smooth metal object. But it was no normal metal object. He stiffened, he knew what this was.
"Megan"
"Yes?"
"It is time we reveal ourselves. We cannot hide here any longer"
"And the false planetary governors?"
"Dispose of them"
"Yes Lord Inquisitor Samuel"
No comments:
Post a Comment