"My Lord, following your departure, we dispatched six mortal scout companies via two assault landers to the planetary surface."
"We lost all contact immediately after they breached the planet's anomalous barrier. According to protocol, the landers were to disengage and return to low orbit within thirty minutes of deployment to establish a comms-link. However, they have not been sighted since their signals vanished."
Calanthus took the data-slate from the Captain's adjutant, scrutinizing the mission parameters and timestamps. He then turned his gaze toward Axion, who remained motionless on the bridge, staring out into the void at the world below.
"Hadrian, has Axion been standing there, watching the planet this entire time?"
Hadrian stepped away from a nearby scanning array and returned to Calanthus's side.
"Indeed. The ancient construct has remained fixed, neither moving nor speaking. Truly, I know not if such stillness is a trait common to all its kind."
Calanthus nodded grimly, his eyes fixed on Axion.
"Axion, you spoke earlier of this planet's strangeness. Can you tell me why?"
Calanthus had initially paid little heed to the ancient construct's cryptic remarks, but as his post-prayer clarity settled, a nagging intuition suggested the relic-construct had discerned something they had missed.
"A phantom projection," Axion replied.
"Perhaps you do not grasp the nature of such technology. It is a form of visual camouflage. My kin and my Creators once utilized this tech to conceal sensitive facilities or strategic institutions. However, this is the first time I have witnessed a phantom projection of such immense scale."
"The physical reality of this planet is utterly disparate from what your optical sensors perceive."
"My detection range is inhibited. From orbit, I cannot penetrate the veil to see the surface. We might plunge into boiling magma, a toxic ocean, or a desolate wasteland. Anything is possible."
The explanation left the assembled Astartes stunned. A deception covering an entire planet? The technological mastery required was staggering.
"Usually, such camouflage adheres to a logic of plausibility," Axion continued. "This planet is remote from its star, situated on the very edge of the galaxy. A disguise that contradicts its environment is crude. Perhaps the designer never studied at the Federal Tactical Academy, or perhaps they simply stumbled upon this equipment and activated a rudimentary automated stress-response."
"Of course, it is also possible this planet was never meant to be here, and its preset camouflage protocols are too simplistic to adapt to these coordinates."
Federal Tactical Academy?
The influx of foreign terminology left the officers increasingly perplexed. However, if this was the result of a technological installation, it implied the presence of salvageable machinery or materials.
"Axion, does this technology require physical emitters? What would be the scale of such an apparatus?"
Calanthus chose not to pursue the origins of the ancient construct's strange vocabulary; his post-human intellect focused instead on extracting actionable data.
"Massive. To shroud a world of this size would require an equipment array supported by a primary power distribution hub."
Sensing Calanthus's need for a frame of reference, Axion adjusted his terminology.
"Based on the facilities and vessels I have observed in your era, it would require the energy output of at least two battleship-class reactors."
An Imperial battleship's reactor was a modular titan of engineering. Two? That implied a base of staggering proportions. Calanthus reached a sudden, bold conclusion.
"Axion, I intend to scout the surface. Will you accompany us?"
Axion looked up, his sensors meeting Calanthus's gaze. "Are you certain?"
Hadrian looked on with concern. "Brother, does this not require further assessment? The risk to your person... and the ancient construct..."
Calanthus placed a hand on Hadrian's pauldron. "Worry not, brother. I have a premonition, a feeling that bringing it with us will yield unforeseen results."
"Perhaps all of this is guided by the Emperor's hand."
Silenced by the invocation of the Emperor, Hadrian turned to muster the strike force. He would not allow Calanthus to descend into the unknown with only a relic-construct at his side. Losses were a tithe they had to be prepared to pay.
"We depart. Use the last known coordinates of the mortal deployment. We go by direct orbital drop."
"No Thunderhawk? What if we drop into a lake of fire?" Hadrian paused as he moved to exit the bridge, looking back in confusion.
Calanthus offered no reply, and Hadrian did not press further. In truth, Calanthus could not explain his aversion to the gunships. He simply had a mounting dread that a Thunderhawk descent would prove far more catastrophic than a drop-pod insertion.
Once Hadrian signaled that preparations were complete, the two Astartes moved swiftly from the bridge.
When Calanthus reached the hangar deck, a line of drop pods sat ready in the launch tubes. Swarms of servitors were busily hosing down the interiors and securing crates of munitions and wargear.
Calanthus frowned as he turned to Hadrian. "How many have you committed to the surface?"
"Half a company, brother."
Calanthus shook his head. "Too many. We are blind to the surface conditions; an over-commitment could prove disastrous. Two assault squads will suffice."
Hadrian hesitated. "Are you sure? Brother, this deviates from the dictates of the Codex."
"We are ignorant of this world's nature, Hadrian, that, too, is a deviation from the Codex. I believe our gene-father would forgive us this pragmatism."
"Besides," Calanthus added, "before I joined the Invictarus, I served in the Second."
With that, Calanthus led the way into a readied tactical drop pod. Axion followed close behind.
The interior of a standard drop pod was cramped, designed to secure five Astartes in specialized harnesses that locked onto their power armor. When Axion entered, his bulk filled nearly half the compartment.
Were it not for his streamlined humanoid chassis, he might have required an entire pod to himself. Compared to a Dreadnought, Axion had the advantage of a "slender" profile, though his actual mass likely far exceeded that of the walkers.
Axion was not compatible with the Imperial restraint systems, but he had his own methods of stabilization.
He reached out and gripped the heavy central restraint pillar, the type used to secure Dreadnoughts in larger pods. It was a loose fit for his hands, but Calanthus watched in silence as Axion's fingers effortlessly crushed the alloy, carving deep grooves into the metal to lock his limbs in place.