Mechanicus

"...I see I I I," Kennoch said slowly. He digested this information but then pushed away thinking about the implications, for the moment. That could wait until he returned to the Sting, along with the matter of the augur. "Thank you for thank you your council your, Honored Factor Factor. You have been you have very helpful very. And I am I am sorry to mention sorry such unpleasant matters such, but it was it was a grim necessity grim. We cannot reach we reach Comprehension without study Comprehension, after all all. But now now, would you lead me would you in a prayer prayer prayer to the Omnissiah Omnissiah Omnissiah Omnissiah? My search for knowledge search knowledge has only just begun just begun."

Later

Once they finished, Echo handed out the new tools he'd purchased for his Rings. Their shotguns were delightful upgrades, and the new grenades would help capture more renegade Navis, but best of all were the falchions. Works of art, beautifully engraved, and even sharper than their old blades. Each had a pommel in the style of the Mechanicus cog-skull; binary scripture covered the hilts. The Rings looked them over with delight; Lorl especially took several moments to stop giggling.

"I am sure I am these weapons will will see plenty of use see use. But more work more is hardly a reward hardly, is it is is it? I promised you I promised a celebration celebration for your successes your, did I not did I? So come along come along."

The gilded halls, lavish banquets, and formal dances of Winterscale's grand party were uncomfortably excessive for the voidborn assassins. Parties were rare occurrences in their lives of bloody discipline anyway, but when the occasion did arise, they preferred simpler affairs. Kennoch rented a modest club for the night, one accustomed to mutants, and more importantly, he opened a bar tab for all attendees, to much cheering as the news spread. Then he did the proper thing and left. Festivities were bound to be stiff when the boss stuck around.

"The Absalom marines Absalom Absalom Absalom are fully capable fully of escorting me me back to the ship to the ship. I will see I will all of you all again tomorrow again." Besides, Echo had his own business tonight.

The band, composed of proper Twists, played their pulsing music. Zelle quickly ended up on stage, singing with a drink in hand. Isund wasn't much for dancing, but he indulged in the amasec while telling stories to some new friends, or at least people who'd listen while they enjoyed the free alcohol. "To be honest, I can't remember the name of the planet, but it's damnably hot. Not to mention full of barbarians. Well, less so now, after our visit..."

"Please don't eat that," Kimmet murmured to his partner with a fond smile. Kip had a nugget of some fried mystery xeno-meat halfway to his mouth. "There's no telling what it is."

"Some kind of avian, I think," a cyclopean bystander suggested helpfully.

"Then it's probably fine," Kip figured. "Get some shot glasses, if you're worried. Some high-proof liquor will kill whatever bacteria are on it."

"I don't think that's how that works."

"You can ask the Magos when we get back home."

"End up on the Medicae deck, and you'll ask her yourself."

Lorl knocked back several drinks in succession, showed off her new sword, and quickly got in a fight when an ambitious thief tried to walk off with it. She left the poor man crumpled in a bloody heap. Jumping onto a table, she raised both fists above her head and announced, "I've killed pirates! Backwoods heathens! Xenos! And when we leave port, I'll do it all some more! So who wants some?!" She vaulted back to the floor and straight into a bar-brawl that soon spread across a good third of the room, all while the band played.

After an hour, Isund's cheeks were a festive red against his white beard. He sloshed his amasec with careless gestures as he talked. "It's this...this scaly thing," he explained. "And it cries acid. Or something. Wouldn't pet it, my...myself. But it's sort of cute, in an ugly way."

"And they blew up their own station," Zelle told the band during their break. They passed some lho-sticks around in a circle. "Rather than let us take it. Some trick by their commander; I don't think most of the others knew about it. Still, that's a hell of a thing to do, even for pirates, isn't it? Sore losers."

Late in the night, Kip and Kimmet took the center of the dance floor--Lorl had thinned the crowd by that point and wore a few bruises along with her triumphant smile--and astonished with their grace. More than sheer agility, their skill and teamwork let them move in unison under the flickering lights and thumping music. They looked like a single person with too many limbs, weaving together as they spun. Zelle cheered them on from the stage. The Twist musicians improvised to extend their song rather than let the display end; after several minutes of their incredible acrobatics, the dancing Rings came together in a tight embrace as the music hit its peak and the lights dimmed. Applause thundered in the dark.

They had to wake up Isund, passed out on the table. Lorl was in the process of plucking his eyebrows when the others stopped her. Kimmet put Isund's arm around his shoulder and half-carried the other man out; Zelle had the foresight to bring water before they left.

"Helps with the hangover," she explained sagely.

"I don't get those," Kip bragged.

"Then you clearly didn't drink enough!"

The voidborn laughed and chattered as they made their way to the docks. Back to work.

Sargon

But meanwhile, Echo was in his tower. He took some time to bring his doubts and anxieties to a manageable level. Already, he wondered if he made a mistake by keeping his most senior prisoner. And now he went to give Sargon another opportunity to feed his uncertainty.

He was telling the truth about the Thirteenth Station. Aside from his claims of loyalty to humanity, I have yet to catch him in a lie. And even that might be madness rather than some scheme. I'd be a fool to really trust him. Still...he is useful...

Kennoch braced himself and returned to the tank. He dreaded having to explain why Sargon remained here--somehow, he was sure, the older Navis would just know the others had been transported off the ship--so he tried to forestall it with a different topic. He held up Alessaunder's augur to the glass so that Sargon could look at the maker's mark.

"I just came just from the Mechanicus Mechanicus Mechanicus Mechanicus. They tell me tell this device this was made somewhere terrible made terrible in the Screaming Vortex Screaming Vortex. Forge Pollo Forge or Polis Polis or something or. And the device the was owned by owned a powerful Castermare Castermare Castermare Castermare. I assume I I I some sort of some arrangement between them between. If this corrupted forge corrupted supplies my cousins supplies with their equipment their, then they are then my enemies too my enemies." Here he came to the point: "The Mechanicus advises Mechanicus that I destroy it destroy. The augur the. But I wonder wonder if it might it still be useful still be."

He didn't actually ask. Kennoch couldn't bring himself to directly say what he meant, but Sargon, clever and perceptive, would surely hear the unspoken question: What would you do?