CHAPTER 8
Jan 20, 3132
Turbline, Continent 2, Plateau, New Research Facility
"Greetings Adept Tony, I am glad you are here to review the report on these night haunts."
"Gladly. Start with containment. What is it that was discovered that stops them from clawing their way out?"
"Put it simply. Crystalline structure resists their claws. We are still trying to figure out why their claws, teeth, and spines present a hazard to mech and battle armor."
"From this here... The main crystalline structure is in fact quartz. Mech armor incorporates diamond in it. Has this been tested?"
"In fact no. It was never thought of to be tested. We never tried diamond crystalline structures to contain them. I am already thinking about this and I would predict that how they tear thru mech armor suggests it would fail."
"Then if that is the case could quartz be used as a substitute in mech armor? Thus making a night haunt proof substitute?"
"THAT is an intriguing idea. There would be sacrifices. I don't know much about mech armor construction, but I would suppose it would work but would be thicker like ferro fibrous armor. In either case, pull up file NH80302. Zoom in on test subject 22. Based on the reports given by Deback, notice the small twitches on the legs. Test subject 22 is going to attack test subjects 50-52. Now pay attention to their reaction."
The night haunt charges three docile ones. It rips into them killing all three before one of its limbs is severed. The dying three docile night haunts seem to look dumb struck before the life leaves the corpses.
"Pull up file NH80304. Look at the limb that is missing. There is a nub regrowing from the severed area. The regenerative abilities of these things has never been able to be observed until now."
"You are right. Due to the containment we have been able to observe. I still have a hard time believing that quartz crystal would be a containing agent."
"Rightly so Adept Tony. Now that is just two days. Pull up file NH80407. This is three days later."
"By Blake, it is half way grown back! Nothing we know of regenerates that fast."
"The food intake when they regenerate is higher. They consume nutrients from anything they can get their hands on when injured. Fauna and flora are taken in regardless. Now pull up file NH93444."
A night haunt moves to and from in its crystalline cage. A tau zombie brings up a squad support laser on an upper deck and fires down onto the night haunt. Limbs are severed and a small part of the torso. The things shrieks and stops moving. The wounds coagulate.
"Now pull up file NH93445."
The injured night haunt is moving around. It had consumed its severed limbs and the remains of its torso. The main body has healed and little nubs have shown up.
"Astounding! This is way more than just simple appendage regeneration. How come they never reported this?"
"We only just learned about this from the manuscripts recovered from the lair. As far as observations. That is because the manei domini are thorough with killing and of course the weapons they use are utterly devastating. Here was a precision cut made to demonstrate how resilient these things really are. Keep in mind, this is the bioengineered ones. The docile ones we have just been introduced also exhibit the same regenerative effects."
"Now pull up file NH11111. Here you can see the cells of test subject 22 under microscope. Notice how the RNA and DNA are fluid. They don't seem to hold a specific code. All except this area here. This seems to be the part that allows the cells to adapt to what ever environmental effect they are in."
"So they can be killed, but if not, they adapt and change right?"
"Right. Now get this. ROM division got authorization to feed some of the ideas of what night haunts are to various media chains in the inner sphere. The thought was to see what science fiction and horror junkies would cook up and see what plot lines came of it. Holovid B rate movies such as.... Night of the living haunts. The Thing from Turbline. On and on. There was fear that Stone and company might catch on, but the hash tags on the nets already existed before Corden even visited Turbline. So the smoke screen was already cast. The number of copyrighted kick backs from the shell company has brought in lots of revenue that went to materials for building jumpships, mechs, etc. But that aside. What we got were some ideas to test against them."
"That explains why the Turbline Protocol now includes radiation 'disinfection'."
"Correct. Some aspiring director had a plot that used radiation to stop the mutagenic like adaptations. What we found implementing their idea was that just enough radiation and that kills the creatures ability to regenerate, reproduce, and even live. The dose a human would get wouldn't phase us but these things can't take the rads."
"Who thought some two bit horror movie hack would have helped us out."
Both scientists laughed.
"In either case the Turbline Protocol still stands. Only one night haunt has ever been found on a dropship leaving Turbline and it was put down by the manei domini death squad. Praise Blake. Now the degenerate part. We have confirmed human DNA is in fact in the aggressive species. Pull up file NH66666. The area that doesn't change seems to have inherited that part into its complexity. What we have is a true chimera in itself. The reports from all the gathered material from what they call the lair does suggest they... impregnated the dna into the night haunts."
"Blake's Blood. Abomination even surpassing the clans."
"Yes. I am appending my suggestion that the aggressive strain all but be culled planet wide while reintroducing the docile main strain. A more natural Turbline native. If you want to call it that. There is only one problem with our observations and study. What the guides and the recording from the wreck dropship indicate that the Baltmare continent were aggressive to begin with."
"Yes there is that. Keep in mind that there are genetic off shoots that were separated from each other and evolution took different courses. We have no way to find original DNA of those on the continent that Baltmare is on. We have to pull some assumptions. Now sum up all the reports, check them over, and have them annotated for Precentor Deback's viewing. Then they will be sent to Heres Domini."
"Our work is going to her!"
"Yes, now snap too it. On another note how is the wife and kids?..."
-----
Deback read over the reports that the scientist on Turbline were conducting on the night haunts. The facility was setup on the plateau 6 months after the people there had left. Many experiments there had delved into the secrets of the night haunts. Weaknesses, strengths, threats, anything. Another thing to come out of the research center was the application of night haunt claws, spines, and such. Some big head came up with the idea of packing them into B and A pods. The tests were horrifying and increased the technologies lethality by 14%. Breeding and harvesting docile night haunts was the plan. There was only a 5% difference in the structure of the claws between the altered and docile ones. Enough that the docile ones would be just fine.
He was about to send the encrypted file out to heres domini via HPG, but Corden busted into his office.
"Daddy daddy! Look what I made!"
Deback looked at what Corden had made. It was a clay archangel that he made in school. It wasn't the best, but what could one expect from a kid.
"It looks great. I will put it on my desk right here. Now go get your brother and mom and let them know dinner in one hour."
"Yes daddy!"
Corden ran off and Deback went into one of his small depressional spells. He had been so busy that he didn't think of his master much any more. The years on Turbline had made him the Precentor of Turbline. There was always something occupying his time.
"Phantom Precentor Omega Deback..." he said aloud. He had risen in the ranks again. His status had kept him busy to the point where he wouldn't likely ever go back to the colonies. The Corden faction was waning. There were complaints that they hadn't been out in the periphery doing pirate hunting or bringing Blake's light to lost systems. Even the explorer initiative had been axed by heres domini.
"We wait for The Sign." Said deback out loud. He was annoyed but understood doctrine. Politics. Same old same old. Politics and such. He was no politician. He was an orator. A doer. A thinker. A manei domini. And here he was stuck at a desk. They were weapons of war and yet here they sat becoming dull blades pushing paper. He sighed and hit the send key with the file date of Jan 23, 3132.
His home was in Baltmare and it was a simple place. He didn't need to have it, but a family needed space. He thought to himself that Apollyon would scoff at what he had to own, but he would also respect what making a semi frail life style incurred. The manei domini had softened a little over the decades in his opinion. Back then they needed to be weapons. Now. Now they were sheathed weapons but also a functioning machine of the Words... 'politics'.
He had explained to Corden and Thomas that if the sign came in their life time. Him, his wife, and his brethren would leave and likely never return. They would go forth and enact Blake's edicts where they are needed and bring light to those that lived in darkness. Corden had finally got it into his head where Thomas did earlier in a young age. He wanted to be a manei domini like his parents, but the kid would need to enter the Blake Militia first. Then as he got older he would have to show true devotion and sacrifice.
Something skittered past his feet. One of Thomas' younglings must have got loose. He looked under his desk and sure enough there was a baby night haunt. One of the docile ones. They had adopted one to see what these critters were like compared to the beastial ones. The main problem was their claws. But they bonded fairly quickly where they were quick not to use them. Times had changed where they were eradicating these things and now they were selectively eliminating the bio-engineered ones. Turbline was slowly turning back into a likely natural state before man.
Deback tossed one of the hard tack rations he kept in a drawer to the critter. It chased after it, snatched it, then ran out of the room. One less distraction for his duties. He then pulled up another file that covered the Republic of the Sphere.
Kendricke. He hadn't thought of that bastard in a very long time. He wondered what he was up to not to mention the Turbline exiles that left willingly. He sent a request into the system and awaited a report.
----
Kendricke was at his desk in Austrailia. The Turblines had settled in very well in the back water area of Australia. The culture shock they had with what the Inner Sphere really was like had kept them in check. In fact they kept to themselves because they didn't want anyone to know of their past association with the Word. Kendricke could understand them as he looked like a manei domini with the cybernetic implants he had.
From time to time he would have to talk to Devlin Stone and the man still winced seeing him. That was until he retired and all but disappeared two years ago. Since then, Damien Redburn took over and he had no idea about the Turblines. It appeared Stone didn't bother informing him of their origin and that there were refuges on Terra. Kendricke got his stipend and the meager funds to run the office and nothing more was ever said the past two years.
He unlocked the drawer to his desk and pulled it open. There sat the book that accompanied him back to Terra that Corden had "gifted" him. Inside it was a note that was penned directly from Corden to him. He had read it many times along with the book to try and understand his... enemy? He shut the drawer and locked it. He was still conflicted with the experience he had on Turbline. It seemed like a dream now. The events and impossibility of what happened. Then he remembered the metallic arms and jaw he had.
He slammed his fists on the desk as he always had done whenever the thought of how he had acted out. If not for him, Corden might still be alive. Of all the manei domini that should have lived. He should have. He might have been able to turn him in time. IF that had happened. They would have had access to the Blakest hidden worlds. But would Corden have listened to reason? He remembered the night camp fire where he tried to put on the redemption angle and got reputed for his attempt. Then that chair being dragged across the floor in his cell and Deback exiling him. He wanted to say he was sorry but never got the chance. They had dragged him out and stuffed him on the dropship. The rest was history.
A knock came to his door and he bid whoever to enter. No one answered. Kendricke hit the intercom to his secretary asking who had come in. No one answered. He looked at the time, lunch. He got up and his bones hurt. He was getting older. Upon opening the door he saw a package addressed to him. Intrigued he bent down, picked it up, and went back to his desk.
Upon opening it he found a data chip and he put it into the computer. On it was an encrypted file. A password header sat blinking on and on. Kendricke now wondered what the hell was going on. He drew his side arm and went into the hallway. He checked the other offices of the facility for anything out of the ordinary. There was none. All doors that were to be locked were locked. All computers appeared to be untampered with.
He returned to his office and stared at the blinking cursor. What could this be about. He started thinking of passwords and started typing in different phrases. Devlin Stone, nothing. Comstar, nothing. Turbline, nothing... Iron Father, access. Devlin Stone suddenly appeared on his computer and started talking.
"By the time you get this, I am unreachable. I am a man of my word and will return some day. In the mean time there is a matter of which you should know. You are one of many that are part of various insurance policies. A ghost knight would have delivered this to you in some form, so you can stop being paranoid. The Word of Blake is still suspected to be alive and active. I have contacts outside of the Republic that you should get in contact with. The Word is still a threat and Obeedah and Tauseen are out there waiting to be dealt with. Every year is a year they build their forces and it is a sleeping monster. The houses and clans have all but given up or forgotten about them. There are murmurs of renewed wars between them. Ambition still exists in the clans and within the successor lords. The Republic stands as a wall against that and a beacon of hope to those who refuse that path. I hope my paladins shine and grow the Republic to what it should be."
"Behind the drawer where you keep that damn book is a data chip with information on it in the event the Republic fails. You don't become utterly paranoid unless you were in Blakist camp like me. Do not attempt to remove or view it as it is a one time message like this one. It will also be monitored by what ever ghost knight is assigned to you. Trust me, don't touch it as they have their own orders from me. Contingency within contingency. As I said, you don't come out of a Blakist camp not being paranoid.
"I left to show that the Republic can stand without me. An entity that rules shouldn't be fixated on one man or woman to rule them. The people should rule themselves. There are measures in place though if some kind of failure with the Republic happens. Measures that will be able to safe guard the republic. If the republic should fall however... It will depend on the situation and what you will have to do."
"Now for your role in the Blakist part. Grab a pencil, pause this, whatever. Write down this information of the contacts I am about to give you. They are monitoring for Blakist activity..."
Kendricke paused the video. He had one shot at this. Then he realized the weight being put on him. He would need to stay alive as long as possible. If Stone planned on returning, he needed to live. He was tired of it. Tired of the mixed thoughts and feelings. Tired of being alone in this office. Tired of the stares and ridicule of how he looked. He was a man of duty though and he believed in what the Republic was. But this gave him purpose.
He unlocked the drawer again and pulled it out completely. Behind it was a data chip affixed in place. He wanted to reach out and grab it, but he knew better. He put everything back to where it was. Now where was that ledger...
-----
Deback read about the reports that the embedded agents had given on Kendricke and also the Turbline exiles. His mind remembered a few of them that were mentioned in the reports. They kept to themselves and over all didn't like the inner sphere. The Republic on the other hand treated them fairly. Despite Kendricke's failure on Turbline. He conducted himself as a honorable man. There were numerous theories on how the community would grow. It had only been fifteen odd years. Some of the exiles had kids at this point. Integration with the area was a slow process.
Then Deback read the report on Devlin Stone's retirement and subsequent total disappearance. There was no trace of the man. Even the few agents in the ghost knights reported they were also baffled. There was some information that Stone knew the Word was active. That meant that they were still likely hunted by him. The clans and successor houses though had all but ceased the hunt but were starting to get their ambitions back. A small silver lining that the afterlife was still safe except from the one man that essentially destroyed the Word. Did his retirement and disappearance mean that Stone was on the hunt? Did he have the location of Obeedah and Tauseen? Did they figure out how to jump into his home system?
Deback leaned back and started pondering his situation. It was time to call in some of the shadow fleet into Turbline. If the Republic knew how to get here. They were a threat and he needed assets just in case. Especially with the new jumpship and warship yards. He pulled up the super HPG network connection and sent a message to Heres Domini informing him of his thoughts.
