Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 82: Thallax and the Webway

Thallax-class Battle-automata were cyborg assault troops adapted by a highly secretive sect within the Adeptus Mechanicus. They differed from other Cohorts both in their intended purpose and the unique degree of their augmentation.

Thallax were not truly machines in the strict sense, but were cyborgs created through the surgical augmentation of the human body, classifying them as half-machine.

The Thallax Lorica that housed them utilized the exact same technological roots as the Power Armor utilized by the Astartes Legions, though their development had diverged down completely different paths.

The massive Lorica housed the primary organs, nervous system, and brain of the augmented body, replacing the skeleton and limbs entirely with an armored mechanical system driven by an internal reactor core.

This augmentation process was excruciatingly painful and required the replacement of the sensory organs humans normally relied upon. These two factors necessitated the surgical excision of the pain centers and emotions.

Therefore, a fully augmented Thallax was a cold and calculating killing machine, yet one that maintained a certain degree of independent human consciousness.

Although some within the Adeptus Mechanicus believed that this augmentation itself toed the forbidden red line, fortunately, their numbers were small and they did not truly violate the Crimson Accords in any meaningful sense. Thus, it was allowed to be preserved as a highly advanced technology.

Equally difficult was the exceptionally massive amount of resources required for their creation.

The difficulty in creating a Thallax also hinged on the strength of the augmented individual's will to survive, which dictated how much usable presence of mind remained after the augmentation.

Therefore, for the most part, Thallax augmentations were generally reserved for eligible Forge Guards and Skitarii warriors who had suffered mortal wounds in combat.Of course, there were some subjects obtained by the unfathomable and deeply malicious Ordo Reductor through much more esoteric channels.

Thallax were generally produced solely by this sect, but the Archmagos of the sect would also "gift" them to some other factions, such as the Legio Cybernetica, in exchange for allegiance and assistance.

Hence, the terrifying Thallax also made appearances within the Cohorts of the Legio.

Additionally, behind the most defining feature of a Thallax—its highly sinister-looking faceless helm—was actually an array of mechanical sensor organs.

Through this, the battlefield perceived by an Thallax was like a frenzied storm forged of electromagnetic turbulence, the heat signature of blood, and the seismic waves of the ground.

But to process this torrential downpour of data, the organic brain had to undergo surgical excision, removing human-exclusive senses such as sight and hearing.

"Designation, YT-0001, Supreme Authority Command received."

A muffled mechanical echo emanated from beneath the Thallax's helm. Then, under the vigilant gazes of the Astartes, it approached Soshyan and knelt on one knee.

After kneeling, the Adeptus Mechanicus insignia on the Thallax's chest split open, and a mechanical appendage offered a miniature genetic extractor up to Soshyan.

"Initiating command authority verification, genetic identification."

Without a second thought, Soshyan removed his left gauntlet and pressed his index finger against the extractor.

With a subtle prickling sensation, a tiny needle pierced Soshyan's skin, extracting a trace amount of blood.

"Genetic identification in progress—"

By the time Soshyan withdrew his finger and donned his gauntlet again, the other party had already stood up.

"Identification successful. Command authority verified. Collecting iris data, facial recognition data."

Soshyan merely looked at the other party's sinister, mirror-like helm for fewer than three seconds before it nodded.

"Collection complete. Uploaded to chain of command."

"Can you understand what I'm saying?"

"High Gothic, identifiable."

Soshyan shot a glance at Sol, who gave a slight nod in response.

"My name is Soshyan, Chapter Master of the Astral Knights Chapter."

"Greetings, Commander."

"What is your identity? Why are you here? What is your objective? Who deployed you?"

"We are the Sloughsha Cohort, designation YT. We were deployed here under Supreme Command Authority orders to defend this sector and to purge the area upon the manifestation of an anomalous energy field. As our deployer simultaneously executed an erasure protocol, we are unable to store any data regarding them."

"Anomalous energy field?"

Standing to the side, Sol suddenly spoke up:

"In which direction?"

But YT-0001 acted as if it had heard nothing, standing quietly in place.

Sol froze for a second, then realized he had made a rather rookie mistake—even half-human machines still operated on the most fundamental mechanical logic. They would only report information to authorized personnel.

"Which direction is the anomalous energy field?"

Soshyan immediately spoke up to relieve Sol of his awkwardness.

"Sector 1-0-32. Given that this sector may be relatively hazardous, it is advised that the Cohort approach in combat formation."

"Alright, take us there."

"Executing."

With that, the green light emanating from the sensors on the heads of all the Battle Automata, including YT-0001, was instantly replaced by an ominous red glow.

Then, matching pace down to the millimeter, they neatly converged, forming an assault diamond formation to shield the Space Marines behind them.

While following the Battle Automata's advance, Soshyan noted that those Aeldari seemed to have vanished for quite some time now.

Finally, in the plaza, Soshyan saw a trail of blood leading straight into the distance. Following the blood trail, they discovered an archway, before which the blood trail simply disappeared.

It was an octagonal gateway with a span of roughly two hundred meters, reinforced with a bone-like material and encircled by runes from ancient xenos.

It looked as though even a Titan could march through those massive doors.

Perhaps, if given the chance...

Sol stared at it intently.

"To think it's this... I should have guessed..."

He said in an awe-struck tone.

"A Webway portal."

Soshyan felt somewhat surprised upon hearing this, but he wasn't as utterly shocked as everyone else, because he had already gained a general understanding of the Webway's existence, its function, and its significance through Brother Zayd's introduction.

Then everything made sense. Long before humanity discovered this planet, the Aeldari had occupied it and constructed a Webway portal, intending to develop it or enact some other scheme.

But they clearly encountered an unexpected variable, causing their plans to be temporarily shelved, and ultimately the planet came to be possessed by humanity.

Obviously, the Aeldari would never forgive such a thing.

"They escaped through here."

Since the blood trail ended here, it meant the Aeldari had entered it not too long ago.

"Given that this place has been abandoned for so long, they definitely clashed with the Legio Cybernetica but were defeated. After a long period of time, they planned to return here."

Staring at the gateway, Sol voiced his deduction.

"Those Scouts clearly came to investigate whether the Legio Cybernetica that defeated them in the past still existed. Now that they have the information they wanted, they shouldn't invade again in the short term."

"Do we need to destroy this portal?"

Soshyan patted the Krak Grenades at his waist, but Sol shook his head.

"No, we still lack understanding of this thing. Acting rashly could very well result in disastrous consequences... Have you considered this: if this thing could be destroyed, would the person who deployed this battle Cohort have left it alone until now?"

"So we just leave it be right here? But what if—"

"We have too little intelligence on the Aeldari's situation, and we don't know the extent of their current strength. But I believe... if they are very weak right now, then even if they come to this world, there is nothing to fear; the Astra Militarum from the neighboring sector can absolutely suppress them. On the other hand, if they have become much stronger than before, or have other allies, then we wouldn't be able to stand against them on our own anyway."

Although Soshyan found Sol's reasoning somewhat strange, out of trust, he nodded his head regardless.

"Then it shall be so."

(End of Chapter)