Home Fires – Chapter Five: Tinkering
Chapter Selection
Intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Epilogue
Antonius heard the footsteps approaching long before the hatch to the armory creaked open. The slow, measured pace was unmistakably the gait of Chaplain Hakan. As the Chaplain entered, his armour ate light, making the workspace Antonius had littered with machinery just a bit dimmer. Hakan, always the dramatist, wore his pale white skull mask everywhere, his glowing red lenses piercing the darkness.
“We’ve made a stable orbit around Altea, Captain.” Hakan said in his thick accent, almost slurring his words. Despite his lack of articulation, Antonius had always enjoyed Hakan’s voice, likening it to old, comfortable leather; tough and soft.
“You’d have used the commlink if that was all you wanted, Hakan. Speak your mind.”
Hakan’s sigh crackled through the grille of his helmet’s speakers. “What are we doing here, my Lord?”
Antonus looked up from the disordered mess of his work. “I need to teach the company what it means to be an Azure Flame.”
Hakan’s face was unreadable behind his mask. “…and what do you think that means, O Scion of Atrus?”
A twinge of irritation shot through Antonius. “It means what the man you followed to Iperin said. We are more than an ordinary chapter. We are heroes. Guardians. We save what can be saved and avenge what cannot.”
“Ordinary chapters do that all the time.” Hakan said in an extremely flat affect. The frown staining Antonius’ face evaporated. The old Chaplain was baiting him.
“You know full well what my Father meant. Intention is as important as action.”
“Indeed.” Hakan said, nodding. “But why?”
“We are soldiers, but we are also servants. We strive to live up to the example of Vulkan. To build the future with our actions, not just to tear down the present.”
Hakan was silent for what seemed like an age. He reached up and took hold of his helm. Hissing sounds followed the undoing of seals, and the helm lifted. Underneath, Hakan’s dark face was split by a bright white smile. “Well said, my Lord. But you did not answer my question. Why are we here? At your former homeworld of Altea?”
“Ah, yes.” Antonius said as he stood. “Altea has a variety of combat environments for training. It has a ready source of foes to defeat in the form of Feral Orks left over from the invasion that happened when I was a child. But, most importantly, it has people. A culture. These new grayshields need to identify with baseline humans, or else they are merely butchers. The same sort that fall to Chaos when they fail to see the difference between humanity and livestock.”
“So, you will have them protect the people. That is well. How will this show them humanity?”
“The people of Altea will take care of that. Trust me, Hakan, I know them.”
“I certainly hope…” Hakan cut off. “What in the name of the Throneworld are you doing to one of the brand-new swords that Lord Cawl provided us?” His voice was almost heated; a first for the normally unshakable Chaplain.
“Oh, this?” Antonius said, turning to his workbench. “I couldn’t help but tinker.”
Hakan’s mouth tightened in disapproval. “It is well for a Captain to work the forge, but you tinker with the gifts Lord Cawl gave us?”
“Yes, the confinement actuators are too nice.” Antonius said, holding the immaculately tooled part in question towards the stupefied Chaplain. “See here? This is machined to within a hundredth of a millimeter of tolerance. There’s nothing to work with.”
“You mean… it’s too perfect?”
“That’s an excellent way to put it.” Antonius said. “Too perfect means it can’t be changed without disrupting the power field. There’s no way to increase the field capacitance, or up the power flow. It’s too artsy. I need something more… crude.”
“So, a weapon that can slice through an inch of Ceramite with barely a flick of the wrist is not enough for you.” Hakan said, his voice full of mockery.
“Our enemies are sometimes protected by more than just an inch. You know this. Heretics and Xenos can be a cowardly lot. Seeing a sword as fine as this stopped by the armour of one of their allies can embolden them. However, seeing their comrades sliced in half despite the most powerful of protection can break their will. I need a weapon that brings the light of the Azure Flames into their eyes, and then sears their mind.”
“I prefer to let my voice do that on the battlefield.” Hakan stated with a finality meant to steer the conversation back to its previous topic.
Completely missing this cue, Antonius continued. “Not all of us have your deep rich baritone that can carry across the tumult of battle. Some of us need to turn to the forge. I’m attempting to introduce a waveform to the field generator so I can up the power without blowing the circuits.” Antonius frowned. “Unfortunately, I can’t find a good wavelength. I keep melting the field modulator.”
“Of course, you’re melting it.” Hakan scolded. “The wave would have to have a length of decimeters to give the circuit enough time to cool between each peak.”
“That’s ridiculous. If the wave had a length more than ten centimeters the field surface would be unstable. It would…” Antonius trailed off.
“It would…?”
“Flicker. Like a flame.” Awe filled Antonius’ tone. “I need to take heed of your counsel more often, Hakan.”
Hakan snorted. “I say that daily and yet only now do you agree.”