It is generally not intended for the Mechanicus to be the ones making first contact with a new race of Xenos. Brother Gentoo has the dubious honor of being stationed on Equus, for reasons that nobody can really explain, because the explanation was taken out back and shot by someone three or four links up the chain of command. Frankly, he's done this song and dance before. The Mechanicus are used to bending the rules a little to ensure that the Imperium's gears continue to turn.
This is how Brother Gentoo ended up being the one to make first contact with the inhabitants of Equus--a group of oddly-colored, unusually intelligent equines.
And then one of them asked him how lasguns work.
Chapters (1)
I chuckled. Have a thumbs-up. Are you planning on adding more?
10581944
No, this is self-contained and complete and--
*checks the fic*
Whoops. Forgot to mark as complete. Eheheh.
And when they pushed the red button, a malfunction occured and their spaceship blew up. Because the Machine Spirit willed it.
Booooo! Techpriest failed to learn friendship. :(
Fun story and probably about what would happen in 40k.
Ah, the Adeptus Mechanicus. Where that tricky issue of science vs. religion gets resolved in a way that neither's particularly happy with.
Also, make sure the Crusaders don't get any of those Sparkle-pattern lasguns. Even if they've found their talents.
10581999
"Sister."
"Yes, Luna?"
"There was a worrisome amount of energy building up in that human cathedral in orbit."
"Was?"
"Oh, I already smacked it with the moon. Just thought you ought to know after the fact."
"Luna, we're trying to be diplomatic."
"They were trying to ignite our atmosphere."
"Ah. I'll have to tell their Emperor. We've been having such a lovely chat as I help him pull himself together; I can't imagine he'll be happy with the idea."
10582081
I choose to believe this is how it would go.
cult mechanicus is not a brotherhood, they do not address each others as brothers but by rank. Been a tech-priest is a generalization of thousands of ranks with in the cult. And why does he tell her about how lasgun works? Its thous secrets that hold mechanicus in such power anyway.
Before stripping the gun one must first do Litany of lasgun." Bringer of death, speak your name, for you are my life, and the foe's death."
This is from the imperial infantrymans uplifting primer by the way.
Then canticle of appeasement. "Be still, spirits. i do what i must, forgive the intrusion, and give me your trust."
Then the litany of unloading because one must take away power pack during this. "Machine spirits, forgive my actions, soon you shall be whole again."
Then when assembling you put power pack back to its holding, you say the litany of loading. "Machine spirit, accept my gift, swallow the light, and spit out death." Upon completing assembling you say litany of completion. "Spirits of the machine, accept my pleas, and walk amidst the gun, and fire it true."
And saying that mechanicus does not know how to make technology is just a lie. Like how Magos Enabrin Falkan designed ursaraxes. Or how 3 tech-arcanas created thanatar automatons. So they do know how to make things from existing technology.
10582081
“Luna, you must stop doing that!”
“It’s my moon, I shall do with it as I please.”
“But the tidal forces could rip apart most of the planet killing off all life.”
“Not true. You know this, you move the sun. One must simply exert precise and exact magical force over the whole planet to counteract the immense forces involved.”
“Luna, no I can’t. Don’t you think if I could have done that I would have destroyed chrysalis at our niece’s wedding?”
“You can’t!?! Tia how is our planet not an asteroid belt by now?”
10582329
Let's be real here: I wrote this with comedy first and accuracy second. This is because I don't know 40K that well. I do know that the Techpriests mostly work on repairing existing tech, that inventing new things is considered Tech-Heresy, and that the Litanies are mostly there as a mnemonic. So, I took that and I ran with it.
After all, if a Xeno really did start trying to "improve" Imperial tech, the priest working on it would probably respond with a BLAM.
10582081
This gives me terrible, awful ideas for a fic where the God-Emperor actually starts an alliance with the ponies and the entire Imperium throws a hissy fit over it.
10582762
Well what comes to creating technology, they still do it somewhat. I will use a machine called ironstrider as a example. Essentially tech-priest called Aldebrac Vingh created a perpetual engine, a engine that makes energy as much as it uses it. Making a machine that never stops as long as it moves. That kind of engine is impossibility in physics, energy does not come from nothing yet somehow he did achieve this.
10582814
Looking at the wiki, that's...not the best example you coulda picked.
https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Sydonian_Dragoon#The_Ironstrider_Engine
In other words, your example of something the Mechanicus invented...is something that nobody knows how to fix, because the guy who invented it was cast out by his fellow techpriests for reasons that are not made clear. I think this is that tech-heresy thing I've heard about...
10582837
Its because mechanicus is filled with inner rivalries and politics. In skitarius book when STC was found and brought to forge world, several argued that they should have the glory of making first prototype. Mechanicum book mentions that neighboring forges have small wars over different disputes from trade deals to borders.
Vingh was not killed because he created something, it was to prevent him to get glory of it and rising thru the ranks. Perpetual engine was not made to be a weapon but was forced after his death. Ofcourse if you want more mundane example then dunecrawler is a vehicle that had no previous design, then there is thanatar siege automata, that was made from expertise of several different sub orders.
I like to point out that not all xenos are killed because they are xenos if I recall there is a few xenos in the imperial
Eh
Hey look, the inquisition uses quasi sentient space fairing orangitans, the mechanicus should consider using multi colored talking psyker horses, otherwise the ordo xenos might make use of them
10582891
ya the mechanicus varies so wildly between interpretations, the ad mech is capable of developing new technologies, they're capable of developing new maintenance procedures, they are capable of adapting technology, but where their religious dogma comes to blows is when it comes to the most esoteric of their technologies, machine spirits are actual components of some of the most advanced stuff, being non sentient neural networks that operate the complex machinery like titans and Land pattern Raiders, (named for the adept who discovered it...) but their religious dogma depending on the adept and order extends that down to lowly blowtorches and spanners
They have to be capable of adapting technologies because the STCs only spit out specific things, like they found an STC that makes kitchen knives that are absolutely perfect, they adapted the technology to make space marine combat blades because the alloy they discovered from the stc was superior to everything they had
...-- Report. Is the alloted task complete?
-- We have copied the alterations from the quarantined relic onto 200 newly fabricated lasguns and performed the Extended Rites of Assurance as ordered. After 300000 shots performed over 48 solar hours all guns remain functional, their machine spirits content, the number of appeasement and maintenance operations required is recorded at 31.54% of projected norm. The average beam power output level is measured at 114.42% with deviation of 0.0056 above nominal value adjusted for material degradation, which occures at the average rate of 68.66% of projected norm. The relic surpasses the standard power output by additional 21.97% of nominal value because of unusual clarity and stability of the main optics, additional study is needed to determine the exact cause.
-- And the records? Have you found anything corresponding to those numbers?
-- The extensive search of Archivum Tenebris is estimated at 82.675% completion. Thus far we have recovered only 1 ancient record, dated at unknown year M30, entitled 'Trial Reports of Beam Projectior M3, Variable Power'. The record is partially corrupted but shows the numbers falling within 0.025 deviation from the xeno-modified relic, referring to a single item similar in function to a lasgun.
-- Cross-reference 'M3, Variable Power' in active historical datalooms.
-- Aknowledged. Please stand by. ................. Match Found. 'M3, Variable Power'. An incomplete STC recovered by Explorator Fleet T-677 in 304.M35 on the Dead World X344.428. Adapted for mass production of a lasgun by Forge World Lemuria and accepted as a service substitute in Astra Militarum.
-- Understood. My emotional cores return shock and anticipation at the implication of this record and I choose to experience them. It was clearly the Omnissiah's will for the Navy cruiser's machine spirit to rebel severely enough for them to request our aid. Cleansing the xenos on this planet would be a mistake of a gravest kind. We must learn what they know, and only then decide their fate. For this I will go to parlay with them myself. Send the message to the Forge World. Relay this data to them. Request aid. Any available fleets in nearby sectors must make way here and reinforce the system. We may be at the cusp of the greatest discovery of our lifetimes.
________________________________________
Princess Twilight Sparkle stood in front of her Castle, staring somewhat uncertainly at the huge... Spaceship? sitting on the plain nearby. At least after the first time the visitors from space got more... gentle, the small crater from the initial appearance of 'Brother Gentoo' and the cube he used to reside in was still visible from the hills overlooking Ponyville. He left in a hurry soon after her conversation with him in a similar, if smaller, flying craft, which was a shame - the items he carried were really curious, and she had hoped, back then, to discuss them in great depth. He left the cube and most of his stuff behind, and for the past half a year she didn't want to disturb it, even though sometimes she doubted she'd ever seen him again. However, now, it seemed, the waiting was over.
The black-and-blue spaceship opened up it's rectangular... Cargo hold? Main compartment? and let out it's passengers. Three robed figures, kind of reminiscent of Brother Gentoo, but taller, bulkier and with the same blue-and-black coloration instead of his dark red, two large metal bipedal golems and a... Twilight couldn't really tell what that thing was, the best description that came to mind would be one of the great beasts from the ocean depths she'd seen in history books, all carapace and pincers and many legs, except in this case made of metal instead of chitin and glowing with light blue energy.
The groop took a moment to get their bearings, perhaps, and made their way to Twilight, lead by the metal being. Once they got near, it stepped forward and spoke with deep, monotonous voice.
-- Greetings... Pony... Twilight Sparkle. I am Archmagos Dominus Barron Secht of Forgeworld Lemuria. We have heard of you from... Skitarius Gentoo, and we are... Grateful... For your assitance and... Companionship provided to our brother. -- Somehow the voice managed to give off the impresson of being both uncomfortable and uncertain, like the speaker was quadruple-checking himself with every word.
-- While he may have... Given off the wrong impression about our intentions, I... Assure you, we are open to... Cooperation and... Ffrriendship -- The last word clearly took some effort. -- We would like your... permission to establish a research outpost in the vicinity of this settlement, and, if you... would be interested, share with you some of our other designs.
10593678
I love it. On the one hand, I don't know how well I could carry a sequel filled with even more awkward bureaucracy and amusing shenanigans.
On the other hand, the idea of major figures within the Imperium having to struggle with the paperwork now that they've struck up an alliance with this odd group of xenos...Makes me wish I knew more of the major characters, TBH.
10593678
This is beautiful. Bravo!
All I want is a complete, in depth fic where the Imperium allies with the ponies, with the Emperor's assistance probably, and the ponies' optimism and sheer goodguy-ness slowly but surely makes things better. Maybe friendship would make a good substitute for faith and fanaticism when it comes to resisting Chaos. Is that to much to ask?
10679448
I might just write it myself if no one else does. If I had the patience and ability to concentrate.
10593678
So, uh, by the way, it lives.
What happened to Sister Kali and Brother Ubuntu? Thought they would be there...always wanted to hit the button they did.
And then Luna smacked the impudent mortals out of the sky with her honkeytonk badonkadonk.
I thought the Linux distro name _might_ have been an accident, until I read this line.