Dark Echo

"The past holds many answers to conquering the future.”

–Magos Kiralon Burla, Administrator of P3482XW a.k.a. "Dark Echo

The world known to the Adeptus Mechanicus as P3482XW is a recently revealed, volcanic planet in the Thule Sub-Sector. Cut off from discovery by localised the Warp storms for some time, the planet’s sudden reintroduction to the sector just under a century ago has caused a stir amongst Rogue Traders, Explorator Fleets, and others who seek out riches amongst Askellon’s uncharted reaches. This world is not sought after for any known life or resources, but for the lack of such things. P3482XW, commonly known as Dark Echo, is a barren world—home only to sprawling ruins of a long-lost, unknown, and utterly alien civilisation.

The planet has only the barest traces of an atmosphere, barely breathable for humans. Tectonic shifts produce daily quakes ranging in scale from slight tremors to long upheavals that topple features across an area. Magma flows and other volcanic activity are also present, as the world undergoes changes reminiscent of a planet in the final throes of life. The Adeptus Mechanicus was the first to lay claim to the planet, establishing a research station on the southern continent to investigate the remnants of this lost species. This region is doubly practical, as it is both relatively stable and home to high concentrations of the alien ruins. While Askellon’s rulers recognise the claim of the Adeptus Mechanicus, they are not willing to let a find of such a potentially valuable nature go completely unchecked.

To “assist” the Tech-Priests there, agencies on Juno have dispatched a contingent of Astra Militarum and other support personnel to the world to aid in any capacity as required. In reality, they are there to monitor what the Cult of the Machine finds and report back on any discoveries.

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Echoes of the Past

The complex the Adeptus Mechanicus installed is a pre-fab base of a type dropped onto countless worlds across the sector. It covers nearly a square kilometre with all its various buildings and warehouses, and was set over the site of a large section of ruins that extend many dozens of kilometres underground. Conversations and other sounds echo throughout the caverns below, lending an unnatural and disturbing feel to the area that lead the Guardsmen assigned there to begin adopting its more common name. The Tech-Priests, adepts, and their numerous servitors are unfazed by this, and only the others stationed here are bothered by it.

The base comprises three primary areas: the research labs, the habitat section, and the equipment storage facilities. The labs are the largest of the three sections and are heavily guarded by sentry guns crewed with integrated combat servitors; the Tech-Priests are well aware of the spies in their midst, and go to great lengths to conceal what they have found until they can determine its value.

While most of the research areas consist of standard rote data collection stations, repair altars, and Omnissian shrines, there are several facilities devoted to esoteric branches of study. Here, Tech-Priests immerse themselves in specialised quests some would deem skirting the bounds of tech-heresy, or delve into areas forbidden on more established forges.

The final section is for equipment storage and consists of five warehouses. Large machines for excavation, ground scanning, and other processes are housed here in four of the sheds. The fifth (and largest) warehouse is off limits to all non-Machine Cult personnel and is heavily shielded with genetic-signature locks. What is inside is a mystery despite attempts at infiltration. Disquieting rumours, though, hint of a maniple of fearsome battle automata—worrisome if true, as none can imagine what the Adeptus Mechanicus has found here that would require such militant firepower.

March 21st, 2023

The Endless Ruins

The ruins of P3482XW are found all across the planet. Some are concentrated in large areas, denoting what might have once been cities. Others are scattered in strange, outlying locations that puzzle all who investigate them. But of all the ruins, the expansive underground complexes are the most fascinating, and draw the most speculation on their purpose and, more importantly, their long-lost creators.

The caverns and ruins beneath the research station extend for many kilometres, deep into the planet’s interior. The ruins under the station have the hallmarks of those found throughout the world—deep brown coloration and a uniform construction to the walls and flooring, markings in the same unknown xenos writing, and no trace of any actual technology or power sources. The colour extends throughout all of the materials, possibly indicating the ruins were all quarried or grown from the same source. Each wall, floor, and other intact structure is nearly frictionless, with perfectly uniform blocks comprising all major areas. All archways and hallways are built with exactly the same measurements and angles, adding to the strange uniformity of the complex; many speculate that whoever or whatever built this complex was intent on everything being exactly the same.

There are exhausting symbols covering many of the walls, all done in the same, unknown script. Some walls are filled with runic marks, while others simply have a few characters. There does not seem to be any pattern to why and where the more detailed writings reside, based on the layout of the complex. Tech-Priests have catalogued thousands of databanks full of the writing so far and have yet to be able to decipher any of it.

What disturbs the researchers the most is the lack of any type of identifiable power source anywhere in the ruins. Everything appears to be from a primitive era based on the lack of technology, but the level of geometry and calculations needed to craft something of this size indicates a highly advanced society. If that is the case, though, they are at a loss as to why there are no other relics from this dead civilisation. Nothing resembling furniture, tools, vehicles, or any other implement has been found anywhere across the planet.

For the Guardsmen stationed on the planet, the ruins are a haunted and foreboding place filled with troubled spirits. The Adeptus Mechanicus adepts, of course, scoff at the superstitions of these primitive humans and insist that whatever lived here has been gone for many millennia. The Guardsmen, in turn, do not care what the Tech-Priests claim, as they believe the Machine Cultists are also filled with troubled spirits, and stubbornly insist humans are not alone in the caverns.

The Guardsmen claim to see strange lights moving through the tunnels, and say that certain runes glow with a soft hue at times, as if the glyphs were struggling to make themselves readable. All these claims have been dismissed by the Tech-Priests, since auspex readings have shown no anomalous results and the vid captures of the areas also reveal nothing.

March 21st, 2023

Echoes of the Past

The Endless Ruins

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