Author Notes:
Welp, someone asked for a Droideka, so here is one but Mechanicus certified :D
Now, I just need to present them in action in a reasonable manner... Which is soon as P-atreon is but one chapter away from seeing Droidekas in all of their glory... I think...
Anyway! Mom and I are safely tucked away at home, maybe not as physically or mentally good as we used to be, but we are recovering. Homemade food still reign supreme, and that helps a lot.
Now, perhaps it isn't a surprise to announce to GSS readers that the Monthly Recruitment Drive is up! You can enjoy 5 advanced GSS chapters over there and up to 7 RM chapters, with some additional benefits, if you're interested! All of that at a 15% discount for your first month!
Peace! Enjoy! And let the comment section be set ablaze!
https://www.patr-eon.com/Heartbreak117
https://ko-fi.com/heartbreak117/goal?g=0
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After my impromptu rendezvous with the Emperor of Man, I spend most of my free time recuperating, asserting my gains, and secretly training my more-than-it-seems supernatural prowess to the best of my ability. Other than that, I mingle with not just old faces but also new ones aboard the Iron Revenant as well. It pays to help connections in the Imperium, although whether you can cash in on those or not remains to be seen. My most valuable new contacts thus far have been those of the Kasrkin and Lucifer Blacks. The latter, in particular, is surprisingly friendly, but I guess it's a given when I tend to move around with Weiss in tow these past couple of months. Having figured out that Weiss is an undercover Black and I am her 'protectee', I utilize that knowledge to glean how combat works in the minds of the Blacks. And boy, they truly are a different breed, befitting of their status as an entire Astra Militarum Regiment of Tempestus Scions. There are only so many ways one can kill an Ork, but apparently, these Blacks can kill them with a freaking pencil. Or in other words...
They're multiple John Wick on steroids.
However, that's beside the point. One of the main reasons we remain aboard the Iron Revenant is due to the ongoing spars between multiple subcomponents of the Joint Task Force. In fact, right after our 3rd Platoon versus Kharak Squad bout, the Cadian 8th squared off against Kharak Squad, again.
The entirety of 1st Company, the direct superior of 3rd Platoon, versus Kharak Squad. Only this time, it's nearly 300 Imperial Guards against 6 Veteran Astartes that didn't have the same equipment limitation as before. And the result? Even with the entire 1st Company's arsenal of experienced soldiers and armored components, Kharak Squad still defeated us fair and square, eliminating 100% of our combat efficiency while retaining half of theirs. Now why is that?
First, we weren't the ones running away this time around, they were. Second, the location chosen for the simulated arena was a swamp terrain, meaning our heavy armor deployment options were severely limited. Being that only Chimeras and Tauroxes could properly traverse the muddy terrains in our search for the dug-in Astartes, we Canadians were severely outgunned and outarmored. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for hunting parties to be picked off one by one by the Salamanders, with the QRFs too slow to rescue them. Of course, our Company Captain wasn't a slouch either, falling onto his ingenuity to counter-ambush the Astartes multiple times. Triangulating, planning, and strategizing force deployments, the Captain managed to surprise Kharak Squad again and again, but he never did score a 'kill'. The messy environment proved treacherous to deploy anything heavier than portable anti-armor weapons and IFVs or APCs. A Leman Russ would have been a godsend but there were only a few places in the arena that could support the weight of the battle tank.
In short, it was a setup that highly favored the Salamanders, and they sure racked up a mighty 'kill' count back then.
After many engagements, both sides got a feel for each other and proceeded to make their penultimate move. The Captain ordered the firebombing of the entire swamp while Kharak Squad decided to go and cut the head of the snake at the same time. A Fog of War hilarity ensues when the two forces suddenly meet at the halfway point. One trying to set the whole place on fire while the other trying to sneak past the people dumping Promethium all over the place. Apparently, the initial contact between the two forces was that of mild incredulity before lasrifles and Bolt Rifles roared in defiance. Since both sides brought along the majority of their forces for the endgame, it was a complete furball... And 1st Company was losing.
Until a Lieutenant by the name of Ursarkar E. Creed strapped himself with Melta Bombs, charged at a Salamander, who was distracted by one Jarran Kell, and rammed the Astartes. The subsequent Melta blast eliminated all three combatants and slowly tipped the scale of firepower in the first Company's favor. It was only then that the Company Captain ordered 3rd Platoon to intervene. He was saving us as a trump card of sorts, being the only one with actual brawling experience against the Salamanders and having the others in the 1st to learn the same lesson as well. After all, this was a spar.
So, how did 3rd Platoon fare?
Answer: We got fuck up.
Even with me trying my very best to disable the weapons the Veteran Salamanders brought to bear, Kharak Squad had learned their lesson to prevent me from getting any good shot off. Even with the entire 3rd Platoon being buffed by Battle Meditation to the point of us achieving the ferocity of an all-veteran unit, the best we could do was to defeat two more Astartes... Honestly, that was a miracle and a half, in my opinion. Ultimately, not even the arrival of Leman Russes could stave the inevitable. Kharak Squad brought along their own Plasma Guns and Melta bombs, so the cumbersome Leman Russes were made 'disabled hulks' by the Astartes. When the Company Captain fell, the spar ended in a 'Mission Success' for Kharak Squad, albeit a pyrrhic one. Afterward, I was approached by Squad Sergeant Tu'rok in a show of sportsmanship and soldiery respect. This time around, he was the one to score an accurate hit and eliminate me. What comes around, goes around, I guess, but I found a new friend in Sergeant Tu'rok who also appreciates the finesse in a clean, accurate sniper kill.
You would be surprised to know that Tu'rok is a keeper of firearms and artillery, even sporting a museum back on his homeworld which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout the Imperium's history.
Anyway, snipery bonds aside, we promised to host a by-the-side marksman competition after the sparring period is over. There are still many matches yet to be conducted, though it won't always be we 3rd Platoon, or the 1st Company who will be fighting. So, for some time already and in the near future, I have the time I need to work on a special project with the Tech-priests. To be more specific, I am collaborating with none other than Belisarius Cawl on upgrading and producing the Droideka design, who values the Droideka shortly as:
"Cute, crude, but capable."
When I actually met the towering hulk that was more machine and biological than Cawl, I pitched the idea of improving the staying and assaulting power of the Imperial Guards, citing how we completely fell apart by the attacks of the Salamanders when in smaller groups without heavy armor support. Understandably, the Archmagos Dominus was very interested in what I had to say, given I already made a critical contribution to the Twister Module. He asked me how I would seek to improve the equation, and sometimes the only answer, which was the Cadian 8th and the rest of the Imperial Guards. To this, I straight up examined his carefully crafted body, analytically and without shame, before I jumped to a workbench and started drawing. If anything, Belisarius Cawl seemed to be amused by my audacity. However, Cawl took my sketch of an initial blueprint, one that was based on the standard Droideka design, very seriously. Even before I finished the sketch, the man already understood what I was trying to do and started looking at me in a new light.
"I can see why the others kept petitioning me to keep you away from the Radicals, even if they don't even know of your existence, yet. In a way, it's a shame that you weren't a Tech-priest."
After that comment which is also praise in its own way, Belisarius Cawl didn't offer, but he went straight to teach me about Imperial Robotics, classifying the Droideka as an Imperial Robot, albeit smaller than the usual of its kinds. However, for what it's envisioned to do, which is Infantry Support and Hunter-Killer, size is not important for a Droideka. Going further in the timeline, he starts guiding me while helping me work on improving the design, all the while multi-tasking his usual workloads with ease befitting someone with massive processing power. It takes some time, but the results of my impromptu classes with one of the most brilliant minds in the Imperium speak for themselves.
The first batch of prototype Droidekas are made with ludicrous speed thanks to the Iron Revenant's manufactories and the many experienced Tech-priests. Right now, selected members of the JTF aboard the Iron Revenant are asked to spectate the trial of these new robots. For one, the Astartes and Sisters of Battle only send their representative, with Mama, Tsavorae, and the usual faces going planetside for a special mission. The Lucifer Blacks and Kasrkin, however, participate with their full leadership alongside those of the Cadian 8th. Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl is the one to host the proceeding with a couple of members of 3rd Platoon, namely Weiss and I, acting as his impromptu aides. Apparently, my contributions are to be made known to these people for the sake of clarity. After all, it's the normal troops that will be the biggest beneficiaries and recipients of the Droidekas, given that they are made by the Guardswoman, for the Imperial Guard as a whole. Believe it or not, that's a big selling point as some Guard units loathe the Tech-priest stuff and gravitate away from them whenever possible.
Tale as old as time, really.
After the introduction is made on behalf of Cawl who wholeheartedly endorses the design, I ask the spectators to direct their attention to the multiple pict feeds, showcasing the prototype Droidekas in action. Weiss is the one to operate the feeds using a dataslate, and her professional demeanor would have made her a fitting secretary was this an office skit.
Rolling out of the back of a Chimera are two Droidekas, slightly bigger than their Star Wars cousins and vastly different in terms of external appearance and capability. Unlike the skeletal, wheelie shape while one rolls about, these Droidekas have more comprehensive armor coverage, transforming them into actual spherical balls of speeding metal. Upgraded with four legs instead of three, more powerful motors, gyroscopes, and an overall improved internal system, the skull-marked Imperial Droidekas eliminated the weakness of the skewed mobility presented by the more buglike Star Wars Droidekas. When unfurled, the four-legged Droidekas stand at two meters tall. Enhanced servos, the quadrupedal design, and expanded processing capability allow these new Droidekas to walk, climb, and even jump in all directions. Unlike the flimsy, forward-facing weapon arms of the antiquated version, Imperial Droidekas have agile arms with a wide range of motions and the ability to spin the upper half of their 360 degrees to engage targets anywhere on its scope. Weaponry-wise, it won't be a surprise when Droidekas come standard with two twin-linked Hellguns, one set on each of the weapon arms. In lieu of the bug-like face, a skull faceplate is there with miniature sensors in the eye sockets and many other parts of a Droideka. Once more, another improvement over the original Droideka as the old design was effectively blind from behind. Moving on, using a combination of upgraded sensor suites and Hellguns, Imperial Droidekas present a drastic leap in firepower when compared to their predecessors. Blasters are like peashooters when Hellguns round the corner, and you can even replace the normal Hellguns for something else like Plasma Cannons or Storm Bolters or Emperor forbid a freaking chainsword for close encounters. The Droidekas are programmed to be able to use them well even, given the right Doctrina Wafer, combat chip, being inserted into the central processing unit of the whole machine.
Imagine a Droideka that can spin in one place, spewing burning promethium with one arm while revving a chainsword on the other. That would be a nightmare and a half in a confined space.
Firepower and mobility-wise, Imperial Droidekas tick all the required boxes. However, it surprises all of the viewers when I introduce the fact that Droidekas come with personal energy shielding. Unlike everything else on the Imperial Droideka, its shield generator is basically just an adapted and slightly modified version of the old one. This is a decision made because the old shield generator is already powerful enough for the task, getting anything stronger inside the Droideka would only impede mass-production effort. That said, the new shield generator itself is still a revolutionary design that rectified all of the original's faults, e.g. lack of synchronous protection and the inability to selectively stop slow-moving grenades from being rolled into the shield. This is not to mention the idea that Imperial Droideka shield generators are cheaper and can be mass-produced as a standalone package for individual biological units like officers and VIPs. Food for thought, no? Already, I can see the gears turning in the JTF officers' heads.
However, if asked about the most important design element of all, then both Belisarius Cawl and I will nod our heads at this one:
CHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOM
Oh yeah, the Hellguns do be blasting them original, dreaded sound effects. And by the look of it, everyone is impressed by the review, with even Weiss scooting closer to me, saying with a trickle of cold sweat running down her temple.
"Can't you at least make it less menacing? They can probably traumatize a kid to sleep."
"Tsk, that's by design! It's a feature! A feature, I say!" I shake my head while sipping my recaf. "Rue be the day our enemy sees literal balls of death rolling up and them. Gotta question what they will have to write on their epitaphs... Dead by too many balls of steel, maybe?"
Weiss sweatdrops at that, much to my amusement.
Now then, I only need to send the whole design package to the Emperor and have her work things through on her end as well.
CHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOMCHOOM
By the Void, I love that sound when it's on our side instead of the opposite.