"I present to you; the Mechanicum Bull," Cawl said. The Primarchs oohed and aahed at the psyber bull. They had recently learned about a planet that celebrated the day of it's compliance by having a competition of animal handling. The Emperor called it a rodeo. The Primarchs were not allowed to participate, which had saddened them.
That was before they had learned about mechanical bulls. The Emperor had mentioned them, and then Ferrus did the rest. They had gone to Cawl, as it made the most sense. He was the one you went to to get strange things made, such as a mechanical bull. He had delivered as promised. The Primarchs had also requested that their father not be informed. That had nearly caused issues as Cawl didn't want to deceive the Omnissiah.
"Thanks for not telling Father," Horus said to Cawl.
"This looks awesome," Jaghatai said. "Can I go first?"
"Alright," Cawl said.
Jaghatai made it onto the bull's back. There was a brief pause as the bull seemed to register Jaghatai on it. Then it went berserk. it lept, bucked, and twisted in the air. Jaghatai held on for a few seconds before he was thrown off. The Mechanicum Bull went back to it's placid state once Jaghatai was off.
"Can I try?" Angron asked, excited by Jaghatai's run on it. Cawl nodded and Angron got on. This time it took less time for the bull to go berserk. Angron held on for about the same amount of time as Jaghatai.
The others began to take their turns. None of the Primarchs made it the eight seconds of the bull ride that the system was supposed to be based on. The closest was Leman who held on for six seconds.
Horus looked around to see who of his brothers hadn't had a chance to go yet. He did a head count and found that he was short one brother. There was a pause to figure which one was missing.
"Where's Lion?" Horus asked once he had determined who it was.
"I don't know," Leman said.
"That's not good," Corvus said, looking around.
"What did you use for the behavior engrams for the Mechanicum Bull?" Vulkan asked Cawl.
"Grox for the most part," Cawl said.
"That's really not good," Horus said. As if to prove this point, there was an excited shout and a very distraught bovine sound. There was the sound of clattering hooves, and the Lion reappeared mounted on one of the largest grox that the Primarchs had ever seen.
"This is waaaay more fun than that thing!" the Lion called.
"Lord Jonson!" Cawl blurted. "That is dangerous! You need to get off of that creature."
"I'm having too much fun to get off," the Lion retorted.
"You could get hurt," Cawl insisted. "The Omnissiah would be very wroth with me if that were to happen. I couldn't hide that from him."
"Cawl has a point," Horus said. "Father will find out about it if one of us gets hurt."
"I'm not going to get hurt," the Lion insisted. "I have a handle on this one."
"What if one of us gets hurt?" Fulgrim asked. He didn't want to deal with anesthesia again. Ugly crying wasn't something he was looking forward to doing again.
"You guys can move," the Lion said. "That's what you're doing right now."
"Because the grox is raging," Leman said. "Why are you just trying to ride it instead of trying to kill it?"
"That might be later," the Lion said. The grox rammed its side into a wall to try and dislodge the Lion from its back. The Lion held on, making the grox even angrier.
Cawl began to rifle through various pockets in his robes, coming up with various small devices and building supplies such as nuts and bolts. Finally he came up with a small gun-like device that he aimed at the grox, and hit a button. If the device did anything, the Primarchs couldn't tell. The Lion was starting to sway on the grox, getting closer to falling off. This was particularly bad as the grox wasn't likely to go back to a calm state after that.
"What is that thing?" Perturabo asked.
"It's a controller for a device in the grox's brain," Cawl replied, adjusting a dial, and hitting the button again. This time the grox stumbled, the lurching motion that it made threw the Lion off.
"Now it's time to fight it to the death," the Lion called to Leman.
"If you weren't my brother I'd think you'd been hit in the head for saying that," Leman retorted.
"Let me get the grox back to it's pen," Cawl said. "There's no need to kill the specimen."
"I don't think that's a viable practical, Cawl," Roboute said as he dodged the horns of the grox. "Lion might have to kill it."
"Or I could," Angron said as he lept at the grox. Several other Primarchs also joined the fight against the enraged animal.
None of the Primarchs killed the grox though. As they were trying to find a vulnerable spot to get at it, a single bolter round went off. The grox dropped as the majority of its head was blown out.
"What is going on here?" Valdor asked, lowering his guardian spear. Everyone in the room froze, Cawl with a few of his mechadendrites in odd places. Valdor looked around at all of them, noting the psyber bull standing placidly in its paddock.
"We wanted to try out a mechanical bull, like Father described," Angron said, finally breaking the silence.
"We asked Cawl to make us one," Ferrus said. "I even looked up all the information about them that survived Old Night."
"It was my idea to not tell Father," Lorgar said. "I didn't think he'd be happy if we had one made."
"Riding the grox instead of the psyber bull was all on me," the Lion said. "I wanted more danger out of it. The psyber bull goes quiet again once the rider is off its back."
"You wanted the possibility of being gored?" Fulgrim asked, voice rising about half an octave in surprise and disgust.
"A better test of reflexes," the Lion explained calmly.
"This all comes from Reloges doesn't it," Valdor said. It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes," Horus said. "Though now I understand why Father didn't have us participate in the 'rodeo' as he called it."
"Indeed," Valdor said. "You know I will have to tell your father about this."
"Yes," the Primarchs chorused.
"Please make sure that he knows we forced Cawl into this," Perturabo requested. "He wanted to tell Father, but Lorgar talked him out of it."
"I'll tell him, but Cawl's punishment, or lack thereof, is in your father's hands," Valdor said.
"Thank you," Perturabo said. He didn't really want Cawl to suffer for something they had talked him into.
That was before they had learned about mechanical bulls. The Emperor had mentioned them, and then Ferrus did the rest. They had gone to Cawl, as it made the most sense. He was the one you went to to get strange things made, such as a mechanical bull. He had delivered as promised. The Primarchs had also requested that their father not be informed. That had nearly caused issues as Cawl didn't want to deceive the Omnissiah.
"Thanks for not telling Father," Horus said to Cawl.
"This looks awesome," Jaghatai said. "Can I go first?"
"Alright," Cawl said.
Jaghatai made it onto the bull's back. There was a brief pause as the bull seemed to register Jaghatai on it. Then it went berserk. it lept, bucked, and twisted in the air. Jaghatai held on for a few seconds before he was thrown off. The Mechanicum Bull went back to it's placid state once Jaghatai was off.
"Can I try?" Angron asked, excited by Jaghatai's run on it. Cawl nodded and Angron got on. This time it took less time for the bull to go berserk. Angron held on for about the same amount of time as Jaghatai.
The others began to take their turns. None of the Primarchs made it the eight seconds of the bull ride that the system was supposed to be based on. The closest was Leman who held on for six seconds.
Horus looked around to see who of his brothers hadn't had a chance to go yet. He did a head count and found that he was short one brother. There was a pause to figure which one was missing.
"Where's Lion?" Horus asked once he had determined who it was.
"I don't know," Leman said.
"That's not good," Corvus said, looking around.
"What did you use for the behavior engrams for the Mechanicum Bull?" Vulkan asked Cawl.
"Grox for the most part," Cawl said.
"That's really not good," Horus said. As if to prove this point, there was an excited shout and a very distraught bovine sound. There was the sound of clattering hooves, and the Lion reappeared mounted on one of the largest grox that the Primarchs had ever seen.
"This is waaaay more fun than that thing!" the Lion called.
"Lord Jonson!" Cawl blurted. "That is dangerous! You need to get off of that creature."
"I'm having too much fun to get off," the Lion retorted.
"You could get hurt," Cawl insisted. "The Omnissiah would be very wroth with me if that were to happen. I couldn't hide that from him."
"Cawl has a point," Horus said. "Father will find out about it if one of us gets hurt."
"I'm not going to get hurt," the Lion insisted. "I have a handle on this one."
"What if one of us gets hurt?" Fulgrim asked. He didn't want to deal with anesthesia again. Ugly crying wasn't something he was looking forward to doing again.
"You guys can move," the Lion said. "That's what you're doing right now."
"Because the grox is raging," Leman said. "Why are you just trying to ride it instead of trying to kill it?"
"That might be later," the Lion said. The grox rammed its side into a wall to try and dislodge the Lion from its back. The Lion held on, making the grox even angrier.
Cawl began to rifle through various pockets in his robes, coming up with various small devices and building supplies such as nuts and bolts. Finally he came up with a small gun-like device that he aimed at the grox, and hit a button. If the device did anything, the Primarchs couldn't tell. The Lion was starting to sway on the grox, getting closer to falling off. This was particularly bad as the grox wasn't likely to go back to a calm state after that.
"What is that thing?" Perturabo asked.
"It's a controller for a device in the grox's brain," Cawl replied, adjusting a dial, and hitting the button again. This time the grox stumbled, the lurching motion that it made threw the Lion off.
"Now it's time to fight it to the death," the Lion called to Leman.
"If you weren't my brother I'd think you'd been hit in the head for saying that," Leman retorted.
"Let me get the grox back to it's pen," Cawl said. "There's no need to kill the specimen."
"I don't think that's a viable practical, Cawl," Roboute said as he dodged the horns of the grox. "Lion might have to kill it."
"Or I could," Angron said as he lept at the grox. Several other Primarchs also joined the fight against the enraged animal.
None of the Primarchs killed the grox though. As they were trying to find a vulnerable spot to get at it, a single bolter round went off. The grox dropped as the majority of its head was blown out.
"What is going on here?" Valdor asked, lowering his guardian spear. Everyone in the room froze, Cawl with a few of his mechadendrites in odd places. Valdor looked around at all of them, noting the psyber bull standing placidly in its paddock.
"We wanted to try out a mechanical bull, like Father described," Angron said, finally breaking the silence.
"We asked Cawl to make us one," Ferrus said. "I even looked up all the information about them that survived Old Night."
"It was my idea to not tell Father," Lorgar said. "I didn't think he'd be happy if we had one made."
"Riding the grox instead of the psyber bull was all on me," the Lion said. "I wanted more danger out of it. The psyber bull goes quiet again once the rider is off its back."
"You wanted the possibility of being gored?" Fulgrim asked, voice rising about half an octave in surprise and disgust.
"A better test of reflexes," the Lion explained calmly.
"This all comes from Reloges doesn't it," Valdor said. It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes," Horus said. "Though now I understand why Father didn't have us participate in the 'rodeo' as he called it."
"Indeed," Valdor said. "You know I will have to tell your father about this."
"Yes," the Primarchs chorused.
"Please make sure that he knows we forced Cawl into this," Perturabo requested. "He wanted to tell Father, but Lorgar talked him out of it."
"I'll tell him, but Cawl's punishment, or lack thereof, is in your father's hands," Valdor said.
"Thank you," Perturabo said. He didn't really want Cawl to suffer for something they had talked him into.
************************
After helping Cawl dispose of the grox's body, the Primarchs returned to their residence. They didn't have very long to wait before the Emperor entered. They gathered as a group to hear their punishment.
"Valdor tells me you talked Cawl into making a mechanical bull for you," the Emperor said.
"Yes, Father," Horus said.
"I take responsibility for convincing Cawl not to tell you," Lorgar said.
"That is good," the Emperor said. "It's always important to take responsibility for your actions, especially when they affect another person."
There was a pause before the Emperor spoke again. The Primarchs shared a nervous glance with each other, unsure of what to expect.
"I have seen this Mechanicum Bull," the Emperor said after a moment. "Cawl did quite well. The safety programming is commendable."
"That means I'm the one in trouble," the Lion said. "I rode the grox he used instead of the safer Mechanicum Bull."
"Yes," the Emperor said. "You get to walk Freki and Geri for the next week."
"Alright," the Lion said with an exaggerated sigh. Freki and Geri didn't listen to him, so it would be hard, but it wasn't the worst punishment he could have received. He was still allowed to go to Zephyr's celebration feast coming up. It was fun to get to call the neophyte little brother when he was the small one.
"Did you destroy the Mechanicum Bull?" Angron asked.
"No," the Emperor said. "You went through all the trouble to have it made, it can be something you can do again."
"You could probably ride it too," Ferrus said.
"Perhaps I will," the Emperor said with a smile.
Comments
Post a Comment