"Ah, this will make a fine edition to the empire, don't you agree Sargeant?" asked the Magos as he made his way down the ramp to the surface of Ghete Prime. "Yes, Magos. Breathable atmosphere. No life-signs on the surface, or at least any that could pose a threat. Soil samples indicate a mineral rich crust." the Skitarii Sargeant replied. He was right, Ghete Prime was a perfect planet to initiate mining operations. "Theres just one thing, Magos. Sensor readings indicate the planet is, well, hollow." "Hollow?" "Yessir, there is no core or mantel. Just a thick layer of crust. Thick enough to support the several dozen landing craft we have with us at any rate." "A hollow planet?" The Magos thought to himself. "Where have I seen this before?" The Magos stepped off the ramp to the stoney ground. The land was flat and bleak. The sky was a deep blue, adding to the dreariness of the planet. He walked further, his retinue of servitors and Skitarii close behind. He stooped and picked up a rock fragment. He examined it closely, his bionic eye providing information of the molecular structure and atomic compasition. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Granite. "Contact Faith and Duty and tell them to send down the mining equipment. I want mining to commence within the week. This planet shall provide us with great mineral wealth." "Yes, Magos." "I shall return to my landing craft. I wish to analyse this rock fragment further. I am not to be disturbed. Until I return, carry out further surveys until you find the perfect place to begin our operation." "Yes, Magos" replied the Sargeant. He turned to face his men behind him, "Let's move." He lead his squad aswell as several servitors away with him, to the west. The magos was alone. He wandered back to his landing craft, his blood red cloak dragging along the ground. A stark contast to the gloomy world. He could hear his sargeant in the distance operating a vox device. "The Magos says send it down. This planet is perfect... Just send it down gently, we don't want to crack the surface."

***

On board Faith and Duty the mining equipment was receiving a blessing in the Emporer's name from a preacher, much to the discomfort of tech-adept Harro. In his eyes, this was techno-heresy. The machinary should be blessed in the name of the Machine God as not to invoke the wrath of it's Machine Spirit. "... In the name of the Immortal Emporer, amen. Now this machine is fit for service in His name. May the Emporer protect you, Tech-Adept." "And you, preacher" replied Harro. The preacher withdrew from the room, left in utter silence. He looked at the equipment, at it's technological beauty. Harro drew near and touched the drill, feeling the serated edges, marvellling at this feat in engineering. Suddenly, a red light flashed in the room, illuminating it. It was followed by an ominous alarm. "All personal to combat stations, this is not a drill" came the voice over the inter-comm. Harro ran out of the room and down the hallway, narrowly avoiding other combat personel on his way to the bridge. After travelling down several other passageways he arrived. "What is the situation?" Harro asked any who cared to answer. "We are picking up a massive energy spike on the planet, and it isn't ours." replied someone, Harro cared little as to whom. He took his seat on the bridge, as second in command he took captaincy in the absence of the Magos. "Get me a lock on the location" Harro said cooly. "Roughly 60 miles from our landing party. What the.... Now reading three, no four of the same readings from several spots on the planet." "Analyize them. I want to know what they are and what the status of the away-team is. Now." "You aren't gonna like this..." "Out with it!" shouted Harro, angered by the indirectness of whom he was conversing with. "What is going on?" "The energy readings, their registering as Necron."

***

The Magos put the rock fragment in an ancient machine, whose secrets were lost milenia ago. After a series of beeps and so forth, two words were displayed on the screen: living metal. "Why, that can only mean one -" the Magos' sentence was cut short. The ground trembled, knocking him off his feet. Many peices of scientific equipment also fell to the floor. Irreplaceable machinary was destroyed, but surprisingly that was the least of his concerns. He got up and ran out the craft to the planet's surface. If his mouth had not been replaced by a more efficient mechanical device, his jaw would of hit the floor. The bleak sky was alive with activity. On the horizan, a pillar of green light reached up to the heavens. The sky filled with clouds, lightning passing from cloud to cloud follwed by the beastial roar of thunder. The light was spreading across the sky like mold spreads across rotten food, slowly but balefully. "This isn't good." were the only words the Magos could manage to conjure from his throat.