Within Acceptable Thresholds

[ColdLedger]

The charge detonated inward.

The door folded into the manufactorum, metal petals collapsing under shaped force. Cryo-fog exhaled into the corridor.

A white-and-black shield entered first.

The Revenant Watch formed the breach geometry in silence, with a Reclaimed spearheading. Plate edged with frost. Weapons angled but still.

The Ultramarine stepped through the space they made.

“Clear lanes,” he said. “Avoid pipe rupture.”

Blue armor cut into vapor. Laurel etched upon his helm, edges still sharp. Bolt rifle up. Reticle alive with heat signatures.

The stench reached him first.

Sweet. Rotting. Wrong.

The bulkhead split.

Metal screamed outward as something forced through — swollen mass plated in industrial growth and slick corruption. It struck the forward Watch marine.

Shield met impact.

The Ultramarine fired.

Bolt shells detonated across ruptured flesh. One round clipped a coolant line. Vapor shrieked sideways into the corridor.

Acceptable, not optimal.

The Reclaimed did not fire.

Black-splattered helm. Compact las-weapon held close, magazine seated behind the grip. Shield angled to protect pipe seam and vent array.

It waited.

A limb cleared the coolant bank, a clean lane for fire.

A tight lance of red stitched the creature’s torso seam to seam. No ricochet. No secondary rupture.

The Ultramarine registered the grouping.

His next burst drifted a fraction wide.

The corridor punished width.

He drew the rifle tighter. Rear housing seated into the collar seam of his cuirass. Elbow locked inward. Weight shifted.

He fired.

The pipe behind the target did not scream.
Better.

The bulkhead convulsed again.

A larger mass forced through, plated in wet corrosion and layered growth. It struck the Reclaimed with concussive force.

The Reclaimed did not yield ground.

The Ultramarine moved.

Blue ceramite collided with diseased bulk. He drove it into the wall. Struck. Again. And again.

Each impact splashed foul ichor and writhing pale larvae across the deck until bone failed and ceramite prevailed.

Silence returned in mechanical increments.

Target markers dimmed.

Containment probability rose.

The tremor began in the Reclaimed’s left hand.

Subtle.

Then not.

Iridescence intensified behind black-splattered lenses. Target recognition latency increased across the Watch feed.

No one shouted.

The Watch stepped inward.

Shields rose and closed around their brother. White and black plate formed an unbroken arc. The Ultramarine’s line of sight narrowed to frost-coated ceramite.

“Threshold exceeded.”

The statement was calm.

A single discharge sounded within the shield wall.

The arc opened.

The Reclaimed lay where it had stood.

The Ultramarine did not move.

“He remained combat-capable,” he said.

“For thirteen seconds,” replied a Watch marine. “Then not.”

The Apothecary entered immediately.

Gene-seed extracted first.

Efficient. Clean.

Las-weapon mag-checked. Shield reclaimed. Data-slate detached. Nothing wasted.

The Ultramarine’s gaze settled on the Watch armor profile. The beveled right pauldron. The extended stock seated against collar seam.

“Your plate differs from Codex specification.”

“Containment protocols reward optimization and mitigation.”

“Astartes plate compensates for recoil.”

“Recoil is not the only instability we account for.”

A pause.

“And you do not assist your brothers when they lose a limb? This is no different.”

The Ultramarine studied the recovered helm. Black splatter stark against white.

“Your Chapter is… thorough.”

No answer came.

He keyed a private channel as they advanced.

“Joint operation complete. Recommend doctrinal review of Revenant Watch containment practices.”

Not condemnation.

Not praise.

Record.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere, far from the manufactorum:

A hololithic display flickered red over the district grid.

Containment probability: 62%.

Ivar Kael did not wait for formal request.

Authorization transmitted.

Revenant Watch deployment confirmed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later:

Strategium. Cold light.

Kael reviewed the breach footage in silence. He paused on the tremor onset.

His gauntlet tightened.

He extended his rifle’s collapsible stock. The mechanism clicked. It seated into the collar seam of his armor, where micro-scoring marked repeated contact.

The tremor ceased.

He entered the record.

Entry: Manufactorum breach. Joint operation.
Ultramarines engaged prior to Watch stabilization.
Over-penetration risk observed.
Reclaimed lost: One.
Cascade onset: 3.2 seconds post-engagement.
Termination executed within acceptable thresholds.
Containment preserved.
Margin improved: 0.8%.
External observation likelihood increased.
Adjustment: None required.

He closed the ledger.

Silence resumed.