The shuttlecraft which had disrupted the collectives militia could be seen hurdling over the horizon, a trail of steam setting behind it. The sun reflected off of its charred brow as the ship came in for a landing. Streaking across the sky it plunged itself into a nearby house, splintering the wood and metal and spewing fire across the streets. The robot’s eyes bulged with a pulse of light and the citizens of new Arrakis paused in fright. They fled for their lives piling what they could into spacecraft and land speeders. Others barricaded themselves clutching onto the grains of sand that remained. The robots all fifteen of them slowly approached the house, halting any attempt to search for their target. The three remaining drones exited the crashed remains of their vessel and approached the new tarnished ruins. The cockpit of the craft had crashed directly into the center of the house, the dwelling’s roof now pried apart and a mess of smouldering ashes.

The group converged upon the ship and made way for a singular blue painted robot to move ahead and take the desolate trek into the structure, all had their guns pointed directly at the spacecraft, a moment's hesitation not wasted. The door slid silently open, the cockpit window blowing off the front of the craft and landing in a pile of mud and broken rock.

For a few seconds, the robots stood still, a horrific tranquillity. Then they opened fire. In these few minutes, the citizens of the desert town had enough time to escape, leaving nothing but the corpses of the abandoned and a cloud of dust to settle with their once-prosperous desert.

The collective metal soldiers fired entire magazines into the thin air and when the sound of bullets finally settled a single solitary figure emerged. The creature looked human, however, it was impossible to know the species, it bore a carven armour of the likes which had never been seen, an armour of such beautiful craftsmanship it seemed almost a masterwork of modern technology and ancient skill. The armour was completely white with a golden visor, no piece of skin could be seen and the creature had a single sign-on its chest, the emblem of the cosmos. It stepped forward with some form of weapon laid in its palm. A rifle that lay beyond comprehension.

The robots seized their fire for a few seconds, this time the entire collective military was watching their movements standing in awe as for the first time high command focused their control on a single squad. The epsilon class ship could be seen casting its shadow down from the heavens. The great craft landed dangerously close to the ruins crashing into the foundations of abandoned ships as it sank into the ground. The armoured creature then hissed out a few words, its voice exquisite and righteous. Almost as if the gods themselves had spoken downward towards their underlings, preaching words lost in the first ages of time.

“Lay down your arms, fickle ones, I come for only one” it waited for a response

The General which commanded the fleet of militia that had descended to the wasteland below, stood gritting her teeth in anger. Her insignias shone bright with superiority as she stood at the bridge of the Epsilon class ship The Arbringer. A Major stood beside her awaiting a response. Both held firm glances on a viewscreen portraying the robot’s eyesight.

“What should we do General?” he spoke hastily

“Engage the creature, five good soldiers, citizens lost their lives on that battle hind, I want three more T-52 Squads a T-451 Enforcer, Two officers and a Syndicate on that ground…” she whispered

“Now?”

“Yes now!!” she barked.

The Epsilon ship opened up its side hatch, and three more of the armoured transport cars exited the craft, all were robots except for the two officers and the Syndicate. The Syndicate was a solitary figure, a mask covering its scarred face, it carried two heavy repeating guns on its sides and wore a tactical mesh of lead and rubber. Designed as a top assassin in a dark world of hate and pain, the Syndicate moved forward with the army of a hundred droids.

The collective officers wiped the sweat slowly off of their brow. Brandishing orders to the enslaved who stood in front. The desert sun ferociously beat down upon them. Then the Epsilon ship opened its mighty hatch once more and an APC drone and boxcar transport with three collective soldiers moved forward. If this had been a time of yore an entire army would have descended upon the desert. However, riots in the capital city, the constant fight against the outer civilizations and a revolutionary wildfire that had to be stamped out daily had thinned the lines of their troops. Their morale despite all of these calamities still stayed strong.

Cowardice and fear, rarely seen or at the very least buried under the dust of the ancients. The general first commanded the squad of robots in contact with the intruder. The robots approached the armoured figure with foreseen caution and opened fire.

The creature deflected their energy bolts with ease. Its eyes hardened with anger and the metal man lifted its rifle and laid waste to the entire squad. Firing over eight hundred projectiles a second, the emissary of death destroyed its foe. The droids howled in horror as they were one by one deconstructed, the thing that donned the suit of armour was no regular warrior. It was a soldier of which was never seen. By the time the pilot had ridden the last metal drone of its unholy head the incoming forces from the Epsilon ship were hurdling above the horizon. The defiler spared no time in its actions.

Running towards its enemy it bent its ironclad knees and the beast jumped an inhuman height landing on top of the first transport of fresh troops. The windshield caved in when the figure's foot came crashing through and the driver skidded, grasping at the wheel he desperately attempted to ready the craft as the two collective officers were shaken from their seats now dealing with the mortal peril which had latched its claws onto the transport. Lifting its foot out of the gaping hole and grabbing onto the windshield of the land speeder the creature used brute strength to smash through, latching its placid hand onto the throat of the robot driver it ignored its enemies feeble attempt to blast his arm off and closed its hand until the wires and steel crushed underneath its sheer competency.

His white armour now covered in scratches and ash the creature entered the transport stationing its foot on the cool steel. The collective officer, unseen to this level of barbaricy whipped out a lead pistol and repeatedly fired upon the brute which had just levelled his driver, sweat and electrical burns spotting his face. On the outside, the two other transports stayed course steady with the hijacked craft running parallel to their adversary.

The general above waved her hand and orders were carried out. The two transports aimed their heavy repeaters at the steel belly of their former ally and opened fire. Flanked on either side of the craft the three ships sped through the streets of the town. Those that dared to remain hid under the blanket of fear as the evacuation continued. The defences of the town had been hastily deactivated and what mercenary or guard remained had either fled or were watering the town’s undergrowth with their blood.

All that remained were three ships and a chase. Once the two armoured transports fired simultaneously the ship was indisputably ripped apart. Inside the armoured descendant had ripped out the gullet of the first officer and blasted the second, fraying their clothing and uniform with the stain of blood. They had only a millisecond to react before both were dead cold bodies laden on the ground. As the hull tore and eroded into scraps the soldier jumped from the back of the craft and grabbed a firm hold on the steering wheel.

Ripping the dead robot from its clutches he grabbed the controls and jerked the middle lever, this caused the remaining back-thruster to spew sparks and jolt itself into action along with the vessel to turn around, heading straight for the Epsilon ship itself. Ignorant to death’s own emissary who stood before it on the sands, the ship sped forward. The two transport craft followed his actions and continued to tail it skidding in the tracks. Their anti-ship blasters, now firing at full power, steam rising from the exhaust ports. The creature took hold of its rifle and aimed at the first transport.

Firing three times through its own steel walls it shot through 5 inches of reinforced glass and incinerated the robot pilot sending the entire transport to a sandy grave. Inside the ship, the integrity was weakening enough that the ground below could be seen. Onboard The Epsilon ship a Luitenant slammed their leathery fist on an intricate control panel and the robots which lay inside the hijacked craft began to boot up as it hurtled towards its enemy.

However, the creature would not allow it. It soon fired upon the drone pods and tossed a singular grenade in the ship's ammo supply. This time the Epsilon ship itself fired and the vessel was blown into oblivion, the soldier nor the remains of their comrades nowhere seen in the ashes of the damned.

From the scorching flames of destruction, a figure rose, a mighty soldier staring in the eyes of its prey. It now perched barely of cover a few kilometres from the Epsilon ship. The transports and APC circled it but kept their distance barraging the armoured mortal in hopes of killing him. For some reason, the Epsilon ship did not fire again, quite possibly because those in power would like to see this thing alive or simply because they knew the ground forces would surely be able to deprive this enemy of what little strength he clutched in a skeletal grasp.

All of the ships continued to fire and the being had no choice but to raise his arms in sheer terror and shield himself from their pummeling blows. Inside the suit layers of sweat line the creature’s brow, a small mixture of blood swirled near his gutt a sign his once-impenetrable armour was fraying in its power. They were too far to jump to and still close enough to shoot. The Collective troops continued this circle for a full minute, afraid to approach fully and sure to decimate their opponent. At last, a vessel stopped as the others continued their prolonged assault. Three robots and a Syndicate proceeded towards the opposition using the gaps in their allies' movement to jump into the circle. Their movements were conscious and slow, their armour glinting in the sunlight. Even though victory could be seen as clear as day, they continued to fire.

The Collective was taking no chances that day. The three robots moved first, the syndicate not too far behind them. They approached the wounded figure and fired, shooting until their guns overheated and a charred aroma rose from the tips of their rifles. Then the syndicate with a single wave of a hand ordered the pummeling to stop, the creature's Collective helmet portraying little emotion of any understanding, nothing but harsh solum darkness seen in the visor's complexity.

This time the APC broke the circling ranks and drove clear across the dune terrain to halt its wheels in front of the figure, a cloud of dust rising behind it. The creature had bent itself into a position of defence. Heavy scarring and scorch marks littered their armour, the white almost completely turned to black, yet miraculously not a single blast of the thousands of rounds fired at this monolithic figure had penetrated the iron skin, it seems any wounds had been from the sheer shock of the blasts.

The syndicate moved forward and ripped one of the drone’s rifles from its grasp. The drone stepped backwards, used to this kind of demeaning behaviour from its human counterparts. He hesitated for a moment before poking the pale quivering mess in front with the rifle butt. Around them, the transports and boxcars had stopped to form a circle around their enemy, still a good distance away. The syndicate poked his enemy three-four times increasing his power and attack, still, there was no apparent reaction.

This time it swiftly whacked its opponent with the entire rifle to reveal a lifeless corpse, an exasperating cry of strength coming from the collective soldier’s lips. The two robots shifted forward and lifted the creature into the APC placing obsidian binds on its arms and legs. Then the APC door swung closed, a series of bolts interlocking to enforce the door. It sped as fast as lightning in the direction of The Epsilon ship. The two other transports continued into the town whereas the boxcar followed the APC. The Epsilon ship opened its doors and the APC was swallowed by the cargo bay. Once the door had closed behind it, the ship sent out two heavy lifting mechas to hoist the wreck of their foe onboard; they handled it with gentle care, touching the craft as if it was a masterwork of aviation.

An Epsilon class ship had a standard crew of 300 humanoids followed by another 100 droid soldiers. The droid army most likely had been mostly destroyed, however, a few remained onboard. This is because their droid armada was dispatched to pick up the pilot. Epsilon class ships were relatively simple in design. A smooth curved surface followed by a semi-large arsenal of weapons was seen. It had two main hatches on either side and windows spread across the upper levels.

The entire craft lay on landing gear sticking it a few meters off the sand. Sand however still trailed into the cracks of the ship giving its bottom half a golden glow. Inside the ship, a large hangar was revealed. About a hundred soldiers stood around the APC, all wearing the Collective’s famed armour, one renowned both for its vanity and strength. Inside the APC two soldiers solemnly approached and pressed the door release hatch.

The general herself stood behind the plexiglass screen of the hangar control room motioning her hand for the soldiers to enter and receive their demonic prisoner. The first Sergeant walked forward and rested a un gauntleted arm on the panel. Pressing four buttons the door had a slight hiss before it ejected upwards and was suspended open just an inch. From that inch of open-air a horrific sight was to be seen, as inside was not their comrades awaiting heroes welcome, but outpoured blood, gallons upon gallons of blood. It spilled and slerched along the floor and lay still in a motionless placid puddle. In the back, one of the collective officers ran and puked in a nearby service corridor staining his grey uniform with a mulchy paste of dried rations. Seeing there was something wrong the soldiers frantically backed away in horrific panic from the APC and left the beast to its own desires.

Now keeping a good distance from the opening two soldiers moved forward and placed a single explosive charge on the APC’s tinted windows while another climbed and tried to pry open the gun hatch, his bravery seen through the shivers of those who dared to glance at the remains of the craft’s pilots. The general pressed for comms to the vehicle but was unable to contact those whose fate lay inside, the only answer the hazy buzz of static.

The soldiers all fled the hangar. The APC still draining its bloody contents was given a wide berth as an elite explosive trooper stood with a detonator in hand, the rest of his allies had their rifles trained on the windshield readying for a fight. The explosion was not large enough to decimate the surrounding population and would pale to the fanatical and macabre bombs used during all-out war, but rather a small firework capable of blowing the glass to smithereens and denting the front of the vehicle.

The device went off with a bang and did as expected a cloud of ash rising from the front. The soldiers opened fire into the smoke with a delicate aim and finally one tossed a hand grenade into the APC. Now with definite destruction, the entire craft exploded spewing shrapnel in all directions. The general ducked a tire that flew at her to be stopped by the plexiglass in front. A few soldiers suffered minor injuries, a bone sticking out of one officer's leg and scarring on a young Cadets arm. The one who threw the grenade was escorted out of the hangar and taken down a corridor dragged kicking and screaming by his feet, those who watched him wary of their actions. The remaining soldiers about sixty or seventy scurried the wreckage.

Clearing the smouldering body of the car, an officer and twenty enlisted humanoids extinguished the fire. Hull panels and wiring were cracked as the ship had suffered minor damages a river of tarnished steel flowing from the epicentre of the explosion. Five unarmed robots moved forward and lifted the craterous APC body off of its hinges. When the smoke finally cleared they peered inside to see a horrifying sight. The bottom of the APC had been blasted clean through, but not from a grenade, the cuts were elegant, clean and precise a carven hole went straight through both the floor and the vehicle connecting itself towards a maintenance hatch below the hangar. The Sargent leading the attack swore under his breath glancing into the abyss, the general then slammed her hand down on a blast door closure. Across the ship of three hundred people heavily enforced plexiglass and titanium doors closed off every hall, vent, nook and alcove, backup oxygen tubes kicked in and teams went out to clear the area room by room, an intruder was onboard.

The general now panicked, prayed out an armour-piercing pistol from her leather holster and so did the officers around her portraying tantalizing tension as they gazed at the view screens hoping to catch a glimpse of their foe. The bodies of the soldiers who lay in the APC had been blown to smithereens, nothing but fragments of silicon and flesh to remember them by.

A sanitation crew started to reluctantly clean up the hanger, placing the mutilated remains of the syndicate in a steel torpedo coffin, suitable for burial in space. All were silent as an unknown beast scavenged through their ship scouring the network of the maintenance tunnels with an unknown deadly vendetta. Twenty fearless armoured soldiers jumped into the blackened hole. What they found when their iron boots hit the musty unventilated ground, was fear, a plaguing fear of death, one which had not been felt by the collective for over 16 years. Not since the Kestle war itself.