Desert night. Stars like shattered diamonds cold-set against black velvet. The wasteland town sat silent except for tireless wind threading through ruins, playing its eternal desolate hymn.
When Maine's crew rolled in, the workshop's reinforced metal door slid open soundlessly—like it'd been expecting them. Steady light spilled out, cutting a clean rectangle across the dusty ground.
Cairo's tall crimson figure stood centered in that glow like some ancient mechanical sentinel. The servo-skull "old friend" at his shoulder pulsed blue light, hovering quietly. In just days, the workshop seemed even more organized—equipment humming in harmonious chorus, radiating efficient vitality.
"Boss, got your goods." Maine climbed out first, voice booming with barely concealed pride. He personally hefted the heavy metal case forward, setting it on Cairo's designated workbench and popping the lid.
Inside temperature-controlled containers, several oddly colored liquids and crystalline substances glowed with faint bioactive energy.
"Plus a batch of Avocado-2 wheat seeds—key ingredient for synthesizing Avocado-2 fuel. Biotechnica charges premium for these."
Cairo's crimson optical lenses swept the case contents, sensors emitting nearly inaudible hums.
He didn't immediately check the seeds, focusing entirely on the enhancement materials.
A mechanical tentacle extended deftly, precision probe conducting rapid scans of the containers' contents.
"Bioactive catalyst, purity ninety-eight point seven percent. Gene adjustment serum sequence intact, no degradation detected. Muscle fiber inducer concentration matches theoretical optimal values..." He recited a string of data in that steady synthesized voice, carrying rare, clear satisfaction. "Excellent. Material quality and preservation state exceed expectations. Maine, your efficiency is commendable."
That praise widened Maine's grin. Pilar puffed his chest proudly. Rebecca's eyes darted around, hunting for workshop changes.
"So, boss, Dorio's transformation..." Maine couldn't wait to cut to the chase.
"Conditions are met." Cairo retracted his tentacles, optical lenses turning toward the silent but eager Dorio. "Based on these materials and your existing physical foundation, I can conduct thorough biochemical enhancement.
Process will take thirty-six to forty-eight hours, involving deep metabolic reconstruction, neural pathway optimization, and muscle tissue regeneration. Success rate estimated at ninety-four point three percent. Are you ready?"
Dorio took a deep breath and stepped forward, gaze solid as bedrock. "Ready when you are, boss."
"Good." Cairo nodded slightly, gesturing Dorio toward that specially modified medical chair bristling with interfaces and mechanical arms. "Maine, your crew can wait in the outer rest area. This process requires absolute focus—any interference could affect the final results."
Maine and the others quickly nodded, retreating to the designated rest zone with crude but sturdy metal chairs and a temperature-controlled water dispenser.
They watched Dorio calmly lie back as Cairo's mechanical tentacles descended like living metal vines, cold tool tips lighting with calibration glow. Anticipation mixed with inevitable nervousness.
Workshop lights dimmed slightly, focusing around the medical chair.
Various monitoring instruments activated, data streams scrolling across auxiliary screens. The enhancement process began—silence broken only by equipment's low humming and Dorio's gradually deepening, steady breathing.
The wait dragged.
Rebecca couldn't sit still, sidling over to watch Falco fiddle with tactical terminal data.
Pilar started checking his freshly optimized cyberware, muttering to himself.
Maine leaned against the wall, gaze never leaving the medical chair, fists alternately clenching and relaxing.
Time crawled by.
Occasionally the chair transmitted faint vibrations or subtle liquid flow sounds.
Dorio's skin sometimes flashed with barely perceptible luminescence—enhancement agents taking effect.
Cairo stood like a statue beside the chair, only his constantly adjusting optical lenses and flexibly moving tentacles showing the precision work in progress.
About two hours later, Cairo temporarily halted main operations, turning toward the rest area. "Phase one metabolic reconstruction complete. She needs to absorb energy and rest now. You can come look, but stay quiet."
Maine's crew immediately tiptoed over.
Dorio lay sleeping, face flushed, breathing long and powerful.
The most obvious change—her frame seemed to have swelled. Exposed skin appeared tighter, muscle definition like perfect sculpture, subtly radiating restrained power. Even her height seemed fractionally increased.
"Holy shit..." Pilar breathed, "That's... really noticeable!"
"This is just the beginning." Cairo explained calmly. "True transformation comes after subsequent neural and muscle optimization completes. Now, let her rest."
They gazed at sleeping Dorio with awe, then at this mysterious "boss"—desire for power and respect for the unknown intertwining.
Just then, while Cairo paused operations and gestured the team could check Dorio's status, Rebecca quietly sidled up to Maine, voice barely above a whisper:
"Boss... I'm still worried about Sasha. Mission's been going this long without any signal back. That's not right."
Maine frowned, turning to quickly fiddle with his comm. Only broken static in the earpiece. He clicked his tongue, giving Rebecca's shoulder a reassuring pat that came off too casual. "Don't spook yourself—Biotechnica's internal shielding is always strong. She probably hasn't found a safe transmission window."
Still, the hesitation flashing through his eyes didn't escape Rebecca's notice.
Though their exchange was barely audible, Cairo's highly sensitive audio receptors caught every word. His crimson optical lenses turned toward them, focus adjusting slightly.
"Sasha... can't reach her?" Cairo's synthesized voice inserted itself calmly into their whispers.
Maine and Rebecca's conversation triggered a memory—back before he'd crossed over to the Warhammer universe, he'd seen the original story. Sasha died during a Biotechnica infiltration after discovering the truth about her late mother's death, trying to broadcast that information.
He turned to Maine, asking directly: "Your crew's netrunner? She didn't come with you? What mission is she on?"
"We picked up a last-minute job stealing data from Biotechnica," Maine explained. "Sasha said she could handle it solo, so she went alone. But yeah, we can't reach her now."
Beneath Cairo's face mask, processing cores rapidly weighed current circumstances: Dorio's transformation had entered a stable phase, no need for full crew presence. And Sasha's lost contact was indeed a variable requiring confirmation.
"Nothing requiring your assistance here for now," he said evenly. "If you judge support necessary, you're free to go verify."
"Thanks, boss!" Rebecca immediately responded, tone urgent.
"Take this," Cairo gestured to the hovering servo-skull nearby—"Test Subject One" floated forward. "Based on data you brought back last time, I've upgraded its reconnaissance and anti-jamming modules. This mission can serve as field testing."
Maine accepted the silently hovering skull, feeling stable energy pulses within. He looked at Cairo and nodded firmly. "Understood. We'll head out now."
(Warhammer Biochemical Augmented Human) (Cairo from the Age of the Mechanicum)
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