The servo-skull Reditus flew back and forth in frantic, ecstatic loops around the Crusader Land Raider for a full half an hour.
Its vox-emitter crackled with a non-stop stream of static-filled praise for the Emperor and the Machine God, occasionally mixing in prayers for Nolan's continued wisdom.
Nolan, who couldn't stand the incessant, high-pitched noise any longer, finally called for David. The Man of Iren silent, heavy-treaded arrival seemed to have a calming effect on the Tech-Priest.
Afterwards, the three of them stood in the base hall, dwarfed by the massive tank. While admiring the majestic, brutal appearance of the Land Raider, they talked business.
Nolan lowered his head and thought for a moment, his gaze tracing the heavy bolt-gun arrays.
He asked Reditus if it could perfectly replicate the Crusader Land Raider in front of him.
Hearing the primarch's inquiry, a burst of red light flashed in the servo-skull's eye sockets.
When the initial, fanatical excitement wore off, it returned to the state a Tech-Priest should be in. Its movements became less erratic, more precise.
Reditus hesitated for a moment, its anti-grav engine whining softly, and decided to tell the truth.
It told Nolan that without a standard construction template, the Mars-type adaptive thermal combustion engine alone was not something it could handle.
The steps and techniques for making such an engine were not problems that could be solved with just materials.
Not to mention, the wetware that Land Raiders usually carried, the machine soul with the Thinker system installed...
The words were not spoken yet.
Reditus shook its mechanical tongs and quickly started its anti-gravity engine, zipping in the air.
It seemed to remember something important.
It actually flew quickly into the thick, open assault-hatch of the Land Raider, disappearing into the dark interior.
Not long after, the servo-skull flew out of it again, its vox emitting a series of angry, cursing whirs.
It told the confused Nolan and David that there was no machine soul installed in this Land Raider.
This was simply a blasphemy against the Machine God, and a challenge to the authority of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
If it were known which war group made this...
Nolan blinked. "Black Templars," he said, his voice flat.
Reditus immediately began to play dumb, its vox falling silent, and then quickly changed the subject.
It told Nolan again that what it could handle at the moment was the weapons system.
Because the laser weapon production line was about to be completed, with slight changes, it could become a qualified assembly line for large-caliber weapons and even ammunition manufacturing.
As for the Land Raider's composite armor, small-scale manufacturing was also affordable.
But if Nolan wanted to mass-produce it, what was needed was a larger super-casting workshop and countless automatic servo-robots or servitors.
After listening to what Reditus said, Nolan nodded slowly, temporarily giving up on building the Land Raider.
Later, Reditus flew over to check the stasis field's platform again.
It reported good news to Nolan, its vox-tone noticeably more cheerful.
The failure of the stasis field was entirely due to the loss of its energy supply.
Only by restoring the energy connection would everything return to normal.
There was a loud sound of scraping metal and the groan of servos.
The seventy-five-ton Land Raider was slowly moved away from the stasis field by the grasping mechanical tentacles of teams of automated servo-robots.
Reditus, roaring orders and flying back and forth, quickly directed another team of automatic servo-robots to drag away the heavy metal platform of the stasis field.
David shook his tall metal body, his head tilting as he observed the tank.
He slowly walked into the interior of the Land Raider.
The blue light in his eye sockets flashed for a while, the beam scanning the dark compartment.
After quickly scanning the complex internal structure, he also silently searched and learned many tank-driving techniques from the Internet.
A moment later, David started the Land Raider's Mars engine without hesitation.
The next second, a deafening, coughing roar echoed throughout the base hall, vibrating the floor.
The tracks of the war vehicle began to rotate slowly, churning on the metal deck.
Under the silent gaze of Nolan and Bucky, who had come to join in the fun, the heavy imperial vehicle drove quickly towards the parking platform.
David was recently remodeling the space near the parking platform. It could also be built as a place to store vehicles.
Wait until the Land Raider's huge back and the engine's thrumming roar completely disappeared.
Nolan, with his hands on his hips, turned to talk to Bucky.
He learned that the man was currently engaging in entertainment, such as watching series, through the Internet.
Nolan just sighed and did not pull him up for a spar.
Lucky Bucky turned and left.
Nolan ran into the training ground.
After repeatedly venting his energy and destroying dozens of metal dummies, the sound of crashing metal echoing through the base, he once again found Reditus, who was still debugging the stasis field.
Nolan talked to the servo-skull about modifying the Terminator armor.
At this time, Reditus was praying repeatedly in binary while circling the stasis field.
Without looking back, it asked Nolan to write out the parts of the power armor that needed to be modified.
Nolan blinked his cyan wolf eyes.
He simply walked to the metal round table, grabbed the pen and paper thrown on it, and started writing furiously.
About a few hours later, the stasis field, its energy supply restored, hummed to life. It successfully solidified an automatic servo-robot on the metal platform, freezing it in a shimmer of blue light.
Nolan, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly dropped the book in his palm.
He picked up the piece of paper and handed it to Reditus, who was flying with excitement.
The servo-skull shook its mechanical clamps, and the red light in its eye sockets glanced quickly over the list.
It immediately complained to Nolan in a long burst of protesting static.
However, as a Tech-Priest, Reditus decided to think of a way to solve the many problems raised by the primarch.
Buzz, buzz, buzz...
Accompanied by the subtle sound of the anti-gravity engine gradually fading away, a large number of automatic servo-robots also followed Reditus away.
The brightly lit base hall once again entered a very quiet state.
Nolan, humming a little tune, took out a large number of Grox steaks from the material storage room and began to grill his meal.
Not long after, as a strong, smoky smell of meat gradually spread throughout the base hall, a tall and thin figure staggered slowly out of the underground passage, his steps uneven, like a zombie's.
Connors, whose blond hair was obviously sparse and matted, opened his bloodshot eyes.
He kept swallowing his saliva, his gaze locked on the grill, and walked towards the metal round table.
Nolan narrowed his eyes slightly.
He stared at the hungry, ghost-like appearance of Doctor Connors and sighed.
Then, Nolan picked up a large piece of well-cooked Grox steak and a glass of iced animal milk and placed them in front of him.
Connors immediately pounced on it.
He didn't even use any tools, just grabbed the still-warm steak with his hands and started to bite it, tearing at the meat.
"Teach, please eat slowly. There is enough food here," Nolan said softly to Connors, who was eating like a beast.
After Connors quickly swallowed the last bite of meat and drank the animal milk in one breath, he let out a long, shuddering breath.
He said to Nolan with a tired but excited expression, "Nolan... The research on Compound V is basically completed! No, to be precise, I finally figured out what the ingredients are in it and why it gives humans superpowers!"
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