I will freely admit that this one kind of got away from me a bit, and the characters went and did what they wanted. in any case it's here.
Thanks to Xolsis for helping me brainstorm this mess.
6/4/21 - I have been informed that I forgot to upload the second part of chapter 6. It should now be up an available. Please read that first.
Harry was in REALLY bad shape.
Whatever the hell was happening down there had taken its toll on him, in more than one way. He was fighting back, but barely, and even now his body threatened to fail on him at any moment.
And then there was that damned RNA virus running rampant through his body. That shit was downright insidious, somehow mutating itself away from the antiviral strains I had set against it all while trying to continue the corruption of my friend.
Something that was not going to be allowed to stand, at all.
Normally I would not push this hard, this fast, but this was Harry.
Besides, I had more than a few questions that needed to be asked...such as why he was in possession of a certain object…
Alright then, time for the big guns...even though I have never really pushed in this direction before...but the concept is simple, right? Just focus intent, create an appropriate chant, add mana, and boom. In my case the extra step I was adding would remove the chant and simply be intent, but it was worth it.
Yes, I was finally putting my earliest magic skills to proper use. And Light magic was the perfect method of...cleansing this filth from Harry's body.
Even as the medical module toiled onward, I diverted a piece of my will towards directing the arcane forces contained within, pulling from the light, in a plea to heal my friend of his infection.
What I had expected was a basic spell, something that might help stem the tide against the infection and allow the medical nano to gain the edge.
What I got instead nearly leapt out at the target, damn near scouring the corruption from Harry in a blaze of light. The excess then proceeded to spill over and somehow turn itself back towards more general healing, reducing the workload there too.
...I'm not going to argue the results, but that's the second time that I've had something be far more powerful than it should have been today...and both were light-aspected.
Once is chance; Twice, coincidence…
In any case, Harry was now fully stabilized and would actually live if I went to attend to other issues. For now, I could stash him somewhere comfortable so he could rest until we got around to discussing options and the future of our relationship.
Right now, I had a bit of chastising to do for myself.
Honestly, I really should have seen that shit coming. After the training incident with the weird thing that just might have been an infection form of one of those xenomorphs-wait a minute.
I remember some lore on this. A faction that likes to pull stunts like this…
But how the hell are the fucking Tyranids so close now? Necromunda is in Segmentum Solar. If they had gotten this close there would be wide-order panic going on as the plague of locusts devoured the worlds of the core of the Imperium. No, this had to be something else, similar, but different. Maybe there's another faction involved? Can't think of a name right now, but I'd need to ask some discreet questions if I used the T-word.
Anyway, back to how much I suck, what with the xenos advertising that they were coming a long time ago. The signs were there, now that I have opened my eyes and actually looked instead of being a dumbass. Me participating in that search and rescue op was bound to cause problems.
On the other hand, me NOT participating in that Op meant that Harry would be dead, at best. At worst…
Yeah, I'm gonna chalk this one up to circumstances. I cannot afford to be afraid to enter the battlefield. I just have to outfight the enemy, who is trying to kill me. I must kill him before he kills me. I will…
And I also need to not blame myself for shit that I have no control over. Sure, the signs were there that the xenos were going to come, but those were also true for the gangers trying to off me, which I now suspect to be a potential chaos cult (I very much noticed that laugh from the distance. Fuckers tried to off me). Needless to say, I have to walk the streets at SOME point, and supplies are always in demand for the shit I'm building, so there is that as well.
What this means is that I'm going to have to actually crack out the good shit if I plan on surviving from now on. No more holding back just to try and lay low-with the exception of the magical stuff, that ship has sailed. Instead, I need to make sure I can keep my edge in both tech and skill for as long as possible in order to stay ahead of the competition...because they WILL come for me.
Heh. Well, at least now I'm feeling a bit motivated. Let's see what I can cook up for the next chaotic ass that comes my way...or the hostile as fuck xeno. Hopefully I don't have to add the fucking Eldar to the list anytime soon. I do not want to deal with that shit.
The normal mental nudge alerted me to my newest set of toys being ready...or most of it, anyway, as a HUD screen popped up with it, with two-no three-very large and noticeable caution labels on them. Or rather, there were two Caution labels. And one extremely glaring Warning label.
Looks like I had quite the shot coming in. at least I can start the process while I figure out why the warning labels…
...I could actually remember more of it, this time. Watts teaching me of the ways of how such and such thing interacted with another, and going forward with that. The ability to not only do more than one thing, but be in more than one place while still only having one body. How to push one's abilities for building to speeds unheard of...if you were not worried about the quality of the final product. A worry I was immune to, thanks to another skill.
Not bad, all things considered...but some of the extras were nutty. I headed to my workshop to check out the new addons that had been thrown in, not to mention what new sets of gear might await me.
First, upon hitting the entry hallway, there was a major change in that there was now a completely new section set up to the side of where the workshop entrance was. The main surprise here is that I immediately recognized it for what it was.
I'd spent enough time in them over the years, after all.
The Hangar was just like the ones I had been in in the past, complete with the Stars and Stripes hanging proudly over the center of the hanger proper and the usual unit insignia strewn about on the walls, having the usual assortment of ground equipment, miscellaneous tools, and other noteworthy places, not including the extended maintenance dock, usually called by whichever maintenance plan was used for that particular bird...until I noticed that there was a pretty advanced set of machine arms set up for just such an occasion, which would make life a LOT easier for me.
And cradled within those arms was none other than a work of engineering marvel. That Grand Old Bird, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat Fighter. Even more surprising was the slot next to it, containing that sweet marvel of engineering and arguably the greatest of the 'teen jets, the McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle..and from the looks of it, it was in the Echo config, marking it as a Strike Eagle. Two of the best planes ever developed, sitting here in a hangar waiting for me to use them.
And apparently the improvements came with some extras. There was now a space set up as an "outside" that would allow for real flight in any form or fashion, although any form of actual combat/dogfighting would have to be with something that I whipped up myself. Not a problem in the slightest, as this gave me a rather large area with which to train in, something I desperately needed. This will be useful.
A Quick runback of the hanger proper showed some extras strewn around. There was a flight simulator tucked away in a corner in a cave-like structure, looking like many of the sims I had seen in the past: well worn, but equally ready for whatever was to come from it's newbie pilots. Unique to this setup was what looked like some pretty advanced Immersion gear that I could probably scavenge for something else if need be, but for now I would leave alone. Besides, it was programmable, and if what I saw in one of the "awaiting deployment" clusters was true, I would NEED that sim.
Interestingly enough, the stacks of technical manuals I had expected to be around were in the hangar structure building right next to the simulator cave, which was normally used as office and administrative space for the maintenance and air crews. There was really nothing special there to catch my eye, other than the very nice computer systems integration setup in the whole thing. I had access to what amounted to the maintenance database from damn near anywhere in the hangar proper, it seemed, as well as access to the various flight planning and mission simulator details for aircrew briefings. This would be very useful as a kind of minibase in the future, I could tell.
Moving forward with my inspections I found something unique within the maintenance office space: a very curious contraption that purported to assist with optimization. Of what, you ask?
Of vehicles. Any and all vehicles. Including Aircraft.
It basically took a scan of the vehicle in question and created a simulation breakdown of any and all ways you could change it and what that change would do, complete with statistics. If I managed to reprogram it with what some of the tech I had available was capable of, it would be a super-quick one stop shop for modelling potential changes and designs prior to a build. In short, it was worth its weight in gold.
The Hangar was the obvious new area to the workshop, but there was another space, one that seemed to be slowly but surely constructing itself. It was connected to the knowledge on the near-infinite energy generation systems that I had recently gained access to, and was one of the items marked with a caution light. I found myself curious as to what warranted that kind of safety, but could check later. Instead, I moved back to the entrance proper, now decked out very much like an American military base, and started checking for the new equipment lockers.
The first wasn't much, just a small P. style storage unit that contained a pair of gloves. I knew them to be capable of manipulating objects on the micron scale with terrifying precision if used properly, and let out a small cheer at the find.
I could finally break into the nanomachine knowledge I had and see what came up. Would need preliminary design work, though.
The second was a bog standard locker that had a very familiar pair of patches on it: the Unit crest of my old Maintenance squadron, with the crest of the Wing proper next to it. There was a third crest as well, denoting the actual Flight squadron of the wing. Inside was an old friend: a simple Green Flight suit, complete with the third-generation G-harnesses that were common for operating jet aircraft. Name tapes and unit patches were already applied to the suit, and awaiting me to step into it as needed. I ran a hand over the patch with an appreciative and wistful sigh.
Another time. Right now there was work to do.
The second new locker of the full-size sets had a different item inside. This was an advanced space suit in green, issued to all who were planning to be aboard the Transtar I station...or, as my suit color indicated, were "volunteered" to the station for some very questionable experiments. The suit itself was rather modular, capable of interfacing with several upgrade chipsets to augment performance as needed, and also with a quick-connect EVA backpack for zero-gee and microgravity environments.
The standard wrench was also included, complete with an easy draw holster that clipped to the suit as well. Then there was the interesting weapon, a strange handheld device called a GLOO Cannon. This baby was basically the ultimate in nonlethal applications, and was useful for other tasks as well if needed. Something I fully planned to hang on to for a while, and potentially slap some upgrades on later, but first I had a problem to deal with.
Said problem was in a specially sealed case at the bottom of the locker, locked with a biometric keypad and proofed against all attempts to open it by force. It was also rigged with a very subtle scuttling charge that would destroy its contents utterly if it was somehow breached.
It was also the source of the one Warning label from my listing...and as I finally read the note attached to the case, I knew why.
It contained Neuromods, twelve in all. Normally this would not be a big deal, but these were special neuromods.
They were made with exotic materials harvested from a Typhon.
More to the point, they would grant various forms of psionic abilities when utilized...all based on Typhon skills of a similar nature.
The warning was twofold: First, that the neuromods would basically inject me with literal Typhon material, to the point where if I had enough installed I would not register as human anymore to most scanners...and that the psionic abilities ran on an as yet unknown frequency and could be potentially subject to the perils of the warp.
Meaning that absolutely No One could know of this.
I would have to do an in-depth inspection of the neuromods later on, and see what I could pull from that mess.
Supposedly the final pieces of my new kit were in the workshop proper, and not just the entrance, so I moved on after securing everything back in place.
The workshop had received a rather spiffy upgrade, and had added in the tools of the trade for a well-off blacksmith and some accouterments of a travelling merchant, complete with the old cart hanging off in one of the corners of the now rather vastly expanded workshop. The abilities I had gotten this from I knew all too well: this was the skillset of a Mastersmith (better known as a Whitesmith for most players) of the game Ragnarok online. I only recognized it from the sheer number of hours I had put into the game in the past. Which was good, because the skills I was seeing here completely outstripped anything the game even thought it should have been capable of.
Normally this class would have been good with forging weapons and upgrading them to extreme levels of utility, but this…this was nuts. The levelling cap had been removed, along with some of the more ornery/gamified requirements to do so...and the socketing for the items was now a lot more freeform, allowing for more than just cards to be socketed into an item, also with many of the gamified/nebulous restrictions lifted.
This was basically a mundane enchanting ability now, which was hilarious even without context. It did mean that I was going to have to do a complete once over of the whole workshop to upgrade everything up to standard, though...and probably do some expansion, while I'm at it.
The last item was on one of the workbenches near the entrance door, and I moved to pick it up: a case that was sealed perhaps even harder than the one with those oh-so-dangerous neuromods in it. The locking mechanism was downright ridiculous, and blatantly required me to exert my magic upon it before it even began the process of opening. And looking inside, I was not immediately sure why.
There were only a handful of items inside: A set of vials, Eight in all, with a strange serum of some sort contained within. Above it, in an insert specifically just for it, was a small, roundish object that I could not identify immediately off hand. On top of all of these was a pile of notes, likely on what was contained within, but they were in a very tricky kind of code that even my eyes could not pierce right off.
One note in particular stood out, though, and had the distinct caution label that Watts used for stuff that might come back to bite me displayed rather prominently. A quick glance over it told me why.
These eight vials contained a serum that had the ability to awaken a particular metaphysical organ within a person, and give them access to magic. The notes were on how to make more of the serum in question. This was already worth more than a king's ransom, but the label on the round device above is what really got my attention...and would need to be addressed immediately.
That little round device? It was exactly what I called it...a Device. Specifically, a fucking Unison Device. And those generally tended to be sentient once activated...meaning that I had to install all of the safeguards and countermeasures that I could to prevent a possible chaos corruption scenario. Combined with all of the necessary upgrades that needed to be done and I had a massive list of chores to take care of before I could even begin my actual plans to gear up. The amount of effort required demanded nothing less than a skilled team of assistants to be directed as needed.
I snorted at my own joke and set in to get some work done. After all, I was not some normal schmuck from nowhere trying to keep up.
And I don't need a team to get my shit done.
One completely revamped workshop (and a mere 50 minutes) later, I finally got down to business on getting that unison device set up properly. It was a bit of an undertaking, as I couldn't just subsume the whole device and learn everything about it near instantly like normal for most stuff. I had to take the (relatively) slow route to doing things, which in any other universe would not be a big deal. Here, however, it risked the daemons of the warp getting an in before I could plug the holes and potentially breaking the thing outright.
Which is why I was cheating my ass off. Ability synergy is really something that gets overlooked a LOT.
First thing: adding in the error checking routines that Thoth has, which should at the minimum allow whatever this device becomes to detect any source of corruption before it happens. Next, I took the bits of the Valkyrie Core technology related to the upgrade routines and started picking around for a way to install it without breaking something.
And all the while my knowledge base grew. As I worked on the upgrades, I learned ever more about not only Devices in general, but the scope and aspects of how Unison Devices actually functioned, as well as some of the crazier stuff involved in the creation and upkeep of an artificial Linker Core. It was downright breathtaking the amount of sheer polish that went into these, even as rough around the edges as it was. Everything about the technology, and the magic that was seamlessly interwoven into it, was fascinating, so much so that I completely missed when the knowledge of it all finally snapped into place in my mind and the rest of my skills got to work.
I had effectively fallen into a version of the classic Tinker Fugue, but more akin to intense focus than mindless action. Hell, I didn't notice until I finally looked up from the now completed work of outright rebuilding the device itself that I had even done so...and apparently I had made some very, very interesting improvements.
The usual applications of miniaturization and efficiency applied, especially as I now knew of how much of the damned device was sitting in its own pocket dimension (which was a LOT.) and there were some massive improvements made there. I had also somehow added in every bit of the expertise of Photonics I'd had to allow for the usage and streamlining of photon technics, likely something that would come in handy in the future. Further adding on to that, the Artificial Linker Core, more or less the entire heart of the operation, had been refined to a degree that I'm pretty sure the scientists that created the unison device technology would never have imagined was possible.
I knew for a fact that it could be so much more, but didn't bother pushing too hard for it. After all, I had upgraded literally everything with the self-upgrade abilities that were part and parcel of the Valkyrie core technology. I'd thought about adding in impeller support, but didn't want to push it too hard just yet, as while I had theoretical data there was nothing for the real world. Besides, if I was looking at this right, then a bit of mana control could emulate the impeller very easily anyway.
You know what? Let's go for it anyway. Not like it's going to hurt too much.
The device was more or less complete, and awaiting activation, but I chose not to for the moment. I had completed the task of effectively proofing it against Chaos to the best of my power, and now I had to deal with the other elephant in the room.
And with that, I went and retrieved the sealed case of neuromods.
These, I had no qualms whatsoever with outright destroying if necessary to learn anything that I would need to know before getting in too deep. Surprisingly I didn't have to destroy anything to figure out what made it tick.
And neuromods were actually quite amazing, really. They were more or less the ability to completely rewrite the brain and add in various new structures to act as skill engrams of a sort, modding your mind to make the connections and adjustments to act as if you had always had the ability being granted. The tech was revolutionary, with one major (and amusingly to me, unintendedly intentional) downside of restoring one's mind to the state it was in when the neuromid was installed if removed. Hilariously enough to me, this was a literal failsafe built into the tech that somehow got glossed over and that was likely thought of as a glitch.
The Typhon part was a different story entirely. Those things...I'm not sure how to describe them. I'm not sure I even can. All I know is that they are very much natural psionics, tapping into a field of energy that I as yet had no real knowledge of other than that it existed. It didn't appear to be connected to the Warp, and in fact the multiple redundancies i'd built to test this all came back negative on that, but I wasn't sure.
The main reason I was even bothering beyond the neuromod tech, which was a gamechanger in and of itself, was because it held the key to a form of human psionics as well...and if I was right, it wouldn't be Warp-connected either. The samples of the 'mods I had were enough to get a good baseline on actually setting up for a comprehensive psi package,..but…
I had to admit it. I had no way of actually testing for sure without stepping into the abyss, so to speak. And as much as I'd loved psionics, to the point where I was often the only psionics player in my D&D campaigns, I was unsure if opening that gate was a wise decision.
Hum. I needed a workaround.
...Wait.
I could make a simulation of a human brain and test it that way. All of the data is available on both the mind and the way the neuromods would change it, so there should be no issues with that in the slightest. Hell, Thoth could kick out a real-time map of my own mind and do simulations on his own hardware, for fucks sake. I had all the tools I needed right here.
And the best part is that I could probably integrate a lot of other things into the setup beforehand if I play it right. Maybe even to the point of granting something beyond even what the Typhon were capable of.
I knew I could do it. Just needed to knuckle down and get this shit done.
A quick shake of the head to clear out my thoughts and a light double-slap to force myself to focus, and I was ready.
Alrighty then, let's slap this chicken.
Setup and execution on project: Psion is looking good. Sp then, while that is running, time to get to my next major problem.
Eezo.
I had extremely limited stores of the stuff, all of it either tied up in my weapons, armor, or omnitool. This is something that needed to be addressed as quickly as possible so I could experiment on the mass effect and try to improve upon the tech available from there. And while the stuff was naturally forming, at least in its own universe, it for some reason required matter that had been exposed to a supernova.
What this told me is that I needed to try and find a way to synthesize this shit so I could experiment. So, brief rundown on everything I know about how eezo is formed...is that it requires a supernova. Or something that can mimic the conditions.
Oops, I had a new project.
The sad part is that it didn't even take me an hour to put together the prototype for a supernova simulation. It's basically just a large-scale fusion explosion, right? Only with a lot more heavy elements attached. So let's see if I can get this shit to work.
...and the first experiment failed rather violently. Good thing I contained this shit inside Thoth's impeller or else I would need a new workshop.
...this might actually take a while.
I went to check up on Harry after I was done with the main testing for the eezo synthesis. I had a feeling he would be confused for a bit and I wanted to be there when the sedatives wore off.
As I thought, he was awake, and quietly grumbling to himself about how badly he'd fucked up.
Considering he was currently a quadripalegic, that was not an inaccurate opinion.
"I see you finally decided to wake up. Good job, but unfortunately for you that means that there is more work to be done."
Harry was not amused at my joke at all.
"Where the hell am I? How did I get here? And why am I not dead!? You have to kill me before the taint can spread. Hurry!"
"You mean that weird-ass virus that was trying to corrupt you? I took care of that. It's gone." I even made a motion of buffing my nails against my shirt for emphasis. "What I do want to know is what the hell the xenos things were, why did they seem to be working with the Escher wannabes, and how the absolute HELL did you end up in pieces down in that ditch? The place was not exactly easy to find, y'know."
Harry gaped at me in astonishment. "Oh no, don't start gaping now, dumbass. You recognized me when you were in there on your deathbed, and seemed to expect that I was on the way. Now spill." And yet he kept gaping even more.
I sighed. "Really Harry? You've seen what I'm capable of, to a degree. Why are you surprised now?"
"Because normal humans should not be capable of that." Harry's answer was forced, almost resigned for some reason. What the hell was he afraid of anyway?
Oh wait.
"You think I'm one of them."
Harry's silence was all the confirmation I needed.
"So what will it take then? To show you i'm not with the fucking xenos things? Fuckers tried to off me too, y'know. Had to kill off like thirty of the four-armed bastards. Ans speaking of, just that the fuck are those things supposed to be anyway? The closest reference match I have for that is Tyranid, but…"
"That's because they are Tyranid." and once again I break through to Harry's sensible side. "That you don't know the names of your true masters doesn't surprise me, Genestealer. Worry not, for they will devour you along with this planet when they come...assuming that they get past the might of His Armies, which I doubt will happen."
"Genestealer. I've heard that before." and Indeed I did. They were something of a meme back home, but were frighteningly effective all the same, as powerful infiltration specialists that could undermine entire planets before opening the way to the swarm to come and feast on the biomass.
Wait a minute.
"So that fucking RNA virus...and the damned node that it created." I stopped...and nodded to myself, slowly. "That was the Kiss, then. The one that turns you into one of them. Good to know that I have a workable counter."
Again Harry gapes at me, before launching into a massive tirade the likes of which I had not seen in a very long while.
"Whaddya mean "you have a counter!?" There is no counter-"
I was fine with him getting this out of his system so we could get on to the real business at hand, but…
"..And how the FUCK dId you manage to kill off thirty of the Emperor damned-"
Seriously. This was getting just a bit tedious, all things considered. Was there a way to stop him for a bit without adding to the paranoia angle? Well, other than playing that last card, anyway. I doubt that he would want me to know that I knew about that until he thought he could trust me…
"And the damned cultist were fucking everywhere, but NOOOO-"
Oh. he's rambling now. Seems this mission messed him up more than it seems.
I should probably invest in mental health care for whomever I end up pulling into my sphere of influence.
"...And all because of the Emperor Damned GANG HOUSES that-"
Wow. I think he really needed this. He's been getting raked over the coals for a while now, from what it sounds like, having to deal with Van Saar distrusting him and all, and what sounded like a Delaque connection as well. Considering his actual allegiance, I'm not surprised.
Oh hey, the Psi sims were done.
"And another thing-""
Lessee...the report is showing up good so far..Usability and flexibility is good...hell, the powerset itself is pretty much safe from what I can see.I may have just potentially cracked into a whole new field if the results I'm getting are good for the real world. And there's a way to awaken to it without using the Typhon material either. I would need to integrate this into the Unison Device before I activated it.
Oh, guess Harry's out of steam now.
"...Feel better now?" I very pointedly avoided direct notice of the tears running down his face as I asked that.
"...yes, actually." He equally seemed to not want to draw attention to them.
"So then. What now?" Harry asked me after a pause.
"Now? Now we get you back on your feet." And I had every intention of doing so.
No one gets left behind, after all.
Especially not Friends.
Harry's sudden docility was starting to scare me a bit. He did, at least explain more in detail about what the hell was going on underground, so to speak.
"So, the genestealer cults are somehow spreading out from the ruins of Secundus despite the protective measures being taken." My statement was more a confirmation of a very bad day, but I had to be sure.
"More or less. We think it might be a separate strain entirely, but there's no data available."
"So it is the same and you wanna throw me off by acting like there's a second group operating in the area. Nice try, but as I keep telling you, I'm on your side. Either that or someone screwed up at the cordon and didn't wanna get shot for the failure and thus covered it up." I strongly suspected the second, as even Harry's attempts at information protection had fallen off a lot.
A sudden flash of insight came over me as I watched Harry's reactions, or rather the distinct lack thereof.
"...Harry. what's wrong." It was definitely not a question.
"...Why? Why now? And wny me?"
"Would you believe that you were just the first person I met here, and that it wasn't planned in the slightest? Hell, you were even willing to help out."
At least I got a nod this time, so there was some improvement.
"You were like a damned lost puppy, what with the carefully concealed panic on your face. It was almost like you appeared out of nowhere, really."
"Because I kind of did, Harry. But that's neither here nor there. Right now we have a bigger problem."
"Harry snorted in derision. "Bigger than you popping up out of thin air? Next you're going to ask me to worship the ruinous powers, I bet."
Now it was my turn to scoff. "The fiucking Warp Tumors can bend over and kiss my ass. I want jack and shit to do with those fucks. Hell, they've already tried to kill me what, Three times now? Four? Fuckers won't take the damned hint."
"...so you're telling me that for some reason both a xenos cult and the forces of Chaos want you dead. And you have no Idea why." The dryness in Harry's tone was actually sucking moisture out of the room. I was impressed. It took actual skill to get that good.
"Well, I do know why, or at least I think I do. I just don't advertise." and this even had the benefit of being absolute truth!
"Well then. Please enlighten me." Dammit Harry, stop sucking all the moisture out of the air! I NEED that water! I don't wanna waste mana on creating more!
"I have access to a unique form of technology and potentially have the equivalent of an STC database downloaded into my head that allows me to build things that are beyond anything the Imperium can put together currently. Also, I am technically a member of the Adeptus Mechanicus by dint of implants. Don't bother looking, you won't find them...that's another benefit."
"Quite the tale. Next you are going to tell me that-"
"No, enough of the games. I have no patience for that shit anymore, especially not when people's lives are in danger." Also God's own truth. "So, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to get you fixed up-and I mean COMPLETELY fixed up, even if that means I have to build the fucking prostetics myself, and then we're going to get you kitted out with the best weapons and armor that I can make. And after that…'' And here I gave a downright savage grin," we're going back to those tunnels, tracking down the damned xenos, and eradicating the entire lot from this hive. And if that means that I have to glass the crater of Secundus as well, then guess what's gonna happen."
"And just how do you plan on doing that, anyway?" more sarcasm? Well, at least it's an improvement.
In any case, I took this as a cue and had Thoth go to full expression. The sudden shock on Harry's face was beautiful to behold, especially since once again Thoth had pictures.
"This is how. And I haven't even begun to start arming up." I allowed the helmet to retract, giving Harry a large grin.
"So then. You in?"
Harry actually stopped and looked at me. And I mean really LOOKED at me. I don't know what it was he was looking for, but I suspect that he found it.
A matching Grin broke out on his face.
"Yeah. 'Course I'm in."
Getting Harry healed was not really as big of a process as people think it is. The big part is that Harry had to decide between all natural healing or getting cybernetic prosthesis. I personally was leaning towards full natural, mostly as a time saver than anything else, but Harry had Ideas.
"So you're telling me I can get the good stuff, direct from you and you would integrate some weapons into them as well?" Harry's enthusiasm for those prosthetics was getting to the point of downright zeal. I suspect he wanted to make sure he always had an ace in the hole for the future.
"Yeah. might take a while to get, though, depending on what you want in them."
"Well ,then, might as well get designing then, shall we?"
Well, he had a point.
In any case, we managed to get around to the very arduous (for me) task of designing Harry's prosthetics. Harry thought he was going to get the simple stuff, but I was giving him the fucking full monty, complete with some upgrades that would keep his ass alive later on.
The "design" process was nearly three hours. Do you know how much shit I could have gotten done in three hours nowadays? This was downright PAINFUL.
But yes, we got it done. And I almost immediately tore half of it up in my head and redid it better, because Harry didn't know ALL of my secrets. Not yet. I would be filling him in on those shortly, but first, there was a conversion that needed to be had.
"Alright Harry, let's get you set up so we can get started fitting you in." and with that, I carried him into the makeshift medical bay (and wasn't that a surprise that it hung around in the hallway after I'd made it) and got Harry situated. Of course he did not suddenly lose his remaining eye, and thus noticed the things that were in the hallway proper...like the hangar. And the actual "outside", a sea of green grass and a mountain in the distance as a landmark.
"What...what is this place?" There was that shock again. Good. I wanted him off balance for this.
"This place is where I do a bit of work. It is also where I will build and install your new prosthetics...well, more like Cybernetics, as they are not going to need to come off. Ever." I couldn't help but brag a bit, here, but kept on course. "As for why I brought you in here, well...it was conducive to discussing this."
And with that I tossed an object onto his chest.
"When were you planning on telling me you were with them?"
The Inquisitorial Rosette gleamed in the odd Not-light of this place.
To his credit, Harry did not even lose a step. "You had no need to know. No one does."
Too bad I wasn't buying it. "And why not? Its not like you couldn't just get anyone and anything you needed on a fucking whim just by waving that around. What the hell is going on that you would slum around, eh? Or is it even yours to begin with?"
I received a sharp look in response. "Oh, it's mine, boy. And I have not lost my faith in the Emperor or his vision. But...the Inquisition I knew has...strayed from its path. Our lot was to safeguard the people from within, not to terrorize them."
"Huh. Ordo Xenos, I take it?" An astonished nod followed my question.
"You are quite informed for someone who came out of nowhere."
"Call it whatever you wish. I know what my goals are. As for your issues with the Inquisition-and i'm assuming they think that you are dead, if you're hanging out here-I can't help you. At least, not directly. Not yet anyway. You're on your own if you wanna try and force change down their throats. My duty is to the people."
"You speak after my own heart, and yet everything I know tells me you speak true." Harry's response was almost solemn in it's tone. "Fine, then. I'll tell you."
"Do it while I work. It'll be faster that way."
"Fine with me."
Harry's story is one that I suspect was all too common among the Inquisitors who actually had something looking like a conscience. He had performed his duty to the best of his ability, only to run afoul of a rogue Inquisition cabal working for an as-yet unknown xenos species. When he went to investigate, he was captured and subjected to a rather harsh awakening via mental torture by one of the Inquisitors, who was themselves a Psyker of not insignificant power. Somehow, he managed to not only escape, but thwart their plans to usurp an entire portion of a sector from under the noses of the Imperium...and had killed the rogues in the process.
But the threat of further traitors and the disillusionment of what he believed the Inquisition to stand for had placed him in an untenable position. Instead of returning to his Cabal, he faked his own death and hid here on Necromunda as a simple information dealer with house Delaque, and had taken on a role as the more or less official unofficial liaison between Delaque and Van Saar, a task that he'd done for years until I showed up.
It was actually a pretty sad tale, all things told, and one that I would not wish on even my worst enemies. But it happened, and he's here, so it is what it is. At least I can help him a bit.
Harrison Cain liked to believe himself as a simple man. His time as one of the Emperor's own Inquisitors was not something he liked talking about, but somehow this man, Green...he seemed to get it. Something about him made it easier to open up about the old war stories, and the horrible betrayal that led to where he was today. Really, it seemed almost a gift from the Emperor himself.
Which is why he would just as soon dispatch this "gift" as soon as he was able, since Green had so kindly offered to make him some prosthesis for his lost arms and legs, as well as his missing eye. It was a rather blatant betrayal, true, and distasteful to him after what he had suffered from those who should have been his own brothers, but even in his disgrace his duty remained.
"They're done. Now hold still while I get these things installed."
Harry found himself blinking in confusion. There was no way that Green had constructed a set of prostheses that fast, there was too much involved in the process. It simply could NOT be done.
"Alright, that's the legs on, lemme get the arms next."
And with that declaration, he looked down and saw the truth of the statement, that even as he was musing on the sheer impossibility of the situation Green had managed to somehow get the legs set up and in place...and all without him even noticing.
How?
HOW!?
Not since he had taken a wife had he been that befuddled by the actions of a person. It made no sense whatsoever-
"Arms done. Relax a bit so I can get this eye in."
And again, somehow beating the odds-
"And that's the eye."
Wait WHAT.
"Alright Harry, I got your cyborg parts in, but we still gotta get it calibrated. For that I'm gonna need to get some stuff set up for you. Are we good so far?"
Harrison Cain, disgraced Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, could only nod.
"Alright then, I'm gonna get you set up. Gimme a bit."
Harry watched as Green turned around and did something with an odd tool on his left hand, a tool seemingly made of orange light that had not been there before, and that faded just as fast.
Was Green an Abominable Intelligence?
He suddenly felt a massive itch in his limbs as the cybernetics came online, and his vision cleared and became binocular once more.
"Give it a bit, it takes some time to really get revved up".
There was a pulling sensation from somewhere in his chest, and suddenly he could feel.
"There. That should do it. Now then, stand up for me."
Harry swung around as ordered, even his own thoughts blasted away by the onslaught of events happening at this moment. He was surprised that his new legs responded almost as if they were his own, and he stood with little issue.
"Go ahead and walk around, let everything really settle into place. I gotta clean up here."
Harry looked at Green, watching as he turned away to pursue some other task or another, and remembered the weapons systems that he'd asked to be installed. With a weirdly instinctive gesture, he immediately found his dominant arm switched to what his eye told him was a plasma cannon. Harry immediately aimed it at Green's back...and stopped.
He helped me.
The thought came unbidden, the knowledge that Green had helped him with no expectation of reward, had come for him even after all had considered him dead and gone...and even revealed these amazing wonders to him as if he was already a part of his inner circle.
But the taint of Chaos was ever present and insidious. Who was to say that this was not a trap by the ruinous powers? Some way to finally worm their way into his heart?
And yet his thoughts again went back to that moment, on that cold slab underground, bleeding out even as his body was mutating against his will...and the visor of that power armor.
The face he'd seen behind it, of rage and grief and horror, of the need to lash out at someone, anyone for harming a person dear to them.
The plasma cannon stayed trained on Green's back.
Even then, he had not faltered, had acted to not only save his life, but then save his soul, purging him of the xenos taint somehow. And He knew for a fact it was purged, his rant earlier be damned, there were studies on this; if the xenos corruption had remained, he would be enthralled by the Genestealer patriarch by now. No, his mind was still his own.
...he really did save me.
The plasma cannon shifted back to an arm, and Harry walked away, lost in his own thoughts.
He did not see the form of Satori, smiling even as his back remained tuned.
Perks for this chapter (including related freebies and ancillary choices):
-Micromanipulators (A Certain Scientific Railgun) (50CP)
These delicate gloves were meant for scientific purposes. They're reinforced with small motors and electrically contracting artificial muscles to allow you to perform delicate work on the scale of a micron. While they're definitely more suited to scientific experiments, they can be put to use in any situation that requires steady hands like aiming a rifle, conducting brain surgery, cooking, defusing a bomb, or even bypassing some redirection and shielding abilities.
* Micron scale control
-Rapid Construction (Blazing Saddles) (50CP)
You are not only a truly excellent carpenter, you are an exceptionally fast worker. Any form of construction or crafting will be completed in a tenth the time it would otherwise take, though your overall quality will suffer if you use this at full effect (times ten). At times two, you'll sacrifice none of the quality, but as you get closer to times ten, you'll sacrifice more and more of it.
Mysterious Serum (300CP)
Fascinating. These test tubes contain a colorless serum that, when ingested, allow one to 'awaken' the Linker Cores of sentient beings, allowing them to naturally use this world's magic after a little bit of training with it. Note that individuals like Nanoha are exceptions to the rule, and will be in future worlds as well - unless they had a particular affinity for magic or some way to boost their arcane power, you're unlikely to find anyone who starts with a Natural Ability higher than A. You receive eight of these, along with the formula on how to create more - though it's encoded and you'll have to decipher it. If you have 'Ancient Knowledge', you already know how to make more on your own from the get-go. Magical ability growth for individuals outside of this world tend to plateau at S-rank on their own. Bear that in mind.
Telepathy [Free]
Your own magical chat network! You can communicate mentally with a willing subject, even if they otherwise lack the capability and range of this particular magic. You can't really force them to do anything except listen to you, but this mind-to-mind communication network has a range across dimensions, though you obviously can't communicate with past jumps or other continuities until you get your Spark. Note that your mental communication can be intercepted like radio transmissions would, and you can be shut out by someone unwilling to listen to you.
Shooting-type Spells [Free]
The simplest and most common spell used in combat. You focus mana into a sphere or 'bullet' and fire it at your opponent. Can be used in various forms - homing bullets, rapid-fire, and so on. The 'big' spells tend to fall under Bombardment, so take note of those as well. These can be 'aimed' by hand, or 'guided' by the right calculations in the spell.
Bombardment-type Spells [Free]
When someone or something absolutely needs to be blown the hell up befriended. Accept not substitutes. By focusing a large amount of mana into a single point, you may fire a large blast at a target, designed to completely overwhelm them via a show of raw power. These are almost always aimed, but if you can get a bit of skill and power for it, you might find a way to make such destructive spells guided...
Magic-Enhanced Attacks [Free]
Need a weapon to hit harder? Need your fist to absolutely break through something? Want to show off to someone? This is where you'll look. By enhancing your blows or weapon with mana, you can make the blows or strikes inflict more damage, and letting you strike with more force than before.
Barriers and Shields [Free]
But you can't just keep slinging offensive spells left and right all day without any kind of defense, right? You can create barriers and shields to reinforce your own defenses, letting you block spells and attacks so long as you utilize them properly. This can be especially draining or fragile against powerful Bombardment spells or worse, though...you might want to consider dodging instead.
Capture-type Spells [Free]
Finally, there's these. You can physically restrain a foe with binding spells that inhibit their movement and prevent them from maneuvering, or even create intricate cages of mana that lock said foe in place completely and allow you to capture or interrogate them while they're stuck in an immobile prison.
Device:
-Intelligent, Sapient (requires Intelligent), Unison System
-All basic spells. Plus (basic) dimensional transfer, Knight Armor
-ARTIFICER (PREY) (200CP)
Any monkey with a wrench can look up the technical manual and do a repair. Well, maybe not any monkey, but you're certainly a cut above the rest. Any technology you come across that you understand the principles behind can be drastically improved. Either simplifying it to make it easier to fabricate or improving its durability or power output. Weapons, turrets, tools and vehicles can all be improved beyond their base specs.
"VOLUNTEER" - FREE (Assumed as drop-in background)
More often than not originating from the Soviet Gulags, Volunteers are a mixed bag. Some of them violent criminals involved in human trafficking and drug transport. Others are political dissidents, sent to the Archipelago for having inconvenient opinions. Others still were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, taken off the street to meet a quota. Whatever your past, all you are now is a number and a pound of flesh to be experimented on. Volunteers are granted an additional 12 Neuromods to spend on Typhon abilities.
TRANSTAR SUIT - FREE ALL BUT TYPHON
The TranStar suit is a multipurpose uniform that is designed to quickly and easily interface with an EVA system and utilise touch screens through the gloves. Volunteers are given a green suit and will not be trusted by the rest of the staff. Security is given a while and black suit, science a blue and black suit, Engineering an orange and black suit, and executive staff a red and black suit. Even in its basic state the suit gives a small amount of protection against environmental hazards and physical attacks along with a flashlight. The suit can take up to 8 additional chipsets, expanding its capabilities.
HEPHAESTUS "HEFFY" TWIST & LOOP WRENCH - FREE ALL
A common repair tool found all over the station with a fairly good weight. Makes an effective bludgeon in a pinch. Comes with schematics to make more with the Fabricator.
GLOO CANNON - FREE ALL
Another tool commonly found on the station. Launches a quickly hardening glue that is incredibly versatile. Can be used as a fire suppressant, an insulator against high currents, plug small structural failures in the hull, it can even stick to enemies and freeze them in place for a short time. The large globs it forms can also support human weight, allowing crafty engineers to create staircases to places they have difficulty getting too. Comes with schematics to make more of the tool and it's glue with the Fabricator.
-Mastersmith | Expert Smithing (Ragnarok Online) (600CP)
Mastersmith (200CP)
The Mastersmith can socket items allowing him to add slots where modifications can be implemented onto items. While intended for cards, these can be used for other modifications which need slots if need be. (but effectiveness may be reduced)
Expert Smithing (400CP)
It's not just about creating the sharpest blade anymore. Improved items now have affixes on them based on how many times they've been improved. Each level will be tougher than the next to improve and require more energy/mana/souls, but the Blacksmith's smithing ability now has no cap.
-Don't Need A Team (Ace Combat) (100CP)
Fighter planes are pretty complicated machines, and more often than not you need a whole crew to maintain them so that they don't break down in the middle of a fight and doom the pilot. You know your plane well enough to circumvent this issue. You've got just the right idea on what needs tuning up and what needs fixing, along with having the speed to be able to fix a plane up by yourself without the need for a crew in a fraction of the time. Performance issues are a thing of the past for you.
-Soundtrack (Free): When you take to the skies, it does not always have to be on a somber note. As you fly to your mission, dogfight, or assault an enemy position you'll have the soundtrack of your choice playing in the background. Others can hear this if you wish, and you can turn this off at any time. Perfect for when you want to hype yourself up for a situation.
-Basic Flight Training (Free): If you couldn't fly before, you have a basic idea of how to fly a plane now. You know how to maneuver the joystick properly, which button fires the missiles, and how to properly land a plane without creating a multi-million dollar pile of scrap. It won't save you if you dive into a massive swarm of planes all by yourself, but you can learn.
-Missile Surplus (Free): Well this is odd. Any plane you pilot seems to hold an unnatural number of missiles for its type, far more than it should. You're not sure where it's getting this many missiles, but you'll have to restock them if you run out. The same thing happens with special weapons, though you have to have a working model to attach if you want to swap it out.
-Comm Chatter (Free): While an important part of war is knowing what your opponent is up to, sometimes it's good for puffing your ego up too. For whatever reason, your radio will occasionally catch communications being broadcast from the enemy. This can range from important information to wild surprise at your antics. Not too useful, but good for knowing how you're doing.
-Flight Suit (Free): When taking off, an important requirement of being in a plane is a flight suit so that the G-forces don't make your organs explode. It sounds silly, but you'll be lucky you had it. So, have a nifty flight suit to help keep any pressure issues down while you're in the sky, on the house. It can come in any color you wish with a snazzy helmet to boot, ensuring that you're the most glamorous pilot in the sky.
-Basic Hangar Bay (Free): Sure you might be able to get a fighter plane... but where are you going to store it? You can't just leave your vehicle to the mercy of the elements, it would cause all manners of damage to the plane and then you might be really in a bind. That's why if you come out of this with a plane (or end up importing one) you can obtain a hangar bay which has the tools needed to keep the plane in good shape and can stand up to most forms of weather. It can even attach to a property or the Warehouse after your time here should it please you. For an undiscounted +100CP, this turns into an automated hangar bay with heavy arms and equipment to make repairing and moving the plane significantly easier.
-Optimization Computer (Free: Engineer): Pilots are rather finicky people the longer they last throughout a war. Maybe it's because the more they fly, the more they expand their horizons and feel comfortable in deviating from the standard. Nevertheless, it's up to you to handle these strange jobs and make sure these pilots don't get themselves killed in their greed. This computer has one purpose only; take scans of vehicles, and provide detailed statistics and simulations on how modifications would change their effectiveness. This way you can tell if the tweak to those thrusters will be an actual boon or if you're going to need to repair them after each battle because they keep burning through the wiring with their heat output. A pilot with a fine-tuned plane is a deadly pilot.
-Angels' Dancing Floor (extra): The sky is a beautiful place when you sit back and think about it. It holds no true master, yet it welcomes those who are willing to brave its dangers and holds the personal allure of freedom among the clouds. With this, you can take a little bit of that freedom with you. Your warehouse will gain an aesthetic of either computer lines akin to an Electrosphere simulation, or a military base adorned in the country colors of your choice. Any surface can also be adorned with computer screens with a layout similar to the mission briefing that is presented to you. Feel like an ace no matter where you are.
-Angels' Skies (extra): You desire further freedom, then? Very well. With this additional purchase, you gain a virtual environment 'outside' your Warehouse. While you cannot store or grow anything here... you can still take to the skies and roam the virtual world around you. Mundane conditions are the limit here, such as a sunny day by a beach, or a snowy mountainside that was cloudy and cold. But this does mean you can have a sky of your very own... a sky reserved for only one owner.
-Pilot Simulator (extra) Most times, when it comes to training with fighter planes you're restricted to flying around and trying maneuvers on account of most planes costing tens of millions of dollars on the low end... each. So how are you supposed to train for firing off weapons and taking on entire forces? Fortunately, this sophisticated VR machine lets you plug in the specs of a vehicle you want to practice in while also programming in various encounters for you to test your skills. As you become better, the algorithms will improve and develop new recommendations for skill areas you need improving on, while increasing the skill of the virtual enemies as well. Peace time should be no excuse for not being strong.
-Munitions Supply (extra):