"I guess this is as far as we can safely take it," Argall concluded with a smile. "Any more and the subject will stop being human and we don't want that."

He really didn't. There came a point in Gene-Forging, wherein the subject was altered far too much and far too many times that it simply ceased being the same creature it'd been when the Gene-Forging first began. In this case, altering the subject even further meant it'd cease being human entirely. For instance, the subject's life-span was enhanced to reach over two thousand years – Terran Standard Time. Muscle and bone density were similarly augmented to reach levels beyond superhuman. Argall's goal with this experiment was simple: reach the very edge of human bio-evolution, mutation, and the limits of Gene-Forging.

As it turned out, there was almost no limit to any of those three. Not at all. With the right creativity and physiological knowledge, anything was possible. Already, Argall had plans for the creation of Enhanced Humanoid Drones, living machines that were shaped to resemble mankind, but lacking in conscious thought, creativity, and free-will. As their name suggested, they were essentially little more than drones, meant to act as chaff in times of war and violence, meant to die in the place of true humans. Since Argall had no intention of using AI, the EHD's were simply attached to himself as his enhanced mind was more than capable of handling thousands, even millions of them, at once.

And that was just one example.

In his mind were designs of gargantuan engines of flesh and bone, monstrous amalgamations of technology and biology, meant to defend humanity from those that would seek its end, Bio-Titans. Of course, he didn't make them just yet, because his people were not at war, but the potential was there. With the Genesis Chamber at his disposal, anything was possible.

"Okay, go ahead and take a break," Argall spoke into the microphone. "We'll do a running test in half an hour."

This particular experiment was a resounding success, however, as he'd managed to create the most advanced superhuman he possibly could, while still keeping their genome compatible with the rest of humanity.

Speaking of the human race, it'd been almost five years since Argall's declaration on genetic-editing and the creation of superhumans and, as he'd expected, reception was kind. Everyone wanted to be stronger, faster, and more resilient, and so 99% of the total population allowed themselves and their children to be genetically-tailored by the Gene-Forge, the Genesis Chamber. The remaining 1% were either nomads or those too old to care about the future, mostly retired Scrappers and whoever else still remembered the old days. The 99% were known as the First Breed. Their lifespans were quadrupled. Their muscles and bones were denser and stronger, capable of a high level of regeneration; their brains capable of processing data and information a thousand times faster than the human norm. They were also functionally immune to disease, which came from their heavily-augmented immune systems.

Of course, this also came at the cost of great dietary demands – a steep 200% increase in daily calorie requirement. But, considering the excess food produced by their farms and the meat from cloned animals, food was not a problem. Even with a much hungrier population, the food surplus was maintained. And, in the highly unlikely event of a famine, the Genesis Chamber was more than capable of turning raw biomass into edible food.

"Is it everyone you'd hoped for?" His sister, Sereen, asked. Argall turned and there she was, looking more or less the same as she did a decade ago. She might not have taken rejuvenants, like everyone else, or undergone Gene-Therapy within the Genesis Chamber, but Sereen was just weirdly resilient to the effects of aging. She wasn't normal. But, then again, neither was he and neither were their parents.

She never left his side these days and he was glad for that. Age and death and mortality had already sunk its claws into his sister; she was dying and there was no stopping the inevitable. And so, every little moment, no matter how mundane, counted. They ate breakfast and lunch together most of the time, usually when Sereen's grandchildren weren't around. But her and Argall always made time for afternoon tea, where they ate cake instead of drinking tea.

"It's actually more than what I hoped for," Argall answered, smiling. The subject was a volunteer named Tomas Browner, whose grandfather – Argall checked – fought and died against the Rangdan when they first appeared. Tomas had been among the first to be transformed into the First Breed, becoming superhuman. And now, he was the only volunteer for this particular project, becoming something even greater than superhuman, but ultimately still human, still mortal, which was the goal to begin with. If Argall wanted, he could've exaggerated the physical changes, but – once again – that wasn't the point. "But, actually transplanting these attributes to everyone else is not going to be as easy as when I made the First Breed. It'd be easier to modify fetuses while they're still in their mothers' wombs. Otherwise, it'd take too long – not efficient."

"Okay," Sereen nodded. "Onto other matters then."

Argall's eyes lit up as he sat down. "I'm still trying to figure out how the Zero-Point Reactor works. Phaeron Khoteph has offered much help in this regard, but even he's stumped. The Necrontyr apparently once had access to this, long ago, but they abandoned it for some reason that not even Phaeron Khoteph can remember. So, while I'm trying to get it to work, I've perfected the Micro-Fusion Cells."

"Oh?" Sereen's eyes widened. "I didn't think those things would work."

"It wasn't particularly difficult," Argall shrugged. "It was common enough among the weapons from the Long Night- or whatever the old ones used to call that age of strife and war. And I had plenty of samples to work with. So, now, mass-producing them won't be a problem. I can finally begin arming the Planetary Guard with proper, uniform weapons."

"Wait- lemme guess, it's either plasma rifles or laser rifles, because you used to be so crazy about those things."

"Ha! Neither!" Argall grinned as he brought up a three-dimensional projection before them. It was a rifle, painstakingly designed and tinkered with to be as perfect as it could possibly be. "I call it the Hardlight Rifle. It shoots exotic photons, which are harnessed from quantum fields. My biggest hurdle was the energy requirement. A Zero-Point battery could sustain this thing indefinitely. The Micro-fusion Cell could maybe sustain fifteen shots before running out of juice."

Which was fine as the Micro-fusion Cells were designed to be modular in nature – easy to install and remove, essentially acting as ammunition. And they were easy to mass-produce. "Actually, would you like to fire one? I have a functioning prototype ready. All that's missing is paint."

"Hell yeah, I would!"

They walked down the test range, where a variety of targets moved about. For this one, Argall chose the largest and most heavily-armored test dummy, which many of his technicians referred to only as the Boulder, because it, quite literally, was just a five meter wide bolder of iron-stone, covered in three layers of Adamantium plates. None of the weapons Argall had built, thus far, were able to pierce it fully – one end and out the other side. Oh, more than a few were able to penetrate the first three layers of Adamantium and a few inches of Iron Rock, but never a full penetration.

The Hardlight Rifle was lighter than any weapon he'd ever built, merely half a fifth of a kilogram. The heaviest part about it was the Micro-Fusion Cell. And, because of that, Sereen very easily picked one up and took aim, the rifle's black barrel extending forward, faint golden trails emanating from the gap between the interlocking plates that made up its chassis. "It's transforming."

Argall nodded. "Yes, if it's holstered, it'll take on a much smaller, more compact shape. Once drawn, the Harlight Rifle extends and takes on its true form, which is what you're seeing now."

The Hardlight Pistol was a little trickier, since it was already so small that making it any smaller would be detrimental. The solution? Turn it into a bracelet – an accessorized weapon. But, the designs for it were still firmly on the drawing board.

"Useful," Sereen said, nodding. "And it's so light that our soldiers wouldn't be burdened by carrying them. Is this armed?"

"Yeah," Argall nodded, pointing at the circular chamber on the left face of the Hardlight Rifle, where a Micro-Fusion Cell fed it all the power needed for a total of fifteen shots. Or just one really powerful shot if Sereen pulled and held the trigger. "Fire away. But try aiming at the Boulder. I wanna see what happens."

Sereen lowered the rifle and raised a brow. "You haven't fired this thing yet?"

"Nope!"

"So, I'm the test dummy?"

"Don't worry," Argall smiled. "If it blows up on your face, then I'll tell your kids you died of old age."

Sereen grinned and took aim. "Screw you, Argall."

She pulled the trigger and released a vibrant beam of dusty golden light that punched through the Boulder and out the other side, punching through every other test dummy, before going through the wall, itself made of several meters' worth of Adamantium. The damage done was clean – no heat, no collateral damage. "It worked perfectly, I'd say."

"What's its effective range?" Sereen raised a brow as she placed the rifle down. "This seems like the perfect recipe for friendly fire, don't you think?"

"Uncharged? The beam can probably pierce anything and everything within 1.5 kilometers; if it's charged, then the range is doubled, but only once per Micro-Fusion Cell." Argall answered. "Also, I've taken into account the friendly fire thing and have taken precautions. Behold!"

He turned to the range and... nothing happened.

Sereen raised a brow. "Did you forget to press a button, maybe?"

"Wait, a moment," Argall looked down and- there it was. He'd forgotten the press the button. "Aha! Behold!"

A faint golden shield shimmered around the Boulder. "Now, try again."

Sereen shrugged and did just that. Now, instead of punching right through, the dusty golden beam dissipated harmlessly the moment it met the shield, becoming little more than little motes of light in the air. "It looks pretty."

"It does," Argall smiled. "It's a Photonic Shield, made specifically to counter this one so that our soldiers don't shoot each other in the battlefield. But I've been able to tune it, somewhat, so that it also slows down projectiles that enter its field by a factor of up to 90%. With their Power Armor and Regeneration, I doubt our soldiers will be in serious danger in any battlefield."

There were, of course, other, more effective shields than the Photonic Shield, but none of them were capable of stopping the golden beams of the Hardlight Rifle and, with its ability to poke holes in anything and everything it hit, friendly fire was almost guaranteed. So, for now, the Photonic Shield was the best choice, especially since infantry were meant to be mobile and fast. Mobile Artillery were another matter, of course, as they had just enough space to fit numerous types of shields

"What about explosions?"

Argall shrugged. "That would depend on the force of the explosion itself, but the Photonic Shield's kinetic dampening should keep them safe from most explosives, including shrapnel."

"It'll be-"

An alarm blared over his ears – a very particular alarm that Argall had not expected to hear for a very long time. His eyes narrowed and his face turned grim. He knew this day was coming, but he didn't think it'd happen now. But, if nothing else, his people now had the means to fight back and, more importantly, the Nation of Hyperborea was under the protection of the Necrons. Yes, there was nothing to worry about just yet. Argall turned to Sereen. "One of our probes encountered an alien civilization."

"Rangdan?" She asked.

Argall shook his head as streams of reports and captured images appeared in his mind's eye, through his neural link with the probes. These ships were most definitely not Rangdan – massive and heavily-armored, reliant on some kind of jet propulsion, based entirely on the great plumes of plasma surging at the backs of their ships. Argall shook his head and transferred the images to the nearby console, allowing Sereen to view them. "No. Something else."

"Where were they spotted?" Sereen's eyes narrowed.

"Sector 3," Argall answered. "That's five systems away."

AN: Chapter 29 is up on (Pat)reon!