74: Chapter 74 Four military industrial companies squeeze into the same factory

The Metallis Forge Temple was completely reconstructed on the third day after the Joint Military Industrial Program of the coalition was officially launched. Those adamantium-reinforced domes and sacred oil-anointed assembly lines left by the Imperial Adeptus Mechanicus were dismantled piece by piece by Drones, and the freed space was re-divided into four interlocking functional sectors according to The Swarm's biological smelting chambers, the Necron's living metal regeneration pods, the Eldar's Wraith-forges, and the assembly lines retained by the Imperial Adeptus Mechanicus. When the Iyanden Farseer first walked into the United Military Industrial Complex, he stood at the entrance for several minutes before taking a step. He said that the Web of Prophecy had never shown a vision of production lines from four different civilizations being squeezed into a single factory.

When Marcus Aurelian arrived at Metallis by shuttle from the Wrath of the Emperor, Sebastian and Oldenburg were already waiting in the complex's Central Dispatch Room. The Brood Queen's quantum-state translator was suspended directly above the dispatch console, and cold green text was scrolling in real-time with the trial run data of each production line. Canoptek-7's living metal regeneration pods and The Swarm's adamantium-chitin composite armor pressing line completed their first joint trial production that morning. When a standard-sized coalition Universal Armor Plate slid out from the end of the pressing line, it was simultaneously embedded with the lattice layers of adamantium-chitin and the quantum-state self-repair protocols of Necron living metal. The test result was that it could withstand a close-range shot from a leviathan mothership's railgun.

Sebastian picked up the armor plate and turned it over and over, examining it for a long time. The last time he fought a Keeper of Secrets at Silent Tomb-7, a whole layer of ceramite on his power armor's breastplate had been corroded away by Chaos psionic energy, and it was the Drones using temporary adamantium-chitin patches dragged from the creep pipes that helped him last until the end of the battle. Now, this armor plate was several times thicker than that patch and had gained self-repair capabilities. He said he hoped the entire Terminator Assault Platoon would be refitted with them as soon as possible.

Oldenburg submitted the compatibility test report for the fleet's Void Shield overload components. The Third Assault Fleet had consumed a large number of Void Shield overload components during the Star of Judgment campaign, and the standard parts of the Adeptus Mechanicus were completely incompatible with the regeneration cycles of Necron living metal. The United Military Industrial Complex produced the first batch of coalition Universal Void Shield Coordinator prototypes on the second morning, integrating The Swarm's living neural network, the Necron's quantum-state resonance, and the Imperial Lance Weapon scattering array into the same fire control protocol. The test results were extremely significant—from the leviathan mothership to the Imperial Strike Cruiser, the coordination delay for the coalition fleet's Void Shield charging was drastically compressed, by more than several orders of magnitude. Oldenburg said that even the most advanced Imperial Navy flagship-class fire control coordinators he had seen in his life were inferior to this prototype.

On the second afternoon, the Iyanden Farseer submitted a trial report for the Wraithshield Generator on behalf of the Eldar. The wraith cruisers of Craftworld Iyanden interfaced their Wraithshields with the Psionic Void Network during joint exercises, successfully providing the coalition fleet with a ghost coating that could absorb Chaos psionic screams. The test data was compelling—the coating's absorption efficiency was extremely high, and the damage to protected units under Chaos psionic impact approached zero. The cost was that the coating needed to be replenished with wraithbone dust after each absorption, making it unsuitable for prolonged battles, but as a breakthrough protection measure before a decisive battle, it was reliable enough.

Nephilak's quantum-state communication was synchronized throughout the complex's Central Dispatch Room. The Overlord Council opened the last batch of Necron Dynasty military industrial archives still under seal to The Swarm, one of which contained complete design blueprints for the Old Ones' psionic conduction channels from the end of the War in Heaven. Nephilak suggested integrating the Old Ones' psionic conduction channel design with the network of the Star of Judgment blockage protocol into a psionic evacuation network spanning all coalition defense zones in the Ultima Segmentum. His tone remained steady, but Marcus noticed that when he mentioned the Old Ones' design blueprints, the cold green light in his eye sockets was brighter than usual.

Marcus filed the various test reports one by one and then signed three formal orders. The Joint Fleet Command would fully refit with coalition Universal Armor Plates and Void Shield Coordinators, with priority distribution to the Third Assault Fleet and the leviathan mothership battle group; the Psionic Void Network technical committee officially launched the integration project for the Old Ones' psionic conduction channel network, jointly presided over by the Brood Queen, the Iyanden Farseer, and Canoptek-7; the next window for the Old Ones' assessment had been confirmed by the Void Throat command to open after several standard cycles, and all coalition units were to enter a new round of combat readiness immediately. Oldenburg accepted the order, saying that the crew of the Third Assault Fleet would send a silk banner to the United Military Industrial Complex after the refit was complete. Sebastian gathered his entire Terminator Assault Platoon next to the complex's assembly line, watching the first batch of coalition Universal Armor Plates slide off the pressing line, and personally snapped one onto his own power armor's breastplate.

The Brood Queen only mentioned one piece of business during the entire dispatch process—the Overmind's approval of the Joint Military Industrial Program had been forwarded to the War Council, along with a preliminary hint for the next stage of combat readiness. The hint was just one sentence: The next round of exams will require the coalition to take the initiative and attack. Marcus pulled up the countdown for the Void Throat's assessment window and then synchronized the fleet-wide combat readiness order and the attack announcement to Terra and all coalition members. The coalition fleet's warships regrouped in orbit, and the calls on the fleet channels rose one after another, transitioning into encrypted tests before the sortie. He closed his data slate and said that the coalition no longer lacked weapons.