Two days later.
As the final laser calibration step concluded, the indicator light shifted from red to green.
The Gravitational Wave Interference Thermal Base Station was slowly lifted from the assembly platform by heavy mechanical arms.
The machine looked remarkably solid and heavy—its main body was a standard black industrial box measuring roughly four meters long and two meters wide.
Its surface was covered with cooling grilles and thick hydraulic lines. Inside the black casing, thermal gradient coils were fully sealed and secured.
Andy stood beside it, watching the equipment fresh off the assembly line as he calculated the logistics in his mind.
This thing was far too heavy—its dry weight reached 5.8 tons. Furthermore, its internal structure was incredibly delicate and could not endure violent shocks or collisions. Transporting it to the Great Western Desert hundreds of kilometers away and burying it underground near the gravitational wave beacon was impossible by manual labor alone.
They would have to deploy heavy flatbed transport trucks and equip specialized crane servitors.
Moreover, this machine wasn't something you could just drop in place and expect to work. It required a massive power supply to maintain the stability of its thermal gradient, as well as a dedicated data line connected to a ground control terminal.
In other words, Andy wasn't just going on an expedition; he had to build a small-scale infrastructure project on the side.
When the time came, he would need Engineering Division 6 to send two heavy trucks to load the equipment, alongside two backup geothermal energy converters to drill wells and harvest power on site.
As for the control terminal, that was simple enough to fabricate on the fly.
---
After arranging the equipment logistics, Andy turned and walked toward the adjacent gear prep area.
There, a specially assembled expedition team stood ready.
Twenty Mark-II Combat Servitors were lined up in neat formation in the rear.
Standing at the very front were six fully armed human soldiers.
Kolber stood at the head, backed by five top-tier veterans handpicked from the Storm Squad.
They were outfitted in the freshly tuned and upgraded "Vanguard" Assault Power Armor.
This batch of power armor bore clear differences from previous iterations.
The most intuitive change was a bulky add-on module mounted directly above the back power pack. Several thick gas lines ran down the sides of their helmets, feeding directly into the faceplate breathers.
A fully enclosed life-support system—specially installed by Andy.
Because their destination was the interior of a Necron hyper-dimensional pocket, no one could predict the environment inside. It might be a vacuum, filled with deadly radiation or toxic gas, or a completely lifeless void without an ounce of air. Without a life-support system, ordinary mortals entering such a space might lose combat effectiveness in under two minutes.
Andy stepped up to Kolber and tapped his thick chest plate, producing a dull metallic thud.
"How does it feel?"
"Very heavy, boss."
Kolber's voice filtered through the helmet speaker with a muffled, electronic tint. "Noticeably heavier than the previous build, and the center of gravity shifted. Especially with that tank bolted onto the back—turning around makes me feel a bit off-balance."
"That's to be expected."
Andy nodded, entirely unsurprised.
"Adding a life-support system means adding extra batteries and oxygen tanks. The weight increased by at least sixty kilograms. But don't worry—I compensated for it in the hydraulic assists at the knees and waist. You just need to adapt to the inertia."
Privately, however, Andy sighed.
Truth be told, even with a functional life-support system attached, the current "Vanguard" power armor was still quite far from the true standard blueprint in his STC database.
To put it bluntly, it was a severe budget cobble-job.
A pureblood "Vanguard" suit from the Dark Age of Technology was a single-man weapon of mass destruction—capable of atmospheric cruise maneuvers, equipped with built-in deflector shields, and designed for low-altitude jump assaults. Its armor used self-repairing alloys, its power core was a micro cold-fusion battery, and its neural interface operated via zero-latency quantum sensing.
And what did Andy have right now?
The armor materials were ceramite and plasteel churned out by his black-box converters. Though their hardness was decent enough, they had zero self-repair capabilities; once damaged, plates had to be manually swapped out.
Power came from high-capacity storage batteries. Though scaled up from Jokaero digital ring technology with decent endurance, they couldn't hold a candle to nuclear batteries and fell way short in explosive output.
As for the core neural control system, the Type-IV neural bundle was advanced tech, sure—but it was Xenos technology. Its compatibility with human mechanical structures had minor flaws, requiring numerous decoders just to adapt the signals.
In summary: a total Frankenstein patch-job.
Andy ran a data simulation in the background.
If he pitted this budget Vanguard against the Imperium's current active-duty Astartes Power Armor—the Mark VII Aquila—in a head-to-head comparison test:
' ''Defense:'' Roughly equal. Ceramite was hard currency either way; physical resistance was largely comparable.
' ''Power Output:'' The Vanguard took a slight lead, thanks to the superior hydraulic design of the Dark Age of Technology.
' ''Response Time:'' The Vanguard achieved total victory. The signal transmission speed of the Aeldari neural bundle completely outclassed the Imperium's Black Carapace interface.
' ''Sustained Combat, Environmental Adaptability, and Metaphysical "Machine Spirit Blessings":'' The Vanguard was an absolute novice.
Overall evaluation: A 50/50 split.
Which meant that if Andy's six men put on this gear, they could theoretically go toe-to-toe with six Space Marines—assuming a one-on-one scenario.
For a mortal unit, this was already the absolute pinnacle of loadouts.
Yet Andy remained unsatisfied.
Their opponents weren't Space Marines; they were Necrons.
And the metal skeletons were notorious for playing dirty.
Their Gauss weaponry could disintegrate molecular bonds directly, dead infantry could get back up, and their melee units could phase through walls or teleport. Against an enemy like that, having good gear wasn't enough—you needed brains and tactics.
---
"No matter how good the gear is, sending unskilled people in is just suicide."
Andy looked at the soldiers fidgeting in their suits and spoke up: "You've fought gangs, you've fought mutants, and you've even fought the regular army of Helios. But this time is different."
"This time, we're going into a tomb of the dead, facing ancient relics from tens of millions of years ago. Their fighting style is unlike anything you've ever seen before."
"To make sure you don't just end up as cannon fodder..."
"Follow me to the plaza."
---
The central plaza of Fort Horrison had just been cleared out, transformed into a temporary exercise ground.
Six armored soldiers stood at one end of the square, holding training weapons loaded with marking rounds.
Andy stood at the opposite end.
He carried no weapons, merely reaching behind his back.
'Click.'
Andy unhooked a small metallic sphere and casually tossed it into the center of the plaza.
'Hummm—'
The sphere hovered a meter off the ground. A wave-like pattern trickled across its surface before it settled into a matte, deep black finish. It possessed no visible thrusters, relying entirely on a anti-gravity field to float, emitting an exceptionally faint, unsettling low-frequency hum.
"Listen up," Andy said, pointing at the sphere. "I will control it to simulate the attack logic of the two most common security units found in Necron facilities: Canoptek Scarabs and Canoptek Wraiths."
"The rules are simple. All six of you attack together and try to hit it with your weapons. If it touches you—even if it just brushes past—you're considered KIA."
"Starting with the Canoptek Wraith simulation. Everyone ready?"
"Begin!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the motionless sphere vanished.
Not via invisibility, but because its speed surpassed the dynamic vision tracking limits of the human eye.
"Over there! On the left!" a soldier shouted, raising his gun to fire.
It was completely useless.
The sphere's flight trajectory defied all laws of inertia. It could execute right-angle turns at high sprint speeds without slowing down, moving like a phantom unconstrained by physical laws.
'Swish—'
The sphere blurred across the ground, instantly darting right beneath the soldier's feet.
The soldier instinctively tried to stomp down while reversing his rifle butt to smash it.
He was too slow.
The sphere didn't crash into his leg directly. Instead, it circled his leg with extreme agility before lightly tapping the back of his knee.
'Beep.'
A KIA notification echoed inside the soldier's helmet.
"Number One out," Andy announced cold-faced.
The sphere didn't pause. Utilizing its anti-gravity field, it bounced upward like a bullet, locking onto its second target.
This soldier was clearly more experienced. He immediately fell back, trying to open up distance and seek cover. He ducked behind a concrete barrier, resting his barrel over the top to ambush the target.
It was a textbook human infantry tactical move. Against human enemies with guns, it worked wonders.
But his opponent was a simulated Canoptek Wraith.
What was the defining trait of a Canoptek Wraith?
Dimensional phasing—commonly known as walking through walls.
Andy controlled the sphere, driving it straight toward the concrete barrier. The moment before impact, the sphere shifted its properties.
Gaseous phase!
It passed right through the solid concrete as if slipping through mist.
The soldier's vision blurred; before he could react, the sphere emerged through the cover and slammed straight into his faceplate.
'Beep.'
"Number Two out."
In under ten seconds, two fully armed Vanguard soldiers were eliminated.
The remaining four panicked. They had never encountered this style of fighting—absurdly fast, erratic movement, and complete disregard for terrain or cover. How were they supposed to fight this?
"Don't panic! Don't panic!"
"Set up a crossfire net! Block its movement paths!"
The remaining soldiers tried to group up, forming a back-to-back defensive formation.
It was still useless.
The sphere traced a bizarre arc in the air, suddenly accelerating and slamming into the middle of the group like an artillery shell. It bounced rapidly between the three of them, leaving afterimages in its wake.
'Beep. Beep. Beep.'
Three chimes sounded almost simultaneously. Three more eliminated.
Now, only Kolber remained on the field.
He didn't search for cover like the others, nor did he stand his ground to pump out fire. The very first second the battle started, the moment he saw Soldier Number One get instagibbed, he had executed a maneuver nobody expected.
'WIRRRR—!!!'
He engaged his back-mounted power pack.
Vast thrust launched him into the air, flying straight up into the sky. He didn't stay static, constantly shifting directions, accelerating, diving, and pulling up.
He was running—flying wildly all over the field without any recognizable pattern.
Having lost its ground target, the sphere immediately pivoted and gave chase toward Kolber in mid-air.
Using the high mobility of his power suit, Kolber maintained a gap of over fifty meters between himself and the sphere at all times.
"Come on! Come get me!"
Kolber fired backward as he flew, marking rounds tracing white lines through the air. Though most shots missed, he never stopped firing.
The sphere attempted to accelerate and catch up. But Kolber used his jump pack to perform an extraordinarily nimble air-brake turn, causing the sphere to strike empty air.
In that brief window while the sphere reoriented itself, Kolber seized the opening.
He snapped his barrel down, anticipated the sphere's trajectory, and dumped a three-round burst.
'Pak! Pak! Pak!'
The three marking rounds sealed off all escape angles. One of them scored a direct hit right on the center of the sphere.
'BEEEEEP—'
The sphere ceased motion, hovering motionless in mid-air as its indicator turned red.
[Simulated Unit Destroyed.]
Silence blanketed the plaza.
Andy looked up at Kolber in the air, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint smile.
"Interesting."
Andy waved his hand, and the sphere flew back behind his back.
"Again."
---
Round two began.
This time, Andy cranked up the difficulty—the sphere moved faster and cut sharper angles.
Yet Kolber had already grasped the core principle. He didn't try to match the sphere's reaction speed; he matched its mobility and distance control. Whenever the sphere closed in, he used a burst of thrust to widen the gap.
Even if his shots missed, it didn't matter—as long as he stayed alive, he would have opportunities to deal damage.
Two minutes later, the sphere was hit again.
Round three.
The sphere even simulated split-image attacks, darting back and forth to create decoys.
Kolber remained composed, even learning to use the terrain for wall-bounces. He baited the sphere into smashing into a wall, using that fraction of a second of bounce recovery to take it out in one shot.
Three rounds, three victories!
"Awesome!"
"Old Kolber is a beast!!"
The watching Storm Squad soldiers erupted into deafening cheers.
They finally understood: this heavy suit of armor wasn't built for tanking hits—it was built for running away!
'Psssshhhh—'
Kolber slowly descended to the ground and opened his faceplate. Covered in sweat and gasping heavily for air, the intense high-g maneuvers had clearly drained his physical stamina.
Yet he didn't rest.
He yanked over his five teammates—who had been eliminated early and were currently looking sheepish.
"Did you all catch that?" Kolber demanded, explaining: "Stop standing there like damn target dummies! Cover is useless, walls are useless, shields are useless!"
He pointed at the power pack on his back: "Don't stingily hoard the fuel!"
"The boss didn't give us these packs just to look cool carrying them!"
"Our power supply is plentiful, and the batteries are full. Since we have the gear, fly for me! Run for me!"
"The boss said it too—security constructs might be fast, but they can only fight in melee. As long as you don't let them get close, they're just sitting targets!"
"Open the distance, keep moving, and don't let them touch you! That's the only way to survive!"
Kolber glared at them, his tone firm: "Kite them!!"
Standing in the distance watching the scene unfold, Andy gave Kolber a silent thumb-up in his mind.
This guy had incredible tactical intuition.
He hadn't just learned how to operate the gear himself; he had summarized the exact tactical framework best suited for this budget-build power armor.
If your armor isn't hard enough, don't tank.
If your reaction speed has a ceiling, trade distance for space!