Seeing Solomon suddenly acting like he'd been injected with pure adrenaline, Gaia knew the throne gelt had taken effect.
Solomon stroked his little mustache and declaimed with full theatrical feeling,
"Oh, by the God-Emperor, honored Forge Lord, your generosity and your sincere devotion to your teacher have truly moved me, so let us consider it settled."
There was a hint of urgency in his voice, as if he were afraid the other party might change his mind.
A trace of confusion flashed through the Forge Lord's bionic eye.
He had not even finished listing the terms yet, so how had the other man already agreed?
Still, since they were willing to help, he was not a stingy man, so he simply continued with the rest of his offer.
"Beyond what I have already said, I will help you secure the highest-quality channels for the servitors and crew you need."
"In addition, within the limits of my ability, I can also help each of you accomplish one thing."
As Gaia listened to the Forge Lord offer such generous terms, she could not help admiring how deeply committed he was to returning to Mars. At the same time, her thoughts focused especially on that final reward.
A promise like that, almost like a wish from a spirit in a lamp, stirred her heart.
Did this mean she could ask the Forge Lord to forge a custom suit of power armor for her?
Though she had somehow been transformed by Ulizar into a one-of-a-kind female Astartes, she still had no matching suit of power armor.
And an Astartes without power armor was like fries on Old Terra without ketchup.
It had no soul.
Still, even though Dushi's case had already shown that this Forge Lord was an orthodox Mechanicus priest with a flexible sense of boundaries, getting him to build power armor for something as blasphemous as her, and even perform the armor-donning rite, would probably not be easy.
At the very least, before completing his request and successfully bringing back his mentor, she did not feel she had the standing to make that kind of demand.
"By the Omnissiah, according to my information, your ship's main engine seems to have suffered extremely serious damage."
"So, as a gesture of sincerity, I will send one of my engine priests to help you repair the ship as quickly as possible."
"While you are away traveling to Swuvi, I will also prepare the servitors and crew for you."
The Forge Lord's sincerity was so overwhelming that Gaia actually felt a faint sense of guilt.
Not only had she taken Dushi's core, she was also planning to rely on him to repair Dushi's body.
And on top of that, he still had to thank her.
But then, when she thought it through, if not for the fluctuations in the stasis field caused by her soul, Dushi would never have used the geothermal generator's power to draw them down there, and the energy field blocking the Forge Lord all this time would never have been removed.
And now, she had gained a lead, Solomon had secured benefits, and the Forge Lord had found hope.
This was a three-way win.
So she accepted the Forge Lord's goodwill with a clear conscience.
And so, after happily establishing a cooperative relationship, the three of them returned to the underground forge level by following the subterranean passage the Forge Lord had built during his earlier expeditions into the cavern.
The moment they emerged from the tunnel exit, they were immediately surrounded by a large number of priests and Skitarii.
Several Tech-Priests at the front stepped forward and saluted the Forge Lord.
"Thanks be to the Omnissiah. Revered Lord of Iron and Fire, it is truly a blessing that you are unharmed."
After that sudden earthquake, the Skitarii had sensed something was wrong and rushed into the room where the Forge Lord had been interrogating Gaia and Solomon, only to find a massive fissure in the floor.
While they had still been in a panic, they received a message from the Forge Lord, who had gone into the cavern with the two outsiders.
He ordered the priests and Skitarii to seal off the abandoned tunnel entrance at once and await his instructions.
That was why these loyal servants of the Land sect had gathered here now.
Gaia glanced at the Forge Lord, who was signaling for everyone not to show hostility, and her expression grew meaningful.
While they had been below, this Forge Lord had seemed rather approachable and had even patiently answered a long series of questions.
Even when he made his request at the end, he had not acted lofty or overbearing. Everything in his tone had suggested that the decision was entirely up to the two of them.
But when she saw these long-waiting loyal soldiers of the Machine God, she understood that if the two of them had refused his request earlier and failed to form some kind of common-interest alliance with him, then these Skitarii would not be standing here now like some kind of welcoming procession.
After all, they had seen the little secret this Forge Lord had hidden beneath Igor III.
And Solomon's pupils also narrowed slightly.
The moment he saw the Skitarii the Forge Lord had secretly summoned through some hidden communication method, he too realized that this man was no generous benefactor scattering riches for free.
That conversation in the cavern had not only decided whether they would accept his request.
It had also decided what kind of reception they would receive afterward.
It seemed the internal waters of the Mechanicus tied to this Forge Lord ran far deeper than either of them had imagined.
Still, some things were better left understood without being spoken aloud.
So Gaia, acting as though she had not seen the fully armed Skitarii at all, spoke to the mechanical giant leading the way ahead of them.
"As a matter of fact, I have one small request."
"After the gravitic chronometer on our ship was damaged, we never had the chance to repair it, so we haven't been able to confirm the exact date and year..."
After hearing Gaia's words, the Forge Lord kept moving forward on his four mechanical legs and gave a slight nod.
"I will have the engine priests repair your gravitic chronometer as well."
"But before that, you may come with me to the heart of the forge. There is a clock tower there erected by the Court of Time."
After receiving that answer, the tension that had held Gaia's body taut since earlier finally began to fade.
In small details, truth often revealed itself.
What Gaia had asked for was only a minor favor, but the Forge Lord's response showed that his goodwill was genuine.
...
At the center of the forge, where sacred flames burned, a towering clock tower built of steel and the remains of the sanctified dead rose above a massive composite iron framework poured from the flesh and metal of servitors.
Gaia raised her head and looked at the hours, minutes, and seconds synchronized with Holy Terra itself.
0174.200 M36
That is, the 174th one-thousandth portion of the 200th year of the 36th Millennium.
And that result made Gaia's eyes tremble slightly.
After all, they had spent no small amount of time in the Warp before this.
And before they had entered it, Solomon had already said that 200.M36 had arrived.
Seen that way, the chaotic flow of time within the Warp had somehow become an advantage for them.
Time, it seemed, was on their side.
(End of Chapter)
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