Qin Mo and Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl walked side by side through the corridors of the fortress, heading toward the experimental chamber where the heat dissipation technology was stored.
Cawl's massive cybernetic form nearly filled the entire hallway, but thanks to the generous dimensions established during the fortress's construction, he was still able to survey his surroundings with relative ease.
One such sight was a containment cell, housing a female Genestealer Cult Magus. She stood with eerie stillness, her third eye shut but twitching faintly beneath a veil of oily black hair. Judging by the torn remnants of her violet-trimmed ceremonial robe and the spiraling glyphs burned into her flesh, she had once held a high position within the cult's hierarchy.
"A heretical Magus. She's useless now, but I keep her as a trophy... part of my collection," Qin Mo remarked offhandedly.
Cawl did not respond, silently following Qin Mo until they arrived at the outer doors of the testing facility.
Qin Mo entered without difficulty, but Cawl had to retract several mechadendrites and appendages, squeezing his frame into the lab with a faint hiss of pneumatics.
"Your lab is primitive. A far cry from my Ark Mechanicus, Zar-Quaesitor Ultima, the King of Explorators," Cawl grumbled as he finally settled in, his augmented eyes scanning the chamber.
Inside stood a war machine visibly inspired by an Adeptus Astartes Dreadnought. While its frame mimicked the basic silhouette of a Contemptor-pattern, it clearly lacked the same level of refinement. Its construction was rudimentary, an obvious prototype.
"This was my attempt to create a warframe for mortally wounded.. but it's a failed prototype now." Qin Mo explained, approaching the machine and manipulating a nearby control console.
As he operated the system, he continued to explain.
"It was outfitted with powerful weaponry and had exceptional performance in combat simulations, but I never accounted for crew safety or operating conditions in prolonged combat."
"I'll now simulate an extended battlefield deployment scenario. Watch."
Cawl frowned. This crude Dreadnought design bore disturbing similarities to one of his own creations, the Redemptor Dreadnought, a project that still haunted his processors.
Not visually, structurally and technologically, it shared the same flaw.
Qin Mo completed the simulation. Inside the Dreadnought shell, the test dummy ignited as internal systems overheated. The interior became a crematorium, reducing the occupant to carbonized remains.
"My solution is simple," Qin Mo said, picking up a flamethrower-shaped tool connected to a backpack-like device. He walked up to the Dreadnought and gave a voice command: "Print thermal regulator module."
The tool began extracting materials from the pack, fabricating components on the spot. Arc-light flares danced along its barrel. The device disassembled a portion of the Dreadnought's outer plating, exposing its internal frame. Into the superstructure, it wove an intricate network of conductive pathways that resembled electro-fiber veins to Cawl's augmented vision.
Once the "veins" were embedded, the armor plates were reconstructed seamlessly, reprinted layer by layer. A compact module was then printed onto the Dreadnought's back, a small, box-like unit.
Cawl noted that its construction bore no visible seams, a feat of fabrication that bordered on sorcery.
"Let's rerun the scenario," Qin Mo said, initiating the simulation again.
This time, the Dreadnought didn't overheat. While there was no obvious change to the exterior, Cawl's sensors detected a dramatic spike in surface temperature, yet it was stabilizing, dissipated into a controlled thermal gradient.
"The system absorbs and stores heat. You can re-route the energy back into its plasma weaponry, or even use it to power auxiliary functions like heating systems, particularly useful on death worlds or arctic planets," Qin Mo added, gesturing at a holographic readout detailing heat flow in real time.
Cawl studied the makeshift Dreadnought, tilting his head, inspecting the newly-embedded heat regulator. Finally, he asked, "How did you achieve this? This shouldn't be possible."
The Redemptor Dreadnought, Cawl's own design, suffered from the same issue: excessive internal heat buildup during sustained operations, often incinerating the barely-living Astartes interred within.
He had explored thermal regulation designs before, but the core issue was always heat collection and transfer efficiency, especially with the limitations of miniaturization.
As Cawl drew closer, scanning the construct in fine detail, he realized the innovation didn't lie in downsizing, but rather in the material used.
This unfamiliar alloy had extreme thermal sensitivity, absorbing, storing, and even blocking heat conduction in select areas.
"It's a custom alloy, derived from Adamantium and restructured at the molecular level," Qin Mo explained, walking to a corner of the lab. He retrieved a cube-shaped STC unit marked with the words "Thermal Regulation."
"This STC can fabricate heat dissipation modules for any structure you integrate it with, but it needs a special material to operate."
"What's the raw material?" Cawl asked.
"Heat-absorbent metal. It's a resource from the Talon System's hive worlds. Since you'll likely be my only client across the entire Imperium, I'll streamline the procurement process, no bureaucratic rites required," Qin Mo offered with a smile.
Cawl's curiosity deepened. He wanted to know how this so-called metal was produced, but quickly realized such knowledge was beyond reach. All he could do was hope Qin Mo wouldn't extort him on pricing.
"100,000 Thrones per metric ton," Qin Mo declared, spreading his hands. "But Thrones aren't accepted. You'll have to trade in population units or standard trade goods."
Cawl paused. The number was egregious by Mechanicus standards, even insulting. But the underlying implication was clear: Qin Mo wasn't selling a material. He was selling control.
In truth, it was an outrageous price. The raw material could be almost anything stone, metal, or any atomic-structured matter. The real cost lay in time and effort, as only Qin Mo could process this metal using C'tan-tier starforging techniques.
He couldn't just assign it to tech-priests or churn it out in a manufactorum, but he could, if desired, create a sphere of pure heat-absorbing metal 100 kilometers in diameter.
The reason Qin Mo chose to do business with Cawl was not for profit, unlike giving STCs to people like Vick, this was more of a gesture of goodwill. But a gift still warranted some return.
Cawl didn't haggle. He simply nodded. "Agreed."
"Then it's settled." Qin Mo placed the STC in one of Cawl's mechadendrites. With a wave of his hand, the prototype Dreadnought collapsed into scrap, a pile of useless metal.
It dawned on Cawl then: with the Talon System's industrial capability, manufacturing a fully operational Dreadnought was clearly within reach. This unit was likely just a demonstration platform.
"This technology is invaluable," Cawl said. "I will honor our agreement. I'll disassociate myself from Vick publicly, and ensure he has a future in the Mechanicus."
He stowed the STC deep within his chassis, then turned and carefully extricated himself from the lab.
As he walked through the corridor, his processors buzzed with unresolved questions.
The STC, Qin Mo must've crafted it himself. But how? Did he have an STC that could produce STCs?
A fully adaptive STC? One that could tailor STC in real time? Such a thing should not exist, unless Qin Mo possessed something far greater than he admitted. A progenitor STC, perhaps. Or a self-replicating design template?
Cawl chose not to dwell on it, for now. The thermal regulation technology alone had resolved numerous pressing research challenges for him.
As he pondered, a message blinked into his optical datafeed, encoded in binary, no translation needed.
["Horst has arrived in the Tyrone Hive."] — Sender: Vick.
Upon seeing the message, Cawl made a decision.
If Lord Inquisitor Horst were to issue an Exterminatus order or initiate a purge of the Talon System, he would immediately extract Qin Mo.
At the very least, the Zar-Quaesitor could offer him sanctuary. For now.
.....
If you'd like to support me and read a bit ahead, feel free to check out my Patreon. (https://www.patreon.com/c/Hemont).
Do you like this Novel? Then pls consider supporting me by Commenting or Rating it.
.....