When the deployment data from Pandora was relayed back to the main body via the cross-dimensional communicator, Osiris's primary form was stationed deep within the gene-seed laboratory aboard the Eternal Seeker.
His massive, heavily augmented body stood motionless before the main command console, while dozens of precise mechanical tendrils shifted silently behind his back, plugging into different data feeds. In the heart of the laboratory, tissue samples suspended within pale green nutrient fluid inside colossal incubation vats formed the baseline for the second experimental batch of the gene-seed project.
Upon receiving the report from the second avatar confirming that Pandora had stabilized, the Eldar's "World Soul Restructuring Project" was moving forward, and the security forces had successfully moved into the RDA facilities, the main body's mind quickly filed the data away and weighed the situation.
Pandora is running exactly as planned. The Eldar have started their initial rituals; the risks are manageable, and the long-term profits remain steady, a cold thought rippled through his mind. The second avatar can handle the routine affairs over there on his own. Right now, I need to focus all my resources on making sure our core projects advance.
He sent back a brief, direct order to the second avatar: Keep Pandora on its current course. Step up your monitoring of the mining operations on the Predator world within the Death World system, and make sure the prisoner containment and research stay efficient. Ensure the technical blueprint Ulthwé sent for the 'World Soul' plan matches all our requirements, and keep a close eye on their initial node placement so they don't overstep. Handle everything else according to our existing backup plans.
With the message sent, the main body turned its full attention straight back to the experiments at hand. Pandora was a vital source of resources and a great testing ground, but since everything was tracking exactly with his projections, it didn't need any extra supervision.
The research into optimizing and mass-producing gene-seed, along with the project to breed elite warriors for the Collegia Titanica, were the real priorities that would cement his future power and leverage within the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Space Marines.
The second phase of the gene-seed optimization trials had officially begun.
While the first phase had simply proven that they could speed up the breeding process and streamline the surgeries, the second phase went much deeper. While keeping the baseline success rates and physical benchmarks perfectly intact, Osiris was now trying to fine-tune the gene-seed itself. He was testing the limits of enhancing specific traits—like faster reflexes, denser bones, and optimized hormone levels—all while making the cultivation cycle use less energy and nutrients to cut down on his dependency on rare Imperial catalysts.
The physiological data, combat records, and biopsy analyses from the first batch of recruits—the ones successfully modified under the faster process and proven in the Imperial Fists' trials—were flowing back into the main database. It was invaluable feedback, used to sharpen and perfect the parameters for this second phase.
Meanwhile, the raw materials for the second batch had arrived aboard the Eternal Seeker. Sigismund had personally picked another group of young men from Necromunda and its surrounding loyal worlds.
They would go through the exact same process as the first group: the absolute best of them would be shipped off to the Imperial Fists to replenish the Chapter's ranks, while the rest of the qualified candidates would serve as Osiris's exclusive test subjects for experimental procedures that pushed the boundaries of traditional bio-engineering.
These experiments included testing how fast new chemical catalysts could make organs mature, introducing tiny hints of specific psychic frequencies during cultivation to see if it toughened the subjects' mental resilience, and simulating extreme combat stress in a controlled environment to train their bodies' stress responses ahead of time.
Measured strictly against orthodox Martian dogma or the views of conservative Tech-Priests, these lines of research undoubtedly crossed into gray, if not explicitly forbidden, territory.
Yet Osiris had plenty of cover. Primarch Rogal Dorn's approval of the first phase's breakthroughs was a massive endorsement. Sigismund, as one of Dorn's most trusted sons, fully understood the long-term value of Osiris's research to the Imperial Fists and the wider Space Marines.
Because of that, he chose to look the other way and keep things quiet regarding these experimental procedures; his only rules were that the test subjects had to be strictly volunteers and that the final Marines remained entirely loyal and uncorrupted.
However, an operation of this size couldn't stay completely hidden.
The sudden appearance of an unregistered planet within the Death World system, coupled with the occasional energy signature of non-Imperial ships in orbit—despite the Eldar's best efforts to hide them—had finally caught the attention of the Black Templars company stationed at the Death World base. A carefully worded but undeniably factual report eventually made its way up to Sigismund.
The High Marshal of the Black Templars personally boarded the Eternal Seeker. He found Osiris along the gantry overlooking the main laboratory, a room buzzing with humming instruments and scrolling data. The Marshal's gaze swept across the glowing incubation vats and the busy Tech-Priests below, finally resting on Osiris's massive cybernetic form.
"Magos Osiris," Sigismund said, his voice steady and carrying his usual bluntness. "The garrison forces on the Death World have reported a new planet appearing out of nowhere in their system. On top of that, they've picked up energy fluctuations pointing to xenos activity—they suspect Eldar. They want to know if this is part of your plans, and if they should raise their alert status."
Osiris turned his glowing red eyes toward Sigismund, his artificial voice completely flat: "It is, High Marshal Sigismund. The planet is part of a resource harvesting operation under my direct supervision.
A distinct alien species lives on that world, and from their bodies we can harvest a highly effective regenerative compound—which I've temporarily named 'Amrita Extract.' This substance is incredibly valuable for several of our biological research projects, including certain stages of our ongoing gene-seed initiative."
He paused for a second, as if checking a data log, before continuing: "As for the Eldar, their presence is just a limited partnership based on mutual needs. They provided some spatial calculations to help anchor the planet, and in exchange, I let them look at some of my parallel research data. The active part of that cooperation is over. The remaining ships they have out there are strictly for observation and pose no threat to the base. I've told the garrison to keep an eye on them, but there's no need to overreact."
Sigismund listened in silence, his face unreadable. He knew perfectly well that Osiris was leaving things out; a planet didn't just appear by conventional means, and a deal with the Eldar was never just a simple partnership. But as Osiris had framed it, this was strictly the business of a Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
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For the love of GOD EMPEROR END THIS SAGA ALREADY!