Nolan narrowed his eyes and looked at the armor for a long moment. Then he turned his head toward Reditus.
"Tell me the functions. All of them."
"No problem, Lord Primarch. I will begin with the materials."
Reditus's optical sensors pulsed red as he fired his anti-gravity engine and began circling Nolan's tall frame, the mechadendrites trailing behind him like a comet's tail.
"Original vibranium and Antarctic vibranium were melted and mixed in a specific ratio. The result is this pale gold alloy: a new material that retains the indestructible strength of both source metals while unlocking a function neither possessed alone. When the armor sustains accumulated damage across a prolonged engagement, it stores the incoming kinetic energy rather than simply dispersing it. That stored energy can then be released all at once." He paused with the satisfaction of someone recounting something they had worked very hard to achieve. "This is, in fact, a latent property of original vibranium. When I constructed your current armor, I made an error in the proportioning and failed to activate it. This time I did not."
He circled past the wings and continued.
"One consequence of the alloy's nature: no paint or surface coating can bond to it. The pale gold color is permanent."
He moved lower, indicating the torso.
"The internal electro-fiber bundles are wound from Antarctic vibranium throughout. The strength augmentation they provide substantially exceeds your current armor. Where your present suit adds approximately one third to your base strength, this adds closer to one half."
He rose again, gesturing toward the wings with two mechadendrites simultaneously.
"The wings are not decorative. Inside each one I have integrated a dense lattice of electro-fiber bundles and servo actuators. They function as fully articulated mechanical limbs, capable of independent movement and directional force. More importantly: when the wings fold inward against the back plate, the internal structure temporarily assembles into a propulsion configuration derived from Ark reactor principles. You will be capable of short-distance flight."
He was moving faster now, the red light in his eyes flickering rapidly.
"The skull helmet is my personal contribution to the aesthetic. The inspiration came from the Astartes priest-brothers and their tradition of skull-shaped masks. But the helmet is not merely decorative either. Living metal from Necron construction has been incorporated into the interior structure. The skull itself is modular vibranium. A thought through the neural connection interface is sufficient to collapse the entire skull configuration into the armor's interior, fully integrated, without removing anything by hand."
He slowed and added, with the tone of someone getting ahead of an objection:
"The skull's defensive rating is approximately one third lower than a solid vibranium helmet. It remains significantly stronger than ceramite. This is not a weakness you should be careless about, but it is also not a weakness that will define the armor."
Nolan had listened without interrupting. When Reditus finished, he drew a slow breath and nodded.
"Put it on me. If it performs the way you describe, Reditus, you've done another great thing."
"It is an honor to serve the Primarch!"
The red light in Reditus's sensors accelerated to a rapid stutter. He called the servo robots forward immediately, and their mechanical tentacles went to work disassembling Nolan's current vibranium plate with practiced efficiency.
"Does it have a name?"
Nolan had extended his arms to give the robots access to the shoulder mounts. He asked the question without looking up.
Reditus paused. A brief hesitation, which for a Tech-Priest was unusual.
"I originally intended to call it the Armor of Truth. Then I reconsidered." Another pause. "If you do not object, Lord Primarch, I would name it Starfire Glory. It is meant to reflect that the Primarch is himself a spark, carrying the Emperor's light to an Imperium that has long needed it."
"Starfire Glory." Nolan turned it over once. "Good meaning. That's it."
A Warp portal tore open in the air.
The Carcharodons Lexicanium maintained it with psychic effort, their concentration absolute, their vigilance no lower than it would have been in open combat. Through the portal came Tyberos, leading a group of veterans in newly forged Terminator plate, several of them also carrying ancient suits of Terminator armor in their arms to be returned to the Nicor's armory.
Not long after, a heavy magnetic boot in dull pale gold touched the deck on the other side of the portal.
Nolan stepped through.
Starfire Glory caught the light of the Nicor's interior and held it along every engraved line of the prayer scriptures, along the eagle's beak of the asymmetric shoulder guard, along each layered feather of the wings folded against his back. The skull helmet looked out at the assembled veterans with empty dark red lenses.
In his right hand, the Warscythe hummed quietly, its blade edged in green light. In his left, he carried the Dawnbringer Warhammer.
He set the hammer down.
The impact made a dull, heavy sound, and the metal deck dimpled slightly beneath the head. Even with Starfire Glory's strength augmentation added to his own increasing physical power, Nolan could lift the Dawnbringer. He could swing it three or four times before the exertion became prohibitive. Wielding it freely, the way he used the Warscythe, was still somewhere ahead of him on a very long climb.
Several Terminator veterans drove forward and took the hammer between them, carrying it toward the ship's passage.
Nolan spoke briefly with Kahurangi and the other Lexicanium, then turned and walked toward the ceremony hall.
A short time later, he settled onto the metal throne that had once belonged to Tyberos. The pale gold wings spread slightly behind him as he sat, catching the low light of the hall. He looked around once, taking in the space.
Then he reached behind his waist and removed the Mind Gem from its storage compartment. The faint yellow light pulsed slowly in his palm.
"Leave the Space Gem with Tony and the others for research. I'll carry the Mind Gem." He turned it over between his fingers. "Without an Infinity Stone, I want to see what kind of storm the Mad Titan can actually stir up."
He held the Mind Gem for another moment, then stowed it and activated the simulator.
A throne coin, palm-sized, appeared in his hand.
The local world was quiet. The Ghoul Stars were quiet. A rare peace had settled across both theaters at once, and for the first time in a long while, there was time to use.
He planned to continue the simulations. Technologies to acquire. Operations to run through. The list was long.
"Emperor bless."
He drew a slow breath. His metal fingers moved slightly.
The throne coin flipped up into the air.