As the hours passed, the planetary temperature began to decline. Amidst a toxic atmosphere, steam began to re-condense, unleashing a torrential downpour across the world. Under the cooling effect of the ice meteorites, the solidified surface took on a hue of vitrified glass and industrial metal.
High-temperature steam hissed through the air, condensing rapidly upon hitting the cold zones where the ice had been placed. In the depressions of the terrain, water pooled and boiled, constantly venting massive amounts of heat. As the meteorites finished melting, toxic artificial lakes, stained with strange colors and heavy metal isotopes, appeared across the surface.
A heavy transport carrying several Sapient Machine Automata detached from the carrier's hold, descending to a surface where temperatures still averaged 90°C. Though many areas remained uncooled, the ground near the steaming lakes had hardened enough to support a landing.
The hatch hissed open, and an automaton stepped out. Its metallic feet rang with a sharp, clear strike against the vitrified ground. A manipulator arm extended from its back, its cutter quickly carving a small sample from the earth.
The data analysis brought a rare flicker of satisfaction to Axion's logic core. The material was rich in metal, containing numerous rare elements and several unknown metallic components, some of which likely did not originate from this galaxy.
Regardless, it was a boon.
More automata and Eight-Legs were deployed to the surface to carve out a landing zone. Dropping heavy cargo pods directly onto the jagged, uneven terrain would be an inefficient waste of resources. Once a perfectly flat landing zone several kilometers wide was cleared, the carriers detached their main holds to deploy further drones and machinery.
Axion was glad he hadn't abandoned his Sapient Factory equipment but had packed it all for transport. After constructing a Quantum Power Tower, the manufacturing plant was re-established, and a global operation of cutting and excavation commenced.
The solidified metal was fed back into furnaces, filtered, separated, and refined into high-purity ingots. Axion assigned a dedicated group of automata to perform material and alloy-efficiency testing on the unknown metallic components.
For the Sapient Machines, this analysis was a matter of unparalleled efficiency. It was a simple task of synchronous doping tests, smelting alloys, and executing performance trials. Machines do not err; ratios could be adjusted by increments of 0.01 for absolute precision.
In three days, five million sets of test results allowed Axion to determine the application for the unknown metal. A new material was logged and given a designation fitting of the Iron Men: IUF-93291.
This new alloy possessed unique energy-conduction properties. Axion utilized it to fabricate energy amplifiers of various sizes, updating the core modules of every heavy energy weapon in the fleet. These new modules allowed existing weapons to operate with 4.32% to 8.25% less energy loss at the same power output, effectively a direct upgrade to weapon lethality.
Once the refinement was complete, Axion faced a minor logistical dilemma. If he used all the rare materials to build more troops, he could fill the remaining space in his carriers but would still have 25% of the rare materials left over due to weight constraints. Building a new carrier to fill the transport gap would be a waste of time and resources, as constructing an HG-class Heavy Carrier required a dedicated starport and drydock; otherwise, even with anti-gravity tech at its limit, the ship would be torn apart by gravity during construction.
After careful calculation, Axion decided on a different course. All rare materials and the manufacturing plant were repacked. The remaining cargo space was filled to the brim with standard metal ingots. After a two-week layover, the fully laden fleet set sail.
Those two weeks had brought a flurry of victory reports for the Imperial defenders. Across many recently fallen sectors, word came that the swarm was retreating.
One-third of the Imperial battle lines across Segmentum Pacificus saw a sudden, drastic reduction in pressure. The Tyranids seemed to have been startled; they rapidly withdrew bio-fleets from several systems. Even ground swarms in the midst of combat abruptly began dragging corpses into reclamation pools before being siphoned back into orbit. The bio-fleets vanished into the deep void as suddenly as they had arrived.
On planets half-consumed, bewildered Imperial troops watched the retreating xenos in stunned silence. Secret Inquisitorial reports noted that Genestealer Cults were holding frantic rituals to plead for the swarm's return, but the Great Devourer seemed to ignore their psychic beacons entirely. Some cult leaders even died during rituals from freakish psychic backlashes.
Lord Solar Leontus harbored a growing suspicion. The bizarre Tyranid movements were likely linked to the missing Iron Man fleet. Just as he was considering sending a message to Guilliman to use the quantum terminal to ask Axion what he had done, the silver fleet finally appeared at the Mandeville point of the Xendu System.
The silver hulls arrived one after another at Vorchad III, a world deemed a "Dead World" and slated for use as a penal colony. Compared to a standard Imperial fleet, this small seven-ship flotilla possessed a staggering presence.
Axion's flagship, the Pectaro, was larger than an Imperial Gloriana-class battleship; its twenty-eight-kilometer length was awe-inspiring. The two HG-class Heavy Carriers were sixteen kilometers long, far outstripping any Imperial battleship. Even the Swarm Strikers, looking like flying daggers, each spanned twelve kilometers, the length of an Emperor-class Battleship.
Under normal circumstances, an Emperor-class would be the flagship of an entire sector fleet, not one of many in a small task force.
The Pectaro and the four Swarm Strikers held position in the void, while the two carriers docked with the orbital starport. Inside the Theater Command, two staggering combat reports were immediately placed into the hands of Lord Solar Leontus as he observed the return of the silver fleet.