"Wait, that was a bit too fast, please show me that again," Gerhard told Kaelen and Liora.
They had started teaching him Thoughtmark after he hadn't stopped pestering them about it. And after seeing his intelligence and quick grasp, they eventually relented. They had a very small imperceptible smile on their lips as they enjoyed seeing Gerhard make a fool of himself.
[A new skill has been created through a special action]
Sign Language (Active/Passive) Lv. 1
| EXP: 0.00%
| The ability to understand and communicate through structured hand signs and gestures.
| Developed through observation, repetition and interpretation of non-verbal communication systems.
Effects:
| Enables basic understanding of hand signs and gesture-based language
| +10% comprehension speed when observing structured movements
| +10% accuracy when reproducing learned signs
| Slight increase in non-verbal communication efficiency
-
A few days had passed since the Sisters of Silence and the Eye of the Emperor had arrived in the secret stronghold that Gerhard had created for Sera. Gerhard's rather unconventional 21st-century charm had made its way past most of the individuals' defences.
After he had told them about his 'work in progress' on purifying/curing Genestealer infestations as well as Warp corruption. But it was still a work in progress, and it had several limitations. There was no chance to purify or remove the corruption from a daemon, as there was nothing to purify. Doing so would kill it, nothing more.
Gerhard continued to soak up the information on Thoughtmark that he could before stopping. His mind had grown faster, and he could now safely say that he was smarter than before. He could process and memorise things so quickly that he had already reached the level of eidetic memory.
"Say, would you mind if I had a look at your armour?" Gerhard asked the two.
'Why would you want to look at our armour?' Liora signed.
"Why? Well, as you know, I have been working on creating something akin to the power armour of the Space Marines or the Custodes, and I have made quite 'a bit' of progress. I would see it as an honour if you'd allow me to have a look at yours and maybe improve it to a degree."
The two Sisters weren't sure about this and wanted to decline. They had already declined with the weapons they carried, but now, after a few days, they thought that what he said wasn't without merit. Especially after seeing him work on the MK. IV-H "Iron Monger".
Their armour was chipped and their swords blunted, so they wouldn't mind Gerhard fixing both of those things. Little did they know, Gerhard had no interest in 'fixing' anything. He would create new armour and swords for them.
Kael and Liora nodded after thinking about it.
'How do you want to do this?' Kael signed.
"How? How would I do this?" Gerhard asked, not quite familiar with all the signs yet.
Liora shook her head and signed again, trying to explain herself. Thankfully, Lencillus walked to them and translated it for Gerhard.
"They ask how you would want to go about improving the armour."
"Aha, well, I would need to see the pieces and take them apart, if that's alright."
Both of them shook their heads right away. Taking off armour was the same as the ultimate sign of trust. And they hadn't arrived at that level yet. Such a thing would take time. That they took time to teach Gerhard ThoughtMark was already surprising.
"Well then... maybe I could have a look at it like this? And you could tell me what you know about your armour and how it is usually made."
'That works,' Kael signed.
Gerhard listened to the Sisters as they explained what they knew. But sadly, what they knew had almost nothing to do with the scientific aspects of how it was made, and more with the upkeep and the strange rites the Mechanicum had established over millennia. All of which nearly made Gerhard's eyes fall out from all the rolling.
So he used his skills.
[Observe]
[Vratine Armour]
| When a Sister-aspirant takes her final oaths of duty and says the last words she will ever utter aloud in her lifetime, she is given her panoply of war: Vratine armour, the armour of the oath.
| It is a subpattern of technologically advanced battle gear which shares design elements with both the power armour of the Space Marines and the silicate-mesh of Selenite void-mail, though unlike either of those famed suits, it is not fully environmentally sealed or designed for extended operations.
| It does, however, provide formidable protection from ballistic impacts and directed energy weapons, and is tailored and forged uniquely to its intended wearer to allow for their complete freedom of movement and to augment their reaction speed.
| In terrible shape right now.
Gerhard used [Material Analysis] to get to the bottom of things and slowly formed an image in his mind of how the Vratine armour was made and how he might improve it.
He had many ideas, but what mattered was how to do it while staying true to the original. Humans of the Imperium didn't like innovation. So, Gerhard had to take it slow. It took him months to get Sera to accept, use, and care for the weapons he created.
.
Gerhard spent the next few hours in a state of hyper-focused clinical observation. His mind, now thoroughly enhanced by his new titles and stats, didn't just see the ornate gold and crimson of the Vratine plate. Using [Material Analysis] and all his other skills, he uncovered the molecular stress points and the inefficient thermal venting of the ancient sub-patterns.
"That's an elegant touch," Gerhard murmured, his fingers hovering inches from Liora's pauldron, "but the layering creates a kinetic shear point here at the collar. And the environmental seal... or lack thereof... is a tactical nightmare for high-intensity void combat. And some other situations you might encounter."
He didn't mention that the armour was not looking good overall.
The Sisters watched him, their silence ever present but no longer hostile. Gerhard was the Emperor's Chosen, his living Saint, and while that bore a lot of weight, it was his laser focus and immense skill that impressed them more. Lencillus leaned against a support pillar, observing as Gerhard and Hans worked.
> What do you suggest, Master?
"They say the Vratine is a sacred tradition," Lencillus intoned. "To alter its silhouette is akin to altering the oath they swore itself."
> Stagnation is worse than death. Something you should be familiar with, former Custodes.
"Peace, Hans. Though Hans is more than correct, I'm not altering the ancient traditions," Gerhard countered, opening a holographic interface on the computer. "I'm making sure the person who swore the oath doesn't die because of 10,000-year-old, outdated manufacturing mistakes and a lack of maintenance."
"You believe you can improve upon a design that the Emperor himself was present and signed off on?" Lencillus challenged, knowing full well the truth of the matter.
He wanted to challenge Gerhard and gauge his character. The Custodes were marvellous judges of character, but someone with the power Gerhard possessed, he wanted to be extra certain.
"Haha. I believe that were the Emperor here right now, he would ask me to create a Power Armour for him."
Gerhard began the construction from the ground up. He was creating a new variant of the Vratine armour. He utilised his [Material Analysis] and [Engineering] to find a way to blend the robustness of Space Marine and Custodes with the sophisticated efficiency of the Leagues of Votann's Exo-armour philosophies. He also wanted to keep all the advantages and feeling of the Vratine armour, the Sisters of Silence were accustomed to.
Instead of the standard bonded layers, Gerhard began smelting a new composite. He used high-grade Ceramite, the legendary heat-resistant metallic alloy he created from nothing, and reinforced the lattice with Molybdenum and a trace amount of Adamantium dust.
The plates then became virtually immune to standard and even heavy las-fire and could shrug off mid-grade plasma bursts without losing any structural integrity. The problem now was that it was a bit heavy, but he would take care of that as well.
The Vratine's signature mesh was its weakest point against piercing rounds. Gerhard replaced the void-mail with a Double-Linked Silicate-Nanofiber. It retained the flexibility of cloth but possessed the tensile strength of carapace plating. This allowed the Sisters to maintain their impressive, lethal dexterity while being protected from shrapnel and stabs more than they were before.
Borrowing from the idea of his own power armour, Gerhard integrated low-profile, high-torque micro-servos into the limb joints. The goal was that, unlike the bulky Space Marine power armour, these servos should be "reactive." They didn't move for the wearer, that would need more work and not something they would accept, but they multiplied the force of the wearer's natural movements. This gave the Sisters the strength of a heavy combatant without sacrificing the lightning-fast reflexes required for their swordplay.
It also solved the problems of the increased weight.
-
[Vratine Armour – "Refined Vigil Pattern" – Rank: Adept]
| A perfected version of Vratine Armour, enhanced by Gerhard the Gamer while preserving its sacred design and combat philosophy.
| Combines advanced material science, improved structural integrity, and reactive augmentation systems.
- Durability: 1,600/1,600
- Armour Class: Advanced Light Power Armour
| +90% Low-Class Physical Resistance
| +90% Low-Class Energy Resistance
| +75% Low-Class Shockwave Resistance
| +20 STR
| +19 VIT
| +35 DEX
Special Effects:
Reinforced Ceramite Composite
| Virtually immune to standard las-fire
| Strong resistance to plasma weaponry
Silicate Nanofiber Void-Mail
| Flexible armour with carapace-level durability
| Greatly reduces damage from piercing and shrapnel
Reactive Servo Assist System
| Amplifies natural movement
| +40% strength output during motion
| No loss of agility
Thermal Dissipation Matrix
| Rapid heat dispersion
| Strong resistance to energy and flame weapons
Kinetic Stress Redistribution
| Reduces damage from heavy impacts
| Eliminates structural weak points
Enhanced Mobility Framework
| +30% reaction speed
| No movement penalty
| Maintains full combat agility
Improved Environmental Sealing
| Extended toxin resistance
| Short-duration vacuum survivability
-
Gerhard stepped back, wiping grease and metal shavings from his brow. He had worked for hours without end, using the forge, psychokinesis, and small engineering tools, to get things done. The suit sat on the assembly rack, a sleek, golden masterpiece that looked like a Sister of Silence's armour yet concealed Gerhard's technological advancement.
"Please, try it," Gerhard said, gesturing to Liora.
Liora looked at Kaelen, then at Hestia, then at Gerhard and then at the suit. She moved to the rack and, with Hans's assistance, donned the "Vigil" pattern. The Mechandrites came from different directions, took off Liora's armour, and donned the new pieces.
As the final seal clicked at the neck, the micro-servos emitted a soft hum, not the 'barbaric' growl of a Space Marine's Power Armour, as Hans called it condescendingly, but the purr of a well-oiled machine, much like the almost silent Auramite armour of the Adeptus Custodes.
Liora started to move. Slow at first, to get a feeling for the suit and to her surprise, it felt the same as her own armour had. She tried a punch, a spin, and then a low crouch. Her eyes widened in surprise. She felt faster, lighter and stronger. Everything seemed to have improved.
'It enhances my movements but not too much,' she signed.
Despite the armour, her hand movements were fluid and pleasing for her. She seemed to enjoy it.
'It obeys my will without overshooting.'
Lencillus walked forward, touched the chest piece, and looked everything over. He was aware of the process for creating his former armour, even though he had never created one himself or been present during its creation. And this was impressive work, in Lencillus's eyes.
"You have taken the Exo-logics of the Kin and the blueprint of the Vratine and made something... formidable. The Mechanicus would call this tech-heresy, Gerhard. I am no longer surprised that you came to have one of the Tech Priests see you as the Omnissiah. How did someone who was born and grew up in the Lower Hive of this Hive City come to create something with this quality?"
'More importantly, how did you create those materials?' Hestia asked.
"You don't need to worry about the Mechanicus. Who is going to tell them?" Gerhard shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. "When they see a Sister of Silence bench-press a Chaos Dreadnought, before splitting him in half in this thing, they won't open their mouths. As for the materials... well, I already told you. It's a gift."
He looked at the Sisters, who were now looking at him with a level of respect that bordered on professional kinship. Well, except for Hestia. He glanced at her and then turned away.
"Now that we have established that I can improve your armour, I suggest I create another two of them. Then, let's talk about those Greatblades. I think I can make them a 'bit' more powerful.
Oh, and then we should talk about your armour and equipment, Lencillus. You can't go around like this."
"I laid down my gear the day I laid down my position as a Custodes and became an Eye of the Emperor. I shall do without golden armour."
"Oh? And here I thought, you might be interested in having your own set of superior Allarus or Aquillon Pattern Terminator Power Armour, designed and improved by me..."
"The creation of all our armoury is a secret, and I will not reveal this, even if you are a Living Saint, Lord Gerhard."
"I understand. But surely, other patterns for Terminator armour aren't as secret, aren't they?" Gerhard asked.
...
Lencillus was no fool. He naturally realised that someone who could create armour like the MK. I could reverse engineer the Custodes power armour and Terminator armour with scrap. But if he didn't tell him about the Allarus or the Aquillon... there was a grey zone, which he was willing to tread carefully.
Gerhard knew he could create the Terminator armour on his own and quite soon as well. And then there were the most glorious weapons that Sister Hestia had: the Adrathic Destructor and the Plasma Pistol.
He knew that now that he had basically endless Mana, both his engineering and magical skills would see a substantial rise and growth spurt. And he hadn't even included the advancement of the [Creation] skill into that.