Chapter 57: Information Analysis
The success of the experiment was only the first step. The true harvest was in the data.
Joric transferred the astonishingly large, encrypted data-packet to the manufactorum's dedicated, high-capacity analysis-cogitator array. The system, a hybrid he had personally sanctified, fusing Mechanicus tech with local hardware, whirred to life, its cooling fans emitting a low howl.
Joric stood before the main holo-display, his optical lenses locked on the decryption-litany as it began to scroll. He engaged the specialized logic-core modules he had designed for processing Adeptus Mechanicus internal communications and began the systematic breach.
The first data-set to be fully decrypted was the "After-Action Report" from the archeotech ruin in the Warhammer universe. The sender-identification was, as hoped, the specialized servo-skull he had transmitted in the last experiment.
The report, rendered in flawless, dense binary-cant and supplemented with structural schematics, resource inventories, and precise work-logs, detailed the current progress within the ruin.
The log confirmed that the servo-skull was strictly adhering to the pre-programmed directives. It had successfully organized the remaining Skitarii tech-guard and servitors left behind. They were systematically cleansing the main corridors leading to the ruin's core, clearing the accumulated dust of ages and localized structural collapses. They had reinforced key support structures, assessed the remaining functionality of the ancient force-field generators, and—most importantly—had begun constructing a specialized, isolated operational sanctum for dimensional experiments, based on the new schematics Joric had optimized and included in the skull's data-stores.
The attached progress-schematic showed that the foundational structure and primary power-conduits for this new experimental zone were already in place. Completion was estimated at over fifty percent. According to the servo-skull's own projections, the site would meet minimum operational safety standards by the time Joric was ready to attempt his next materiel-transit.
Joric inclined his head, a flicker of satisfaction in his logic-engine. The progress on the other side met his projections. This was a critical, solid step toward his strategic goal of establishing a stable, two-way conduit to access the resources of his home universe.
Next, he began to parse the second part of the data-packet.
This information did not originate from the ruin itself, but was a backlog of external communications, forwarded by the Adeptus Mechanicus Escort Frigate that remained in high orbit. As the Explorator vessel assigned to support his mission, it was not under his direct command, but was obligated to follow his directives during the exploration. Before descending to the ruin, Joric had ordered the Enginseer-Captain to maintain a silent, high-orbit vigil and await his return.
Although Joric had been "missing" for some time, this was not cause for alarm. In the Adeptus Mechanicus, where research projects were often measured in standard Terran decades, a brief period of operational silence was entirely normal. The ship's command crew likely assumed he had made a breakthrough and did not wish to be disturbed. Thus, they had merely logged and forwarded the messages to his ground-base, taking no other action.
These messages had been received and archived by his remaining servitors in the ruin, who were under orders not to reply. It was only when Joric's new messenger-skull arrived that it, following its own core directives, transmitted a simple, coded reply to the orbiting frigate: "Research has entered a critical phase. All is proceeding as the Omnissiah wills. Maintain silent vigil."
Most of the forwarded messages were routine, worthless static.
But among the garbled data-streams, one message, flagged ++[MAXIMUM PRIORITY // OFFICIO IMPERIALIS // SEGMENTUM-WIDE BROADCAST]++, captured Joric's full attention.
The message was concise and heavy: The Primarch of the XIII Legion, the Ultramarines, Lord Regent of the Imperium, Roboute Guilliman, had been mortally wounded at the Battle of Thessala by the Fallen Primarch, Fulgrim of the III Legion. Lord Guilliman's life was preserved only by an emergency stasis-field.
The time-stamp on the message, when cross-referenced with the spatio-temporal transit data, corresponded roughly to the period just after Joric himself had been cast into this new cyberpunk reality.
This news plunged even Joric into a state of processing-silence. A Primarch, a cornerstone of Imperial power—especially Guilliman, with his unparalleled strategic and logistical mind—struck down. This was a catastrophic blow to all loyalist forces, and a sharp reminder that the universe he had left was still drowning in endless war and betrayal.
The Great Heresy had indeed ended, and the Imperium, under the guidance of the remaining Primarchs, was about to enter a new golden age of reconstruction, one that would last nearly two millennia. But for now, the Imperium was still shattered and raw.
However, for Joric, this also meant that the Warhammer universe was, paradoxically, in a state of relative stability for his plans. The Traitor Legions had fled to the Eye of Terror to lick their wounds. The major Xenos threats that would later plague the Imperium had not yet emerged. This was the true, if brief, Golden Age of the Imperium—the one the Emperor and His sons had envisioned, finally realized. It was an era that would not truly end until two thousand years later, when the War of the Beast claimed the life of the Imperium's last loyal Primarch.
After a moment's processing of the Imperium's future... or rather, past... trials, Joric dismissed the information and began to synthesize all data into a new operational plan.
The progress on the ruin was the most critical good news. It meant materiel-transit experiments could be moved up the priority list. He began to plan: at the next energy-reserve milestone, he would attempt the first small-scale, low-mass, directional transport.
The primary targets: the Combat Servitors and Skitarii tech-guard still at the ruin.
These automated combat units—absolutely obedient, fearless, and possessing baseline tactical logic—would be an exponential upgrade to his local security. Whether for reconnaissance in high-risk zones, securing resource nodes, or dealing with the increasingly complex threats from Night City, they were infinitely more reliable, efficient, and expendable than mortal mercenaries.
However, in his value-calculus, combat units were merely tools.
As a Tech-Priest, what his core-logic truly craved were the assets he had been forced to leave behind: his sacred, large-scale analysis-cogitators, his specialized materiel-scanners, and, most importantly, the small, blessed plasma-reactor that had powered his entire outpost, along with its key components.
These instruments of the Omnissiah were the foundation of deep research, complex energy manipulation, and the cracking of dimensional technology. They would massively accelerate his reverse-engineering of the Sextant itself, as well as his analysis and integration of this cyberpunk world's heretical, but useful, technology.
With his Mechanicus knowledge, rebuilding an army in this world was merely a matter of time and resources. But to recreate those hyper-specialized, sacred instruments of research? In this technologically-stunted reality? It would be tantamount to forging a Titan with his bare hands.
Therefore, the next time he opened the conduit, Joric would have to issue new directives, to begin the process of acquiring those true, holy relics from his home universe.