Robert stood in a laboratory filled with the distinct smells of disinfectant and some kind of biological culture medium. The room's main colors were cold metallic silver and the transparent glass typical of scientific instruments.
Several high-intensity lights hanging from the ceiling illuminated the entire space as brightly as day, also making the fine dust particles floating in the air clearly visible.
In front of him, a giant transparent glass tank stood, filled with a faintly glowing amber nutrient solution. Hobbes—the Chapter Master of the Martyr's Battle Group—floated silently within it, like an ancient statue preserved in amber.
Even though he was still in a deep coma, with his eyes closed, after the meticulous care and cleaning by Reddito's servitors, his once-torn chest had now been seamlessly repaired with a metallic-sheened bionic plate. The edges blended perfectly with his own flesh, making it almost impossible to tell that it was an artificial addition.
His face, previously obscured by dust and blood, was now truly revealed. It was a sculpted, perfect face, with sharp features, handsome yet bearing the steadfastness of a seasoned warrior.
"Can a man be this beautiful?" Robert couldn't help but exclaim.
"Space marines are the meticulous creations of the Omnissiah, naturally perfect in all aspects. In terms of appearance alone, if not handsome, then certainly formidable," Reddito said slowly from the side, his voice as uninflected as ever.
Robert withdrew his gaze and turned to Reddito: "How long do you think he… will take to recover? And are there really no other space marines who survived?"
"A battle barge that experienced a sudden warp storm, swarming warp daemons, and a hard atmospheric landing," Reddito enumerated methodically, each word like a cold hammer striking at the hope of survival, finally asking, "How many do you think could have survived? Even the meticulous creations of the Omnissiah."
Robert fell silent. Reddito was right; the ship's ordeal was a collection of disasters. It was a miracle that even one person, Hobbes, had clung to life.
"As for how long a space marine in a state of suspended animation needs to awaken," Reddito picked up a data-slate, on which dense runes and complex charts flickered, "According to past records, this requires at least several years of recuperation, and if luck is bad, it could be a double-digit number. The data I have collected also corroborates these records."
Reddito's mechanical eye turned to Robert, its light seemingly growing brighter. He continued, "You wouldn't have asked such an obvious question before… What are you thinking?"
Someone unfamiliar with Reddito might have taken that phrasing as sarcasm. But Robert knew that the Tech-Priest was truly just asking a simple question, devoid of any emotional color.
So he replied, "You know what I'm thinking."
The light in Reddito's mechanical eye flickered almost imperceptibly a few times. Silence spread through the laboratory, broken only by the faint sound of bubbles rising in the nutrient solution.
After a moment, he said, "No, it won't work. The risk is still too great."
"Do you know what it means for an Inquisitor to hear about a space marines battle group that 'suddenly encountered a warp storm, with only the Chapter Master remaining, crash-landing on a planet that hasn't paid taxes in decades and has likely rebelled, then rebuilding on this planet'?"
"What you're talking about is the future," Robert said in a deep voice, "But right now, we don't even have a 'present'. If the orks discover that battle barge and follow it to the hive city… then nothing will be left here."
Indeed, as Robert said, the battle barge's landing site was very dangerous: its massive body lay overturned in the yellow sands outside the hive city, and its damaged hull still billowed thick smoke, clearly visible even from a great distance. Yet, it wasn't too far from the hive city; one only needed to reach the battle barge's location and look around to see the vast, faintly visible city clusters.
"So why did that battle barge have to land?!" Reddito suddenly slammed his fist on a nearby metal table, producing a dull, heavy thud that made the precision instruments on the surface vibrate slightly. This sudden loss of composure even caused the light in Reddito's mechanical eyes to become somewhat erratic. "It brought nothing but trouble… it's practically a waypoint for the orks, acting as a guiding light!"
Reddito took a deep breath, his mechanical hum clearly audible in the laboratory. He withdrew his fist, and the light in his mechanical eyes returned to calm: "Apologies, I failed to control my hormone secretion."
"It's fine," Robert shook his head. "After all, you're a purist, not many mechanical modifications. I can understand."
"In any case, have you thought it through?" Robert asked, looking intently at Reddito.
Reddito's mechanical arm drooped slightly. His face, largely covered by metal plates, now showed a rare hint of melancholy: "Now… I'm truly on your pirate ship, and there's no getting off."
"But I'll state this beforehand," Reddito reverted to his usual cold tone, as if his earlier lapse and helplessness had never occurred, "We currently only have two gene-seeds: one taken from that fallen one, and one from this Chapter Master's throat. And I am not a biological specialist; a rash modification… is very likely to go wrong."
"No matter," Robert waved his hand dismissively, pulling a neatly folded piece of parchment from his embrace, clearly having prepared for this. He handed it to Reddito, "You pick people from this list to practice on. I guarantee I'll find you people who are highly similar from beginning to end. Once you feel you've practiced enough and are confident… then proceed with the official modification."
Everyone on this list was a voluntarily signed-up player. Hearing about the opportunity to be transformed into an astartes, they naturally flocked to it. As for similarity… if it's the same person from beginning to end, how could the similarity not be high?
"Hmph," Reddito snorted coldly. He took the parchment, his mechanical eyes quickly scanning the list, the light pausing briefly on each name as if performing some data analysis. "You and your soldiers are truly incomprehensible. On one hand, you are indifferent, dismissive, even apathetic about your own lives; on the other hand, you find whipping workers too cruel."
This statement was the eccentric Tech-Priest's sarcasm, and Robert immediately retorted, "You also haven't understood why my Military Committee succeeded, have you?"
Reddito chose not to reply. The light in his mechanical eyes flickered as he continued to quickly filter through the parchment. His fingertips moved across the list, pausing, seemingly making complex evaluations. After a while, his cold voice sounded again: "These twins will do… there happen to be two gene-seeds."