[Gravitational Wave Interference Thermal Base-Station]
The name sounded long, but the principle behind it was quite straightforward.
The Necrons' hyperspatial pocket relied on a gravitational wave beacon to anchor its physical realspace coordinates.
If one wanted to force their way inside without destroying the bound dimensional field—propping open the door while the beacon was malfunctioning—they needed a device capable of generating reverse gravitational waves and producing a localized gravitational lensing effect.
That was precisely the base-station's function.
By using extreme thermal differentials, it warped spatial structures at a microscopic level, creating an artificial gravitational wave interference field.
The principle was understood, and the blueprints were in hand.
However, Andy hit a wall when it came to hardware manufacturing.
The core component of this base-station was called the [Thermal Gradient Coil].
The design of this piece was completely absurd.
It wasn't wound from ordinary copper wire or superconducting loops; within an extremely compact volume, it required constructing thousands of layers of composite coil structures made of different materials and varying thermal conductivities.
The gap between each layer of coil had to be controlled down to the nanometer scale.
Furthermore, to withstand the extreme temperature fluctuations during operation, the coil's material required exceptional thermal stability and fatigue resistance.
Andy glanced at the scheduling queue of the Precision Machining Center.
If he used his current equipment to brute-force the fabrication of this coil, the yield rate would likely sit at around 25%.
In other words, to produce a single qualified coil, he would have to scrap tens of tons of high-grade alloy and occupy the machining center's entire production capacity for a full week!
That was far too wasteful!
As an Iron Man who prioritized efficiency, Andy refused to engage in such a losing proposition.
Since the direct approach was blocked, wasn't it time to resort to a few unorthodox methods?
Andy closed the machining center's schedule and opened Deep Space Industries' inventory list.
His eyes scanned rapidly across the dense rows of entries.
He was looking for a high-tech component that generated strong force fields, possessed a precise structure, and—preferably—was readily available.
Finally, his gaze locked onto an item marked as "Idle / Stored."
[Hrud Time-Entropy Generator (Damaged)]
Aha!
I knew I had one!
This was loot seized from Kaka's underground vault when Andy led the raid on their hideout back then.
At the time, Andy had high hopes for this device.
He had even conducted tests in the laboratory aboard the New Bond.
Upon activation, this twisted, alien machine generated an invisible "Entropy Field."
Placing a brand-new steel plate inside would cover it in rust within minutes, as if it had endured centuries of weathering.
At the time, Andy thought he could use it to accelerate high-energy fuel fermentation or process alloys requiring natural aging.
Plans, however, had failed to keep up with changing circumstances.
Deep Space Industries had recently hit a jackpot by dismantling four Land Crawlers, filling the warehouses to capacity with special alloys—even after purification through the Reconstructor.
With more off-the-shelf materials than he could ever consume, there was no need to use "accelerated time" methods to catalyze materials.
As for fuel, the output from the geothermal wells and reactors was more than sufficient.
Thus, this farming artifact—once entrusted with great expectations—had been left sitting in a dusty corner of Warehouse No. 4 ever since it was shipped back to Horison Fort.
Now, its opportunity had finally arrived.
Andy pulled up the analysis report on Hrud technology.
At the foundational level of physics, time and space were bound together, and gravitational fields were inherently linked to temporal fields.
The core principle behind how the Hrud machine generated an entropy field was utilizing a high-energy field generator to warp the local spatiotemporal structure.
Anything capable of warping spatiotemporal structures could naturally interfere with gravity.
Its core component—the coil array that generated the high-energy field—shared a striking similarity in physical structure and function to the "Thermal Gradient Coil" Andy required.
One could even say the Hrud coil was a step more advanced than the STC standard version.
After all, manipulating these forces was their specialty.
"Time for some scrap recycling."
Andy stood up and issued directives directly through the data link.
"Engineering Drones, head to Warehouse No. 4."
"Move that big guy covered with the blue tarp to the East Sector."
Ten minutes later.
Inside the Alien Tech Parsing Station in the underground East Sector of Horison Fort.
A massive black circular platform stood quietly in the center of the hall, connected to the recently revived miniature Geller Field generator surrounding it.
Heavy engineering drones hoisted the Hrud Time-Entropy Generator, lowering it slowly onto the platform.
The device's appearance was undeniably unique.
It lacked any straight lines, cast entirely from a black, micro-porous biometal that resembled an infinity symbol twisted countless times.
Even while powered off, an uncomfortable field fluctuation lingered around it; anyone approaching it would experience an inexplicable sense of palpitations and dizziness.
Perhaps a physiological reaction caused by uneven temporal flow? Andy could not say for sure.
Standing before the control console, Andy initiated the parsing program.
Hummm...
Black nanofluids surged across the surface of the circular platform.
The microscopic machines hesitated for a fraction of a second the moment they touched the Hrud device.
Clearly, the entropy field affected them as well.
However, suppressed under the Geller Field, the alien device's self-defense mechanisms quickly failed.
Nanofluids swarmed forward, enveloping the entire machine in an instant.
Data refreshed frantically across the holographic display.
[Sample Identified: Hrud Entropy Field Generator (74% Integrity)]
[Material Composition: Spacetime Crystals, Biometal, High-Energy Magnetic Field Coils]
[Parsing in progress...]
The progress bar advanced rapidly.
Though the underlying principles were profound, the structure was not overly complex.
A few minutes later, parsing was complete, and the system presented the convertible options:
[Option 1: Entropy Ray Emitter (Heavy infantry weapon; causes targets to age rapidly)]
Andy skipped it immediately.
His firepower was already overflowing; he had no need for such fancy ways to kill things.
[Option 2: Localized Time Stasis Field (Requires continuous consumption of high-energy crystals)]
That sounded nice, but it was a life-saving tool for the future; building it now meant he wouldn't have enough crystals to burn for power anyway.
Andy shifted his focus to the third option.
[Option 3: High-Energy Gravitational Field Generating Coil (Core Component)]
[Description: Extract spacetime crystals and magnetic field coils from the device to reassemble into a standard Gravitational Wave Interference Unit.]
[Matching Compatibility: 98%]
"You're the one."
Andy hit the confirmation key.
The black fluids on the circular platform began to churn violently.
They dismantled the complex time machine, stripping away the biological components used to produce entropy and retaining only the core field generator.
The twisted black outer shell was decomposed, reduced back to basic biometal raw materials.
The glowing spacetime crystals inside were meticulously peeled out, then rearranged according to a brand-new geometric layout.
Coils were straightened, then rewound.
The path of every wire and the position of every crystal were calculated with absolute precision by the STC.
About twenty minutes passed.
The black fluid slowly receded, shrinking back into the interior of the circular platform.
The large, evil-looking Hrud machine was gone.
In its place hovered a precise assembly suspended in mid-air, emitting a faint, dark-red glow.
It consisted of three concentric rings, their surfaces etched with intricate energy conduits through which red light flowed like living blood.
Suspended in the center of the rings was a black crystal cut into a perfect regular dodecahedron.
This was the Thermal Gradient Coil Andy had been dreaming of—an upgraded version modified via alien technology.
Andy could even feel it:
Around this component, gravity had already undergone a subtle shift!