LRAB Chapter 76 King of Explorers
Chapter 76 King of Explorers
Chapter 76 King of Explorers (4k8 completed)
Deep within the hazy star field, in the dark void where the Chinchar sector meets the Cadia sector.
A colossal warship, so large it generates its own gravitational waves, is struggling to navigate the space between the real universe and subspace.
It looked extremely battered, with its external armor plating covered in charred burn marks and huge shell craters.
But the ship kept moving forward, kept roaring.
Its name is "King of Explorers", Kaul's mechanical ark.
Many people think that the Mechanical Ark is simply a larger ship created by the Cult of Mechanics, but they have completely misunderstood the concept.
The Mechanical Ark is essentially a flying "casting world".
Its interior contains not only engines and turrets, but also a complete industrial production line, forging plant, and even a genetic laboratory.
The initial purpose of building the mechanical ark was to search for the lost STC at the edge of the Milky Way.
Because the journey was long and dangerous, the ship had to be self-sufficient in order to fight, mine, produce ammunition, and repair parts all at the same time.
At this moment, this mobile industrial base is in an awkward voyage.
It did not activate its subspace engine for deep-sea diving, nor did it rely entirely on plasma thrusters to crawl in the real universe.
Instead, it's like "skipping stones".
The massive ship would flash every few minutes, briefly plunging into subspace, traveling several light-years, before quickly switching back to the real universe to cool its engines, recalibrate its coordinates, and then plunging in again.
This method of navigation is extremely inefficient, puts immense stress on the engine and hull structure, and can cause extreme nausea and dizziness in the crew.
But Kaul had no choice; the current conditions in the subspace were simply too terrible.
In the final moments of the 41st millennium, the massive warp hole in the northern part of the galaxy, the Eye of Terror, is convulsing violently. A warp storm known as the Screaming Mouth is expanding wildly, and other warp turbulence is tearing at the veil of reality.
At this point, if someone dared to undertake a long-distance subspace deep dive, even a ship like the Mechanical Ark, protected by a top-tier Geller force field, would most likely get lost once inside.
Therefore, Kaul could only use this "short-distance jump combined with realistic gliding" maneuver to inch his way past the edge of the storm.
Without a doubt, the ship's destination was Cadia.
The breakwater of the human empire, the last force to block the Eye of Fear.
Kaul knew that Chaos Warmaster Abaddon was about to make his move, and the Thirteenth Black Crusade was about to begin.
He had to get to the Cardia sector before that.
In the core meditation room located deep within the warship.
Belisarius Caul, the great sage of the Martian Mechanicus, is hanging himself on a massive anti-gravity life support.
His body had long lost its human shape, resembling a giant metal centipede with countless mechanical limbs in its lower body and various data cables and servo arms inserted into its upper body.
He is very busy, extremely busy.
You could even say he's one of the busiest people in the galaxy.
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His brain (if it can still be called a brain) is simultaneously processing thousands of high-intensity computational tasks.
What's most bizarre about Kaul isn't that he lived for ten thousand years, but that he transformed himself into a multi-threaded supercomputer.
He split his consciousness into several independent sub-personalities, which shared a single body but could think independently.
For example, while Caul-Lower is in charge of controlling the ship's engine output, Caul-Senior is contemplating the ultimate philosophical questions, and Caul-Archiver is organizing memories from ten thousand years ago—this multitasking allows him to do the work of the entire General Staff and the Research Institute all by himself, but it also makes him look like a schizophrenic.
At this point, what occupied most of Kaul's computing power was an extremely complex set of data models.
This data comes from the Chinchar sector, El Sal system.
It's been a while since "King of Explorers" returned from there.
There, he had a rather unfriendly "academic exchange" with a super famous collector, space necromancer, the Endless One, Tarasin.
Although Tarasim could be considered a thief in a strict sense, he did indeed collect quite a few good items.
For example, this time, Kaul obtained a batch of core parameters about the "Black Stone Obelisk" from him, as well as some controlled Canoptec scarabs.
The Black Stone Obelisk is a "subspace suppressor" built by the Fearless Civilization (the precursor to the Necromancers) tens of millions of years ago.
After proper frequency tuning, the obelisk can emit an anti-psychic beam that pushes subspace energy back, restoring peace to the real universe.
Kaul's current plan is simple: he wants to learn how to make this thing, or at least how to use it.
Since the Eye of Fear is causing trouble every day, he will use the Black Stone Obelisk to sew up the hole!
On the holographic projection, the frequency model of the Black Obelisk is changing wildly.
Kaul's three alter egos are arguing fiercely over a single parameter.
"The frequency is wrong. If the wavelength is set to 400 nanometers, it will cause a reverse collapse." This is from the Kaul-Calculator.
"That's because there's a problem with your model! The data Taracin provided is raw data, which must be converted by human logic!" This is Kaul's analysis.
"Stop arguing, everyone. The ship's shield energy has dropped by another 30%. Let's recharge the shields first!" Captain Caul interjected.
Kaur's main consciousness quickly suppressed all these noises.
He must figure out the principles of the obelisk as soon as possible.
The Necromancers' technology tree is completely different from that of humans; they operate on the ultimate laws of physics.
Although he obtained the data and paid a price, he still has a long way to go before fully mastering the principles of this necromancy technology.
Kaur not only had to do scientific research, but also logistics.
His gaze pierced through dozens of decks and landed on the lowest level of the "King of Explorers," a huge stasis chamber area.
Thousands upon thousands of silver hibernation pods are neatly arranged, stretching as far as the eye can see.
Inside lies a giant known as the "Primitive Space Marine," a stash of money that Caul had kept hidden for ten thousand years.
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As early as right after the Horus Rebellion, during the First Empire, Guilliman gave Caul a task.
To create better Space Marines.
It took Kaul ten thousand years to not only build it, but to build tens of thousands of them!
The original Forged Warriors were taller, stronger, and had three additional organs implanted (the Steel Tendon, the Belisarius Furnace, and the Great Magnolia Gland) than the older generation of Astartes, serving as Caul's ultimate trump card to save the Empire.
One of Kaul's servo arms is remotely controlling the underlying robotic arm to fine-tune a newly produced power armor.
The MK10 power armor represents a major overhaul of the Astartes equipment system by Kaul. This power armor is completely different from the previous bulky and crude models. It has smoother lines, more flexible joints, and most importantly, it is modular.
Previous power armors, such as the MK7 and MK6, had relatively fixed functions.
But the MK10 is different. You want to do infiltration? Then switch to the "Forbes" type light armor components!
Want to launch a frontal assault? Then hoist the "Gravis" type heavy deck!
The highly modular design introduced by Kaul greatly improved the tactical flexibility of the Astartes.
Of course, this change was seen as utterly absurd and heretical by many conservative Mechanicus sages and Space Marine chaptermasters!
They felt that the Emperor's design was perfect and could not be changed.
But Kaul doesn't care about that, just tell me if it works or not!
"The feed mechanism of the bolt-action rifle is still a bit clunky."
Kaur muttered to himself.
"The tension of the recoil spring can be increased by 8%, but a higher grade of lubricant needs to be used."
"Note: High-purity nanoscale lubricant needs to be found in the next resupply."
Just as Kaul was immersed in the joy of research and repair, a series of hurried footsteps interrupted his thoughts.
The door to the meditation room opened.
A young-looking mechanical priest walked in.
Unlike other priests who transformed themselves into half-human, half-demon forms, he retained most of his human features and had a rather endearing face.
He was wearing a neat robe and holding a data tablet in his hand.
Fridish Adum.
However, according to the internal numbering system of the Kaul, this should be Adum-87.
This Adum is no ordinary person; he is an old friend of Kaul's from the Great Expedition.
The real Adum died during the Horus Rebellion.
But Kaul was a sentimental person and didn't want to lose this friend, so he used illegal cloning technology to keep reviving Aduam. When one died, he would clone the next one and then transfer his memories into him.
Although this behavior was a serious violation of the Empire's laws on "hatred of intelligence" and "forgery of life," on Caul's ship, the right to interpret the law belonged to Caul.
For this reason, Adum was the only person on the entire "King of Explorers" who dared to talk back to Kaul, criticize him, or even curse him to his face.
Aduam walked up to the life support stent, didn't even bow, and simply threw the data panel onto the table.
"Belisarian, we're in trouble."
Aduam sounded exhausted, clearly worn out by the mess he'd made.
"If it's about shield energy consumption, I already know."
Kaul didn't turn his head and continued operating the servo arm.
"It's not entirely a shield—" Adum sighed, "to be precise, it's energy and materials."
"Our Void Shield generator lost two core coils during the last warp jump, and we've run out of spare parts."
"Furthermore, to maintain the current 'skipping' navigation, the reactor's fuel consumption is five times higher than usual."
"If we don't replenish our high-purity adamantium and plasma fuel soon, we'll be stranded halfway there and become space debris before we even reach Cardia."
It has to be said, this ship is in a really bad state.
Before coming here, they fought a battle with the green-skinned orcs in the Elsar system.
The Greenskins' reckless fighting style, coupled with their later forced passage through a warp storm in order to reach their destination, severely damaged the ship's shield system.
Although the mechanical ark can produce its own parts, it cannot conjure raw materials out of thin air.
Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice; without high-purity minerals, Kaul couldn't repair those sophisticated shield generators.
Kaul finally turned around, his metallic face, covered in electronic eyes and sensors, looking at Aduam.
"I have already dispatched a subsidiary ship."
Kaur's voice is a standard electronic synthesized voice, and you can't hear any emotion in it.
"Our frigates and destroyers are conducting wide-area scans of the surrounding star systems, and they will bring back any valuable minerals or abandoned ships they find."
Many of the mechanical ark's subsystems are independent, and when it needs to eat, it releases the smaller ships inside its belly.
As for the mission of these subsidiary ships, it was to plunder.
Whether it's minerals from the asteroid belt or starship wreckage left behind by some unfortunate soul, anything useful is taken away.
"What are the scan results?" Adum asked.
"Most of it is junk," Caul replied. "The barrenness of this sector is appalling."
"There are only some wasteland worlds filled with radiation, and a few desolate planets that have been drained dry."
"The only somewhat interesting signal comes from the Agrippina sector near us, but it's currently overrun by orcs, and attacking it would be too costly. We have to have our fleet detour."
Aduam rubbed his temples.
"How's the communication?" Kaul asked. "Have you received any distress signals or trade requests?"
"Perhaps we can make a deal with the local governor and requisition some resources."
When communications were mentioned, Adoum's expression darkened further.
"Speaking of which, this gives me an even bigger headache." He pointed to a folder on the data panel. "Take a look for yourself."
"The current subspace communication channels are practically a madhouse!"
"It's all screams, all noise, all the whispers of the devil!"
"Three of my Star Speakers have already gone mad, and the rest are on the verge of collapse."
At this point in time, working in astro-communication is truly a high-risk profession.
The warp storm was tearing reality apart, causing all psionic communications to be severely disrupted.
If you try to send a "hello," it might turn into "grass mud horse"; if you want to receive a weather forecast, you might receive the moaning of a Slaanesh demon.
In this massive amount of junk information and mental pollution, finding a useful coordinate or intelligence is no less difficult than finding a needle in a haystack.
"Most of the information is meaningless screaming."
Adum flipped through the records: "Holy crap, there's a demon here," "The church collapsed," "My cat turned into a tentacle monster."
"There are thousands of these messages every second."
"Our filtering algorithm is overloaded and simply can't handle it."
Kaul remained silent for a moment.
"Continue screening."
"Set keywords: STC, Blackstone, Ancient Technology, High-Energy Reaction."
"We don't need to rescue ordinary mortals; we don't have the time or the obligation. We only need to focus on what can help us repair the ship and accomplish our great task."
Aduam curled his lip.
"You're really cold-blooded, Belisarius."
"That's called being pragmatic."
Kaul turned around and continued to adjust the power armor.
"The original body is still asleep."
"If we don't wake him up, save Kadia, and sew that damn big eye back on, these people will die sooner or later."
"I'm not saving them now so that I can save more people in the future."
The Primarch that Kaul refers to is naturally Robert Guilliman, the Primarch of the Ultramarines and the Emperor's favorite son.
He was slashed by Forgrim ten thousand years ago and poisoned. He has been kept in a static field ever since, and everyone thought he was about to die.
But Kaul had a crazy plan: he wanted to bring Guilliman back to life.
All of Caul's current efforts, his frantic research on Blackstone, are ultimately aimed at paving the way for Guilliman's return.
"Okay, you're right."
Aduam shrugged; he knew he couldn't persuade the stubborn old man.
"Then I'll keep an eye on those crazed Star Speakers and make them do as much work as possible before their brains boil."
"Also, the shield generator's energy can only sustain high-intensity operation for another 130 hours. Belisarius, you'd better pray that your subsidiary ships bring back some good news."
Aduam turned and walked out of the meditation room.
The door closed, and the room returned to a silence filled only with the sounds of machinery.
Kaul was not anxious about Adum's warning; at this point, there was no point in being anxious.
He simply redistributed the computing power.
The Kaul Explorer clone took control of the scanning array.
He expanded the scope of the search.
The scanning beam, which originally focused only on major shipping lanes and the known industrial world, is now beginning to sweep across remote, forgotten corners, second-rate worlds at the edge of the star map, abandoned mines, and even the depths of dangerous nebulae.
The mechanical ark's sensors are operating at full power.
It's like a giant eye opening in a dark forest, greedily searching for any faint glimmer of light.
Even if the light came from an inconspicuous junkyard, as faint as a candle flame in the wind.
As long as it has the characteristics that Kaul wants—high-purity matter, unusual energy reaction, or some familiar Golden Age code—Kauer will pounce on it without hesitation, like a shark smelling blood.
"Explore—Explore—"
Kaur's data stream extends into the void.
Just then, a very annoying synthesized subwoofer suddenly rang out: "You amateur monkeys, it looks like you're in trouble."