The Aquila Lander carrying Perturabo descended slowly onto the primary planet of the Squat System.
Perturabo, accompanied by his First Captain and four Guard members armed with plasma guns, stepped off the deck.
The envoy from the Squat League, clad in exquisitely crafted armor, felt his body stiffen under the giant's ice-blue gaze.
He bowed slightly and spoke in fluent, standard High Gothic:
"Lord Perturabo, welcome to Squat. Our Grimnyr Lord and Lord Nareth await you in the banquet hall."
Perturabo said nothing. Forrix, holding a plasma gun in each hand, spoke: "Lead the way."
With vehicles suitable still under development, naturally, there were no vehicles sized for Iron Warriors. The group had to proceed on foot.
They moved in silence. Perturabo's mind constantly calculated, absorbing everything around him and swiftly deconstructing it.
On five hundred and twelve scaffolding platforms of varying heights, three thousand nine hundred and forty Squats climbed, swiftly repairing damaged structures with wrenches and various tools.
Perturabo observed that the damaged starport was being rebuilt at a pace rivaling that of Iron Warriors construction, already operational again.
He was not surprised. During the war in the D-1504 system, he had discovered that these Squats were adept at building fortresses.
Perturabo surveyed his surroundings. Sturdy structures, devices similar to the Imperium's but more durable, and all the clever designs and ingenious constructions during the building process flooded into his mind like a tide.
Their designs, their conventions, their methods of use, how all these things operated in principle was grasped by Perturabo.
In the process, Perturabo inevitably took note of the Squats efficiently moving among the structures and equipment.
Their voidsuit designs, their movements, their expressions, for him, everything could be parsed into data.
Perturabo noticed the hateful looks the Squats cast towards his group as they passed.
A cold smile touched Perturabo's lips. He cared not at all for this.
As long as he fulfilled the commands of the War Council and the Emperor, he gave no thought to the enemy's sentiments.
Moreover, the Mechanicum's genecoders had compared Squat genetics to the Imperial gene repository. They were entirely outside the human spectrum.
Even by the Imperium's current judgment standard, the skull, as a basis for comparison, the Squats fell somewhere between abhuman and xenos. Whether to classify them as human depended entirely on a subjective decision.
Perturabo paid no mind to their thoughts. If the Emperor commanded it, he would order them all exterminated.
Perturabo's eyes suddenly narrowed. He saw a squad of warriors in black power armor conversing with Squats.
"The mining vehicles from the Yonas Guild are sturdy and durable. I've decided to purchase a hundred thousand units first for the worlds under my company's jurisdiction."
"According to the agreement between the League and the Shadows of Order, for this transaction, I will sell them to you at a fifteen percent discount."
Perturabo was not surprised that the Shadows of Order were negotiating trades with the Squat League.
He knew the Shadows of Order governed conquered worlds, and their achievements were part of their evaluation for promotion.
Squat equipment was sophisticated. It was reasonable for the Shadows of Order to procure it.
What surprised Perturabo was that despite the mutual casualties inflicted by the Shadows of Order and the Squat League on each other, which exceeded those of the Iron Warriors, their relationship seemed far more amicable.
Those Squats seemed to have forgotten the deaths the Shadows of Order had caused them.
Before Perturabo could delve into the reason, his attention was captured by the plasma guns carried by the Shadows of Order.
Those plasma guns were almost identical to the Etacarn-pattern plasma guns used by the Squats, merely elongated and scaled-up versions.
And the Bedrock-pattern boltguns.
'How is this possible?'
Waves stirred in Perturabo's ice-blue eyes. No one knew better than him who had personally disassembled the Etacarn-pattern plasma gun the differences between it and Imperial weaponry.
The Etacarn-pattern's linear electromagnetic accelerator, cooling channels, and exhaust ports were completely different from the Imperium's.
Involuntarily, Perturabo halted his step. Forrix and the others stopped as well, scanning their surroundings but finding nothing unusual.
"Father, what is it?" Forrix asked, puzzled.
"Nothing. Continue."
Perturabo offered no explanation. He had also noticed the boltguns carried by the Shadows of Order were distinctly different from Imperial ones.
He resumed walking, noticing several other squads of Shadows of Order discussing various trades with Squats. They all carried Etacarn-pattern plasma guns and Bedrock-pattern boltguns.
'The Shadows of Order have already mastered the manufacturing methods for these two weapons? How is that possible?'
Perturabo strode towards a squad of Shadows of Order. The squad members saw the approaching Primarch and bowed in salute.
"Lord Perturabo."
"From where does the manufacturing knowledge for your plasma guns and boltguns come?"
"As I know, our Forge lord obtained the Standard Template Constructs from our father. The Legion began re-equipping."
"Did the re-equipment begin after the Squat League surrendered?" Perturabo pressed.
'Nareth obtained the technology from the Squat League.'
"No," the Shadow of Order's answer shocked Perturabo. "My squad was re-equipped with Bedrock-pattern boltguns a year ago, and with Etacarn-pattern plasma guns five months ago."
'What? The Squat League had not surrendered then. Nareth couldn't have obtained it from the short ones.'
'The technology came from Nareth. This means he also had a method to disassemble and master the short ones' technology.'
"Lord?" the Shadow of Order asked hesitantly.
Perturabo emerged from his thoughts, masking his confusion. "It is nothing."
He strode forward, his eyes darkening.
Guided by the Squat envoy, the group proceeded towards the ceremonial hall.
Before the hall, he encountered Arsena waiting to receive him.
"Lord Perturabo, please follow me."
Perturabo's expression remained impassive. He gave a slight nod and followed Arsena.
Entering the hall with Arsena, Perturabo saw that besides Nareth, Magnus had also arrived.
Nareth saw the two plasma guns Forrix carried behind Perturabo. They bore some resemblance to the Etacarn-pattern.
Having mastered the STC, Nareth was intimately familiar with this pattern's structure. From the extremely smooth exhaust ports and sturdy gun bodies, he could tell these plasma guns were masterfully forged, works of fine craftsmanship.
He also looked at the four Iron Warriors. The plasma guns they carried also shared structural similarities with the Etacarn-pattern.
'Perturabo disassembled the Etacarn-pattern and mastered the manufacturing technology.'
Nareth was not surprised. Perturabo had been gifted with aptitude in technology and knowledge by the Emperor.
He was both an engineer and a mathematician. No one, not even Ferrus Manus or the Fabricator-General of Mars, could rival his technical prowess.
Technology differed from forging weapons; it was a profound understanding of principles.
In forging weapons, Fulgrim, Ferrus Manus, and Vulkan might slightly surpass Perturabo. But in understanding technology, they fell short of Perturabo.
Perturabo's learning ability for binary coding was equally astonishing. His speed in comprehending and calculating binary information could astound even Magi. He could even write entirely new programs for Titans from scratch.
If Perturabo had been given the opportunity to intervene in the affairs of the Mechanicum, he might truly have earned honor and recognition as an Imperial hero, achieving many great feats: reconciling the Mechanicum, refuting the traditionalists, and creating new armaments.
But the Emperor had not placed him in a more suitable position.
'The plasma guns in Forrix's hands are clearly different from the other four, and he carries them separately.'
'Hmm, two of them. Perturabo wouldn't have specifically forged two as gifts, intending to give them to me and Magnus, would he?'
.....
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