Deep within the wasteland workshop, the dimensional transport device's humming gradually lowered, finally settling into steady operational sounds—only cooling systems continuously releasing faint hissing.
Cairo's crimson optical lenses locked onto main control interfaces. Data streams had stabilized.
Maine crew's all members' vital signals were clear and steady—confirming successful arrival at preset coordinates.
Final visual signals transmitted back by servo-skulls froze on Ignis' familiar dark-red armored figure.
Thus, mission's first stage—live transport plus coordinate verification—had been smoothly completed.
Successful confirmation didn't stir excess ripples in his cognitive core.
To him, this was merely successful collection of one necessary data point in experimental processes.
His attention had rapidly shifted toward next critical nodes—ensuring dimensional transport devices could flawlessly execute recovery procedures after seventy-two-hour cooling and recalibration cycles.
Several mechanical tentacles silently extended from workshop shadows, beginning comprehensive equipment maintenance—meticulously calibrating every energy circuit, strictly analyzing structural stresses core resonance units endured during this transport.
Every cross-dimensional leap was severe tests for precision components. Recovery phases absolutely couldn't fail.
Simultaneously, he activated preset directive sequences inside that servo-skull accompanying Maine's crew across dimensions.
These directives had been packaged before experimental initiations—trigger conditions precisely "successfully arriving coordinates plus establishing preliminary contact with receiving units."
Directive contents interlocked progressively. First granting Skitarii Commander Ignis authority, allowing her mobilizing camp resources, providing most basic life support for Maine's crew—ensuring these experimental samples' survival during observation periods.
Subsequently, servo-skulls unlocked independent data packets in local databases, providing highly-simplified, strictly-sanitized Warhammer universe background summary documents for Maine crew browsing.
Aiming at letting them establish foundational cognition about environmental extremity and danger, preventing completely-ignorant uncontrolled behaviors.
Finally, strictly ordering servo-skulls during recovery stages must bring back specific data carriers Ignis prepared according to Cairo's early directives.
At this moment, direct real-time links between Cairo and Warhammer world camps had completely severed.
He resembled scientists releasing deep-space probes—currently only able waiting, waiting for probes safely returning at scheduled times carrying collected samples.
He turned, reallocating primary computational resources, investing into deep parsing of this transport's massive operational data while allocating portions of threads continuing monitoring various local affairs movements in cyberpunk worlds.
——
On the Warhammer world side, inside crude barracks at death world camp edges, Maine's crew was experiencing unprecedented "boredom," "oppression," and "information isolation."
After the first day passed in high vigilance and maladaptation, they discovered Ignis' warnings weren't empty words.
Activity ranges were strictly limited within fifty-meter radii centered on their barracks. Though surroundings lacked obvious physical barriers, those silently-patrolling red-robed Skitarii plus watchtower-mounted oddly-shaped weapons' occasionally-rotating gun barrels clearly demarcated invisible boundaries.
Any attempts approaching boundaries immediately drew Skitarii attention. Though they didn't employ weapons, that cold, absolutely-inflexible posture sufficed making people retreat.
Attempting linguistic communications with these Skitarii was basically futile.
They either showed zero reactions toward Maine crew's languages or only responded in monotone binary codes—contained information requiring servo-skull translations, results often just brief directives like "forbidden," "return," "wait."
Aside from Ignis herself, they could barely effectively communicate with any other camp units—as if stranded on islands composed of steel and silence.
Rebecca was first feeling intolerable.
Her energy had nowhere venting—only pacing back and forth on narrow clearings or shadow-boxing metal barracks walls. Enhanced bones and muscles striking steel plates making dull "thud-thud" sounds.
"Fuck, this is worse than jail! At least in jail you could still fight!" She irritably grabbed her two-toned short hair. Green optics flickering restless glows. "That tin can talking about death worlds—outside's nothing but sand and rocks! What can't we go see? I bet she just doesn't want us poking around!"
Pilar squatted in corners, fiddling with his long arms, attempting some trivial calibrations using portable micro-tools yet quickly losing interest: "Can't even find network signals... Kiwi, Sasha—how's your side? Can you crack their internal networks? Even just connecting checking news would be something!"
Sasha and Kiwi sat side-by-side on simple metal bed edges. Their temples flickered with faint light—manifestations of electronic warfare cyberware running full speed.
After long moments, Kiwi first opened eyes, shaking her head. Her usually-calm voice also carried traces of frustration: "No good. Their network protocols... completely unfamiliar. Bottom-layer logic differs from everything we know.
Signals are closed, physically isolated. We can sense powerful energy flows and data exchanges around us but can't intervene—like separated by invisible walls."
Sasha supplemented, voice softer: "Plus, electromagnetic background noise here is peculiar—some kind of... rhythmic fluctuations. Doesn't seem naturally-produced—more like interference caused by large equipment continuous operations. This interference itself also forms shielding."
Falco utilized this period recording environmental data as detailed as possible: air compositions, temperature fluctuations, gravity parameters, plus those two dim suns' orbital trajectories on distant horizons.
He cross-referenced this data with limited information servo-skulls provided, attempting piecing together fragmented pictures of this world.
Dorio remained silent most times. She stood leaning against walls like rocks. Enhanced senses also collected information but focused more on camp operational modes, Skitarii patrol patterns, plus those massive vehicles' models and possible weapon configurations.
This was her instinct as team shield.
Maine as captain faced greatest pressure. He not only had appeasing crew emotions but must consider Cairo's deep implications behind this move.
He gathered everyone, sitting around barracks centers.
"Everyone calm down." Maine's voice was low yet powerful. "The boss bringing us here definitely isn't for three-day solitary confinement. This itself is part of tests—testing our psychological endurance and discipline under completely unfamiliar, restricted environments. Our every move here is probably being recorded."
He pointed at servo-skulls hovering in corners on standby: "Boss gave us some materials. Use this opportunity—everyone read carefully. We need understanding what kind of world we're standing on to know what we might face in futures."
Servo-skulls received directives. Red light flickering in eye sockets, projecting holographic images in air.
Image contents were pre-packaged by Cairo—extremely brief.
First displayed was a vague territory map of human Imperium spanning star seas, emphasizing humanity-supremacy and eternal-war basic philosophies.
Then briefly explained Mechanicus faith cores—their worship of Machine God, plus eternal pursuits for lost technologies and Standard Template Constructs. Finally emphasized in heavy tones extreme dangers and endless conflicts saturating this world itself.
Though this information was limited, it sufficed unfolding before them massive, harsh, unfamiliar universal landscapes.