Deep within the ruins of the former "Little Dipper Project" Seventh Outpost, beneath the desert, the roar of reconstruction echoed day and night.
Supported by Maine's crew's almost unreserved supply of construction materials, Osiris' mechanical creations, the silent combat Servitor and the initially smart-upgraded Imitation Servo Skulls, worked with astonishing efficiency.
Giant industrial cutters spewed scorching ion streams, melting rusted partition walls; heavy transport units moved collapsed concrete blocks, clearing main passages; new composite armor plates were riveted onto critical structural points, replacing the original fragile inner walls.
A subterranean base, meeting the standards of a Tech-Priest and integrating security, energy, and research functions, was beginning to take shape.
The central reactor chamber, main laboratory, hangar, defense array control center… the division of areas was clear and efficient.
Yet, at the core of this bustling scene, within a temporarily designated shielded experimental zone, a different sight unfolded.
It was exceptionally quiet here, with only the low hum of energy conduits and the faint airflow from equipment radiators.
Osiris's tall, dark-red figure stood in the center of the area; on the workbench before him, the Dimensional Transporter, that dark-gold artifact from the Dark Age of Technology, slowly floated within complex force field restraints, its surface patterns flickering like a breath.
A new, more stable energy supply allowed him to delve deeper into his research of this ancient relic.
However, as his research progressed, Osiris became increasingly aware of the enormous risks and instabilities of direct biological trans-dimensional teleportation.
Random teleportation was tantamount to suicide, and the precise control of target coordinates was far beyond current capabilities.
"Directly transmitting energy or information pulses, under the interference of the dimensional barrier, the signal attenuation and distortion rate could exceed ninety-five percent, making it almost impossible to convey effective information," Osiris analyzed to the servo-skull, Buddy, hovering beside him, his crimson optical lens scanning the transporter. "We need a more reliable messenger, a physical carrier capable of carrying information and autonomously executing tasks in the target environment."
His gaze shifted to a corner of the workbench.
There lay a specially crafted servo-skull, just completed.
Unlike the crude imitations in the workshop, this skull was made from high-purity alloys selected from materials provided by Maine and a fresh, cultivated brain; its structure was more precise, integrating a small but efficient energy core meticulously crafted by Osiris and an enhanced data storage/transmission module.
High-quality optical sensors were embedded in its eye sockets, now shimmering with a standby glow.
"The logic core has been loaded with the most basic survival and mission protocols. Upon arrival in the Warhammer Universe, its priority is to conceal itself, then attempt to send the encrypted message I've set," Osiris muttered to the servo-skull beside him as he performed the final checks. "According to my calculations, its coordinates upon crossing over should be the ancient ruins I entered before.
As long as everything goes smoothly and the message is received by the stranded Servitor and the Ecclesiarchy forces, I can proceed with my subsequent plans."
The information he referred to was not a simple status report, but an encrypted data packet containing specific Adeptus Mechanicus high-level identification codes, his personal security status verification token, and an extremely brief command sequence.
This command sequence was the activation key for a hidden contingency he had left in the Warhammer Universe.
Once the correct key was received, the Servitor and the Ecclesiarchy forces he had left in the ancient ruins would execute the commands wrapped in this encrypted message according to pre-set procedures, facilitating his subsequent plans.
"This will be a one-way communication, a blind cast," Osiris's mechanical tentacles carefully placed the special servo-skull on a specific focal point above the Dimensional Transporter. "We cannot confirm the environment of the transmission endpoint, nor can we confirm if the messenger will survive, let alone if the information will be correctly received and executed. The success rate… cannot be precisely calculated."
But if he didn't try, he would never know the outcome.
"Buddy, monitor all sensors, record every quantum-level fluctuation of the transmission process."
"Command confirmed. All systems under monitoring."
Osiris took a deep breath, his mechanical fingers inputting the final command on the control interface.
Energy surged from the newly laid main lines of the underground base into the Dimensional Transporter, its dark-gold surface patterns suddenly glowing, emitting a low, ancient resonance.
A visible spatial distortion spread out from the transporter, bending the light within the experimental zone.
The special servo-skull was enveloped in a ball of searing white light, its outline beginning to blur and tremble.
"Energy output stable… Coordinate Beta locked… Dimensional channel constructing…" Osiris calmly reported the data, his optical lenses tightly focused on the ball of light.
Suddenly, the light rapidly contracted to a single point, then burst forth with a silent shockwave!
Small equipment in the experimental zone shook violently, energy readings instantly spiking to their peak before rapidly receding.
The light dissipated.
On the workbench, the Dimensional Transporter returned to its slow rotation, its surface glow slightly dimmed, seemingly having consumed a vast amount of energy.
And the special servo-skull had vanished without a trace.
"Transmission complete, energy consumption consistent with high-quality matter transmission model expectations," the servo-skull quickly reported. "Detected a brief, directionally clear dimensional rift generation and closure signal."
Osiris stood there in silence, sensing the faint smell of ozone and strange radiation lingering in the air.
Was it a success? At least, the transmission process itself hadn't gone out of control.
Had the messenger, carrying his tiny hope, now reached the Warhammer Universe? Would it activate in some corner and send out the encrypted message?
He had no way of knowing any of this.
"A roll of the dice into the abyss," he murmured to himself, turning to leave the experimental zone and redirecting his attention back to the bustling base construction. "For now, all we can do is wait and continue to fortify our stronghold."
Meanwhile, in Night City, the Edgerunners team's reputation soared due to several clean and efficient missions.
But this reputation also attracted unwanted attention.
Faraday, the middleman, became more frequent in his probing; bounties appeared on the black market for their "antique-grade" yet astonishingly powerful weapons; and vague rumors suggested that Arasaka or Militech's security departments had developed initial interest in the recent abnormal physiological signal enhancements and equipment upgrades of its members.
Osiris knew that the display of technology inevitably invited covetousness.
Although for him, the corporations of Night City posed little real threat, his ambition, to establish a trans-dimensional resource and technology cycle, had quietly planted its seeds, and the steel grave regenerating beneath his feet was the cornerstone of this grand vision.
He did not want his experiments and research to be disturbed, and to avoid disturbance, he had to strengthen his own power, so that those flies would not dare to bother him.