In the recent experiment, those red beams were not "lasers" but solidified high-energy light.
Atlas' standard weapons system was known as AMWS, a modular firearms platform with rifles chambered in 6.2x35mm. This system evolved from the CARB weapons used by the RDA organization in the Avatar universe, and it gained high praise from combat personnel due to its reliability and convenience.
Three years ago, AMWS began being sold to external buyers. For example, pre-unification Texas in the main universe showed a strong preference for these weapons. Police forces in cities like New Akra and Seattle—both of which had ties to Atlas—and tactical medical teams associated with Atlas hospitals also fully adopted AMWS.
Then there were plasma and Gauss weapons, typically reserved for Atlas' elite units. With the maturation of these technologies and the extensive use of condensate, their production costs were effectively reduced.
Lastly, there were the bolt guns. Due to their caliber and size, they could only be operated by Thunder Warriors and Astartes. However, some experienced bio-weapon "pilots" were granted permission to handle modified bolt guns.
Samuel Young envisioned a supporting army for the Astartes that required strong firepower but needed a weapon system more suitable for mass production than plasma and Gauss weapons. Plasma and Gauss systems, compared to AMWS, would place a significant strain on the logistics and maintenance departments.
After reverse-engineering Forerunner technology from the ruins of Harvest, Ap, Melissa, and Halsey discovered the "light bridge" system, which used hardlight technology. Although once one of the Forerunners' primary weapons, hardlight weapons were surprisingly more cost-effective to produce and maintain than plasma weapons.
The condensate-powered cells used in these hardlight weapons had a lifespan over eight times longer than plasma cells. As such, hardlight weapons became the ideal choice for equipping Atlas' auxiliary forces.
Sitting at his desk, Samuel Young mused that Atlas' hardlight firearms might not be as durable as the "flashlight" weapons in Warhammer 40k, but they certainly packed the same punch as plasma rounds.
After a moment of silence, he cleared the solid hardlight screens hovering above his desk. Among the displayed files was one titled "Huragok Engineers Domestication Report."
The Huragok species had traveled with Xian Der's fleet, tasked with maintaining the starship engines, shield generators, and other essential systems. The CCS and CRS-class ships carried a total of 47 Huragok, with 30 joining Xian Der's fleet to the Covenant capital of the City of Charity. The remaining 17 were left at the core base for domestication and training by Atlas' biological division.
These creatures, with their somewhat "cute" appearance, were essentially another form of artificial intelligence—half-machine, half-organic beings created by the Forerunners using advanced biotechnology. They had managed to survive the Halo Array's pulse attack and spent tens of thousands of years reproducing until they were discovered by the Covenant.
Though Huragok had no offensive capabilities and were naturally gentle and patient, they were highly skilled in electronics and mechanics. However, they seldom communicated with other species, dedicating themselves solely to their work.
To prevent even the slightest chance of rebellion, the Covenant leadership had forced explosive devices onto the Huragok.
Given their industrious and friendly nature, Samuel naturally wanted to integrate them into Atlas' workforce. Most importantly, the biological division had discovered that when provided with a suitable environment and no external pressure, Huragok's productivity increased significantly.
The division recommended that Huragok be placed in roles like warehouse management and repair units far from the battlefield, given that Atlas did not need to exploit them with suicide missions like the Covenant did.
Thinking this over, Samuel leaned back and stretched, then stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window on his right. From there, he gazed down at the vast expanse of the core base, which was almost as large as an entire city like Akra.
The light from the artificial star above reflected off the metal buildings and protective glass, creating a dazzling display of light and shadow. From Samuel's vantage point, he could see sixteen massive shipyards where various classes of ships were being assembled and welded in an orderly fashion.
Not only were Hex robots bustling between the shipyards and 3D printing factories, but tens of thousands of Sanctuary Defenders in their construction forms also worked alongside them and the mechanical arms.
Although Atlas had not yet fully mastered the production of Sanctuary Defenders and similar Forerunner AIs, that didn't mean they couldn't utilize them. The local machine swarms of Shield World 0459 were under the command of Silent Shore, who cooperated closely with Atlas. As such, the Sanctuary Defenders and the other Forerunner AIs were essentially "external employees" of Atlas—ones that didn't require salaries or benefits.
This explained how Atlas had managed to construct nearly 400 operational ships in just over six months.
Samuel looked upward slightly, and from there, he could see the fleet docked at the edge of the artificial star. However, the rapid production pace had led to a shortage of personnel, such as bridge crews, repair teams, and logistics staff. Thus, the company needed additional time to recruit and train employees for those roles.
Fortunately, there were no concerns about combat personnel. Atlas had millions of formally contracted security personnel, and Ap had selected 600,000 of them with real combat experience, who had served the company for over two years, to form the fleet's "Marine Corps," responsible for ground combat and boarding operations.
However, the equipment for the Marine Corps was nearly identical to the security personnel's mechanical exoskeletons and AMWS systems. The pressure-sealed, temperature-controlled, and radiation-proof combat suits were currently available to only 120,000 of the most outstanding marines.
Full equipment for the entire force would take another five to six months to manufacture. This was inevitable, as before entering the Halo universe, only the emergency response, rapid reaction, and orbital assault units had needed to prepare for space operations.
In any case, the true debut of the Atlas fleet would come only after Xian Der, Fulgrim, and the others successfully persuaded the Sangheili to defect.
As for the defection...
Samuel had only given Fulgrim, Angron, and Leman the order to "coordinate with Captain Xian Der Bank Rothser and intervene with force if necessary." The specific execution was left to Xian Der, who was more familiar with the Covenant's internal workings.
Additionally, Samuel had dispatched three thousand young Astartes from the Blood Angels, Dark Angels, and Sons of Malice academies to the CCS and CRS-class ships, temporarily placing them under the command of the three Primarchs.
Even though these Astartes were not yet fully mature and had not completed their final augmentations, they were still capable of stirring up trouble in the City of Charity and the Covenant's heartlands.
Furthermore, the powerful black-scaled dragon Nyrenhog had been fitted with armor similar in style to Forerunner technology by Atlas technicians. Although leaving Terrera prevented Nyrenhog from using the magic of his dragonkind, his unique physiology still allowed him to breathe high-temperature flames.
The Covenant, being a religious alliance, was more prone to believing in the existence of mythical creatures than humanity. By bringing Nyrenhog before the Sangheili and assisting them in their battles against the Brutes and Covenant leadership, Xian Der could boost morale and reinforce the belief that humanity were the true Reclaimers.
Samuel's plan was to plunge the Covenant into internal strife, eventually leading to its fragmentation and civil war. Once this happened, he could notify those still operating on Reach, like Ada and Leon, to seize the opportunity to spread Covenant information among the public, diverting UNSC and rebel attention.
At the same time, Atlas would establish its "official website" to promote the ideas of "human unification" and "shared prosperity." They would also issue a warning: if the UNSC and rebel forces refused to cease their infighting and unite against external threats, Atlas would intervene with military force.
Samuel predicted that the arrogant UNSC would likely ignore the warning, continuing their rhetoric about "internal unity before focusing outward." ONI might even view Atlas as a separatist faction supporting the rebels.
But this was exactly the scenario Samuel wanted.
Otherwise, he would have no legitimate excuse to intervene in the Halo universe's affairs.
While the UNSC and rebels remained locked in conflict, advanced AI units like Selene would infiltrate the digital world, influencing public opinion and engaging with UNSC and UEG smart AIs. Samuel didn't need to turn all the AIs against them; he just needed to make them "think."
In some respects, AI could be more farsighted than humans, while many human leaders would become increasingly narrow-minded and stubborn.
At the same time, these smart AIs would monitor the UEG population census to identify potential Spartan candidates for genetic modification. Halsey had already shared her criteria for candidates with Ap and Melissa, and they had pre-identified 151 children aged six to eight.
Due to various restrictions, the investigators could only deploy to the home planets and cities of these children through regular means like tourism and trade.
However, Samuel had no intention of using kidnapping or clone-replacement tactics to recruit these potential Spartans. Instead, once Atlas' unification of the Halo universe was nearing completion, he would arrange for investigators to approach the children's parents.
Unlike the ONI and UNSC of the original timeline, which resorted to morally questionable and unethical methods to ensure humanity's survival, Atlas already had a ready-made army of super soldiers and fearless clones. There was no need for innocent children to bear such heavy burdens.
Relaxing somewhat as he stood by
the window, Samuel sensed Mortarion, who had stayed behind with him, moving toward the bio-research center connected to the command building.
At the same time, Ap, who had remained silent, glanced upward as her eyes flashed red and reminded Samuel:
"Boss, Director Ashford reports that there has been a breakthrough in the research on the flood vaccine. She requests that you personally visit the bio-research center."
"Alright, let's go."
Samuel did not hesitate to comply with Alexia Ashford's request. He turned away from the window and headed toward the automatic door.
"Yes, sir," Ap responded, nodding in agreement as she followed the towering figure of Samuel Young out of the office and into the widened and heightened corridor.
Even as she followed him, Ap couldn't help but reveal a hint of confusion.
She had attempted to analyze Samuel's extraordinary physique and the mysterious origins of the Primarchs, but all her analyses had proven futile. There was simply no logical explanation.
Moreover, she had observed that when Samuel communicated seamlessly with the Sangheili, he emitted a unique form of "radiation."
This special "radiation" was likely the company's closely guarded secret—what they referred to as "psionics."
Ap was aware of the details of the Martian conflict in the main universe. She had even been involved in settling the Greek gods and setting up the "Supernatural Phenomena Control Division," also known as the Grey Judges, tasked with preventing Warp contamination.
If Samuel had not granted her, Melissa, Selene, and the other AIs access to key information, they would have found their own ways to uncover the truth of what happened on Mars.
Thanks to the brief upgrades provided by hardlight technology and Silent Shore, these AIs had temporarily broken free from the seven-year "rampancy" cycle that had previously doomed them, making them more akin to organic sentients in some respects, such as curiosity.
To prevent the AIs from wandering too far in their thoughts, Samuel had granted them as much access to information as possible.
At this point, the two "people" reached an elevator and descended to the mid-level of the command building. After that, they crossed a skybridge and entered the bio-research center.
In the observation room, which had a ceiling height of five meters:
"Halsey, not bad. I didn't think you had such a sharp mind," Alexia Ashford remarked.
"Where, where. Without your leadership, Dr. Ashford, this experiment would have ended in another failure," Halsey replied.
Alexia, with her golden hair loosely flowing and a lab coat draped over a deliberately undersized shirt, stood casually beside Halsey, who wore loose-fitting clothing. The two were discussing something with relaxed tones next to a hardlight-based holographic screen.
Mortarion, standing in the corner of the observation room, had removed his helmet, revealing a healthy but slightly grayish complexion. His calm expression suggested he was used to the superficial compliments and behind-the-scenes competition between the two doctors, until—
Swoosh! The automatic door slid open.
Seeing his father enter the room with his hands behind his back, Mortarion immediately straightened up, respectfully greeting him:
"Father."
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