Kelbor was dragged by Francis to a junk heap.
Looking at the metal scraps scattered across the ground, Kelbor picked one up and squeezed hard. The scrap snapped in two.
Kelbor stared blankly at Francis. "This is the Ork technology you were talking about?"
"Don't rush me. Just watch." As he spoke, Francis pulled Ork blood from a box and drank it in one gulp.
Then, right before Kelbor's astonished eyes, Francis's arms once again transformed into Ork arms.
He picked up a pile of junk and haphazardly pieced it together, eventually creating a tool shaped like a helmet—the Ork Perm Helmet.
Even Francis didn't quite understand why he had made such a thing.
"All done! Want to give it a try?"
Faced with Francis's sincere gaze, Kelbor could only feel that the light in his eyes was blinding.
Had he really just been imagining things?
"That's it? You just slap a few pieces together? Let me try." Kelbor took the helmet from Francis in shock and put it on.
With a sharp click, mechanical pincers sprang out from the helmet and embedded themselves in Kelbor's head.
"What does this thing do? Why did it dig into my head?!"
"Oh! This thing? It's called an Ork lie detector," Francis replied casually.
A lie detector?
Just as Kelbor was about to take it off, Francis hurriedly warned him, "You have to answer ten questions before you can remove it. If you force it off, it'll explode!"
"Explode?" Kelbor's scalp went numb, but he thought his mechanical body should be able to withstand it.
Francis spoke again. "Oh, right. It's got a mini nuke inside. Everything within a hundred-meter radius will be vaporized."
Kelbor: "..."
Sure enough, Francis had already made it to the bridge a hundred meters away. He shouted, "Do you hate the Emperor?"
"You'd better answer quickly, or it'll explode!"
Hearing that, Kelbor really wanted to die. What the hell was this supposed to be?
Kelbor could only take a deep breath. "I have great respect for the Emperor."
Ding, ding, ding!
"You have to tell the truth, or it'll explode!" Francis moved even farther away.
"What kind of Dark Age technology is this?!" Kelbor trembled with rage.
Ding, ding, ding!
"Three seconds left! It really will explode!" Francis backed away again, this time ducking behind an airlock.
Kelbor's mechanical heart pounded as he gambled that Francis was lying.
"Three... two... one..."
As Francis counted down, a distinct surge of energy rippled from the helmet on Kelbor's head.
Kelbor finally couldn't take it anymore. He tried every kind of calculation technique, but none could unlock the helmet.
"You're actually serious?!"
Francis scratched his head. "Why would I lie to you? It's about to blow!"
The helmet gradually turned red-hot. His brain had already received the signal that death was imminent. At last, he screamed hysterically, "I hate the Emperor! He won't let us research Abominable Intelligence technology!"
"And he's hidden away so many STC templates from the Dark Age of Technology! We've been sick of him for ages!"
"If we weren't too weak to beat him, we'd blast him to hell!"
Bzzzzzz—
The helmet shook violently, then its energy response shut down.
Thump.
Kelbor collapsed to the ground, his nerves completely shot. All the machinery in his body whirred as it rapidly tried to break the helmet's hold.
But this thing seemed to be connected directly to his brain. It was extremely dangerous!
"Couldn't you have installed an emergency release?" Kelbor roared furiously, but the helmet began heating up again.
"Don't panic. I'll ask the questions first. Otherwise, it'll explode again."
At that, oil welled in the corners of Kelbor's eyes. He'd never encountered technology this damned before.
Francis: "Do you have a problem with the Imperium?"
"Yes! I can't stand that the Imperium has so many civilians. They should all be turned into Servitors!"
Francis: "Have you ever thought about betraying the Imperium?"
"Yes. The Adeptus Mechanicus and the Imperium are only partners."
"What kind of women do you like?"
"I don't like women. I like STCs."
"Do you..."
"..."
Francis secretly used the remote in his hand to switch off the Ork Perm Helmet.
Kelbor's artificial neurons had shorted out in several places. After the tenth question, a click sounded above his head.
The helmet fell off on its own. Still shaken, Kelbor hurriedly stomped it to pieces. Mechanical roars sounded from his body, apparently caused by an overload malfunction.
"Ork technology is truly wicked!"
"Heh, sorry. I didn't expect this thing to have so many problems either." Francis scratched his head awkwardly.
"You did that on purpose!" Kelbor said darkly, stepping up to Francis.
"What are you really after?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to hear what was really on the general's mind." Francis still wore a smile. "We're alike, actually. My genetic research is restricted in all sorts of ways, too."
"I need to find allies. And, if necessary..."
"Break away and establish a Second Imperium! Unleash more forbidden technologies and let humanity evolve once again!"
Francis's words left Kelbor stunned.
"A Second Imperium! The evolution of humanity!"
"Such a brilliant idea! You're the light of humanity, my friend!"
"Let us join this glorious evolution!"
Fervor shone in Kelbor's eyes. Francis truly understood him!
"Not yet. We have to wait until things settle down before we start another wave of change."
"For now, we can only pursue this great cause in secret. I have to stay disguised at the Emperor's side until I take his place!"
Kelbor was moved to tears by the end. His brother had really been through so much!
Seeing that Kelbor had taken the bait, Francis quickly grabbed him by the shoulders and said earnestly, "Come on. I'll teach you how to use the Ork battleship."
"Brother, you really are... I was thinking far too small!" Kelbor stared in shock as Francis moved the controls right in front of him.
He was actually passing on his knowledge to him!
Francis was the one who had truly grasped the teachings of the Adeptus Mechanicus!
At last, Kelbor's doubts died.
"Hey, brother, am I just too stupid? Why won't the controls work when I use them?" Kelbor fumbled with the Ork battleship's console.
It was covered in buttons—red, green, purple, and every other color—with absolutely no symbols.
Worse, the same button did something different each time it was pressed. Kelbor couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Don't rush. I'll demonstrate again. Watch closely."
Francis stepped up beside Kelbor. The constantly shifting buttons immediately fell still, and Francis casually fiddled with them.
The Ork battleship then rose smoothly into the air, making the people outside watch in great alarm.
"How can this be? Why doesn't it work when I use it?" Kelbor was dumbfounded. The Ork battleship's Machine Spirit completely ignored him, yet acted like an obedient puppy around Francis.
The two of them tried again and again, and the Ork battleship repeatedly rose and settled back down.
The people outside kept tensing up, then relaxing again. The Astartes were the exception: they had two hearts, so when one tried to leap into their throats, it got stuck and bounced back down.
At last,
Kelbor spotted the key.
When Francis's arms were in their Ork form, he could use the console normally.
Otherwise, he couldn't control it either, just like Kelbor.
"So we'll never be able to master Ork technology?" Kelbor asked in despair.
"Heh heh. General, there's one more way. Want to try it? Though it's a bit risky." Francis raised his eyebrows, a sly smile curling his lips.
"What way? As long as we can master Ork technology, we'll accept any cost!" Kelbor clung to him as if he'd spotted the last lifeline.
"Since Ork technology only recognizes Orks, how about I use genetic surgery to install Ork prosthetic limbs on you?"
"They won't let you use Ork abilities to create things, but they should be good enough for operating the technology."
At that moment, Francis's smile looked utterly horrifying to Kelbor.
Using Xenos genes to make biological tools was just too... terrifying!
But when he thought that this would let them master Ork technology, Kelbor gritted his teeth and growled, "Keep this secret! How confident are you? We have some STC templates related to genetic technology here, too. Want to take a look?"
"Heh heh heh. I'm eighty percent sure I can make them. The Ork arms will just need regular injections of a growth inhibitor I developed myself. And then..."
Before you continue