With the credibility built over half a year and a relatively ample workforce, the first Underhive census proceeded fairly smoothly.
But things would naturally not go entirely smoothly. Before long, a report was sent to Huron.
When he received the report, Huron was discussing how to design the Breacher Team's Exoskeleton with Chief Techmarine Armenius.
Huron opened the report and glanced through it, only to find that it was connected to the Ecclesiarchy.
Some Ecclesiarchy believers claimed that the area was their holy land and strictly forbade outsiders from entering to inspect it, let alone register its population.
The registration team had even clashed with some believers. Fortunately, the registrars had all taken at least two doses of Gene-seed and were armed, so they had not suffered any losses.
Yet the census work had stalled there. These Ecclesiarchy territories were especially large, and some even blocked the routes beyond them, leaving a considerable area impossible to survey.
Huron's brow furrowed, then relaxed. He immediately began drafting his response. "Abandon the census mission. Seal off the surrounding roads. Register the area as a Deep Hive zone and await further handling."
They refused a toast only to be forced to drink a penalty. The Ecclesiarchy of Badab was merely a minor faction, with no influential figures backing it. They really thought they were important.
Even if nineteen out of every twenty higher-ups in most Ecclesiarchy factions were purged, there would still be some who slipped through. For now, he would let them dance a little longer.
Once he had free hands, he would have the Auxilia and Astartes encircle and suppress them, hold a Public Trial, then have the Chaplain of the Chapter Reclusiam reform the Ecclesiarchy according to the new doctrine he had planned.
Even between faiths of equal standing, one without a material foundation could hardly defeat one with it. Besides, the new Ecclesiarchy Huron planned to establish was far more advanced than Badab's local faith.
And he was a Living Saint under the genuine Emperor's Gaze. At worst, he could invoke a Decision and hold a worldwide manifestation of divinity.
So Huron's plan was simple: enjoy your little dance while you can. Later, every last one of you would be held to account.
After dealing with that minor matter, Huron continued discussing the Exoskeleton's design with Armenius.
To raise the Breacher Team's overall standard, Huron naturally needed to find a way to equip them with better gear. The Exoskeleton was part of that plan.
Force-feedback Armour was too expensive, while equipment such as the Solar Auxilia's void Power Armour had no available blueprints. They could only design a barely adequate piece of equipment themselves.
Fortunately, the technology was mature. They only needed to integrate the relevant technologies and keep an eye on the performance targets.
In Huron's conception, the Exoskeleton only needed to avoid hindering the wearer's mobility, support externally mounted Plasteel Ballistic Plates, last more than a week, and allow the wearer to handle a Bolter flexibly.
Everything else could be left to numerical superiority and specially designed armor-piercing Bolter shells.
The Breacher Team did not need to wage prolonged, large-scale wars. They only needed to unleash sufficient combat power over a short period.
With fleet support, logistics were not much of a concern. Compared to water-spraying Lasguns, Bolters were still more useful.
But as a Techmarine who had trained for many years with the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars, Armenius still wanted to improve the Exoskeleton's performance as much as possible.
However, after Huron explained the Breacher Team's combat environment, Armenius ultimately yielded and began designing the Exoskeleton according to Huron's requirements.
This Exoskeleton was named the MA-1 "Sapper" Exoskeleton System.
It weighed 32 kilograms in total, had a maximum additional load capacity of 120 kilograms, accommodated heights from 160 to 210 centimeters, supported 168 continuous combat hours, provided a maximum assist thrust of roughly 80 kilograms, and could be donned in three minutes by trained users or eight minutes by novices.
The frame was made from Plasteel and Carbon-silicon Composite Fibre. Its protection came mainly from externally mounted Plasteel plates. Standard attachment points were reserved on the shoulders, torso, and legs, allowing Plasteel plates to be mounted quickly. It provided good protection against Lasguns and Autoguns and could withstand one shot from an ordinary Bolter.
The frame used a bionic design. Most of the load was transmitted through the frame to the ground, reducing the burden on the wearer while also improving mobility to a degree through assist thrust.
Power was supplied by a Hydrogen Fuel Cell. A Solid-state Hydrogen Storage Tank made of metal hydride and a fuel-cell stack were mounted on the back, allowing hydrogen to be stably stored under normal temperature and pressure, then released through electric heating when needed.
Its modular design allowed the Power Backpack to be replaced quickly if damaged or depleted. Since its primary combat environment was the fleet, logistical pressure was minimal.
The waist had magnetic and fixed ammunition-pouch mounts, allowing it to carry six magazines and 120 Bolter rounds.
The core technology of this Exoskeleton was the Recoil Cancellation System. Through various methods, Armenius enabled ordinary Mortels to use Bolters with reasonable flexibility.
The right shoulder featured a retractable stock slot, rigidly connecting the Bolter to the Exoskeleton so that the recoil was borne mainly by the Exoskeleton's frame rather than buffered by the human body.
The hips were fitted with Gyroscope Sensors. After firing, they detected the recoil direction and activated the Flywheel Stabilizer on the opposite side, generating reverse torque to cancel muzzle climb. Its overall reaction time was 0.02 seconds, drastically reducing recoil's impact on the wearer.
Both arms were fitted with assist drives. During firing, motors at the shoulders and elbows continuously produced supporting force to reduce recoil. Even when not firing, they reduced arm fatigue from raising and holding the weapon, allowing the wearer to remain combat-ready.
Its controls used a dual system of electromyographic signals and inertial measurement units, with a total latency of roughly fifty milliseconds, causing almost no impact on ordinary people.
Moreover, "Sapper" carried a simple intelligence as its central control system. It could learn the wearer's habits and adapt quickly. In only about a week, even a completely inexperienced recruit could use the Exoskeleton as naturally as their own limbs.
Besides the Exoskeleton, Armenius used the Kraken Armor-Piercing Bolter Shell as a reference to specially design an enhanced armor-piercing Bolter shell for the Breacher Team.
This shell had a strengthened explosive charge, a diamond core in place of a metal core, and altered detonation logic for its propellant package.
Only after the diamond warhead shattered would the propellant package detonate, accelerating the internal diamond core to penetrate enemy armor.
The shattered diamond fragments could also inflict severe damage on enemy flesh in the process. It was exceptionally effective against heavily armored infantry and light vehicles; even a Space Marine struck by one would suffer a major loss in combat capability.
Most importantly, Planet Badab possessed the capability to manufacture both the Exoskeletons and the armor-piercing Bolter shells. They did not need to rely on the system's Military Factory.
This meant Huron could equip hundreds of thousands of Breacher Team members with both weapons. Even without Space Marines assisting them, the Breacher Team could use sheer numbers to overwhelm most enemies in the complex environment of a warship.
Furthermore, with slight modifications, this Exoskeleton could also serve as an auxiliary tool for workers—a true military-civilian dual-use design. That was why Huron had named it "Sapper."
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