Chapter 353 - 350 — The Workshop

Chapter 353: Chapter 350 — The Workshop

Chapter 350 — The Workshop

The next morning, Tony received a message from Gaius.

The land is ready.

Tony looked at the message for a moment.

"That was fast."

Diana looked over.

"What is it?"

"Gaius found me a place for the workshop."

She smiled.

"Already?"

Tony nodded.

"I asked yesterday."

"And he already arranged it."

"Yep."

Tony stood.

"Let’s see what I got."

Gaius was waiting for them outside one of the restored industrial districts.

The area had suffered damage during the battle, but most of the surrounding structures had already been repaired.

Several factories were operating again.

Cargo vehicles moved along the roads.

Workers carried materials between buildings.

A few Ultramarines were overseeing the movement of heavy equipment.

Tony looked around.

"This is where you put me?"

Gaius nodded.

"The district has access to power, transportation, and industrial infrastructure."

Tony looked farther ahead.

"And the land?"

Gaius pointed.

"Beyond the next structure."

Tony walked ahead.

Then stopped.

The plot was large.

Very large.

It stretched roughly 120 meters across and nearly 180 meters deep, giving Tony around 21,600 square meters of open ground.

It sat beside an inactive industrial building that was already being repaired.

The building occupied only part of the area, leaving a wide stretch of open ground around it.

There was enough space for several large structures, vehicle access, storage areas, and a sizable workshop.

Tony looked back at Gaius.

"I said a little land."

"This is little."

Tony stared at him.

Diana laughed.

"You’re not going to win that argument."

Tony looked across the property again.

"Okay."

He grinned.

"I’ll take it."

Gaius nodded.

"It is yours to use."

Tony looked at him.

"You’re not worried I’m going to build something ridiculous here?"

Gaius looked at the empty land.

"You are Tony Stark."

Tony smiled.

"Fair."

The location had not been chosen randomly.

Gaius had considered the workshop’s future needs.

Tony’s equipment required a stable power supply.

Materials would need to be transported in.

The workshop would also benefit from being close to existing manufacturing facilities without being placed directly inside them.

It also left enough distance from the main civilian areas to avoid disrupting daily life.

Tony looked around again.

The more he considered it, the more practical it became.

Tony walked across the property, looking around.

There was a clear view of the industrial district.

Power lines were already being restored nearby.

A cargo road passed behind the property.

The location was practical.

Tony liked it.

He turned toward Gaius.

"This is actually perfect."

Gaius nodded.

"I considered access to the existing infrastructure."

Tony pointed toward the road.

"Easy material transport."

He pointed toward the factories.

"Power and manufacturing nearby."

Then he looked at the empty space.

"Enough room to build."

Diana looked at him.

"You already have the whole thing planned, don’t you?"

Tony smiled.

"I’ve built one before."

Gaius nodded.

"On Cascade."

Tony pointed at him.

"Exactly."

Diana smiled.

"So you already know what you’re getting."

Gaius looked across the property.

"Yes."

Tony nodded.

"Good. Saves me the explanation."

Tony opened the Parcel System.

Nanites began flowing into the empty lot.

They spread across the ground, forming the first foundation.

Support frames followed.

Then walls.

Panels assembled themselves around the framework as the structure began taking shape.

Tony had already learned what worked and what didn’t from the workshop he had built on Cascade.

This time, he wasn’t starting from scratch.

He kept the systems that had proven useful and changed the parts that had limited his work before.

Within minutes, the basic shape of a large workshop had begun to emerge.

Diana watched without surprise.

"Looks familiar."

Tony nodded.

"Same basic idea."

Gaius watched the structure take shape, noticing the changes.

"With modifications."

Tony looked at him.

"A lot of them."

The workshop took shape over the next several hours.

Tony adjusted the layout as he went.

A wall moved.

A section became taller.

Another room was added.

Storage areas expanded.

A large open bay was created at the rear.

The main work floor became much larger than the original structure.

Tony had more space than he had on Cascade, so he took advantage of it.

Diana watched him continue.

"You’re making it bigger."

Tony nodded.

"I’ve got more room this time."

He pointed toward another empty section.

"And I can use that."

Diana laughed.

"Of course."

Gaius continued watching.

He had already seen Tony build this way before.

There was little reason to interfere.

Tony knew what he wanted.

The Ultramarines eventually came to inspect the completed sections.

Several Techmarines examined the structure and its systems.

One looked across the work floor.

"It is similar to the facility you constructed on Cascade."

Tony nodded.

"Same general concept."

The Techmarine examined one of the power connections.

"But expanded."

"I’ve got more room here."

The Techmarine nodded.

"Logical."

Tony smiled.

"Glad you approve."

Another Techmarine looked toward the fabrication equipment being installed.

The technology was unfamiliar to them, but not completely incomprehensible.

They had already spent time examining Tony’s equipment and understood enough to recognize the value of its fabrication systems.

"We would like to study some of these systems."

Tony looked at him.

"And I still have questions about yours."

The Techmarine nodded.

"Then we have mutual interests."

Tony grinned.

"Exactly."

By evening, the main structure was complete.

It wasn’t fully furnished yet.

There were still machines to install, workbenches to assemble, and equipment to bring in.

Tony stood in the middle of it.

The large interior was mostly empty, but that was exactly what he wanted.

It gave him room to decide how everything would be arranged once he knew what equipment he would be bringing in.

He looked around.

Then nodded.

"Yeah."

Diana stepped inside.

"Happy?"

"Very."

Tony looked across the open work floor.

"I’ve got a workshop in Gaius’s universe," he said. "And on top of that, it’s on a world he rules."

Gaius entered behind them.

"You have access to the Techmarine facilities."

"I know." Tony looked around the workshop again. "And their facilities are impressive, but I prefer having my own space."

He looked across the open work floor.

"This is mine."

Gaius nodded.

"Yes."

Tony smiled.

"Thanks."

The next day, Tony began filling the workshop.

Machinery arrived through the Parcel System.

Workbenches assembled themselves.

Storage units lined the walls.

Fabrication equipment was installed.

Power systems began powering up as Tony connected them to the arc reactor he had installed on the floor.

Tony also established separate areas for fabrication, repairs, storage, and general engineering.

He had learned from experience that keeping everything in one open space quickly became inconvenient.

Diana watched as the empty building slowly became a proper workshop.

"You’ve been waiting for this."

Tony looked up from a console.

"For a while."

She glanced around.

"Looks a lot like the one on Cascade."

Tony nodded.

"That one worked, but I changed a lot of things this time."

Diana smiled.

"So you kept the good parts."

"And fixed the annoying ones."

Gaius occasionally stopped by.

Sometimes Tony asked him questions.

Sometimes the Techmarines arrived.

Sometimes they simply talked.

The workshop quickly became another place where the two groups crossed paths.

Tony continued learning about Imperium technology.

The Techmarines became increasingly interested in Tony’s nanotechnology.

Their interests were different, but there was enough overlap to make the exchange useful.

Tony could learn from technology that had been refined for warfare over thousands of years.

The Techmarines, in turn, could study methods far outside the Mechanicus traditions they were accustomed to.

Neither side revealed everything.

Neither needed to.

They simply shared what they were comfortable sharing.

It was enough.

Outside, Varrak continued recovering.

More factories returned to operation.

The repaired roads saw more traffic.

Food production continued improving.

The Sea King shipments remained steady.

Medical facilities had begun returning to normal.

The Ultramarines continued their duties.

The PDF maintained security.

Civilians returned to their routines.

And the remaining ritual sites were being dealt with one by one.

The Warp scars were fading.

Tony checked the latest readings from JARVIS.

"Still dropping."

Gaius looked toward the sky.

"Good."

Tony looked at the new workshop behind him.

Then at the city.

The lights were returning.

The roads were busy again.

The sound of machinery once more filled parts of the district.

"This place is actually starting to feel normal."

Diana nodded.

"It is."

Tony smiled.

"Maybe I’ll stay for a while."

There were plenty of interesting technologies in Gaius’s universe. The universe itself was dangerous, but with Gaius here, Tony didn’t feel quite as concerned about it.

Gaius looked at him.

"You are welcome to."

Tony looked toward him.

"Careful."

He grinned.

"I might take you seriously."

Gaius simply nodded.

"I do."

Tony laughed.

"Right."

Diana shook her head.

"I think we should talk to Naruto and the others and see how they’re doing. They haven’t gone back yet."

Gaius nodded.

"With the loss of the Hierarch, we do not know how the Covenant will react."

Then, all of a sudden, a notification sounded.

A familiar sound.

One they had not heard in a long time.

[DING! The Mother of Spartans has joined the group chat.]

~~~

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