"You are in need of assistance, and the Tyran system will provide it," Qin Mo spoke before Furos could even voice his request.
"By the Emperor... Thank you, truly," Furos exhaled in relief. He had come to seek aid, and despite Kleyn's assurances that the Lord of Tyran was a generous man, Furos still feared being turned away.
However, Qin Mo's willingness to help was not solely out of sympathy for the Weepers' unfortunate plight; it was also an opportunity to forge an alliance with an Astartes chapter. No matter how misfortunate the Weepers might be, they were still Astartes, and even though Furos' shoulder pauldrons were long gone, he remained a Chapter Master, with all the combat prowess that entailed.
By offering assistance now, Qin Mo knew the Weepers would repay him in the future. And not with the cold, transactional "I help you, you help me" sort of favor—this was deeper. The Weepers had not blindly followed Huron Blackheart during the Badab War without reason, and their eventual pardon had also come with its fair share of behind-the-scenes support.
"I don't manufacture the type of armor and weapons you require. I'll need to study your equipment first before I can produce supplies for you," Qin Mo said.
"Of course," Furos nodded eagerly. "Is there anything we can do to assist?"
"Not at the moment," Qin Mo replied with a slight smile. "Simply leave your weapons and armor for me to examine. In the meantime, feel free to rest on Tyran III."
"If you need anything, we stand ready," Furos bowed again, his gratitude evident.
Without hesitation, Furos removed his armor, and his men did the same, offering up two additional sets of armor and weapons. Qin Mo could see they had suffered greatly—one man's arm was exposed, his gauntlet missing; another was missing the entirety of his leg armor. One of Furos' men was even wearing a Terminator suit, though it too was incomplete, pieces missing from various sections.
For most Astartes chapters, allowing outsiders to study their wargear would be unthinkable, and the Weepers were no exception. Yet, desperate times called for desperate measures. Furos was willing to pay any price, make any sacrifice, if it meant reuniting with his lost brothers.
Qin Mo now had three sets of equipment to work with: one set of master-crafted armor, a mass-produced set, and a Terminator suit, along with boltguns and power spears.
Kleyn, observing the scene, couldn't help but smile. His efforts to bring these Astartes to the Tyran system had certainly paid off. Qin Mo would be able to reverse-engineer their equipment for his own production.
But Qin Mo wasn't thinking of profit. His goal in acquiring the armor was simply to save time. Instead of puzzling over the intricate designs of Astartes power armor, he could simply replicate them.
"Take them to Tyran III," Qin Mo instructed Kleyn.
"Yes, Governor," Kleyn nodded, then motioned for Furos and his men to follow him.
...
In less than two days, the news Furos had been anxiously awaiting finally arrived—the armor and weapons had been completed.
Furos and his ten surviving brothers quickly returned to the Hive World, entering the underground fortress's hall through the teleportarium. Guided by drones, they were led into a large armory.
"Your equipment is here," Qin Mo greeted them, standing by a wall. He pressed a button, and the wall lifted to reveal a vast storage area, lined with armor racks. Each rack held a suit of power armor, along with boltguns and power spears arrayed against the far wall.
Furos examined the racks and counted twenty suits of standard power armor—ten for immediate use and ten spares. But that wasn't all. To his astonishment, he saw an additional twenty suits of Terminator armor.
Furos and his men could hardly believe their eyes. Terminator armor was rare. The Weepers' chapter had never possessed so many, and even among other Astartes chapters, twenty suits of Terminator armor was a significant number.
"These… are for us?" Furos walked from one suit to the next, inspecting each one. They had already been painted in the Weepers' distinctive yellow, with the chapter's symbol emblazoned on them. It was clear to whom they belonged.
Furos was overwhelmed. He couldn't fathom how Qin Mo had managed to produce so many so quickly. He had already been confused by the presence of Inquisitorial forces in the Tyran system, but now he understood—the system's manufacturing capabilities were staggering.
"I've made some minor adjustments to the control systems on the Terminator suits, but you'll still need to learn how to operate them," Qin Mo explained.
"That won't be a problem," Furos replied, still somewhat dazed.
In truth, the Weepers' greatest challenge had never been learning to use Terminator armor—it was acquiring it in the first place.
After taking in the sight of their new gear, Furos turned to Qin Mo and earnestly asked, "What can we do for you? Is there an enemy in this system?"
"You owe me nothing," Qin Mo responded. "I give you these supplies because I know that when the Tyran system faces a crisis, you will not stand idly by. Use this equipment to help those in need."
While noble in tone, Qin Mo certainly did expect some form of return. But he knew that for men of honor, offering aid without demanding immediate repayment was the surest way to secure lasting loyalty.
Had they been dealing with a more mercenary chapter, like the Red Corsairs, such tactics would have been pointless. The Corsairs would have simply taken the supplies and left, perhaps even pilfering whatever else they found valuable.
This was no manipulation—Qin Mo genuinely intended to provide long-term support to the Weepers. In exchange, their loyalty would come when the Tyran system needed them the most.
"If you insist on repaying me," Qin Mo said after a moment's thought, "there is something I could use your help with."
"Please, tell me," Furos urged.
"In the second system," Qin Mo snapped his fingers, and a drone projected an image of the surrounding star systems. Tyran and its neighboring systems were displayed, each marked with a number.
"These systems don't have formal names, so I've labeled them numerically," he explained. The image zoomed in on one of the numbered systems—System 4—and revealed a planet.
"A plague has broken out on this world, and their governor has requested aid. I need you to go there, contain the outbreak, and extract samples of the virus from the infected."
"I'll send a regiment to assist you," Qin Mo added, watching Furos closely. After a brief pause, he continued, "Once this task is complete, your supplies will no longer be considered a gift but a fair exchange."
Furos thought back to the military forces he had seen in the Tyran system. Handling such a mission seemed trivial to them. It was clear that Qin Mo's real intention was to give Furos a way to accept the supplies without feeling indebted.
Such a noble soul.
Understanding this, Furos nodded. "I will see to it that the matter is dealt with. But I know that this small task cannot possibly repay the value of what you've provided us. The Weepers pledge to come to the aid of the Tyran system whenever called upon, for as long as we draw breath."
"Don't be so grim," Qin Mo smiled. "I wouldn't let you fall to ruin."
Furos, however, remained somber, believing that he and his ten men might be all that was left of the Weepers. But this was no time for despair.
He immediately ordered his men to don their new armor and weapons, ready to carry out Qin Mo's task.