A new chapter ... literally

The years passed with Ferrus Manus as the ruler of Medusa. The structure of the entire planet was changed to suit Ferrus' needs. The roots ripped out the culture of Medusa through the killings granting Ferrus a chance to rebuild. Was that smart? It depends on who you're asking. The man from 2k might say that it was inhumane, cruel, barbaric, sadistic and maybe even unnecessary. But what do those pussies know? 

The 31st millennium was brutal and cruel. It needed strength above all and Ferrus was here to provide. He started to rebuild. The population of Medusa had dropped drastically, leaving only children, women and very few men. The few men were the smarter of the bunch and knew that they wouldn't be able to win should they choose to fight in the free-for-all. So they stayed their hands. After the fighting was over, Ferrus made sure to test those men in all aspects, not just wit. 

He created a large school. The school was led by himself, despite the humongous tasks and projects he had going on. He wanted to instill the same beliefs and ideas into the young minds of Medusa's children, to later reap what he sowed. He created non-intelligent robots to build and construct anything he desired. It was something he had created long ago. He wouldn't bother with building something as fundamental and uninteresting as a school, but it still had to be built and built correctly. 

The people of Medusa watched as before their very eyes, massive and powerful buildings started to be built. The millions of inhabitants had been reduced to mere thousands by the 'culling' as it was being called. The few dozen men who remained were called to work in the mines or construction by Ferrus. He wanted to see their spirit. Sadly, they failed in the end, leaving Medusa without men whatsoever ... but that wasn't a problem for Ferrus. Now, he could have just taken up the role of 'clan restoration' himself, but he didn't. At least not in the sense that would have been logical, cloning. No, if he was going to do that, Ferrus would do it the traditional way, but that was not really practical. He didn't have the time to impregnate all the females on Medusa. 

There were a few who caught his interest though. Strong women who knew how to fight and were intelligent as well. But Ferrus was not one to jump to conclusions. He waited first and foremost. 

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The buildings were finished and it was finally time for Ferrus to start teaching. The subjects weren't as rich in variety as they were in 2k. They were all meant to produce strong men and women. So it was limited to fighting, basic knowledge about the galaxy, flora and fauna and especially technology. 

Those who were interested in technology, engineering and crafting in general were very happy with this. There was no lesson to learn languages or how to right and the like. That was something each child had to learn on their own. In Ferrus' school, the kids learned how to survive and become strong. 

Everyone was included in the workings of the Hive City. That was the main city of Medusa, Ferrus had created. He wanted to have something that could keep the living arrangements of everyone close and use the remaining space for different purposes. The school was only a small part of the great plans, Ferrus had in mind. In order to create powerful men and women, they had to have practical experience. So quests and excursions were the norm, no matter how young they were. 

The harsh environment of Medusa made those deadly trips and not seldom did children not return. Strength was the most important part of the new Medusan culture. But it was not perfection, Ferrus wanted. Perfection was something he looked down on. Those who seek perfection, seek a limit to their capabilities, while he only seemed to be stronger than his past self. And that was a path and not a goal. This meant that he would grow limitlessly without limit and that was much better in his opinion. 

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As time passed, the young strong children of Medusa grew older and the weak died off. The women who were strong survived as well, while the weak ... died of course. As the years passed, a young woman caught the eye of Ferrus. As strange as it sounded, that was the case. The new military might, the Iron Guards, as Ferrus decided to call them, proved to be the testing ground for aspiring women who wanted to be more than their idiot men before them. And their intelligence proved to be their strength. 

Through clever use of technology, the women changed their lack of strength compared to the men and secured their positions. Ferrus didn't have to fight other humans on the planet and knew that once the golden goose arrived, he would have enough manpower to fight the Great Crusade, so he didn't fill the ranks with droids. 

And while it might be funny, it was true that the Iron Guard consisted of only women at the start. Among the women, one stood out. She was a tall woman with short white hair, which she didn't cut off to appear more manly, but because it was practical. She was cold and had a cruel side, but was still very professional. She was strong and without a doubt the most skilled at any form of combat. In the different drills and excursions, she proved to be the fiercest and most fearless warrior save for Ferrus himself. 

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This naturally caused her to rise in rank quickly and get access to more advanced technology, Ferrus had created. Through this process, she gained more responsibility and authority on Medusa. She started to overlook the weapons production and the creation of new buildings. She was the head of the Iron Guards and oversaw the training and enrollment of new recruits. 

As the years passed, Juline and Ferrus grew closer. But despite the attraction they felt, they kept it professional. Ferrus was far too busy with all his projects to bother with a relationship. But there was still a bond between them and who knows what this might turn into in the future, in this grim dark future that awaits all of the galaxy. 

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Ferrus Manus also led the bravest warriors of Medusa to delve into the frozen realms below the surface, breaking open long-sealed vaults and intruding into ice-buried fragments of the great machine-works that had plunged from the skies in ancient days in search of salvage and strong metal. He didn't have to do that, but it served to both weed out the weak among his Iron Guard and to strengthen the others. He had to keep up appearances as no one knew his secret ability to conjure any material he wanted. 

In the depths, the warrior units and the silver-eyed giant Ferrus who led them fought degenerate mutants, living-dead cyborgs whose decayed flesh hung in tatters from corroded metal bodies, and subdued the dark-engines of the nightmare ages that had gone before to take their plunder. 

Ferrus took all of the material and broken technology they retrieved and recreated it anew. He could have made it so much better but stopped himself from doing so. He knew that he couldn't reveal his cards yet, but he also knew that he had to prepare for the dark future that awaited all of them. 

So Ferrus did just that. After an infrastructure had been set up and all inhabitants of Medusa had their work, Ferrus started to focus on special tools he would surely need. He had only expanded on his futuristic laboratory inside the Necron construct. He integrated everything into it and made it more impressive. 

The first thing he created was a special device he planted inside his head, right next to his brain. The very small device served one purpose only, to stop any form of telepathy on him. There was no way, that he was going to allow the Emperor of Mankind to read his thoughts and gain access to the most valuable thing in this universe, his memories. His memories were his own and no one would ever get to read them. 

To do this, Ferrus had to dive deep into the research of the Warp. He knew the potential and danger of the Immaterium and had to find ways around that. So instead of just cutting off the connection to the Warp completely, he wanted to find a way to shut off certain aspects of it. Like the telepathy path. 

And he succeeded. 

The small tool allowed him to not only block the specific part of the Warp which allowed psykers to use telepathy, but it also created fake memories and thoughts to throw off psykers. This worked on everyone who used the Immaterium to read minds and memories. 

Concerning the Immaterium, Ferrus crafted and created various tools and machines to do extensive research and acquire countermeasures against Chaos. He had so much space to spare, so he created a separate lab just for this. He also had one for medical research and other technological aspects which interested him. 

Apart from the anti-immaterium implant, as Ferrus called it, he also created other things. He knew that Big E was coming sooner or later and when he arrived, he brought with him his Iron Hands. He was still debating whether he should rename them or not. Iron Hands was not a good name in his opinion for his Legion. But there was still time. 

When his sons arrived on Medusa and integrated into the hierarchy of his planet, there were things that Ferrus wanted to change. For one, he wanted to get rid of all the problems and weaknesses the Adeptus Astartes had. Getting rid of weakness was something he believed heavily in, but it wasn't just something personal. The thought processes of the Iron Hands would have to change. Ferrus would forge the Iron Hands anew and integrate them perfectly into the system he had already established. 

Getting rid of weakness was also something he wanted to address in the Legion's technology. The level of technology might appear as great if we compare it to the year 2000 on Earth, but if we compare it to the races of the galaxy, then it is not even worth mentioning. The Aeldari and the Necrons were better in that regard and if we think about how those two will be enemies of Humanity in the coming millennia, something had to change. The Power Armour of the Astartes was too heavy. If we talk about training, then it is good to use something as heavy as possible, but for the battlefield, you want to be as nimble and fast as possible. 

The Mechanicus was another problem Ferrus would address in the future. But he would wait until Big E was no longer around to bother him in his plans. Humans had devolved in the years since the Age of Strife and Ferrus was here to change that. 

He already had armour which he created. It was from a game he remembered playing in his past life, Crysis. The CryNet Nanosuit 2 to be exact, was an amazing piece of technology and Ferrus had replicated it a while ago. But there was a problem, he couldn't just replace the Power Armour with the CryNet Nanosuit, that would be ... obvious. 

So what Ferrus settled on, was to introduce the CryNet Nanosuit after he and his Iron Legion meet for the first time. He will act as if he had studied the Power Armour and then came up with it. Of course, the CryNet Nanosuit was not the only thing he had in store. It wouldn't be proper that way. He would, when his Legion arrived, combine the Nanosuit with the Power Armour, or with the 19th Gene Seed, The Black Carapace (Interface). This would enhance the Space Marines to untold degrees and would make his Legion the most powerful and effective one among all others. 

Why?

Well, the CryNet Nanosuit 2 was a beauty. 

The Nanosuit's upper limit for strength is considered limitless. It can absorb energy in a myriad of forms including, but not limited to radiation, static, kinetic, and even carbon released by rotting corpses, and with this power, the suit can become even stronger.

It uses its own Semiautonomous Enhanced Combat Ops: Neuro-integration Delivery AI (SECOND) which is powered by a parasitic blood-glucose infusion and an electrolytic micro stack. The non-sentient chip runs at 1.5 BIPS and instantly integrates remote telemetry and first-person input from up to 6,000 distinct channels (ranging from full spectrum EM to acoustic, barometric, and pheromonal) presenting clear, concise tactical summaries via an interface integrated directly in the visual cortex. It can also take over the operator's purely autonomic and regulatory functions in the event of somatic damage. One of the N2's most innovative features, however, is its ability to not only monitor the physical and neurological state of the soldier but to actually optimize them. SECOND continuously regulates dopamine, lactic acid, and corticosteroid levels, and anticipates and counteracts debilitating stress and fatigue reactions. The suit also actively augments and maintains the wearer's adrenaline, GABA, and tricyclic levels. It should be noted however that prolonged exposure to antagonistic neuroinhibitory mechanisms can result in long-term damage to metabolic systems.

The Nanosuit 2 is also capable of repairing itself and its user from serious damage in a matter of a few hours. But it gets better. The suit also improves and continually evolves upon data collection technology and upon receiving both physical and internal damage. Since the suit evolves every time it gets damaged and reinforces itself to that damage over time. And if that wasn't enough, the suit is also capable of seeping into any wound and fixing it at an incredibly drastic rate. 

Because of these features, it is implied that the Nanosuit is not only capable of being a life support system but also capable of permanently immunizing its wearers from all toxins, venoms, and diseases of all forms, known and unknown, biological or human-made. This also implies that the suit has a regenerative healing factor unparalleled by any other type of healing factor, meaning even the Hayflick limit is bypassed because the telomeres are prevented from shortening, allowing a cell to divide indefinitely. The suit also renders ageing impossible, as it can store the entire personality and body of its user should they ever part, therefore keeping the original user immortal in some way or another, allowing the user to take some other users' body for their own.

Yeah, the CryNet Nanosuit 2 is unbelievable. But for Ferrus to use it and grant it to his Astartes, he will have to make sure they are worthy. Only the Chapter Masters and the top leaders will get one at first. He will also add multiple failsafes, in case something happens and the suit gets stolen or analysed. In those cases the suit self-destructs. 

In case a Space Marine might think it smart to join Chaos, well ... that can't happen. Ferrus has added a feature to the CryNet Nanosuit that functions similarly to his anti-immaterium implant. It blocks any form of influence the Warp can have on the wearer outright. It is a speciality, Ferrus added when he crafted it. Thanks to his Essence, that's possible. 

A simple, 'Incorruptible' attribute and voila, the suit can't house a Chaos Space Marine. 

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I have many more ideas, but that's it for now. The weapons he has created up to this point, aren't special in any way. He doesn't want to be either exploited by the Imperium or start beef with the Mechanicum right away. He will smash heads with them in the future, but not right away.