Chapter 89: Old Acquaintances
Accompanied by Douglas and the other two, Omega met Admiral Heraclius. The first thing the savvy little man did was to present a gift. The old saying, "one's hand is shortened by taking, and one's mouth is shortened by eating," still held true in the 42nd Millennium.
The high-ranking military officers and the Inquisitor, having received the gift, did not utter the sarcastic remarks they had prepared. Instead, they opened their mouths and said, "Magos Omega is a good comrade, a promising Magos of the Imperium." Although not in those exact words, that was the meaning. With Douglas and the other two helping out, the atmosphere was extremely harmonious.
After achieving his goal, Omega wanted to ditch the useless Inquisitor and run. But the moment he showed a hint of wanting to leave, Douglas and the other two would change the subject. They would hold him back, preventing him from speaking, while shooting looks at the Admiral—Don't let this ancestor run away!
Heraclius got the hint. A little cog-head that a general, a canoness, and a Chapter Master would team up to keep must have something. And thinking of the fast-running Cogboy, his tone immediately changed. The words "good comrade" became, "The peace of the Far East is at stake in this battle. A good comrade would not turn a blind eye. Magos Omega, what do you think?"
Omega couldn't just "think." He could only say, "I, Omega, and the Tyranids are irreconcilable!"
And so, the Cogboy became a member of the joint fleet. Omega's wish to ditch the Inquisitor was also dashed. To be honest, Omega had no interest at all in the Tyranids. From these bugs that only knew how to "eat," Omega couldn't steal any technology. He had tried back on Teyedan. Fighting the Tyranids brought him no benefits. But now, he had no choice.
Although the combined fleet of humans and T'au was already massive, their opponent this time was the Tyranids. Their current strength was not enough to defeat the bugs, so there was a constant stream of human and T'au warships arriving from all over to join them.
While waiting for the two fleets to assemble, Omega, besides being busy with his "Orthodox Human Gundam Project," had nothing else to do. Until Douglas and the other two came to him again to do business. But they had come with high hopes and had left in disappointment. The Omega who had returned from the T'au Empire no longer looked at the old stock they had. In the end, he only gave them a "friendship price," which greatly disappointed the three of them. However, this did open up a new line of thought for Omega.
In such a large fleet, there must be many people with good things. Not to mention the Rogue Traders who had come, sniffing for the scent of war. The Cogboy, which was so full it could barely move, could take this opportunity to digest a little. And so, "Omega's Arms Supermarket" was open for business again.
Admiral Heraclius, having received Omega's advertisement, had gone to take a look out of curiosity. And then he understood why Douglas and the others had wanted to keep this little cog-head. He really did have something. Unfortunately, he was in the Imperial Navy. These "little toys" were only useful for a warship's anti-boarding capabilities; they couldn't enhance a warship's performance. This disappointed him a little, but a little was better than nothing. He still bought a batch of new gear and nano-medical bays for his most capable subordinates.
"Omega's Arms Supermarket" quickly made a name for itself in the fleet. All sorts of people who had gathered here began to come to the shop to buy things. While Omega was raking in the cash, collecting rare minerals and technological relics, and grinning from ear to ear, Inquisitor Fenni's ship arrived.
Looking at the "little board" before him, Omega was puzzled. He had secretly inquired about the Inquisitor. With his status and the "hard currency" in his hands, he could still get some not-so-secret information about the Inquisition. One of which was that the Inquisitors' ships were all public vessels they had purchased at their own expense. To judge the strength of an Inquisitor, you just had to look at what ship she was flying. He felt that with Fenni's age and strength, she didn't seem like someone who could get the Regent's attention. So he asked, "How did you get the Regent's writ?"
Hearing the question, a flicker of panic, two parts unease, three parts self-deception, and four parts anger flashed in Fenni's eyes. But she suppressed her strange feelings and explained, "The Regent's order was given to the Inquisitorial representative on the High Lords Council, who then gave it to the Grand Inquisitor in charge of the Far East Sector, who then gave it to my mentor."
"Oh, your mentor has come to pick you up. You should hurry back to your little ship." Omega began to shoo her away. He wanted to take this last opportunity to annoy the Inquisitor.
Fenni, who was already unsettled by Omega's question, flushed at his words. She knew her ship was small, but it carried not only the memories of her life after being saved by her mentor, but also the important data and relics passed down by her lineage. Her mentor had sacrificed herself to send this ship and her out. It was her most precious treasure. And now, this cog-head was insulting it. How could she not be angry?
The fear of an unknown fate, the regret for her reckless actions that had led to her master's sacrifice, and the anger at the little cog-head's words, all erupted at this moment. Fenni's heart broke, and her reason was swallowed. She walked up to Omega, her eyes filled with anger, and stared into his. "Apologize! My mentor has already sacrificed herself for the mission! This ship is the precious legacy she left me! Our ships are all specially built for secret missions! Don't judge it with your cog-head's 'big and crude' aesthetic!"
Hearing her words, the little cog-head realized that what he had said was indeed too much. Whether in the past or the present, to make a point at the expense of the deceased, whether intentional or not, was wrong. He quickly signaled his approaching guards to stop. Omega, a little at a loss, avoided the Inquisitor's angry gaze. After a moment of silence, he said, "I'm sorry."
Hearing his apology, Fenni turned and left without looking back. The guilty little cog-head had originally thought of giving her a gift as an apology, but the next day, the Inquisitor brought him a pile of broken xenos artifacts and technological relics for him to repair. The guilty Omega did not refuse. He also knew that the Inquisitor was using his guilt to exploit his talents, but the guilty little cog-head could only mutter to himself as he worked. Of course, the xenos artifacts and technological relics the Inquisitor had given him were indeed something. They were all things he had never seen before, especially the xenos technology. The design philosophy and production process gave Omega a lot of inspiration. Overall, the gains far outweighed the costs. After he finished, Omega even felt that he had profited. But when he handed the repaired xenos artifacts back to the Inquisitor, he still added in his heart, "The Ordo Xenos colludes with the xenos!"
After the fleet had assembled, the first war council was held. Omega had also managed to get a seat as an observer. He had no say in a war council of this level. It was annoying enough to be called out of the lab to be part of the "atmosphere group." But in this time, he had become a little famous in the fleet. Even though he was small and sat in a remote corner, people kept greeting him. This made Omega even more annoyed.
Just as he was about to make an excuse and run, the important figures arrived—Papa Smurf, Calgar. And behind him stood Omega's old acquaintance, "Ventris the Deceiver."
Omega was not surprised that a big shot from the Ultramarines had come. The Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar had been invaded by the Tyranids once before. It would be strange if the Ultramarines didn't participate now that the Tyranids were causing trouble on their doorstep again. But he hadn't expected it to be the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, Calgar. And he hadn't expected to see Ventris, who was supposed to be reporting back to the Regent, here. This made his heart sink. This Tyranid invasion seems to be no ordinary one, his intuition warned.
Ventris also saw Omega, sitting in a chair that was too big for him in the corner, swinging his feet back and forth in boredom. He hadn't expected to see this little cog-head here either. He didn't show any surprise, but he planned to have a good chat with Omega after the meeting.
With everyone present, the war council officially began. However, the one presiding over the meeting was not Calgar, but the Grand Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos in charge of the Far East Sector—Gaius. Omega was a little confused at first, but he soon understood why Calgar was not presiding. Because the host first had to face the questions of the people who had come from all over—why were they cooperating with the xenos?
It was not appropriate for the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines to explain this. Such a "politically incorrect" act in the Imperium was a stain on one's reputation. And the high command of the Imperium of Man had always had "reservations" about the Regent's attitude towards the xenos issue, for reasons that were said to be related to a certain female Eldar. A hot-tempered soldier did not know the meaning of subtlety. "Those blue-skins are not to be trusted!" he blurted out.
Seeing someone take the lead, those who held the same opinion also began to express their doubts and concerns. Some even began to make personal attacks on Gaius, questioning his loyalty to the Emperor.
"That's right! Why cooperate with the xenos? This is a betrayal of the Emperor!"
"Grand Inquisitor, have you forgotten why you are called a Xenos Inquisitor?!"
"A Xenos Inquisitor and xenos, hah!"
The Grand Inquisitor, who had anticipated this, just waited for the questioners to finish before he calmly said, "I can understand your doubts. But I hope that after you have heard what I have to say, you will make your judgment. First, I must tell you that this is not the first time we have cooperated with the T'au Empire against the Tyranids."
The moment he finished, the meeting room erupted in discussion. Gaius tapped the table to silence them and continued, "And the Tyranids we are facing this time are the same ones we fought together last time—Hive Fleet Gorgon!"