Chapter 92: The Inquisitor is Nothing Special
"Oh, this must be the Magos Omega that Ventris often mentions. A pleasure to meet you."
Omega stood up and bowed to the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines. "It is an honor to meet you, esteemed Chapter Master Calgar." Then he turned to the Grand Inquisitor beside Calgar and greeted him, "It is also a great honor to meet you, Your Excellency, Grand Inquisitor Gaius. May the light of the Emperor forever shine upon your soul!"
Gaius, hearing Omega's seemingly flawless but actually loaded greeting, and thinking of the little Magos's reaction after the meeting, as well as the intelligence he had gathered, smiled wryly. "It seems Magos Omega is not very happy with the plan from the meeting."
Omega did not explain or respond. He just sat down silently and drank his tea. Calgar and Gaius exchanged a look and shook their heads helplessly. It was Ventris who took the initiative to explain for Omega. "Magos Omega understands your difficulties, my lords. He is just young and cannot accept it for the time being."
Grand Inquisitor Gaius waved his hand, indicating that he didn't mind. He sat down on the sofa and said, "It's fine. If I were to meet my younger self now, I would probably be shot dead by him."
Everyone present, except for Omega, felt a sense of empathy with the Grand Inquisitor's words. Their minds and bodies had been changed so much by time. The only thing that remained unchanged was their loyalty to the Emperor.
"Ventris," Calgar said, deftly pouring himself a cup of tea with his power fist, "what was that I heard outside about you becoming the Chapter Master? Ambitious, aren't you?"
The Captain of the 4th Company, caught in the act by his own Chapter Master, chuckled nervously. But Omega was not about to let this Imperial demigod who was trying to get something for nothing off the hook. "Ventris wanted to take out a loan from me," he said. "The interest was nine in, thirteen out. He promised to pay it all back, principal and interest, after he becomes the Chapter Master."
The moment Omega finished speaking, the tea that Calgar had not yet swallowed sprayed out. He first looked at Ventris with disbelief, as if he were looking at a prodigal son. Then he realized that there was something wrong with Omega's words. But he still asked, annoyed, "Speak. What's going on?"
Ventris's face went from red to black, and then back to normal before he spoke. "Chapter Master, I just wanted to borrow a few power swords and other equipment for the brothers in the Chapter from Omega."
Calgar, knowing that he was the one who had put Ventris in this predicament, took another sip of his tea without a word. At the same time, his mind began to race. What was the probability of "borrowing"? It wasn't that the Ultramarines were too poor to afford the supplies. It was just that a large household has large expenses. Every time he signed a supply allocation document, he wanted to smash someone with his power fist. And there was another point: the "wireless power sword" that Ventris had brought back was really good. You just had to turn on the disruption field and chop.
Omega noticed that Calgar's gaze was also starting to drift towards him, intentionally or not. He almost laughed in anger. Did Regent Guilliman know that his firstborn son was so shameless?
Fortunately, the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines had not yet personally lowered himself to "borrow." Omega just pretended he didn't know anything. Anyway, he was planning to leave.
Just as Omega was about to take his leave, Grand Inquisitor Gaius suddenly asked, "I hear Magos Omega's relationship with the T'au is quite good. Is that so?"
The little cog-head's face changed drastically at his words. "Slander! This is slander! I and the xenos are irreconcilable!"
The Grand Inquisitor just chuckled. "Magos Omega, don't misunderstand. I have no other meaning. It's just that if we can get the T'au's fleet to cooperate with us on a few things, those planets that are about to be exterminated might still have a chance of being saved."
"What do you mean?" Omega asked directly.
"The reason we are directly exterminating those rebellious planets that are not on the route is to complete the trap before Hive Fleet Gorgon reaches the starting point of the route. If we can delay Gorgon's advance, we will have time to split our forces and suppress those Genestealers."
Omega's eyes lit up. Then he heard Gaius say, "As long as the T'au are willing to intercept Gorgon, the success of this plan is not small. Even if we can't completely suppress them, the number of destroyed worlds will be much smaller!"
"Why don't you just ask the T'au's fleet directly? Since we are already cooperating, they shouldn't refuse, right?" Omega asked.
"First, if we propose the idea of intercepting Gorgon, the T'au will surely demand that we act together. They will not agree to intercept Gorgon alone."
Omega understood. The T'au were afraid that humanity would stab them in the back. The Imperium had no moral qualms about stabbing xenos in the back. In fact, they would be praised for it. If he were the T'au, he wouldn't believe them either.
"Second, once the T'au Empire knows our plan, they will surely use it as leverage to force us to make concessions. This is unacceptable to the Imperium."
So, you're saying we haven't even discussed with the T'au Empire how to deal with Gorgon? The plan from the meeting was just a worst-case scenario? Omega asked, his eyes shining. Omega, who had been cooped up in his lab lately, didn't even know that Calgar had arrived, let alone such a secret matter.
The Grand Inquisitor shook his head. "Not yet. We must first unify our internal voice before we can discuss with the T'au Empire. Otherwise, with the situation in the meeting just now, a meeting with the T'au could turn into a bloody conflict."
Omega thought of the scene just now and felt that the Grand Inquisitor's worries were completely reasonable. But how to get the T'au to help? The problem was that there wasn't a single T'au Sept world on Hive Fleet Gorgon's current trajectory. What to do? What to do? Poison a T'au Sept world? Unrealistic. With the T'au's social environment, a universal genetic screening would be no problem at all. To infect a Sept world with Genestealers would be too difficult and too slow. And with Gorgon's presence, the T'au Empire would surely be on guard against Genestealers.
Wait a minute! The world at the end of the trap was not infected with Genestealers. This means the Grand Inquisitor must have a way to attract the Tyranids! Thinking of this, Omega looked at Grand Inquisitor Gaius and said, "Grand Inquisitor, Chapter Master, you two came here specifically to find me, right?"
"Yes," Gaius admitted directly. "Even if Magos Omega hadn't been here, we would have gone to your ship to find you."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I hope that Magos Omega will preside over our negotiations with the T'au. This will greatly lower their vigilance against us."
"Err—" Omega now wanted to slap himself. Don't be greedy! Don't be greedy! Did you have to earn that "little" transport fee?! Now he was in deep.
But Omega still tried to explain himself. "I went to the T'au Empire on a secret order from Regent Guilliman!" He looked at the Ultramarines Chapter Master, who had been drinking tea, with an innocent expression. Calgar, still drinking his tea, only said after seeing Omega looking at him, "Don't worry, we know about these things."
"Magos Omega, you don't need to worry too much. We of the Ordo Xenos are not as extreme as the Ordo Malleus," Grand Inquisitor Gaius said.
You should have said so earlier... Omega thought. "It's not just that you want me to preside, right?"
"Yes. I would also like to request the help of Teyedan."
"Huh?" Omega asked, confused. "Teyedan is so far from here. Even if I called for people now, it would be too late."
The Grand Inquisitor continued to explain, "To be precise, I am requesting your help, Magos Omega. I need to borrow your identity."
"My identity?"
"Yes. Only the successor of Teyedan can make those Rogue Traders voluntarily be driven."
"Grand Inquisitor, are you trying to get the Rogue Traders to help transport troops to suppress the rebellious planets?"
"Yes."
"An Inquisitor can mobilize Imperial forces as long as the reason is just. Can't you mobilize those merchants?"
Gaius explained helplessly, "Legally, yes. But an Inquisitor who acts recklessly almost always dies a mysterious death. We can demand, and the other party can find a reason to refuse. Even if they cooperate under the pressure of the Inquisition's authority, they can do so half-heartedly. Persuasion, enticement, bribery, deception, threats, intimidation, assassination—these are all the means we use to achieve our goals. Just as I am doing now."
Hearing this, Omega's expression became a little strange. The image of the Inquisitor in his mind suddenly fell a lot. Because of his past memories, he had always held a certain awe for the Inquisition. Now, the Grand Inquisitor was asking him for a favor in a negotiating tone. This "bullying the weak and fearing the strong" attitude gave Omega a sense of disillusionment.
"Your Excellency Gaius," Omega said cautiously, "I am not refusing you. But you should know that my father is the Fabricator-General of Teyedan. Even if I make a promise to those merchants, if it is too detrimental to the interests of Teyedan, my father will also refuse."
Hearing Omega's words, the faces of Gaius and Calgar showed a look of joy. At the same time, they also discovered that this little Magos had no idea of the meaning and power behind his own identity.
Grand Inquisitor Gaius thought for a moment and decided it was better to explain to Omega. "Magos Omega, you don't need to make any promises. You just need to hold a banquet on your ship and invite the Rogue Traders in the fleet. At that time, as long as I appear by your side, they will naturally understand what you mean."
"That's it?" Omega said, surprised.
"Yes. Your friendship, Magos Omega, is what they want most."
"But they've been coming to my ship to buy things every day. They've already met me."
"A formal invitation has a completely different meaning."