Chapter 95: We are the Ultramarines!
After looking at the product data Omega had provided, the Ultramarines suddenly found the "Weapon-Bug" in Ventris's hands to be quite unique, even a little "cute," especially the constantly squirming mouth, which had a certain… power.
"Captain, the data says that when the Weapon-Bug's mouth actively protrudes from the sword's body, it means it's hungry."
"Ah, and if I feed it, will it retract?" Ventris asked quickly.
"The instruction manual says so. Haven't you read it, Captain?"
Of course, Ventris hadn't. He was only just now recovering from the shock of the Weapon-Bug. "See what it eats."
"It says to just put normal food by its mouth. If you want it to be faster, mash it into a paste."
Hearing this, Ventris quickly summoned a servitor and had him prepare some "feed." The servitor happened to have a starch bar on him, so he made a paste on the spot and fed it to the Weapon-Bug, spoonful by spoonful. After eating its fill, the Weapon-Bug did indeed retract its mouth and cover itself with its eyelid.
Seeing this, the Ultramarines gave the Weapon-Bug another 50 points. They thought this was a self-aware, sensible weapon that knew how to hide its ugliness. Ventris, after seeing this, was no longer so repulsed by the sword.
"Shall we go and try it, Captain Ventris?"
"Let's go. To the training cages."
The fleet had once again jumped out of the warp to regroup and wait for the short-legged T'au. It was then that Omega received the evaluation report from Ventris. Overall, the Ultramarines were very satisfied with the results. Except for the fact that they had to wipe the sword's body every day to clean the Weapon-Bug's excrement, he could find no other flaws.
Omega had anticipated this negative review, but he had no good solution. Only a Pixiu eats and doesn't excrete, and he couldn't create such a mythical beast. But he was surprised that he hadn't received a negative review for "feeding."
Since the product had passed the evaluation, the next step was to put it into production. This required him to go to the Ultramarines' battle barge and ask Chapter Master Calgar and Grand Inquisitor Gaius if they were willing to place an order. But the moment he opened his mouth, Calgar had asked if the mother bug was for sale. This had angered the little cog-head. What cog-head would sell their core technology?
"Magos Omega, the Imperium needs this technology."
"I think the Ultramarines need it."
"Heh heh, it's the same," Calgar said, a little embarrassed.
Omega rolled his eyes. "You only have a thousand men. What's the use of buying a mother bug?"
"We are the Ultramarines. Three-quarters of the Chapters in the Imperium come from us. Of course, we have to help out our less fortunate brothers."
Omega didn't believe this for a second. He felt that if you cut open this tough-guy Chapter Master who had fooled Ventris, he would be black on the inside. After some thought, Omega decided to test him. "The mother bug is not for sale," he said, "but we can cooperate. I can give the mother bug to your Ultramarines Chapter. You will be responsible for production and sales on Macragge. It will be my contribution to Macragge. After all, I'm half a son of Macragge myself."
Calgar's eyes lit up. He immediately smiled. "Magos Omega is a son of Macragge. No one in the Imperium can deny that."
Confirming his suspicions, Omega's gaze on Calgar became even more unfriendly. He said, annoyed, "Chapter Master Calgar, is it really necessary? You are in charge of the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar for Regent Guilliman."
But at his words, Calgar seemed to recall something painful. His face was full of bitterness. He let out a long breath. "You think I want to? The Tyranid invasion, the Black Legion invasion, the Terran Crusade, the Indomitus Crusade, the Plague War... and that's not even counting the trouble that little bastards like Honsou have caused for the Five Hundred Worlds. Which of these things hasn't bled the 500 Worlds dry? Ultramar is rich, but it's only 500 worlds."
"Err—"
"Our father, as the Regent of the Imperium, needs to consider the interests of the entire Imperium. At the same time, his every move will cause countless speculations and discussions. To shut the mouths of the gossips, the 500 Worlds do not receive any resource傾斜. We even have to find ways to squeeze out resources to support other regions of the Imperium."
...
"Omega, do you know that the standard of living of the people of Macragge now is even lower than during the war over 100 years ago?"
Hearing the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines' complaints, Omega could only say helplessly, "Alright, alright. I'll give you the mother bug. Not sell it to you. As I said, we'll cooperate. But you'll have to deal with Mars."
"Hahaha, no problem. We are the Ultramarines," Calgar agreed immediately.
"Yes, yes, you are the Ultramarines."
"Since it's a cooperation, let's start from this time. I, in the name of the commander-in-chief of the human forces of the joint fleet, will place an order with our weapon breeding ground. The price will be this much. What do you think, Magos Omega?"
Omega no longer wanted to argue with this Ultramarines Chapter Master who had his eyes on the money about what "this time" and "our" meant. But when he stood on his tiptoes and looked at the number Calgar had written on the table, he saw a "giant corrupt official" of the Imperium, a "parasite" who was siphoning the Imperium's resources into his own pocket.
"Isn't... isn't that a little high?"
"High? This is a power weapon, and a power weapon that can grow. Is that expensive? It's less than a third of the price of a normal power weapon."
"But—"
"Magos Omega, knowledge is priceless! I'm sure you invested a lot of cost in developing this weapon!"
"But you're buying 50,000 at once. Will the Far East Command agree? Can they afford it?"
"We'll pay in installments. Just give us a little discount on the interest."
"How many years will that take?"
"It doesn't matter. I can wait."
"What if they just keep dragging their feet and don't pay? I think a small profit—"
"We are the Ultramarines!"
After handing over the mother bug to the Ultramarines and arranging for a priest to train the Techmarines, Omega didn't ask any more about the Weapon-Bug. After all, "they are the Ultramarines." His "Orthodox Gundam Project" was at a difficult point. He didn't have the mind to care about so much.
But when the Cogboy, which had been slapped by a warp tide, jumped out of the warp, he found that they were half a year late. The joint fleet was already at war with Hive Fleet Gorgon. After receiving this news from the Astropath Adal, Omega was stunned for a long time, almost suffering an internal injury from the shock. The fleet had already dispersed to intercept Gorgon's tendrils. Omega didn't even know who to rendezvous with. He might arrive at a location only to find that the fleet had already jumped to another position to strike the Tyranids. The worse situation was that the fleet was gone, but the Tyranids were there.
"So that's the situation. What should we do next? Let's discuss it together," Omega said to the people he had summoned. These included Laust and Jacob's group, the Navigator Kalisi, the Astropath Adal, and Inquisitor Fenni, whose ship was close to the Cogboy and had also been delayed.
"What is Commander Calgar's opinion?"
"He told us to be careful and that we don't need to cooperate with them," Omega replied.
"So we can act freely?"
"I think he'd rather we find a safe place and stay put," Omega said, throwing up his hands.
"Then what is your opinion, Magos Omega?"
Glancing at the Inquisitor, who was now using a respectful tone, Omega, who had just gotten over his "dandy" phase and was used to being casual with his acquaintances, felt a little awkward. "Inquisitor Fenni, we've known each other for a long time. There's no need to be so formal."
"Then I will be more casual. I hope the Magos will not be offended."
"No, no. Just call me Omega."
The Inquisitor smiled. "Why don't we go to the starting planet of the trap and take a look? The Deathwatch is there now, monitoring. After the fleet has Gorgon retract its tendrils, they will reassemble there."
"What do you all think?" Omega asked the others.
"I think that's a good idea. We can collect some Genestealer samples." Louis's words made the other cog-heads nod in agreement. Just then, Fenni said something that made their eyes light up. "That world is an ancient hive world. Now that it's been abandoned, it means that as long as you have the ability to find and take them, the treasures on it are all yours!"
"Hooray! Omega, what are we waiting for?" the cog-girl said, pumping her fist.
Although Omega was also very interested, he still asked, "Is there no danger?"
"Does a planet full of Genestealers count?" the Inquisitor retorted.
"They don't count. I just—" Omega quickly shut his mouth. He had almost exposed one of the Cogboy's trump cards.
The Inquisitor showed no surprise at Omega's reaction. She now knew what the cog-heads were like. Unless they took it out themselves, no one knew what they were hiding. But she held no ill will towards Omega. Whether the little cog-head was hiding any "contraband" was a matter for the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Ordo Hereticus to worry about. It had nothing to do with a Xenos Inquisitor like her.
"As long as you are confident, Magos Omega. The more confident, the better," the Inquisitor said, her words laden with meaning.
Omega didn't get it at first. He just felt that Fenni's words were strange. After giving her a few more looks, and seeing the deep meaning in her eyes, he finally understood. Who knew where the "tombs" were better than the Ordo Xenos?
"Fenni, why are you still so formal? Just call me Omega. If you do it again, I'll get angry. We've known each other for so long. We're friends."
"After all, I've caused you a lot of trouble in the past. I don't dare to call myself a friend."
"What do you mean, trouble? It's all a testament to our friendship. I'll pick out a few defensive weapons for you from my treasury later. Don't you dare refuse. We're friends!"