Chapter 13: Departure
"Lord Astartes, you appreciate forests and animals as well?" Miss Isha's smile brightened. "I happen to share that fondness. They're beautiful, aren't they?"
Omega nodded, then spoke thoughtfully. "They are indeed beautiful. But if your technology is advanced enough to maintain such a delicate forest ecosystem, why not apply it to food production? Many more people could be fed adequately."
He paused. "With sufficient food, the common people have little reason to rebel."
Miss Isha's eyes slowly widened briefly before narrowing with genuine delight. She laughed warmly. "You're thinking of the future welfare of millions on this planet! That's remarkable. Are all Alpha Legion warriors so principled?"
Her expression shifted to curiosity. "The Ghost Warrior has been silently contributing to this planet's defense. Because of him, we held out until the Imperial fleet arrived. Is he one of yours? May I meet him personally to express my gratitude?"
"Cough. Military secret. No comment." Omega's tone remained expressionless behind his helm.
Miss Isha regarded him with mild suspicion but didn't press the matter.
After a long silence, she smiled again. "I'll have my father implement your suggestion. If Balsavor encounters any difficulties, I hope we can communicate directly. How might I contact you? And... may I ask what is your name?"
"Mili—"
"Ha-ha-ha, "Military secret, no comment." I know." She laughed lightly.
Lady Isha looked at him, her hand gently on her chest, "But I'm sincerely requesting, on behalf of this planet, that the Alpha Legion consider you as our liaison. I trust you, My Lord. You're the most suitable person for communication between our peoples."
"Thank you...for your trust." Omega hadn't expected such trust. He spoke quietly and turned to depart.
Lady Isha followed with light steps, still smiling. After they finished touring the various technological marvels within the luxurious Governor's building, Omega couldn't help but smile faintly as he watched her leave, clearly satisfied with their brief discussion.
In the departing group moving through the corridor, the robed Tech-Priest followed closely behind Omega's footsteps, regarding him with evident curiosity.
When they returned to the spacecraft, the Magos finally voiced his question.
"Does my lord favor that human woman? As human females go by metrics, her appearance is exceptional, but our responsibility is—"
"Don't speculate wildly," Omega cut him off, exasperated. "How did you even get to that conclusion? It was merely a cordial conversation between representatives."
The Tech-Priest's mechanical optics rotated as he analyzed various behavioral data. Data never lies, and he took pride in his library of information on numerous matters, but ultimately, he let the matter rest.
Instead, he asked, "Then why did my lord make such concessions to this planet? If Balsavor fully activated its war economy, it could provide substantially greater resources. Their demands are merely selfish, unwilling to sacrifice for the Emperor's great cause."
Omega couldn't entirely refute that assessment, so he redirected the conversation. "Julius the Wise, we need not extract resources to the point of causing civil unrest and internal conflict. As a Tech-Priest, you know we don't require such extreme measures to meet our war material needs."
The Magos listened, then smiled proudly and said, "Yes, if this planet were transformed into a 'Forge World', it could indeed meet our resource needs. Praise omnissiah, he is the true Machine God, haha!"
"This is a very worthwhile topic to research. Perhaps we need more planetary resources to support the Emperor's Great Crusade!" Upon hearing Forge World, Omega roughly guessed something. He didn't refute but smiled thoughtfully.
War was fought with logistics. The resource consumption of interstellar warfare exceeded any single planet's capacity, requiring numerous worlds to share the burden.
When they returned to the Lunar-class cruiser at the orbital dock, passing a repair bay in the corridor, Omega unexpectedly spotted a white-haired old man.
The man's entire outer layer of augmetics and his right eye had been replaced with high-grade mechanical bionics. He worked on repairing power armor, the growing scent of machine oil clinging to him.
By his build, it was none other than Dr. Hermo, who had vanished from the planet. Omega paused to observe.
The doctor had evidently joined the Mechanicus as a Tech-Priest, becoming part of the Alpha Legion's technical corps.
Immersed in his mechanical work, the doctor displayed the same focus and absorption he'd shown in the planet's research institutes, as though he'd merely changed locations.
As a Primarch whose return remained known only to the Legion's highest-ranking members, it wouldn't be appropriate for Omega to approach and speak with him directly.
Dr. Hermo noticed an Alpha warrior observing him and stood. The two exchanged glances through their helmets, faces concealed behind metal.
Omega slowly walked away, while Dr.Hermo watched him, puzzled. 'Weird, but not weird enough'
...
"Are you sure, Julias?" Alpharius looked at Julias and asked. He had just debriefed him on the negotiations, usual work, nothing noteworthy; however, he stated another matter with certainty, that even Alpharius found himself doubting.
Julius looked at the Primarch and spoke, "I am sure of it, my Lord, I observed very clearly when Lord Omega returned with Lady Isha, though any other would have failed to notice but my optic sensor, clearly noted the expression on the Primarch's face."
He insisted further, "You know I collect data on many research subjects, regarding mortals' emotions, and Lord Omega's face bore the same familiarity that young and old mortals bear at the very-very early stage of a relationship."
Alpharius laughed, "Ha-ha-ha, Oh, Julias, you just said 'very-very early', it proves nothing, though it wouldn't be much to confirm with my brother."
Just then, Omega entered the secure chamber, and the two identical Primarchs stood together.
Alpharius smiled at Omega after hearing the Tech-Priest's report.
"Just say what you need to say," Omega muttered, drinking bitter recaf and feeling exasperated.
"Although our Astartes undergo nineteen modification surgeries to become transhuman, they remain human and retain certain... capacities. I don't object if my warriors occasionally need some time to de-stress."
"If I require that, I'll handle it privately."
"You actually would? You're a Primarch!"
"In Secret."
Omega was thoroughly done with these "tech-heads" and Alpharius, having nothing better to do than wildly speculate and tease him over a perfectly normal diplomatic conversation.
"Ha-ha-ha." Alpharius laughed as he noted that his brother retained considerable baseline human nature.
Astartes and the Mechanicus were predominantly hyper-rational beings, either transhuman through biological modification or mechanical in body. The Astartes in particular had their minds conditioned into absolute loyalty, transformed into war machines born solely for conflict.
Yet as humans, over time, they did develop psychological needs. However, their physical and mental modifications resulted in no interest in male-female relationships.
After finishing his teasing, Alpharius addressed the serious topic of Legion logistics and resource procurement with Omega.
Governing and developing a planet was enormously time-intensive and labor-consuming.
Legions often conquered worlds, but few were willing to remain and manage civil development. Space Marines and economic administration were fundamentally incompatible concepts.
However, Alpharius was willing to consider the opinions of baseline humans and his subordinates.
Most of the Alpha Legion's logistical resources were managed by the Mechanicus. Unless the Mechanicus identified a planet of particular interest, they were unwilling to expend massive resources on full-scale construction.
Instead, they typically designated zones on conquered worlds for the Mechanicus to build extensive factory complexes supporting the Legion's logistics.
Alpharius did not consider governing entire planets; it demanded too much time and energy. So he adopted the approach of designated industrial zones.
When he explained this concept to Omega, his brother agreed that such a war-support system seemed remarkably efficient and listened with genuine interest.
After the brief explanation, Omega went to the archives to study relevant materials.
As a Primarch, Omega's role extended far beyond that of an ordinary warrior who obeyed orders and executed missions.
He needed to understand the Alpha Legion's fleet composition, the tactical applications of different warship classes, and relevant strategies and operational doctrines.
The information was vast. Many warriors never fully comprehended even their own vessel throughout entire lifetimes of service.
Fortunately, the minds of demigod Primarchs possessed an extraordinary capacity.
Omega's consciousness functioned like a quantum cogitator, rapidly absorbing relevant information from the Alpha Legion's archives and gradually clarifying the Legion's complete organizational structure.
While Omega diligently studied this vast body of knowledge, the Alpha Legion did not linger on Balsavor.
Thousands of capital ships gradually pulled away from the planet.
Their shining ion drives illuminated the planetary sky like stars, slowly moving into the void beyond the star system.
The great fleet set course directly for Mylosak, the planet where the Rangdan forces had retreated.
[End of Chapter]
Halo!! 9-9 If you are liking this story, I would love to get any feedback regarding editing of the chapters.
Also, can we have powerstones \( '_' )/