"Hahaha! I knew it! Little Wolf Cub, you're still on my side. You'd never let that bastard take you away!" Russ was overjoyed when he heard Axis' words, nodding vigorously.
'Of course, I've raised this kid for almost two years, and he's still loyal to me. My cheap old man thinks he can steal my little wolf cub away? Hah! Not a chance.'
"Of course," Axis replied. "I long to fight on the battlefield, and as you heard earlier, the Custodes' main duty is to stay by the Emperor's side or guard the Imperial Palace on Holy Terra. That's not something I'm cut out for."
Actually, the Custodes do plenty of secret missions and combat, but their organization was far too strict.
Axis wanted a custom enhancement procedure, but he didn't necessarily want to end up a palace-guarding Custodian! Hanging around on Holy Terra in the future wouldn't compare to the freedom of being by the old wolf's side. Staying with Russ was the safest bet.
"But we'll need to come up with a solid plan," Russ said. "My…father seem extremely strong-willed; I don't think he'd agree to let you leave. He seem to value you quite a lot."
'Who'd have thought my very first job after reuniting would be going toe-to-toe in a battle of wits with my own cheap old man! But no matter what, there's no way he's letting Axis leave his side. There's no room for negotiation here. Convincing the Emperor to grant Axis the Custodes' genetic enhancements, while also letting him stay with Russ would be a tall order.' Russ thought to himself.
"Don't worry," Axis grinned, "This time I've got a detailed plan. Do you remember the spaceship I brought with me?"
Axis had something on hand that the Emperor would absolutely covet, something he'd be, quite frankly, desperate to obtain!
The Emperor's desire for this item would surpass anything. He'd even be willing to sacrifice a Primarch to get it.
So, just for a customized Custodes enhancement procedure? Axis was one hundred percent confident the Emperor would agree!
"What kind of treasure do you have, kid? What's so special about your escape pod?" Russ asked.
"That's no escape pod," Axis replied. "It's a real spaceship, a vessel capable of faster-than-light travel within the Milky Way. Don't get it twisted."
If you think it's just an escape pod, you couldn't be more wrong. The Saiyan's ship might be small and delicate, but make no mistake, it's a true FTL craft, fully capable of interstellar travels.
And in the Warhammer universe, the significance of FTL, faster-than-light travel...well, no one understands that better than the Emperor.
Even in the Dark Age of Technology, the so-called Golden Age, the Imperium only ever mastered Warp travel.
Actual FTL travel was almost impossibly difficult.
In the entire Warhammer galaxy, there are only two known species that could travel FTL in real space.
First were the Necrons, most of whom were still dormant, though a few had awoken.
Their ships could travel FTL without any need for Warp jumps. The second were the Tyranids, but as of now, their fleets hadn't yet appeared in the Milky Way.
Tyranids used their Hive Ships for FTL travel, which also didn't require using the Warp.
All other races, without exception, were forced to travel via the Warp.
Even the mighty Old Ones, who created a webway network spanning the entire galaxy, did so by carving paths through the boundary between the Warp and realspace.
Theoretically, it was still a form of Warp travel, just an extremely safe, efficient, and rapid method.
Traveling through the Warp was incredibly dangerous; otherwise, the Emperor wouldn't have secretly started excavating a webway on Holy Terra, planning to connect it with the Aeldari's webway.
His goal was to break free from the limitations of Warp travel and completely liberate humanity from the shackles of the Warp.
So, if Axis brought out a spaceship capable of true faster-than-light travel, its value to the Emperor would be incalculable.
He'd trade half his Primarchs for it without hesitation.
"What exactly does 'faster-than-light travel' mean?" Russ asked.
Having grown up on Fenris, he knew very little about space travel and didn't realize just how dangerous the universe could be.
"Just think of it as a way to quickly travel between planets," Axis explained. "My ship is extremely advanced. It only seats one person, but it's equipped with a genuine faster-than-light engine, and its fuel source is dark matter energy from space. In fact, if we could replicate this engine, you wouldn't even need to supply it with fuel, so long as it's in outer space, it can keep going."
That's how amazing Saiyan pods are. These little ships, developed by aliens, are standard issue for the Frieza Force, highly advanced and loaded with all kinds of advanced tech.
For example, Saiyan battle armor is ultra-light, lighter than most human clothing, but its defense is simply terrifying, and its flexibility is off the charts.
As for its materials, you could find them on Earth...why? Because Bulma was able to reverse-engineer it. If Bulma could do it, there's no reason those Martian tech-priests couldn't, too.
Even if those guys were a bit useless, there's always the Emperor! The Emperor wasn't just a leader, politician, and warrior; he was also an outstanding scientist.
"So, you're planning to hand the entire ship over to my father?" Russ asked.
Could this special ship really get the Emperor to agree? He was doubtful.
"Of course I can't just hand it all over at once! You have to reel in the fish a little at a time. For now, let's not mention the FTL engine to the Emperor. There's plenty of other stuff on this pod to whet his appetite. There's some amazing battle armor, a few special laser guns, and a scouter for detecting power levels, all great stuff. We can't show all our cards at once, got it?" Axis said.
When he escaped from Planet Vegeta, Axis had swiped quite a few things, like Saibaman seeds and a healing chamber from King Cold's army.
The most valuable part of the ship was the FTL engine, but there was only one.
"Heh, got it!" Russ replied with a knowing grin.
Axis and Russ returned to the tribe, then began dismantling the spaceship.
This time, they'd take out just enough good stuff to tempt the Emperor. They needed to get the old man to take the bait.