Chapter 8: Is a Cog-Head Even a Cog-Head Without a Gun?
The truth was, the vast majority of people in this hab-district would never send their children to the temple. The strict requirement of fluency in High Gothic filtered out most of them. Even for those who knew the language, the subsequent costs and the sheer difficulty of the curriculum deterred all but the most determined, and you still had to be confident in your child's innate intelligence.
But now, things were different. With Omega as a junior lecturer, the learning curve had become significantly less steep. Even if a child couldn't become a priest, having studied at the Mechanicus temple greatly increased their chances of becoming a foreman with better pay and conditions. This led to Omega's reputation growing higher and higher as more people learned of him.
As for whether the Adeptus Mechanicus was aware of its outdated education system, one could only say that the Machine God didn't care. Vat-born "products" were cheaper, more efficient, and more stable.
So, why did Omega ask Paul to introduce him to someone?
Because Omega felt he had become sufficiently familiar with simple weapons like the lasgun. It was time to get one for himself and have some fun. Is a Tech-Priest even a Tech-Priest without a weapon?
Couldn't he just buy one directly from the temple? It wouldn't have been difficult.
Ah, but that's where you reveal your lack of technical understanding! A standard-issue lasgun could never satisfy a tech-savvy individual like Omega. He needed something bigger, stronger, and rarer to satisfy his soul. All the other priests collected various forms of archeotech and forbidden lore. If he just carried around a common lasgun, he'd lose face.
What about a hellgun, then? Its more powerful charge could punch through ceramite armor.
The answer was still no. That kind of weapon required a bulky backpack power source, which was inconvenient. It also wasn't particularly rare, and more importantly, he couldn't afford it.
Therefore, Omega decided to ask someone to buy one for him from the black market. It didn't matter if it was in poor condition; he could repair it. It would be good practice.
After he shared his idea with the aspirants, Paul, being the oldest and most well-connected, immediately puffed out his chest and assured Omega he knew just the person.
Outside the temple gates, after dealing with the usual greetings from the waiting parents, Paul brought forward an "old man" who looked like he had been ravaged by the forge's toxins, appearing three parts human and seven parts ghoul.
"Boss-Lecturer, this is Uncle Anduin."
Anduin's face, half-corroded and scarred, twitched as he hastily bowed to Omega. "An honor, Priest Omega."
Omega heard the creak of Anduin's spine as he bowed and winced, stopping him. "Hello, Anduin. Paul has already told you what I need, correct?"
"Yes, Lord Priest, but I'm not yet clear on your exact requirements," Anduin said respectfully.
"I don't plan on going myself. You can see my current... state," Omega said, raising a hand to gesture at his own short stature, trying to lighten the mood while making his point.
"Praise the Omnissiah! Only the great power of the Machine God could create such a miracle as yourself," Anduin gushed. "Speaking with you, I truly do forget that you are still so young."
Tch. Flattery will get you nowhere! You old sly-dog!
"Hahaha, is that so?"
"Of course."
"Boss-Lecturer, I feel the same way," Paul chimed in.
Omega laughed again. (You two-faced...)
He explained his requirements to Anduin, asking him to act as a proxy buyer and paying him a few Gears as a deposit. The two of them watched as Omega returned to the temple.
Left alone, the two men looked at each other. Anduin spoke first. "Little Paul, you are truly fortunate."
"Yes," Paul said, his eyes still fixed on the direction Omega had gone. "Every aspirant feels the same."
"Priest Omega is a rare, kind-hearted soul," Anduin continued.
Paul nodded softly. "He cares. The first time he showed up with canned meat and sweetener, I knew he cared about us."
"Haha, little Paul, hearing you say that makes me a bit jealous!"
"Then be jealous, Uncle Anduin."
"I wonder when I'll be able to call you 'Sir'?"
Paul looked up at the great cog-skull emblem on the temple. "Soon..." he murmured. "Soon..."
A few days later, Paul brought Omega an oilcloth-wrapped bundle. Inside was the lasgun he had requested. Omega paid Paul the remaining balance, adding a little extra for his trouble. Paul refused the extra payment, so Omega simply used it to buy a few more cans of grox-meat to share with everyone in the library, claiming it was a treat from Paul. Paul, though he had refused the money, couldn't hide his pride, puffing out his chest like a preening rooster.
The incident also made Omega realize that the laws governing weapon management were basically a sham. Otherwise, Paul wouldn't have been able to bring the weapon in so openly. When the Fabricator-General himself is running the business, who would be foolish enough to enforce the rules? As for the risk of it threatening the Forge World, Omega thought that was ridiculous. Does your flashlight have an anti-titan bayonet attached?
Omega excitedly carried the bundle back to his room. Unwrapping it, he found a black, stocky lasgun. The bundle also contained a bayonet and an entrenching tool.
It was a Lucius Pattern No. 98 Lasgun, produced by the Forge World of Lucius and the signature weapon of the Death Korps of Krieg. It had a higher power output than other lasguns, giving it greater stopping power per shot, but this put more stress on the weapon itself, limiting its rate of fire. It also required an additional heat sink around the barrel, which was standard for this pattern. Because the Forge World of Lucius was located in the Imperium Nihilus, on the far side of the Great Rift, this was a rare find in the Imperium Sanctus.
Omega was very satisfied. He looked at the scarred bayonet, the bloodstained stock, and the chipped edge of the entrenching tool. Who knew how many bloody battles this weapon had seen? How many xenos skulls had it cleaved?
Suppressing the urge to test-fire it immediately, Omega decided to give it a thorough inspection. While Imperial lasguns were famously durable, one that malfunctioned could explode with the force of a grenade. It was better to be cautious.
He struck the ritual bell.
He removed the power pack.
He began the rite to appease the machine spirit... wait a second.
Omega's face darkened. He tossed the bell and censer aside, muttering curses under his breath.
For the next dozen days, Omega threw himself into working on his "flashlight." He repaired what was broken, polished what was worn, and replaced the parts that needed replacing. If he couldn't find a part, he fabricated it himself. A Tech-Priest had to be not only a scholar but also a master artisan. Hand-crafting a voidship carrier was nothing; with the help of his mechadendrites, Omega felt he could hand-craft a microchip.
Thanks to some unknown Magos who had stolen Lucius's technology and generously shared it, knowledge about this particular lasgun pattern popped into Omega's mind one after another as he worked on it—basic information, modification data, everything. This was why he spent so many days tinkering.
Now, the lasgun in his hands could be considered a "master-crafted" weapon. It was more powerful, had a longer range, and dissipated heat faster than a standard Lucius-pattern rifle. As a mark of pride, Omega welded a small cog-skull emblem onto the weapon's housing.
The gun was "built." Now it was time to test it. He didn't dare do it in the temple, fearing that the snooping Magos Laust would discover it and sentence him to having his legs broken with a power axe for blaspheming against the Omnissiah. The "old bastard" had been particularly irritable lately.
After finishing his kowtowing duties for the day, an excited Omega jogged back to the temple, grabbed his new rifle despite his aching back, and headed for the lasgun factory's testing range.
"Priest Omega, what's this?" Magos Louis, who was in charge of the lasgun factory, asked curiously as he saw the excited Omega. Louis was another of the temple's pragmatists, an Enginseer whose hobby was biology, with a particular interest in bizarre alien life forms.
(Enginseers are a type of Tech-Priest found throughout the Imperium, possessing a vast amount of practical knowledge. From armored vehicles to production lines, their maintenance skills are indispensable. However, they are not highly regarded within the Cult Mechanicus. Their focus on practical application does little to advance the quest for fundamental knowledge, making them pure workhorses in the eyes of the Mechanicus hierarchy. Enginseer: What's wrong with being a working-class hero?!)
Omega turned and proudly showed off the rifle on his back.
"A Lucius-pattern! That's a rare sight!"
"Hmph, it is, isn't it?"
"Going to test-fire it?"
"Yep."
"Alright, let's go together. I've only ever seen them in picts; never handled one myself."
"You can try it too in a bit. Help me see if there's anything different about it. Is it alright for you to leave your post?"
"It'll only be for a moment. It's fine."
The two of them made their way to the firing range, exchanging greetings with workers along the way. The large range was bustling with workers pushing carts of newly assembled lasguns for testing. The metal targets were already set up. Seeing Omega and Louis arrive, the workers testing the guns respectfully made way.
Omega disengaged the safety, aimed, and fired.
With the characteristic snap-hiss of a las-bolt burning through the air, the metal target was instantly melted through, leaving a blackened scorch mark on the wall behind it.
"Tsk! Tsk! The power!" Louis clicked his tongue, impressed by the hole in the target.
"Not bad, right?" Omega asked.
"Not bad? Let's try it with two plates this time."
Snap-hiss!
The result was the same: clean through both plates. A third plate wasn't penetrated, but its surface showed clear signs of melting.
After firing a few shots himself, Louis said, "I've always heard the Lucius-pattern was more powerful than other lasguns, but I never imagined it was by this much!"
"It's a bit more powerful," Omega explained, "but it shouldn't be this much. I've modified this one."
It is well known that the Adeptus Mechanicus strictly forbids the modification of the Omnissiah's holy creations. It is a deeply abhorred practice. However, this rule applies to those outside the Cult Mechanicus. For Tech-Priests themselves, as long as it doesn't involve "Abominable Intelligence," "Xenos Technology," or "Warp-craft," the Priesthood does not forbid the improvement or invention of new things.
New technologies must be submitted for review by the Mechanicus headquarters on Mars. The review process often takes centuries. The inventor is often long dead before the technology is approved. Furthermore, this means handing over your life's work, without reservation, to others. For a follower of the Machine God, whose entire value system is based on "knowledge is wealth, knowledge is a person's worth," this is a violation of the highest order.