Chapter 22: Uprising!
Stunned and bewildered by the news of the uprising, Omega took a deep breath to calm himself. "Don't overthink it for now. Just go and regroup with Magos Laust and the others."
Omega quickly packed his things. Thankfully, he didn't have much. He took all the weapons and shields from his safe, then stuffed everything else that couldn't be used as a weapon back inside and secured it. He put a rosarius around his neck and fastened a refractor field belt around his waist, keeping them close for easy activation.
With his preparations complete, he sat down in the "Omega" exosuit and connected the neural jacks to his spine. He then used the suit's four arms to equip the weapons into the pre-installed slots.
A power axe, now fitted with a disruption field generator.
A plasma pistol, with an added cooling system and magnetic containment field, making it heavier and bulkier but much more stable.
A modified lascannon, high energy consumption and slow to charge, but with considerable firepower.
A master-crafted rapid-fire hot-shot volley gun, with a faster rate of fire and greater power than the standard model.
A Space Marine-grade boltgun, whose recoil was enough to shatter a normal person's bones, and two spare magazines were placed in the slots on the suit's legs.
Ready for battle, Omega used a free mechanical arm to lift his safe, activated the mobility wheels on the suit's feet, and sped towards the temple's main hall.
When he arrived, the hall was already crowded with priests, with more still rushing in.
"Magos, what should we do now?"
"What's going on, Magos?"
"The comms network is flooded with conflicting information! We can't tell what's true and what's false!"
A crowd had gathered around Magos Laust, everyone clamoring for answers. Seeing he couldn't get close, Omega scanned the room and spotted Paul in a corner. "Make way, let me through!" he called out, pushing his way through the crowd. The adamantium body of the "Omega" made it easy for him to reach Paul's side.
"Paul, why are you here alone? Where's your family?"
Paul shook his head. "I had them hide in a remote warehouse with a few other families we know."
"Oh, good. It's better they're not here. To be honest, this place is a much bigger target," Omega said, looking at the priests who were now packing the hall.
"Yeah. Boss, do you know what's happening?"
"Not sure. The message Rhea sent just said there was an uprising. I don't know who is rebelling against whom."
"I wonder when Rhea and the others will get here."
"They're probably on their way. They likely have more things to pack."
Just then, Magos Laust's voice boomed through the hall's audio array. "Silence! Listen to me!"
The chaotic hall immediately fell silent, all eyes on Laust.
"A rebellion, led by the three great temples, has launched an attack against Fabricator-General Veyl."
A buzz went through the crowd. Omega noticed that all the priests had started to stir, some already communicating with each other through encrypted channels.
"Both sides are now calling for recruits. Whether you go, stay, or join a side, I will not interfere," Laust continued. "However, you may only take your families and personal belongings. The workers and weapons in the factories under this temple's jurisdiction are not to be touched! Not a single person, not a single gun!"
"Do not attempt to contact me privately through encrypted channels. I will not read or answer them. I will not stop you from making your own choices, but do not drag innocent people into this! Understood?!"
Heh! Did that guy just angle his gun barrel five centimeters towards Laust? Gutsy. Let me just save the Magos and... oh... he lowered it. Omega kept a close eye on any suspicious priests who might try to seize power, ready to jump in and earn some brownie points with Laust. Why so confident? The Iron Halo, the rosarius, and the refractor field belt gave him courage. He was sure that, besides Laust himself, no one in the room had better protection.
However, the priests remained calm, perhaps because two Kastelan Robots had just emerged from the back of the hall, their presence a powerful deterrent. Most of the priests left, either to join one of the factions or to find a safe place to hide.
A few, including Omega, remained with Laust. They didn't want to join either side; Laust seemed more reliable.
"What are your thoughts?" Laust asked the remaining group.
"Wherever the Magos goes, I go!" Omega declared, taking the lead.
"That's right! We'll follow the Magos!"
"Yes."
The others echoed his sentiment, making it clear they were sticking with Laust.
Laust didn't refuse. He immediately began assigning tasks. Some were sent to gather the workers, some to take inventory of supplies, and others to set up barricades at the factory's main access corridors. Omega was assigned to patrol duty, to prevent anyone from starting a riot. He didn't understand this assignment. It wasn't that he was afraid, but he felt his small stature lacked any real deterrent effect.
"That's precisely why it's a deterrent," Laust explained. "Because they don't know if you'll just open fire if you get provoked."
Oh, so a child with a cannon is even scarier. But I can be scarier still!
Omega took the servo-skull he had stored in his safe and equipped it. He had only tested it once after repairing it; the real human skull still gave him the creeps. A servo-skull was a drone-like device made from the skull of a faithful human. Its anti-gravity engine allowed it to fly around its master. This one was equipped with a simple hydraulic pincer, an optical recorder, various functional implants, a focused light source, a speaker, and other devices, providing him with detection, scanning, analysis, illumination, and repair functions. Omega figured that having a floating skull circling the "Omega" on his patrol would add at least +10 to his intimidation factor.
And he was right. It wasn't long before a priest, hoping to take advantage of the chaos, had just pried open a warehouse door when a warning blared from the servo-skull above. He looked up to see Omega in the distance, his lascannon already aimed. The priest immediately threw his hands up. "No need for that! No need! Don't shoot!"
While Omega and his group were busy defending their factory district, on the other side of Teyedan, Fabricator-General Veyl was engaged in a public shouting match with the Magi of the three rebel temples.
"You shameless traitors! Just wait until I weld you to the assembly line!" Veyl roared.
The temple Magi shot back, "You heretic who betrayed the Machine God! Prepare for the white phosphorus pyre!"
"You dare to rebel at such a critical moment, when we are on the offensive against the xenos?! This is a betrayal of humanity!"
"You blasphemer who dares to run a loan-sharking operation in the temple of the Machine God!"
"Lies! You're the ones who took the bigger cut! I blasphemed? What does that make you?!"
"We were coerced by you! After your judgment, we will execute ourselves before the Temple of the Machine God to atone for our sins and beg for the Machine God's forgiveness!"
"Not even a three-year-old would believe that nonsense! If you have the guts, do it now and show me!"
"Fine! Today, all the priests will know our resolve!"
As the temple Magos finished speaking, a giant, real-time holographic projection appeared in the sky above the battlefield. The location displayed was one Omega would find very familiar: the Temple of the Machine God where he had almost lost his legs. The person in the center of the image was also familiar: the "Preacher" Alpha who had led him inside. Alpha was dousing himself with promethium. After a short confession, he unhesitatingly lit himself on fire.
"Why haven't we cut off the feed..." Veyl's words were too late. The image of Alpha's self-immolation was seen by the hundreds of thousands of priests and Skitarii on the battlefield and quickly spread throughout the planet's communication network.
Seeing that the situation was now irreversible, Veyl knew the battle would have to be decided on the field. "Attack! Crush them!" he commanded.
"Just as expected from a shameless man who can still have an 'illegitimate son' at over a thousand years old! Counterattack! For the Omnissiah! For the Machine God! For the Motive Force! Counterattack!"
"Hahaha, is your brain made of organic matter? If you're going to make up lies to slander me, at least make them believable! 'Illegitimate son'?! You might as well say I have a vat-born son!"
The temple Magos thought: An unexpected gift. You said it yourself.
"You admit it then! To arrange a priesthood for your son, you have recklessly wasted our already strained resources! Utterly blasphemous!"
"Keep making things up."
"To make up for the deficit, you have extorted and exploited the Tech-Priests! How many priests have cried tears of blood, wishing they could eat your flesh and drink your blood! How many have you welded to the production lines! You are a tyrant!"
"Nonsense! That was mercy! Where else can you attack a Fabricator-General and live?"
"You are a despot who has forced several priests to become your son's servants! To pave the way for your son to inherit your position, you have not even spared the meager possessions of the apprentices! What blasphemy! What right do you have to be the Fabricator-General?!"
"You say it like it's true," Veyl sneered.
"He says it like it's true," Omega muttered, watching the live broadcast. He was so engrossed in his first sight of a battle involving hundreds of thousands of people that he didn't notice the strange looks Rhea and Aedus, who were watching with him, were giving him.
"Omega," Rhea asked, "what if it is true?"
"If it's true? I'd say it's great to have a Fabricator-General for a dad. Why don't I have one? The thought makes me a little jealous, hahaha," Omega joked, laughing at his own humor.
Aedus pressed, "Well... what if it's fake?"
"If it's fake, what's there to talk about?"
"What if," Rhea said, "someone was impersonating the Archmagos's son, and everyone believed it?"
"Then he'd be in for a world of trouble. No matter which side wins, there would be no good end for him. Even if his side loses, they could still drag him out and execute him to boost morale."