Chapter 47: Someone Bring in the Tech
Omega had always thought that Khorne, who only liked to chop things up, and his daemons were the most mindless of the four great powers of the warp. Now, he had to admit his mistake. It was the minions of the fat green one. To think of using a plague to overthrow the great Adeptus Mechanicus on the Omnissiah's own turf... Omega just wanted to tell them: nice try, don't try it again.
Once you open your mind and lower your moral floor, the original problem is no longer a problem.
The spread of a plague requires a vector. Little animals, little insects, droplets... there are many ways, but they can be broadly divided into two categories: biological transmission and contact transmission.
Sorry, but my Forge World doesn't have any of those "little animals." You need some serious grit to survive on land blessed by the Omnissiah. As for "contact"... well, how should I put this? Environmental suits and rebreather masks are the only "casual wear" on my Forge World.
Omega figured that the daemons of Nurgle must have been at their wit's end to resort to a plague like the "Plague of Unbelief," which had to be spread by "faith."
But, you "little daemons," you still don't understand the methods of my great Adeptus Mechanicus. "Hypnotic suggestion" isn't just for hentai protagonists; Tech-Priests are also masters of it.
After being dazzled by Jacob's alloy forehead, Omega had immediately thought of the "suggestions" hidden in the blessing rituals, and then of "hypnosis." And then he had found a way to deal with the "Plague of Unbelief." The Faith Enhancement Chamber was born. A dumbed-down version of the Skitarii's hypnotic brainwashing process, a one-button brainwash that would, in a very physical sense, install faith in the Omnissiah into your brain.
"This little plague is so uninteresting it makes me laugh!" Omega said smugly to Rhea and the others. They were currently watching the line of people entering the "Faith Enhancement Chamber." Omega had demanded that everyone in the settlement have their faith enhanced.
"How are the infected in the quarantine zone?" Louis asked the smug Omega.
Omega wiggled his hips as if to mock the plague's impotence. "The original version, aside from a few brain-damaging side effects, works very well. They're all like zealots now, just with an average IQ drop of 20 points. A little dumb."
"The plague is cured?"
"Not yet, but their symptoms have lessened considerably. I believe most of them will pull through."
Rhea's eyes lit up. "In that case, we can collect serum data from them to develop an antidote."
Omega clapped his hands. "That's right! Then we can even cure the mutations that occur after being bitten and infected. We could make a fortune selling it to the Ecclesiarchy!"
"Yes!"
"I'll go collect the data now!" Rhea said, and hurried off.
Louis chased after her, shouting, "Rhea, wait for me! I'll go with you! You can't have all the fun!"
Omega's thought: Hmph, a cog-girl with the stench of money all over her. Didn't even mention giving me a cut...
Let's turn the camera to Ultramarines Captain of the 4th Company, Uriel Ventris. He was currently discussing with Inquisitor Griffin how to deal with the "Plague of Unbelief" and the deadly environment of the Forge World. The non-combat casualties among the Astra Militarum forces that had accompanied them were far too high.
"The Archmagos has replied. They are currently unable to provide us with enough protective gear," Griffin said, handing the Archmagos's reply to the Space Marine.
Captain Ventris frowned, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table. "It was a miracle we were able to assemble such a fleet in such a short time. We had assumed we could be resupplied on the Forge World, but who would have thought they would be in short supply."
Griffin smiled bitterly. "The workers are almost all dead, the factories are damaged, and supplies are scarce. Teyedan has been effectively destroyed. It will take decades to recover."
"Our casualties are already affecting the morale of the front lines. The Plague of Unbelief is taking advantage of the situation and making things worse. If this continues, the front line is likely to collapse."
"We must find the source of the plague as soon as possible, but the divinations are too vague to pinpoint its location."
"If we let this continue, we may soon be meeting the abominations of the warp. At that point..."
"What about an orbital bombardment?"
"And turn the last of the Archmagos's assets into glass?"
The two men looked at each other, the helplessness clear in their eyes. Their opponent was very cunning. The heretics had seen their hesitation. He had dispersed the zombie hordes among the relatively intact industrial districts. An orbital bombardment could easily destroy the hordes, but it would also destroy the industrial districts. At that point, Teyedan would need to be rebuilt, not just repaired. Ventris and Griffin both knew they couldn't do this unless it was a last resort. Rebuilding a Forge World would take too long. With their relationship with Mars already strained, it was uncertain if Teyedan could even be rebuilt. The remaining industrial districts were too important to Teyedan, too important to the entire Eastern Fringe. Without them, this Imperial frontier would revert to its former state of being overrun by heretics and xenos.
The only option was a gradual cleansing by ground forces. This would have been fine if not for Chaos. As it was, the veil between the material and the warp could be torn at any moment. They had to race against time, clearing one industrial district after another, rapidly reducing the plague zombies' area of activity, leaving the source of the plague with nowhere to hide, and then crushing this root of all evil with lightning speed. But now, the front-line troops were short on supplies, and the high non-combat casualties were affecting morale, causing the operation to fall far behind schedule. If this continued, the consequences would be unimaginable.
As the Primaris Space Marine wracked his enhanced brain for a solution, the Inquisitor pulled out a stack of vellum. "I have some intelligence here that might be of help."
"Oh?"
Ventris took the intelligence and quickly skimmed it. He felt like the Inquisitor was playing a joke on him, but he also knew that the usually serious Griffin wouldn't do such a thing. He said uncertainly, "The Archmagos's illegitimate son?"
"So the rumor says. It's most likely false."
"But aren't they just barely holding on, with riots constantly breaking out in their settlement?"
"That's just the information from the Archmagos's side."
"Hmm?"
"According to the intelligence from my agent who was tracking the zombie horde, this settlement not only defended against the plague zombies' attack without any losses, but there have also been no riots caused by the Plague of Unbelief."
"Oh!"
"They are very well-equipped and have a type of small aerial vehicle I've never seen before, in large numbers."
"What about intelligence from inside the settlement?"
"My agent couldn't get in."
"Why?"
"Because he can't fly."
"..."
With this new intelligence, Ventris decided to lead a team to see for himself. His intuition told him that the key to breaking the stalemate might lie there.
From the Thunderhawk gunship, the Space Marines now understood what the Inquisitor meant by "can't fly." Looking at the battle scars, the zombie horde hadn't even managed to cross the "cliff."
"Captain, what was the commander here thinking? Digging it so big!" a battle-brother asked, amazed at the sight of Omega's "moat."
"It's very effective, isn't it?"
(Ventris's thought: Don't ask me. In all my centuries, this is the first time I've seen something like this.)
"Err..."
"Have they received our communication?"
"They've replied. They're telling us to fly straight in."
"Good. It seems they are not displeased by our sudden arrival."
"Why would they be displeased? We are the Emperor's Angels of Death," a newly-minted Primaris marine muttered, not understanding his Captain's words.
Ventris patiently explained to his young battle-brother, "Because this is a Forge World, and they are the Tech-Priests of the Machine God, not the nobles or commoners of the Imperium."
"This..."
"You will understand in time. For now, let us proceed."
The Thunderhawk landed smoothly in the plaza in front of the Mechanicus temple. The plaza was already surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. The Tech-Priests were already waiting in front of the temple.
As Ventris strode majestically out of the Thunderhawk, followed by his battle-brothers in formation, their cerulean power armor gleamed in the sun. The ornate decorations on their armor gave these towering demigods an air of nobility. Their mere presence made the onlookers feel as if they were seeing heroes from a myth.
While being watched, the Space Marines were also observing the crowd. It was a warrior's instinct. The people in the crowd looked healthy and full of spirit. The Space Marines all came to the same conclusion: This settlement is very well-supplied. You can't feed people like this with just Corpse Starch.
Ventris's expectations for this mission grew. The next step was to seize the initiative, to turn the strength of this settlement into a force he could use. Although the Magos leading this settlement was clearly extraordinary—otherwise, he could not have built such a place in these circumstances—Ventris was confident that he could use his centuries of experience to achieve his goal.
He walked slowly towards the Tech-Priests, his extraordinary powers of observation trying to identify the leader among them. Not here? Are they deliberately avoiding us? A hint of contempt grew in Ventris's heart. He was a Captain of the Ultramarines. As a Space Marine well-versed in politics, he had many ways to deal with such a situation. Since the other party had given him this opportunity, he would not be...
"Sir! You're finally here!"
A child's voice, filled with joy and tears, interrupted Ventris's thoughts. He saw a small child... a small, young Tech-Priest running towards him, crying, and then hugging his ceramite leg.
Ventris: (￢_￢)
Omega: (இωஇ)
Ventris's thought: Where did this little thing pop out from?
Omega's thought: No one has ever been able to withstand this move!