Chapter 70: The Strongest Firepower
After spending a few more hours at the excavation site and confirming that the daemons were unlikely to send anyone else, Omega, relying on his now "truly indestructible" body, began to repair the "Termite" with Jacob.
The most unique feature of this "sentient" Termite Assault Drill was that, even with its power lines disconnected, it would occasionally let out a "huff" on its own. After more than ten thousand years, having been "sacrificed" to by countless Tech-Priests' knees and foreheads, it was no surprise that it had a bit of a personality. No surprise? No surprise, my foot!
"Jacob! Jacob! Wake up! Don't scare me!" Omega frantically pulled the foaming Jacob from the "Termite's" driver's seat. He used the word "pulled" because Jacob was completely unconscious. Omega slapped the convulsing Jacob, who was drooling on one side. "Wake up! Wake up!"
"...Don't... don't hit me... I'm awake! Awake!" Jacob, his face twisted, managed to stop Omega's assault.
"You scared the scrap out of me! I thought the data had fried your brain! Are you okay?" Omega asked with concern.
Jacob, simply trying to move his limbs, performed a contorted dance on the ground that would have made a Chaplain scream "Heresy!" "I have to wait for the part of my brain that controls movement to recover. It'll be a moment."
"Rhea, Louis, come and check on Jacob," Omega said into his comms, summoning the biologists who were busy elsewhere in the "Termite."
None of them had expected this. Although the "Termite" was large, no one had ever said its Machine Spirit was powerful. Their numbers were not small; many Imperial forces used them, especially in the specialized siege regiments of the Imperial Guard. If its "Machine Spirit" were difficult to handle, it would never have been so widely used. For example, when a Titan changes pilots, it's not uncommon for a dozen candidates to die in the process.
"What happened?" Louis asked, rushing over and looking at Jacob on the ground.
"The Machine Spirit of this Termite is abnormally strong!" Omega said.
"Of course it's abnormal! Why else would it be treated as a relic? Jacob, you should know this best!"
"Err... it was my first time with a relic like this. I couldn't resist," Jacob explained, a little embarrassed.
Omega regretted not slapping him a few more times.
Louis helped Jacob up and placed a "band" on his head to examine him. "The Termite doesn't have to be driven by a neural link. Why did you have to risk it?"
"It was a rare opportunity. It would have been a shame not to have a direct connection."
Omega (X_X): That's not what you said before. You said, "Although the Machine Spirit has been checked and there are no problems, I can only be at ease after a direct link. I'm experienced. I've done this a thousand, eight hundred times."
Feeling Omega's awkward stare, Jacob, while cooperating with Louis's examination, changed the subject. "Omega, do you know why a direct link with a powerful Machine Spirit is dangerous?"
"It's easy to get your brain fried by the data, just like you did!"
"Ahem, that's one reason. When you communicate with them, they don't understand the concept of 'moderation.' As long as you gain their approval, they will show you all of their data. The instantaneous flood of data will overload and burn out a mechanical brain."
"Oh, so you knew!" Omega exclaimed sarcastically.
"An experienced person like me would take precautions in advance, but sometimes, accidents happen."
"Alright, Rhea, you're here."
"Hmm, why is Jacob on the ground?"
"He had an 'accident'," Omega explained in a singsong voice.
"I wasn't entirely without gains," Jacob said. "Although this Termite is ancient, it's in excellent condition. Because of its Machine Spirit, the influence of the malevolent power of Chaos is minimal."
"Oh, that's good news."
"But..."
"But what?"
"But the Machine Spirit is very angry right now!"
"It? Angry?" Rhea said, incredulous.
"Yes. It was because of the angry Machine Spirit that I ended up like this."
"Jacob, what did it feel like?"
"Like an un-lobotomized Grox was rampaging in my brain."
"So that means we can't drive this Termite!"
"No. Not without appeasing the Machine Spirit first."
"Could it be angry because the daemons tried to corrupt it?"
"Probably. It's been here for a long time."
"We don't have time to appease it. If it doesn't listen, I'll just format it!" Omega kicked the Termite's driver's seat in a fit of anger. Suddenly, all the indicator lights on the dashboard lit up, flashing and blinking, as if in anger. "But if it cooperates with us, I'll fill it up with power and weapons, unlock all its limiters, and let it go after whichever daemon it wants. It can ram them as hard as it wants, as many times as it wants, until it's satisfied!"
The moment Omega finished speaking, the cockpit returned to normal. Even the driver's seat lowered.
"..." Jacob.
"..." Louis.
"..." Rhea.
Giving himself a mental thumbs-up, Omega realized that a sentient Machine Spirit couldn't be treated with common sense. You had to treat it like a hot-tempered imbecile. He jumped into the driver's seat, patted the control stick, and said, "Don't worry, I'll keep my word. You help us with our plan, and I'll give you a chance to get your revenge."
"Beep!" an indicator light on the control panel beeped.
"As long as you agree. I told you, there's going to be a big battle soon. How about I let you join in? Aren't you excited? After being stuck here for so long, you can finally stretch your legs."
"Beep!"
"Hey, Jacob, what do you think? If the duel is a one-on-one, can I sign the Termite up? It should be fine. This is the grace of the Omnissiah!"
"Beep! Beep!"
Omega thought his idea was brilliant. The only drawback was that the "Termite" had no wheels. On the surface, it could only "shuffle," and it was slower than it was underground. But that was an easy problem to solve. The "Termite's" internal space was designed to carry 10-15 people. He could easily use that space to modify the "Termite" to be able to speed across the surface.
A melta-drill, a void shield, its own volkite blaster, and an angry Machine Spirit that could resist the corruption of Chaos. Awesome! So awesome!
"Brother Bai," Omega said to the excavator, as if they were long-lost brothers, "why didn't I think of you sooner, my brother? If we had met earlier, with the two of us working together, what would the daemons be? We could even take down a Greater Daemon!"
The excavator flashed its indicator lights, as if to express the same sentiment. At least, that's what Jacob and the others thought.
"But good things are worth waiting for. It's not too late. Let's finish our work quickly, and I'll use this time to think about how to modify you. We'll make you the best."
"A disruption field, a refractor shield, relic weapons... I'll add everything I can. Then, I'll be in charge of cackling, and you'll be in charge of slaughtering. How about it?"
"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"
"Then it's a deal! First, help your little brother dig the tunnel. After that, we'll start modifying you!"
"Beep!"
Even at its lowest setting, the driver's seat was still a little too high for him. Omega had to jump down. He then, with the air of a forest-dwelling hero, said to the stunned Jacob and the others, "You all take good care of my big brother. If I hear even a single complaint from my brother's mouth, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Omega's thought: This trick works wonders on mindless brutes.
And it did. The Termite, which had a maximum underground digging speed of 30 km/h, was spurred on by Omega's "righteous and heroic" speech to a speed of 50 km/h. That day, before anyone knew what was happening, Omega had already dug 700 kilometers.
Omega patted the Termite's nearly-bald drill bit and said to the still-shocked Jacob and the others, "Ha! They have no idea of the power of me and my brother."
In less than 28 hours, they had made a round trip. They had even used the void shield's ability to transfer matter to the warp to dispose of most of the debris. All that was left was to solve the ventilation and lighting, and to clear the remaining earth. The Worker-Soldiers had been doing this every day in the settlement; it was no problem at all.
The price was heavy. Omega's newly-acknowledged "drill-star"—"Brother Bai"—was nearly scrapped, held together only by its own "mana." Omega had to quickly use the technology he had learned from the "Omnissiah Immortals" to extend its life, to make it stronger and more WAAAGH!
"Did anything happen?" Omega asked.
"Huh?!"
"What's wrong with you all? Stop marveling at my Brother Bai's power. We still have a lot to do," Omega complained to his dazed and slacking companions.
Why were they so shocked? Because the Omnissiah, as the sole messenger and avatar of the Machine God, had the function of "supervising" and "controlling" machines. In their eyes, Omega, with just his words, had made a powerful and wild "Machine Spirit" do his bidding, perfectly fulfilling the function of "controlling machines." This was something they had never known anyone to be able to do. Although Omega's ability was "immature," they had all witnessed his growth rate. Every so often, a more miraculous Omega would appear before their eyes. Who was to say that Omega would not, one day in the future, completely master it?
Seeing that Rhea and the others were not in a good state, Omega, thinking they were just tired, told them to go back and rest. Not everyone had his "holy beast-of-burden body," which could work for forty or fifty hours straight and then, as if nothing had happened, work for another forty or fifty hours. He patted his energetic little body and sighed, "If I worked for a boss with this body, he'd go bankrupt from overwork!"
Having been missing for nearly 30 hours, Omega had to show his face. Otherwise, people would surely investigate what he had been up to behind their backs, and his plan would be exposed. He first arranged for people to handle the finishing touches on the tunnel. These Worker-Soldiers were his die-hard loyalists, but just in case, he shook hands with each of them. He didn't know if this could use his passive ability to suck out any daemons that might have possessed them, but it was worth a try.
With all this arranged, he hurried out to gather information and show his face. He hadn't been wandering for long when he felt that the atmosphere was wrong. What was this feeling of everyone being on edge? He asked around and found out. How should he put it? Inquisitor Griffin had not failed the reputation of the Inquisition. In just over a day, he had thrown the entire camp into a state of panic, and the heads had been rolling.
Omega didn't ask any more questions. He didn't think of interfering to save the innocent. At a time like this, even if he were in Ventris's position, he would have to adhere to the principle of "better to kill the innocent than to let the guilty go." It wasn't a matter of want or like, but of bottom lines.