Chapter 79: Well Met, T'au-kun
After receiving his ten-year physical examination data, Omega, in a fit of self-abandonment, wanted to name his ship the Legal Shota. But then he thought he shouldn't curse himself so viciously and changed the name to the Cogboy. He was, of course, mercilessly ridiculed for it. But Omega stubbornly insisted, telling the cog-heads that this was an inspiration given to him in a dream by the "Omnissiah." If they had a problem with it, they could go and talk to the "Omnissiah" themselves. Only then did the cog-heads relent.
After the modifications to the Cogboy were complete, Omega held a "launching ceremony" for its maiden voyage, inviting all his acquaintances to tour his ship. After a brief tour of the "newly renovated" explorator vessel, everyone agreed that it was a fine ship. Veyl's Ark Mechanicus, aside from its size, was nothing compared to the Cogboy.
The Archmagos's mechanical cochleas seemed to have malfunctioned at this blatant slap to his face. He appeared even happier than Omega throughout the entire event. On the one hand, it was because Omega would soon be setting sail. On the other, it was because, through the modification of the Shota, Teyedan's shipbuilding capabilities had been greatly enhanced. They could now build cruisers like the Lunar-class and Tyrant-class. In the future, after Omega's plan was completed, they could even produce battleships like the Ark Mechanicus and the Emperor-class. How could Veyl not be pleased? In the future, besides Omega, Regent Guilliman, Archmagos Cawl, and his misleading tutor, who would dare to speak loudly to him? Even the Fabricator-Generals of Mars would have to show him some respect.
With the ship ready, the next step was to get the recruited crew familiar with the Cogboy. Fortunately, Omega had started recruiting the crew at the same time as the ship's modifications. With the data Veyl had given him, he knew exactly what personnel he needed. This data once again made Omega realize just how low the moral floor of these cog-heads was. Even Veyl, who had a good reputation outside of the Adeptus Mechanicus, had, during his time "doing business" across the galaxy, frequently seized the cargo of passing merchants and had even directly plundered some feral worlds.
This also made Omega understand that to roam the galaxy, force was necessary, and most important. In the personnel configuration of the Cogboy, the armed personnel were the most important. Coincidentally, every cog-head knew a thing or two, so this aspect was very easy to satisfy. Besides the armed personnel, the second-largest group needed was the "indentured laborers" for heavy manual labor. The Cogboy did not need them. It did not need space-serfs to haul its shells; it could load itself.
After some calculations, Omega found that, with the exception of the Navigator, all the other jobs on the Cogboy could be done by Tech-Priests. And they were more than happy to do it, because the technology contained within the ship itself was a great treasure to the low-ranking Tech-Priests. But to take 100,000 Tech-Priests with him was completely unrealistic for Teyedan. If Omega hadn't liberated the workers, even ten times the current number of Tech-Priests on Teyedan would not have been enough. And the Cogboy didn't need that many people. 50,000 was about right.
Omega, Aedus, and the others, as well as Veyl, discussed for a long time and finally decided to take 10,000 Tech-Priests and 40,000 apprentices. One Tech-Priest would take four apprentices, so they could explore and train the apprentices on the way.
After finalizing the personnel list, they all moved onto the ship and began to wander around the Teyedan system under Omega's command, to get used to life on a starship while waiting for the Navigator and Astropaths Veyl was finding for him.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Omega had made some minor adjustments to the Cogboy based on the problems he had discovered during its voyages, making it even more perfect. Now, it was time for them to set sail. The Navigator and the Astropaths had arrived.
Omega took the "human compass" and the "human communicator" very seriously. The lives of the entire crew were in their hands. He had prepared a welcome banquet long in advance and had even dressed a little more maturely. Then, he waited with Rhea and the others for the honored guests.
As a transport shuttle arrived at the landing pad, Veyl was the first to appear. Behind him was a group of people. From their attire, one could tell who were the Navigators and who were the Astropaths.
Kalisi, a member of a Navigator house, had been assigned to the Forge World of Teyedan to serve Veyl. Only an excellent scion of a pure bloodline like her was worthy of working for such a great man. Before setting out, Kalisi had memorized Veyl's file to ensure she would not make any gaffes in front of the Archmagos. The honor of her house could not be tarnished. But when she actually arrived on Teyedan, the Archmagos had told her that her client was actually his son. Hearing this news, Kalisi's only reaction at the time was to fall to her knees and pray to the Emperor, to beg the great Emperor to protect her soul. The evil daemons had set their sights on her soul. How could an Archmagos of the Adeptus Mechanicus have a "son"? It was all a hallucination created by daemons.
She was not the only one. The Astropathic choir that had come with her had also reacted in the same way. The result was that everyone, including the Archmagos, was quite embarrassed. Everyone tacitly agreed to pretend that this had never happened.
Afterwards, under the Archmagos's guidance, they had come to the ship of the "Magos Omega." As she stepped out of the transport, Kalisi was observing. She had to take the initiative, to redeem her mistake, to erase the bad impression she had made on the Archmagos. After identifying her target, Kalisi walked quickly towards Magos Omega, bowed, and said, "It is an honor to serve you, honored Magos Omega!"
"Err... well..."
It seems this Magos Omega is not good at communication, not like his father, Kalisi concluded. This matched her impression of Tech-Magi: strange, difficult to communicate with, always immersed in their own research.
"My name is Kalisi Zacharias."
"Oh, hello. My name is Jacob," the honest Jacob replied.
"It is a great—... ah!" Kalisi cried out in surprise.
"Ahem, Omega is here."
Kalisi followed the voice and looked down to see a "dwarf," a child-like dwarf. She heard the dwarf child say, "I am Omega. It is an honor to meet you too, Miss Kalisi."
Although it was a little unpleasant, Omega was used to the reactions of strangers upon seeing him. He was about to say something to ease the awkward atmosphere, but he found that the Navigator's reaction was not right. Why were her pupils dilating? "Miss Kalisi? Miss Kalisi?"
"Hmm? Hiss! Doctor! Doc—Rhea, come quick! The Navigator has fainted!"
The carefully prepared welcome banquet ended abruptly. The various precious foods all ended up in the stomachs of the apprentice-waiters. After being revived by Rhea, Kalisi claimed that she was tired from the journey and needed to rest. She then took her servants and guards and holed herself up in the Navigator's sanctum. The leader of the Astropathic choir, Adal, after a few awkward words with Omega, also took his people and holed themselves up in the Astropath's choir chamber.
"If I had known it would be like this, why did I go to so much trouble?!" Omega complained, sitting on his mechanical throne. The others held back their laughter, not knowing how to console him. Veyl stood beside him, also not knowing whose fault it was. Was it his son's fault for living too long?
Omega, though frustrated, still held another banquet for Kalisi and Adal a few days later. Only then did their relationship with him return to normal. At the same time, Kalisi and Adal began to use various means to inquire about Omega. And then they discovered that this crown prince had an extremely high prestige on Teyedan. Veyl was the Archmagos in name only. He was just waiting for his son to go on an expedition so he could take over his son's property. After repeatedly confirming that the news was true, they all felt that reality could be more magical than the warp. They also knew that by following this Magos Omega, the benefits would be great.
"Finally, we set sail! Teyedan is mine now! Hahahaha—"
Veyl, watching the Cogboy leave the spaceport and head for the Mandeville point of the Teyedan system, couldn't help but laugh triumphantly, causing the "anti-Veyl faction" on the scene to grit their teeth. They decided to fight this old fox to the end, until Teyedan welcomed back its true master.
Omega's first long voyage was to deliver weapons to the front lines. He hadn't decided where to go yet, but since the Far East Joint Command had an urgent delivery, he had taken it on, planning to think as he went.
But Omega was in no mood to think about that now. He was currently sitting on his mechanical throne, squirming uncomfortably, because beside his throne stood the person he feared most—Magos Laust.
He had never imagined that, just as he thought he was free as a bird, Laust would, at the last moment before the Cogboy set sail, bring his belongings and join them on their expedition.
Omega was internally refusing, but he didn't dare to refuse. He wasn't afraid of Veyl, but he was afraid of Laust. Omega had a psychological trauma from Laust.
And now, this trauma was methodically briefing him on the mission's relevant intelligence, his words concise, his gaze sharp, making Omega very uncomfortable.
"Don't squirm. Remember your status at all times."
"Oh," Omega replied, sitting up straight.
"Maintain your authority in the exploration team. Pay attention to your words and actions at all times."
"Oh," Omega's gaze became sharp.
"What do you think of the intelligence I just mentioned?"
"Oh," Omega said.
"Hmm?"
"Oh, the O'nyl system is at war. We're going to deliver weapons to the front lines and drive out those blue-skinned xenos."