Chapter 80: Omega, Lord of War
The Far East Military District was established to contain the ever-expanding T'au Empire. From its inception, humanity had been preparing to crush these noseless, blue-skinned xenos. Teyedan was also established to enhance the military capabilities of the Far East Military District.
Two centuries passed in the blink of an eye. The time was ripe. Trillions of troops were ready, and the war engine of the Imperium of Man began to roar in the Far East. The Xenocide Crusade had begun.
This was around the same time that the fertilized egg codenamed "Omega" was implanted into a steel womb.
But just as the Xenocide Crusade was in full swing, Teyedan... and then, the T'au: Well met. From this day forward, the roles of offense and defense are reversed. Where man can go, so can we.
If it weren't for Omega restoring Teyedan's production capacity in a short time, the situation of the Xenocide Crusade might have already collapsed. Now, with the logistics chain re-established, the expeditionary force and the T'au Empire were locked in a stalemate.
"I'm thinking of staying in O'nyl for a while," Omega said to his companions, lying in a chair and eating a "watermelon."
Louis, gnawing on a "peach," swallowed a mouthful of fruit and asked, "Why the sudden change of plans?"
"I've run into a few problems with my research recently, and the T'au happen to have some technology that interests me."
"Oh, I see. Then let's stay for a while."
The three-eyed Kalisi and the blind Adal, who had also been invited to Omega's "Fruit and Peach Banquet," looked at Omega's highly "politically incorrect" statement with strange expressions. The others were already used to it. They all knew that Omega was never picky when it came to technology.
Back on Teyedan, someone had once advised Omega not to study xenos technology. But he had always retorted with a righteous tone, "What technology do the xenos have? It's all just plagiarized from the technological achievements of humanity's Golden Age. Did the Omnissiah bless the xenos? All I'm doing is restoring the technology to its original form. Which part of it is not a standard component produced according to a standard STC?"
And the technological artifacts that Omega had "restored" indeed showed no signs of xenos style. So everyone had just let him be. After all, these "human technologies" were indeed very useful.
"These ancient Terran fruits taste great. Omega, lend me that data-slate later."
Omega rolled his eyes at the cog-girl who was eating, taking, and now wanted to take the whole pot. "Fine," he said, annoyed. These fruits were all created by Omega using genetic technology, one of his nostalgic creations. Others included peaches, pears, apricots, and so on. He had told everyone that they were restored from accidentally obtained ancient Terran plant data. Now that the lie was out, he had to make up a "Ancient Terran Plant Data" to cover it up. How could he be happy?
The Cogboy was currently traveling at sub-light speed towards its destination. The journey had been smoother than Omega had expected. He had thought that some blind daemon would come to give him a change of pace, but the whole journey had been peaceful. Even Adal, the psyker, had said that on Omega's ship, he heard fewer whispers than on other ships. When this reached the ears of the cog-heads, they had started to kowtow in groups to Omega's modified Geller field generator.
After the final jump from the warp, the latest news indicated that the intensity of the battle in the O'nyl system was much higher than the intelligence they had received before they set out. Both humanity and the T'au Empire were sending reinforcements there.
If a merchant ship or the like were to head for the O'nyl system now, it might be commandeered and drawn into the war against the T'au Empire. But Omega had no such worries. They were an explorator vessel of the cog-heads. No one had the right to obstruct a priest of the Omnissiah in their search for lost technology, unless the Tech-Priest voluntarily joined.
Omega was quite the big shot now. When the Cogboy arrived at the periphery of the O'nyl system and its identity was verified, it was flooded with messages, all with similar content, all thanking Omega for delivering the weapons and ammunition they needed.
Escorted by several warships, the Cogboy smoothly docked at the Imperial-controlled spaceport. When Omega stepped out of the cabin, he saw Space Marines lined up to welcome him. In addition to the Space Marines, he also saw Battle Sisters, the Imperial Navy, and the Astra Militarum. The welcome ceremony was grand, so grand that it scared him back inside.
Omega (((;꒪ꈊ꒪;))): Such a big show! I'm just here to deliver some cargo.
"Ow!"
"Get out, now!"
"Oh—"
With a slap to the back of the head from Magos Laust, and under the pressure of his increasingly strange gaze, Omega had to bite the bullet and step out again, putting on the dignified air of a master of a Mechanicus explorator vessel and walking down the petal-strewn ramp, step by step.
Ever since he had boarded the Cogboy, Laust had been like an ancient "Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince." He would call himself "this old servant" while holding a "teaching whip." He wanted to train Omega into his ideal of a "wise ruler," to make him the most cog-head of all cog-heads. Magos! How did you develop this damned sense of mission?! Omega roared in his heart.
A certain cog-girl: Dad, I'm telling you, Omega might be the infant form of the Omnissiah. I have proof!
"Err... I'm Omega," Omega said dryly to the representatives of the various factions who had come to welcome him.
The cog-heads' rejuvenation treatments can even make them children again?! the commanders on the scene thought simultaneously.
The lead general, a veteran of countless battles, having fought all kinds of monsters, showed no surprise. "Welcome, Magos Omega. Thank you very much for your trouble in delivering the weapons."
"It's my duty, my duty."
Omega turned and cast a pleading look at Laust. He wanted to go back to his lab; that was where a cog-head belonged. Laust, seeing Omega's pathetic appearance, felt the difficulty of teaching a "qualified Omnissiah." But he still had to save face for Omega. The "Omnissiah" could not be tarnished before he was mature. "Magos Omega heard that the battle of O'nyl was urgent, and so he led his explorator fleet here specially," Laust explained to the high command.
"We are most grateful."
Hearing that Omega had made this trip especially for them, the expressions on the faces of the people on the scene softened a little. They were no longer as official and rigid as before. A cog-head who actively contributed to the Imperium was, in their hearts, a good Tech-Priest.
After a simple exchange of pleasantries, Omega attended his first welcome banquet. As the guest of honor, Omega naturally came into everyone's view, and they all began to inquire about him through various channels. Through their network of contacts with the accompanying Tech-Priests, the high command of the O'nyl battlefield all knew that this "Little Magos Omega" was Veyl's biological son.
After this news was confirmed by Magos Omega himself, in addition to lamenting that "the world is going downhill, and people's hearts are not what they used to be," that the cog-heads were also starting to be influenced by the Imperial trend of "second-generation heirs," they all showed their goodwill to Omega. The opportunity to get on the good side of a Fabricator-General was rare. This "Little Magos" could not be missed.
Even the Battle Sisters were like butterflies, flitting around Magos Omega, charming the inexperienced Omega until he was dizzy. In the end, it took a flick to the forehead from the cog-girl to wake him up.
"Damn it! Green maggot, I'm not finished with you!" Omega cursed at the stars after the banquet.
But Omega hadn't just been idle at the banquet. He had expressed his intention to stay in O'nyl for a while, to help the Imperium fight the xenos. But his explorator fleet had just been established, and this was its first voyage. They were not yet proficient in all aspects and could not participate in frontal combat. However, his ship had a certain production capacity and could provide the allied forces with weapons and supplies.
The high command was overjoyed. They had thought Omega would leave after delivering the cargo. Now that they heard he was willing to stay and help, they had no reason to refuse. They all said that they would not let Omega suffer a loss and even reserved a berth for him at the spaceport, for him to "open a shop."
The Cogboy explorator vessel was temporarily renamed by Omega as the "Omega's Arms Supermarket." A new lord of war was born.
"These damn traitors!"
After crushing the last traitor who had tried to plant a bomb, Orn stepped on the head of the still-convulsing body. Today was his day to be on duty at the spaceport. These humans were traitors who had turned to the xenos. They had been trained as agents by the T'au and had tried to use their human appearance to infiltrate the spaceport via a merchant ship, to sabotage the Imperial logistics.
The spaceport was a vital platform, the main artery of the O'nyl war zone. Every day, new ships arrived, and merchant ships and transports unloaded the supplies that sustained the war. The enemy was also constantly trying to destroy it. This was why there were Space Marines on duty at the spaceport. Only their superhuman senses could detect the flaws and clues left by the traitors. Their nanosecond reaction speed allowed them to kill the traitors before they could even react.
Orn didn't like hunting these rats at the spaceport. He preferred to kill xenos on the battlefield. Of course, when chopping xenos heads, it would be even better if he had a power sword instead of a chainsword. As a newly-minted Primaris Space Marine, he had always longed for a suitable weapon. Although he knew he was far from worthy of the Chapter's inherited relics, that didn't stop him from dreaming of wielding a power sword, with an Iron Halo on his head, in his Mark X power armor, on the battlefield, slaying the enemies of the Emperor. Every time he thought of such a scene, his blood boiled with excitement.
Tossing the dead traitor aside, Orn prepared to continue his patrol. He didn't like it, but he knew the importance of this task. As for the body, a mortal would come and clean it up. A ship from the Adeptus Mechanicus had docked in his sector today. Just in case, Orn decided to go and take a look.