Chapter 121: The Magos's Cunning Capture of the "T'au-chen Gang"
And so, Omega once again set foot on T'au territory. This time, it was a military stronghold. It was also his first time meeting a human traitor, a "Gue'vesa." The T'au had wanted to use this to show that humans could live well, be trusted, and be given important positions in their society, to win Omega's favor and subtly influence him.
Fortunately, Omega was "loyal to the core" and was unmoved. He even felt a little like laughing. Compared to this, a ship full of rare minerals would have been more effective. The T'au had still not seen through the disguise of "Omega, the Gentlemanly Blade."
The Ultramarines first helped the T'au to exterminate the Lictors that had already been discovered, hiding in the armories and energy facilities. Accompanied by Fire Caste warriors and auxiliary mercenaries, a five-man, one-Howling Sky combat team entered the Lictor's hiding place.
"Fang of Ruin, show these xenos what you're made of!" The Ultramarine patted the "Fang of Ruin" beside him, not caring at all if the T'au not far away could understand the disdain in his words.
"Woof!"
"Fang of Ruin," receiving the command, raised its head and hissed. This was the sound of air being rapidly sucked into its metal nasal cavity. The scent molecules in the air were identified one by one by its bionic nose, until it found the target's scent. It then circled around a few times to confirm the direction of the scent. The mechanical giant dog then let out a low growl at the Ultramarine.
"Found it? Good boy, Fang of Ruin. The hunt has begun!"
"Woof!"
With Fang of Ruin in the lead, they soon found several bloodstains and claw marks left by the Lictor. Everyone prepared for battle. They knew the enemy was nearby. At the same time, the Howling Sky's ears also perked up, its detection system at full power. The background noise of the environment, the heartbeats and breathing of the Space Marines and the xenos, and the clanking and scraping of their armor as they moved, were all collected by the Howling Sky and input into its Machine Spirit, to be identified and filtered out one by one, leaving only that faint and slow beating sound.
Having found its target, the Howling Sky immediately assumed an attack posture. The others, noticing its change, also tightened their grip on their weapons. But the Howling Sky did not attack immediately. It had not yet fully locked onto the target. An invisible wave emanated from its body in all directions. The spectral information of the target area was collected by its eyes.
Suddenly, it let out a silent roar. The air was distorted by this roar. The sound waves were projected in a fan shape in front of it, and after hitting an object, they bounced back and were received by it. While all the objects reflected the sound, the only one that didn't was as conspicuous as a drop of ink on a white paper. The Lictor's hiding was too good. An advantage can sometimes become a fatal flaw.
Through multiple detections, and after eliminating other suspicious targets, the Howling Sky, having finally locked onto the Lictor, its weapon system was activated. A gun barrel popped out from its chest side, and in a flash, it fired a tracer round. The moment the tracer round was fired, the Ultramarines had already predicted its trajectory. The moment the Lictor was marked, the Ultramarines and the Howling Sky rushed towards it.
"Magos Omega's talent is truly unparalleled. I never thought the Lictors, which had given us such a headache, could be dealt with so easily." Ambassador Zhechuan's flattery, who was watching the battle with Omega in a fortress via a live broadcast, had not stopped for a moment since the Lictor had been dealt with. At the same time, he had already decided in his heart that he must report to the Ethereals when he got back, to raise this Magos Omega's attention level to the highest. If it weren't for the fact that this Magos Omega had always left a good impression on the T'au Empire, Zhechuan would have recommended a threat level instead of an attention level. The technology he possessed, just what he had shown, was a great threat to the T'au Empire's army, which relied on stealth technology.
"Ambassador Zhechuan, you can't just look at the results and not the cost. I haven't hidden it from you. If it weren't for dealing with this Lictor crisis, I wouldn't have produced so many Howling Skies. The price is so high that others only dare to borrow from me, not even daring to mention the word 'buy'. I've shot myself in the foot this time. Sigh, no good deed goes unpunished."
The Water Caste ambassador, seeing Omega's bellyful of complaints and his sighing, chuckled to himself. Humans, holding a treasure without knowing it. Short-sighted, always squeezing the talented and loyal. It is only right that they be replaced by our T'au Empire.
"Alright, Magos Omega, don't always talk about these unhappy things. You've come to help this time. We will certainly not treat a friend poorly."
I knew this crying poor would work! I finally got it! Quick, take out the real gold and silver and corrupt me! Omega pulled down the corner of his mouth that wanted to curl up and said with a hypocritical humility, "This... this is too much. I can't accept these rare materials."
"Err—"
( ?_?): Did I just say rare materials?
(((;°Д°))): Damn it, I let it slip!
"My apologies. Recently, every time I think of the rare materials spent on the Howling Sky, my heart aches. The moment I see it, I think of this. My meaning is, since I am here to help you, and we are now allies, what kind of person would I be if I accepted your gift? This is absolutely unacceptable!"
Looking at the blushing and ashamed Omega, Zhechuan thought of what this Magos Omega had done since coming to Korsa. It was no exaggeration to say that it was selfless dedication. He immediately put his doubts to rest. "Hahaha, Magos Omega, you are too kind. Your contributions are there for all to see. I can't say much about your human internal affairs, but since you consider us friends, we can't let a friend suffer a loss. Not to mention, you also have a fleet to support. The burden is not light."
The Water Caste ambassador's words were too beautiful. If Omega had a Forge World to inherit, he might have been a little moved, and might have even had a few "a single thought to join the T'au, and the world is wide" ideas. How could the IOU-writing Imperium compare to the "T'au-generous" who gave real gold and silver at every turn?
"This... this is my own business. You don't need to—"
"Magos, do not refuse. Didn't you just say 'we are all friends'? How has it become your own business now?"
"But..."
"Alright, let's not talk about this. With a great enemy at hand, it is not appropriate to always talk about these things," Zhechuan said in a slightly firm tone.
"..." Omega was silent, his face full of shame.
In the following days, the Ultramarines, with their Howling Skies, helped the T'au to clean up the Lictors. Omega, on the other hand, acted as if he had been conquered by Zhechuan's sweet words, and was as close to him as a brother. And through Zhechuan's introduction, he had met many high-ranking engineers of the Earth Caste. They had had a very happy chat, as if he had completely forgotten the purpose Calgar had sent him for.
But just as the Lictors were being found and cleaned up one by one in a harmonious atmosphere, something disharmonious happened. The T'au had tried to plagiarize the technology of the Howling Sky and had been caught on the spot by the ever-vigilant Ultramarines. Omega, who had received the news, had to rush to the scene with a group of Earth and Water Caste T'au with whom he had been chatting happily.
When he arrived, he saw several Earth Caste T'au with broken legs being held at gunpoint by the Ultramarines. And these Ultramarines were also surrounded by three layers of T'au.
"Stop! Let them go!"
"Magos, they—"
"Let them go!" Omega roared again.
Seeing Omega's firm attitude, the Ultramarines could only reply, "Yes, Magos Omega."
After seeing the hostages released, Zhechuan also had the T'au lower their weapons. Then he saw Omega pick up the device left behind by the Earth Caste spies. He had to bite the bullet and go forward to explain. But he had only just walked over to Omega and hadn't even opened his mouth when he heard Omega say, "A misunderstanding. This is just an ordinary scanner. At most, it can only record some of the Howling Sky's external data. I think it was just a rash act of curiosity on the part of those engineers. Ambassador Zhechuan, don't you think so?"
Zhechuan was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized that Omega was trying to downplay the incident, to pass it off as a misunderstanding. He was giving him a way out. He quickly said, "Yes, yes, it's all a misunderstanding."
"I see that those few are also seriously injured. It can be considered that they have paid the price for their rashness. Ambassador Zhechuan, please do not punish them further. I also hope that you can understand the actions of these Ultramarines. They are all veterans. It is inevitable that they will be overly sensitive in some matters."
"I understand, I understand," Zhechuan replied repeatedly.
Omega then turned to the Ultramarines. "A misunderstanding. Although the enemy is at hand, don't be too nervous. And we are guests. Guests should follow the host. Our two sides have different cultures and customs. When you encounter something you don't understand, don't always think the worst."
The Ultramarines understood the meaning in Omega's words: if this gets out of hand, it will be difficult to clean up.
"Yes, Magos Omega."
"Continue with your mission. Thank you for your hard work." With that, Omega smiled and said to Zhechuan and the others, "Let's go back and continue our chat. Where were we just now? I've forgotten in the rush."
Zhechuan, seeing this, also smiled and replied, "Hahaha, we were just saying that you, Magos, are a son of Macragge. I happen to have some Macragge tea that someone gave me. I was just having someone go and get it. I wanted you to taste if it was authentic. It should be about time. Let's go back and continue our chat."
"Let's go. I hope you haven't been fooled."
A group of people had come in a hurry, and now they were returning to the original guest room, chatting and laughing. After closing the door, Omega's face changed. He said to the T'au before him with a stern look, "Friend this, friend that. Is this how you treat a friend?"
The Water Caste diplomats, led by Zhechuan, could only offer fawning smiles and apologies. The honest Earth Caste engineers, looking guilty, sat in their chairs with their heads bowed, silent.
"It's not that I'm saying you're wrong, but have you ever done things like this? If it had been someone else, they would have just left with their Howling Skies. What would you have done then? If the Ultramarines had really killed a few of your rookie spies, have you ever thought about how to clean it up?"
"Magos Omega, please understand. We had no other choice but to do this. No one can guarantee that we can completely exterminate Gorgon this time. The two wars with the Tyranids were both fought by our two sides cooperating. But if it happens again in a few decades, who knows what the situation will be then," Zhechuan said with a bitter and helpless smile.
Hearing this, the expression on Omega's face softened a lot. He no longer scolded, but complained, "It's not that I can't understand you. It's just that you did this too clumsily. I, the inventor, am right here, and you don't ask. What can you steal with a few spies? With that piece of junk in their hands, they can't even break through the first defensive protocol I've set. Fortunately, it was the Ultramarines who found them and left them alive. If the Howling Sky's kill protocol had been triggered, they would have been dead for sure!"
"Wait—Magos Omega, did you just say we could have asked you directly?!" Zhechuan exclaimed.
Omega rolled his eyes. "I originally thought you were all good people. You've always been very friendly and generous to me. I thought that after the Howling Sky's performance, you would also be very interested in some of its technology. I've always been one to repay a grudge and a kindness. Although I can't reveal the specific data to you, I can still provide you with some ideas and suggestions. With my understanding of your technology, the detection effect of what you make in imitation should also be good. I've been chatting with you every day, waiting for you to ask. But you've been so good, not saying a word, and just thinking of these underhanded things!"
Hearing Omega's words, Zhechuan wanted to slap himself. He had originally wondered why Omega, whose data said he didn't like to chat, would take the initiative to talk to him every day. It turned out that he had been giving him a chance to ask.
"Magos, you... it's all my fault!" Zhechuan said with a look of regret.
"Hmph. It's no use regretting it now. I've changed my mind!"
"Magos Omega, it's all my fault. We really need this technology. Without the technology to detect the Tyranid lurkers, who knows how many people will die because of them in the future. Many of these dead will be inexperienced apprentices like those in the Bork'an academy!"
With that, Zhechuan knelt down before Omega. The other Water Caste T'au, seeing this, also knelt down. The Earth Caste, being thin-skinned, continued to sit with their heads bowed. A look of hesitation and pity flashed across Omega's face. Zhechuan, seeing this, knew there was a chance. He quickly added, "Magos Omega, I know we were in the wrong first. If you have any requests, you can make them!"
Hmph, you said it yourself! The insidious and cunning little cog-head, seeing the prey open its own belly, first pretended to hesitate, then showed a look of conflict, and finally, muttered to himself as if to find an excuse and a reason for himself, and then said, "I can provide you with the design ideas and suggestions. But this is a deal. You must also pay me a reward. I want you to open all of your equipment to me. All of it! You don't need to provide me with the data for these pieces of equipment, nor do you need to explain them to me. I will not directly touch your weapons and equipment. How much I can get is my own business. How much I can understand is also my own business. If you find me doing anything that violates the agreement, you can terminate the deal immediately. Agree or not, you decide!"
While the Water Caste were still weighing Omega's words, the Earth Caste, who had been silent and who understood the technology, after hearing Omega's request, still didn't understand that he was giving them an "excuse." The more high-end the equipment, the more complex it is. A molecular-level error is enough to cause a fatal accident. What can you see just by looking? The atomic-level components? The source code in the processor?
"We agree!" the Earth Caste representative said.
Zhechuan, hearing the technical director agree, how could he not understand? This was Magos Omega giving him another way out. Thinking of how he had just been full of calculations, wondering if these requests were inappropriate, if there was some conspiracy, he was immediately filled with shame. He said in a choked voice, "Magos, I—"
"We're all friends! We're all friends!"