The Emperor’s Angel of Death

“Welcome, our hero, guardian of the Maelstrom.→”

As Forge General Urd Udya Raski moved slowly, his body, much larger than Soshjan's, rumbled deeply. Angular metal components encased his flesh, which was likely smaller than a palm, and a string of glass-like eyes under a deep hood emitted an eerie light, full of irony.

Remember the first website domain 𝕥𝕨𝕜𝕒𝕟.𝕔𝕠𝕞

Despite his seemingly clumsy appearance, Soshjan had heard from Tyreen that this Forge General possessed a defense system like that of a Dreadnought, even heavier than a Thunderhawk in terms of mass. His heavy body was surrounded by a large group of interconnected servo arms, their joints clicking, trembling, and rotating, emitting a buzzing sound and constantly flashing—a mixture of insect-like scalpels and micro-lasers were everywhere, and under his robes were constantly wriggling metal tentacles.

Although most Adeptus Mechanicus sages despised the flesh, their core structures mostly retained a humanoid form—which could be understood as a stubborn affectation. However, Urd Udya Raski seemed to have completely severed this part. His body no longer possessed any human features, encased in adamantium mostly used to build void warships.

“I just didn't expect you to have such a good relationship with Prime Minister Tyreen. You know, he hasn't contacted me personally for more than ten years. Have you reached some kind of alliance?”

As one of the High Lords and a Forge General of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Soshjan, as an Astartes Chapter Master, clearly didn't have much of a positional advantage in front of him. Therefore, Raski's words were quite blunt.→

“Frankly speaking, such a meeting is not in accordance with the rules—”

Soshjan interrupted him.

“But you still agreed.”

The Forge General's mechadendrites made a nod-like gesture.

“Tyreen said you might have something that interests me, but he didn't mention why you wanted to see me. So, my nineteen logic processors tell me it might be related to gene-seed.”

“Then let's get straight to the point. I want the tithe gene-seed that the Star Phantoms and Tiger Claws Chapters submitted in the past—”

“Never.”

However, the other party interrupted him immediately.

“No Astartes can make such a request to the gene-seed vault on Mars. Only the High Lords of Terra have the authority to mobilize those sacred resources. I don't know what kind of mentality you have to make such a request, but based on the analysis of my eight logic processors, these are not the words of a mentally sound person.”

Soshjan didn't bother with pleasantries either, raising his right arm and opening the arm gauntlet.

In an instant, the Forge General, who should have been extremely slow, suddenly moved like a mechanical dragon, lunging at Soshjan with astonishing momentum, startling Soshjan into taking a step back and raising his left hand.

“This is!!”

“Wait—”

The Forge General, who was close at hand, exerted immense pressure, as if a Knight Titan had suddenly appeared before him. In close range, one could see the numerous devices and weapons on his body.

Then, realizing his loss of composure, Raski straightened his back, but all his visual processors were still staring at the small object locked by tiny metal tweezers in Soshjan's arm gauntlet—a very small but mysterious small chip. This kind of thing often represents one thing: an STC template from the Dark Age of Technology, because only STC templates from that period are in this small chip form.

“Venerable Magos Raski, here are the STC templates collected by the Chapter over the years, totaling 19 kinds of scientific technologies from the Dark Age, all in the medical field.”

Hearing this, the Forge General's visual devices almost turned into light bulbs. After all, the Imperium wasn't really short of weapons, but civilian technology had been lost severely. Moreover, the Adeptus Mechanicus valued civilian technology more because the Imperium always tried to freeload military technology, and the Adeptus Mechanicus had to let the Imperium use their military technology due to the Treaty of Olympus.

But civilian technology was different. It wasn't within the scope of the Treaty of Olympus. Even the High Lords of Terra had to pay a corresponding price if they wanted to get their hands on it. In other words, these things could “generate revenue.”

For Soshjan, these were just a small part of the STC templates found in the ruins of the ancestors under Armageddon. Keeping them wouldn't be of much use, so exchanging them was fine.

Anyway, Ulan Hud had already backed up the blueprints. The original was just a souvenir in his hands.

But at this time, the Forge General changed his attitude. He took a few steps back, and the voice device became more human.

“Why? Why do you want the gene-seed of these two Chapters?”

Then he briefly told the Forge General about Andar Scaeryen, but the purpose was slightly modified.

“Sergeant Andar gave me a lot of help during the expedition. I once promised him that I would help him rebuild the Tiger Claws Chapter. An Astartes' promise is life.”

After listening to Soshjan's explanation, the Forge General did not speak immediately, seeming to be analyzing and thinking.

A dozen seconds later, the deep male voice came out of the huge metal body again.

“This does not comply with the management regulations of the gene-seed vault.”

Soshjan smiled slightly.

“But it won't hinder anyone.”

“But it will cause an uproar in the High Lords of Terra, and I will have difficulty explaining it.”

“The Storm Nebula is far from Terra, and rebuilding a Chapter will take a short forty or fifty years, or as long as two or three hundred years. By that time, the members of the High Lords of Terra may have been replaced.”

The Forge General fell silent, with only the ticking sound of the devices on his body, but Soshjan already knew that the other party had made a decision.

Sure enough, half a minute later, the Forge General said slowly:

“Are you preparing to leave Terra?”

“There's nothing left to do here, so I naturally have to leave. The Chapter still has a lot of things to deal with back home.”

“Then perhaps you can stay on Mars for a short while.”

Subtle, but the content was very clear. Soshjan nodded with a smile.

“If it's convenient, that would be great.”

“Chapter Master Alexei, if my guess is correct—”

At this time, the Forge General suddenly changed the topic.

“You have more STCs here, right? Were they obtained from the derelict ship Orellus, or from the Red Corsairs? If I hadn't agreed to you, would you have continued to offer a price?”

Soshjan replied easily:

“We are warriors, not merchants. We will contribute any discoveries that are beneficial to the Imperium. It's just that, as you know, it takes a lot of time to discover the contents of these things.”

“I learned about the last STC auction, so I have to refute one of your words. You are not only a warrior but also an excellent merchant.”

“Just hoping to make the best use of everything.”

“Make the best use of everything, I like that word. Then when we get to Mars, we can slowly talk about how to make the best use of it.”