"Lord Karna!"
After wandering around for a day, Karna returned to the central elevator area.
The moment his iron boots stepped into the area, he was greeted by a harmonious scene.
Space Marines clad in Cataphractii Terminator armor patrolled the perimeter, accompanied by a squad of Cadian soldiers in Void Armor.
At the other end of the plaza, orderly lines stood before the mess hall. At tables of various sizes, Astartes and mortals ate together.
Unlike half a month ago, the area that had once served as a defensive stronghold had now been transformed into a place where the Astra Militarum and Astartes could dine in orderly fashion.
"The usual."
Handing his mess tin to the cook, Karna looked around.
The Sisters saying their pre-meal prayers. Yep, all right.
His buddies who had already started eating. Yep, all right.
Colonel Kovek was on meal-duty today. Yep, all right.
The priest of the Machine God... yep! Where was he?
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Karna looked around and finally spotted the orange gearhead on the lower deck, swinging a censer and kowtowing before an enormous flying vehicle.
Oh, so today he was kowtowing to the Stormbird?
When that priest of the Machine God learned that they had given those vehicles and pieces of equipment directly to the Astra Militarum, he had looked so agitated that he seemed ready to spray oil everywhere. He kept saying that those things belonged in a relic vault, and that giving them to those big-headed fellows was a waste.
Well, that was just how the hamster-bros were.
Damn it, if they did not spend those points now, were they supposed to wait until they got ground to death by attrition in an encounter battle and let them rot in their hands?
After Romulus firmly refused him, the priest of the Machine God had started kowtowing to the vehicles every day, hoping their Machine Spirits would change their minds.
Yep, still banging his head. All right.
"Thanks."
Taking the mess tin filled with a lavish meal, Karna walked over to the table reserved for the Astartes.
The other three companions, who had long since repainted their armor in the style of the Deathwatch, had already finished eating.
"Find any good stuff today?"
The moment he sat down, Romulus asked.
"No. We have searched pretty much every corner of the ship, and we checked out the Orks too, but their technology is not sufficiently unlocked yet. The smaller components still need the Waaagh! Field, so we cannot use them."
"Then we completed the collection before rescue arrived. That is worth celebrating."
"It is worth celebrating. We are about to eat Corpse-starch in every possible style."
Sprinkling a handful of Plasteel powder into his mess tin, Karna speared a thick chunk of meat and put it into his mouth.
"Good thing Imperial technology is advanced. Otherwise, I would rather burn a few more Demons in exchange for some cola and fried chicken."
Ramesses, who had finished eating first, wiped his mouth.
What they were eating now was one of the Imperium of Man's famed signature dishes, renowned across the multiverse—
Soylens Viridians!
Also known as Corpse-starch.
Essentially, it was a highly nutritious substance produced during Promethium processing, and the sole food source for the vast majority of Imperial citizens.
It was almost tasteless by itself, taking on different appearances depending on the additional ingredients. Usually, it came in the form of a sticky paste.
As for how it had become what it was now—
All one could say was that humanity, capable of supporting a freakish system like the Imperium, possessed equally freakish technology.
They had nutritional formulation technology obtained from the Tech-priest, food texture customization technology found in a fleet executive's quarters, and Corpse-starch that could be produced endlessly so long as Promethium was processed.
Together, they could make a table full of delicious dishes that were nutritionally balanced, pleasing to the eye, fragrant, and tasty.
And most importantly—
Like Corpse-starch, it was cheap and abundant enough to keep everyone alive aboard this ship going for a year.
It had to be said that the Imperium's civilian technology was quite good. It just was not used on Imperial citizens.
"By the way, why do you two stare at toilet paper every day?"
He noticed that after eating, the two of them had once again started studying the Codex Astartes.
"Aside from its restrictions on the Astartes, the Regent's recommendations are still highly valuable as reference."
Without even raising his head, Arthur replied, "Besides, we do not know the details of this universe very well. The Codex itself can fill gaps in our understanding in that regard, so studying it is necessary."
"After all, it teaches you step by step how to fight, how to manage a Chapter, and even specifies what each warrior should do in wartime. It also provides different solutions for different environments. It is very helpful for commanding troops."
Romulus read with great interest.
To be fair, as a reference book, the Codex Astartes was top-tier. It covered nearly every situation an Astartes might encounter and how to deal with it. Follow the book, and one could become a qualified Astartes.
Putting aside the prejudice that it was "toilet paper," as well as some outdated decisions within it, the Codex Astartes was a good book.
The Regent must have put a great deal of effort into writing it.
"The two top students are grinding us again."
Seeing how serious the two were, Ramesses could not help but complain.
"If they do not study this stuff, then you will have to."
Karna set down the Plasteel chopsticks, one end of which had been bitten off.
Ever since crossing over, his brain had not improved much, but his teeth had gotten a lot better.
"Then let the top students grind."
Ramesses surrendered instantly.
"Speaking of which, are we really just going to let this misunderstanding continue?"
Glancing at the Sisters at the neighboring table, who had long since finished eating and were waiting for their orders, Karna promptly changed the subject.
"It feels like all four of us are being treated as relics."
Ever since they handed out that pile of equipment, the twenty-six Sisters had practically stayed at their sides every moment.
Karna was the only one who did not have to be watched because he acted more independently. Whenever the other three left their rooms, they immediately drew the Sisters' gazes.
"That is a good thing. Better than having them suspect us of being a traitor Chapter."
Romulus spoke.
"Since it is beneficial, there is no need to address it. Arthur and Ramesses II, just say you are Ultramarines. The rest can be improvised. Let them fill in the blanks themselves."
"But if we are pretending, there will always be holes in the act, right?"
Karna was not very confident in his acting.
"Why pretend? The equipment is real, our incompatibility is real too, and what was that saying again? We put all our effort into imitating, uh..."
Ramesses thought for a moment, then got stuck.
"Yet it cannot compare to one fleeting moment of sincere emotion from a filial son."
Karna supplied the rest.
"Feels like M3 Earth."
Romulus, still reading, picked up the joke at just the right moment.
"See? I told you there was no need."
"..."
Arthur had difficulty keeping a straight face.
But it was true. People from M3 thought the current Imperium was bullshit, and people from M31 thought the current Imperium was bullshit too.
Just look at how depressed the Regent became after waking up.
Same thing. No real difference.
"My lords, we have received a transmission from an Imperial warship."
Their brief post-meal study session did not last long before a messenger delivered a report.
"Code?"
"Verification passed."
"Affiliation?"
"They identify themselves as the Carcharodons."
Before you continue