"Hello, Brother Romulus."
The priest behind Orlando clearly could not bear to watch this negotiation any longer and decisively squeezed his way forward.
"Before we arrived in the Lesser Piaerde System, two companies of the Nemesis Chapter lost contact on Piaerde. Now they have fallen completely silent. The Emperor's Tarot has revealed the dangers of this mission. The Expeditionary Fleet has deployed only three hundred brothers, so we must seek every possible source of aid."
This priest spoke much more pleasantly, calmly explaining the situation.
He then took out his divination records and showed them to everyone.
The Emperor's Tarot was a divination tool used by humans who believed in the Emperor. Through rituals, it could grant omens of certain events. Usually, only those with sufficiently devout faith could receive the Emperor's revelations.
"The omen revealed that we would walk toward death, but a glimmer of light remained in the darkness. We needed the aid of powerful allies."
Arabella translated its meaning for the ancient saints. After all, the Ecclesiarchy had only become mainstream during the Age of Apostasy. Before that, the Imperium's faith in the Emperor had never been systematized.
"..."
The priest sensed that something was wrong.
A Canoness held authority equal to that of a Chapter Master. Her ability to mobilize Imperial forces even far exceeded that of a Space Marine. Faced with the culturally mixed, rebellious, unconventional Deathwatch, who dealt with Xenos creations every day, it would have been good enough if she had not treated them coldly.
Yet wasn't this Canoness being a little too respectful toward these Deathwatch brothers?
"Mm."
Romulus indicated that he understood, while raising the importance of securing combat strength by another level in his mind.
After all, this was the Black Templars, a Chapter watched over by the Emperor. Their divinations were highly credible.
"Thank you for your explanation, Sister Arabella."
Although he had reviewed the somewhat outdated information on the Carcharodons and gained a refreshed understanding of just how absurd the Imperium was, Romulus had not developed any prejudice against the Sisters of the Ecclesiarchy.
He also understood that the Imperium's present state could not be blamed on Sisters like them.
Everyone knew perfectly well that if casually beheading a few people—even a few High Lords—could set things right and make the Imperium great again, those High Lords would probably find somewhere high to jump from before anyone else had to act.
As for what exactly the Transmigrators intended to do, they would take another look first. No matter what, they could not let their future Chapter homeworld turn into something this ridiculous.
"It is my honor."
Arabella bowed.
What she was most grateful for was that while these ancient saints did not approve of the present Imperium, they had never tried to forcibly deny it. Instead, they respected humanity's faith and sacrifices over the past ten thousand years.
If the Emperor's repeated manifestations had earned the Transmigrators the Sisters' awe,
then the Transmigrators' attitude during their actual interactions with the Imperium's citizens—I may not understand it, but I respect it. No matter what, I can't blame those who sacrificed themselves fighting every kind of monster.—had easily won the Sisters' heartfelt admiration.
Probably more than just a little.
The priest carefully examined these Deathwatch members bearing the insignias of the Ultramarines and Blood Angels. The more he looked, the more something felt off.
"So you planned to invite us to deal with the Drukhari in order to secure the Prospector Fleet's assistance, correct?"
After sorting out his thoughts, Romulus asked.
"But Inquisitor Aglaia agreed to the Archmagos's harsh terms by force in order to make the Prospector Fleet accompany us. We lost twenty-seven brothers because of it, and now we have nothing to show for it."
Orlando spoke directly, then glared angrily at the Inquisitor.
"You must answer to us for the brothers who died because of your psychic witchcraft."
"This was the Emperor's revelation to me!"
Aglaia argued her case.
"That was merely an illusion granted to you by witchcraft! If you were not still wearing the insignia bestowed upon you by the God-Emperor, you would be nothing more than another witch who should be purged on the spot."
Orlando glanced at Aglaia, making no effort whatsoever to conceal his disgust.
The priest, who had been about to continue speaking, helplessly watched the Marshal—more extreme than he was—fall into another argument with the Inquisitor.
He led the others several steps away, then apologized to them.
"My apologies."
"Understandable."
Romulus did not care about it.
Black Templars, after all. In every Expeditionary Fleet, either the Marshal or the priest had to be unhinged.
"So the Black Templars have differing opinions on whether to help the Prospector Fleet?"
"The Black Templars likewise support the Inquisitor's decision. The Emperor has revealed that we should seek every aid we can obtain, so the Prospector Fleet joining us is naturally a good thing."
The priest then looked toward the Archmagos, and indignation inevitably entered his voice.
"However, Archmagos Cawl's demands are truly rather harsh."
"What do you mean?"
Click.
A Servo-skull flew over. The priest inserted the mission record into the card slot behind its skull and began describing the course of the attack to everyone.
"Through Inquisitor Aglaia's introduction, the Archmagos and the Expeditionary Fleet reached an agreement regarding entering Piaerde. The Black Templars would guarantee the Magos's safety after landing. Once the mission was completed, the Archmagos would provide us with ships depending on the gains."
When mentioning the type of ships, the priest deliberately glossed over it, then pointed to the star map displayed before them.
"The two sides agreed to rendezvous in the Lesser Piaerde System before heading to Piaerde together. However, when the Prospector Fleet arrived, before our fleet could move to receive it, a Drukhari fleet that had long been lying in ambush attacked the Prospector Fleet."
"Those Drukhari had clearly been hired by someone to intercept the Prospector Fleet in the Lesser Piaerde System. After losing the void battle, more than five hundred Drukhari directly occupied the Forge Core at the rear of the Steel Soul and used it as a stronghold to seize a large section of the stern."
The hologram displayed the outline of the Mechanicus Ark. The red section at its rear was the area occupied by the Drukhari.
Using a marker, the priest drew another inner circle within it.
"This Drukhari force's objective was obvious: to delay the Prospector Fleet in this system. They were even willing to abandon an entire fleet for it."
As he said this, even the priest's somewhat distorted voice beneath his skull mask carried helplessness. He raised a hand and directed everyone's attention toward a Tormentor Cruiser floating beyond the viewport.
"And the Magos was clearly constrained as well. Even after winning the void battle, he left them a cruiser and allowed us to depart early."
"But the Inquisitor still insisted?"
Romulus looked at the Inquisitor, whose face had turned red as she argued with Marshal Orlando.
"Yes. She insisted that the psychic omen was the Emperor's guidance and demanded that the Archmagos accompany us. Meanwhile, the Archmagos required us to eliminate the Drukhari who had invaded the Ark within five minutes, or the ship would suffer damage he found unacceptable."
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