There Are Good Things on the Ark

Alas—

A sigh steeped in nearly ten thousand years of sorrow.

Ramesses frowned.

"Did you hear something?"

"Huh?"

The three of them cast confused looks around, then noticed that the priest and Sisters beside them had begun praying, while radiant light also fell upon their armor.

"...Forget I said anything."

Everyone understood what was going on.

They would just treat it as Old Man Gold having another episode.

Romulus said nothing more. He had merely wanted to subtly remind Ramesses not to casually pull any stunts, but Ramesses had apparently already been mindful of that himself, which left him feeling a little awkward.

Thankfully, everyone knew one another well. Otherwise, it would have turned into "condescending advice."

"I was overly suspicious. Sorry."

Romulus apologized honestly.

Truthfully, Romulus sincerely believed that after the four Transmigrators had come to this world, the most important gift they had received was not merely those miraculous abilities, but a heart that maintained reverence for everything in this universe.

That gave him, as one of the Transmigrators, an immense sense of security.

If there were someone who constantly pulled ridiculous stunts and gave false intelligence, just thinking about it was enough to make one despair.

"So, are we going in now?"

Arthur decisively drew his sword. The Black Sword, still carrying traces of holy radiance, drew the priest's attention.

Ever since the interrogation began, the priest's gaze had occasionally fallen upon that sword.

"Wait a little longer. I need some time on my end."

Romulus removed his helmet and rubbed his hair, which had absorbed a little moisture due to the temperature difference.

"What for?"

"Who knew the first operation would be a high-speed assault?"

Romulus gritted his teeth.

"I have to outfit forty Mk.II Crusade suits one by one."

After all, no one could even put on a Terminator suit without assistance, much less take one off.

"Correction: excluding Arthur and Karna, who also have to conduct breakthrough operations, that makes thirty-seven. You can change three fewer suits."

Ramesses gloated.

"Take your Numerology and get out of my face."

"Hahaha, I'm not going."

Ramesses pushed his luck.

"Oh, Arthur."

Still outfitting the Mk.II Crusade suits, Romulus ignored his foolish son and gave a reminder.

"Pass along everything the priest just told us to the Sharks. Tell them we have a way to catch the Drukhari's trail. Have them prepare one hundred and thirty men for a joint assault with us, but we need to be in command."

Naturally, he had no intention of directly disturbing Tyberos. A Chapter Master needed to save face while out and about; if people could summon and dismiss him at will, he might as well stop trying to maintain his position.

"Karna, go transport another shipload of men over for me. Also, notify the Sharks that we'll clear out a space aboard this vessel. I still need to run a simulation, see whether there are any loopholes, and ensure the highest possible success rate."

Romulus studied the map of the Ark's occupied regions.

"Then don't you need to outfit even more suits?"

"I'll do it. Being tired is better than people dying."

"Fine."

The two nodded and immediately split up to begin their tasks.

"Akia."

In an unoccupied corner, Arthur, clad in pitch-black armor, approached the Sharks' Third Company Captain.

As the Reapers among the Carcharodons, this company was also responsible for dealing with Imperium forces. As its captain, Akia was naturally included in that responsibility.

Arthur had not removed his Mk.IV Maximus Terminator armor. At their level, the speed restrictions imposed by armor were already negligible.

"Lord Arthur."

Akia glanced around the empty surroundings, thinking Arthur had some secret instructions for him.

After confirming no one was nearby, Arthur relayed what Romulus had instructed him to tell Akia so that Akia could pass it on to Tyberos.

A mere thirty seconds later.

Akia emerged from the passageway and returned to the Sharks' ranks, a bloodthirsty smile still on his lips beneath his helmet.

When he first heard Arthur's account, he instinctively thought there was no way they could fight this group of Xenos. But since the old fellows said they had a way, how could they possibly avoid battle?

Listening to the hum of the armor's internal servo motors, the warlike instincts in Akia's genes made him instinctively disregard Romulus's strategy, which was still being tested. That was not something he needed to think about.

His muscle fibers twitched as he clenched his fist hard. Akia only felt an unbearable itch in his hands.

Did they see this armor he wore? Finely crafted War Hound Power Armor produced during the Great Crusade, with its performance pushed to the limit. Even the weapons had been replaced with superior Power Axes.

This time, he absolutely had to chop down a few more Xenos to break in the blades.

Another thirty seconds passed.

Arthur and Karna emerged from the Thunderhawk's cabin alongside Space Marines who had switched to Las-muskets. They silently nodded to Romulus, then looked together toward the trading ground, where the results had already been reached.

"In accordance with the ancient contract, the Carcharodons may receive twenty Indomitus Terminators, including repair parts, thirty standard loads of all types of Bolter ammunition, and two hundred Bolter weapons of various patterns. Do you require me to retool the production line to produce Power Armor?"

After retracting the mechanical apparatus, the openings in the Black Box sealed themselves in an instant. Archmagos Cawl then addressed Tyberos.

Compared to the stereotypical mechanical speech of a Tech-Magos, Archmagos Cawl's manner of speaking was clearly more human.

"No."

Tyberos refused decisively. He had recently completed his daily tasks and earned quite a stockpile of Power Armor for the Chapter. It would be enough for the short term, and the same went for weapons.

Later, he could spar with Arthur some more and get plenty more out of him. Teaching out everything he could teach would also happen to improve his own strength.

"Convert all the weapons into Bolter ammunition, explosives, and repair tools."

He had not forgotten that both the Carcharodons and the Deathwatch lacked cheap, basic ammunition.

As for the Indomitus Terminators, they still needed to maintain a stockpile. Although their performance had deteriorated somewhat, their basic role suited the combat styles of the various Chapters today.

Without sufficient physical aptitude, Mk.II Crusade armor was just a cumbersome lump, making it poorly suited to the Carcharodons. Mk.IV Maximus armor, meanwhile, was too expensive; equipping an entire company would require more than a hundred suits.

Even if Romulus were willing to give them to him, Tyberos would not have the nerve to accept.

At the very least, he had to serve as a thug for those old fellows, who might even be younger than him, for a while first. He would repay the favor before discussing anything else.

"That is acceptable."

The Archmagos had no particular opinion on the matter. Several Servitors dragged away the cargo containers.

"Production capacity needs to be reallocated. You may collect the goods from this warehouse in thirteen hours."

"Mm."

Tyberos signaled his approval, with no intention of haggling.

Hearing the terms of the transaction, Romulus could not help frowning.

Two STCs—even if one produced snacks that cured most occupational ailments caused by space travel, while the other could synthesize energy drinks from several common elements, neither of which was of much use to an Imperium that remained under wartime pressure for long periods—should not have been this cheap, right?

Sure enough, claims that one STC could be traded for an entire planet were all lies. It entirely depended on who they were dealing with. The Adeptus Mechanicus had simply decided that a Chapter like the Sharks lacked the ability to bargain with them.

And for so little stuff, they actually still needed to reallocate production capacity?