Roboute Guilliman's Complaints, and Bel

Lisaliu Cawl's Little Secret

Under normal circumstances, Belisarius Cawl was not very willing to let too many people into his laboratory.

He has been on Mount Pharos for nineteen centuries, knows everything about it, and has long regarded it as a true laboratory for him. Even the Emperor's Scythes has never truly understood this place.

By the Primarch's command, they left this place to him, and Cawl felt he hadn't betrayed the tranquility they had deliberately preserved. But now, the situation had changed.

He had to leave the gates wide open so that Roboute Guilliman and his Victrix Guard could come in and find out what was going on.

He even lost the authority to lead the way and could only stand at the end of the group, watching the Lord of Macragge lead the team, his face grim, searching everywhere in the laboratory on the top floor.

He couldn't help but sigh deeply—of course, this was to attract attention.

He succeeded; he captured Karyl Lohars's distinctive voice.

"Belisarius Cawl, I believe that neither you nor I have the right to complain right now," Karyl said, head bowed, as he held a Dataslate in his hands.

"Why? Does the great Lord Roboute Guilliman intend to strip away even this small power?"

"I just felt that after we've done so much, we should give him some space to vent."

"But I didn't do anything, sir!" Cawl seized on the key point, speaking with great indignation. "You came up with this plan, and you were in charge of executing it, while I did nothing! I merely met with you, and then that damn thing left me half-paralyzed, the processor overheated!"

That's not what I was talking about, Cawl.

Karyl finally raised his head, temporarily freeing himself from the backlog of official documents.

Roboute Guilliman agreed to his proposal and readily handed him some reports from the last few centuries concerning the Night Lords. While the Dataslate was convenient and quick to navigate, the descriptions in those reports still made it difficult for him to remain calm.

To be honest, he had long anticipated how the Night Lords's habitual solo actions and secrecy would appear to others, but he truly hadn't expected them to be able to do it to this extent.

The reports he had just read were less reports and more whistleblowing and complaints, filled with grievances.

"During the intense fighting, our allies silently charged out of their trenches, braving the bombardment to reach the enemy. I admire their courage, but I'm even more curious about where they got the courage to do such a thing, and without even notifying us!"

--Manicus, Sergeant Third Company Nova Marines.

"I have great respect for the great Lord Konrad Curze Curze and the legendary Jago Sevatarion, but I must say that fighting alongside the Night Lords is by no means pleasant."

"They are reliable allies, they will never abandon you, and they will faithfully complete the tasks assigned to them. But they are all deadly time bombs; you never know what suicidal things they might do in a critical situation. I hate that, I especially hate it."

--Puliad, leader of the Damocles Squad of the Iron Snakes.

"To hell with Jago Sevatarion. Forgive me, Primarch, but I have to put this in my post-war report, and I won't mind if you demote me. But to hell with Jago Sevatarion! He acts like he's the only one qualified to sacrifice himself for humanity!"

--Ruft Huron, adjutant of the Third Company Astral Claws.

Karyl shook his head as he recalled those words. He knew what Roboute Guilliman was doing; clearly, the Primarch was extremely dissatisfied but couldn't say it outright at this moment, so he had to resort to this subtle way to complain.

But what could he do? He was helpless himself.

Oh. Karyl blinked belatedly. So that's what he meant.

"My lord?" The Archmagos looked down at him. "Could you please finish your sentence at once?"

"It's nothing, Cawl." Karyl sighed and pointed to a Victrix Guard team standing to the side.

They were busy in front of a huge, now-defunct machine, continuously removing jars of human tissue soaked in nutrient solution from it.

"I'm talking about here," Karyl said. "You've been here for nineteen centuries, and I don't consider you a law-abiding citizen, so you'd better start preparing your defense. I don't want to see Roboute order your execution."

After a long silence, Cawl suddenly said dryly, "He won't, sir."

"Really? How did you know?"

"Because—" Cawl ended the sentence abruptly. "—Anyway, he just can't do it; I've done the experiments."

Experiment?

Karyl squinted and stared at him, but the Archmagos quickly turned away, as if fleeing, and went to the Victrix Guard to explain the functions of those human tissues to them.

He explained that these were organs provided to a local hospital in Sotha for surgery or other purposes, but one of the Victrix Guard didn't believe him and immediately questioned him.

"I mean no offense, Archmagos. But you don't seem like the type to handle these matters, and even if you were, you should do it the way your Mechanicum dictates. Organ transplants are the work of the Guzman Medical Association; they are the doctors."

"I also have a medical license! Am I not qualified to be a doctor?!" Cawl immediately retorted. "You can't assume I lack patience and compassion for my patients just because I'm Archmagos of the Mechanicum!"

His rebuttal silenced the Victrix Guard and prompted Roboute Guilliman to storm over angrily.

From the moment he landed on the surface of Sotha, he hadn't given anyone a friendly look. Of course, he had every right to do so—but Cawl didn't seem to realize it; he even started protesting Roboute Guilliman's innocence.

"My lord, my lord! Your guards think I'm a doctor who treats human life like dirt!"

"When did I ever say that?!" Victrix Guard stared at him in utter shock.

Lord Macragge gave him a somber look and gestured for them to leave it at that. Once the Victrix Guard had moved a little further away, the Primarch spoke immediately.

"Belissau Cawl, you came to Sotha nineteen centuries ago."

Cawl nodded repeatedly, but Roboute Guilliman ignored him and continued his story.

"I gave you all the support I could, I even allowed you to stay here alone to conduct your research. But how have you repaid me?"

"That's simple, sir," Cawl replied without hesitation. "Twelve brand-new weapons, improved Power Armour, and the development of new artillery and armor for the Auxilia are just a small part. If you wish, I could go on and on all day."

"I'm not discussing your achievements with you!" Roboute Guilliman roared. "Merit and fault should always be considered separately!"

Cawl nodded again.

"Now, I want to ask you, what exactly did you do to Sotha? Why has Mount Pharos become such a wretched sight?!"

Cawl immediately replied, "I only made some minor modifications to it. Didn't you see the report I submitted?"

"That's all precious knowledge I've painstakingly acquired; I've even thought about how to use every single punctuation mark. Sir, please, please don't tell me you haven't read it."

Karyl could clearly see the throbbing veins on Roboute Guilliman's forehead.

"Of course I've seen it," he said, barely suppressing his anger. "But your report clearly contains many omissions."

"Which one, sir?"

"The one concerning Pharos."

Cawl nodded and said, "In that report, I explained in detail the role and importance of the lighthouse, and I also included my plan to use it to transport new weapons and equipment to various parts of the Imperium. You know all of this, and you approved it."

"And right now, at this very moment, far away on the other side of the Milky Way, near Caliban, there might be Dark Angels equipped with Torchbearer fighting Orks. So, my lord, may I ask what I've been hiding?"

"Here! Damn it, Belisarius Cawl, are you playing word games with me or having a debate? I'm talking about here!"

"I made a few minor modifications to my lab. Don't I even have that much right, sir?" Cawl asked, utterly perplexed.

Roboute Guilliman took a deep breath, turned around, and gave his guards the order to leave temporarily. Now that the last of the Victrix Guard had also left the mechanical maze, he no longer had anything to hide.

"Those Gene-seed from different Chapter— " Roboute Guilliman gripped the short sword at his waist, asking each word carefully, "--where did they come from?"

This time, Cawl did not employ his linguistic artistry. He answered Roboute Guilliman's question very meekly and unusually directly, "It was given to me by the Sigillites's spies. Actually, if you would like, I would like to show you something."

"Let's show it off."

Cawl's prosthetic eye slowly lit up, and a Servo-skull flew slowly from afar, bringing with it a well-preserved silver metal box, on which the Imperial Aquila gleamed.

Cawl reached out, clicked it open, and took out a parchment scroll, which he unfolded and showed to Roboute Guilliman. The Primarch scanned it in less than a second, his expression becoming uncertain.

A few seconds later, he reached out and took the document, beginning to read it carefully again. He repeated this process several times until several minutes later, when he finally spoke again.

Do the Chapter Master know about these things?

Cawl shook his head very seriously.

"They don't know, my lord. In fact, even the Primarch don't know. The Sigillites think the same way I do; we both believe this plan will cause resentment among the Astartes. Therefore, the plan will not be announced to anyone until the official results are in."

"But I know now."

"Yes, so I'm explaining this to you—in short, through a legitimate Gene-seed tax, I obtained the Gene-seed for all the Chapter one by one. However, compared to what I'm about to say, this is hardly the main point."

Roboute Guilliman's eye twitched. "What else do you want to say?"

Cawl summoned another Servo-skull, which, like the first, carried a box, but this one was made of pure gold. Its surface was blank, but when Roboute Guilliman reached out and grasped it, he noticed a small line of text.

"This box, and the documents inside, both come from the Throne," Cawl said slowly. "In the past, I tried my best to conceal it because the time was not yet right, and in fact, it still is now. You may open the box now, but please be prepared."

Roboute Guilliman did as he was told. He opened the golden box, and a burst of light emanated from it. Then, his movements suddenly froze, and his eyes lost focus. He stood there as if he had suddenly turned into a statue.

He quickly returned to normal and closed the box. This time, he didn't ask Cawl any questions, but simply uttered a single word.

"The Sangprimus Portum."

"Yes, sir," Cawl replied somberly. "He said he would entrust part of his work to me, and that I would continue the research in his stead."

"I'll be frank with you, it was an immense honor for me back then. I wasn't a sage yet, sir, just a budding Tech-Priest."

"This has captivated me for centuries, leaving me basking in the immense pride of being personally recognized by him. I thought it was happiness, and so did everyone else."

"However, when my laboratory was finally completed and I began research at the Sigillites's behest, I was soon overwhelmed by an indescribable fear. I cannot understand it, can you? I, Belisarius Cawl, cannot comprehend his work."

"It takes me decades to understand a single sentence from him. I have to go to great lengths to replicate his conclusions, even though I've tried so hard to advance my research but can't do it at all, and I can't even replicate the success of his work."

"I spent a full 8,971 years trying to go a step further, yet even now, I dare not say that I have gone further than him in this research."

Roboute Guilliman shook his head slightly.

"Don't underestimate yourself," he said calmly yet authoritatively. "His entrusting this matter to you is itself a form of recognition, and even if you say that, you've already completed the initial research."

"No, sir, no." Cawl gave a bitter smile with the only half of his face remaining. "I'll leave it at that. Do you want to see him for yourself?"

"Who?"

Cawl hint of sadness.

"My only experiment," he said. "My sins, my incompetence."

Roboute Guilliman frowned abruptly, turned around, and exchanged a glance with Karyl. The latter put away his Dataslate and nodded slightly.