When he had first worked with the Adeptus Mechanicus, Lox had conducted a detailed investigation into the other head of the Imperium's double-headed eagle, and he had reached a very interesting conclusion.
The relationship between the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Imperium was extremely delicate. On one hand, it had provided almost all the industrial support for the Great Crusade. The forge worlds scattered across the vast galaxy were the gears driving all material production, and those oil-soaked fanatics were a necessary condition for the Emperor's Great Crusade.
Yet at the same time, this organization, equal in standing to the Imperium, stood in grave conflict with the Imperial Truth. They openly and vigorously worshipped the Machine God and the Omnissiah, carrying out rituals and doctrines utterly unrelated to the Imperial Truth.
If Lox had been the Emperor, he would certainly have prepared ample contingencies against such a distant, unreliable head that could stab him in the back at any moment.
And that was indeed the case. Amid the vast sea of records and documents, Lox had once found information on something called the Icarus Contingency Protocol. This protocol, issued by the Emperor, authorized the Dark Angels to retain numerous relic technologies from the Dark Age of Technology, making them a technological backup after the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Furthermore, should the Imperium's two heads split apart, the First Legion would strike first and use the swiftest means possible to dismantle the Adeptus Mechanicus's forces.
"The effects caused by Konrad have already been settled, Roboute. How much longer are you going to detain my flagship?"
The two primarchs had been negotiating over how to use psychic means to awaken Vulkan. Uncharacteristically patient, Lion had probed around the issue several times.
But Guilliman continued to act as though he did not understand, only smacking his