Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 568 Deals and Compromises

"I swear an eternal and unwavering loyalty to the Golden Throne."

"We swear by the survival of the billions of lives within the territory of the human empire that we protect."

His gaze swept over the members of the Titus squad who stood silently behind him like a rock, their unspoken understanding and support more powerful than any words.

“I, Guterres, a member of Deathwatch, and all members of the Titus Squad,” his voice rose abruptly, carrying a resolute tone that pierced through metal, “hereby swear a blood oath! We shall become the eternal jailers of this thing!”
"Our duty to oversee is above our lives! Until our lives end, and our souls return to the throne! Or until this threat is illuminated by the Emperor's light and utterly purified into the void!"

"The core is the prisoner! The prison is our battleground! The risks will be borne by Deathwatch alone!"

He suddenly raised his powered gauntlet and pointed it at the suspended core. The gauntlet's servo emitted a deep hum of charging power, like the growl of a beast: "If this thing goes out of control, our explosives will be the first line of defense to stop it!"
We, the chainsaws, will be the final means to end its threat! Our bodies will be the last bulwark against its spread! Even if we are shattered to pieces and reduced to ashes, we will fulfill this oath!

"Judge, Warren." Guterres's voice finally turned into a solemn interrogation, each syllable like a heavy hammer blow, "Your choice? Will you allow us to fulfill the duty bestowed upon the Death Watch by the Emperor, to imprison this threat with steel and oaths? Or will you insist on destroying it, dragging the entire galaxy down with you for your 'purification'?"

Guterres' words were heavy, cold, and imbued with the unwavering determination and resolute will of a survivor of countless battles.

The oath of death watch is a monument within the Empire, stained with the blood of countless aliens and built upon the foundation of countless worlds.

His use of "taking risks" rather than "guaranteeing safety" highlights the weight of his commitment and his clear understanding of the severity of the reality.

The members of the Titus squad responded to Guterres' oath with even greater uprightness, silently demonstrating their solidarity with him.

The sealed room was once again enveloped in a suffocating silence.

Only the faint, seemingly extinguishable light of the core crystal projected by the "Watcher" flickered, and the groans emanating from the structure deep within the ruins due to energy imbalance seemed clearer.

Oregana's servo arm hovered in front of the data receiving port, not daring to move even slightly.

The energy indicator of the Maria Knight mech's molten cannon muzzle glowed steadily, and the pilot held her breath in the cockpit.

Carleon's mind was highly focused; his psychic perception covered the entire area like an invisible spiderweb, capturing the most subtle non-material fluctuations.

Liz's body swayed almost imperceptibly. She gripped the data panel tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning white, her gaze rapidly switching between the core and the data stream as she calculated the risks.

Warren's face shifted dramatically beneath his helmet, finally settling into a complex expression that was deeply etched into his memory, a mixture of wariness, hatred, and hostility.

He stared intently at Guterres's unyielding, gold-like back, then at Feralus's unwavering silver-grey eyes, and finally, his gaze, like a poisoned dagger, pierced the suspended geometric core.

The heavy muzzle of the Hellfire Gun trembled very slightly and violently.

Finally, under the piercing gaze of Guterres, the silent pressure of the Death Watch squad, and the ticking countdown, it slowly and reluctantly... drooped down a few degrees.

He did not lower his gun; the safety remained off, and his finger was still firmly gripping the trigger guard.

His tense posture was like that of a wild beast forcibly restrained, with a low growl rolling from his throat, suppressed to the extreme.

What burned in his eyes was an indelible vigilance against “aversion to intelligence,” a deep-seated hatred for “challenging sacred dogma,” and a profound hostility towards the group of “compromisers” before him.

This silent, resistant acquiescence declared that the fragile cooperation was only maintained by the urgency of the impending destruction. Sister Eliza, the captain, saw the Inquisitor's gun barrel press down, and her tense body relaxed slightly, but the chanting did not stop, only the volume decreased, carrying a resentful vigilance. The nuns behind her also slightly relaxed the butts of their guns against their shoulders, but the muzzles of their guns were still pointed at the source of danger.

Ferrus did not wait.

The instant Guterres swore his oath and Warren lowered his gun, she turned to Olegana and decisively ordered: "Receive the data! Execute immediately, using the highest level of encryption."

Physically isolated storage units activated. The Great Sage oversees the entire process, monitoring data integrity and scanning for potential contamination.

The sage Oregana's metallic fingertips traced across the data panel.

An invisible, encrypted data stream link is established instantly.

The light from the core of the "Watcher" projection suddenly intensified, and countless extremely complex geometric symbols, energy flow topological maps, mathematical formulas, material molecular structures, resonant waveforms... like a torrent of pure logic and cutting-edge knowledge from the Golden Age bursting its banks, surged unstoppably into the "Eye of Truth of the Om Messiah".

The analyzer's screen was instantly flooded with a waterfall of binary data, wildly spinning 3D models, and high-dimensional topological diagrams. Its built-in top-tier Thinker unit emitted a high-frequency overload roar, and the heat dissipation grille spewed out scorching white mist.

Kaul's mechanical eyes flashed with high-speed light, and countless tiny probes extended from under his robes, monitoring the data stream.

The technical priests behind him watched in awe as this torrent of knowledge flowed forth, whispering binary prayers.

The cold transaction began.

Inside the sealed room, time seemed to stretch out.

On one side is a pure outpouring of knowledge, and on the other is suppressed hostility and a death knell-like countdown to destruction.

Warren's silence was menacing, his gaze shifting like a viper between the core and Feralas.

Captain Eliza gripped her weapon tightly, repeating the purification prayer in a low voice, her eyes scanning the entire area warily.

Guterres and his team stood like silent statues, alert to any possible disturbance.

While the "Watcher" was transmitting massive amounts of data, a faint, unusual fluctuation was quietly hidden deep within its core, disappearing from the surging torrent of data. It was not fully detected by conventional scanning, but it made the Carleon Think Tank frown slightly. He subtly increased the focus of his psionic perception.

“Data stream is being transmitted stably… Estimated completion time: 26 minutes and 47 seconds Imperial Standard Time…” Olegana reported in a completely emotionless synthesized voice.

However, the real test of hell only began after the data was in hand—how to safely reconnect energy to this depleted core, which was itself a time bomb?

How can one survive to bring this extremely dangerous item out of this perilous ancient ruin?

Every step will be a new, potentially fatal challenge.

The echoes of Guterres' vow still lingered in the chamber, mingling with the shrill screams of the countdown.

(End of this chapter)