Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 109 Stellar Protocol
As the side hall doors slowly opened, the Emperor and Doom appeared relaxed, seemingly quite satisfied with the negotiations.

Horus was the first to step forward and greet his two blood relatives: "Father, brother."

He was eager to know the outcome of their conversation, as it would affect the future fate of the empire.

Seeing that the two looked calm and there was no argument, Horus finally felt relieved.

The Emperor raised his hand, pressed Horus's arm, and gently patted him to stop him from asking questions. He looked around at the disharmonious atmosphere in the hall, feeling helpless about the hostility between them.

"The Negotiation Hall".

This time it was Waldo who spoke, precisely conveying the Emperor's will.

Doom gave the Night Watchers and Turing a reassuring look, signaling them to follow.

Waldo looked at the Martian mechanical sage: "Inform the Martian forging general that the Emperor has an important meeting that requires his attendance."

The voice of the Imperial Guard Commander was as authoritative as the Emperor's own words.

“My lord.” The mechanical sage, dressed in a red robe and bearing a gear and skull emblem, quickly replied, “I notified the Forging General one hundred and twenty-three minutes and eleven seconds ago.”

His voice was a mechanical blend, flowing with the smoothness of machine oil, and his mechanical appendages twitched due to electrical overload.

Praise be to Omnisaya!
The sage of the Mechanic Church was admiring his own wisdom. The moment he saw the Iron Man, he had already secretly informed Mars.

The creations of Omnesia must not be sealed away by the fools of the Empire. This precious existence must be kept and worshipped by Mars.

His eyes gleamed as he looked at Turing. If the primitive voice had not yet been replaced by advanced machinery, the mechanical sage's saliva might have already soaked his red robe.

If it weren't for the presence of the Imperial Guard and the Emperor and Primarch, he would have already rushed forward, picked up the Iron Man, and left.

Doom glanced at the red-robed cyborg with surprise; he knew it was one of the "Imperial Double-Headed Eagles"—the Martian Mechanicus.

In the early stages of the Great Crusade, the Empire sought to acquire Martian weaponry and complete the Martian world.

The Emperor personally visited Mars and reached an agreement with the Martian world, signing the "Olympia Accords".

The Empire recognizes Mars' independence, establishes an equal relationship, and allows the Martians to believe in the existence of "Omnesia".

Mars provided the Empire with ships, the armaments needed for the Great Expedition, and all technological support.

In addition to the main terms, there were various detailed terms that established the alliance between Mars and the Empire.

The Emperor glanced at the Mechanical Sage and led his team toward the negotiation hall. He needed to determine the relationship with the Nur Stars as soon as possible.

The main hall is solemn and dignified, with sculptures symbolizing peace and trust carved at the four corners, and a giant square table under the towering dome.

Once Nur and the imperial personnel were in place, the vermilion-painted gate opened again, and a ten-meter-tall mechanical construct "squeezed" in through it.

He was also draped in a red robe, his mechanical limbs covered by the long, wide robe, his bloated mechanical lower limbs with dense mechanical limbs writhing.

The upper body of the forged general is shown, holding a large forging axe. His body is dragged by mechanical tentacles, and only his face still has flesh and blood, barely recognizable as human.

"He's gone a bit too far..."

Turing turned his head and whispered to Harlan, "Only half of his brain is flesh and blood; the rest is all mechanical."

“That’s definitely a bit too extreme…” Harlan nodded in deep agreement.

At the square table, the Imperial members were in the center, the Nur members were on the left, and the Mechanicus members were on the right.

The Doom Legion stood behind the Father of Genetics, making their stance clear.

"Today, our lord has made an important decision," Waldo said, sitting beside the Emperor, speaking on behalf of the Lord of Mankind: "A third party is needed between the Mechanicus and the Empire."

"The Nur Star Cluster from the Hazy Starfield, a star empire ruled by a son of an emperor."

"He led the Nur Stars to join the Alliance, providing support to the Empire and enjoying rights equal to those of the Empire."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the Martian Mechanic Church and waited quietly for the Forging General's reply.

Horus's eyes snapped open, somewhat incredulous but quickly calmed down. He had long disliked the eccentric, nerdy guy from Mars.

Although he didn't understand what agreement his father and brother had reached, he enjoyed seeing them annoy Mars.

Makado wasn't surprised, after all, the one who ruled over the Nur stars was the "hope" the emperor spoke of.

In order to unite and hold onto hope, the emperor would do everything in his power, at any cost.

"This is impossible!" The Forging General's voice was cold and melodious as he chanted code characters, rejecting the Empire's demands.

At the same time, he raised a mechanical hand, projecting the contents of the Olympus Protocol onto his palm: "Mars has the right to dispose of a portion of the relics and technologies excavated by the Empire."

His cold, mechanical voice stated his point of view: "The imperial offspring are part of the empire, and Mars has the right to share the technological relics they bring back."

"There was never a tripartite agreement; it was always just the Empire and the Martian Mechanicus."

The Forging General rejected the Emperor's offer. Although he respected the Emperor, the Mechanicus was now deeply bound to the Great Crusade.

The Great Expedition requires the support of the Mechanicus and a constant supply of weaponry to conquer world after world.

Countless casting worlds are under development, and the Mechanicus will not concede; only the winner takes all.

The emperor did not speak, but instead looked at where Doom was.

His message was clear: to gain a foothold in the empire, one needed not only the support of authority but also to demonstrate some strength.

If you don't have the resources to stand on your own, you'll be completely devoured in this negotiation.

The Emperor is willing to offer Doom equality, recognizing Nur's potential and recognizing him as a natural counterweight to the Mechanicus. The Empire needs a new player to intervene and check the Mechanicus.

"Nur Stars agrees to ally with the Empire and enjoy equal rights."

Doom seemed not to hear the Forging General's refusal and continued to speak of the rights that Nur should enjoy: "The relics and technologies unearthed during the Great Expedition, the STC template, Nur has the right to possess them."

"In return, Nur can participate in the Great Expedition."

Doom addressed the Emperor in the center, making no mention of the Mechanicus: "If you lack warships, you may consider our ancient warships, which are far more advanced than your current ones."

He nodded to Sophia, who was projecting images showing warships and weapons that were indeed far superior in performance to those of the Empire.

"Wait a minute." The Forging General's cold logic finally broke down, and he spoke much faster: "Your Majesty, you cannot violate the agreement and betray the interests of the Mechanicus."

The Mechanicus provides weapons to the Empire, which is the most fundamental binding interest. Nur's suggestion is digging into the roots of the Mechanicus.

The Emperor looked at him, and Waldo also spoke up: "Our cooperation is based on an equal relationship, not a binding agreement. The Empire has the right to choose the better one."

Doom smiled slightly, understanding that this agreement was the Emperor's way of using the Nur Stars to extract more benefits from the Mechanicus.

He was also willing to put pressure on the Mechanic Church to ensure Nur's equality and to restrain the Mechanic Church.

It wasn't that he supported the Empire, but rather that he saw the Mechanicus's greed—their desire to devour Nur and turn it into their private property.

Since the Mechanicus made the first move, Doom was very willing to weaken them to prevent Mars from becoming too powerful.

"The Nur Stars can join, and can even acquire technology from the Mechanicus, but they cannot provide weapons to the Empire."

The Forging General remained silent, his cold, logical mind calculating, also seeking to retain more benefits: "We will provide the Empire with more weapons."

He now understands that this was a father-son game, forcing Mars to make concessions.

But Mars had to give way because Noor possessed more advanced technology, including artificial intelligence.

"In return, Mars needs research in artificial intelligence."

"no!"

"no!"

The unanimous refusal echoed in the negotiation hall; Doom and Waldo rejected the idea of ​​forging the general.

"Nur owns all the artificial intelligence technology and demands that the Mechanicus provide and hand over the sealed technology."

Doom looked at the general's bulky body, "and the Mechanicus does not allow any infringement on Nu's rights; Nu has priority."

"This is impossible!"

The Forging General flew into a rage, lifting his upper body off the table, his voice dripping with fury amidst the cold, scathing code: "Mars can concede, but it can't keep conceding!"

"Humph!"

Doom snorted and opened the communication on the Void Lone Ranger: "Musala, let the general see if he should back down."

Turing's equally cold, mechanical voice mocked, and a holographic projection shot from his eyes: "Weirdo, look at this."

The Forging General looked at the massive relic warship, pointed its bow at Mars, and opened the bow cannons.

The only remaining human being among the Forging General's pupils contracted for 0.3 seconds: "A threat of force?"

He was even more disdainful: "Mars is too powerful for a single warship to subdue."

"Really? Then take a good look."

Directly in front of the Void Lone Wolf, in the upper left corner, a giant hexagonal mesh opened, revealing the cannon barrels hidden within.

The circular cannon, spanning one hundred square kilometers, began to channel energy.

The main cannon, the most visually striking component of the spaceship's weapon system, began channeling the energy of the blue giant star.

"Dimensional channel locked, launch energy stream."

As Turing reported, the endless energy of the blue giant star burst forth!

A visible blue energy line flew toward Mars at faster-than-light speed. The imprisoned rage of the blue sun could no longer be contained!
"No...no...no..." The massive energy flow, containing immense power, had exceeded the calculations required to forge the general, causing his brain and processor to crash.

A blue energy stream swept past Mars, overloading all of the planet's shields before even hitting it head-on.

Mars is now like a little girl, with its doors wide open, and everyone bullies her.

It's unbelievable; if it hits head-on, Mars would be completely destroyed by the energy flow.

The violent energy was unleashed for sixty seconds, and the negotiation hall was silent for sixty seconds as everyone looked at the powerful firepower with awe.

"Talk! We're open to discussing anything!"

The Forging General sat back down, his tone less cold and more human: "I love the Empire, but I love Nur even more. Mars is willing to contribute more to the Empire and is even more willing to engage in in-depth cooperation with Nur."

The terrifying power of that single shot laid the foundation for the tripartite cooperation.

The Empire's cooperation with Mars has deepened, with Mars providing more weapons and technological support for the Empire's world-building efforts.

Nur maintained its independence and freedom, accepting technological information from the Empire and Mars, with both sides providing Nur with a continuous supply of basic industrial materials.

In the sacred hall, the three parties added countless details and finally signed an agreement—the Star Accord.

(End of this chapter)