Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Soshyan and Terra's special envoys came to a small room inside the side door of the intelligence room.
After the door closed, Faisal sighed and said:
"Chapter Master Soshyan has great tricks. I can't imagine that such a disgraceful plan could be thought up by an Astartes. But do you really not know what the Minotaur Chapter represents? You are like this
Nothing good will come of it."
Soshiyang turned around, looked at the Eagle emblem on the wall, and said slowly:
"I am only responsible to the Emperor. My duty is to destroy the enemies of the Empire, whether they are external or internal."
"Okay, I have to admit that you made good use of Asterion's shortcomings. A normal person would have noticed something was wrong when he came in, but he, or the Minotaur Chapter, was under the control of the high lords.
Blessing has been spoiled and a little too arrogant. They subconsciously don't believe that any force in the empire dares to attack them. Logically speaking, when he can break in alone like this, he should have realized that something is wrong."
After the initial chaos, Faisal's clever mind had basically outlined the original situation of the whole thing. In fact, when he came in, he was also curious as to why there were so many Terminators around, and why only two warriors wearing the most ordinary power armor were sent to guard the place.
Outside the door, there was no further thought.
Therefore, he further deduced that Soshyan really had no intention of doing anything to the Minotaur, but only used the other party as a "hostage" to negotiate with him.
In other words, the other party will not really kill Asterion in any case, but he can at least do it by just imprisoning him. Even so, he will still lose completely, and his prestige as the envoy of Terra will continue to increase.
When this matter is completely defeated, everyone will see his powerlessness.
". Or when you see just two people outside the door and they are not Terminators, you should have realized that this is a trap, but he is too arrogant and arrogant. You can serve as the commander of the expeditionary force. I suddenly realized that there might be another
There is a reason."
Saying that, Feisal paused.
"But it is not without its benefits. At least this may be a very valuable lesson for Asterion. What do you want?"
"I just want to complete this expedition smoothly."
After Feisal was silent for a moment, he pursed his lips and said softly:
"But I will report your words and deeds to Terra truthfully, including everything you say now."
"It's up to you. You are a special envoy. No one can interfere with you."
"Then there is more."
"The Minotaur Chapter must obey my command and join the battle sequence, at least during the expedition."
"You have treated him like this and you still want to order him?"
"There is no conflict between the two. You don't know the Astartes well enough."
"Okay, I understand, so how long do you think it will take to end this expedition?"
"Finish?"
Soshyan captured some of this information.
"Is the Council of High Lords impatient?"
"The route of the Maelstrom is very important. For the Sun Star Territory, long-term chaos is unacceptable. The expedition was launched because the Red Pirates created too much chaos. But now the Red Pirates have suffered a major blow, and the chaos is caused by
We have become an expeditionary force. Can you understand what I say?"
After listening to this, Soshyan showed a bitter smile.
"Is it about cold trade?"
Hearing that very uncommon word coming out of the other party's mouth, Faisal nodded slightly. It was obvious that Soshyan was not ignorant, which was a good thing at the moment.
The so-called cold trade is a gray area exclusive to the upper echelons of the empire.
The Human Empire strictly prohibits any citizen from communicating with alien races. Aliens are hated and condemned on the pulpit of the Empire, which is exactly the same as those who have strong hatred for wizards, mutants and demons. For the Empire, the existence of aliens is to
They were destroyed for the fundamental sin they committed that hindered mankind's establishment of rule over the universe.
However, just saying this makes things too simple, because in these broad generalizations, there are many small exceptions, dark transactions, and subtle realities hidden. There are always some people who will fall prey to opportunism.
, greed, or simply interest in dealing with alien civilizations, making alien artifacts, antiques, knowledge, science, and even dangerous alien creatures very popular among the upper echelons of the empire, so what was derived was the "cold"
"Trade", which lies deep in the gray area of Imperial law. While many goods and products are completely illegal, many are not. The breadth and scale of the galaxy itself make it impossible for even the Inquisition to prosecute every item.
Equipment or goods are classified and banned, regardless of whether they were manufactured by an inhuman race.
But in reality, only a handful of people know about and take advantage of this trade, because only the very rich and powerful can afford these things, and because of their status, they can avoid being accused of being "foreign" or "traitors."
responsibilities, and to be free from the suspicion and anger of the public who have been indoctrinated with hatred and fear of aliens.
The cold trade side originated from relatively peripheral galaxies, such as the Calixis sector, but they often have huge and long trading networks, and sacred Terra is a very critical trading end point, because it is where the most powerful people in the empire gather.
A group of people whose desires and needs are extremely huge can also bring the greatest profits.
In fact, even the Red Pirates may be involved in the cold trade chain. Over the years, the expeditionary force has seized a large number of smuggling ships from unknown areas. Their hands and feet are very clean, and they can hardly trace their employers or trace them.
Buyers, but without exception, all lead to the Sun Star Domain, which is supposed to be the safest and purest territory for mankind.
And those smuggling ships, or ships with legal trade certificates, carry everything from witchcraft props contaminated with the evil power of Chaos, to slaves transformed by special alien technology, and even some from Comoros.
of alien addictive drugs.
Who is their master?
The Legal Department cannot and cannot investigate.
Does the Inquisition know?
You probably know it, or you may know it very early.
After all, some orders among these goods are likely to come from the Tribunal. The law enforcement marshal from the Ministry of Justice once told Soshyan that the demand for alien creations and heretical items by the three major Tribunals is often greater than that of the powerful.
Yet they can put on the veneer of complete legality and then label others as heretics.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg in the empire's endless self-contradictions, which are like schizophrenia.
After recovering his thoughts, Soshyan sighed softly and said:
"Is it just for this to sacrifice so many lives? But we still have hope to completely solve the problem of the red pirates, or the threat of the maelstrom. These costs may be worth it, compared to a maelstrom that can be completely stabilized.
Let’s talk.”
After a moment of silence, Faisal nodded.
"I understand what you mean, and I will convey it, but neither you nor I can make the decision. In addition, Asterion has his own mission. Even if he accepts your command, this mission will not
Change."
"Each Astartes has his own mission, and I can accept that."
"Special Envoy Faisal, I'm curious about one thing. Do you want to modify the policies I formulated for various purposes?"
Faisal replied with a wry smile:
"At least I have to let the adults above know that I have done something since I came here. Even if I can't do it, no one will say anything."
Suoshiyang nodded in realization and did not continue to ask questions.
Then the two walked out of the secret room tacitly. Soshyan let Asterion go, and Feisal took him to a corner of the intelligence room. The two chatted alone for less than two minutes. During this time, you can see
Asterion's expression showed visible changes, first angry, then unwilling, and finally indifferent.
In fact, Soshyan was also betting that the Chapter Master would obey the authority of the Terran envoy.
The facts did not disappoint him.
When Asterion dragged one leg back, the sullenness in his eyes did not disappear, but he still hammered his chest and said to Soshyan:
"The Minotaur Chapter will join the Maelstrom Expeditionary Force, Your Excellency, the Supreme Lord Commander."
Under everyone's surprised gaze, Soshyan took Asterion's helmet from Mark with a smile and handed it to him.
"Since you are willing to prove yourself in battle, this matter will no longer be pursued. I hope that you and your battle group can truly fight for the emperor."
Asterion grabbed the helmet, put it on with a cold snort, then pushed away the people around him and dragged his legs away.