40 Thousand Reasons

Chapter 54: Chance

Once the battle was over, my escorts began the tedious task of incinerating whatever dregs still survived in the void, burning the corrupted wrecks with lance and plasma cannons then pushing them into the sun.

There was even a Power-armored traitor marine with a forcefield around him, but a hundred Volcano lances from my corvettes made him convert back to the light.

The Mechanicus protested a little, trying to recover some valuable tech or minerals from the Chaos wrecks, but I wouldn't risk it.

Instead, I launched the servitors and a few tech-priests, some Ogryns and a Catachan regiment with all the Armed Sentinels in support, to cleanse the orbitals of cultist and traitor invaders.

The Blood Angels were only called where traitor marines were spotted, to prevent thousands of casualties to my own troops. They were appropriately brutal, and losses were total on the Chaos side, and moderate for our own.

The liberation worked quite well, and we even saved a dozen docks and three orbital forts, however two corrupted forts had to be torpedoed and lanced into oblivion, while my battlecruiser, the Canticle glassed a Chaos infested Hive city from orbit, using only its powerful lances.

Forge Shenlong got away with minor damage, from an invasion that should have conquered it easily.

The Fabricator General knew that as well, and I was received like a Holy Savior, although a dozen Astartes around me helped secure my image too.

Then we got to chatting in private and trading, and I unloaded two dozen templates on him, including a cheap system-only Volcano-pattern corvette and the Lima-class destroyer, both still with 30 torpedoes, but using twin Volcano cannons instead of single barrel lances for its batteries and a hundred quad-multilasers for point defense.

"This type of ship...no wonder you massacred the traitors so easily. We could build a dozen of them in a few years..." the Red-robed Magos mused to himself.

"I would start with a thousand corvettes. Use 10 docks to mass-produce them, while the other two docks complete the hulls you have already begun. The Bellus will stay to provide cover till you have a large enough fleet to defend yourself." I explained in a gentle voice, and drank the wine in deep thought.

Having the system corvettes will prevent other Admirals from taking them away, because they lacked Warp engines. They also didn't need Navigators, which were rare and expensive.

The Fabricator had even better implants than mine, so he figured it out in a second.

"What about your Favor, Trader Lancefire. Surely there are things we could offer?" he inquired cautiously.

I nodded and pointed at the cogitator screen. "As many light vehicles as I can take. Chimeras and Hydras, Manticores and Basilisks, Rapiers, Centaurs and Sentinels. And as many power armors as can be made for my void marines."

He nodded and waved the screen away. Thousands of light vehicles were not a problem. "Power armors...way too difficult to make in large numbers. Perhaps 20 or so. You have all those Astartes anyway."

"Also, two Lima-class destroyers to replace my loses, and full repair and supplies for my fleet." I added without pushing too hard. His Forge World wasn't in a good shape right now.

The Fabricator sighed and urged me on. Still too little then, so I could fill my plate more.

"This will only cover your liberation efforts. What about the sacred STC templates?" he asked more serious.

This would take some thought. "Force field templates, gravity weapons, better personal weapons for my regiments. Hunter Killer missiles and a forge-factory to make more. Also servitors, enginseers and tech-priests that will fly with me into the Fringe."

"... You mean STC patterns. Not quite legal, such a trade." he whispered fearfully.

I shrugged and smiled. "Donations to an approved religion like the Cult of the Omnissiah are tax free. Aptus_Non. The same with sponsoring an Expedition outside the Imperium. If you have to name me an Explorer, I have the right credentials. Magus Explorer Gyron from Antax has raised me til adulthood."

"What about a transport ship or two, like the other Forge Worlds received?" he demanded with a tiny bit of greed.

Well, I did give everyone some, so why not to his Forge? The man was correct and logical, in his cyborg brain.

"Forge Triplex Phall has priority on those adamantium transport ships. But, perhaps one such transport can be lost during transfer. It happens." I mused to myself wistfully.

"I see. Then perhaps, a few STC copies might be 'lost' and then found by a lucky Rogue Trader. It happens." he answered on the same tone.

You gotta love these Mechanicus guys. They have business in their blood. Not much blood though, unlike the Blood Angels...

"Something else. The Bellus battlebarge is full of ancient machines, just lying there to rust. A smart Fabricator could entice the naive giants to trade the relics for new and stronger machines, like fighters and tanks. Perhaps even offer to repair the teleportarium on the barge, and copy the holy schematics during the service litanies?" I wondered without any ulterior motive.

He waved a few metal tentacles in excitement. "Indeed, Lord Pef. This would be quite valuable to the Mechanicus. We can offer to 'service' and then copy the best technology in the Imperium. But they will not let us, I think."

I grinned with secret knowledge. "Oh they will. Also, I need these rings scanned and copied, and then another thing. Phase-iron mesh, micron scale, both for anti-psyker defense and psyker containment, like walls and tank armor." I explained opening my chest box to retrieve the precious loot. Of course, my Rosette blared at once with coded engrams, before the null box closed.

"That cog-shape Rosette...is it yours, Lord Pef?" he asked cautiously.

"Made for me, by a friendly lady, just in case I got in trouble inside the Imperium. Ah, and I'll need you to send a traitor Inquisitor's body and his Rosette back to Terra. In stasis, if possible. The Astartes shot him with phase-iron bolts, but a great demon might be stronger." I explained in a relaxed voice.

The Fabricator was quite panicked though, understandably. "That would be Ramius Stele, he voxed us when he arrived with the Battle Barge in the system. Correct?"

"I'm not an expert, he could have been a clone or body double or something else. The Inquisitor killed an Astartes with some type of genetic curse, first he grew wings and got stronger, then his body failed and got full of pustules and things. They had to burn the poor boy." I declared in a sadder tone. It hadn't been pretty.

The Fabricator stared at me for a minute, likely going over my exact words and meaning.

"Well, at least I know why the space marines listen to you. This almost seems like corruption..." he mused softly. Just rumours of corruption would be sufficient for an Inquisitor to declare them Excommunicates Diabolus...and then wipe out their Chapter.

I nodded in agreement. "Well, I am trying to find Blank recruits for these cursed Astartes. They are pretty rare, but I have already sent 100 of them to Baal for implantation, and they seem to resist the curse without problem. Estaban and Ryza are working on Blank Machine Spirits with the same type of genes. In a century or two, we might not fear the Enemy so much." I proclaimed in a grander voice, to raise his morale.

I also held my palm out for a Blank blood sample, which the Fabricator collected in a mere second.

"Now this...this is big indeed. I wonder if that's why Lorgar was here, waiting." he mused in worry.

"Probably not. There were too many troops and Titans on those conveyors, just for your small Forge World. I expect he was heading someplace else, and just stopped to check on his Apostole. My lances blew him apart in seconds." I replied with a smug smile.

"... If the Bellus could stay here for a decade, we would have at least 100 of these torpedo corvettes. Maybe enough to defeat a fleet just like this one." The Fabricator said after running some calculations.

"Don't count on it, Magos. Imagine a billion Tyranids bioships. Then a Black Crusade. Then a galactic scale Ork Waaagh. Then a Craftworld or two. After that, a small Necron Dynasty. Followed by a Hrud migration. Soon after, a new Tau Expansion. And so on." I rebutted him while pouring myself more wine.

The Fabricator blinked and glanced at his cogitator screen again. "Right. You forgot other enemies, but I get the point. Ships and more ships."

"Once you have enough, they could be lined up like torpedoes in a Universe-class, with launch rails. And then, you'll be the one Crusading with a million ships. But first, you have to survive, Fabricator. Don't count on me to save you again." I announced and sipped my wine a bit slower.

"You're leaving the Imperium. Probably for the best, considering how the Inquisition might react." he reasoned at light speed.

"Yes. And if you want, there will be a place for a splinter Forge among my worlds. I don't intend to stop at a million ships, with a trillion stars and planets in this galaxy." I said and set my glass down gently.

"Yes...I can see it might work...if you don't get discovered too soon, Lord Pef. A small success is commendable. But grow too big..." he warned me, as if I didn't know.

I knew the risks, of course.

"Come visit the Canticle soon, Fabricator. I have some items that might even the odds a little." I spoke more modestly, and prepared to leave.

"Omnissiah be with you, Pef Lancefire. I'll begin preparing the priesthood for the large tasks ahead." he declared solemnly as I crossed his threshold.

I just nodded with sorrow. Perhaps he would survive now.

At least I gave him a chance. A small chance.

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