40 Thousand Reasons

Chapter 7: Liberation

The new mining system is now named Liberation, and will take at least a year to become productive again.

Fortunately, we have a million servitors and half as many captured pirates or their dependents. By Imperial law they should all be killed for rebelling, but I am merciful and will spare the young children for re-education, while the remaining pirates are given to the tech-priests to be converted into productive members of society. Only without higher cognitive functions.

Miners and combat servitors do not need feelings.

The Cult Mechanicus still uses babies for their seraphic servitors, grafting wings and floating devices, topped with a burning candle.

Not in my domain beyond the borders of the Imperium. It's simply cruelty without reason.

The kids will grow up as ship crew or new recruits in my army. There is enough pointless cruelty in this hellish galaxy without me having to add to it.

Of the remaining slaves, most are useless to us, so they are sent to Retribution to live their lives in a modicum of freedom and peace.

Those that have experience with weapons or ships can stay.

The tech-priests have just completed a few orbital defenses when a pirate battlegroup warps in system and loudly demands to know why we haven't sent the tithe minerals to the capital.

It's funny, I know. Even pirates operate the exact same way as the Empire they fled from.

The warships are hidden in the asteroid field, engines powered down, so they won't detect us until is too late.

The pirates move in cautiously, and send out a wave of old fighters to scout ahead.

Those fighters vanish in krak missile explosions when they approach the mining outpost and we power up for another fight.

It won't be as easy this time, as they have 3 destroyers, a frigate and an old cruiser without void shields and very few weapons. Hopefully it's not a trap and it is really damaged.

The boarding actions are mostly headed by armored void marines and combat servitors, while the second wave is made up of tech-priests and grenadier escorts, along with more servitors.

We capture the destroyers and the cruiser, but the frigate escapes, being more durable and faster than expected. It sucks, but it's war. Things rarely go according to plan.

Emergency repairs and upgrades for the captured ships begin immediately, and the old ore hauler is cannibalized to bring the cruiser back into fighting shape.

The transport ship leaves Liberation soon after, loaded with captured minerals and a few thousand ex-slaves, heading towards my own Forge World, the Retribution.

I don't expect the forges to mass-produce anything yet, except perhaps plows and swords.

The Mechanicus is obsessed with hand-crafting everything, from lightbulbs to lasers and spaceships.

I aim to change that here, where my words are law. A munition and tank factory would be great, as well as infantry weapons and armor.

Even tractors would be nice, as we would be able to farm on large scale and feed everyone, without depending on Antax for food.

My four captured destroyers get armed with 2 torpedoes each, from my own cruiser, since the pirates have long depleted their torpedoes stockpile. They also get 20 hunter-killer launchers and 1000 missiles each, so they'll be more effective in escort role against fighters or maybe bombers.

The Requiem receives a dozen multi-lasers for point defense, and the rest goes to the cruisers.

Gyron has been forging new weapons non-stop, melting down old weapons for rare minerals and pouring brand-new laser cannons and multi-lasers. One at the time, by hand.

And for every new weapon, a dozen organic spare parts are spent, harvested for nerves and neurons. Human resources. It's kinda gruesome, but it is better to give the weapons Machine Spirits, than have them inhabited by demons.

The Emperor protects, but you need to give him a conduit for that protection.

An entire grenadier battalion is moved to the captured cruiser, along with a dozen clan members that serve as officers.

A thousand tech-priests join them, since maintaining a 6 kilometer long void ship is a lifelong duty. They seem quite happy to sanctify every nut and bolt on their new home.

Boarding holes made by melta charges need to be patched up, sensors and weapons cleaned and upgraded to Retribution standard.

We have minerals, tech-priests and servitors enough. What we don't have are forges, which are complicated machines resembling an incinerator with numeric commands, and some lathes for finer work.

And sadly, forges are not easy to obtain. Not even Gyron has the knowledge to make a new forge.

And thus, when the last wave of pirates returns for our heads, we aren't quite ready, although a whole year has passed.

A huge flash, and 2 Grand Cruisers emerge, escorted by 5 more destroyers and the same frigate that escaped.

We have 2 cruisers as well, 4 destroyers and one frigate, so we are technically outnumbered.

But my ships are upgraded and somewhat modern, at least half of them. My captured ships not so much, and the old cruiser might unravel and fall apart under sustained fire.

This sucks!

I order my squadron to maintain range, and wear down the escorting pirates.

The idiot pirates rush ahead, escorts reaching weapon range first, as destroyers are much faster. They do not have good defense though.

Our heavy lances core the destroyers one after another, and as single one gets close enough to fire on Requiem. Veryon fires back and blows up the guilty destroyer with his own heavy lance.

Then the pirates stop to reconsider, as the situation has become unfavorable for them.

I send Requiem and the more intact destroyer after the frigate, while my cruiser and the rest of the squadron, begin our attack run on the prizes, the two Grand cruisers.

The fighter squadron helps as well, both with interceptor or strafing missions.

Then torpedoes begin striking the pirate cruisers, my destroyers focusing one and my own cruiser the other. In huge plumes of plasma fire, their void shields fail, and we can begin melting through the thick armor.

The Lament for the Vanquished, my other cruiser struggles to keep up, and can barely fire a few macrocannon rounds before the boarding action begins. Nonetheless, the pirates focus fire on it, and damage it pretty badly.

The Grand Cruisers have enormous internal volume, and the pirates have plenty troops to oppose us, although poorly armed and trained.

Combat servitors, then void marines, then the rest even a dozen Hydra tanks get transported by assault shuttle to breach barricades and clear the main corridors.

The fighting is harsh, and we lose as many servitors as they lose crew. A hundred thousand loses on both sides, plus many damaged machines and weapons.

In the end, it is worth it. We capture both Grand Cruisers and about 200 thousands serfs and pirates, as well as the Navigators, the astropaths and even a few xenos.

A single Avenger-class_Grand_Cruiser matches my entire fleet in mass, and now I have two.

Sure, the things are old and in poor repair. But I also have a few friendly Forge Worlds in my pocket. So to speak.

I doubt the tech-priests even know what friendship is.

Another year passes while we convert the pirates into more servitors, and execute necessary repairs for a single Warp journey.

I chose to return to Forge Metalica, because the destroyers would be nearly ready. Forge Graia has most likely moved away, and Antax might not have much to trade anymore.

But Metalica is rich. And I have a few destroyers to upgrade.

Their allies, House_Raven also take my attention. They have Knights, and we need Knights if Titans are not possible.

Like midget Titans, with midget weapons. But still fearsome, when piloted by experts.

The Requiem and 3 destroyers leave to patrol my Empire, while the old cruiser and the last destroyer stay to pacify and conquer the pirate empire. Without capital ships, it shouldn't be too hard.

They have an armored battalion and a grenadier battalion, as well as 100 thousand combat servitors.

And when you consider the servitors never flinch or lose morale, they make very effective frontline troops.

My wife Decima stays to oversee the conquest, and heads directly for the Ilevar Hive world captured by the pirates.

A month later, I arrive at Forge Metalica with two Grand Cruisers, and a dozen new patterns, some real, some self-made.

The new model corvette flies from the orbital dock and greets my ship, not very politely.

"Halt and surrender. Or be destroyed!" the Archmagos on the Vox orders us sternly and even fires a warning shot on my ship.

They might think we are pirates, considering the reputation and profile on my captured cruisers.

"This is Rogue Trader Pef. I bring gifts." I answer in a flat tone. Why do I get this lucky?

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