40 Thousand Reasons

My fleet grew and was upgraded in the orbital shipyards of Ryza, and in these 6 months I received 10 brand-new Los Angeles-pattern missile destroyers, hastily converted from nearly completed hulls already in production. With 30 torpedoes prepared in their launch blocks, a single such destroyer should be able to cripple or destroy even a battlecruiser.

They have also started testing those system-only corvettes, and even produced about 30 of them, using them as test-beds for the large numbers of STC templates they have just received.

My own forces were upgraded with 16 Stormblade heavy tanks, 400 Armed Sentinels with multi-melta sidearms, and 4000 upgraded Hydra tanks, each with extra ceramite armor and a multi-melta remote-control gun for close defense, beside the twin anti-air multilasers. Hydras were amazing against air and land targets with thinner armor, and since air cover was always lacking I had to provide my own.

Also because in this time one of the continents of Ryza had been cleared of Orks, 4 Catachan regiments, about 80000 guardsmen, and about 500 Ogryns for special duties were donated to my own fleet.

Sadly, I was refused the pattern for an Emanatus_Force_Field, although the Fabricator did install these amazing shields on my heavy tanks and armored gunships. The hard way it will be then, scanning every micron of the device and then selling variants to other Forge Worlds.

Nearly a million Servitors were transferred to my fleet, and everything was repaired and upgraded, to a small degree. This was not Antax, and they wouldn't let me demand the sky and the moon at the first meeting.

But I was promised a few more capital ships, and the Universe-conveyor carrier upgrade and refit, sometime in the future. Perhaps in a century.

My transport ships were filled with Lasguns, flak jackets, helmets, backpacks, boots and other Astra Militarum supplies, since I did have a thousand PDF regiments planned for my empire's defense.

By the time my transports and a few escorts departed for Ilevar, and my own fleet towards Forge World Shenlong, that crashed Ork Battleship was still kept intact but grounded.

Ryza was surely faking being invaded, because I had a fearful puppy crying beside my bed, which meant the Space Wolves considered my tunneling plan viable, but were not allowed to proceed.

Ludvaius has also recovered from his injuries, and was given a Refractor_Field to guard me better. They didn't give me one, which kinda made me sad.

Luckily, I had a few hundred Catachan concubines drafted for a new sacred duty, and they kept me busy and rather satisfied, in bed.

Strong in body, and very fast, also funny accents all of them, but I didn't let Decima discriminate on that account. Only loyalty and fertility.

However, no Orgyn females were available, and I would need to travel to one of their frigid homeworlds to recruit a stock of super-humanly large amazons.

Majoris was busy buying my new regiments loyalty by crafting Devil's Claw-pattern combat knives from our salvaged adamantium, first for the commanders, then sergeants and then lower ranks.

The Ogryn were being implanted with savant and remembrancer nodes, and covered in fatigues made of flak jacket material with armor plates pockets, which will also be filled with adamantium armor plates.

For the Catachans I tried the same type of armor, but the silly jungle savages preferred thin tank tops, to show off muscles and tattoos.

If my destination was under attack, like the astropaths claimed, then as every Forge World the climate would not sustain jungles, or even breathing.

Some sort of Krieg type of covering might be needed. For the combat servitors as well.

I launched a final duty into the new concubine and ran for the shower and then the ship's armory. Like I suspected, there wasn't enough Flak material for a million servitors. Not even for 100 thousand.

Barely 90 thousands sets of coveralls could be made, just enough for my new jungle regiments. Those Ryza tech-priests in charge of logistics possibly didn't even consider protecting the servitors against bullets or harsh weather.

"Can we craft more plasteel plates for at least 100 thousand combat servitors?" I asked in a tired breath.

Majoris blinked and blurted some binharic to his enginseers. "Perhaps 20 thousand suits, with what we have on board. Also, I suggest we do not waste precious adamantium on mere servitors, Captain. At most, a thousand solid shields for the first ranks to board an enemy ship. When they die, those behind them can be programmed to pick up the fallen shield and advance."

I thought for a minute and agreed. Forge Shenlong will probably replenish the dead servitors anyway, and we also had a lot of them right now.

"Good enough then. And we need to craft adamantium weapons for the Ogryn. The shaft can be as thin as we can get away with, or even better, hollow. But the head has to be an Aquila with two heads, like a double axe. We can stamp a simple pattern, right?"

I wondered without thinking too much.

"As you say, Captain. I would recommend stamped armor plates as well, if you want to be ready when the fleet arrives." the tech priest replied, producing a sampling box with plates of various quality of add-on armor.

Sure, the hand crafted models looked great and would likely be more resilient, but I wasn't going to a ball.

"Pretty looking plates for officers, and stamped plates for everyone else. Perhaps even for your own tech-priests, if they are part of the boarding teams. Their knowledge should not be lost to accident." I ordered and turned around, bouncing off a grinning Astartes.

"I'm not an officer, Lord Pef. Just a meager Sergeant." he complained like a child.

Well, he did have a point. "Fine. Pretty stuff for sergeants too!" I yelled and saw Ludvaius holding his thumb up for success.

Damn man child. He had power armor already and the fancy shield that could block tank fire.

I continued my march to check the bridge then the Gellar generators. The Armed Sentinels tracked my approach, and the void marines confirmed my identity twice before I could inspect my own damn ship.

But I wouldn't change those orders, and even instructed the marines to shoot anyone looking like me, without an Astartes bodyguard with him.

Shapeshifters were possible after all, and losing the Gellar fields inside the Warp to a saboteur wouldn't be quite healthy.

"You think the Angel would return if we call, my lord?" Ludvaius asked in a reverent voice as I turned off the stasis field for another check on my family and friends, here in the future.

"I'm certain he will, my friend. Already the transformation has reached my shoulder. In a few years, we will be brothers, by blood" I mused out loud, then focused on Gyron.

"Hello, mentor. It is Pef. The Space Wolves gave me a puppy." I began my mental link. Always start the connection with something true but seeming absurd. My mentor knew me quite well.

"Why am I not that surprised, my pupil? I take it you saved Forge Ryza by accident. Or so my Archmagos said in the last dispatch." Gyron replied seeming amused.

This wasn't quite right. Accidents don't shoot people. "We didn't fire lances and torpedoes by accident, dear tech-priest. But we were lucky to emerge from Warp at an advantageous angle."

"Yes, yes. Lucky as always, young Pef. I am returning to Antax, even though the Exploration at Anvilus is still ongoing, with a new leader. You know why?" he asked me a bit rhetorically.

"I suspect because the Lament is finished upgrading and Antax has sufficient ships for a bigger expedition. And you are an Explorer Magos now." I replied curtly. I didn't dare blurt out words like STC over a long distance call.

"I see you're learning. Sorry again for Justine, although I say it was worth it. It's rare that a mortal can strike such a deadly blow to the Enemy." he added as a parting gift.

He was right, of course. It still hurt, and the Chaos would still corrupt others. Plus I wasn't fully certain the serpent was dead. Too many Chaos Champions had been resurrected by their patrons.

Then I decided to take a risk, minor as it may be.

I searched for a certain Necron world, til I located Solemnace and then Trazyn the Infinite.

"Quick question, Necron Lord. Is your Fulgrim getting stronger?" I asked with a cautious mental transmission.

In a few seconds, a mental image of the Necron mage appeared in my mind. "Oh? Someone has figured out how to operate the ancient Sender?"

I shrugged mentally. "Is that your important question you desire as a trade?"

"I suppose not. My Fulgrim, huh? So the Serpent Daemon is dead? Or is that how you can be certain?" the ancient lich wondered to himself.

I decline to answer, because I knew there will be a big trade to follow.

"Paranoid...but I like it. Let me check...conversion...stasis...there! Measuring psychic output...now this is peculiar. Half of his soul has grown indeed. I'd say the original has been split...and now the power is returning to the familiar body. I wonder what kind of weapon can split a soul in two." he mused to himself, while no doubt examining his Fulgrim clone with arcane devices.

"I'm getting tired, Necron Lord. Ask me the question." I demanded more abruptly.

"Right! A fair trade, even after learning the answer. We should really meet one day. Wait, my question. How did you know about me?" he asked in a rather self-serving manner.

"You were defending Cadia, when the Black Crusade cracked the planet apart. The pilons worked as well. You were just too late. Too hesitant, even after the galaxy broke in two." I answered with a sad voice.

"I see now. You're trying to make me act. Not your puppet, whoever you are!" the Necron complained half mad.

I thought for a minute. "You did act Trazyn. And you will act again. Last time...you were alone. I'll see what rare item I can offer. Hmmm. A C'tan shard...nah. You should have one already. Astartes...you have too many anyway. How about a Daemon Primarch?

Nah..Fulgrim...wait..the Tau have this chronoblade. Can make anyone immortal. But you are already...I don't know. Maybe some Dark Eldar stuff? Nice things are hard to find." I muttered in a rambling kind of way.

"No, wait! There is such thing as a chronoblade? The Tau are too backwards to invent something of that level. A C'tan shard is valuable too. And that Primarch...you have the other Fulgrim? We should really trade. I rarely find anything nice." Trazyn demanded a bit more eager.

I smiled inward. The hook was deeply caught.

"Don't call me, I'll call you. But you'll know me easily when we meet. I have a puppy." I sent with some effort and ended the call.

Then I engaged the stasis field again, and went to bed.

The puppy jumped on my left arm and went to sleep as well. Good senses on that wolf.

I continued my normal schedule, crafting fake STCs, making babies and inspecting the troops. Taking the puppy with me made me more popular, for some strange reason.

His name was now Canis, the High Gothic for dog. Keeping things simple worked best, and I had enough balls in the air to juggle already.