Chapter 70: Chapter 70: The Wolf Lord’s Fleet, Avenger-Class, Venerable-Class Cruiser
To be honest, if Bulma and her father were placed in the Dragon Ball world, they would undoubtedly be seen as incarnations of the Omnissiah.
Their endless stream of technological marvels, heck, even time machines capable of traveling to the past and opening up parallel universes, would have been more than enough proof.
It had already been over twenty years since the Emperor acquired his first faster-than-light (FTL) ship, but nobody really knew how progress with the FTL engine was coming along.
"I wish things could move faster too, but it's not as simple as you think. I talked with Father about this last time.
"With humanity's current technological level, recreating an FTL engine isn't easy at all. It might take at least a few hundred more years." Russ sighed helplessly as he spoke.
The technology behind FTL starships was incredibly advanced, completely different from anything humanity currently possessed, a whole different system, running on entirely separate principles.
Mastering it fully would be an enormously complicated undertaking.
Right now, apart from the Emperor's ongoing efforts to recover the Primarchs, almost all of his attention was focused on the FTL engine project.
And this wasn't the only problem.
The small ship Axis piloted was indeed equipped with an FTL engine, but it only worked for small vessels.
If they wanted to adapt the technology for larger ships, they'd need to overhaul the whole thing.
At this moment, every mortal had been cleared from the command bridge, and even the Space Wolves Astartes had left.
The truth about the FTL engine was known to only a very select few within the entire Imperium: the Custodes, Malcador, the Emperor himself, Russ, Axis, and now, Kaisa, the Emperor's own daughter.
"Why doesn't the Emperor just recruit a team of Magos? He could even bring in some of the Mechanicus' Archmagos. Surely, with enough people, we could make faster progress on the FTL engine?" Axis asked.
Humanity's technological regression was truly severe.
If someone from the Age of Technology had acquired this FTL drive, they'd probably have cracked its secrets and started mass-producing it by now.
"The FTL engine is the Imperium's highest-level secret, Axis. If not for the fact that you and I discovered and contributed it ourselves, we wouldn't even know the details.
"Of all the brothers, I'm the only one with the full picture. Even Horus doesn't know.
"Given that, there's no way we can gather such a team to work on it. Only the Emperor and Malcador are allowed to handle this," Russ explained.
Axis could only shrug.
'Fine, let the old man handle it by himself. The Emperor was just too cautious.'
But in the Warhammer universe, you really couldn't afford to be careless.
There were just too many monsters and deities lurking in the dark, all eager to ruin your civilization.
"I get it! So, how much longer until we reach Prospero?" Axis nodded.
"About another month. Once we're there, we can spend a month interacting with Magnus, and then we'll set out on the Great Crusade," Russ replied.
"Dad, what's my company size? And what about my weapons and equipment?" Axis asked.
Before leaving, the Emperor had granted Axis an Aquila-pattern Custodes Terminator suit and a power gauntlet, but that flashy golden armor obviously couldn't be worn in front of the Space Marines.
So Axis still needed a set of standard Astartes equipment as a transition.
"I'll get you a Cataphractii-pattern Terminator armor, and set you up with a power axe and a chainsword. You can use these for now," Russ said.
Besides, Axis rarely relied on weapons in battle as most enemies were wiped out with a single ki blast.
"No problem, a regular power armor set is fine.
"I don't really need the Cataphractii model. Worst case, I'll just modify the Emperor's Aquila-pattern suit a bit," Axis replied.
"That won't do, you should stick with the Cataphractii pattern! The Wolf Lord has to look the part.
"As for your company, the initial recruitment quota is set at 1,000. They'll train on Fenris, and after completing training, they'll report to you.
"Meanwhile, I'll also get them power armor, weapons, and prepare a destroyer for your fleet. What type of destroyer do you want?" Russ asked.
[A/n: Whether in the Great Crusade era or in 40K, the Space Wolves always had only thirteen Companies. With the protagonist's addition, this became the fourteenth. During the Great Crusade, companies exceeded a thousand men; in 40K, it's around 300.]
Imperial ships were divided into escorts, destroyers, cruisers, battle barges, and battleships, with Ark Mechanicus as a special type.
Usually, a Space Marine captain could command a cruiser and lead their company on independent operations.
"Get me an Avenger-class cruiser!" Axis replied.
The Avenger-class cruiser measured 7.5 kilometers long and about 1.8 kilometers wide, with a mass of 40 megatons, capable of carrying 140,000 crew.
"You really don't hold back, do you? Sure, no problem, I'll throw in two Sword-class escorts for you as well," Russ replied.
"Thanks, Dad. How soon can I expect my personnel and equipment to be ready?" Axis asked.
"It takes years to select and train new Space Marine recruits, but the latest batch is about to finish.
"I can allocate all of them to you for now. There are a few hundred, originally meant to reinforce the other companies.
"As for your Avenger-class heavy cruiser, I'll put in a request to Mars for a new build. It'll probably take them over a decade to complete, maybe longer, depending on the situation over there," Russ explained.
"A decade? That's a bit too slow, isn't it? Are there no Avenger-class heavy cruisers already available?" Axis pressed.
If it was going to take more than ten years to build, that would be way too late.
"If you want a brand-new ship, it has to be ordered from Mars and built from scratch. But if you're okay with a used one, I could ask around, see if the Imperial Navy has one that could be transferred.
"Of course, you might not get the tonnage you want, it could be a Dauntless-class, a Lunar-class, or maybe something even smaller," Russ said.
Finishing an Avenger-class heavy cruiser in a little over a decade was already considered extremely fast.
Besides, such a large cruiser would also require a Navigator and a Librarian.
"Let's start with an old ship for now, Dad, see if you can find one that's at least operational. I still want an Avenger-class, though. Is it possible to make modifications on them?
"If they could increase the food storage space and add a special training room, that would be best. And you can reduce the number of crew accommodations," Axis requested.
'I'll take both an old ship and a new ship! One to use now, one for the future.'
"Hang on, let me get the Tech-Priest onboard and ask him." With that, Russ summoned a Tech-Priest of the Mechanicus to his command chamber.
A few minutes later, a Tech-Priest in red robes appeared before Axis and Russ.
"Glory to the Omnissiah. Lord Russ, what can I do for you?" the Tech-Priest inquired.
"Here's the situation: Axis has been appointed by the Emperor as Captain of the 14th Marine Company of the Space Wolves.
"The company is now being formally established and needs a warship. I want to place an order with Mars for the construction of an Avenger-class cruiser," Russ explained.
"Understood, Lord Russ. I'll contact the Astropaths and relay your request to Mars immediately.
"An Avenger-class heavy cruiser will take about twelve years to complete. It will be delivered to you after that period," the Tech-Priest replied.
By the Emperor's command, the Mechanicus of Mars was obliged to serve the Great Crusade.
Any order from a Primarch had to be carried out, and the funding for such a build would come from the Imperium.
"This cruiser will need some modifications, with a large training hall, greatly expanded food storage," Russ added.
"Understood. I'll report this to Mechanicus HQ right away. Anything else, Lord Russ?"
"One more thing: Axis needs a ship to use immediately. Do you have any spare cruisers that can be transferred over?" Russ asked.
"An old ship?" the tech priest thought for a moment, organised his thoughts and said, "As it happens, there's a suitable one available.
"It's a Dauntless-class light cruiser from the now-defunct Second Legion. It's part of our fleet, and I can allocate it for your use," the Tech-Priest replied.
The Second Legion had been wiped out, its remaining personnel returned to Mars, and their surviving ships had been divided up.
The Space Wolves had managed to get a Dauntless-class light cruiser in the draw.
Of course, their Gloriana-class battleships and other major vessels had to be sent back to Holy Terra for repairs, and eventually, for the reformation of the Second Legion.
"Axis, you'll start with a Dauntless-class light cruiser," Russ said.
"Sounds good!" Axis replied.
"I'll go handle the transfer and notify the Imperial Navy. All sailors and naval crew aboard will be assigned to the Space Wolves," the Tech-Priest said, nodding to both Axis and Russ before taking his leave.
"Happy now, you brat? One Dauntless-class light cruiser and a new Avenger-class heavy cruiser are on order. Your appetite's bigger than I thought."
Axis grinned.
"Trust me, it'll be worth it. Dad, Once you've gathered the Space Wolves together in a couple of days, it's time to start strengthening their bodies with ki," Axis said, still with the grin plastered on his face.
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