With the increased number of tech-priests, and their extra forges and servitors, completing the first orbital dock took only a few months, and we began manufacturing the new Necron-based reactor and ship drive, using the new and fake STC patterns we have discovered aboard the derelict battleship.
We called them Macharius-pattern, because that guy was now a Saint and thus less likely to arouse too much suspicion.
Brother Cassiel was reassembled successfully by the strangely effective Biologis Magi, without the Necron mind-control scarabs, and expedited to his homeworld of Baal to donate his knowledge and gene-seed to his weakened Chapter.
Meanwhile, Forge Antax worked hard to upgrade our Baneblades to the Doomhammer-pattern with twin Magma lances and atomantic reactors, and converting the Leman Russ tanks to Volcano Lance variants.
It took much less time and resources than building a new superheavy war machine, and with Flare shields the Doomhammers would be twice as durable now.
Our destroyers have all finished converting to the Los Angeles-class, with 30 torpedoes in a vertical cell, and the corvettes followed the upgrading queue right now with a 20 torpedoes cell, because they were smaller.
The Litany and the Hymnal, as well as the Dominator-class cruiser and the new Mercury-class battlecruiser will take much too long to upgrade, and so they remained in factory specifications, only adding the improved auguries and a lot more point-defense weapons.
As for myself, between coordinating construction and making babies, I worked with the two Fabricators on the Nova shells we had, trying to modify the schematic for a Nova mine.
For all our efforts, the best we could achieve was something akin to a slow torpedo, sheathed in layers of ceramite and asteroid rock.
Wasn't ideal, but I did have my tesseract to deploy them in advantageous locations. For other people and our local defense, they would be much less effective.
And then, the first transport of blackstone from Mandragora arrived right on time, and we could really start upgrading most of our installations and ships with Warp-resistant armor. Only 10 centimeter thick plates of blackstone, because we had a lot to cover.
Necron ships were made entirely out of this stuff, and were amazingly durable, but we were thieves and scavengers and had to ration our resources.
We did have enough adamantium to cover the battleships in 10-meter-thick armor layers, and we will probably do that, once we had strong enough reactors to allow those ships to still move.
One mass-conveyor was sent to Forge Ryza, containing a few new STC templates, a melted adamantium hull recovered from that Space Hulk, plus enough blackstone for thousands of power armor plates and a dozen Eldar derelicts from the siege of Sotha, and even an intact Eldar cruiser, without prisoners.
I was sure the Fabricator will appreciate the gift and start upgrading the conveyor into the fleet carrier I had envisioned. I even 'found' an ancient STC template of an Odysseus_Class_War_Galley retrofitted for carrier operations, both parasite-type system-ships and starfighters, plus torpedo cells and landing bays for troop transports. The new carrier had 10 Gellar fields, and 4 void shields, because it would carry a valuable fleet inside.
Another Universe-class conveyor departed for Triplex Phall, though without blackstone, because they were mining from Mandragora right now. Mostly adamantium-made hulls and Eldar derelicts.
In exchange, I requested one more Nova-Cannon armed cruiser and another armored regiment, because I did have many kids in need of a good ship. And if the same fleet carrier could be converted from the conveyor hull, even better.
My Blank daughter Andrea was still a cadet pilot, but she boarded that conveyor to return as a cruiser Captain. It would take years til she returned, so she had enough time to finish her command courses. She also had an Astartes bodyguard and 2 companies of Catachans, if she eventually wanted big strong kids with razor-sharp reflexes.
The frigates were recalled to Retribution to receive our first locally made conversion into missile frigates, with 40 torpedoes ready to launch and 40 missile launchers each. They did have a heavy lance and 40 lascannon and 40 point-defense multilaser batteries as well, but that was mostly for moral support.
I wasn't planning to fight anyone at that close range, but better to have them than not.
Next year, we were ready for the Warp-less engine's first test run, using the big Ork Terror-ship as a test bed.
Our last conveyor was still being prepared, its hull split open to allow the next engine to be installed. But only if it worked.
Nobody expected the Ork derelict to survive, not even myself. That poor hull had suffered so much under the Ork disrepair, and then after getting bombed and boarded by my troops, that everyone expected it to fall apart in mid-trip or something.
Instead, the tech-priest in command and his servitors, made it to Illevar and back in 3 weeks, without entering the Warp.
Twice as slow as a good Warp current could take you, and a hundred times better than the worse currents.
And most of all, it was reliable! The Gellar fields only kept minor ghosts and echoes away, without the constant assault by demons or Enslavers.
Possibly 1000 times slower than the Eldar or Necron could travel, but this was only the first flight. Starfighters could fly 1000 times faster than the first aircrafts, and in time we will have faster spaceships.
This called for a big celebration, and the Silent Sisters agreed unanimously. The ship kitchens provided foodstuff and drinks for a dozen people, my cogitator provided non-stop victory hymns, and we got to taste all. In fact, we locked ourselves in my Canticle apartment and came out a week later, very drained but very satisfied.
I was pretty sure both Atarine_Hestia and Tanau_Aleya got pregnant during the celebration party, while Alana was months pregnant already. She did get to taste me first, after all.
The troops on the ground were being ordered to muster for war, those of them in rotation for deployment. We wouldn't leave the Forge defenseless, because that's how bad things happened.
The conveyor soon received the new engine, and a fleet of 1000 system-only corvettes was loaded from Antax, in exchange for the first Warp-less ship.
And so, we departed for Badab, just in time to intervene in the worst massacres.
The Canticle and the Mercury stayed behind, because they formed the backbone of our domain defenses now.
Instead, we had 20 Los Angeles destroyers and 3 cruisers as escorts for the Icarus fleet carrier, which carried inside enough ships and troops to win a small war.
For example, it carried five Catachan regiments, all mechanized and armored. My own troops were not bound by the regulations of Astra Militarum, which allowed only a handful of Sentinels per regiment. I could have 1000 walkers, and I did. And mine had arms too.
I could have 1000 Laser Weasels and 500 Multilaser Hydras and 100 Missile Manticores and 50 Lance Leman Russ tanks and 20 Doomhammers per regiment. And I did.
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A normal Cadian armored regiment has 30 Leman Russ tanks, one Baneblade and only 5 Hydras. And no air support. Makes you wonder how they still stand.
I had 40 thousand drones and ground attack fighters, and 4000 interceptors. Not all that much yet, but they were homemade.
Training 4000 of my Catachans to become fighter pilots continued during the trip, which required lots of savant implants and math lessons, beside simulations and cadet lessons. Luckily I did have a cadre of cadets and officers to do all the training for me.
Of the Silent Sisters, one of each was deployed in the cruisers' Gellar generatoriums, to keep Warp accidents at a minimum, just like they did on the Inquisition's Black ships.
We emerged at Badab in the middle of an Astartes-vs-Mechanicus fight, Navy and Mechanicus ships under attack by the Astral_Claws, having gone traitor due to their Chapter Master having fallen to Chaos, and the idiots following orders without thinking.
"Destroyers, support loyal Navy and the Mechanicus vessels. Cruisers, free to hunt the Astral Claws' Strike Cruisers. Icarus, launch the fleet!"
"Navy and Mechanicus ships, this Rogue Trader Pef Lancefire with private fleet support. We will move to intercept the traitors." I announced on the Vox channel, just as a few Karthargan trade vessels began taking heavy fire from Fury starfighters and Strike Cruisers of the Astral Claws.
The Mechanicus ships had Forge Ryza symbols on them, while the Navy cruisers were part of Battlefleet Karthargo, which had possibly come to assist collecting taxes.
"Lord Lancefire, you have come at the right time! And that Icarus conveyor can surely carry many corvettes..." A Ryza tech-priest with Biologis insignia appeared on the pict-screen.
"Your Fabricator on Forge Ryza does have the same STC template, esteemed Magos. Surely you must have seen your shipyards working on the Odysseus-class fleet carrier?" I asked wryly,
The Magos blinked and checked something on his console. "Oh. That's what it was. I admit I don't pay much attention to what the other clades are doing. These renegade Astartes refused to pay their gene-tithe and even fired...and now destroyed an Administratum ship." he commented astounded, as a merchant vessel of the Karthargan blew up under sustained fire from three Strike Cruisers.
Well, now it was war. The traitors fired again on the other Administratum trade vessels, and perhaps got lucky to hit something vital, as more and more exploded, curiously at the same rate as my plasma warheads teleported towards the enemy.
I directed 30 corvettes to attack the Lufgt_Huron's Battle Barge, while mentally priming a plasma warhead for teleport.
Just needed to get closer...which took some time with the lumbering fleet carrier.
The traitors also had another Overlord-class Battlecruiser like the Canticle, 4 Grand Cruisers and a Ramilies Class Starfort known as Canaan's Eye, which would be rather useful too.
I just needed to make the ships run, and then capture them, without witnesses.
I could also use my troops to quell the rebellion and conquer the Starfort, and claim it as war loot. This confiscation of assets was a rather common occurrence in the Imperium, but I didn't have enough Space Marines to win over the Astral Claws fair and square.
They had used the stolen gene-seeds to mass-produce more Astartes, 20 times more over the Codex limit.
Well, the extra Astartes should sell quite well to a certain collector of historical artifacts plus nobody knew yet how many Astral Claws there really were.
More warheads will be needed to obscure the forensic investigation that will follow.
Playing with my gloved fingers on the command chair's armrest, I began doing just that, kidnapping Company after Company of illicit Astartes, while my ships created a wonderful smoke screen of torpedoes and missiles.
"Blood Angels! Ready five assault squads. Prepare to teleport on that Starfort. I need one fort, for my capital." I ordered with a light voice, like it would be a really easy fight.
With only half a Company of Astral Claws, instead of five, and with a dozen warheads exploding in critical areas just as the torpedoes struck the thick fort armor, the starfort fell quite easily indeed.
Having complete superiority with the new Rosarius shields and blackstone armor plates, my Blood Angels plowed through the traitors, just as a battalion of Catachans and a hundred tech-priests began teleporting to secure the fort.
Just Huron's Battle Barge had 1000 Astartes on it, which began vanishing into the tesseract labyrinth as torpedoes began striking the barge in huge volleys.
The vessel remained drifting and listing, and more Blood Angels and tech-priests teleported on board to secure our prize.
Seeing this, and deprived of their leader's commands, the other Astral Claws vessels began speeding away, fleeing the battle. However, the Astartes on board vanished mysteriously, as did the vessels once the Warp rifts opened.
Was I cheating like a Necron Overlord? Sure I was. Even using the exact same technology, though without temporal manipulation or galactic range teleport, because I didn't enslave a C'tan to my will. Not yet.
The Navy cruisers caught courage seeing the battle won, and soon advanced to bombard the Astral Claws positions on the surface, supported by my destroyers and interceptors.
Of course, there were 10 thousand Astral Claws on Badab, which didn't manage to die to orbital bombardments, getting rescued by a mysterious force with dimensional tesseracts at his disposal.
The Serfs and the Aspirants kept fighting of course, and so I began deploying my Catachan armored regiments and my air power, with the system corvettes providing pin-point lance orbital support, or torpedo volleys on Void shielded fortresses.
A thousand corvettes had 20 thousand torpedoes, which was more than enough to crush any fortified position.
The Mechanicus vessels also began dropping skitarii and battle-automata on the surface of Badab, forcing an even faster victory.
I didn't wait to see the result, taking my cruisers and the destroyers and departing at speed towards Iblis. There was a Mars battlecruiser there I needed to capture.
The conveyor will be needed to supply the ground troops, and had a thousand torpedo corvettes for defense. It should be fine.
"Blood Angels, do not let anyone else board my Starfort, except the Forge Ryza Magi. Same for the captured Battle Barge."
"Understood, Lord Pef. Good hunting for the traitors!" Chaplain Delos replied from my Starfort.
Installing warp-less engines on the fort should be possible, as it was big enough. Perhaps too big.
Same for the Grand Cruisers, which were just a bit too small, for the current Necron drive. Maybe after tinkering with the drive design a little.
It wasn't my urgent concern though.
Only confiscating as many ships I could, from this Badab_War.