After a week of hard work, I had finally fixed this system and even helped the Fabricator jumpstart several spacedocks, for 10000 system corvettes and to refurbish the captured Ork Kill-Kroozers.
Although, by this point it was almost a new build anyways. We could use the Macharius-engines for deep space travel, and the new Ares engines for in-system travel and combat maneuvers. The Gellar Fields would be replaced with Gellar Ramparts, the bridge would need a whole new design, there will need to be torpedo pods on the dorsal side, and drop pods on the ventral side. New Godbane-class Lance batteries, and a Nova Cannon.
The cruisers will take a century to be re-fit perhaps, but I will get 10 of them for trouble and influx of STCs. Quite a good deal.
"Are you planning to visit every Forge World in the galaxy and remake them so?" the Fabricator asked me as we watched the first Armed Sentinel emerge from the production line.
"A thousand Forge Worlds may seem much, but compared to the million worlds in the Imperium. Hardly a problem." I said with a tiny shrug.
"Are you also a Princeps? I hear about a new Titan class." the man asked with a weird voice.
"You heard more than that. While the Emperor might have modified that Warlord-class into a Psi-Titan, he used frames built by the Mechanicus. And Primarch Corax fought at their side, back in the days. You would have access to the sealed records from...hmmm. Tell about the Fulgurites." I asked instead.
"A conservative and conservationist sect inside the Cult Mechanicus. They propose to drain Motive Force from our enemies." the Fabricator spoke with a hidden meaning.
I just nodded, deep in thought. "There is another side of their creed though. The Petrified Lightning. Find out what you can, and send the report to the Machine Forge. And monitor their members for outside contact, especially xenos but also the Inquisition." I demanded in a cold voice, then vanished.
Time to see why Canis was acting strange.
A second later, I found him as a pillow for Purity, with Primarch Corax reading my memoirs and drinking my booze on a nearby adamantium dais meant for Terminator plate.
"Wooooahh!" my wolf explained in a long sentence. Curing the Warp sickness.
That made more sense than what I first thought.
A series of marks of the floor, drawn by a Phase claw. Possibly the danger zones. For people without the Blank gene.
Click. Purity vanished and returned to her mother, for a purity check. The child was still too weak for real work. For now.
"I see you already read about Estaban. My first...near loss." I said with a sigh.
"And yet, you never lost. Not once in your life. Must be quite nice." Corax answered with a mild voice. He did look better a little. A few strands of black hair dotted his head.
Made you wonder what the Emperor thought when he built them. A limited lifespan for some, perhaps? Or he ignored the dangers of the Warp. Most likely the latter. His aura was anathema to daemons, so he never considered them a real threat.
"We are inside the Astronomican range, Primarch. I almost expect a Custodes to step out from portal, anytime now." I added with a wry voice.
"... my father won't take me by force, Lancefire. I guess, I was the backup shadow master, in case Alpharius turned. And he did." the old Primarch mused to himself, a bit wiser now.
"Like I said, I approve of your actions. Normally, this would also mean the Emperor approves too. It always was so, until now. But you are still his Primarch. He will want to see you, one day." I concluded with a shrug. The Emperor was not a dotting father, especially not with his gene projects. But he was a controlling one.
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"I know! And I am scared. He may vaporize me, just by his presence." Corax growled with a shudder.
"You're being silly. Anyways, you can simply mind-talk with him. There should be a dedicated channel in the Astronomican for that. Just be warned, you are not immune to the Warp, not your words nor your future. Not until you can turn into a Pariah." I spoke with a soft voice, then walked away.
M waited outside, looking a bit sheepish. "His infection was reduced by 43 percents. In a month maybe?"
I pursed my lips and scowled a bit. Using Purity like that? Any Primarch was a storm, with himself in the eye. "How is Purity holding on?"
"Seems to grow stronger, every day. It may actually be beneficial to her. And create some connections..." the wise Primarch clone argued, rather well.
"A child-bridge to his unconscious soul. Purity will decide for herself then. I suspect she stumbled onto him by accident?" I asked with a wry tone, although I knew how Luck works in this place.
It was a risk/reward equation, and only the worthy survived. Being given the major role in the play was a daunting task, of higher powers wanting to be entertained. Maybe it was why Cegorach did that theater? This place warped the minds of anyone, and not even Gods were free from their roles.
"If there are any accidents in this universe, then yes. Just like you stumbled onto this giant Ork Armada by accident." M said with a morose voice, and glared at me.
"It is not always fun, being thrown into adventure just for entertainment. One needs strong shoulders to shoulder the weight of the world on their back. I shudder to think why your shoulders are so large." I quipped back at him, then vanished, and appeared beside Anzion in the gene-lab. Well, on the other side of the transparent wall.
"Any news?" I asked without much hope.
"Mutagenic infection. Warp based...possibly xenos. Daemonic taint as well. It's a wonder he's alive, but then Primarchs are nigh-impossible to kill. You know what it takes." Anzion answered with a kind voice, sounding sad but determined.
"Begin Tyranid blood testing then. The new Nephilim King first, then the Swarmlord . I doubt regular Tyranid Tyrants have enough power to trigger a transformation in a Primarch." I demanded with a level tone. Anzion was more than smart, he would know what to do.
The genetor clone just nodded, already deep in thought. "And Purity?" he asked after a minute.
"What about her? She chose her path, now it's her burden to carry. " I said with a wry tone, and moved away.
A last stop at Ravenspire, and then I can go.
"Master Lancefire...I can barely recognize the star system anymore. How?" Master Shrike asked with a bit of wariness.
"Just application of knowledge, Master Shrike. And a lot of headaches too. Now, I hope you saw what a proper Auxilia force can do?" I asked instead, shifting the topic to my next target.
The man nodded cautiously. "It does seem very effective. Similar to the Ultramar Auxilia, but using gene-mods and Blanks instead of PDF soldiers. Expensive too, especially on deployments."
"Have the Blanks I gave you impregnate a few hundred women before induction, and the same with the war-clones. The genes should pass on, more or less. Probably less. As for equipment, you have a decent Forge World now. I try to avoid too many frangible munitions for ease of deployment, but the planetary defense can still use them. Artillery and autocannons will always be effective, as long as they have ammo." I offered with a smile.
"Wait! What about the Primarch?" he asked as I waved goodbye.
"What about him? Corax is still alive, if not wanting to be found. Would you like me to beat him up and throw him at your feet?" I asked with a tiny shrug.
"...That's not..." Master Shrike muttered as I vanished.
It was not like I could give him a bucket of Primarch blood for more gene-seeds. Corax was far too infected for that. Instead I absonced a few gene-seed canisters from his repository, so I could manufacture another brand of Primaris Blanks. In a week or so in accelerated time, I should obtain several thousands Astartes with Corax's untainted seed.
On the way to my next target, we took a bit of research time to explore the unique Raven Guard pattern like Korvidari bolts with their extra range and accuracy, perfect for my snipers. Same with tranquilizer rounds that could be used to capture targets. Well, biological targets at least.
Even more interesting, a few examples of rare Shadowhawk and Darkwing appeared by accident in my tesseract, such that I may study and copy their designs for my own forces. Instead of shaky cams I could use Helmet_Picter from now on, along the Shadowmaster_Cloak and Raven's_Fury thrusters, a wonder of micro-tech for plasma engines, exactly what I needed for many other suits and weapons in my armory.
And I even had Primarch Corax to help! I'm pretty sure he won't mind.