Inside the barricaded entrance, I was met by a company of Catachan_Jungle_Fighters, as their planet was nearby and was able to send a dozen regiments to defend Ryza.

A big Ogryn bodyguard in makeshift armor stood in front of me, and eyed Tharsius with suspicion. "Oi, you're kinda small for a space marine." Nork_Deddog commented, possibly referring to my light power armor.

I nodded and smiled. "You're very smart, buddy. I'm a puppy marine, but I have this big spaceship, so it evens out. I also have this real Astartes as my bodyguard, just like you."

"Nork sees. A ship Captain then. My boss is a Colonel, so I win." the Ogryn proclaimed proudly towards the Scthye, pointing carelessly with his enormous hand at his commander, someone named Colonel Greiss.

Tharsisus snorted and banged his chest plate in salute. "We could use a regiment like them, Captain. Catachans are fierce warriors." he suggested without any ulterior motive.

I took a mental note and stayed silent. Something to ask the Fabricator then. It wasn't like regiments could simply be poached...although I technically could.

The Catachan Colonel glanced between me and my bodyguard with surprise. I mean, it was quite rare to see an Astartes in the retinue of a mere Captain. Plus Tharsius was a Captain himself, visible from the markings on his shoulder and knee pads.

"You are in command of that Overlord battlecruiser, Captain?" he asked to make sure.

"Indeed. Inherited from my father. But since we lost most of our troops capturing that Ork Battleship and two Grand Cruisers...we might need some fresh troops on board. You know, travel the galaxy, meet new and exotic people, and then kill them brutally."

I mused out loud, and waved him goodbye.

The man stared after me in confusion and perhaps amusement.

Always made sense to use the helmet's visor to see behind you, via the implant link.

A delegation of high ranking Magi received us in a sumptuous antechamber, decorated with metal cogs and tons of obscure heraldry or old relics.

"Welcome to Ryza, officially, Captain Lancefire and Captain Tharsius. I heard about Sotha." the Fabricator General told my bodyguard with a nod.

"Lord Pef evacuated everyone before he incinerated the planet, with a billion Tyranids xenos killed while devouring all biomass. A worthy sacrifice, to stop that huge Hive fleet." the Astartes allowed in a mourning tone. Well, it wouldn't have been pleasant to see your home go out in flames.

"I suppose we could repeat that trick, though perhaps using some Ork planet and spare the Imperium from another loss. Two xenos with one shot." I mused to myself, and saw the Mechanicus perk up with attention. Wouldn't need to tell them twice, as they had better implants and logis-engines than I had.

A large adamantium door opened in front of me, leading to a proper strategy room, with a dozen holomaps and a hundred Magi of every clade busy coordinating the defense of their Forge World.

Every Magos in the retinue entered that room, except the Forge leader who pointed at a smaller door to the side. "Alright then, Captain. You earned a private meeting." he invited me while pointing at a plasteel dais towards Thrasius.

The room was lined with copper and brass inserts, and a myriad of bafflers and shield emitters sprang up as the door closed behind me.

"Tea, wine or something else?" the Fabricator offered politely.

"Something else, of course." I said and sat down on a metal throne, since my power armor would damage a leather couch. "Your Forge World is amazing, but you have forgotten your purpose." I spoke in a sterner voice, and poked my chestplate with the golden aquila symbol.

"You mean the Imperium? A Rogue Trader that only deals with Forge Worlds?" he wondered in surprise.

"This eagle head, right here...it's you, Fabricator. The Cult Mechanicus. The other eagle is the Emperor's domain. There are a thousand times more human worlds than Forge Worlds, and a single Lord on Terra. Does that seem like parity of power to you?" I asked rhetorically.

He nodded slowly as he analyzed what I meant. "So that's why the gifts. I begin to see why my fellow tech-priests here in the Ultima Segmentum hold you so dear."

I smiled gently and leaned back. "I have a device...of sealed origins, that is used right now to redirect Hive Fleet Kraken on Mandragora. Really similar in ability with the Astronomican. The Tyranids follow the psychic beacon in hope of more biomass, though the Necrons lack such weakness."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The orange-robed Archmagos froze for a second, then began making tea with a few tentacles, possibly as a calming ritual.

"Terra itself will draw more Hive fleets then. Perhaps even the Eye of Terror...if what our Navigators tell us is reliable." he mused in a wary voice.

Excellent logical deductions, I had to admit. I did mention the Astronomican, just for that.

"I have another gift...of a relating nature. Estaban makes Blank Machine Spirits now, and there's nine such Blank persons kept safe on the Canticle, if you can spare some effort to replicate the process. Plus myself and my Blank concubines...for calibration tests. Could be useful to have robots and Titans immune to the Warp and psykers." I mused after sipping the nice tea.

The Fabricator General of Ryza just sighed and powered up a holoscreen with his own gifts. "Let's not upset the trade balance that much, for now. We're deeply in your debt, Lord Pef. Pick whatever you find useful, and request what else it is not here."

There were thousands of machines and weapons, spacefighters and bombers, spaceships and auxiliary regiments, even Navigators and astropaths.

I didn't see anything really useful though, not in the long term. Sure, new fighters and a few escorts would be nice, but they weren't my own templates. Gunships and tanks, Sentinels and troop carriers, artillery and anti-air vehicles.

I did select a Catachan regiment, one that had more women. Hopefully I could seduce a few hundreds of those fierce warrior women, for a stronger gene pool.

Then I shrugged and closed the screen. "What I would need is not here, Fabricator. Replacements are great of course, so you have my thanks."

"This isn't worth much, Lord Pef. Please, surely there is something Ryza can do, even though we're in a small trouble for the moment." he argued and waved a few arms.

Getting irate with my frugal ways, as expected.

I tapped my backpack and removed some 30 dataslates, and placed them on his work desk. "What humanity needs Fabricator, is civilization. Clear air, clean streets, cheap transport, open markets. We also need solid defenses for our worlds, not running from crisis to crisis. That means a thousand ships over every Hive world. It means a million warships at every Forge World. We should crush those bugs with impunity. They have claws and we have guns. Space guns!" I exclaimed in disgust and sat back down with a thump.

One could almost see the cogs spinning inside the cyborg's head. A few data cantrips escaped from a prayer box, before the tech-priest stopped it.

"And how would this be achieved, Lord Pef? The Imperium strangles the Cult with absurd rules and Inquisitorial controls. Nearly every year, another holy forge gets bombarded by our so-called allies." he muttered, seeming desperate.

That was it! Ryza refused to work for the Imperium anymore. Sort of work strike, imposed by an Ork invasion.

"I have nearly a hundred worlds in the Fringe, my friend. And there, I speak with the Voice of the Emperor. My rules...for those who want to live there." I said opening up the sector map. "Here, in this small corner of the galaxy, there are 50 million stars and planets. Enough metal to build a billion ships. And once my Blank genes spread among the people...the usual enemies will become much easier to defeat. Just another type of xenos, that we can shoot with our Blank Machine Spirits guiding our fire." I explained with fact-checked logic.

Sure, the genial idea came from Antax, but their small Forge World couldn't sustain such an enterprise. Even pimping out a cruiser took all their effort.

Meanwhile, the Fabricator was examining the other designs I have envisioned, or remembered.

"For starters, an exploratory expedition, in force. We'd need to map out your future realm, and plan our strategy. And all this will take centuries, maybe millennia." he concluded after storing the dataslates into a coded vault.

I went and hugged my new best friend while he was quite confused. "We'll need to coordinate with my other partners. For now, corvettes by the thousands to cover as much volume at once. And more Catachans would be nice. The Fringe is quite hostile to humans." I quipped as I waved goodbye and left his room.

"You didn't punch the Fabricator, did you?" Tharsius asked while checking me for damage.

What the hell did he think I was? An Ogryn?

Wait...Ogryns...in power armor. We'll need savant implants for all of them...but it could work.

Or maybe some eugenics, select the smarter descendants? I wondered if I could procreate with an Ogryn female.

Oh well. Time to find out.