10.436.M39

The trip to Accatran is relatively short considering how many megatonnes of ships are being towed.

While we’re here we decided to go ahead and have my unit put in for service. It’s too early for most components to need it.

However since we’re here and the Laser batteries had such a workout we might as well spend the time to make sure everything else is in pristine condition. Their accuracy was noticeably falling off towards the end.

Besides it never hurts to show extra reverence to your machines when in full view of the Cult.

Going through the loot, waiting for inspections, appraisals, arranging exchanges of ‘gifts’ etc is all a tedious endeavor. I need to be present of course and I do make sure my preferences are known. I leave most of the actual wheeling and dealing to my father.

Of the 3 battlecruisers 2 were stated to at some point been mars-class battlecruisers. The 3rd is so far gone they think that it’s mostly built from salvaged Imperial material and not an actual Imperial vessel.

The cruiser I’m interested in is indeed a Slaughter-Class and the plasma drives survived. When I suggested to our Accatran representative that we were interested in a full tear down and analysis to attempt the recovery of lost knowledge followed by a rebuild. We were praised for our dedication to the recovery of knowledge.

There was even enough interest with the Magi shipwrights that my meeting request for the rebuild was approved. I was also informed that they are receptive to limited ‘custom’ work. So long as nothing involves xenos or heretical technologies. Did another rogue trader really ask a forge to install xeno tech on their ship? Idiots.

The Magos were quite pleased with the data logs of the clipper and frigates. Especially so with the clipper. They’re hoping they’ll be able to get enough interest for different variants that they can start producing more of them.

Father really wanted to restore a battlecruiser for the dynasty (himself). I can’t blame him, every rogue trader wants one or a grand cruiser. I suggested that we hold off on that and simply strip them and prep them for refit.

In the meantime we could see if it’s possible to trade for anything in the Imperial Navy’s reserve fleet. Possibly some grand cruisers or battleships from the time of the Grand Crusade?

I wonder how much those would be worth to a forge world. I guess I am a rogue trader deep down. Besides If we’re going to be incorporating battlecruisers or grand cruisers I’d really like to see if there’s something we can do to make them faster. They’re essentially cruisers with oversized plasma drives so I don’t see too much of an issue.

My meeting with the Magi shipwrights was absolutely fascinating. They seemed quite excitable and pleasant to talk to. At least when they communicated in gothic instead of binary.

I suggested a few alternate weapon configurations (default 1 prow, 2 starboard, 2 port). 1 dorsal, 2 starboard, 2 port. 2 dorsal, 1 port, 1 starboard, 1 keel. 2 dorsal 1 keel. 3 dorsal 1 keel. Lots of variations.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

I felt like a kid in a candy store and if their mutual enthusiasm was anything to go by I think they felt the same way. Pretty sure my Representative also told them I’m the crazy trader who plays ‘Pimp my ride’. So they know I’m good for it and all the good stuff will be installed.

We settled for a novel configuration of 2 dorsal, 1 keel and 1 ventral. The ventral turret would have the same firing arcs as the dorsal. The ventral placement would maintain ship balance and eliminate the need for terraced dorsal turrets.

With the entire thing being rebuilt from the ground up anyway. They were able to make much more efficient use of space knowing that it was going to be installed with laser batteries. Coupled with the removal of a weapon emplacement it’s projected to help lighten her up, free up space and reduce power requirements.

With the freed up space and power I couldn’t help but ask if triple or quad void shields from grand cruisers or battleships would fit. I see that we should have sufficient power. Volume wise should be ok but I don’t know if any of the L x W x H dimensions would restrict it. They went on a decently long binary discussion after that question. Oops, too much?

When they finally included me again the atmosphere had certainly taken on a more serious timbre. The lead Magos asked for more details on how I would ‘finish’ the build. I fired up my implants and based it on getting a quad void shield. Making the assumption that things just fit 1 for 1 and then filled out the rest of the ship.

Of course following the same fleet doctrine of must go fast. Must shoot far. Making little tweaks to improve the maneuverability. Shield capacitors, turbo weapon batteries, etc, etc. Lots of bling. Filling in the remaining available capacity to improve mission endurance, crew comfort, fleet management, etc.

I warned them that this was simply a rough estimate but the general idea is there. They looked it over and chatted in binary for a few more minutes. After which the Magos said that it should be doable.

They would need to run proper calculations but they wanted to station one of their number on the vessel to collect data. I was fine with it and they said they’d send me a rough draft within the next few days.

Not even a week later the Tech-Priest shipwright they wanted to station on the vessel arrived to meet with father and I.

When father saw the holo of the ship, estimated performance, etc. I made sure to capitalize on his momentary speechlessness and ask if he still wanted a battlecruiser.

The tech-priest chose his moment well.. His moment to suck up that is. By saying the ship’s name “Accatran-Class Battlecruiser”.

Father kept a poker face but I could practically feel him vibrate with excitement. We were presented with a few timelines and contingency plans depending on how the recovery of knowledge went.

I was pleasantly surprised at the speed at which things could be done. The lore was always sort of spotty and inconsistent with build times. One instance it takes a decade for a backwater to build a cruiser and in another it takes a century.

I was informed that primarily the largest constraint on lead time is availability of materials and not manufacturing capacity. That isn’t a problem in our case with the 100s of megatonnes of material we hauled in on the first trip alone.

With the amount of labor they’re willing to allocate to the project. We’re getting some level of ‘VIP Service’ due to the recovery of lost knowledge and the donation of said knowledge to the forge. As well as the influx of materials.

We’re looking at ~10 years and we’re pre-approved to lay down 3 hulls simultaneously.

There is unfortunately a caveat that the shipwright is clearly distressed by and it’s the possible +50% run out on build time.

This mostly depends on how long it takes to ‘recover the holy knowledge and initial activation rites’ of the plasma drive.

This issue could be avoided if we instead opt to use a known plasma drive. Nope sorry my toaster loving friend. We want the good stuff.

…

..

.