The shuttle trip back to my ship was uneventful, though the pilots seemed unusually happy. Then again, I had just rewarded everyone under my command for a successful military campaign. They were probably planning some party amongst themselves. It was well deserved if you asked me, there were far too few joys for the regular men and women who served the Imperium, and if I could use the enormous wealth at the disposal of a rogue trader to make their lives a little more bearable, then so be it. It was a paltry expense in any case. Sure, my purser would have a minor meltdown, but there was little he could do. The increase in productivity would also serve to ease his bleeding heart. Come to think of it, the ship's steward might also be having a small aneurysm at the thought of the supplies I was using up, but what was he going to do? Deny me?
I could have taken my rest on the space station, but since I didn't know if it had been scoured or not, I was not taking the chance of a vengeful Skaven eyeing a chance for revenge on my person, so my ship was where I decided to go. Besides, I might as well make it a habit to seek comfort in my quarters, since I was going to spend significant amounts of time there in the future. I didn't realize how spent and tired I was until I stepped foot on my flagship again, a wave of exhaustion washed over me the moment I was back in the safety that was my ship. Over 20.000 souls ready to fight and die to protect me, as well as ship armaments big enough to launch planet-killing ammunition, had a strange way of soothing the unease that kept gnawing at my mind. We had won the war, but I did not feel victorious. I still had mountains of work ahead of me before I could leave this planet behind. But before that, I needed proper sleep and to go through the system with whatever updates it had to give me.
From the moment I stepped off the shuttle I was met with celebrating people, both workers and soldiers, praising the Emperor and cheering my name at the same time. I had to smile and nod graciously everywhere I went on the ship, keeping up the illusion of an unbothered and gracious Lord Captain until I could get to the privacy that was my quarters. In truth, I didn't like it. What I had done was nothing more than these people deserved, and yet they praised me as if I had uplifted them from the worst of conditions when I had done nothing more than hand out meager rewards for exceptional accomplishments.
I was struck by the fact that the sort of generous behavior, both with material goods and leniency towards behavior that was less than perfect, was extremely rare, and with the dogmatic Imperium of man being what it was, such people were always considered wild cards. People from whom you could expect nothing and everything. People you could potentially exploit by appealing to their nature of caring for others. I knew I had nothing to fear from anyone among the 20-something thousand people currently serving my ship. They had realized I was not a noble who only cared about looking good. I fought with the soldiers on the ground, rewarded them when they did good, and took care of their needs better than most would have done. Honestly, I could understand the waryness of the Inquisitor. Anyone who broke the regular behavior pattern of stepping on those beneath your station was bound to suffer scrutiny and suspicion. But I had been scrutinized heavily and made it out on the other side. Yet another big accomplishment, being under the watchful eye of an overzealous Inquisitor and making it out alive. The system had better give me something for that!
Mortal enemy defeated: you have defeated a being of great power, who had vowed to destroy you. You are either lucky or more skilled than one would assume. +2 Strength, +1 Agility.
Monstrous creations killed: Thanks to your efforts (and soldiers more capable than you) Great abominations have been destroyed. +1 Will
Monstrous creation fought: You have engaged in close combat with a mutated horror and emerged alive (however unlikely a possibility) +3 Luck.
Skaven threat eliminated: You have successfully waged a campaign of war against a Skaven undercity and won. Congratulations, you have done what few other people can ever boast of doing. Reputation among military branches of the Imperium has been increased by a vast amount.
Feudal world secured: Your actions have secured the future of a feudal world that almost fell to chaos and mutants. The imperium is pleased. Reputation with the Adeptus Administratum increased.
HUMAN. LEVEL 7.
STAT POINTS REMAINING: 0
ALIGNMENT: FAITHFUL IMPERIAL++
LITANIES: 68
AUGMENTATIONS: Cybernetic lung(upgrade lvl1, Toxins/environment)
LEVEL:23883/385400
STRENGTH: 19
AGILITY: 19
PERCEPTION: 19
WILL: 25
LUCK: 36
PSYCHE: 499/500
SKILLS
FEATS
ABILITIES
RETINUE
Seriously? One point from increasing my psyche level. One, singular, stinking point. The system is mocking me openly at this point!
I was getting close to a level-up, and I always welcomed more stat points. But I was quite surprised that I had not gotten more xp. Then again, my fights had primarily been with either skaven slaves or specialized monsters, and there had to be an upper limit of xp gain per slain creature. No matter, all good things come to those who can wait. And if I had anything in this universe, it was time. With my position, I was eligible for rejuvenation treatments once I got old enough, giving me the possibility of living for at least 400 standard Terran years, and there were mechanical means to extend it even further after that. Of course, this would not come without exorbitant costs, which is why so few people received these treatments. It was a privilege reserved for the obscenely wealthy and influential people of the Imperium.
But I was getting off track, I had business to attend to. Today was the day I would elect a new governor, and hopefully, one that would not fall to the temptation of corruption as easily as the last one. After a quick meal and some recaf, I gave orders for the most prominent village leaders in the world below to be brought to the space station. With emphasis on the selected candidates to be chosen from among those who were not in a position of power before I changed the social structure on the planet. I did not desire former nobles to regain a position of power over the people they had already exploited. My orders were received with slight confusion, but there was no hesitation in executing them. The crew had learned to trust me and my, at least in their eyes, strange ideas.
On the shuttle over to the space station, it hit me that I had not yet swept it clear of Skaven, which was bound to be there since they had their markings on the area. But there was an easy solution, one that I would implement as soon as this governor's business had been handled. My shuttle was the last to arrive, and in the command center, I was greeted by a throng of gawking village elders, supervised by the station security forces. Not that supervision was needed, they were too busy taking in the sights and the fact that there was an entire universe around their planet that they had no idea about. I strode up to the commander's seat and took my place, Trokk trailing behind me and taking a position directly behind and a little to the left of the throne I was sitting in. His size was enough to completely dwarf me, and next to the throne he looked like a statue, hidden in the shadows as he was, but I could sense his diligence. Everyone who got even remotely close to the throne, be they guardsmen or civilians, was scrutinized to the best of his ability.
I waved the village elders up one after one and had a short, private conversation with them. Most were awestruck and stumbling over their words until they realized that they were not in any kind of danger, it made the inquiries difficult, but I managed to boil down my choices to 3 different people. A mature woman, with steel in her eyes and vocal opinions on how people should be treated as humans and not like an expendable workforce. An old man who had been praying fervently and vocally to the Emperor while he waited to be summoned, and had returned to praying as soon as I dismissed him. And a young man, a newly elected village elder after his deceased father. I was leaning toward picking the young man, but his youth made him dangerous. In 30-40 years, he would have forgotten about the life he used to live, gotten used to being in power, and would most likely go down the same route of debauchery and corruption as the old governor. The old man was a decent choice, but I feared he would try and turn the planet into a temple world if his devotion to prayer was anything to go by. This left the mature woman, which would not be a bad choice, if not for her very stern opinions.
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Then again, I could always appoint an advisor, a teacher of sorts, to restrain the next governor from doing anything that might draw displeasure from the Imperium. This person would naturally also serve as my eyes and ears on the station, taking care that my interests did not suffer under the new governor. In the end, I chose the mature woman, and when I suggested an advisor, she happily agreed.
"I have no knowledge or experience with the task you wish for me to undertake, Lord Captain, but I can promise you I will make the people flourish and the world rich if I get my way. If your advisor can assist in the things of which I am not knowledgeable, perhaps even teach me, I would be eternally grateful." She said as I announced my choice. Almost all of the elders looked elated at not having to shoulder the responsibility, except the young man. While not angry, he looked miffed when he was passed over for the position of ultimate power over the world below. He could either be trouble, or accept his fate, but I did not want to leave it to chance. A few words were exchanged with the new governor, Nirith Jaurvind, now titled Governor Jaurvind, she proclaimed that the young man would be her second-in-command and the de facto ruling governor, should she not be present. He looked placated and pleased with this decision, no doubt imagining himself becoming the next governor in a matter of a few decades. He would learn soon enough that this would not happen, as governor titles are hereditary and pass to the oldest child in the bloodline unless specific instructions are left behind. And even then there is a good chance they will be ignored if the candidate voicing objections is strong-willed enough.
With that taken care of, and the remaining elders being sworn to secrecy about what they had seen outside the planet, under pain of generational executions, I ordered the entire space station be abandoned except for myself and a few technicians. It took most of the day to evacuate everyone, but finally, I was the last person standing next to my shuttle, accompanied by the technicians and Trokk. When I finally gave the order to turn off life support systems and purge the station of oxygen, they began protesting, but they stopped as fast as they started when I raised my hand to silence them.
"I care not what amount of livestock, plants, or other organic life has to die, I gave you an order and I expect you to carry it out, posthaste. I will see to it that everything is restocked and replenished when we are done. And listen for screeching. If we hear any, we enter the ship and complete the station purge remotely." I said, and the confusion did not leave their faces, but they did as commanded. The low hum of the station's machinery slowly died out as they continued their work, and the temperature started slowly dwindling while the air became light and made it difficult to breathe. As soon as they finished, they mumbled prayers to the machine spirit and practically sprinted to my shuttle. I was the last to leave, and when I cast my gaze into the open hangar before stepping on the shuttle, I could swear I saw red beady eyes watching me from the deep shadows. I allowed myself to smile at them, a bright and genuine smile. I truly wished them the best in their last moments of life, if they were truly there.
We left the station on the shuttle, stopped, and turned to face the station before the final commands were given. The air came shooting out of every open airlock and bulkhead we could remotely open, and with them came hundreds upon hundreds of Skaven clan rats. They writhed and buckled in the vast emptiness outside the station before succumbing to the cold and lack of oxygen. They would forever float around the station, a reminder of the cost connected to being relaxed about station security. I implemented new security measures, with a separate hangar that would be depressurized after magnetically locking the shuttles in places and screening the crew before leading them into the station proper. It would be a hassle, but it would vastly increase security both in terms of mutants and heretics.
It took a few days to take off everything, the celebration of the governor in particular. I had to make a grand gesture, make the people of the station and the world below understand that Nirith Jaurvind was chosen to serve as their connection to the Imperium at large and their representative in all dealing with it. In return, she would watch over the world and take care of its people. It ended up being a week-long, planet-wide celebration, but I was fine with it since it gave me time to take care of other matters. With a great shipment of exquisitely carved wooden furniture, I sent messages out to nearby great houses of the Imperium that 'An opportunity to acquire treasure worthy of being displayed in their magnificent houses palaces and fortresses would be available for viewing upon request', and it only took a day for the replies to come flooding in. I sent out smaller ships that I requisitioned from the station's fleet, with trade agents that took good care of my interests and returned with profits beyond imagining to an Imperial citizen. To me though, it was just a very healthy profit margin.
Yes, the requisitioned ships would leave the station underequipped for a while, but if I had made the right choice in governor, the flourishing trade should soon let her purchase ships to both replace and reinforce those that I had taken. Granted, they were just armed freighters so they would not be good for anything other than long-range support and defensive actions in a fight, but it was still a significant investment for a governor of a feudal world, and those 3 ships would serve me infinitely better than they would serve a space station in established territory. It also gave me around 3000 more crew per ship, bringing my total when fully staffed, to around 35.000 crew members, not accounting for any troops I brought with me. Speaking of, I would need to be reinforced at Bakka station. I wanted a solid 50.000 fighting troops with me for my first trip into the Veiled region. My master of whispers had worked diligently, finding rumors and ancient maps depicting unclassified worlds, rumored eldar craft worlds, and even intercepted chatter among Astartes vessels of a demon world. Still, it would be a good place to increase my reputation without too much risk, even if my current personal desire was the Halo stars, back in Segmentum Obscura. But that trip would require me to bring a small invasion fleet in terms of ships, and at least 4 full Imperial Guard regiments. Getting a hold of 2 million troops and dozens of ships was a monumental undertaking, but one I was more than willing to undertake. I had a gut feeling about the Halo stars, and I was going to follow it!
I paid to extract melee combat specialists from the planet below and assigned them as trainers to my troops, with the best of them also being instructed to train with me personally for a few hours every day. I had found my skills lacking whenever I fought in melee and it was time to remedy that. I secured enough weapons to outfit and replenish myself many times over, made further improvements to the, quite frankly, antiquated laws that were in place, and let my confessors preach to their heart's delight. They were diligent indeed, as construction of small temples in almost every village was undertaken soon after a confessor's arrival, spurred on by tales of the great danger they had just been saved from.
Within a month, I was richer than I had been when I began my career as a rogue trader, I had 4 ships beneath my command, bristling with weapons, supplies, and a small assortment of the best woodwork the planet below had to deliver. Intricate wooden carvings inspired by Imperial tales, small toy armies, perfectly made with wood and stone, beautiful lockboxes and containers for lords and ladies to keep their baubles and trinkets in, gold-inlaid goblets and cups with carved artwork of the Emperor, and so much more. Things I could give away as gifts to the powerful individuals I would meet in my future travels, simple but unique things they could use to cause envy among their peers.
The last thing I did before I departed for Bakka station, was to chart a claim on the world, under my newly formed dynasty, under the condition of generous tithe to the Imperium in the form of raw minerals from the planet below, a responsibility to be undertaken be the governor I appointed. Between Governor Jaurvind and myself, we agreed that she would strive to exceed the expected tithe slightly, almost marking the excess as a gift for the glory of the Imperium's prosperity. That should no doubt please the tech priests of Mars, giving me some more goodwill on that front.
Inquisitor Hann came to speak to me several times during this month, and all of them were pleasant conversations and plans for the future. He had been busy collecting samples from the floating corpses around the station and had found his calling in hunting the Skaven and eradicating them as a species after having experienced their darkness firsthand, and I wished him all luck in his travels. He tried prodding for information, but I didn't divulge any further other than suggesting the name Skaven to him. When he asked why that name, I told him that after seeing their way of fighting, I considered them nothing more than craven vermin and I just made an amalgam of the words. He liked the idea and took it to heart in agreement. I asked for some of his Iron guards as a replacement for the troops I had lost, but he refused, giving me a few handfuls of regular guardsmen instead. They didn't seem to mind when I made inspections on my troops, a habit I had picked up which seems to endear them to me. Having me pop in and check for problems and input made the section leaders feel important, which they truly are, and it gave me the chance to learn the inner functions of how things worked, piecing together how the lore from back home integrated into life for me now.
When we left the station governor Jaurvind presented me with a sealed envelope with instructions to deliver it to a mechanicus representative at Bakka station. She also confided that this was the idea of the assistant I had employed from my ranks of junior officers. She was still overwhelmed by the magnitude of the knowledge she had been imparted, and the responsibility of the burden she was chosen to shoulder, and she had little to no knowledge of how to behave in the upper rings of society. I gave her words of comfort that everything would come in time, and thanked her before stepping into my shuttle and leaving the space station, not to return for a very, very long time. But for now, I returned to my ship and took my small fleet to Bakka station, followed by Hann and his ships that had business in that area, and decided we might as well travel together. Safety in numbers and all that.
As I leaned back in my leather chair, sipping from a glass of cheap amasec fit only for a regular soldier with expensive taste, I reflected on the times I had been near death and the experiences I had been through so far. If this was to be my life, rather than sitting at a desk all day, I would have to be smart, smarter than most. And I had the best advantage of all. Extensive, in-depth knowledge of the world around me, and I was getting the hang of moving around socially in the Imperium as well. Maybe 10 years, or so, in the future, and I would be impossible to reign in. I just needed to grow my forces and my fleet.
And I needed a seneschal, now that I had a world under my claim. No way was I going to take care of the menial and time-consuming work that was related to a business empire.
We would soon reach Bakka station, and I wondered what the Administratum would have to say about the change in management under the promise of increased tithe. Not that I cared beyond what I could squeeze out of them in return, but still, it was worth pondering. I finished the glass and made ready for my instructors to arrive and begin the day's training.
