Chapter 2: The ship
Dave looked at the cutout of his ship, with some convenient details around the ship it was a Lunar-Class Cruiser, a versatile ship that will handle most situations. As expected, the engines were in the back, along with quarters for the Tech-Priests. The Imperial Guard station was in the central part of the ship with its rear neighbouring the Adepta Sororitas chapel. Where to place the Space Marines were nowhere to be found. Dave muses that the currently abandon hulls around the keels will have to do.
Miniature warp portals open suddenly on the table. Each one led to respective compartments for his army. They went their ways as he can now see they were in the ship, each with their individual abilities he can activate.
The Titan had his own space right behind the bridge, tended by Tech-Priests and admired by the crew. The chamber that held it had a special hatch beneath it to give anyone near his landing zone a nasty surprise. I am a bit sceptical about how everyone believes that this Titan swears fealty to me, a normal ass Rouge Trader, then again this is Warhammer 40k where shit happens.
The Guard can activate a boost to their combat prowess to fight against borders with a 10% decrease in casualties, quite helpful, especially for the Imperial meat grinder.
The Sisters have a passive morale booster for all of the crew members with the keyword Imperial and can heal a portion of any regiment or chapter company.
The Space Marines had no abilities but were extremely powerful when it came to combat. With them covering any chokepoint in the ship they can delay and mow down enemies as they futilely try to run away. They also had a loyalty bar for both Slaanesh and the Emperor, need to check that regularly.
In the upper-left corner of the screen, it says objectives with tasks under it. There was nothing yet but as soon as Dave made his first move there will be one.
Apparently, he was above Necromunda, as it says in the bottom-right corner. There was a group of buttons in the bottom left-hand corner and one of the buttons, bridge, was highlighted. He clicked that and the screen view changed to that of a man who looks exactly like him. There were stats like an RPG game, Agility, Willpower and Fellowship being his strongest while his weakest was Perception, which was going to suck in very tense situations.
He then got a notification of his objectives, transporting weapons to Cadia. The reward was 20,000 Thrones for the successful transportation of 400,000 Lasguns plus ammunition. The risk was low so there wasn't much of a problem, still, there was a risk. He accepted it and marked for Warp travel which will take 2 standard Terran days. Thanks to it being like a game it was speedy.
But as soon as he dropped out of Warp there was no planet but instead a ship, 5 Iconoclast-Class Destroyers. It appears someone told them of our arrival. As soon as I began to think of something my avatar started yelling orders that I was thinking of, he seems to be able to be controlled by my mind, neat. I order starboard Macrocannons and Lance batteries at the ready as we turn to port. The Destroyers launch their light missiles that do not miss and are wearing down our shields, while also staying out of the firing arc. They were trying to get to my stern.
I began to ask the engine crews to fucking push this ship to its limits, and with sounds of grumbling from the Tech-Priests, they comply. The ship groans as the ship turn with an unhealthy dose of g-forces on my crew, even my avatar was gripping the railing. When the ships were soon in our sights I yell the order to fire at will.
4 of the ships were decimated by the weapons while the last one was caught in their fallen brethren's explosive blasts, damaging their engines. This allowed my ship to take them out like fish in a barrel. If that saying actually even existed in the 40th millennium.
The Navigator told me that we were much further from Cadia than expected and the engine crew reported fires started because of that emergency turn. Due to this repairs will take time and material. In the meantime, we sent a distress beacon as my Astropath kept me up to date on the current Imperium. He told me that there were increased enemy incursions into Cadia and the surrounding sectors, devastation in untold numbers. The Blood Angels were fucked on Baal by the Nids' which was depressing. The Cadian Sector reports an increase in Chaos invasions, which means Cadia and its pylons have not been destroyed.
When we arrived at Cadia we were treated by the Warp itself, horrifically beautiful in a way. When the Lasguns sold a status window popped up showing me increased stats for Cadia along with a cash update.
Cadain defences increased
Defence Capability: Able to fight off dozens of armies - Able to fight off a fuckton of armies
Reputation increased: Not known - Cadia does not dislike you :)
Thrones: [40,000] increased to [60,000]
It seems I can affect actual planets and storylines, it's like an anti-Bethesda game. After getting my credits I checked what was on the market to buy. There were some cheap reliable goods like melee and Stubber weaponry, not powerful but damm well plenty. Next were the black markets, filled with expensive and potentially unreliable weapons of war. I took a quick look at the available items in the black market.
[Plasma Gun]
A powerful weapon in a small package, able to one-shot most opponents. Has a tendency to blow up without proper appeasement to the machine spirit aka basic maintenance you neanderthal. If chosen to overcharge you can even blow up a tank, or yourself. It's quite unreliable so take care not to overload it too much.
[15,000] Thrones
[Gernade Launcher]
This is an odd weapon in most armies whether Imperium or not. While it does not match the firepower of artillery nor the range of even a mere Lasgun, it is quite useful as a suppressive weapon that can chew threw clumped infantry in cover. Along with explosives it can be also fed more exotic rounds like acid and stun grenades.
[5,000] Thrones
[Mechanicus Shotgun]
This master-crafted fully automatic Shotgun was recently 'salvaged' from a crashed Cruiser belonging to the Mechanism which had come out of the warp a bit too close to the planet. The shotgun had an esoteric feature to fire bullets using batteries instead of powder as propellant from a box magazine, making it have an unnerving lack of audible bang, hearing only the next round being loaded in. It was beautifully engraved with sharp geometric lines. Its weight is incredibly light enough to be used one-handed. Try not to get caught by the Mechanicum.
[35,000 Thrones]
Alright, the shotgun is the most tempting since I will probably be fighting in close quarters space stations and boarding actions but I have to be very careful, the toaster fuckers will not like their shit in my hands. But not without a permit. If I could attain a permit somehow I'm pretty much good to go. I buy the shotgun but send a middleman to collect it. First I sent a notification to the seller that I will send a trusted person to pick it up in a discreet location like an unpopulated area and then collect it. I relayed this to my avatar.
"Ms Kramgier?" My avatar asks my second in command, Sofia Kramgier, a high noble whose dynasty originates from the Sabbat worlds. She had neck-length blond tied into a neat ponytail and hazel eyes. She stands attention with her small stature.
"Yes, Captain?" Her voice was young and fresh with a slight germanic accent.
I walked towards her and spoke in a whisper, "I need you to collect an item of note, you will head to this location and meet a man with a backpack. You will wear the backpack and bring it up here to me in my office, do not allow the Tech-Priests access to it." I hand her a note with the location and sent her on her way.
While she was going down to the planet, I will meet my minis who are now normal-sized.
The Vostroyen seemed to be shaken from the event and are drinking double the alcohol they usually have, which is a lot. They had increased their intake in response to celebrating the emperor by talking to them as well as the fact that the whole thing is just confusing. We conversed a bit and it was hard to tell who was who in this jumbled drunk mess but I was talking to their commander. Freddy Turpercap, I think? I should bloody know this since I actually made story sheets for them back in the real world. Anyway, he reports that other than a bit of shock they are ready to do whatever needs to be done in the name of the Emperor.
The Sisters of Battle are of similar moods, shocked with a bit of religious fervour mixed in, they even called me a saint. A bloody saint. Their Canoness, Theodora Kane, a dour and serious woman is a capable commander. She is capable of reigning the zeal of her sisters and is able to head tactics and strategy beyond charging in the name of the Emperor. She says that the Sisters will follow me into battle if need be. I asked if she can provide me with support when we encountered an unfriendly Ministorum Priest that try to accuse me of heresy, she was silent on the issue and left me to pray.
The Space Marines, god that meeting was far from boring. When I arrived in what was once a dry keel, it was instead a place of Slaaneshi and Emperor worship. Fleshy floors and walls had normal couches and coffee machines on them while a pristine piano in the corner was played by a marine with tentacles allowing him to play more complex holy music. They had a board filled with gangs across the ship with each one labelled "Imperial?" which is concerning. Their captain, Svetlsa Pepproax, is not a sane man. He shook my hand with all 4 of his arms as he greets me enthusiastically.
"My lord! Welcome to our Fortress Monastery! Would you like a cup of recaff?!" He shouts every single word, not loud enough to break my eardrums but damm well annoying enough, as he gives me the tour. He had no helmet on so I wondered, would he be louder or quieter with it on? My question was answered quite quickly as the Apothecary who called the Sisters of Battle girl scouts put a soundproof helmet on him and sent him on his way.
"Forgive him, my lord, he used to be a Noise Marine." I nod within understanding, it's a miracle at all that he doesn't break the eardrums of others. "I am Fortem Haldages, you may just call me Fortem. The company is at full strength of 100 marines, though increasing those numbers would be wise, and are ready for any assignment you asked for. Do note we have no Tech Marines, any Tech-Priests you can provide that can work under scrutiny and with discretion would be much helpful." He spoke in a tired almost bored voice as he gestures to several Space Marines trying in frustration to repair even a single suit of power armour.
"I will make sure it gets top priority." I mean that. There is no way in hell that I'm just going to have my Marines without their shit. Though where to get a Tech-Preist that doesn't give a shit?
I set route back to Necromunda, time to recruit new members.
However, before I could do that I am locked out as the doorbell rang. All my minis came out of the mini portal and were all a little confused. I went upstairs and was followed by everyone with Titan already near the door, weapons at the ready.
"My lord, look through the peephole." I did as told and looked through...well fuck.
Outside was an army of Bloodletters and World Eater minis, covering my lawn in red. Behind them were a dozen Warhound Titans and artillery guns. Looks like I need to deal with this first. I grabbed a shovel from the basement and told my minis to take point at the windows, the Titan and I will hold the front door. As soon as I open the door, I heard only one thing:
"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!"
End of Chapter
