Chapter 212: How to Solve Internal Problems |
"That is exactly why we must break the monopoly."
Karna nodded in deep agreement.
He naturally understood the severity of the problem. Resources, technology, and military power were all firmly controlled by a small handful of factions, and they had to tear a hole in that iron grip.
"If you think there are no issues, I will sign it."
"Ask Romulus about non-military diplomacy."
Arthur replied.
"I have already asked all of them."
"Then it is settled."
"Alright. I will take advantage of the high volume of pilgrim ships arriving during this period to settle the first few orders."
Thanks to the Imperial Cult being excessively wealthy, the equipment and supplies they currently needed were cutting-edge goods like force-feedback armor. In terms of quality, using soul materialization to directly exchange for them was still acceptable.
If the Imperial Navy or the Chartered Fleets came knocking, they really would have no way to accommodate them. The cost of generating ineffective mass was simply too high to be worthwhile.
However, these problems could all be resolved later.
Once they officially took over the Sector, everything would get on the right track.
The four of them were essentially walking industrial foundries. As long as the training of skilled workers kept pace, explosive production capacity was only a matter of time.
"Also, the council has confirmed our base of operations will be located in the central Ultima Segmentum. Well, it is now called the Dawn sub-sector. The Adeptus Mechanicus over there will probably cause trouble for us."
Karna pulled out another document. This was a partial consensus reached between Romulus and the representatives of the High Lords during their negotiations regarding the Adeptus Mechanicus problem.
The entire Galaxy had suffered under the Adeptus Mechanicus for too long. Although the High Lords had backed down during the council meetings, the bias shown by the Imperial Cult conveyed a clear message.
At the very least, the Imperial Cult hoped the four Primarchs would emerge victorious in this political gamble. Of course, they were also confident that they could afford to lose.
After all, they were the only organization within the High Lords of Terra to ever instigate a massive civil war within the Imperium.
During the Age of Apostasy, Goge Vandire had monopolized power, throwing the Imperium into absolute chaos. The destruction he caused far exceeded even Abaddon's first twelve Black Crusades.
Yet, the Imperial Cult did not decline because of this; instead, their status grew even more secure.
As for why the Imperial Cult was always able to maintain control over vital departments within the Imperium through all its ups and downs...
The reason was quite simple.
Because in this wretched universe, the vast majority of Imperial citizens truly could only rely on Faith to survive.
However, the Imperial Cult was not completely inactive either.
Following Romulus's request, they had already begun relocating the Orders Dialogous and Orders Famulous—which trained administrative and servant Sisters within the Ultima Segmentum—to the Shrine Worlds of the Dawn sub-sector.
These Sisters, having undergone rigorous education and loyalty training, were the highest-quality candidates for grassroots civil servants.
"As expected."
Arthur continuously reviewed various contingency plans in his mind.
If they wanted to cast off the Adeptus Mechanicus and develop independently, future conflicts between the two factions were inevitable.
The Wings of Dawn would never accept the presence of such a technological warlord within their territory, and the Adeptus Mechanicus would never allow their position—which had grown increasingly unassailable over the last ten thousand years—to be challenged.
Meanwhile, the High Lords were perfectly happy to fan the flames.
On one hand, they hoped the Primarchs could tear a hole in the Adeptus Mechanicus.
On the other hand, constrained by the fact that every facet of the Imperium now relied entirely on the Mechanicus, they could only provide every kind of support except actual, practical support.
Oh, they could still provide manpower. After all, the Imperium had so many people that the High Lords never really cared much about them.
Karna took the opportunity to flip through the various contingency plans. After all, he would be the one leading the troops into the fray when the time came.
After finishing, he could not help but suck in a cold breath.
"Are we going to build up our territory or go to war?"
"Building and fighting at the same time."
Arthur replied flatly.
"I feel like you are losing your sense of humor."
"My humor module has been occupied by the work system."
Arthur closed the encrypted text, the metal clasp making a crisp click. He raised his eyes to look at Karna and added expressionlessly, "I am very busy. I have no time for humor."
"Your deadpan delivery of terrible jokes is still going strong."
Karna also knew the immense pressure Arthur carried. He had always been the one responsible for holding the bottom line, and now he had to lead the scattered fragments of the First Legion, constantly ready to declare war on the Adeptus Mechanicus.
"Ah, the First Legion..."
Karna's tone carried a hint of mockery.
Since ten thousand years ago, as the Imperium's military might expanded, those visible or invisible hands had begun greedily plundering the wealth that rightfully belonged to all of humanity.
The Dark Angels had been entrusted with a crucial mission by the Emperor, acting as the Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of the Adeptus Mechanicus. In the end, before the blade could even drop a few times, it was snapped by the Legion itself.
Nowadays, apart from knowing how to use the forbidden technology in their vaults and chasing Fallen Angels across the Galaxy, the Dark Angels had completely forgotten their true mission. Even their Tech-Marines had to go to Mars for training.
However, they had successfully managed to shift the Imperium's attitude toward the privileged class—from minimal containment, to non-interference, and finally to outright protection and even indulgence.
This directly allowed this cancerous tumor to grow rapidly on their own body.
If the Lion had just taken one right step during the entirety of the Horus Heresy, they would not be facing such a situation right now.
In the past, when reading various literary works, one could always excuse the characters' flaws as serving the plot, criticizing the authors for not understanding reality.
But now that he was actually inside this world, staring at these tangled balls of yarn that could neither be cut nor untangled—and which threatened to strangle them alive—there were times he truly wanted to throttle the absolute masterminds who caused all this.
These messes should not have been their responsibility in the first place. Yet now, after finishing off the Tyranid bugs, they had to start clearing landmines within the Imperium's internal structure.
"It will get better."
Arthur stood up. After Calgar and the various representatives of the successor Chapters submitted the opinions of their respective founding Chapters, Arthur presented another document.
"Regarding the Establishment of a Training Framework for Special Units Such as Librarians, Apothecaries, and Tech-Marines"
"Er, my Lord."
Calgar flipped through the series of spreadsheets and could not help but ask.
"Is not what you are doing a bit too obvious?"
What difference was there between doing this and directly slapping the Adeptus Mechanicus in the face?
"They do not care whether I show restraint; they only care whether I am strong."
If he was not obvious, how could he pull a violent institution like the Space Marines firmly into his grasp?
If a Primarch would not even fight to secure the strength of the Space Marines—the very extension of their will—how could anyone expect the Space Marines to willingly fight for them?
Arthur continued to give the various Space Marine Chapters a normal opportunity to discuss, and then gathered all their opinions.
The Adeptus Astartes conversed with one another efficiently.
It was primarily Arthur introducing the details of the training process to the Astartes.
For example, whether to allow Tech-Marines who had previously gone to Mars for training and believed in the Omnissiah to undergo retraining, or whether there were any specific Faith requirements for the trainees.
The Wings of Dawn believed in teaching without discrimination. As long as one could fight for humanity and still retained their loyalty, anyone was welcome.
'I hope Lohr and the others can get ready soon.'
Arthur thought silently.
He had always felt that using the Astartes purely as weapons was a massive waste, and using the First Legion simply as weapons was the greatest waste of all.
The First Legion was a truly comprehensive template.
There was simply too much they could accomplish.
Genetics, industry, scientific research.
Starting with the Space Marines—the faction easiest for them to win over—the Wings of Dawn had to facilitate a complete decoupling between the forces under their control and the Adeptus Mechanicus.
In the grand council hall, Romulus observed the expressions of the representatives.
Without exception, they all showed surprise, seemingly utterly astonished by the Wings of Dawn's blatant disregard for treating the Mechanicus with any respect.
Sooner or later, they would all face the Iron Fist. The Adeptus Mechanicus, the local Nobles, and the vast majority of institutions within the Imperium—all these monopolistic organizations had to serve their proper functions under the strict control of a powerful centralized government.
Romulus recalled the postures of those children, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
——
'I knew it.'
Huron looked over the series of training proposals.
It was entirely designed to completely liberate the Space Marines, and even humanity as a whole, from the shackles of a certain monopolistic institution. Instead, they would be brought under the centralized management of an authority level as high as the Primarchs. He could not help but smile.
Centralization—what a beautiful word. Countless ambitious individuals had attempted it, yet all had failed.
But now, the Primarchs were exploring, combining existing conditions to continuously forge an entirely new path.
What did his own minor schemes amount to in comparison?
These were the true grandmasters playing the board.
——
"It seems there is still some time before practical application."
Inside the towering metal edifice, Lohr, the Grand Master of the Dark Angels' Ironwing, gazed at the massive engine before him.
This engine encompassed nearly the entire rear storage bay of a battleship.
"This will be completed, no matter how much time it takes."
Cawl calculated the engine's data.
The T'au Empire's Undercurrent Module was only just barely getting off the ground under the guidance of the Space Dwarfs. Although they had a theoretical prototype built upon the core principles, it was still a considerable distance away from actual application.
He stared at the engine. An inexplicable feeling told him that he was creating something entirely new.
Ten years? Ten thousand years? One could never know how much time it would consume.
True exploration never bothered with deadlines. Just as the ancient sages had proclaimed, the journey itself was where the true joy lay.
Yet his fellow tech-priests had long forgotten this fact.
They feared innovation, indulging themselves in blind replication, yet they constantly made errors in the very process of copying. They only had a half-baked understanding of the things they replicated, and never once considered creating something new.
'But I create.'
This thought surged dynamically through his complex neural circuits.
Anything could be improved. If it could no longer be improved, then something better should be created—this should have been the primary driving force behind human technology.
His colleagues were always lamenting lost knowledge, exhausting their entire lives excavating relics of the past.
But they failed to comprehend that during the long, dark years, the most precious thing humanity had lost was not STC templates or ancient technology, but the very spirit of exploration and research.
Without it, science simply ceased to exist.
Those ignorant priests would never understand this, and they would surely execute him for uttering such words, but there was always someone different.
Cawl's gaze swept over the complex energy conduits on the engine's surface, where a faint blue luminescence pulsed.
At the other end of this hall of Steel, the first batch of Space Marines undergoing special unit training, along with outstanding skilled workers from various specialized fields within the Dawn fleet, began to gather. Under the systematic assignments of the Dark Angels, they commenced a lengthy training program.
Meanwhile, aboard countless other ships, the educational system—which had been continuously improved and upgraded since the very moment they first met—was still running steadily, constantly outputting high-quality talent for the fleet.
The four Primarchs were forging a new order.
If initially Cawl held a slight grudge against the Wings of Dawn for acting as technological thieves, he had now completely let it go.
Because everything he created would not gather dust in the hands of the Wings of Dawn, nor would it be lost forever upon his death.
'They, too, are creating.'
Cawl's mechanical eyes slightly contracted, permanently recording this moment into his core memory banks.
This was merely the beginning. In the future, from the moment they once again set foot into Space, there would be a continuous stream of challenges.
Whether the iron-fisted conservatives would continue to dominate the Imperium, or whether these daring, innovative souls could carve out a new path...
He would just have to watch and see who would win this time.