Once the battle was over, my escorts began the tedious task of incinerating whatever dregs still survived in the void, burning the corrupted wrecks with lance and plasma cannons then pushing them into the sun.
There was even a Power-armored traitor marine with a forcefield around him, but a hundred Volcano lances from my corvettes made him convert back to the light.
The chanicus protested a little, trying to recover so valuable tech or minerals from the Chaos wrecks, but I wouldn't risk it.
Instead, I launched the servitors and a few tech-priests, so Ogryns and a Catachan regint with all the Ard Sentinels in support, to cleanse the orbitals of cultist and traitor invaders.
The Blood Angels were only called where traitor marines were spotted, to prevent thousands of casualties to my own troops. They were appropriately brutal, and losses were total on the Chaos side, and moderate for our own.
The liberation worked quite well, and we even saved a dozen docks and three orbital forts, however two corrupted forts had to be torpedoed and lanced into oblivion, while my battlecruiser, the Canticle glassed a Chaos infested Hive city from orbit, using only its powerful lances.
Forge Shenlong got away with minor damage, from an invasion that should have conquered it easily.
The Fabricator General knew that as well, and I was received like a Holy Savior, although a dozen Astartes around helped secure my image too.
Then we got to chatting in private and trading, and I unloaded two dozen templates on him, including a cheap system-only Volcano-pattern corvette and the Lima-class destroyer, both still with 30 torpedoes, but using twin Volcano cannons instead of single barrel lances for its batteries and a hundred quad-multilasers for point defense.
"This type of ship...no wonder you massacred the traitors so easily. We could build a dozen of them in a few years..." the Red-robed Magos mused to himself.
"I would start with a thousand corvettes. Use 10 docks to mass-produce them, while the other two docks complete the hulls you have already begun. The Bellus will stay to provide cover till you have a large enough fleet to defend yourself." I explained in a gentle voice, and drank the wine in deep thought.
Having the system corvettes will prevent other Admirals from taking them away, because they lacked Warp engines. They also didn't need Navigators, which were rare and expensive.
The Fabricator had even better implants than mine, so he figured it out in a second.
"What about your Favor, Trader Lancefire. Surely there are things we could offer?" he inquired cautiously.
I nodded and pointed at the cogitator screen. "As many light vehicles as I can take. Chiras and Hydras, Manticores and Basilisks, Rapiers, Centaurs and Sentinels. And as many power armors as can be made for my void marines."
He nodded and waved the screen away. Thousands of light vehicles were not a problem. "Power armors...way too difficult to make in large numbers. Perhaps 20 or so. You have all those Astartes anyway."
"Also, two Lima-class destroyers to replace my loses, and full repair and supplies for my fleet." I added without pushing too hard. His Forge World wasn't in a good shape right now.
The Fabricator sighed and urged on. Still too little then, so I could fill my plate more.
"This will only cover your liberation efforts. What about the sacred STC templates?" he asked more serious.
This would take so thought. "Force field templates, gravity weapons, better personal weapons for my regints. Hunter Killer missiles and a forge-factory to make more. Also servitors, enginseers and tech-priests that will fly with into the Fringe."
"... You an STC patterns. Not quite legal, such a trade." he whispered fearfully.
I shrugged and smiled. "Donations to an approved religion like the Cult of the Omnissiah are tax free. migration. Soon after, a new Tau Expansion. And so on." I rebutted him while pouring myself more wine.
The Fabricator blinked and glanced at his cogitator screen again. "Right. You forgot other enemies, but I get the point. Ships and more ships."
"Once you have enough, they could be lined up like torpedoes in a Universe-class, with launch rails. And then, you'll be the one Crusading with a million ships. But first, you have to survive, Fabricator. Don't count on to save you again." I announced and sipped my wine a bit slower.
"You're leaving the Imperium. Probably for the best, considering how the Inquisition might react." he reasoned at light speed.
"Yes. And if you want, there will be a place for a splinter Forge among my worlds. I don't intend to stop at a million ships, with a trillion stars and planets in this galaxy." I said and set my glass down gently.
"Yes...I can see it might work...if you don't get discovered too soon, Lord Pef. A small success is comndable. But grow too big..." he warned , as if I didn't know.
I knew the risks, of course.
"Co visit the Canticle soon, Fabricator. I have so items that might even the odds a little." I spoke more modestly, and prepared to leave.
"Omnissiah be with you, Pef Lancefire. I'll begin preparing the priesthood for the large tasks ahead." he declared solemnly as I crossed his threshold.
I just nodded with sorrow. Perhaps he would survive now.
At least I gave him a chance. A small chance.
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