Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 421 Weapon Shortage
Although expanding the production capacity of the Life Womb Factory is the most important thing right now, Chen Xi's inspection of Rostov-III was not just about inspecting this one thing.

While riding a high-speed train on the intercontinental commuter rail, Chen Xi was discussing the production of Astartes equipment with 32.

Outside the window, the industrial zone flashed by with the light of countless furnaces, and the gear symbol of the Mechanicus appeared and disappeared among the chimneys.

“Currently, we have a very complete range of STCs for various Astartes equipment. Whether it’s the discontinued equipment from the 30K Great Expedition era or the original Kaul series, we have STCs for them all and can produce them.” 32 was still petting the cat, his mechanical fingers gently stroking the black cat’s back.

Because they could directly exchange various STCs with the Emperor, they had no shortage of STCs.

The problem that Chen Xi and his team faced was always another problem.

So while highlighting these advantages, 32 also complained: "But our biggest problem right now is insufficient production capacity! Even a simple weapon like a bomb gun requires low-ranking priests to perform prayers and manual assembly, which is very inefficient."

She pulled up a set of holographic data showing the explosive gun components moving slowly on the production line: "Not to mention big items like the Thunderhawk and Terminator Armor, even power armor might not be able to be made in a year now."

"Such low production capacity? Can we put it on the production line?" Chen Xi frowned and tapped the table lightly with his fingers.

He wasn't surprised by the low production capacity; Astartes' equipment wasn't the kind of illegal firearms amassed by haunted gangsters, so a slower production process was normal.

Moreover, at least it was only a low-ranking priest who performed the blessing. If it were the Grey Knights, every Nemesis-powered weapon in their hands would be a master-level craftsmanship weapon that would be personally blessed by the forging sage.

That's when the production was truly shockingly low.

“What you can think of, I’ve thought of too.” 32 didn’t think Chen Xi’s opinion was unprofessional. She just shook her head and tapped the production charts on the data board lightly with her fingers: “Even with assembly line division of labor, where each person is only responsible for one process, the production capacity will only increase slightly.”

Those sacred rituals of blessing the machine spirit and the mechanical adjustments simply cannot simplify the process.

She sighed and switched the holographic projection to the resource allocation interface: "Ultimately, it's because the production line is occupied by too much Titan, and we have too many things to produce, so the production capacity can't keep up."

The plasma reactors used to maintain the Warhound-class Titans alone consume the entire capacity of three refineries.

This is unavoidable. Although there is a factory on one planet (although the factory coverage only reaches 30% of the planet's surface area) that is responsible for producing various things, the demand of an entire subsector is still too great.

On the surface of Rostov-III, countless foundry chimneys spewed thick smoke day and night, yet still could not meet the needs of the front lines.

Putting aside everything else, the supplies needed by the ordinary troops in the expeditionary force alone included everything from laser guns to bayonets, combat daggers, energy batteries... and even mess kits and military boots.

Every day, hundreds or even thousands of containers of supplies are sent from the front lines, but the quartermasters can only prioritize the most urgent orders.

This is a complete logistical system that can arm an Astronaut soldier from head to toe, ensure that he can fight and kill the enemy on the battlefield, and ultimately survive.

From the gas mask filter to the power battery, every component is related to the soldier's life or death.

This doesn't even include heavy weapons and armored vehicles.

Because these things are all produced separately, and Rostov can't even produce most of the armored vehicles, so they need to be imported from other casting worlds.

Transport fleets often have to travel for months in subspace to deliver a batch of valuable armored vehicles to the front lines.

This is one of the most frustrating situations the Empire is currently in. With its technological capabilities, the Empire is able to deal with most of the monsters and monsters in the galaxy.

From plasma weapons to gravity weapons, from antimatter bombs to Void Shield technology, the human empire's arsenal has never lacked terrifying creations capable of destroying stars.

However, the dispersed industrial system and long supply lines prevented these powerful weapons from exerting their full potential.

An expeditionary force may be missing a third of its standard equipment when it sets off, and by the time it reaches the front lines after crossing several star sectors, most of the remaining equipment will be lost in warp storms.

Moreover, the empire's productivity and production model made it difficult for the empire to produce enough equipment to arm its army.

Each foundry world clings to its own production traditions and technological secrets, with the Mechanicus's cumbersome rituals and dogmas resulting in absurdly low production efficiency.

Or to put it another way, the Empire's abysmal transportation system meant that it did not have enough production capacity to arm all its Astral Army to the teeth, nor could it deliver the armed Astral Army to the places where they were most needed in a timely manner, or deliver the supplies they needed most to them.

A transport ship may have to travel through more than a dozen star systems to deliver a box of laser gun batteries to the front-line troops.

The empire's supplies are never enough, and it's become part of the empire's military logistics supply system for logistics officers to arbitrate or delay supplies based on their mood.

From the military affairs department to the company logistics officer, every link in the chain takes a cut, and by the time the supplies actually reach the soldiers, often only one-third of the requested amount remains.

And Astartes... Astartes will only have more types of equipment, longer production cycles, and more stringent requirements.

A set of power armor requires hundreds of processes, each of which must be blessed by a mechanical priest. The assembly time of a single explosive gun is enough for the Nest City factory to produce hundreds of laser guns.

Fortunately, Astartes is a very special territory for the Empire, and their military supplies are generally guaranteed.

After all, every Space Marine is the Emperor's Death Angel, a precious war asset worth as much as a cruiser.

Unless you're the kind of warband that has offended the Highlords Council or other powerful departments of the Empire, you generally won't encounter situations where supplies are withheld.

Even the least favored chapters receive far higher supply priority than regular Astragalus forces.

In particular, most of the Astartes Chapters can trade directly with the Mechanicus to obtain supplies and various resources they need, including gene seeds.

Many long-established chapters have maintained alliances with specific forge worlds for millennia, and these deep-rooted ties have allowed them a stable supply of superior weaponry. For example, the Steel Hands Chapter has maintained close ties with the Martian forge world for tens of thousands of years, while the Blood Angels Chapter has established its own military-industrial complex in the Baal system.

Not to mention, many warbands have the ability to produce their own weapons and equipment, and are not too dependent on the Empire for supplies.

But for Chen Xi and his group, the issue wasn't viewed that way.

They lacked the millennia-long cooperative relationship between traditional warbands and the Mechanicus, and they did not possess comprehensive independent production capabilities, yet they faced equipment requirements that were far more complex than those of traditional warbands.

"The Ash Knights have expanded to three thousand men in the past ten years. Although they are all new recruits, at this rate, I have no doubt that they can achieve their goal of expanding to thirty thousand men in the next twenty years," Chen Xi said to 32, his finger lightly tapping the battle group organization chart on the data panel.

The information he was referring to was a report he had recently received, which was personally submitted to Chen Xi by Regiment Commander Shi Dongzhan.

This encrypted report details the success rate of recruit conversion in the warband, as well as the current equipment shortage list for each company—from power armor and explosive guns to heavy vehicles, each item is marked with precise demand figures, and this list continues to grow as new recruits join.

“3000 people means at least 2,500 sets of Astartes equipment. Where am I supposed to conjure up that many sets of equipment for you?” 32’s face turned green when he heard the number, and the aura of his mechanical prosthetic eye contracted violently.

Rostov III has very limited production capacity, and can only assemble 10 sets of Astartes equipment per year. This does not include Terminator armor or any lost technology from the 30k era.

The basic equipment needs of just these three thousand people would have been enough to keep her foundry busy for two and a half centuries.

It's important to understand that while the original Astartes weapons they are currently producing are significantly larger in size than the original Astartes weaponry, their production cost is actually lower than that of the old Astartes equipment due to the design and iterations over tens of thousands of years by the great sage Belisarius Caul.

Kaur's design simplifies the production process, allowing more foundry professionals to participate in production.

But the lost technology of the 30k era was a completely different story.

These are things that make one exclaim in awe at the terrifying nature of humanity's dark age of technology; each one is incredibly difficult to produce.

Some core components of energy weapons need to be forged under special gravity conditions, while the neural interfaces of powered armor require even more nanometer-level assembly precision.

Some of these were extremely dangerous, and 32 even had to personally participate in their production.

For example, the confinement field generator of a plasma incineration cannon could trigger a chain reaction if there is even the slightest mistake, leveling the entire workshop.

After all, she was the only mechanic on the entire Rostov III with the title of Sage. Most of the others were low-ranking priests, and although there were a few high-ranking priests, they were still very few and far between and could not satisfy her.

These priests then went on to produce some original-cast equipment. As for the more complex 30K equipment, they had to make their own.

So whenever something very difficult to make is needed, 32 usually does it himself.

That's why when Chen Xi said there were already three thousand Astartes, she really turned green, because that meant she had to craft a huge amount of Astartes equipment.

The thought of assembling the neural interfaces of thousands of power armors by hand made her servo arms tremble involuntarily.

After all, the sheer number of Ash Knights was simply outrageous. If they were to make a public appearance, it would be almost impossible for them not to attract investigation and questioning from the Imperial authorities.

It's important to understand that a standard Astartes Chapter consists of only one thousand people, while they are equivalent to three full chapters—a total of three thousand Space Marines, which completely violates the provisions of the Astartes Codex.

This also means that Chen Xi and his team must be extremely cautious and it is completely unsuitable for them to purchase Astartes equipment in bulk from other forging worlds.

Such a large-scale arms procurement is bound to attract the attention and suspicion of the Mechanicus, and will also draw the attention of the Inquisition and the High Lords Council.

Needless to say, for Chen Xi, who possesses more advanced technology, the products produced by those traditional foundries are somewhat outdated and obsolete.

Those standard template equipment that the Cult of Mechanics regarded as the gold standard were, in his eyes, merely transitional products that were barely usable—although their reliability was good, their performance could no longer keep up with the needs of the times.

After all, the Great Sage Caul single-handedly modernized the entire Astartes military system. With the superior performance of the Prototype series equipment, who would still use those old power armors and traditional explosive guns?
Unless those are Chapter relics with special historical significance, it is certainly more appropriate for a Chapter that has fully adopted Prototype technology to prioritize equipping itself with the new Prototype series of weapons and armor.

"So, in the end, we still need to expand production capacity!" Chen Xi and 32 exchanged a glance and then both gave a wry smile.

This conclusion is as obvious as the Emperor's Golden Throne, yet as frustrating as a warp storm.

On the holographic platform in front of them, red warning signs flashed for each project with insufficient production capacity.

Everyone knows the answer, but achieving it is not easy.

Expanding the foundry requires a large number of trained technical priests, increasing production means replanning the planet's energy allocation, and training qualified technicians is a long process that takes decades.

"I'll be going to the Mariupol Foundry World later. One reason is that Kaul left a furnace there. Although it's now in my hands, I still need to send someone over to maintain it," Chen Xi explained, pulling up an interstellar route map and marking the destination on it.

That furnace was where the Great Sage Caul experimented with original casting technology in his early days. It not only housed tens of thousands of sleeping Astartes, but the entire furnace was also capable of producing a series of original casting equipment.

Chen Xi planned to make use of it.

“On the other hand, we can also send some low-profit, high-cost orders to the Mariupol Foundry World to see if we can get more help,” he continued, tracing a long list of secondary equipment.

The Mariupol Foundry World is the closest foundry world to the Rostov Subsector. Although it is not large, it is at least a standard foundry world with the necessary production capacity.

The only problem is how Chen Xi can persuade the casting director to provide the necessary assistance to the Rostov sub-sector.

(End of this chapter)