Shipping goods from the game to the World of Warhammer

Chapter 93 Getting the Benefit and Then Complaining

Inquisitor Sion returned to the bridge of the Imperial cruiser.

In the battle reports sent from the front, each missing number represented a downed Lightning fighter. The damage report was projected onto the side data screen. Of the twelve Lightning fighters that the squadron launched, only four returned to base, while the enemy did not lose a single fighter.

Saien braced his hands on the edge of the projection table, the veins on the back of his hands bulging from the exertion.

With their air superiority completely gone and their main ground forces hampered by the Bloodaxe Clan's harassment tactics, and more importantly, the Deathwatch squad had lost contact, he had to report immediately and list the planet as a high-threat target.

"Your Honor."

The communications officer's voice came from the side, and Sain turned his head sharply.

"We have located the missing Deathwatch squad near the Imperial outpost. All five members are alive, with normal heart rates and EEG readings, but they are currently in a coma."

The communications officer paused, his words carefully chosen.

"The last data transmitted from Team Leader Tayburn's tactical recorder before the signal was lost showed that they had been subjected to some kind of psionic attack, and all members lost consciousness at almost the same time."

Sainn's lips were pressed into a thin line.

Psionic attacks, energy shields, phase weapons, atmospheric air superiority fighters—these pieces of information pieced together a picture in his mind that he absolutely did not want to see.

A military force with a complete system for identifying aliens was surveying the surface of this desolate planet, but the forces it could mobilize seemed insufficient to deal with this level of threat.

"Notify the Deathwatch Chapter and have them check their soldiers for any abnormalities."

Just then, a new signal indicator lit up on the bridge's communication panel.

Source: Vandrick the Wanderer Flagship Store.

Saien took a deep breath and pressed the receive button with his finger.

A half-body image of Rhodes appeared in the holographic projection area. The young merchant ronin looked anxious, with a slightly furrowed brow, but he still had a diplomatic smile on his lips, except that only the smile seemed to be the most sincere.

"Judge Sion, we've also encountered some significant problems on our end."

Rhodes' tone was urgent, with just the right amount of tension, but not to the point of panicking and losing his composure. After all, he was a wandering merchant, and no matter how down on his luck he was, he should still have some basic dignity.

"As promised, I arranged for a second batch of supply shuttles to reach the coordinates of your ground troops, but the shuttles were intercepted as soon as they entered the airspace over the basin."

He reached out and pulled up a video feed on the control panel in front of him. The video showed three golden-blue aircraft streaking through the clouds at an astonishing speed, with plasma beams shooting out from their noses and shooting down the shuttles one by one.

"My escort pilot said that those things were faster than any atmospheric aircraft he had ever seen, and our escort aircraft couldn't even lock on. The remaining shuttles had to make an emergency return."

Rod's expression was full of regret.

"Your Honor, I'm so sorry, the supplies couldn't be delivered. How are your troops doing?"

In the holographic image, Rhodes spread his hands, his posture conveying both the strength and helplessness of a wandering merchant.

"If the judge requires, I can try to arrange for the shuttle to take a longer route for resupply, but it may take much longer."

Sion stared at Rhodes' holographic image, his eyes cold, trying to catch even the slightest flaw in every detail of the other's appearance.

Unfortunately, Rhodes's words were impeccable.

Anxious but not flustered, respectful but not obsequious, offering help while reasonably acknowledging one's own limitations.

For a wandering merchant who encountered an accident on the battlefield, this performance was perfectly acceptable.

"unnecessary."

Sai's answer was brief.

"I have ordered a full withdrawal of ground troops. As for subsequent actions, we will have to wait for Deathwatch, the Tribunal, and other parties to make a decision."

He did not reveal the specifics of the Deathwatch squad, nor did he explain the details of the aerial formation's losses. After all, the Inquisitor had no obligation to disclose internal information about Imperial military operations to a traveling merchant, especially since he suspected that this traveling merchant might be colluding with the aliens.

"Patriarch Vandrick, thank you for your assistance in this operation. Your loyalty has been recorded."

This may sound like a polite remark, but Said spoke it with utter indifference. The phrase "recorded in the case" could be a compliment or something else entirely in the judge's mouth.

Rhodes nodded in the holographic image, his expression sincere.

"Serving the Emperor is the duty of every citizen of the Empire, and as a wandering merchant, I should bear even more responsibility."

Said almost wanted to throw the file in Rhodes' face, but he held back.

He knew very well that the trade warrant issued by this wandering merchant was dripping with the Emperor's own blood, and that this type of document held an irreplaceable and special legal significance within the Empire's power structure.

Even though the Vandrick dynasty had fallen to the point where it only had one flagship left, the certificate still granted Rhodes a special legal status.

Without irrefutable evidence, he cannot take action against the other party.

Moreover, even if there is evidence, considering the combat capabilities displayed by those aliens—the ability to defeat the Deathwatch squadron head-on and annihilate the Imperial Air Force squadron—even if he acted first and reported later, it's uncertain whether he could directly take them down, or whether his forces could hold out until reinforcements arrived, should these aliens launch a retaliatory attack.

Sainn silently noted this down in his mind, but the numbers on the judge's ledger seemed to be getting longer and longer.

"Well then, Your Honor, I will not disturb your command any longer. If there is any..."

Rod stopped mid-sentence.

He made a gesture as if he had suddenly remembered something, reached under the control panel and rummaged around, then pulled out a sealed data panel from under the console.

"Oh right, I almost forgot something."

Rhodes held up the data panel, its screen reflecting a pale blue glow under the holographic projection.

"Your Honor, when I was in my sanctuary on this planet, I found a sealed compartment at the end of a passage. The equipment inside was in excellent condition, and the coding format, after preliminary analysis by the mechanical sages on my ship, highly matches the standard technical template coding of the Golden Age."

Sion's eyelid twitched.

STC.

Standard construction template.

These four letters carry weight within the Empire comparable to certain sacred artifacts. Any complete or even incomplete fragment of $TC is enough to grant the discoverer a fiefdom of an entire planet, provided it passes the official verification of the Mechanicus.

Although for Rhodes, such a reward was hardly generous.

"It contains the complete manufacturing process of two types of war equipment."

Rhodes' tone was calm and casual.

"One type is a heavy armored vehicle with a variable form, capable of switching between a high-speed tank mode and a fixed artillery mode, with a considerable caliber and range of artillery. The other type is a multi-purpose aircraft that can perform air superiority operations within the atmosphere and can also switch to a ground assault mode through a transformation mechanism."

"I am prepared to submit this data to the Mechanical Order of the Mordax Forge World for formal verification, but considering that the Inquisitor is about to return, I wonder if you could trouble you to also transfer the corresponding data plate to the Imperial Navy? After all, if the verification results are true, a discovery of this level should enter the Empire's formal evaluation process as soon as possible."

Sion remained silent.

The entire bridge was silent for several seconds.

He stared intently at the data crystal box in Rhodes' hand, his mind racing through all sorts of possibilities.

A down-on-his-luck merchant who had just experienced the Chaos Rebellion on a desolate planet, during a sensitive period when the Imperial Inquisitors were investigating the planet, voluntarily offered a piece of technical data that appeared to be from STC.

It's either true or it's an elaborate trap.

If true, the very fact that the Vandrick dynasty's ruler handed over the STC is enough to make the Inquisition reassess him, and the possibility of him colluding with the Xenomorphs would instantly shrink infinitely.

If it's fake, falsifying $TC data, deceiving the Mechanicus, and attempting to corrupt the Empire with heretical devices, this is a serious crime punishable by death for anyone, and even the trading license of a wandering merchant cannot protect him.

Sion's gaze swept back and forth across Rhodes' face.

The fact that the other party dared to bring out something like this, especially at this time, is like a fox deliberately showing its tail under a hunter's sights.

It was a provocation against him.

"I will deliver it personally."

Said extended his hand, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"Please bring it to my bridge. I will arrange for someone to send it directly to the nearest Forgeworld, Mordax."

"Excellent! Thank you, Your Honor. May the Emperor's glory shine upon us all."

Rod bowed slightly, a perfectly measured expression of gratitude on his face.

"May the Emperor's glory shine upon you."

Communication was cut off, and Rhodes' holographic image disappeared from the projection area.

Soon after.

Sion looked down at the data panel that Rhodes had given him, which was engraved with the Vandrick family crest.

He wanted to see what this young traveling merchant was really up to.

If the Mechanicus's assessment reveals even one percent of the data to be falsified or heretical, the charge of forging the STC would be enough for him to bypass the legal protection of the trade warrant and take down Rhodes directly.

That trade warrant protected the descendants of the wandering merchants appointed by the emperor, but it could not protect a corrupt heretic.

Sain carefully placed the data pad into his private safe and tightened the lock.

"Set course, target Mordax to forge the world."

"Yes, Your Honor."

The roar of engines inside the bridge began to rise.

On the bridge of Vandrick's flagship, Rhodes watched as Sion's warship slowly turned its bow, leaning back in the command chair and finally relaxing his tense back.

Aliya's voice rang out at just the right moment.

"The other side has entered the subspace travel preparation phase and is expected to leave this system in five minutes."

Rhodes remained silent until the Imperial cruiser carrying Sion had completely disappeared from the star map before shifting into a more comfortable position in his chair.

The curve of his lips gradually widened, eventually turning into an undisguised grin.

"Aliya."

"exist."

"Send a message to Mordax for me, telling the Foundry Director that there's a new batch of STCs similar to the previous ones."

It will be delivered to Mordax soon.

"Received. We're having the Star Speaker contact them."

Rod crossed his legs and tapped the armrest of the chair lightly with his fingers.

The Mechanicus has an extremely rigorous and impenetrable verification process for authenticating STC fragments. Any detail that does not conform to the Mechanicus will be keenly noticed by the Mechanicus enthusiasts.

That's probably what the judge was thinking.

However, the previous $CV has already gained the approval of these tech enthusiasts, so it's estimated that other Terran technological products will be no problem either.

The dual-mode switching system of the siege tank, from the power distribution of the suspension mechanism to the cooling cycle of the gun barrel, has every parameter that can withstand the most stringent technical scrutiny.

Needless to say, the Viking fighter's transformation mechanism, and its integrated air-ground combat system, in the current empire's view, can also simultaneously compensate for the lack of air-ground coordinated combat capabilities.

The mechanical repair guild on Mordax, after verification, will only come to one conclusion: this is also a genuine $TC fragment.

and then?

Then the Empire's forging world will begin mass-producing these things.

Siege tanks will be incorporated into the Astral Army's armored regiments, and Viking warplanes will be assigned to the Imperial Navy's air wings. These weapons and equipment with system technology features will gradually infiltrate the Imperial military system. When the Imperial regular army itself is using this type of equipment, its similar units of unknown origin will become less conspicuous.

This is a strategic move, like hiding a leaf in the forest, using the empire's own hands to whitewash the existence of the system's products.

The true core technologies—the upgraded versions that require further research to unlock, the system's unique high-tier unit and building technologies—are all still in his own hands.

He only gave away a small portion, enough for the Empire to reap a huge benefit, but far from enough to get a glimpse of the system's full picture. What if the system will upgrade the campaign units in the future?

As for Judge Saien wanting to use this technical information to cause him trouble?

When the judge receives Mordax's verification report, he will likely remain silent for a long time.

Because the report would tell him that the STC fragment was genuine.

How could a wandering merchant who had offered up real $TC to the empire possibly continue to pursue them?

How else could he write a report saying that a loyal imperial servant who had just delivered two complete sets of $TC manufacturing technology to the Empire was an accomplice of the aliens?

His colleagues in the court would probably think that Sion's brain had been infected with orc spores.

Meanwhile, in a makeshift workshop somewhere in the world of Mordax, the $CV operators, who were routinely enjoying the "oiler-exclusive twelve-hour workday," stopped what they were doing, sneezed without warning, and then continued to perform their routine maintenance on the Thinker while grumbling.

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