The Astartes Family's Notebook

There's no other way; having two Stormhawks in the entire company is already quite a feat.

If it weren't for Saint Markarius, the Fourth Chapter would never have been able to acquire a relic like the Stormhawk, which would be considered a holy relic in other chapters.

I won't list the specific parameters, but to put it simply, for a poor group, using a Thunderhawk is like driving a Mazda, while for a rich group, using a Storm Hawk is like riding in a Rolls-Royce.

In the human empire of the Warhammer world, advanced industrial goods are monopolized by the Cult of Mechanics. Cheap goods are not necessarily good, and expensive goods naturally have their reasons for being expensive.

The only pity is that when the company made a fortune with Markarius, they only managed to get five Stormhawks. As a result, the shameless squadron leader took three of them, leaving only two for the fourth company, with one each parked on the combat barge and the strike cruiser.

Anyone who has seen the Warhammer shorts knows that the ones Titus and his crew rode in were Thunderhawks. After carrying four fully armed Astartes Space Marines, the interior space was already quite cramped. But the Stormhawks, after carrying ten people including Khaz, still had room to store heavy weapons.

Brilliant! Praise be to Saint Markarius once again, Mamen.

However, when the Void Shield rose as usual, the Stormhawks did not receive orders to attack. After receiving the notification, they returned to their living quarters.

The reason is simple: Judge Odachi is a courteous person.

At a safe distance, a joint formation consisting of a Luna-class cruiser, five frigates, and eight destroyers is conducting airspace surveillance.

It wasn't until the Victory Balance and the Pioneer Star had completed charging their Void Shields that the Luna-class cruisers arrived with the other ships to reorganize the fleet.

Kaz suddenly remembered that the Inquisitor Odach had also flown a Stormhawk. Back on Frankis III, that Stormhawk carried eleven unarmored Astartes recruits, three fully armed Space Marines, the Inquisitor, and a squadron of Storm Loyalists.

Having a Stormhawk is quite a show-off.

Unfortunately, I probably won't have the chance to ride the Stormhawk again anytime soon.

Sending new recruits to boarding operations is an implicit privilege that comes with becoming the "King of New Recruits."

Classic Warhammer joke: Warband boarding, guess who they won't be joining?

Incidentally, a Starhawk bomber and a Fury interceptor are also parked in the Trailblazer's hangar, taking up space.

This is a creature even larger than the Stormhawk, with a length exceeding one hundred meters.

The most outrageous thing is that both come with their own living and sanitation facilities, with the Fury Interceptor's living cabin even having its own bathroom and circulating water purification system.

Katz hadn't yet picked up Astartes' arrogance and was too proud to talk to the ship's crew, so he knew that officers and veterans often bribed the warehouse manager with their issued supplies to take a shower in a Fury interceptor.

Kaz did not report them. Although the mortal crew member, who had been boasting too much, realized that he had said things he shouldn't have, Kaz didn't care and instead comforted him.

Even His Majesty the God Emperor has said that he is not a god, so what right does Kars have to criticize human nature?

Unfortunately, the Fourth Company didn't have a chance to recruit any pilots, so they preferred to hide in the hangar of the cruiser-attack ship rather than let the news leak out and attract the attention of the old thieves from the First Company.

Right, Commander, we respect and love you!

No one paid attention to the little incident on the Pioneer Star. When Tyrant returned to the Victory Balance in his Thunderhawk, he found that he was the only one missing from the bridge.

"Company Commander Motor Sich, have you made your choice, Nafar or Omidas II?"

Judge Odachi pulled out his personal data panel and, using the Rose Festival token issued to official judges by the court, obtained data upload privileges. He added some red dots and corresponding intelligence descriptions to the holographic image of the planetary system projected by the projector.

Originally, this star system had three habitable planets. However, before Macarius launched his expedition, one of these habitable worlds was in turmoil, another was embroiled in warlord conflicts, and the remaining one was actually being used by cunning cultists to fight against Eldar pirate raids.

It truly is the vibrant, burgeoning life unique to the Warhammer world.

Ironically, the rebellious Nafar was ruthlessly suppressed by the expeditionary force, and the cunning cultists on Omidas II were wiped out by the viral bombs. On the contrary, Omidas I, plagued by warlord infighting, detonated a treasure buried deep in the earth's crust because the desperate warlords were unwilling to lose power and were powerless to fight against the empire. This caused violent turbulence in the continental plates, turning a habitable planet that was qualified to apply for a Garden World into a dead world with a never-ending river of lava.

Odachi's choice of these two planets as the starting point for his mission was clearly deliberate.

The judge was very confident; he believed that no matter which planet the Desolation Wings chose for their fourth mission, they would owe even more favors.

But Motor Sich is the second company commander of the Wasteland Wings, a native-born second company commander.

There is no doubt about the Imperial Inquisition's extensive resources; the judges must possess some top-secret information or secrets that can be exploited.

But Odachi overlooked one thing.

For the Pacific Starfield, he was an outsider; the Wasteland Wings were the local power.

"Why make any choices? We're already here. Do we have to pick a day to pledge allegiance to His Majesty the Divine Emperor? Let's deal with both problems at the same time."

Judge Odachi was taken aback at first, then laughed even harder.

When it comes to playing political games with the Throne Agents, Astartes ultimately falls short.

Isn't human kindness something that's accumulated through the process of you helping me and me helping you?

Fine, whether he earns it or owes it, he, Odachi, is determined to collect the debt of gratitude owed to the Wings of Desolation.

Chapter 19 Born at the Wrong Time

Only news that the government explicitly denies is the only news whose authenticity can be confirmed. — Sir Humphrey

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After the Great Rebellion, the Empire was effectively brain dead. The High Lords' efforts to keep the Holy Terra beating as its heart were merely to ensure the blood flow to the Empire's bloated body.

They are the judges who act like white blood cells, maintaining the sub-healthy state of the human empire.

No joke, although the side effects are significant, the Inquisitors are truly indispensable to the human empire.

To emphasize, the Human Empire is a feudal imperial theocratic state.

After the Emperor ascended the Golden Throne, the court of Holy Terra was controlled by twelve High Lords.

But the human empire is so vast that there are over a million worlds registered.

Every day, new worlds are discovered, lost worlds are reclaimed, rebellious worlds are suppressed, and many more worlds already under the rule of the empire rebel, fall, and are destroyed.

The officials in the court couldn't handle it all; the real deal with these "miscellaneous tasks" was done by the Throne Agents, the judges.

The notorious traitor Gogo van Dier once said before his execution that he was too busy to die.

This is the truth.

The recapture of one or two planets is of little importance to Holy Terra.

But this is very important for a newly appointed judge who has just completed his internship.

It should be noted that in the recent M41.444 event, an event occurred that is currently under information blackout, but whose impact is destined to be far-reaching.

The court has declared this incident a month of shame.

The events surrounding the Moon of Shame are very complex. Even though Odachi's teacher was the Inquisitor Grand Master of the Holy Hammer Order, he only learned the general outline of the story from his teacher's admonitions.

After all, a chief judge and two chapter commanders died, and the parties involved in the incident included the Demon Tribunal, the Grey Knights, the Imperial Navy, the Red Hunters Chapter, the Space Wolves Chapter, and the Armageddon Steel Legion.

Neither side is easy to deal with.

As a judge who had not yet established any outstanding achievements, Odachi could not comment on others, but he knew the weight of the deceased Judge Guisema Cosmaros.

There are many factions within the court, but the three strongest factions are the most powerful.

These are the Holy Hammer Order of the Devil's Inquisition, the Outward Expedition Order of the Alien Inquisition, and the Rebellion Order of the Heretic Inquisition.

It was precisely because Odachi and his teacher belonged to the Holy Hammer Order, just like the deceased Inquisitor, that Odachi felt the situation was truly complex.

It's important to understand that within the Inquisition system, the most powerful figure is naturally the Supreme Inquisition Master of Holy Terra, a powerful imperial figure with a permanent seat at the High Lords' Council.

The courtroom itself, however, is much more fragmented.

Take the Demon Tribunal, where Odachi is located, for example. Although everyone is affiliated with the Holy Hammer Order, the Holy Hammer Order alone can be divided into more than twenty factions.

Although his teacher also had the title of Grand Master in his position, it was only because he had a lot of apprentices.

Anyone who's in the judges' circle knows that a trial without a chief judge is like a fart that goes unheard.

A high-ranking judge of the Holy Hammer Order died under mysterious circumstances. The Holy Terra Inquisition headquarters actually issued a document requiring all judges on duty outside the court not to investigate the incident on their own, to do their best to block the news, and to do everything possible to downplay the impact of the incident if that was not possible.

Look at the weak and powerless writing in the courtroom. Is this still the style of our judges?

Is this still the way Holy Terra does things?

Now you understand how deep the water is here.

Odachi's teacher used the most concise and economical approach to introduce the events of the Month of Shame.

Amigidon, the Empire wins.

The Grey Knights are authorized to do this, but the Space Wolves are not.

The conflict escalated into war, and many people died.

My disciple, you must remember not to offend anyone.

After briefly recounting the origins and development of the Month of Shame, the wise old man began to analyze in detail why Guessme Cosmaros deserved to die.

However, it took Odachi a while to realize why there was only a cause, development, and process but no ending.

Because this matter is not over.

Even as the presiding judge, Guisema Cosmarós made three fatal mistakes; he deserved to die.

First, you have no sense of propriety. Your swaggering should be directed at someone. Space Wolves are a non-canonical founding group that doesn't even bother with pretense. To break your promise to a founding group that still retains its legion structure and then punish them with a penal expedition—you're drunk.

Secondly, you've lost your mind. Deception isn't inherently wrong, but treating Astartes like a fool requires careful planning and meticulous execution, ensuring at least a 90% chance of success before taking any action. To suddenly decide on a scheme like this, trying to pull off a trap, is just plain stupid. Who do you think you are?

When Odachi heard this, he was stunned, and even felt a little admiration for Judge Guesme Cosmaros.

Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case. Anyone who has witnessed Astartes' heroic fighting prowess would not choose to confront them head-on.

Many Space Marines have been killed by Inquisitors, but very few Astartes have been killed in direct confrontation with them.

Having the ability to confront Astartes head-on, this judge, even if he survives, should be subject to an internal investigation for potentially messing up his demon host scheme.

Thirdly, the old man has begun to speak earnestly and diverge in his thinking.

The great mentor of the judges once again admonished his disciples that connections are of paramount importance to a judge.

Especially after the events of the Month of Infamy, Judge Guisemay Cosmaros has essentially cut down the trees of his predecessors and paved the way for future generations.

Therefore, the old man once again emphasized the importance of personal connections for judges.

And he used himself as an example.

"The three major orders may seem to have clearly defined responsibilities, but in reality, they don't really distinguish between you and me. The Inquisition has been interfering with the Inquisition for a long time, and our Demon Inquisition has interfered with the Inquisition more than once or twice. Haven't you seen enough of the Inquisition pointing the finger at the Chaos Demons, claiming they are aliens and shifting blame? How can they distinguish right from wrong? I'm only able to clean up this mess for the lords of Holy Terra because I'm capable? Don't nod, you brat. I'm 360 years old this year. I can't fight, and I'm not good at running away. My only advantage is that I've had all these years..." The connections we've built. That guy you personally killed before, do you know what his biggest mistake was? He thought too highly of himself. If we give you face, outsiders call us Inquisitors; if we don't, we'll tear you to shreds. As for the Macarion Expedition, to put it bluntly, Holy Terra botched it themselves. From the moment the State Church canonized Macarius, things completely stalled. Using connections to get the money back for the Holy Terra lords is feasible. Relying on Holy Terra's power, the Pacific Starfield is a death trap; any outsider who comes will die.”

After speaking, the old man seemed to freeze for a long while, as if he had a lapse in concentration.

Then he continued to instruct his disciples.

"The matter of the Desolate Wings Chapter is an unexpected bonus. The nature of the crime is egregious, but the circumstances are relatively minor. As a long-established local power with over two thousand years of deep roots in the Pacific Sector, being able to connect with them means you've gained a foothold in this area. From now on, whatever you do won't be easily blown away by the wind. I'm too old to look after you for many more years, but inheriting my mantle won't be a loss for you. Before there's a concrete explanation for the Moon of Shame incident, don't think about returning to Holy Terra. Settle down and get some things done."

Having truly grasped the strength of his teacher's connections—which included a combined fleet comprised of the Imperial Navy, the Astral Legion, the Astartes Chapter, and the merchant ronin families in less than a year—Audach finally gained a comprehensive understanding of the Inquisitor's network.

It's not about who I know on the surface; the power of a Throne Agent lies in how many people are willing to fight and die for you.

At that moment, Odachi understood.

Chapter 20 Seeking Advice from the Emperor

When using spirit writing to divine, the unfamiliar character is pronounced "Ji".

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"Company commander, I understand."

"What have you figured out now, Kaz?"

"Since they're not our own psionicists, we might as well use them."

Motor Sich didn't look too good, but he was too lazy to criticize Kaz, that little brat.

Because the Fourth Company Commander actually thought the same thing.

Because of the cinematics in the Dawn of War series of games, the Blood Ravens successfully distorted many people's correct understanding of Space Marines.

What about trading one-for-one with the orc Boom Boys, trading one-for-one with a chainsaw sword for orc canned killers, and think tanks everywhere?

Fiknius, these are all Fiknius.

The truth is that, due to the aftermath of the Nicaea Conference, even after thousands of years, a stable Beta-level psionicist is still an invaluable treasure to the Astartes.

There are only four think tanks in the entire Wasteland Wings.

Think tanks are like Astartes with psionic powers.

These four think tank members are not affiliated with any specific company; their placement is entirely up to the commander of the battle group.

What can think tanks do?

The void splits open, flames rage, psychic lightning strikes, stealing from the air, casting spells to claim lives, reading minds, and foreseeing the future.