Chapter 361: The Transformation of Vigilus
When the sun of the 27th day of the 5th month rose, its light, no longer blocked by the planet and its atmosphere, gently touched the rotating starport suspended between Vigilus's moon and the planetary surface. In its shadow, the thrusters of ships flickered sporadically.
Massive amounts of asteroid debris flew towards the starport, shrouded in void shields, then vanished against the aegis of the inner sanctum's defense grid.
Along the nearly six-hundred-kilometer arc from the beacon zone to the docking bays, workers laboring on the decks and control consoles were momentarily blinded by the sudden golden light.
But this brief discomfort lasted only seconds. As safety notifications flashed, the cogitator arrays unlocked the mechanical systems, and the workers resumed their bustling activity within the starport.
The sunlight of a new day swept across the bowl-shaped inner sanctum of the starport and its surroundings.
Each section was large enough to be the grandest hive city on any planet. The logistics hub status granted to Vigilus by the Dawnstar Sector government had brought unprecedented prosperity to this world.
It was a counter-intuitive reality.
Just a few years ago, this planet was merely a small segment in the defensive ring resisting the 'Iron Blood Invasion'.
Yet even on the eve of the war defined as the 'Rebellion of the Machine Cults', at the moment of widest impact, the prosperity of Vigilus had never ceased.
"Incredible."
A Rogue Trader from the Calixis Sector observed the starport.
He had come from the other side of the Eye of Terror, the northeastern corner of the Obscurus Segmentum, dressed in an expensive and well-tailored uniform embroidered with the Imperial Aquila and his family crest in rare materials. Behind him stood a family bodyguard in power armor, chest covered in medals of honor.
Beside him, a Magos from the Lathe Worlds examined the mechanical constructs that made up the starport.
She could see many familiar things, technologies she had glimpsed in the vaults of Forge Lords during her travels through various Forge Worlds.
"To think these technologies are applied here like this—"
The Lathe Magos watched the busy technicians.
Those technicians bore no sacred marks of the Cog, and the heavy manual labor that should have relied on servitor augmentations was replaced by suits of power exoskeletons.
Under the leadership of some Enginseers, they operated those sacred machines, efficiently processing the resources flowing through the entire port.
"Used on these mortals."
In the Lathe Worlds, such precise and efficient structures usually only appeared in the forge-fanes of the Magi.
"Caution, Magos."
Beside her, the attendant guiding them couldn't help but whisper a reminder.
Everyone knew the Dawnstar Sector government valued mortals. Although the current Governor of Vigilus wouldn't arrest someone for a single sentence, if it fell into the ears of those with intentions, it would leave a bad impression for subsequent negotiations.
Especially now, in the post-war reckoning, the Mechanicus factions that did not participate in the 'Cadian Gate Self-Defense Counterattack' were in an awkward position.
The Lathe Worlds were among them.
As the pillar maintaining the prosperity of the Calixis Sector, the representative of the Cult Mechanicus at the edge of the Astronomican's light, when the Imperial Navy fleet of the Calixis Sector had already lost two battleships on the Eye of Terror defense line, the Dragon Lords of the Lathe Worlds were still weighing gains and losses.
Mainly because the Dawnbreakers' attitude towards the Mechanicus was indeed radical, even the relatively moderate Lathe Worlds were hesitant.
And based on past experience, they thought this campaign would last until at least 800.M41, so they weren't in a hurry to join.
By the time these indecisive Magi concluded their discussions, the self-defense counterattack was nearing its end.
Ended in less than ten years, heavily damaging two Traitor Legions and killing a fallen Primarch.
Moreover, after this war, the Dawnbreakers still had a hundred thousand Astartes in hand, and the Dawnbreaker Fleet remained intact.
Thanks to the full-power production of Agrippina and nearby Forge Worlds and their orbital shipyards, counting the warships sunk in the war and the few fleets annihilated due to force majeure, many sector fleets that came to support actually ended up with more battleships in their order of battle.
Oh well, no need for discussion now.
Now that the Calixis Sector fleet was leading four brand-new Emperor-class battleships to assist Rogue Traders in clearing anti-human forces in the Koronus Expanse, the Magi of the Lathe Worlds could only rush over to admit their mistake.
The Regent, Lord Romulus, remembered everyone who helped him, and also had a deep impression of any faction that was absent.
Post-war reckoning was inevitable; many Mechanicus factions and sector nobles suffered.
Lightly, planets were confiscated and titles revoked; heavily, not even a trace remained, only a notification found in the Dawnbreakers' announcements.
"I understand."
The Lathe Magos nodded hurriedly, then silently followed behind the Rogue Trader, carefully observing the heavy machinery.
The Rogue Trader observed his surroundings more intently, feeling that his attire and pomp, meant to display his status, were useless.
In the past, in the Calixis Sector and Koronus Expanse, starports were places where dragons and snakes mingled. As a Rogue Trader, he had to display his authority, which saved him a lot of unnecessary trouble when operating there.
However, on Vigilus, he saw no filthy mutants, no local gangs representing power, no pirate organizations disguised as black market merchants; even information brokers were rare.
This rendered the experience he had honed in those chaotic regions useless.
There was only identity verification, then reporting, then registration with the Rogue Trader Union, and finally participation in the exchange meeting organized by the Vigilus government under the arrangement of the Starport Master.
When the Rogue Trader tried to recruit slaves and laborers for his ships, which had suffered considerable attrition from the long voyage, he was informed by the Arbites that Vigilus only exported skilled workers and required the Rogue Trader to sign relevant agreements.
When the Rogue Trader's fleet entered Vigilus a second time, they would conduct interviews with the technicians to understand their life and income status on the ship, judging whether the ship owner was qualified to continue enjoying starport services.
Although unsure if the human rights of these technicians could be guaranteed in the void, the Rogue Trader was surprised that the Vigilus government would regulate such 'trivial matters'.
At the same time, he was puzzled: given the current environment of Imperial ships, were these technicians really needed?
"After the self-defense counterattack ended, following Lord Romulus's order, multiple Forge Worlds, including Agrippina, opened their technologies to support the comprehensive upgrade and refit of Imperial ships."
The attendant answered the Rogue Trader's doubts and timely handed over a list.
"Mainly involving the installation of a large number of automated facilities, greatly reducing labor requirements and crew numbers, while gradually increasing the demand for skilled workers to maintain and operate equipment. Currently mainly targeting various Chartist Fleets."
The Rogue Trader scrutinized the list, curious about the engine capable of short-distance jumps, then frowned at the number of refits.
It was exaggeratedly high.
It even included a large number of Imperial Navy ships.
The conservative thinking of the Imperial Navy made them cautious about new ship types and new technologies. Let alone such automation refits, even changing to new weapons would cause them to bicker for half a day.
The Rogue Trader didn't think an attendant would bluff him with data, as such lies could be quickly verified once he contacted acquaintances in the Rogue Trader Union.
This made the Rogue Trader take these refit technologies seriously.
Cost reduction was secondary; human rights were not something a Rogue Trader facing extreme situations at any time needed to consider.
The main point was that under Imperial management, the living environment of ship laborers was, if not dire, then a living hell.
In such a survival environment, placing faith in certain heretical existences was common, especially for Rogue Traders who often soaked in the warp.
Suppressing rebellions, exterminating heretical cults, occasionally banishing a few daemons—these were common and deadly matters for Rogue Traders.
If the reduction of laborers did not reduce the operational efficiency of the ship, then naturally, the fewer the better.
"How is the reliability?"
"Compared to the ships of the Adeptus Mechanicus, how reliable do you think the ships of the Imperial Navy are?"
The attendant did not rush to prove how excellent these technologies were, but asked back.
"..."
Well, irrefutable.
The Rogue Trader was silent for a while, handing the document to his Mechanicus partner for review, while also planning to introduce the so-called 'ZFR Horizon Grav-Accelerator Engine' for the family's Chartist Fleet.
An engine that could cross the vast distances between star systems in a few years objectively, while allowing the ship to briefly 'dive' into the warp for short-distance jumps.
Such engines were too large and cumbersome for warships, but perfect for Chartist Fleets.
If the short-distance jump was really as described in the table, then dealing with those pirates in the Calixis Sector wouldn't require heading straight into their ambush zones anymore; they could just jump past them.
[Technology verification passed. Simulation verification correct. Probability of falsification denied statistically.]
The Lathe Magos quickly sent back a message, her unmodified fingers tapping a series of binharic ciphers on the Rogue Trader's shoulder, breathing heavily.
She couldn't understand why the world had changed so fast after she had only been in the warp for a short while.
Why were these sacred technologies, which should have been stored in temples of knowledge and worshipped, beginning to become popular?
Were those Magi who made a living from this not afraid of these technologies being tainted?
"Does the Vigilus Starport support relevant refits?"
The Rogue Trader, puzzled by his partner's look of doubting life, asked simply.
"Of course."
The attendant smiled.
"Vigilus supports refit projects for all Imperial ship models and promises completion within half a year. Additionally, participating in refits within the next twenty years comes with a series of preferential policies."
"Half a year?"
"Yes."
That was very short.
The Rogue Trader nodded. He still had several cruisers docked at the Lathe Worlds for maintenance, which wouldn't be out for years.
"Refit a frigate first. I still need time to verify the reliability of the technology."
Just a frigate; if lost, it's lost. No heartache if something happens.
"..."
The attendant signaled to wait.
Swish~
A group of Administratum officials hurried past with documents.
The Rogue Trader glanced at the busy civil servants in the port outside the window, instantly recalling the scene of queuing for months at the Departmento Munitorum back home to register Chartist Fleet qualifications for family members, and hurriedly asked:
"Do I need to sign relevant documents?"
If he had to wrangle with the Administratum for months again, he wouldn't do it.
"No need to delay too much of your time. You personally agree and sign the agreement, pay the funds, and that's it. Only your identity verification is needed. Leave the registration procedures and remaining work to us. You can inquire at any time. Here is the agreement and relevant process."
The attendant replied quickly, then simply took out an agreement.
Rogue Traders were always wealthy, and their acceptance of new things was much stronger than Chartist Fleets and the Imperial Navy. For these workers, they were the highest quality customers.
Then the internal affairs officer stepped forward to review the agreement, sought the Rogue Trader's suggestions, and finally completed the agreement signing with the arriving civil servant. The internal affairs officer sent his secretary to follow up on the refit work.
Exaggeratedly high efficiency.
A very different experience.
Watching his secretary team and the civil servants leave, the Rogue Trader played with the card in his hand and stepped onto the elevator.
"We have arrived, my lord."
With the attendant's reminder, the elevator doors slid open, and a wave of noise rushed in.
"Wow."
The Rogue Trader's internal affairs officer couldn't help but exclaim frivolously.
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