40 Thousand Reasons

Chapter 103: Knowledge

Because I have to leave Sotha with some haste, I decide the Kroot and the Nicassar homeworlds need to go.

One is home to a species of ever-evolving cannibals, eating their victims to absorb their traits, much like the Tyranids. Not a danger yet, due to being rather savage, but that could change rapidly once they eat an Eldar Exodite world, for example.

The Nicassar are species of psykers, which will not end well for them. Either producing another Warp godling or something worse. Plus the Tau will be forced to adapt for their absence with melee suits and better navigation equipment.

The Tau homeworld loses their next capital city to a Vortex torpedo and the subsequent Chaos invasion, which should either delay their expansion for a century, or force them into a furious arms race to create anti-demon weaponry and sensors.

Welcome to the 40k, blue aliens! Yes, there are bad things in the galaxy, and you're not prepared. Also, kinda hard to hide that truth when your entire planetary force has to muster to defeat the invasion.

"Your brother Guilliman has just awakened on Macragge, Primarch Khan. Your brother the Lion, he still sleeps in stasis aboard the Dark Angels' Rock fortress-monastery, forgotten even by his own sons. Couldn't find your other absent brothers, so I suspect they vacation inside the Maelstrom or the Eye of Terror, killing demons one at the time." I advise the one-man-sword-army as I send him another STC dataslate with the Planetary Gellar Field STC, and another gift in the form of the White_Tiger_Dao saber, one I have recovered from High Commorragh.

I didn't give him back the Wildfire_Panoply power armor, because I wanted it and everything inside it copied and made available for my own sons. Khan had only to ask Mars for another power armor, and they would cry in joy to give him one.

But his sword was almost part of his identity, and he was known to have killed Greater Demons with it, which might be needed again.

"The Dao...you have found it for me, Lord Lancefire? I have thought it long-lost. You have my thanks." Khan sent back in a dignified tone, his hands caressing the weapon like a baby.

"It is your symbol of office, Primarch. So you can defend humanity, not duel like a boy in the schola yard with other snotty boys." I answered in a dismissive tone and shut off the link.

The next day, the astropaths were all on fervor about the miraculous recovery of Primarch Guilliman, who was better known and rather famous in the Imperium, his frozen face on many paintings and pict-captures.

I considered using that hexagram necklace a worthy price for waking the Ultramarines's Primarch, because I wanted to use Ynnead's help to resurrect Sanguinius, who was actually dead.

My gambit worked, and I was kinda glad it did. Two Primarchs for us, and two less Primarchs for Chaos. Unless Lorgar had already been revived, which I doubted. The Dark Gods did not reward failure, nor shameful defeats.

Sure, they might bring him back for a Black Crusade, but that wouldn't be so soon, with as many loses Chaos forces have suffered at my Exterminatus campaign, and whatever consequences the elimination of the Dark Eldar from the galaxy has caused.

Slaanesh would be rising in power, which would cause lots of turmoil and inner friction among the Chaos godlings. The loss of Hell Forge Xana would deny them a nearby launch platform at Cadia, which will possibly mean a push from the Maelstrom.

And that was my intention. The Maelstrom was in range of the Pharos, and wasn't that just peachy?

Still, I did have Trazyn on call. "Hello again, my robotic friend. Still interested in that Ordo Sinister Titan?" I asked in curious voice.

"...Errr. Of course. But I was tricked! All I gained for my effort was a piece of Eldar armor, and that Keeper of Secrets. No Avatar!" the Necron Lord complained in a childish voice.

I almost laughed in his face. "Who tricked you, Lord Trazyn? Did I not supply you a time and place? Was my gift not there? Are you blaming an innocent stranger for your inability to capture a mere Avatar?"

He grumbled for a minute, but logic was on my side. It was his failure, not mine. Plus the Avatar wasn't really a physical being like the C'tan, nor a sentient Warp construct like a Greater Demon.

"You knew I would fail..." He muttered in suspicion.

"You did not fail, Lord Trazyn. You have the armor, it just needs an Eldar Exalt to put it on, and the Avatar will appear. But you will not attack the Eldar, so you might have to wait for them to attack you." I explained in a patient voice.

This put a stop to his grumblings, and our good relations resumed. "Good enough then. Eldar are always attacking Necron worlds. I just hope they attack me soon!" Trazyn said in anticipation. Who wants the Eldar to attack them?

I mean, sure they had nice ships and powerful weapons to capture easily in a tesseract, so it...dear Emperor! I was becoming a tiny Trazyn, hoping something advanced attacked me.

So I checked the Bone Kingdom to find their crownworld overrun with Tyranids. Oh well, that quest was finally over.

"Well, it seems the Bone Kingdom has fallen. What other enemy shall we send the hungry Tyranids to, perhaps Sarlok?" I offered in a pleasant voice.

Trazyn immediately became cheerful. "Oh, that would weaken Imotekh even more, especially as his troops are deployed at Hypnoth right now. And not doing so great even against a single Forge World...after losing Mandragora and many ships."

"Right. I'll even arrange some aid to arrive at Hypnoth and destroy a few Tomb Ships. But, I will need heavy cruiser sized reactor and warp-less engines for this. In STC template, even if a tiny bit more complicated. With variants for battle-barges and battlecruisers." I demand in a shameless voice.

Trazyn was in a good mood, might as well profit.

Meanwhile, I prime a Cyclonic torpedo for the Necron World of Seidon, which has begun sending colony ships all over the sector from some kind of subterranean shipyard, and an Incendiary Exterminatus at Drazak, to catch a dozen trillion Tyranids on the ground and in orbit around the former Necron World.

My special gifts are also ready, two more Enslaver Bone Staffs and the hybrid Null Rod/Bone Staff for my Rose.

And then, since I notice the Scythe Barges are all gearing up to depart for Macragge in a hurry, I steal all their Exterminatus and Vortex torpedoes. They can request new ones from their Primarch, or maybe Forge Metalica, since they did tow that Tau battleship there, at my insinuations and at the Lady Inquisitor's demand.

Just after my bodyguards begin to return with their loot from the artifact planet, I call Rose to explain the new developments, and the necessity to redirect the Pharos beacon again.

There is no absolute rush, as the Imperium doesn't move fast even when it wants to, but I have a nasty feeling in my gut that things have gone too well for too long.

The Tranquility leaves first, escorted by the Serenity till the Warp limit.

Rose plays with her impossible staff in wonder, and gets to massacre a hundred Orks with the blade of her daughter, just to sense how it works. It works great, and she becomes even younger and prettier, maybe because Orks are ageless, since their makers didn't bother to consider what immortal mushrooms might get up to. Or perhaps they did, and intended the C'tan to be hunted by their creations for eternity.

Just before I leave, I call Fidelia to arrange the transfer of her family of Blanks. She and Letitia step directly onto their homeworld, and thus I can begin to abduct everyone they point out. Almost 13 thousand Blanks, and 11 thousand of them are women.

Perhaps they do get born in a preferential female ratio, that's why there are more female Blanks than men. Or perhaps the Astra Telephatica cull the men at every centennial visit, to prevent too many births of Untouchables.

Anyway, it is a great boost to my Blank program, and my Rose agrees. I can even accelerate rebuilding the Lamenters, after a decade of compulsory harem management for all the younger men, and tons of schooling and training in the meantime.

To have a good soldier, you need to send him to school first, or all you have is a beast in human leathers.

History, politics, medicine and science.

How can they make wise decisions for strategy, without the knowledge of past failures?

How can they use weapons effectively, if they do not know the principles of their work, the limitations and the ways to exploit those limits in their enemies?

How can they provide first aid, or target vital organs without medicine?

And most importantly, how will they know who to shoot? Too many times Astartes shoot innocents, without ever thinking for themselves.

To fight and die for the Emperor, is too easy. Anyone can do that, from attack wolves to the PDF and the Imperial Guard. You don't need Astartes just so they can die. You need Astartes to win. And to win without dying, well...that takes knowledge.

Knowledge of battles, of science and of your enemy. Know yourself, and know your enemy, and you shall be undefeated in a thousand battles.