Chapter 76: Unifying Agathos
With the hive bottom now under control, Agathos had pretty much completely returned to Lucan's hands.
Lucan, sitting at his desk, watched Kerrigan running all around the room. Kerrigan seemed to possess an inexhaustible supply of energy.
The only thing that worried Lucan was that Kerrigan ate a tremendous amount; her consumption alone was equivalent to the food intake of two or three hundred people. The only good thing was that Kerrigan was not a picky eater; anything containing nutrients or energy could serve as her food.
Lucan even saw Kerrigan directly swallow an energy cell, smacking her lips afterward as if she wanted more.
But it was all worth it. Using Kerrigan's abilities, Lucan had rounded up all the hidden Genestealers. And Lucan had also figured out a plan for this group of Genestealers.
Those unknown planets on the star chart were practically tailor-made for them.
Letting this group of Genestealer cultists remain on Agathos was not appropriate. The threat of the Tyranids to the Imperium was simply too great. Even with Lucan's status as a Rogue Trader, if the Imperium found out, it would undoubtedly lead to trouble.
But killing this controllable workforce of "model laborers" would be too much of a waste. They were perfect for mining and developing those unexplored planets on the star chart. With Kerrigan's presence, there was no fear of these individuals betraying him. Moreover, the mines on Agalos could also be filled by this group.
The Genestealer cultists from the hive bottom were secretly transported off the planet, bit by bit, by Lucan's Raiders, and were temporarily settled on some transport ships in orbit before being sent to Agalos.
At this moment, a knock came on the office door.
Pushing the door open, it was Governor Rebecca.
Watching the lively Kerrigan, Rebecca was also very fond of her. Although she was curious about the girl who had suddenly appeared with the Rogue Trader, she didn't say much.
The Mongorte Dynasty had never been as unified as it was now, nor had there ever been a Rogue Trader as dominant as Lucan.
At this moment, Lucan controlled everything on Agathos: the economy, the military, research, and religion. And this allowed all of Lucan's government decrees to be implemented without obstruction.
There was no haggling, no buck-passing, which made everything proceed exceptionally smoothly. Everything was being carried out according to Lucan's will.
And the Adeptus Mechanicus here was managed by Pavian. After witnessing the power of the SCVs and the numerous STC-like constructs, all the surviving members of the Mechanicus on Agathos had joined the "Holy Machine" faction established by Pavian. More and more faith began to converge on Lucan's Warp projection.
Moreover, Bishop Holter of the Ecclesiarchy was now completely in Lucan's camp. While promoting the God-Emperor, he also promoted Lucan in his capacity as a Living Saint.
One could even say that if the Mongorte Dynasty were to lose Lucan now, it would immediately lose the capital to survive in the Expanse.
And those hostile factions within the Mongorte Dynasty had been almost completely wiped out in the rebellion triggered by Chaos. Some were even still imprisoned, awaiting public trial. The remaining nobles were all from families loyal to Lucan; no one would stir up trouble behind his back for the sake of profit.
In the past, candidates for the Mongorte Dynasty's Rogue Trader were selected through competition among several bloodline families. But now, if Lucan were to declare this girl his heir to the Rogue Trader title, no one would say a word.
However, based on Lucan's current age and the average lifespan of Warhammer nobles, Lucan could rule the Mongorte Dynasty for at least another hundred years.
"My Lord, the underhive has begun to resume production. Although the population has decreased by 45 percent after this rebellion, production capacity has already recovered to 90 percent of normal levels.
Thanks to those factories of yours, more workers can be freed from producing weapons and equipment and instead produce other necessities. And your policies have also made these workers' enthusiasm for work exceptionally high!"
As Governor, Rebecca was very happy. She had thought it would take Agathos a very long time to emerge from the shadow of the war, but she had never expected it to have almost recovered to its peak level in such a short time. Nothing made her happier than this.
As more and more refugees returned to the underhive, the uphive, which had been almost reduced to ruins, also began to rebuild.
And the good news wasn't just this; the first harvest of grain on Omiron was about to begin soon.
Although the yield was only 20 percent of previous levels, it was a good start.
After listening to Rebecca's report, Verre and Pavian, who had been waiting outside, also came in.
The two looked at each other; both clearly had matters to report to Lucan.
"Verre, you go first."
"My Lord, all the projects you planned have begun implementation. The first batch of children to enter the Schola Progenium has been selected. The academy will assign them to different specialties based on their abilities and assessment results. And the matter of universal education has also been implemented in the underhive, though it will be difficult to see effects in the short term.
However, with material incentives, many people are still willing to participate.
And those psykers you mentioned, who awakened unexpectedly during the riot, have all been gathered. As Purser, I shouldn't pry into your purposes, but I still want to remind you that these people are very dangerous. Execution might be the safest method."
"No need. I have a way to place them. Continue to have soldiers monitor these psykers. Tell them I will not harm them."
Due to the severe Chaos corruption in the underhive previously, the barrier between the material universe and the Warp had become fragile. The extreme circumstances had also caused some people to inadvertently awaken their psychic talents. Some were corrupted and joined the Chaos traitors, ultimately being killed. Others managed to temporarily control their psychic powers and hide.
But it was impossible for people who might not even be literate to completely control their own psychic powers, and the resulting uncontrolled manifestations allowed the PDF to discover these individuals.
A total of 20 discovered psykers were now under close confinement. Their psychic levels were not particularly high; those with high potential were likely already corrupted by the Warp during the riot.
And Lucan intended to put all these people into the Barracks and convert them into Ghosts. This Ghost unit would be led by Norris. The Death Cult, with very few survivors after the previous battle, no longer posed a major risk.
The deaths of a large number of elite assassins had left the Death Cult in a state of having no successors.
After living a good life, Lucan believed even fewer people would be willing to join such an extremist cult. The surviving Death Cult assassins were also used as instructors to train these new Ghosts, and they too would become part of Lucan's assassination force.
"The consolidation and statistical work of the army is also underway! During the state of war, there was no spare capacity to integrate them. According to Governor Rebecca's statistics, the number of PDFs under your command has reached 700,000. These are all equipped with combat suits. The enthusiasm for joining the Dynasty's army is exceptionally high.
And among them, the most elite 30,000 have been fully re-equipped with ceramite combat suits. These individuals' formations have been incorporated into the Raiders.
Constrained by insufficient alloy production, as we also need to produce other vehicles, otherwise, your factories could produce over ten thousand sets of combat suits daily at full capacity."
"My Lord, there are two more matters: the public trial of the remaining traitors, and the ceremony you need to prepare for."
"Ceremony?"
"Yes. The ceremony on the flagship before was merely a simplified procedure out of necessity. Since the Dynasty world has returned to your hands, you should announce to the entire Expanse that the Mongorte Dynasty has a new master. If you let others know of the Dynasty's strength, it will be of great benefit to the Dynasty's exploration teams and merchant ships abroad.
When others attempt to make a move against us, they will also have to consider whether they can bear the consequences of provoking the Dynasty. And most importantly, you can also get to know some other Rogue Traders. Although there is competition between Dynasties, if there are common interests, cooperation between Dynasties is also necessary." Verre explained to Lucan.
And hearing this, Lucan also had an idea.
"In the past, was it only other Rogue Traders who were invited to participate?"
"That is indeed the case."
"Then what if we invite other Imperial departments? Have them participate too?"
"This has indeed never been done before. After all, the Dynasty is somewhat involved in some illegal and heretical matters. It wouldn't be very appropriate to have these official Imperial departments come."
"Illegal? What's illegal? Verre, is there any business more profitable than the arms trade? The combat suit business alone is enough for us to make a fortune. Send out invitations to all important departments for me. Have them send representatives. The Dynasty might be able to earn a large amount of funds and resources this time. After all, there are many things the Dynasty's hive city does not have the capacity to produce.
We can use the Dynasty's special products to exchange for benefits with other factions!"
(End of Chapter)