Chapter 83: Pioneering into the Unknown
"Verre, according to the promise I once made you, you and your family are responsible for managing the underhive and the army. And you, Rebecca, you are fully in charge of Agathos's construction and administrative affairs.
And Pavian, you will continue to be in charge of production in the Factory Zone and the reverse-engineering of the jump drive and quantum communication technology. If you need funds, go to Rebecca. Rebecca, I am giving you the authority; if funds and resources are lacking, you can appropriately increase the trade volume of combat suits. You control that balance yourself.
If there is an emergency or a matter that truly requires my decision, have Pavian contact me."
Lucan arranged matters for after his departure.
Verre had finally made it. From a mere purser, he had directly become the most powerful dignitary in the Mongorte Dynasty. His family also soared with his rise.
"Rest assured, my Lord. When you return, you will definitely see a brand new Agathos!"
"Also, Verre, quickly contact the Munitorum and find out where there are rebellions related to Chaos and xenos! Let's get our troops out for a stroll!"
The Factory was no longer producing only Widow Mines; the first Thor was now in production, with a construction time comparable to that of a warship.
Lucan was anxious. The establishment of the Night Sentinels had directly emptied more than half of his savings; 100,000 Psy-crystals couldn't accomplish much.
"I'll go contact them right away!"
It was estimated that even the Departmento Munitorum wouldn't have expected Lucan's Dynasty to be so proactive.
Lucan walked towards his room. When he opened the door, Kerrigan pounced on him.
Lucan picked her up.
"Good heavens, you've gotten heavier again?!" Lucan discovered that with the increasing intake of energy, Kerrigan's body was also developing in an unconventional manner.
If she had looked like a four-year-old when he first found her, she was now at the level of a five- or six-year-old.
"Kerrigan, want to go visit other planets?"
"Wherever Father goes, I will go!"
In Lucan's vision, Kerrigan was the key to this exploration. If Kerrigan's abilities were truly as he imagined, then Kerrigan might be the most powerful combat asset in this expedition.
She could make up for the recent shortage of manpower.
The Gorgon-class transports were still too small, and the number of soldiers they could carry was limited.
In five days, the Dynasty had prepared all the necessary supplies for the exploration at the fastest possible speed and used the Genestealer labor force to load them onto the ships.
The three Battlecruisers were fully loaded with 15,000 official crew members and a small number of Tech-Priests.
And the additionally installed cargo holds carried a large number of Genestealers as ship hands.
The Genestealers' requirements for living conditions were truly not high; they had no complaints about dozens of them being crowded into a single cabin.
The only drawback was that it made the already not-so-large Battlecruisers seem exceptionally crowded.
Some Genestealers even lived in the corridors. This was a measure born of necessity; to bring more Genestealers, this was the only way for now.
On the bridge, Lucan examined the star chart.
His goal was very clear: the place where the signal of the exploration fleet that had made this star chart disappeared. So, Lucan quickly confirmed the route.
Lucan selected the nearest star system along the route and then had the crew confirm the jump coordinates.
"My Lord, the coordinates are confirmed. Please give the order!"
"Let's advance into the unknown, everyone! For the Mongorte Dynasty! Set out!"
The three warships lined up side by side, then activated their jump drives simultaneously and vanished from the void.
Lucan stood on the bridge, watching the starry sky before him turn into streaks of linear light. When the light re-coalesced into solid objects, it meant they had arrived at their destination.
"So fast…"
Lucan marveled that such a vast distance felt like the blink of an eye, whereas a Warhammer warship had to struggle desperately through the Warp and might not even arrive for sure.
At this moment, Lucan's warship had no Navigators, no Astropaths, and no psyker consumables to maintain a Gellar Field. A long, dangerous voyage was now like a sightseeing tour.
And in this star system, there was also a star, like a sun, illuminating the entire system.
"My Lord! The jump was without deviation! We have successfully arrived at the designated coordinates!"
"Immediately scan this star system!"
The Battlecruiser continued to advance. The Auger Array and Auspex installed on the ship began to operate, and information about this star system began to appear on the holographic projection before Lucan.
Three planets existed within this star system.
Lucan immediately ordered the warships to approach these three planets.
Before long, Lucan reached the location of the first planet. However, no signs of life were found on this planet. The lifeless land was covered in barren desolation.
Various natural disasters, like those of a cataclysm, were present on this planet almost every moment.
And upon arriving at the second planet, it was completely different from the previous one.
This planet had oceans, forests, and land. It was clearly a planet with life.
And as the Auger Array conducted further scans, there were even traces of civilization on this planet.
Lucan hadn't expected to find a planet with life and even civilization on his very first exploration. Could it be that pioneering also had a newbie protection period?!
As the warship approached the planet's orbit, a more detailed survey began.
Sitting on the warship, Lucan awaited the crew's report. When the preliminary intelligence was handed to him, Lucan couldn't help but marvel that in the vast universe, there truly were all kinds of creatures.
"Mushroom-men?! Are you sure they're not Orks?!"
"The capture team has caught a xenos. Would you like to go and see?"
"Alright! Take me to see it!"
Upon entering the warship's research facility, a xenos was being held in a glass cage. Two Magos Biologis were using instruments to continuously monitor the various parameters of the xenos before them. From time to time, a mechanical arm with a cutting tool would slice off a tissue sample from the xenos for further analysis.
The severed area was secreting a slime and healing rapidly.
Looking at the xenos in the cage, it really was exactly like a literal mushroom-man.
It had the shape of a mushroom, with arms and legs like a human, but with a taller physique than an ordinary human.
It was even covered in sinewy muscle.
At this moment, the mushroom-man was continuously striking the glass before it, speaking an incomprehensible language. Through the translator's interpretation, it turned out the creature was cursing!
And the language these guys used was incredibly foul.
"What are the test results?" Lucan asked the Magos Biologis at his side.
"Preliminary results show that these xenos are genderless and likely have a reproductive method similar to fungi. Their strength exceeds that of ordinary humans. Based on surface observations, they have developed their own civilization but have not yet possessed the technology to leave the planet."
"Are they a threat to us?"
"Not at all. Their technology is still very backward. They use a kind of biological weapon based on themselves. After testing its power, it's about the level of black powder weapons. This technology also has no utilization value."
"Then doesn't that mean this species is completely useless to us?!"
Just as Lucan felt his first exploration was going to be fruitless, the Magos at his side spoke again.
"According to the analysis of its biological samples, this type of xenos does not contain any toxins in its body. They have an extremely high self-healing rate and reproductive efficiency. They are very sufficient in both protein and other nutrients… If you wished…"
Lucan's eyes widened as he looked at this Magos Biologis.
Of course, Lucan knew what this Magos meant. The "Tasty" trait from Stellaris, wasn't it? You want to change the species rights of these mushroom-men to "Livestock," don't you? So you're a Paradox player too!
To be honest, when playing the game, Lucan had no qualms. But when it was truly laid out before him, he was still a bit conflicted… could this thing really be eaten?
"Since we've confirmed these fellows have no power to resist, send in the ground troops! Mushroom-men, oh mushroom-men… I hope my ground forces can discover some other use for you after they occupy your world. Otherwise, you really are destined for the canning factory."
(End of Chapter)
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