Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes.

Chapter 178 Recruits and Journeys

The white snow and howling winds of the Northland Plateau are the constant backdrop here, as they were on my last visit decades ago.

As the Stormbird lowered its flight altitude from high above, the forest sea that could not be seen below reminded Elvis of the time when he first left here, as if it was yesterday.

"Elder, what are you thinking?" Marvis asked beside him.

"It's nothing, just a little memory." Elvis pulled away from his memory, and glanced at Marl and his brothers beside him.

He lowered his head slightly to hide his gaze, but what he couldn't stop was the fiery hope in his heart at this moment.

Like the rest of the dozen or so battle brothers behind him, the power armor on Malvis's body was the product of the St. Chris in recent years.

Qing Yishui's Mark IV, and some supplementary reinforcements have been made for the gaps in the neck and other armors. It is really affordable and easy to use.

Whenever he saw the new reflective power armor on these recruits, Elvis could always think of the poor days when he was in the battle group, and other brothers strung together to use armor parts.

Today's days are richer, but it's a pity that there are no more people.

In the eyes of the mechanical sages, this piece of armor is not worth mentioning, and it is not enough for the production capacity of the St. Chris for a day.

If it weren't for the technical content of the servo equipment, a mere hundred or so sets of the Mark IV would probably be enough for half a day's work in the forge of the main seat on the Mechanical Ark.

But they still rejected Elvis's production application in the early stage.

There are many reasons, but in summary, the cost is expensive, the process is cumbersome, and the cost of making molds is more expensive than the cost of materials.

But can these really stump these mechanical priests?impossible!

What is expensive? The local population and minerals come for nothing. There are no imported materials at all. Where does the cost come from?

What is the cumbersome process, isn't the Mechanicus best at automated manufacturing?
What mold costs, more than 5 years have passed since the STC public technology authorization of the Mark IV was issued from Mars!The full set of drawings and parameters are almost growing hairs in the minds of these mechanical priests, okay?Where are the fees for new students!

They just didn't want to have unplanned work that would take up their private research time, and Elvis knew that well.

Fortunately, Lord Calvin supported his idea. He still vividly remembers the dialogue between this Lord and the priests including Constantine at that time. When Calvin said to these priests:

"There is indeed a demand for such a batch of materials in the plan, but since it is said that the small quantity is not cost-effective, then I suggest that you simply buy a few thousand sets."

As soon as the words were finished, the priests who just said that the molds were expensive were dumbfounded, which was not in line with what they expected.

So all the reasons such as "the electromagnetic muscle cultivation period is too long, the internal pipeline alloy processing requirements are too high, and the main forge's tight schedule cannot be delayed" all came out.

Elvis almost suppressed a smile, watched Calvin bargain with them several times, and finally finalized this batch of 1200 sets of power armor and supporting equipment and spare parts one by one.

Under the intentional or unintentional favor of the lord and Father Constantine, they pursued the victory and finally finalized the installation plan for a set of independent and fixed power armor parts production line. In a fortress monastery reserved for their wargroup on the industrial planet.

The production capacity of the production line is not large, but 50 sets of complete power armor and corresponding light weapons and twice the number of spare parts every ten years can still be guaranteed.

It is better to teach a man how to fish than to teach him how to fish.

Elvis is still clear about this.So he understands the significance of this production line for a battle group that has just been reborn from the ashes; he also understands that Calvin's behavior of giving core resources without reservation is such an upright heart.

He was immensely grateful to the generous Lord Primarch for his aid to the Chapter, and secretly resolved to prove the value of his generosity in the blood of his enemies on future battles.

"Hey... Hey... Elder Elvis, the destination has been reached. The intended target has entered the field of vision, please give further instructions."

The voices of the two pilots in front of the Stormbird came from the ear communicator, and the holographic device moving from the top of the cabin in front of it started to work.

Elvis put away his inner thoughts and focused on the external landscape displayed by the holographic projection.

"Closing air cruise! Weapon authorization canceled! Landing in an alert posture!"

Elvis stretched out his hand, and clicked a place on the three-dimensional map displayed on the scale as a reserved landing site.

He raised his head to look at the recruits beside him and on the opposite side, his serious eyes swept over their heads.The recruits couldn't help but straighten their bodies when they met their eyes, in response to the majestic gaze of the officer.

Elvis' purpose is actually not here.His real purpose was simply to check the recruit's fixing frame habitually.

But from the cruel selection of soldiers to the long combat training, Elvis has been accompanying these recruits to grow up in the long military life.Every word and deed of him, who has become more and more powerful, will arouse the reaction of the soldiers, which is also a helpless move.

During the days without the Chapter Leader, he has gradually become accustomed to the life of giving orders.

But he clearly knew that the fate given to him by the emperor was not in this. He could only temporarily shield these recruits from the wind and rain. When the young people around him really grew up, he would quietly return to his proper position.

"Status check!" he ordered in a low voice.

The Astartes in the cabin received his order and began to check the status of their power armor, weapons, and fixing frames in an orderly manner, and replied to him one by one in accordance with the discipline of soldiers:

"Private Bud is in good condition, please instruct!"

"Private Randolph is in good condition, please instruct!"

"Private Simmons is in good condition, please instruct!"

"Private Joel is in good condition, please instruct!"

"Sergeant Malvis is in good condition, please instruct!"...

When the last familiar voice sounded, he looked up to inspect the Astartes recruits in the cabin, and put on the holy white Mark VI helmet that symbolized his pharmacist position under their gaze.

It just so happened that the announcement from the driver's seat had also come.Confirmed by his reply, the airborne gates were opened under the feet of the Astartes warriors in the cabin.

He took one last look at these soldiers, and then pressed the decompression valve switch on his chest to fall first.

Thousands of meters above the sky was cold and windy, and under the power of the powerful engine, the Stormbird hovered stably directly above the church in the rear half of the battleship.

Elvis, who flew out from the belly of the Stormbird, activated the jetpack on his back and observed the situation below.

The towering statues on the dome of the church are covered with snow.

Saint Celestine's figure with wings on her back and sword held high is still tall and straight. The slightly skewed direction is the result of the subsidence of the ground when the battleship landed, and it does not affect her holiness in the slightest.

Through the wind and snow, Elvis led the Astartes behind him and flew towards the main entrance of the church, where he reserved a portal for himself, guarded by a servo on standby in a shallow dormancy.

"Password!"

The emotionless servo woke up from the cold sleep and said to Elvis.

"Rebirth from the ashes!" Elvis did not hesitate, and the soldiers behind him also descended from the sky at this time, gathering behind him in an orderly manner.

"The voiceprint is passed, and the key is passed. Welcome back, respected pharmacist Elvis."

As the electronic sound of wet parts drying came out, two football field-sized armor belts with a thickness of more than ten meters on the hull directly in front of the church slowly opened to both sides.

In the gap in the center, a spare corridor that was rarely used except for battleship overhaul appeared in front of them.

"The Emperor is up!"

Even if you are used to seeing the steel forge on the mechanical ark roaring day and night, and the power of the gravitational fleet that will change the day.

But when a warship, a kilometer-long steel behemoth they were told belonged to them, opened right in front of their eyes.These Astartes who have not experienced the baptism of a long time can't help being stunned.

These fighters were rarely timid, because they knew that if there were no accidents, this would be their long-term residence in the future.

This huge battleship, which can be called a space city, will serve them, as will the mortals and slave laborers stationed thereafter. Under their leadership, they will fight for the entire human race in the vast star sea.

What a magnificent epic that is!

All along they knew their fate was sealed.

But after going through tough selection, cruel surgery, and long training, when this kind of life really opened up and beckoned to them with this epic scene in front of them, they were shamefully deterred.

"Concentrate! Recruits! Keep your focus!" Elvis' voice came from the snow and ice.

His stern gaze swept over the figures of all the recruits, and under the ashamed eyes of the recruits, Elvis stepped forward and was the first to jump down.

On the orbit of the industrial planet, the St. Chris is hovering on the iron ring that is halfway under construction.

The mining planets in the surrounding galaxies have been expanded, and a large number of transport spaceships can be seen coming from outside every moment.

Under the gaze of the mechanical ark, these spaceships transport the ore to the star port and send it to the surface.Then, after preliminary processing in the factory below, it will be returned to space and handed over to the Mechanical Ark for further melting and forging.

Against this background, the base on the iron ring is surrounded by countless small construction ships like a swarm of bees.The installation works have been going on day and night for ten years.

When these frameworks are in place, larger factories and smelters will sit on top of them.

The ultimate goal of the engineering here is to provide basic maintenance for large ships, and to be able to manufacture ships below cruisers in case of emergency.

"How long have they been gone?"

In the cabin specially prepared for Calvin on the St. Chris, the long table made of basalt was illuminated by dim lights.

In the empty cabin, apart from the necessary office supplies, there is only a huge single bed placed on the other side of the room.

Calvin broke away from the copybook, took the time to rest his eyes and looked into the distance, and accidentally glanced at the clock on the wall, so he came up with this question to Allen.

"48 hours and 01 minutes, my lord." In the shadow behind the long table, the motionless figure of Alan Janus was like a sculpture.

When Calvin's voice sounded, the Gray Knight, who was now serving as Calvin's adjutant, quickly gave his reply without looking at the data pad in his hand.

"Has the fleet of slave labor set off?" Calvin turned his energy back to the documents on the table without raising his head, but obviously the question was not over.

"Three hours ago, 3 people have reached the minimum requirement, and Father Constantine has ordered permission to leave the port."

"How did the navigator and the rest of the crew implement it?"

"Master Solan, deputy supervisor of the foundry, recommended a group of family members serving in the order, and the specific decision will be left to Elvis."

"Okay. Hope they're doing well."

Calvin looked at the front French porthole, just when the orbits of the two planets were approaching, through the deserted starry sky Calvin could even see the surge of air mass in the atmosphere.

Elvis is about to leave here, after his regiment has resumed its basic organization.

This is when the Firehawks reappear in the sight of the High Lords after nearly a century of disappearance from the eyes of the Empire;
It was also the time when he, as Calvin's emissary, initiated contact with other warbands who cursed the founding army.

Calvin was not too worried about the emperor's questioning.

After all, the size is also an Astartes battle group, unless there is an obvious tendency to defect, the High Lords Council will still have basic respect.

The threat from the Inquisition is not a problem either. Now that the gene-seed has been completely purified, the Flaming Eagle Chapter is the purest warrior of the Emperor from top to bottom, and of course it can stand the full test.

But what about those warbands plagued by curses?Calvin did not trust them.

These Astartes warriors who have been polluted from the genetic level have their own peculiarities.Calvin found it hard to believe that every Chapter could communicate as effectively as the Firehawks.

In Calvin's eyes, whether people can be brought back is a secondary matter.

But if any battle group loses its mind and swings the butcher knife in its hand at Elvis and others, then with his commander who is a pharmacist, plus fifty recruits, he is really a wolf. Hukou, gone forever.

But Calvin had to take this risk again. As his height continued to grow, he already knew clearly that the power of time and space would disintegrate his restraint.

There is not much time left for him, and every minute and every second is precious.

He had to send this nascent battle group ahead of time, as a messenger of communication, to initiate contact with those battle groups that belonged to the 21st Army Establishment.

This is the basic condition for winning people's trust. Otherwise, how can we reassure those battle groups who regard seed mutation as top secret?

Only with the equally cursed Elvis and the recruits standing before them could the warbands believe in the fact that the Seed could be cleansed.It was possible to go to this planet to meet Calvin under his persuasion.

On the distant planet, the light of the battleship's engine lights up. It is the battleship struggling to escape the planet's gravity after sleeping for a long time.

Calvin knew that this was the end of the matter, he had done what he could, and the rest could only be left to fate.The seeds have been sown, and whether there will be rewards can only be left to the emperor to decide.

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(End of this chapter)