Warhammer: Hail to the Void Lords!.

Chapter 783 08.782: "Von Valancius's Assets"

The air inside the transport ship was mixed with the cold smell of metal and the lingering smell of burning left over from the overloaded circuits after the attack.

Colonel Horatio Cochrane's thoughts were drifting away with the destination of the merchant ship.

[Heading to the Coronus and Calixis sectors? The route is quite far...]
He thought to himself, his fingers unconsciously tapping the edge of the datapad in his hand, [Also, this Von Valancius Merchant Dynasty... why does this name sound so familiar?]
He frowned slightly, trying his best to search for the missing fragments of memory in his chaotic thoughts.

His mind as a time traveler is like a vast palace with countless dusty doors. Except for the most impressive memories, he needs to dig out other information by himself.

As he pushed open one of the almost forgotten doors, a flash of inspiration struck him, causing his eyes to snap open.

[Wait... Isn't this the legendary merchant dynasty that holds the merchant authorization letter granted by the Emperor himself and stained with sacred blood, and has created countless bizarre achievements?]
There were indeed vague records of this dynasty in Horatio's memory.

The von Valancius Dynasty - this is the huge force ruled by the protagonist played by the player in "Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader" produced by the game company called "Owl" in the previous life.

In the storyline of this game, the protagonist's choice will determine the fate of the dynasty: stick to the imperial dogma, walk on the edge of the rules and become a liberal, or completely fall into heresy.

However, apart from the first path of complete loyalty to the Empire, the endings of the other two paths are surprisingly similar: the von Valancius dynasty will eventually raise the flag of rebellion, confront the great Imperial Navy fleet head-on, and achieve incredible victory.

There are even ridiculous descriptions in the game such as "Imperial Navy warships scramble to join the Ronin Merchants."

For any loyal naval officer, this would be a huge humiliation that would make anyone who heard it stand up and clap their hands in anger!
Of course, games are games after all.

Horatio had no idea what the current situation of the von Valancius Dynasty was like in this dark millennium of reality.

Is their patriarch still piloting that small but high-performance frigate in the game as the flagship of the entire dynasty?

interesting.

As a member of the Imperial Navy, he would never allow any merchant dynasty - especially the von Valancius dynasty, which had obviously behaved strangely in his memory - to escape the control of the Empire and the surveillance of the Navy.

It seemed as if he felt the invisible pressure emanating from Horatio.

The captain of the transport ship - a man named Kudo - had already bent over, holding a data tablet in both hands, and handed it over skillfully and tactfully with a humble attitude.

"Colonel, this is the cargo manifest of this ship, please check it."

Horatio took the datapad and slid his fingertips rapidly across the smooth screen.

The dim blue light illuminated his focused face. The cargo listed was indeed as the captain had said, mainly bulk basic supplies and some imperial standard armaments.

In addition, there are about 200,000 passengers crowded in the belly of this ship. They are travelers who have left their hometowns, the new force of the empire's colonization, and the main force transformed into productivity after the wandering merchants expand the territory.

"Each route of the Von Valancius Dynasty can bring them about three 'value points' of profit, but..." He glanced at the fleet loss report marked on the data board and sighed softly, "Your fleet suffered heavy losses. I'm afraid the profit this time will be cut in half."

"Your Excellency is right," Captain Kudo said with a bitter face, "We just hope that the remaining cargo can be delivered safely."

"Don't worry. Our Imperial Navy will do everything in our power to preserve the remaining value for the von Valancius Dynasty. We also hope that they will abide by their oaths and serve the God-Emperor and the Empire loyally and humbly." Horatio deliberately emphasized the second half of the sentence.

"I'm sure that wealthy and ambitious lady will, Colonel," Captain Kudo responded humbly.

Since they met here unexpectedly, the grand plan in Horatio's heart has begun to sprout and bear fruit, and grow branches.

The von Valancius Dynasty was considered powerful among the Rogue Merchants, especially in the lawless area of ​​the Colonus Expanse. They were almost at the peak of their power at that time.

This group of adventurers, explorers and even pirates acquiesced by the government, holding imperial charters, have absolute colonization and ruling rights over the planets they discover in the unexplored universe collectively known as the "Expansion Zone".

For the distant Ministry of the Interior, they only care whether these planets outside the frontier belong to the empire's territory and the taxes that come with it, but never care how they are included. Therefore, the Rogue Traders can be said to be the absolute local emperors on their colonized planets - they are in high positions and have great power, and their words are law.

Since they have such a high degree of independence, it is not impossible for them to rely on the marginal world controlled by these wandering merchants to contribute to the huge plan in their hearts, or even develop it into an important backing.

Although most of these worlds lack mature urban buildings and industrial facilities, they often contain immeasurable rich resources deep underground.

Once these minerals are mined, they can be transported to Abyss Port or Sepra-Mundi to be forged into new interstellar battleships in the giant docks there.

Or they could be sent to forge worlds like Gothic and Lucius to be turned into tanks, armor and elite armaments for the Empire.

Alternatively, transporting them to a light industrial planet like Britain to be made into durable bulletproof armor and uniforms would be an excellent choice.

He might even be able to use these resources to ask Lati - his mysterious but highly skilled priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus - to find a way to secretly build him a batch of Astartes-level power armor and bolters, to provide the most solid armament guarantee for his envisioned "Imperial Naval Chapter" plan.

As Horatio was lost in thought, Captain Kudo's voice brought him back to reality.

"Colonel, I have one more request." The captain's attitude became more humble.

"Speak," Horatio said briefly.

"In the chaos just now, many people on board were injured, and a large number of refugees we received along the way were also in urgent need of medical assistance.

But the medical supplies on the Snow Wind Thunder are stretched to the limit, and our ship's doctor was just hit by a poison dart and is still foaming at the mouth and unconscious. We...we beg for your guidance and assistance."

"Not a problem." Horatio waved behind him.

Following a slight sound of the power armor's hydraulic system operating, a tall female warrior in silver-white armor stepped forward. In her hand was a bolter with the same paint job, and the rose emblem on the gun was solemn.

"Captain, the sisters of the Holy Rose are always available to heal the wounds of the wounded and pray for the souls of the deceased." Sister Arabella's voice was still full of unquestionable piety.

Horatio turned to Captain Kudo and said, "Thanks to the Armed Sisters of the Holy Rose, not every warship of the Imperial Navy is lucky enough to have these true and kind ladies accompanying them.

I will send a medical team aboard your ship to provide temporary care.

Accordingly, you need to provide them with independent housing and all necessary living guarantees.”

"Yes, sir! Thank you for your kindness!" Upon hearing this, the crew members led by Captain Kudo showed excitement on their faces as if they had survived a disaster. They all knelt on one knee and performed the solemn Sky Eagle salute to Horatio and Sister Arabella.

Horatio looked past them and towards the cabin further away. The refugees had fled in panic earlier, and now most of them gathered in the docking area near the bottom of the bridge.

Those ragged, haggard-looking men and women huddled in fear in the cold corner of the deck.

Several armed mercenaries were maintaining order roughly, stopping them and forcing them to sit down, lest the dirt and smell on their bodies offend the noble and inviolable Imperial Navy Captain.

His eyes slowly swept through the crowd and suddenly stopped at an inconspicuous corner.

She was a woman who buried herself deeply in the crowd and was inconspicuous.

But what really caught Horatio's attention was that when her torn hood slipped off, she revealed a pair of ears that were definitely not normal for humans. They were slightly pointed and slightly furry, like horse ears.

"Bring that woman here."

He gestured in that direction with his chin. “I have something to ask her, but don’t be too rude. We are not interrogating a prisoner.”

(End of this chapter)