Warhammer: Empire Reboot

But it immediately led him into the static force field.

Agrippina forged the world.

First rail dock.

As Lawson stepped out of the still light curtain, he was greeted by the smell of the furnace and the vacuum dock mixed together.

Overhead are a track dome, giant cranes, anti-gravity ship frames, welding machines, and hundreds of transport tracks.

In the distance, several magnificent shipyards hang on the edge of the planet's orbit, like steel sanctuaries embedded in the planet's shell.

Sparks flew in the distance.

Giant assembly arms dragged the warship's armor plates, while hundreds of machine servants moved along magnetic tracks.

This scene is very characteristic of Agrippina.

Half of it is part of the ancient casting tradition of the empire.

Half of it is the assembly line order that Lawson forcibly crammed in.

The Kexos was already waiting on the main control platform in the dock.

T-001 hovered beside him, its servo arms outstretched like a spider, simultaneously controlling several modeling programs.

"Your Excellency, the Master of the Seal."

Khrushchev bowed.

T-001 is even more direct.

"Boss, the first round of simulations for the warship production plan has been completed."

Lawson walked to the control panel.

"explain."

Krus raised his hand, and the holographic model of the entire dock unfolded.

The phantom of an imperial warship hovered in the center of the platform.

Long, thick, and heavy, like a moving metal city.

The cannon deck, the light spear array, the void shield tower, the reactor compartment, the oracle tower, the crew deck, the ammunition depot, the prayer hall, the engine area, the bridge, the keel, and the armor layer were dismantled layer by layer.

“The traditional imperial shipbuilding process emphasizes closed casting.”

The mechanical sound of the X-ray machine echoed on the platform.

“A large-scale rail dock can be completed almost entirely within the dock system, from ore smelting, component forging, keel laying, internal compartment installation, weapon system integration, machine soul activation, to final sea trials.”

Lawson looked at the model.

"slow."

"Extremely slow".

Krus did not shy away from the issue.

“According to Agrippina’s old procedures, building a lunar-class cruiser would take ten to fifteen years if resources were plentiful, the dock was complete, and the personnel were stable. If it were a Mars-class battlecruiser, the cycle could reach more than thirty years. If it were a battleship, depending on the complexity of the technology, the matching of the machine soul, the level of the reactor, and the Void Shield Array, it could take fifty to one hundred years.”

Lawson frowned.

This speed sounds very imperial.

Some of the Empire's warships can serve for thousands of years.

But the construction period was as long as a religious ascetic practice.

Krus continued, "According to the most conservative sacred procedure, before the keel of a battleship is laid, it needs to complete seventeen rituals to appease the spirits of the engine, three dry dock purifications, and joint certification by ninety-nine priests. During the installation of the grand gun deck, each set of breechblocks needs to be blessed individually."

Lawson remained silent for a moment.

If Andrei were here, he would probably say: No wonder the Empire is still going through the motions even after losing.

"What about your new proposal?"

T-001 takes over the projection.

The warship model was quickly disassembled into countless modules.

"We break down the warship manufacturing process into three categories."

"The first category is core components, which account for about seven percent."

"Including the main keel, plasma reactor, subspace engine, Geller force field core, void shield main array, main astrolabe, main thinker array, bridge control core, light spear focusing core, and macro cannon main structural base."

"These still have to be produced in the Agrippina Foundry World and the Orbital Dock."

"The second category is standard high-precision components, which account for about 23%."

"Including armored connecting frames, large internal pipelines, secondary reactor shells, ammunition delivery rails, turret rotation structures, propulsion auxiliary components, large living quarters modules, aircraft carrier rails, and basic energy nodes."

"These can be produced by hive worlds and mining planets with industrial capabilities, but they require Keystone Sequence oversight and Agrippina Standard testing."

"The third category is basic components, which account for about 70%."

"Including a large number of armor plates, bulkheads, standard pipes, basic valves, supports, deck gratings, crew cabin components, ammunition boxes, common robotic arms, maintenance access modules, bolts, connectors, low-end circuit boards, common heat sinks, and low-pressure power supply pipes."

"These can all be subcontracted to Nest City World, Mining Planet, and some industrial satellites."

Lawson looked at the modules that had been broken down layer by layer.

"Your report says 93% is outsourced?"

T-001 said: "After adjustments by the Sage of Texas, outsourcing 93% of all components would involve too many high-precision risks. The final solution is: 7% of the core components will remain in Agrippina, 23% of the standard high-precision components will be outsourced to controlled external parties, and 70% of the basic components will be outsourced on a large scale."

Krusas added: "From the perspective of technical safety and the acceptance of the Mechanicus, this is more prudent than directly announcing that 93% of the components will be outsourced. The Nest World can produce armor plates, supports, bulkheads, and standard pipelines, but should not touch the core of the Geller Force Field, the main reactor, the keel prayer line, and the machine spirit bearing structure."

Lawson glanced at him.

"You still retained a little bit of Wanjishen's bottom line."

The mechanical eye of the Xerox rotates.

"The bottom line can be compromised for efficiency, but it cannot be completely abandoned. Completely abandoning it would cause the priests around me to freeze up on the spot."

The several mechanical priests nearby remained silent.

But their servo skulls rotated significantly faster.

Lawson chuckled.

"continue."

T-001 was removed from the production chain.

"Of the 318 planets in the Agrippina Sector, 72 have been preliminarily selected as having basic subcontracting capabilities."

"Among them, there are 29 Nest World satellites."

"Twenty-one mining planets."

"Fourteen industrial satellite and small casting nodes."

"There are eight attached mechanical zones on the agricultural planet, which can undertake the manufacturing of low-precision parts."

"The first batch of subcontracted projects are hull components for frigates and destroyers."

Lawson nodded.

Starting with frigates and destroyers makes sense.

Using battleships directly to experiment with new systems is suicidal.

Imperial warships are not ordinary cargo ships.

The internal structure of a battleship is so complex that modern industrial engineers would want to jump into a plasma furnace just by looking at it.

Any problem with any tolerance, wiring, reactor interface, or virtual shield coupling point could turn into a disaster during subspace travel.

Therefore, we should start with ship types that are relatively small, have mature structures, and are highly replicable, such as the Sword-class frigates, Cobra-class destroyers, and Firestorm-class frigates.

Once it is mature, then advance the cruiser.

Lastly, there are battleships.

"Why didn't the Empire do this in the past?" asked Lawson.

Kexos glanced at the T-001.

T-001 directly brings up five question titles.

Lawson looked at the five lines and smiled.

"This was compiled by T-001," Kexas explained. "The wording is slightly offensive, but it's basically accurate."

T-001 said, "Offense helps increase information density."

Lawson raised his hand.

"Unfold".

Article 1: Monopoly of mechanical teaching knowledge.

Krus spoke up: "Within the Imperial system, technology is shrouded in theology. Warship manufacturing is the core authority of the Mechanicus. Even a seemingly ordinary set of air circulation valves in a ship's cabin is considered part of the Mechanicus system."

“In the past, if someone suggested that ordinary hive factories produce basic components for warships, many casting worlds would judge it as an overreach of technology. This is because mortals cannot comprehend the blessings of the God of Machines, cannot properly appease the machine spirits, and cannot guarantee the sanctity of the production process.”

"Simply put, the Mechanics Church won't allow it," said Lawson.

"Yes."

Krus did not offer any explanation.

"The Mechanic Church would rather go slower than lose its technological authority. This is both a right and a belief."

Lawson asked, "Why did you give in now?"

Krusa lowered his mechanical body slightly.

"Because you are now the sole will of the Agrippina Sector."

“In the past, no forging world could truly mobilize more than three hundred planets. Governors would shirk their responsibilities, nobles would intercept supplies, guilds would cut corners, merchant shipping guilds would raise prices, starports would delay, transport fleets would disappear, and the Mechanicus would argue for decades over different forging factions.”

"Therefore, closed-loop casting is an inefficient but stable option."

He raised a mechanical arm and pointed to the 318 planets that were gradually lighting up on the star map.