Warhammer: Empire Reboot

So they began to use the methods that the imperial nobles were best at: delaying, complaining, bringing up old grievances, citing laws, and pulling strings.

The ledgers were refused to be handed over.

Mining rights review delayed.

Tax requirements for the rail port need to be reviewed.

Several lengthy accusations have been sent to Terra, filled with loyalty on every line, but driven by pure business acumen.

After reading the briefing, Lawson's eyes turned cold.

Ilancia noticed the change in that instant.

She asked, "What happened?"

Lawson tapped twice on the table.

The projections of more than a dozen planets flashed by, with red and yellow markers hanging on different worlds.

Ilancia said calmly, "It seems your new territory isn't as obedient as Vigilant Star."

Lawson had already stood up.

"Walk."

"Where?"

"Go watch how monkeys hang themselves."

Ilancia frowned.

"I didn't agree..."

Lawson reached out and grabbed her wrist.

The next moment, he pulled her into the static field and they disappeared.

…………

Night always falls a step later in the Governor's Tower district than on the surface.

Governor Valerian Hearst of the Damocles system sat at the end of his long table.

The long table is made from a single piece of ebony alloy and is said to have come from the captain's cabin of a colonial ship from the Great Expedition period.

The tabletop was polished to resemble a layer of deep water, reflecting the red wine in the glass, the gold leaf on the candlestick, the gemstone ring on the noblewoman's finger, and the teeth that people didn't fully show when they spoke.

There were twenty-seven people in the hall.

The governor himself.

Three planetary governors, representatives of the five major families, the president of the Galactic Trade Alliance, and the director of the Dock Tax Bureau.

The local state priest, and two retired Astral Army generals.

There were also a few old geezers who, though not seated in the main seats, could still silence and obey those in the main seats.

Some of them controlled grain transport, some controlled rail freight permits, some controlled slave contracts, and some controlled water purification equipment quotas.

These people are like the heavens in the Damocles Galaxy.

At least that was the case in the past.

A dozen or so female slaves who had been reformed stood around the table.

They wore semi-transparent silver gauze, with intricate seams along their spines and family crests around their necks.

Whenever someone raises a glass, they step forward to pour the wine; whenever someone finishes a bite of meat, they kneel down and offer a warm, damp towel.

Ilancia stood in the shadows in a corner of the room.

She turned her head to look at Lawson.

Lawson stood beside her, draped in a gray-black robe, his psychic energy acting like an invisible shell, separating the two of them from their surroundings.

All detectors in the hall are operating normally.

The air purifier continued to hum as usual.

Two squads of the governor's guards stood watch outside the gate.

But they couldn't see Lawson, nor could they see Ilancia.

Governor Valerian Hearst was able to maintain his position on more than a dozen planets not through the badges left by his ancestors, but through fleets, debts, secret pacts, assassinations, smuggling, and a sufficiently accurate fear.

So he called this banquet tonight.

Valerian sliced ​​a piece of roasted liver into thin slices, placed it on a silver plate, and chewed slowly.

The main course comes from a genetically modified war beast that was supposed to be deployed to the outer defense line, but was sent to the governor's kitchen half a month ago.

The chef spent thirty-six hours processing its nerve meat, turning a battlefield asset into a noble dinner.

The Palermo family representative, seated on the left, spoke first.

She was a fat woman with white powder on her face and her eyelids were sewn with fine folds of gold thread.

"Gentlemen, the documents for the Dark Regent have arrived. The Sealholder, Lawson, will take over the administration, taxation, military deployment, and strategic resource review of the galaxy within three months."

The governor put the knife back on the side of the plate.

"You've all seen the news about Vigilant Star."

After a brief silence, mining commissioner Calles spoke.

"I've seen it. Those elite nobles are heartbreakingly stupid. They put gene stealers into their marriages and used alien bloodlines as an advantage in marriage alliances. They got eliminated 70% of them, so they can't blame anyone else."

Madame Palermo glanced at him.

“You make it sound so easy. But what was the result? The Vigilant Star Council is gone. Water rights, food rights, energy rights, the judiciary, taxation, and shield nodes—all of them were taken by that Lawson. Apart from the Agammonus family clinging to his leg, the rest of the nobles were driven to Middle Nest.”

"Gentlemen, we can sit here drinking today, but tomorrow we might be living on the same floor as factory owners, military clerks, and water purification station managers. Are you willing to accept that?"

The head of the dock tax office raised his wine glass.

“I can tolerate factory owners, as long as they don’t show up in my elevator.”

And then a few people laughed.

Valerian spoke.

"Gentlemen, using the warning star as a reference is the stupidest thing to do."

"Vigilant Star is located at the Nakmonde Pass, a strategic core. It has witnessed the invasions of the Orks, Chaos, Genestealers, and the Black Legion. Lawson has wartime justifications, and there are battlefield testimonies from Calgar and a group of Chapter Masters. What he does on Vigilant Star, Terra can pretend not to see."

He raised his finger and tapped the table.

"Damocles is different."

"We are a star system that has just been reintegrated into order by the Regency Fleet. There are no Black Legion flagships hanging in orbit here, nor have the Genestealer chieftains crawling out from under the council floor. We have governors, a ruling chain, a state church, tithe records, old Terran decrees, and thirty-six hereditary charters that have lasted for over five thousand years."

The deputy chief priest of the state religion nodded.

He was tall and thin, with a ring of silver scripture nails embedded in his scalp.

"The empire operates on tradition. Tradition may be slow, but slowness is stability. The dark side now needs stability."

Madame Palermo smiled.

“Your Excellency, your words are worth fifty boxes of holy oil.”

The deputy high priest glanced at her: "Please send it directly to the parish warehouse."

The trade union president coughed, steer the conversation back on track.

"We cannot fight against Lawson's army. Nor can we openly refuse Dante's order to hand over power."

"Therefore, we need to make the takeover legal, slow, and cumbersome."

"First, we need to confirm the administrative boundaries of the Dark Side's Seal. Does he have the authority to bypass the Governor's Office of this system and directly take over local tax revenue? This question must be determined by Terra."

"How long will it take for Terra to reply?" a planetary governor asked.

The trade union president smiled.

"If we take the ordinary star-language path, it will take five to twenty years. If there are subspace storms along the way, it could take even longer."

"And the second one?"

The trade union president reached onto the table and brought up a screen.

"Second, we are willing to cooperate, but we need to provide information first. We can give Lawson a mountain of documents. Mining rights contracts, family debts, orbital port maintenance agreements, ownership disputes over the escort fleet, parish exemption clauses, records of temporary requisition of weapons by the Astronautical Army, and inheritance disputes caused by marriages of old nobles."

He swiped his finger, and hundreds of document titles popped up.

“If he wants to receive it legally, he must be investigated one by one. If he tries to bypass this process, we will have grounds to file a complaint against all the dark nobles of the empire.”

A general frowned.

Do you think other nobles would dare to speak up for us?

"They might not dare to shoot for us, but they'll tremble for their own chairs."

The Trade Union president said, "Lossen has stirred up the apex on Vigilant Star. If he does the same on Damocles, the other star systems will understand that they'll be next. Fear can band cowards together."

Madame Palermo then spoke.

"Third, we should proactively offer incentives."

“Your Excellency, you may announce that you will provide Lawson with three auxiliary regiments, five years of additional military rations, priority for shipyard repairs, and a sufficiently respectable war donation.”

The mining official sneered.

"Using public funds?"

“Of course we’ll use the public funds,” Madame Palermo said, looking at him. “Or will we use your private treasury?”

The mining official shrugged.

“I donated my private funds to the defense of the war three years ago.”

The shipyard tax commissioner couldn't help but say, "After that war, your family acquired two more promethium refineries."

The mining governor looked at him.

"The Emperor will always reward loyalty."

Upon hearing this, even the deputy chief priest of the state religion remained silent for half a second.