The Astartes Family's Notebook

The second company's strike cruiser, the Dreadnought, is an ancient and sacred warship that has served for over three thousand years. It is said that when the Desolate Wings were severely damaged and almost completely wiped out, only this light cruiser remained in the entire group.

The battle group's predecessors recovered and their struggles are all recorded in the battle group's archives. Only the battle group leader is authorized to access them; no one else is allowed to enter the archives without the battle group leader's permission.

After all, this is the Warhammer world.

A ridiculous world where words are toxic and knowledge is harmful.

Motor Sich served on half of the ships in the battle group, so he is qualified to say this.

Although in the human empire, older creations are often more advanced, in terms of oracle instruments, the Pioneer Star, a new ship with over a thousand years of age, is superior to the Dreadnought Star of the Second Company.

Therefore, when the Victory Balance's oracle array detected abnormal fluctuations in the subspace energy of Omidas I, the fourth company commander decisively recalled the eight combat brothers on Nafar who were fighting alongside the Ork.

There are no small matters when it comes to subspace, and it's never too serious to take them seriously.

Bird divination device is a somewhat vague general term; all detection equipment with a display can be called a bird divination device.

A bird harpoon array is a large, complex bird harpoon system installed on a large vehicle, integrating more functions and higher power.

But something seems off. Wasn't the comparison supposed to be between the light strike cruiser HMS Dreadnought and the heavy strike cruiser HMS Pioneer? Why did it suddenly bring up the battle barge HMS Victory Balance?

That's obvious. The main difference between light and heavy cruisers is speed and firepower. The tonnage difference between them is no more than three million tons. Anyway, neither of them exceeds thirty million tons, so what's wrong with comparing them?

The Victory Balance was a battle barge, belonging to the class of battleships, with an empty tonnage of 47 million tons. When you add in the various enhancement and auxiliary equipment added later, as well as the various equipment used by the Astartes and the chapter's servants, the total weight exceeds 100 million tons.

Comparing a strike cruiser to a battle barge is simply irresponsible.

Although it was just a momentary data fluctuation, Motor Sich still convened a company-wide meeting.

Apart from the two Space Marines still on mission in Hive City and the four Battle Brothers who remained on the Pioneer Star, the remaining seventy-three Astartes assembled in the prayer hall.

Before the towering statue of the emperor, the company chaplain, acting on behalf of the company commander, delivered the routine prayer sermon.

The teaching material was "The Imperial Maxims, Holy Terra Arctic Printing House, M35.767 Edition".

The reason for using "Imperial Maxims" instead of "Imperial Words" is that the Astartes were both a military and a religious organization.

Although some chapters have poor relations with the Imperial Church, from an alignment perspective, the Astartes and the Imperial Church are natural allies.

There are too many versions of the "Imperial Words" circulating within the empire, and the different versions have subtle differences in their recording of the emperor's divine words. Using the "Imperial Words" for preaching and expounding can easily lead to disputes over the interpretation rights of the state religion factions due to version issues.

Don't be fooled by the humility and peace that the state religions of various planets show when facing the Astartes of the Empire. Once it comes to scriptures related to the "Imperial Words," they become ruthless, showing no mercy to even their closest allies. This is because quite a few Space Marines have gotten into trouble over this, and some have even been branded as rebel chapters.

Therefore, the first-in-first-in-first chapter leader of the Desolate Wings chose the "Imperial Maxims," ​​a work that had been compromised within the State Religion, as the chapter's main classic.

After all, the state religion itself knows that disagreements should be resolved behind closed doors. If it really can't be resolved, it should be done behind the backs of the majority of believers, lest it ruin the very thing that everyone makes a living from.

So it took hundreds of years and three popes of the state religion to finally cut down the controversial parts of the "Imperial Words" and produce the "Imperial Maxims" that no one disagrees with.

Apart from the company commander standing under the imperial statue, scrutinizing all the brothers in the battle group who were kneeling on one knee, only the company chaplain, who was pacing around and loudly preaching, was standing there.

This is no mere formality; all the combat brothers' power armor is collecting and uploading data in real time, and any abnormal readings can be seen as a sign of disloyalty and heresy.

Prayer sermons are not simply a matter of the company chaplain reading from a script while others listen while they doze off.

The Imperial Maxims, a collection of tens of thousands of words, begins with the company chaplain starting the chant, and the brothers of the warband must loudly recite the latter half.

With the power armor's vital signs monitoring and Astartes' superhuman senses, it's impossible to slip through the cracks and pass off inferior goods.

As the first and last line of defense for the Empire against Chaos, Astartes monks not only need formidable combat power, but also unwavering resolve.

Faith in the emperor is the best armor.

In the world of Warhammer, if you worship the Emperor, the Emperor can truly protect you.

Because he understood this, Kars, who had worshipped all sorts of gods and Buddhas in his previous life, firmly decided to worship only the Emperor in this life.

With this awareness, Katz passed the company's faith test without any difficulty.

Receiving a signal from the company commander, the company chaplain began the wrap-up work.

"What are your responsibilities?"

"To carry out the emperor's will."

"What is the will of the emperor?"

"Let us fight to the death."

"What is the meaning of death?"

"That is our duty."

Repeat three times, then the ceremony is complete; stand up.

All the comrades in the company knew that a major operation was about to begin.

Chapter 31 Company Meeting

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Military democracy is not a matter of passing the buck and shirking responsibility.

Before the main meeting, a smaller meeting was held first. The leadership of the company, above the sergeant level, had already made a decision. The company commander simply conveyed the collective decision of the leadership to all the fighting brothers in the company.

The discussion on promoting military democracy was not about principles such as who to fight or whether to fight, but rather about how to fight, and how to give full play to the wisdom and talents of all our brothers-in-arms.

Some naval capital ships older than the Dreadnought also have highly integrated command and analysis compartments, such as the combat information center, in addition to the bridge as the control center.

According to veterans who participated in joint operations, the White Scars regiment had such battleships.

Unfortunately, the Wings of Desolation is not the White Scar. Although the battle barge is also classified as a battleship, the Victory Balance does not have a combat intelligence center. The combat comrades in the company can only continue to exchange intelligence and think about tactical plans in the prayer hall using tactical helmets or personal data cards with holographic projection capabilities.

This was Katz's first time attending such a military seminar, and he was well aware of the importance of experience and prestige in such settings. He kept quiet about the battle plan and instead chatted with the veterans.

"Why don't we set up a combat information center? If we move it a little, we should be able to make enough space."

With a total length of 5,500 meters, side fins of 1,700 meters, and a combat weight of over 100 million tons, the Victory Balance could certainly make room to modify into a combat information center.

"It's impossible. The combat intelligence center isn't something that can be built by simply running a few cables and installing a few data boards. It's a complete intelligence gathering, analysis, and communication coordination system developed during the Great Expedition to coordinate the Astartes fleet, which is the size of a legion. White Scar's battleship lost two large gun bay sections on its sides for this combat intelligence center. The space freed up was used entirely to install supporting equipment."

"Two large gun bays, if the Victory Balance squeezes in, there should be one."

Astartes' superhuman memory and spatial awareness allowed Katz to quickly assess the Victory Balance's hull structure and determine if it could fit inside.

"I don't know the situation at the Imperial Navy's shipyards, but the Mechanicus has already claimed that the relevant technology has been lost."

"What a pity."

"Who says it isn't?"

Tyrant overheard Katz bragging and joking with the veterans of the company, but did not reprimand them.

Because in his view, this is normal.

Although the Astartes are all genetically modified superhumans, there is almost nothing they cannot learn if they are willing to learn.

However, formulating a battle plan really relies heavily on experience. It can be quite difficult. Simply watching others practice without memorizing the information is useless. You have to experience it firsthand to understand the power of the opponent's shot.

Moreover, given the nature of chaos, Franks III could not possibly impart such knowledge to new recruits.

If Tyrant dislikes Katz, then Katz's actions are simply a lack of ambition.

However, Tyrant admires Katz, so Katz's lack of ambition is also a matter of knowing his limits.

Being a Space Marine isn't just about fighting; you need to be shrewd and know how to navigate social situations to get by in a company.

Kaz only needs to relax and chat, while the company sergeants have much more to consider.

A high-intensity subspace reaction in an instant.

Accompanied (and supervised) by the technical sergeant, the engineers stationed on the Mars Mechanicus Victory Balance carefully examined the operational data of the astrolabe array and the related Thinker array. After comparing the data with that of the technical sergeant, the engineers and engineers reached the same conclusion: the equipment was working properly.

If the equipment itself is working fine, then it means Omidas has a major problem.

If the energy intensity of subspace continues to increase, it proves that someone is up to something, and something big is coming.

If the subspace energy intensity suddenly increases from a normal level to an extremely high level and then returns to normal, what does this mean?

This indicates that something chaotic has already arrived.

The other recruits are still receiving subtle instruction from the veterans. After all, knowledge about the warp cannot be explained in plain language; it can only be taught through numerous metaphors and allegories.

So even though it's supposed to be a portrayal of brotherhood in battle, the overall art style is definitely not what people think.

Why not go and listen?

The company chaplain was not satisfied with Kaz's performance and walked over to the two people who were chatting.

"The Emperor will protect me."

Very good, very loyal, and very spirited.

The company chaplain nodded in response.

"The Emperor will bless every loyal son."

After saying that, the company chaplain turned and left without the slightest hesitation or any extra emotion.

Swain approached from behind Katz.

"Kaz, what do you think?"

Are you blind? I'm standing here watching.

Swain was ultimately just an overage minor, and Katz felt he shouldn't be judged by his own standards.

"Did you see that?"

Following Kaz's gaze, Swain looked up at the imperial statue cast in adamantite.

"what happened?"

“Swain, I ask you, how many warbands does the Empire have?”

"More than a thousand, I suppose."

This is knowledge that was instilled in the brains of Frankenstein III, everyone knows it, so Swain doesn't understand what Katz wants to ask.

How many personnel are in a battle group?

"A thousand fighting brothers."

"So theoretically, how many Astartes does the Empire have?"

One million.

“Yes, the Emperor has a million genetic offspring, and every Astartes prays for the Emperor’s attention. And you’re asking me what I think? My opinion is to perform well and let His Majesty the Emperor see my heroic figure fighting bravely against the enemy.”

Swain's thoughts were led astray by Katz's words, and he fell into a deep fantasy, falling silent.

Very good, as expected, only "problem" children know how to shut others up when they ask questions.

Since Swain had no further questions, Katz continued chatting with the veteran.

"Didn't they say the Fourth Company had thirty sets of Terminator armor? How come I never see anyone else wearing it except the company commander?"

"It's a set of thirty-one. The company commander's set was brought over from the second company."

"Oh, thirty-one sets? You still haven't answered my question."

The veteran suddenly gave a strange smile.

"The Terminator armor isn't so easy to put on."

Kaz didn't understand what that sentence meant, so he gave a fawning smile.

"Tell me about it, veteran, please tell me."

The veteran shook his head again and continued.

"Being able to use the Terminator Armor is an honor, an acknowledgment of an Astartes' past achievements. But to use the Terminator Armor well requires some talent and aptitude. The Terminator Armor is very difficult to wear."

So many double entendres are really getting to Kaz.

This topic, however, piqued the interest of other veterans, and more people gathered around.

"Yes, the machine spirit of No. 13A is too irritable. The transmission speed of its left foot is higher than that of its right foot, which makes it very difficult to maintain balance when walking."

"Number 22A isn't much better. Every time the beacon is transmitted, there's a nerve disconnection of about one second. It's terrifying."

"What kind of problem is this? The field generator of the No. 3 A is faulty. There is a bomb-sized area on the left side of the abdomen that can be pierced with a combat blade."

Listening to the three veterans, who seemed to still be qualified to wear the Terminator armor, rant about the Terminator armor that the company had preserved, Kaz couldn't help but make the same expression as the old man with the cell phone on the subway.

"Since the three of you are qualified to wear Terminator armor, why do you usually wear power armor?"