“Well now,” says Riordan, “I’d say general readiness is always a concern. For military men such as Thalk and I, talking about our forces is far more comfortable than our history. There’s always a bitter failure or two hiding within it. It’s been a while since I spoke to a civilian so I had forgotten most of you prefer a more personal approach.”

Eire clears her throat, “My apologies. I didn’t think you’d care to hear about our improvements in modelling SR-651 after the latest census, or how we’re building our administration.”

Riordan shrugs, “A reasonable assumption. I doubt you’d care to hear about the Barghest’s preferred methods of discipline, or the exact spot and force required to clear a jam on different patterns of bolter when under water or in a vacuum, little hints that aren’t in the manual.”

Eire looks thoughtful for a moment then smiles and shakes her head.

Riordan continues, “I was being a nosy old man, truth be told, looking for a bit of reassurance in a galaxy of where there is none. The situation is always dire. The latest disaster in SR-651 is no different. Perhaps I am a hopeless optimist. There’s always a small chance that a new player could improve the game, rather than sending it spiralling deeper into the mire of eternal war.”

“You jump from campaign to campaign with barely a pause,” says Eire. “I would never have thought an Astartes could be optimistic.”

“Someone has to be,” says Riordan. “It’s how I found my calling as a Chaplain. Like how an Apothecary tends to the bodies of my brothers, I attend to their minds, their spirituality.

“Few Astartes worship the Emperor but we are no less spiritual than other Imperials. Meditation, the preparation and fortification of the mind before battle, is a key part of our success. Even the occasional embarrassing trust exercise. All of this must be taught to our youngest. The rigid mental conditioning of Astartes training does not lend itself to the processing of emotions. To learn to bend, rather than to break. To learn how to think. Hypno-training only teaches you how to act.”

Thalk blinks, “You teach meditation and philosophy.”

“I do,” says Riordan. “Singing too. Pretty good for a slave boy, eh?”

“You’ve seen the bottom so now you’re always racing for the top,” says Eire.

“Aye. Twas an angry boy who left Iniquity. No one bothered to teach me what to do with it outside of battle. I was lucky to survive long enough to discover the answers for myself. Now I pass my lessons along so that no young men end up as lost as I was.”

Eire says, “It’s you we have to thank for the Barghest’s measured responses.”

Riordan smiles, his eyes glinting in the soft light of the hall, “All I did was show the way. The efforts of my brothers are their own. Some are still a little impetuous.”

Eire stares at one of the displays for a few moments, “Thank you for indulging me in my curiosity. I certainly feel like I know you a little better now.”

“Then all is well,” says Riordan. “How about you, Thalk? Is it reassurance you are looking for or something else?”

Thalk grabs a few canapes from a passing servitor and says, “A personal agenda, one could even say a dream, or a heartfelt wish.”

“Somehow,” says Eire, “I doubt it is ‘peace in our lifetime’ that you're going for here.”

“Ha! No. I’m not an optimist like our friend here. How much do you both know about Battlefleet Koronus?”

“I only know it is small,” says Eire. “Less than eighty vessels.”

“That’s part of what I’m aiming at,” says Thalk.

Riordan says, “I’ve heard much talk about Battlefleet Koronus by men who know nothing of naval warfare. They were rather unflattering but I paid them no heed.”

“I appreciate that,” says Thalk. “It is, unfortunately, within these metaphorical great halls of power and thoughtless talk that Battlefleet Koronus’ support is gathered and dispensed. Few are willing to back a dead grox and a poor reputation does more to harm us than our enemies do. You have touched on the other half of my dreams, Riordan.”

Eire says, “It will be some time before we can provide you with more ships, Vice-Admiral.”

Thalk laughs, “The Navy may have a habit of coming cap in hand to the Mechanicus, but that isn’t what I wish to ask. To give you a little background, Battlefleet Koronus is a...practical fleet. Some might even call it a junk fleet, or pirate fleet. The truth is that most menials, even voidsmen, do not care who is in charge of a vessel so long as they get good rations, alcohol, and lho-sticks.

“Most of Battlefleet Koronus is made of prize vessels, captured from pirates or fallen Rogue Traders. That means most of our vessels are escort size and our attrition is particularly horrendous because we focus on boarding actions, rather than shooting everything from as far away as possible. We lose almost as many vessels and crew as we capture and their condition is always poor. Our only takeaway being the ending of a threat.

“No need to pull a muscle with that sympathetic expression, Eire. While our fleet status isn’t ideal, Battlefleet Koronus’s composition makes us good at patrolling and skirmishing, which are our main duties. What we lack is battleships. We only have one. No one will give us more as they won’t trust them to ‘jumped up pirates’ so we can’t clear or stop major threats and are reliant on Calixis, or Rogue Traders, to bail us out if something big happens. It’s why we were backing that scheme to revive a Rogue Trader house and why it’s a Vice-Admiral that’s here to sort out the mess those two idiots created. We need fleets that we can reliably call upon.”

Eire says, “There was some confusion as to why the loss of a single ship required a man of your rank to be sent. I appreciate the clarification and will pass it on.”

Thalk waves of Eire, “My presence is not something you need to worry about. I am happy with the accounting we have received.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I am pleased we were able to provide satisfactory records, even if we could not prevent the destruction of Imperial assets at the hands of the Inquisition. Especially when yours are so limited.”

Thalk sighs, “It’s for the best, especially after Dying Light. None of us can afford further Inquisitorial scrutiny. However, the Navy’s limited forces in this sector do undermine Imperial authority, just as much as the Inquisition and the Space Marines reinforce it.

“This is a personal embarrassment to the officer corps of Battlefleet Koronus, one that trickles down into discipline and morale issues. It’s hard to take pride in one's work when it isn’t valued by others, even if, like Riordan says, they have no idea what they’re talking about. This goes double for when one is expected to die for the defence and interests of these imbeciles.

“Now, as for where I’m going with all of this, and how you could benefit Eire, it is a plan I’ve been working on for over a century. What Battlefleet Koronus needs is support for a crusade. If we can drum up enough enthusiasm to clear the ‘Undred ‘Undred Teef, your neighbours and your largest threat, Battlefleet Koronus could get some battleships assigned to it for the task and become a credible symbol of Imperial authority in this sector.

“SR-651 is the perfect location to amass a suppression fleet but there’s never been a chance to do so before because of its lawless status. You’re changing that. One can’t just muster a fleet somewhere without proper planning and preparation though.”

Eire nods, “Quite so. What are you seeking from the Stellar Fleet?”

“What I want to know is if you could support a whole Battlefleet and how long it would take to get to that point. What I’m offering is to maintain a monitor fleet here at the Navy’s expense. This will give you more clout over visiting chartist captains and give you far more flexibility in seeing off raids and other challenges while you build up the infrastructure a suppression fleet would require, infrastructure that you are planning to build regardless of my own plans, though the scale would need to be far larger to see my dreams bear fruit. I also need some research from you.”

Eire nods slowly, “I have no objections to your proposal on principle, though I am wary of poking the Orks without sufficient backup plans. Current estimates to full capacity are two hundred years. We should be able to supply a Battlefleet with a moderate quantity of consumables within ten years. Full support and supply from the Stellar Fleet, such as with Origami-Class mobile shipyards, blockade capacity, and infantry reserves would be fifty years at the earliest, with eighty years enabling moderate contingency.”

“Magos Issengrund sure doesn’t think small if you are already planning for such a fleet,” says Thalk.

Eire says, “Our vessels are much more robust and powerful than most Forge Worlds' and we are expecting many buyers to seek us out. A Navy presence while we fortify ourselves would be welcome. It would spare me the ships to send delegations to the local minor Forge Worlds to acquire skilled labour and teachers for the people Calligos will be sending our way. Ideally, this would let me accelerate our infrastructure investment.”

“I did have a peek at what you're promising,” says Thalk. “The Barghests might have been convinced and put in an order, but I’ll believe the hype once more of your vessels have seen battle.”

Eire says, “So long as you help us get there, you can doubt all you like. Still, I will bring up your proposal in Stellar Fleet Command’s next discussion and put together some estimates so that we actually have something substantial to discuss. We will give you a proper answer after the Zombie Plague has been cleared.”

“That is acceptable. Do you have anything to add, Riordan?”

“I am sure that Chapter Master Lir will be willing to assist in some capacity. It is, however, far too distant a goal for the Barghests to get involved in at this time. I would advise further patience. We will not be able to assist before we get our new ships, nor are we a navy either. I hardly think throwing men at Orks, even Space Marines, will achieve much, no matter how many strike teams hunt down their warbosses and other leaders.”

“Oh, I quite agree,” says Thalk. “I was discussing this with Lyre and he has agreed to provide exterminatus weaponry. What we need is a delivery system, hence my research request. Those Vitrum-Class torpedo bombers are exactly what we need, but they are far from stealthy.

“Failing that we will bombard the planets, but I’d much rather sneak exterminatus torpedoes past the Ork pickets while the Navy distracts them. Not only will it purify their spores but it should remove any reinforcements and other surprises they might have stashed on their planets.”

“We will need to purchase stealth systems from the Lathes,” says Eire. “That or get lucky with the cold trade. Eldar systems would be the best but ‘The Alien mechanism is a perversion’. Redesigning our Vitrum-Class around xenos stealth tech would not be well received.”

For a moment I wonder if Eire has forgotten about the ruby stealth coating on our mechanical owls, then I realise that she is hiding our capabilities. I think it is fairly obvious that we have a lot of new STCs, but now that I think about it, few individuals have sufficient education to know the difference between what the Mechanicus finds impressive, and what an Imperial officer does.

The major Forge Worlds all have their own variants and much of the Stellar Fleet’s technologies are variants on Imperial technology, just developed with new STC knowledge. Our best technologies, like our better thrusters, shields, and gellar fields, are completely hidden unless one can get onto one of our secure command centres.

Riordan says, “Do you not have any already? The spoils from the Drukhari vessels were substantial.”

“We might have something stashed away. I would have to check. It’s not as simple as just installing what they have though. Neither a cruiser's shadowfield, nor that of their strike craft, are the right size for an Imperator Titan sized bomber. We would be hard pressed to actually get one to work. Empyrean mantles are good, and we can make those, but it sounds like we would need more than just good, Riordan, and the Lathe’s have a planetary sized archive of archeotech.”

Riordan chuckles, “That assumes you can get your fellow priests to part with their treasures and what they have is actually where they think it is.”

“Those are substantial hurdles, but not something we need to worry about right now.”

“Eire, if you are uncertain that you can hide such a precious payload,” says Thalk, “perhaps you would be better served with deception instead. Do you have access to Mimic Engines?”

“We do not,” says Eire. “The most unusual devices we have access to are Scartix Engine Coils and Gravitic Accelerators, but we are yet to successfully replicate them. Neither of those will help with stealth, but they would greatly aid in chasing down scattering Orks.”

Thalk says, “I agree that faster vessels and quicker strike craft launch and recovery would be a great help in your proposal. We should certainly try everything we can. On that note, I’d best go see if Logis Vakul will bless me with her robust presence. She may know where to get what we need for this little project.”

Eire glances over at me, “That’s one of Aldrich’s pre-set facial animations. If he’s using those you might even get a small favour out of him for the rescue.”

Thalk laughs, “Well now, I didn’t get to my position without a little boot polish on my tongue. Some of it even rubbed off. I dare say my words can bring a silver shine to the most stubborn of Magi.”

“Go ahead, Vice-Admiral. Riordan and I will cheer you on from here,” says Eire.

Thalk runs a hand through the wispy remains of his hair and grabs a fresh drink, “It’s been a pleasure. I look forward to our next discussion.”

“Good evening to you, Thalk,” says Riordan.

Thalk weaves through the crowd towards me and Eire starts questioning Riordan about his favourite philosophers and their works.

I tune out of the conversation and focus my attention on the interaction between Caligos and Ròsìn, who’s wandering around looking at the displays with a small plate of food and a drink held aloft by her mechadendrites.