Herald of the Stars: Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty-Eight

I say, “I believe that Saint Dirk is still alive as there is a potent ritual active on the Gloriana that is preventing the aura of Saints from repressing Daemons within the system. I could be misunderstanding the ritual's purpose, but they would not sustain such a thing without good reason.”

Vilhelm makes the Sign of the Cog, “What a relief! I would never live down the shame of losing the Lathe’s Saint. I know little of Sorcery though its presence is no surprise.”

Vilhelm’s words are the opposite to his emotions. His surface thoughts are opaque because of his cerebral implants, but his distaste for Saint Dirk is clear. It seems oddly personal, with no clear reason why. He’s no Psyker but he was lying about his knowledge of the Warp. Is he a closet Techsorcist?

“What are the details of your troubles with Lathe Hadd?” I say.

“Oh? Are you willing to help me?” Vilhelm leans forward in his armchair, his face bright with enthusiasm.

“That’s not what I said, Arch-Magos Wahh. I am interested in what drives you beyond duty to the Imperium. Think of this as the first step in understanding each other's mutual goals.”

Vilhelm folds his arms, “Then what is yours, Explorator Issengrund?”

“Trade,” I say, my tone flat.

“Come now, that’s hardly an answer is it? There are plenty of other Forge Worlds. Ones that are not cut off by a Warp Storm.”

I shake my head, “There are no other systems in Calixis like the Lathes. You call yourselves equal to Mars, yes? You have more unique goods here than every Forge World in the sector. One does not risk the Koronus Expanse with anything other than the best they can afford. 

“I will visit the other Forge Worlds if the Lathes prove lacking, but I do not believe I will be disappointed. In addition, both the Inquisition and Marius Hax were concerned about the silence of the Lathes and distant signs of weaponfire. They both requested that I investigate.”

If a bit of flattery and hinting that I am an unofficial Imperial investigation does not get this man’s tongue wagging on even the lightest issues then I will make no further attempts to gain Vilhelm’s support.

“I am sure that the Lords Dragon will be most pleased to hear that the Lathes are held in such high regard,” says Vilhelm.

The Lords Dragon are the Lathes’ equivalent of the secret police.

I say, “The Imperium is always willing to enforce its treaties, Arch-Magos Wahh.”

“I agree that you have struck the Great Enemy a mighty blow. The Lathes will always welcome the aid of its Imperial allies.” Vilhelm closes his eyes and strokes his chin, then looks back at me, “As I mentioned earlier, Lathe Hadd is seen as a lesser Forge World, compared to Het and Hesh. Hadd manufactured most of the ammunition used during the Angevin Crusade, a phenomenal feat of logistics. 

“Most think of this as stubber rounds, bolt rounds, artillery shells and so on. Maybe the odd laspack, hence the derision. They forget that it involves the complex munitions of void ships, billions of missiles, and even the most challenging of munitions such as vortex weaponry, Exterminatus warheads, and Nova Cannon shells.”

I nod, “That is an impressive list of goods.” 

Vilhelm continues, his hand gestures becoming increasingly wild, “I am glad that we are in agreement. As you know, augers, auspex, cogitators, strict quality control, complex refinery work, all of these things and more are required in mind boggling quantities to do what Hadd achieved during the Angevin Crusade. Recognition of our vital role has been forgotten, buried under the politics of Het, or the flashy vehicles of Hesh. I was born on Hadd and have spent my whole career fighting against this inequity, to get the Tech-Priests and labourers of Hadd the recognition they deserve.

“My promotion to Forgemaster was a result of centuries of dedication towards this goal. Once I had the rank, I immediately initiated my plan to fulfil my promise and began my crusade by copying Het. I moved all of our manufacturing into orbit, a process that took two centuries.”

At that speed it would have been faster to build new machines in orbit!

“A substantial task, I see.” 

Vilhelm says, “Oh, you have no idea! Still, it was a success. The trial runs showed that moving our manufacturing increased Hadd’s output and lower costs as we no longer had to move resources and finished goods back and forth between the planet’s surface and our orbital distribution hubs. Unfortunately, during the transition, most of my skilled labourers and artisans were poached by Het and Hesh. I had had to let them go as feeding empty hands is wasteful and I would have had a riot on my hands if I had forbidden my people from performing their dutiful labour.”

I am not impressed by Vilhelm's choice to let his specialised labourers go. Yet another reason as to why it would have been more efficient to build new tools. I know from Abbisine that many works still remain on Hadd and have begun to restore the manufactorums of the planet under their own impetus. They call themselves the \Alium Union.

Vilhelm continues, “Once the new orbital stations and production machinery was in place, I further automated my production lines to make up for the deficit in labour. Nidus Omega, who rallied behind Arch-Magos Rulware, a staunch traditionalist, and Forge Master Samekh, the man who tempted all of my workers over to supply his fancy vehicles with ammunition, had the gall to censure me.”

Nidus Omega is where all the Magi of the Lathes gather on Het to pass their laws.

“How wasteful of them,” I say. 

“Absolutely! Those envious Magi claimed that I was too close knit with the Tenninites, whom I consulted on automation, and risked the creation of an Abominable Intelligence. They even dubbed Hadd with the moniker of ‘The Silent Forge’. Hippocrites! Het has all their manufacturing in orbit too and has filled their whole planet with data looms and administration blocks! The only reason my Forges are silent is because they banned me from using them and stole the people who would work them, further relegating Hadd to the dusty tomes of history. I was so angry I wore out two hearts!”

“I would not have reacted well to that either,” I say. 

‘Stole’ his workers after saying he laid them off? What a crock of grox shit.

“That is the barest fraction of the indignity I have had to suffer,” says Vilhelm. “Not only am I not allowed to use what I have created, but interests and logistics have moved on. Everyone goes to Hesh for ammunition now.”

Of course they did. Ammunition is a major currency of the Imperium. It’s not like a Forge World can afford to stop making it for two centuries while Vilhelm faffs about with his megaproject.

Keeping my tone friendly, I say, “I would imagine that the current conflict would be the spark you need to bring your new manufactorums online, especially with the loss of the Excipio Stations upending logistics. Then you got captured when you tried to change the status quo.”

“Indeed! I always thought my capture was rather suspicious!”

I say, “I can’t imagine you only sought to improve what Hadd specialised in when that was the perceived issue in the first place. What were your plans to diversify?”

“Cybernetics. For Skitarii and Imperial Guard. Shipping replacement limbs, organs, and medical supplies with your ammunition is the next logical step. These are not needed in such large quantities and take up a lot of space thanks to all the clean assembly rooms one requires. Cogitator manufacture also requires a lot of space and water. Cybernetics are more suitable for manufacturing planetside than ammunition, where quantity is the primary goal, rather than quality.”

“That does sound like a sensible plan,” I say. “No one could claim your forge was lesser with such a line up of high technology. Why did it fail?”

“I am pleased you agree. Het refused to share its STCs with me. Hadd would not replace my artisans. These are not insurmountable problems. However, without money and resources to persuade Tech-Priests and Magi to my side, money that I can’t get because I’m not allowed to manufacture ammunition, my mechadendrites are tied. 

“Even if Nidus Omega did rescind the censure because of the Chaos Armada in the system, it wouldn’t do much good as there is no one coming to buy ammunition, nor would I be allowed to sell it when Castellar will want to stockpile everything for the Crimson Guard and our Monitor Fleet until Fulgrim is defeated.”

Dear Omnissiah! Is this man a complete idiot? Who embarks on such a large megaproject without a back up plan or getting all their prisoners in a row before executing such a large project? Where was the transition plan? 

If feeding idle hands is a problem, have them make food and sell it! He should have shifted to cybernetics first while he still had clout and artisans, then moved the ammunition production into orbit. There are all manner of other things he could have done to not dig himself into such a hole. I know I don’t have all the data, but surely such flaws are obvious?

I am having a hard time believing such an idiot would become a Forge Master. There’s something to be said for being the charismatic fool in a kingdom of nerds, but that’s too simplistic an interpretation. It is clear that he has several rivals. Perhaps this is a similar situation to Lyre’s confrontational attitude to resource acquisition? That doesn’t quite ring true either. The Lathes are not as strapped for resources in the same way that Lyre claimed to be.

However, there are plenty of parts to his story that should be fairly easy to confirm and it's believable enough that I can’t dismiss Vilhelm outright. I should also question how much of this is my business. I am not convinced that backing this fellow will get me a good price for my STCs. I am interested in Exterminatus warheads, however. Without a proper investigation into his assets that’s all I can be confident he has to offer me though.

I am missing several pieces of this puzzle, but I don’t think I’m going to get it out of Vilhelm today, if ever. His thoughts seem to slither out of the way behind a cover of righteous indignation. How irritating.

I say, “What did Arch-Magos Castellar promise you?”

“He offered to provide the STCs I require and take a personal look at the Tenninites work, then make a list of the required changes, if any, for him to support the lifting of my manufacturing ban. Something they did not bother with before censuring me, I might add. No artisans or skilled labourers, but with my manufactorums back in action, that would be a matter of time. It is unlikely he will keep his word now. It is going to take at least another century before I can shake off the shame of being captured and get the support I need.”

No matter what Vilhelm does, he won’t be getting his position back. I doubt the Lords Dragon will permit a Forge Master to keep their position even after he’s had a Saint clear him of corruption. Even if they do let him keep it, he’s going to get sidelined and with enough military merits I might get to slip a replacement in from the Stellar Fleet, or at least pad out the new Forge Master with ‘advisors’ who work for me.

There is no reason to restrict my influence to the Koronus Expanse and with Marius in my corner I have a good chance to spread my improved living conditions agenda to the Lathes.

“Arch-Magos Wahh, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I will ensure that Arch-Magos Castellar receives your message and that the Nidus Omega are aware of your contribution to the defence of the Lathes. What you do with these merits will be in your own capable hands.”

“Thank you for agreeing to my request, Explorator Issengrund. Is there anything else you wish to discuss today?”

“I feel that such an important message requires a drone constructed by my own hand and wish to see to that immediately. Delaying your information does not benefit the Lathes and I would not wish to be seen as lax in my duties to the Imperium and its allies.”

“A fine work ethic. Perhaps we can continue the philosophical you began another day. Please do call upon me if you require my aid.”

“I shall.”

Vilhelm stands and wanders the room for a bit. I sit in my chair by the fire, waiting for him to leave. He does not, and reaches for one of the books.

Brian, my trusty Servo-Skull, intercepts Vilhelm’s wandering hands and slaps them away with a mechadendrite.

I clear my throat, “Arch-Magos Wahh. This is a restricted area. I cannot leave to send your message until you depart.”

“Ah, forgive my curiosity. Where might I find a library to keep my mind occupied?”

“Everything that you are cleared for is accessible via your sleeping pod back in your room. It is the only terminal that your new MIU will be able to access the Noosphere from at this time. This is information that was provided to you after you left the medicae deck. 

“There are also some games available to alleviate any boredom. If you wish to be productive, I suggest you play HiveSim and upload your data on Lathe Hadd. You will be able to refine your economic models and simulate any plans you have in private.”

After the trouble with Lyre and other snoopers at SR-651 we have significantly reduced the information available to guests. I don’t think that Vilhelm is dumb enough to upload accurate data to our Noosphere, but it never hurts to try. Killove might be able to glean something from him while he’s stuck in a pod too.

“Oh, of course. How forgetful of me. I must still be a little addled from the painkillers.”

“Do you need assistance navigating your MIU to turn on the painward you were given?” I say.

Vilhelm clears his throat, “No, no. I am sure I can manage. Please excuse me. Good day, Explorator Issengrund.”

With an abrupt turn, Vilhelm hurries from the Xenos Librarium, his cheeks tinged with pink.