The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Chapter 2788: Fireclaws' Doubtful Cloud

Just as Sotha and the Sage of Purgatory Eight concluded their discussion on the Purgatory-class modification project, Sotha suddenly remembered something.

The Fireclaws Chapter, according to Bakhram, had made contact with radical Inquisitors, leading to their subsequent judgment of a penitent crusade, which seemed related to an activity near Purgatory Eight. Thus, he inquired about the Fireclaws Chapter.

The Sage was somewhat surprised that Sotha mentioned the Fireclaws but still answered him.

The Fireclaws Chapter did indeed carry out a mission near Purgatory Eight around 952.M41. At that time, a derelict ship suddenly emerged from the Warp and approached the star system where the forge world was located. This derelict ship was marked by the Imperium as the 'Sinner's Trap.' Subsequently, the radical Inquisitor De Malkaide began to mobilize forces to destroy this derelict ship. The Fireclaws Chapter also dispatched a company led by a Chief Librarian to provide support.

Purgatory Eight did not directly participate in the operation but only provided fleet support. Later, when the derelict ship was destroyed, they learned that there was a group of Chaos Space Marines inside, led by a Tzeentch Champion who worshiped the Changer of Ways. However, this champion seemed to have been killed by the Fireclaws Chapter's Chief Librarian, Decario. The Inquisitor classified the operation as confidential, and the Adeptus Mechanicus did not inquire further. They had no further contact with the Fireclaws afterward.

After hearing this, Sotha had some doubts about the Relictors Chapter but kept them to himself.

Not long after the meeting between the two ended, Sotha sent a notification letter to his preferred bidder, followed by a series of consultations and negotiations.

In the end, he used most of the captured Necron remains and equipment, as well as weapons, to exchange for hundreds of thousands of combat servitors and void fighters from the Adeptus Mechanicus. These would become supplementary forces for future ground operations and the main carrier-based aircraft for the Rogue-class light carriers.

Of course, all of this would take time. The longest would take five years, and the shortest would take three years to be delivered in succession. It wasn't that there was no production capacity, but after all, this was a deal that couldn't be put on the table. Various forge worlds also had Martian eyes, so they had to do some cover-ups and send them out under other names, which inevitably delayed the time.

During this period, a Lunar-class cruiser and two Nova-class frigates built in the Nayseth IV dockyards also completed all the outfitting and sea trials, and the crew was fully equipped, waiting for naming and commissioning.

Sotha attended the commissioning ceremony of the three ships and named the Lunar-class cruiser the 'Nayseth Blade.' In the future, all ships built in the Nayseth system would be identified with the star system name. At the same time, he also appointed the captain, a frigate captain who graduated from the Nayseth Naval Academy and had served in the Astral Knights Chapter fleet for nineteen years. According to the previous arrangement, this warship would join the White Templars' order of battle. However, after the Legion-style reform, the Legion's fleet would no longer be divided by Chapter but would be divided into the Nayseth Fleet and the Brakato Fleet. When a battle company or composite battalion was dispatched, ships would be selected from them to form a task force, and when operating on a Legion scale, a joint fleet would be formed by the two main fleets.

So, that Lunar-class cruiser would join the Brakato Fleet for service, but when it set off, it would not only be itself but also carry hundreds of teachers from the Nayseth Naval Academy and their families. Their mission was to go to the Brakato system to assist the fleet there in establishing its own naval academy.

Now the Chapter, or rather the Legion, has established its own naval talent training system. The core is the Nayseth IV Naval Academy. This academy evolved from the original seafarers' center and was officially established in the fifth year of Sotha's return to his homeworld. He is the honorary principal, and he occasionally shows up on some important school anniversary days and festivals. Many captains who graduated from here even call Sotha the principal, which is also a special honor of the Nayseth Naval Academy.

But with the rapid expansion of the Legion fleet, it is certainly not enough to rely on a single naval academy, and Sotha also needs to balance the proportion of personnel in the current Chapter Navy. Previously, almost all captains and senior naval officers came from Nayseth IV. Later, a group of excellent naval captains were introduced from the Maelstrom, but the number was not enough, and it also caused the rejection of the captains from Nayseth IV. There were various small frictions during this period, but overall, they were still within a controllable range, but things always have to be resolved. The best way is to 'dilute' them, so the establishment of a new naval academy in Brakato is a matter of course. This matter actually started four or five years ago, and the various facilities of the academy have recently been completed, and the enrollment work has just begun, and experienced retired captain teachers are urgently needed for guidance. There are only a mere dozen retired captains in the White Templars, which is far from meeting the needs, so they can only be transferred from Nayseth IV.

In fact, this situation is not only in the Navy but also exists in the Legion's auxiliary forces. Due to the establishment of a mortal army far larger than the auxiliary forces of ordinary Chapters, Sotha also had to establish an army academy on Nayseth IV. This is different from the Schola Progenium of the Astra Militarum. The Nayseth Army Academy recruits not only the orphans of loyal soldiers but also the children of Chapter serfs, outstanding civilian children, noble children, etc. They are mainly the source of officers for the Chapter's auxiliary forces.

Initially, Nayseth IV had three army academies, which were later expanded to six, but slowly Sotha discovered a problem. The proportion of civilian students in the academy was getting lower and lower, and the proportion of nobles and Chapter children was getting higher and higher. Since he did not spend much time paying attention to the army academy, he did not pay much attention to it. It was not until before the Maelstrom Expedition that he felt that the situation was a bit serious—all this was due to the deep-rooted bloodline theory of the Imperium. Imperial culture emphasizes that dragons give birth to dragons, phoenixes give birth to phoenixes, and rat sons will definitely dig holes, so the descendants of officers must also be officers. The enrollment and examination of the army academy only account for a 'part' of the proportion, and the proportion of students introduced by letters of recommendation is even greater.

Some 'veteran families' who have served in the Chapter's auxiliary forces for two or three generations have formed close networks with each other through marriage, firmly occupying a considerable proportion of the high-level ecology of the auxiliary forces, and even began to exclude officers who were not born from Chapter serfs, which in turn caused a rebound from the Nayseth IV officers. Although he knew this was not good, Sotha had to admit that these people were indeed more trustworthy than outsiders, after all, their aspects were highly bound to the Legion.

After all, the affairs of mortals often boil down to a little bit of parochialism in the end.

In fact, Sotha had already carried out a small round of personnel changes in the auxiliary forces, tapping those mortal officers who were trying to seize power by relying on the qualifications of their ancestors. As a remedy, in order not to block the upward channel for outstanding talents, and also to supplement the shortage of non-commissioned officers, Sotha ordered the establishment of several non-commissioned officer schools, which only recruited civilian children. Although this could not bridge the gap that had already been created, it could at least fill a part of it.

In addition, a series of army academies were also established in the Brakato system, which diluted the influence of the 'Nayseth system'.