Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes

Looking at the brand new food in front of him, Calvin didn't pay too much attention.

After all, with the degree of control he now has over his body, the desire for food and drink is, in a sense, the instinctive desire of mammals for fat and carbohydrates.

The Space Marine's synthetic meal is no exception.

The taste of these things may not be so good to ordinary people (if someone has not died of gastric perforation after eating ceramic powder with a hardness and particle size comparable to fine steel sand, he is naturally qualified to comment), but otherwise In essence, it just satisfies the desire of the Astartes warriors for their own nutritional needs.

Calvin paid more attention to the meeting with Trajan, the Marshal of the Imperial Army. After all, the latter's schedule was too tight, and Calvin had many things to communicate with him before making decisions.

The dinner table is a very suitable setting for discussing matters, at least Calvin thought so.

He invited Trajan to sit down in a nearby restaurant, and the accompanying honor guard naturally occupied the door of the house.

"Hmm...it tastes good?" Calvin raised his brows slightly.

After putting the lumpy meal in his hand, which was obviously different from the porridge-like meal of the "Astartes Type IV Standard Nutrient Meal", into his mouth, Calvin instantly felt great pleasure from the taste buds in his mouth.

It is not delicious in the ordinary sense, but the physiological pleasure produced by satisfying the body's thirst for nutrients.

His pituitary gland, fed back by his taste buds, activated areas he had never noticed before;

And his stomach pouch was also stimulated by hormones spontaneously secreted by the pituitary gland, clearly conveying the emotion called "hunger" to Calvin.

"What is this? A special nutrient for your Imperial Army?"

Calvin finished the meal in his hand in three bites. While feeling the bursts of satisfaction at the cellular level throughout his body, he also did not forget to ask Trajan a question.

The latter originally wanted to answer Calvin's first question, but he seemed to suddenly remember something, and a strange look flashed across his solemn marble sculpture-like face.

"Let's not talk about that!" Calvin interrupted Trajan's hesitant state and turned the topic to the official affairs that concerned him most.

“Concerning the establishment of the ‘Eye of the Empire’ institution, I have many matters that I need to consult with you on.

For example, the establishment of a sector-level emergency response mechanism requires the establishment of a standing garrison.

The Holy Hammer Order has already made similar attempts here. Well, as you know, it's Titan II.

But we are still too inexperienced in the specific selection of fortress locations in other star sectors and the guarding of the main channel to Terra.

I saw the "Watch Fortress System" of your Imperial Army in the information you submitted, and I hope to discuss this aspect with you again. "

"Well, your idea is correct..." Trajan was also diverted by Calvin's words.

He sorted out his thoughts for a while, and then said to Calvin:

"When our watch fortress system was first established, its functional positioning was indeed based on guarding waterways. You also know the reason..."

When Trajan said this, he carefully observed Calvin's expression, but after thinking about it, he still did not say the words "primarch rebellion".

After Calvin nodded with a serious face, he continued to talk according to his own ideas:

"Because of this, the location selection of the four fortresses in the Sun Star Territory was based on joint calculations by Star Language Court and the Navigator Alliance to determine the no-man's land between the Sun Star Territory and other star territories. After the thickness, it is stuck at the limit distance where the large fleet needs to be replenished.”

"Ah, I understand when you put it that way."

Calvin clapped his hands slightly excitedly, and then awkwardly looked at the three-millimeter-thick alloy dining table in front of him amid a burst of harsh noise, which was turned into scrap metal by his out-of-control strength.

Trajan in front of him reacted very quickly. Before the table made the first sound of metal deformation, he had already picked up his dinner plate to avoid being poisoned.

"Sorry..." Calvin explained to the calm-looking Marshal of the Forbidden Army in front of him.

"My body is currently in a period of development, so my strength has been a little out of control recently."

"It doesn't matter..." Trajan's facial muscles twitched slightly, but he still maintained the utmost calmness as a commander.

But he seemed to have thought of some details from before, so he decided to advance his visit to Watch Fortress after this meeting.

"Well, it's definitely out of official business needs." Trajan thought.

"Okay, let's continue the topic we just talked about." Calvin watched the honor guards outside the door dragging the corpse away from the dining table, then turned around and said to the Marshal of the Forbidden Army.

"Your ideas are consistent with ours! But we might as well expand our ideas a little more."

"...You speak, and I listen." Trajan said.

Calvin signaled with his eyes to the high-ranking Templar Golden at the door, who took out a miniature holographic projector from the mezzanine inside the power armor.

After pressing the energy switch, it was placed on the floor between the two of them.

A faint beam of light flashed past, and the holographic projection device completed data docking with Calvin's power armor servo.

When the light stabilized, the dynamic star map of the entire Terra and even the Sun Star Domain appeared in front of the two of them.

"From the perspective of conventional strategic defense, your Overwatch Fortress system has no problems.

At least under the assumption that the enemy comes from other star fields, your fortress can indeed play the role of blocking and delaying.

But now that we have a joint operations mechanism, and you have made clear the policy of ‘going global’.

So why not give the fortress more responsibility? "

"You want to include these fortresses in the cooperation system of the Eye of the Empire?... I'm afraid not." Trajan thought about it but still rejected Calvin.

"Why?" Calvin asked.

"Because they are not only fortresses," replied Trajan.

"Oh, I understand..." Calvin looked at Trajan and did not continue to inquire.

Since the other party's explanation ends here, it means that the next questions are destined to not be answered.

Not just a fortress? What could that be?

Calvin's eyes were uncertain, and his mind suddenly thought of some scattered information about the throne in the Inquisition.

"What if I apply to 'him'?" Calvin suddenly asked Trajan.

After hearing Calvin's words, the Marshal of the Forbidden Army looked deeply into Calvin's eyes.

His unwillingness to confess the secret to Calvin was not because he doubted Calvin's loyalty.

In other words, since the outbreak of the Great Rebellion, the Imperial Guards represented by him were destined to be unable to absolutely trust any Primarch.

Not anyone, not even Calvin!

"But what if it is 'His' will?" Trajan thought.

He could almost predict the outcome of Calvin's application, that man's attitude towards all his children was consistent;

There may be problems in the way of communication, but the underlying trust has never changed.

"Okay, I promise you. But you have to know that in addition to being a defensive fortress, it is also our prison.

You must ensure that your people's activities are within the marked area. Once this line is crossed, we will never take a step back! "

"Understood!" Calvin nodded, which was the end of the meeting.

The Marshal of the Forbidden Army seemed a little tired after experiencing this meeting and game. After nodding with Calvin, he also stood up and walked outside.

"By the way, what was the number of the food just now?" Calvin followed the former out of the room, and after watching Trajan's retreating figure for a few seconds, he asked the restaurant waiter passing by.

The latter looked at the meal package in Calvin's hand and was stunned for a moment, then searched in the database for a long time before giving the answer:

"Sir, Native Standard No. 1 is used for a very specific group of people. The following content is confidential. Please forgive me for not having permission to read it."

Calvin did not embarrass him, but after hearing the High Gothic word "native" from the attendant's mouth, he understood the origin of this food.

In High Gothic, "native" is a variant of "prototype", and the "primitive" in the original gene is the abbreviation of "prototype".

"Oh, is there anything else? Bring me two copies to take away." Calvin said to the attendant, but what the attendant said next made it difficult for his brain to react.

After checking the database of the Throne Court Restaurant, the attendant looked at Calvin in embarrassment:

"Um, sorry, there is only one copy left. This model was discontinued at the end of M32."

"Okay..." Calvin waved his hand habitually, and then reacted the moment he turned around and walked out:

"Discontinued? M32? In stock? What the hell! So what did Trajan give him just now? Is there anything in the empire's logistics rations that has a shelf life of 7,000 years?"

"Tu-la-real!"

Calvin's roar was transmitted outside the door of the restaurant, and the golden silhouette striding towards the tarmac in the distance seemed to become a little faster after hearing it...

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