Numerous shuttles were like busy black worker ants, constantly traveling back and forth between the Goliath-class factory ship and several captured warships.
The Space Marines, in cooperation with the Tech-Priests and Servants, plundered all the stolen goods from the three Ork warships, thoroughly repaired and purified the Night Lords' Ruler-class cruiser, and incorporated the Rogue Merchant's Conquest-class star-sea voyageur into the fleet.
The Honourable, bridge.
Fu Qinghai sat in the captain's chair, and the Space Marines brought three "people" dressed differently to him.
A dying Space Marine.
An Ork dressed as a pirate.
A beautiful woman in expensive clothes.
The first two were escorted here while tied up.
Fu Qinghai first looked at the woman:
"Hello, Ms. Yolanda Atela."
The woman bowed:
"Hello, respected Qingshan Khan, thank you for rescuing the Emperor's Coin from the clutches of the orc pirates. On behalf of the Altera family and the remaining crew members, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to you."
Before coming to meet Fu Qinghai, the woman seemed to have dressed up specially. There was no sign of her being in such a miserable state as she had encountered pirates before. She was wearing a Baroque-style captain's uniform that combined elements of Gothic religion with hedonistic colors. She was gorgeous yet capable.
"What are your plans after this, Ms. Yolanda?"
Fu Qinghai asked, resting his chin on his hand.
Yolanda Altera said sincerely,
"Sir, if you can escort me and my crew back to the 500th World of Ultramar, I am willing to give you the Emperor's Coin as a reward for your help in saving my life."
Eugene Eleanor's eyes lit up when he heard this.
The Conqueror-class Star Cruiser is no ordinary ship. In terms of size, it is a cargo ship larger than a cruiser. Technically, it has been manufactured and put into service since the Great Crusade, using many ancient designs that have been lost.
A Conqueror-class interstellar voyage ship was given away just like that. It seems that this "Altera Family" has considerable influence in the Extreme Star Domain and belongs to a wealthy and powerful dynasty of traveling merchants and wanderers.
Fu Qinghai has read the original novel of the "Merchant Rogue" series, but it did not bring any reference value, because "Merchant Rogue" tells the story of the 41K era, and now is the 31K era. Many future famous merchant roamer dynasties do not exist yet.
Eugene was about to persuade Fu Qinghai to agree, but Fu Qinghai waved his hand and said seriously:
"I can escort you and your crew back to the Five Hundred Worlds, and I don't need the Emperor's Coin as payment."
Yolanda was slightly surprised to hear this.
Eugene was stunned, thinking, Khan, do you know what you are talking about? That is a Conquest-class Star Sea Voyage Ship!
Fu Qinghai stretched out a finger:
"I have only one condition."
Yolanda said with a serious expression:
"Please go ahead."
"The Altera family must open up a new trade route from the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar in the Ultima Segmentum to the Marcus King Segment in the Obscure Segmentum."
Yolanda shook her head slightly:
"Excuse me, sir, I cannot make the decision on my own on such an important matter as opening a route. I have to discuss it with the family before making a decision... Are there any rare specialties in the 'Marques Wang' star region you mentioned?"
Fu Qinghai smiled and said:
"There is a new foundry world there called 'Phaeton'. As for the specialties... We are about to head to the Phaeton foundry world. You can go and see it for yourself."
Yolanda nodded.
Just taking a look. Those who choose to become traveling merchants are full of curiosity and adventurous spirit. She also wants to know what is so magical about the "Phaeton Forging World" that Fu Qinghai mentioned.
Fu Qinghai asked his men to send Yolanda back to the cabin to rest.
Then he looked at the greenskin who was tied up tightly.
As soon as Fu Qinghai turned his head, Qiao Shida kicked the orc pirate behind the knee, making it kneel down with a plop.
Fu Qinghai looked at the two-meter-tall green-skinned orc with interest. Its fangs on both sides were broken, there was a twisted scar on its face, and there was sparse hair on its head.
"Blood Axe Clan?"
Fu Qinghai asked.
The language used was Low German.
The orc knelt on the ground with his head raised and his chest puffed out. He looked like a piece of meat, and spoke loudly in a low Gothic language with a thick accent:
"That's right. We are the invincible and great Blood Axe Clan. I advise you to let me go now. Otherwise, the huge fleet led by our Iron-faced Marshal Skin will surely crush your tribe to the ground, what a shrimp can!"
"puff..."
Qiao Shida behind him couldn't help but laugh.
How do you manage to make such strong statements from such a humble position?
Fu Qinghai was somewhat speechless, waved his hands, and said,
"Don't talk to me about these useless bullshit. Let me ask you, what is your relationship with the dead war boss?"
"It's the captain, and I'm the first mate."
The orc replied.
"How long have you been operating in the Empire? Where did you get the intelligence for this looting operation? Who hired you?"
Fu Qinghai continued to ask.
The Bloodaxe Clan is a unique tribe among the Orc clans. As the first Orcs to come into contact with the Human Empire, they have learned many human tactics, traded equipment and vehicles with humans, and sometimes even acted as mercenaries for the Inquisition.
All these facts are enough to make members of other orc clans label them as "dangerous, treacherous, cowardly" and "not orc-like from head to toe". In fact, Bloodaxe is indeed the clan that can best judge the situation.
The technical priests studied the three orc warships, two of which were simple warships without warp engines installed. Without warp engines, it means that long-distance travel is impossible. This is not a border area, so how did the orcs get in?
Moreover, the Savage-class gunboat is a powerful and densely-fired Orc warship, but its range is short and its speed is not fast. The Orcs must have ambushed and attacked in advance. Yolanda confirmed Fu Qinghai's conjecture, which is also one of the doubts.
The orc raised his chin and answered:
"We are employed by the Evil Moon Clan. They provide us with axes, guns, and ships. We come to the Xiami Empire to plunder and share half of what we loot with them."
"You're lying!"
Fu Qinghai pointed out without hesitation.
He kicked over a metal box next to him. With a "crash", the lid of the box opened and a large amount of throne coins flowed out, piling up into a small slope on the steps.
"This is the box we found in your captain's cabin. If the Evil Moon Clan hired you, why are there throne coins inside instead of teeth?"
Fu Qinghai narrowed his eyes and looked at the orc and asked.
Orc teeth are the common currency in the Orc tribe. The Evil Moon Clan is the richest Orc clan because their teeth grow faster than others.
"Well..."
This orc was obviously not very good at lying. After being exposed by Fu Qinghai, he was stunned for a moment and didn't know what to say.
Qiao Shida pinched the orc's chin and twisted its face, then raised his hand and "slapped" two big ear sticks at it.
The orc's face was swollen after being slapped through his gauntlet. There were only two broken fangs left, which were broken off with the roots and flesh by Qiao Shida's two slaps. The orc gasped in pain, his whole face was numb, and blood mixed with broken teeth flowed down his face.
"Just answer whatever you are asked. Be honest."
Qiao Shida said indifferently.
"Well, I say, I say..."
The orc's eyes and nose were squeezed out by his swollen cheeks, and he mumbled incoherently:
"It's the Dunbar family in the Calixis sector. They provided us with intelligence information about the target of the robbery, including the route and firepower."
Oh, the Hive nobles cooperating with the orcs?
Fu Qinghai and Qiao Shida looked at each other.
"Ask Yolanda Atela if she knows this Dunbar family."
Fu Qinghai turned and said to Lin Yu.
Lin Yu went to the cabin on the lower deck and returned soon. He leaned close to Fu Qinghai and whispered,
"There is indeed a Dunbar family in the Calixis sector. They are wandering merchants, not hive nobles, and they are also trading partners of the Altaira family."
"interesting..."
Fu Qinghai touched his chin.
A Rogue Trader in league with the Orcish Pirates.
The Calixis Sector is not the garrison area or sphere of influence of the Brotherhood of God, and he doesn't want to get involved in such trivial and messy matters.
But it can be sold to the Inquisition as a favor.
"Take it away and lock it up. Don't kill it."
Fu Qinghai ordered.
If evidence is needed in the future, this orc will be the witness.
"You are the war boss in the shrimp can. I want to challenge you in a one-on-one duel. If I win, you have to let me go!"
The orc was still shouting as he was dragged away.
Fu Qinghai was too lazy to pay attention to it.
You can't even beat Joe Star, and you want to fight me?
You're dreaming.
Fu Qinghai looked at the Space Marine with his hands tied behind his back and his head lowered. His face was covered with scars, some of which had already scabbed over and some were still bleeding.
When Fu Qinghai was talking to other people, he just knelt beside them without saying a word, exuding an aura of decadence and desolation, and did not move at all, as if he was dead.
"Who are you, and why are you imprisoned in the Night Lords' bottom-deck prison?"
Fu Qinghai asked the Space Marine.
This was a prisoner that the Space Marines of the Brotherhood of God had found in a dungeon deep in the bottom cabin. When they first found him, he was almost dead and was so badly mutilated that he looked unrecognizable.
The man slowly raised his head, his long black hair wet with sweat and blood was messy and curled against his forehead. He grinned with cracked lips and said with a miserable smile:
"Hello, Qingshan Khan, I am Latani Kalamanda, former captain of the 17th Company of the Midnight Lords Legion."
Fu Qinghai frowned in confusion:
"You were a Night Lords captain, and they locked you up?"
Dirty blood and sweat stains covered the naked upper body of the Night Bat Warrior. From this tortured body, one could imagine what kind of suffering he had endured.
Latany Kalamanda opened his mouth, his teeth were incomplete, his gums were black and rotten, revealing the broken gums that were left after being violently destroyed. His tongue had been cut into several forked sections, and his speech was leaking:
"Haha... Ho, because I opposed the Primarch's actions, because I tried to stop them from launching a rebellion. Because they would rather serve Horus and the Sixteenth Legion as dogs, would rather draw their swords against their own blood brothers, and humiliate and torture them to the extreme, rather than be loyal to humans and the Empire. I am ashamed to be associated with these bastards."
A loyalist in the Night Lords.
Fu Qinghai understood, and he nodded:
"Qiao Shida, untie him, Camille, take him to the medical deck for treatment."
Qiao Shida was about to untie his tied hands, but Kalamanda shook his head, his face full of dejection, and refused:
"Treatment? What kind of treatment? I've become a horrible state, with my arm and leg tendons cut. How can I be treated? If you want to replace my limbs with those damn machines, you might as well kill me now. I've lived enough anyway."
Qiao Shida was displeased when he heard this. Ignoring Kalamanda's cries of pain, he lifted him up from the ground and dragged his broken body to the medical deck.
Camille followed behind slowly, saying:
"What I'm trying to say is that you have no idea about the concept of 'medical care', Captain Kalamanda."
Fu Qinghai shook his head and laughed, watching the three people leave.
…
Fu Qinghai and several of his men strolled in the corridor of the orc warship, looking at the sealed bags that filled the corridor, which were bulging as if they were filled with flour.
Fu Qinghai picked up a handful of powder that had leaked out, rubbed it between his fingertips, and asked,
"So, is this thing the main target of your interstellar trade this time?"
"Yes."
Yolanda Atela nodded and said:
"Wilson's Fire Pollen is only produced on the planet Icasos in the Calixis star region."
The planet Icasos is quite unique in the Calixis sector, as it is one of the few places in the sector where will-o'-the-wisp flowers can grow. The pollen of will-o'-the-wisp flowers can be extracted into a combat potion widely used in the Penal Corps of the Imperial Guard.
The Penal Corps, often referred to as the Sin Corps, is a special formation of the Imperial Guard, usually composed of criminals, mutants, people in debt, anarchists, and various other people who are classified as criminals.
This criminal corps, which has a complex source of soldiers, is very dependent on various combat potions. Without these combat potions, it is difficult to form combat effectiveness. In addition, many gangs and families in the hive city are also very interested in various combat potions.
Fu Qinghai stood up and said:
"If you have a sales network for combat potions, you should go to the Phaeton Foundry World. The combat potions produced there are no worse than the will-o'-the-wisp pollen. They even have more diverse functions and can be customized in flavor."
Fu Qinghai did not mention the side effects and addiction.
With the Penal Corps and the Hive Gang, who cares about side effects and addiction?
"Oh, really?"
Yolanda was obviously very interested. She walked with an elegant and jumping step, her long legs wrapped in hunting trousers, and followed Fu Qinghai into the main control room of the Onslaught-class assault ship.
How to deal with these three orc warships is also a problem.
Fu Qinghai has no interest in orc technology.
Can humans use the vehicles and guns of the orcs?
Of course they can, but once in the hands of humans, these crudely made gadgets often have various problems: jamming, bursting, flameout, overheating, smoking... In the end, they explode into a pile of scrap metal and smear your face with blood.
The technological creations of the orcs = 99% science and technology + 1% of "my thoughts", but it is often this 1% of "my thoughts" that becomes the key to their normal operation.
Fu Qinghai neither believed in Brother Gao Mao nor had the "power to think", so he had little interest in orc technology.
After the Beast War, the Mechanicus secretly took away the Orcs' Battle Moon for research. Thousands of years have passed, and the Mechanicus have not yet managed to create their own Battle Moon.
These three orc warships are really useless.
Keep it, you won't need it, throw it away, it's a pity…
Yolanda Altera was a woman who was good at observing people's words and expressions. She saw Fu Qinghai's dilemma and suggested,
"Khan, our Altera family is willing to purchase these three Orc warships. You can hide them in a nearby meteorite belt and recycle them when our family's fleet comes to the Misty Star Region again. We can still find some valuable items from the parts disassembled from the Orc warships."
This is a good idea.
Fu Qinghai didn't want to waste any more time, so he nodded and said,
"Okay."
I didn't discuss the price with Yolanda. After all, they were selling scrap. The three orc warships were just a bonus in this transaction. The subsequent opening of routes and long-term cooperation were the key points.
Fu Qinghai turned to the crew and instructed:
"Study how to fly the Ork warships and find a place to hide them in the planet's asteroid belt."
"That's right."
Fu Qinghai suddenly remembered something and stressed,
"Don't touch the big red button in the middle of the main console!"
......
Thanks to three book friends, Francis Zabi Gudazi, Low-key Qiu Ge, and gxjim, for their rewards.
According to the original novel, the Calixis Sector was established after the Angwin Crusade in M35, including the Forge World of Las. However, if the Calixis Sector is removed, the Vesper Region will be missing a lot of stories and settings. So I moved it forward, and I hope book lovers will be aware of this.
(End of this chapter)