At his signal, Szczesny began the briefing.
"My lord, I have conducted a thorough sweep of every deck. The warriors of the 4th Regiment are clearing the more secluded areas in squads."
"The 4th Regiment suffered a total of 184 casualties in this battle: 50 died in boarding accidents, and 134 were killed in combat."
Nimrod was not surprised. The Flao possessed considerable combat strength; had they not scattered and fled, the casualties would only have been greater.
A trapped beast still fought, but without a commander, it lost all coordination and organization.
"King Nimrod, Magos Kivior-9 has replied. The xenos cannon has tremendous research value, and he will come after the battle concludes."
"Wojciech and I inspected the xenos warship. While we cannot identify every control system, we can confirm that the ship remains operational for now."
After hearing the briefing, Nimrod issued his orders.
"Send a message to the ships of House Finde and House Kournikova. Include the encrypted identification rune and order them to find a way to restrain Boleslaw and capture Robert."
"If they require assistance, you will lead a team to resolve the matter."
Before the fleet set out, he had obtained encrypted runes from Howard and Yelena. Upon receiving them, the members of the two houses would act according to his orders.
After everyone withdrew, Nimrod went to the quarters of the Flao governor.
He had noticed earlier that the governor's bed was three and a half meters long, forged from purple alloy. It barely allowed him to curl up and sleep.
Nimrod slept for a while and recovered his spiritual energy. Just then, his communicator rang.
"King Nimrod, Magos Kivior-9 has arrived. Please proceed to the bridge to discuss the details of the transaction."
"Fine."
Nimrod strode back to the bridge and saw Kivior-9, dressed in red robes.
Like the other members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Magos could not restrain his curiosity about Nimrod's body. Through logical calculation, however, he had more quickly recognized that he lacked the ability to unravel the mysteries of the giant's form.
"The xenos cannon holds development value. On behalf of the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars, I will discuss cooperative development with you."
"Speak. What do you want?"
"Besides jointly developing it and sharing the research results, I also want the star chart data for every altar in the Vostonia System."
To navigate the vast universe without being like a blind man swimming naked, star charts were vital references.
Though interference from the Warp and countless other factors meant that star charts could not be relied upon completely, having a reference was usually better than having none.
"Your request is denied. The Vostonia star charts are the crystallized wisdom of countless servants of the Omnissiah, gathered over thousands of years."
"Under the principle of equal exchange, you may only receive the star charts for the two neighboring systems."
"No." Nimrod rejected the offer decisively. With complete confidence, he said, "This transaction is not equal. The xenos cannon is worth more."
"It can fire a pulse-energy beam. The Aetheric Field within that beam can ignore a ship's Void Shield and directly erode its hull. Its side effects can also overload a ship's shields."
"The entire Adeptus Mechanicus lacks cannon technology this advanced. By studying it, the servants of the Omnissiah will gain theoretical breakthroughs through entirely new understanding."
Nimrod spoke with certainty. He remembered that the future Tech-Priest Hieronymus Tezla had boldly analyzed a crashed Flao vessel in the Tamar Sector, then proposed his "Aether-Plasma" theory and gained immense prestige as a result.
That had only been a crashed ship. The battlecruiser he had captured retained more than 95 percent hull integrity, and the Aether Cannon in particular had suffered no damage whatsoever.
Kivior-9 remained silent for nine seconds before speaking.
"This unit requests an inspection of the cannon first, in order to determine its precise trade value."
"Please."
Nimrod did not mind. Compared with other races, the Flao's greatest advantage was their Aether technology. Not only could human Void Shields not withstand it, even Aeldari Holo-fields could not defend against it.
Engaging the Flao in void warfare was unwise. Nimrod remembered that, not long from now during the Great Crusade, Klen Ophion of the Night Lords Legion had attempted to bravely command his ship against the Flao while the fleet was withdrawing.
In the end, his ship, the Whisper of Slaughter, was destroyed. His captain forged fragments of its hull into a combat shield called Blood Shield, covered in malicious plasteel barbs.
Blood Shield was both a mark of Ophion's shame, mocking his bravery, and a cruel joke.
The more Kivior-9 studied it, the more he would come to understand its value.
"Wojciech, immediately draft the transaction documents according to what I just said."
"Four copies. Two for each side, written respectively in Vostonia Low Gothic and Lingua-technis."
"As you command, my king."
Wojciech immediately got to work, but Rosicky frowned.
As far as he knew, Nimrod had not even inspected the two flanks, yet he was somehow so certain that the Magos would accept the transaction.
It was even more incredible than Nimrod's judgment before the void battle. At least then, he had data to rely on.
An hour of ship time later, Nimrod received the contract from Wojciech. Using the Lawyer ability to pick it apart thread by thread, he found three loopholes and highlighted one key revision for further negotiation.
"The subject of the transaction is only the Aether Cannon. It does not include this ship."
Rosicky and Wojciech froze, then immediately understood.
"My king, the Magos will see through this. Are you certain?"
"It does not matter. Carry out my instructions."
Wojciech was a technical talent and did not understand negotiation tactics.
If they laid out every condition from the beginning, the negotiations might collapse outright. But once the other side recognized the value of the subject being traded and became determined to obtain it, they would be willing to pay a higher price.
The agreement was revised within ten minutes. Just as it was ready, Kivior-9 returned with his subordinates.
"I accept your terms. Now we will discuss the details."
"I have prepared an agreement. You may review it. If there are no issues, we will sign immediately."
At Nimrod's signal, Wojciech handed the Data Slate to the Magos.
Kivior-9 took it with a mechanical tentacle and quickly flipped through it.
"This clause must be revised. The subject of the transaction is the entire xenos warship."
No cannon existed independently, especially an Aether Cannon, which involved an entire complex system. Furthermore, the other modules of the xenos warship also held research value.
Once Kivior-9 and the Adeptus Mechanicus recognized its value, they were determined to obtain the whole warship.
Rosicky and Wojciech revealed expressions of as expected. A Logis would not overlook such an obvious logical loophole.
"If you want the entire ship, meet my demands."
"What do you want?"
"I am giving up one battlecruiser in exchange for another. That is fair, is it not?"
Rosicky and Wojciech could not help thinking at the same time: [A one-for-one exchange is certainly fair. The Adeptus Mechanicus would even profit from it, but Nimrod is also demanding the star charts.]
Seeing Kivior-9 hesitate, Nimrod smiled.
"Star charts can be copied. The servants of the Omnissiah lose nothing. Trading a ship that can be manufactured again and again for a xenos warship, while also acquiring new technology, is worthwhile."
Nimrod's Extraordinary Eloquence drew the Magos into a different chain of logic.
He fell silent for three seconds, then spoke.
"I accept your terms, but I have a condition as well."
"You must deal with those xenos Ravagers abandoned by Oceanic Movement within ten stellar days."
"I accept that condition."
Before you continue