Conquering the Dome

Facing the pressure from the Arbiter, Nimrod remained calm.

"I brought the Magneto Steelworks under my command not for my own sake, but for the Khanty-Mansi Dome, and even more so for you, Arbiter."

The young master of the Fender family wore an intrigued expression, while the Arbiter was so incensed he actually laughed.

"Don't spout nonsense, kid. You seized the steelworks for yourself, plain and simple. How could it possibly be for me?"

"Vostonia has been loyal to Mars for thousands of years. What do the followers of the Omnissiah value most? Efficiency is their primary consideration, am I not correct?"

Listening to Nimrod's calm and measured tone, Dimitrov's volatile temper gradually subsided, though he still did not understand what the boy's words had to do with him.

The Arbiter's tone softened slightly as he asked.

"You are right, but what does that have to do with you forcibly seizing the steelworks? And how is it for me?"

"The steel industry, where the Magneto Steelworks is located, is upstream of Forge D-46. Chandler, the management theorist of ancient Terra, long ago stated that controlling upstream enterprises allows for the optimal allocation of resources and increased utilization rates."

"Once my forge controls the steelworks, I can drastically improve efficiency. The Khanty-Mansi Dome will stand out among the many domes, and you will also enter the line of sight of the Tech-Priests."

Upon hearing this, Dimitrov fell into deep thought. All of Vostonia was ruled by nobles and Tech-Priests hailing from Mars; if he could gain the favor of even one Tech-Priest, he could ascend to the Upper Hive.

He remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Why you? Wouldn't it be better if I controlled it myself?"

Nimrod smiled confidently and replied.

"If you were to act yourself, Arbiter, it would inevitably trigger fierce resistance from the various factories, and you would lose a great deal of manpower."

"When I annex the factories, they will not immediately form an alliance; they will not expect me to have such a large appetite. By the time they react, the situation will already be set in stone."

"I have the ability to swallow all the factories, and I am the only one who can improve the efficiency of the entire dome."

Dimitrov looked at Nimrod, convinced by the boy's logic. He felt a sense of intense confidence radiating from him, as if the boy would surely achieve whatever he claimed, but remembering the instructions from Fender, he forced himself to find a reason to object.

"The rules cannot be broken."

"Not necessarily."

Nimrod instantly recalled the legal knowledge he had acquired upon consuming the potion, finding a precedent from Tezwork that he could cite.

"To my knowledge, thirty-eight years ago, the Kournikova family, without any precedent, launched a surprise attack and seized fifty-two chemical plants in the Upper Hive within nineteen work cycles. They ultimately won before the tribunal composed of nobles and the Adeptus Mechanicus, and have monopolized the chemical industry ever since."

"Furthermore, according to the Guide of the Omnissiah written by Sage Kivior, Chapter Eleven, 'Tezwork Governance Regulations,' Article Eleven, Factory Management Rules, Subsection Eleven: 'All past precedents of this Hive may be cited as a basis for judgment.'"

Although Vostonia had not yet joined the Imperium and the Administratum had not established a presence in Tezwork Hive, a unique decision-making body had formed locally due to the peculiar diarchy.

They inherited the arbitration system of ancient Terra and established an institution with the same name as the Administratum's judicial body—the Arbitration Court.

The members of the Arbitration Court were composed of nobles and Tech-Priests who resolved major issues, which in turn gave rise to special groups like lawyers.

This system, when extended to the Lower Hive, was simplified into the Arbiter acting as a sole judge.

The blonde noble stared intently at Nimrod. The precedents and subsections the boy cited were things only a high-ranking Hive lawyer would likely know, yet he was just a boy from the Lower Hive—how could he possibly know them?

Looking at his appearance, he doesn't look like a Lower Hiver at all, but he is still just a youth. Even a high-ranking lawyer from the Upper Hive would still be studying the basics at this age; it is impossible for him to have mastered the statutes to this degree.

Dimitrov's gaze was vacant; he wasn't even sure if the Guide of the Omnissiah contained that subsection. As an independent Arbiter, he only needed to grasp the rules at a surface level.

Just as he was pondering, he heard Nimrod speak.

"I believe this noble from the Upper Hive must be familiar with this regulation."

"Audacious! How dare you address his lordship directly by name! You should address him as 'My Lord'!"

"It is of no consequence," the young noble said, clapping his hands while looking at Nimrod with appreciation. "A brilliant argument, as sharp as the defenses I have heard from high-ranking lawyers in the tribunal halls."

"You have persuaded me. The steelworks you seized originally supplied raw materials to the Fender family; that was the purpose of my visit."

"When I heard that a boy ten years younger than me had achieved such results in such a short time, I decided to see you for myself."

"Now, your performance has left me impressed."

He turned his head to the Arbiter and said, "Dimitrov, give him a chance. I want to see how far he can go."

"As you command, My Lord."

Seeing Nimrod gain the favor of Lord Howard, the Arbiter's eyes were filled with envy.

Howard Fender turned back. "But I have one condition: I want to send an observer to stay by your side."

"Do not be in such a hurry to refuse. He will not restrict any of your actions; he is merely observing your capabilities. If you perform well enough, I will support your expansion in the Lower Hive, and perhaps even assist your ascent to the Upper Hive."

Nimrod pondered for a moment. He thought of the rare material known as a psyker crystal; outside of psyker artisans, only nobles and the machine-cultists were likely to possess them.

"Agreed, but I want one psyker crystal."

"You certainly drive a hard bargain," Howard said after a moment of silence. "No problem. But you must control all the factories in the Khanty-Mansi Dome within one month and increase production capacity by more than ten percent. Can you do it?"

"Certainly."

Seeing Nimrod so confident, Howard became even more curious. He said to one of his subordinates holding a plasma gun, "Yasin, you will follow him."

"As you command, young master."

Dimitrov said to Nimrod: "Congratulations, Nimrod. The Magneto Steelworks is yours, and you are authorized to annex all the factories in the Khanty-Mansi Dome."

The moment Nimrod heard these words, he felt his spirituality become much more vibrant.

[Hmm, by acting as a "Lawyer," gaining benefits, and receiving recognition from others, the digestion rate is significantly better than simply seizing benefits.]

Sixteen work cycles later, Upper Hive.

Howard Fender sat in his office, his brows furrowed tightly.

Just as he was deep in thought, the vox-intercom system inside his master-crafted power armor emitted a series of beeps. He connected the call, and the voice of his private steward came through.

"Master, Yasin has returned."

Upon hearing this, Howard's brows furrowed even deeper. The order he had given Yasin was to return and report only once Nimrod's mission had yielded results.

[Could it be that he has already seized control of all the factories in the dome? How is that even possible? It's impossible that he died; given the capabilities he displayed, he couldn't have failed. But how could it be this fast?]

"Send him in."

A moment later, Yasin hurried into the room.

"My lord, Nimrod has already seized control of all sixty-three factories in the Khanty-Mansi dome, and he has increased production capacity by fifteen percent."

Howard was stunned, taking several seconds to collect his thoughts.

"How did he do it?"

"My lord, his combat prowess can only be described as terrifying. Even if all of us whom you have personally trained were to attack him together, we would be no match for him."

"I suspect he is the product of genetic stimulants, perhaps even cultivated in an Adeptus Mechanicus gene-lab. In just over ten days, he has grown significantly taller. His combat style can only be described as art—precise, efficient, and lethal with a single strike..."

Yasin spoke incessantly, vividly recounting the entire process of how Nimrod conquered the dome.

Howard, who had been reclining in his leather chair, gradually sat upright, finally resting his chin on his hand to listen intently to his confidant's report.

"He possesses certain other traits as well. His speeches are highly inflammatory; those listless workers seem as if they've been brainwashed by him, full of vigor. Even gang leaders, after hearing his speeches, have brought their subordinates and factories to pledge their loyalty to him."

"However, he truly delivered. He standardized factory management, improved the efficiency of the entire production chain, and even ensured that both the workers and the thugs were well-fed."

"It's not just the workers; even those former gangland scum are strictly following his regulations. They are like..."

Yasin thought for a moment before finding an appropriate term from the vocabulary his master had once used.

"Those scoundrels have been reborn. I dare say that the Arbites' subordinates are no longer a match for Nimrod's men."

"He really did it."

Howard sat in a daze for over ten seconds, suddenly thinking of the dilemma he was currently facing.

[Perhaps he can help me solve my current trouble.]

He stood up abruptly and used his family crest—a red background embossed with a golden lightning bolt—to open a secret chamber. From a dozen or so psychic crystals, he took the largest one; it was a meter long with a cross-sectional diameter of ninety centimeters.

Howard Fender is the future First Captain of the Eleventh Legion, a character created by the group member "I Love Hot Pot and I Love Cold Drinks."