Seeking Sponsorship

"I'm afraid it'll be difficult for us to secure the Space Marines' assistance." Chen Xi did not hold much hope for the application to have the Deathwatch stationed here.

His original plan had been to use Gutierrez's status to apply for the establishment of a Watch Fortress, allowing the Deathwatch to maintain a long-term presence in this Sub-sector infested with xenos. That would have been somewhat easier to get approved than directly requesting a squad of Space Marines for Rostov II.

After all, if all they needed was a squad of Space Marines, Chen Xi could simply use his own pieces once his authority had risen.

"Indeed. Space Marines are needed everywhere in the Imperium. A frontier world like ours will probably have a hard time attracting any, and even the Deathwatch likely won't waste its precious manpower on a world with almost no value to the Imperium." Gutierrez did not object, even though it had been his suggestion. "Still, I think we should submit the application. You never know. Captain Titus should be serving in the Deathwatch around this time."

"It's worth a try. It would naturally be wonderful if we could get a Kill Team. If not, we'll have no choice but to wait until the Sisters of Battle have finished their training." Chen Xi rubbed his chin, then turned to the other two. "Mai Mai, Twilight, what do you think?"

"I think we could seek some sponsorship." Perhaps because of his role as a Rogue Trader, Mai Mai seemed to have adopted a more profit-oriented mindset. "The Sub-sector we're in is barren, but developing it would bring enormous profits. That would be immensely tempting to many individuals and factions."

"If we can secure a round of sponsorship from the sector, all our current problems will cease to be problems."

"After all, as long as we have money, can't the Adeptus Mechanicus handle most of what we need?"

For the Adeptus Mechanicus, whether you wanted to build a planet-scale forge complex, a super Hive City, or a colossal spaceport; adjust a planet's axial tilt or alter its orbit; or simply blow up a planet you disliked and turn it into mineral resources, they could do it—as long as you could pay.

"That is indeed an option, but considering all the circumstances, we'll need to be cautious in choosing our investors." Chen Xi did not oppose Mai Mai's suggestion, but he had his own requirements. "We can appropriately draw in sector nobles to invest. We must also maintain good relations with the Ecclesiarchy. As for the Adeptus Mechanicus... Mai Mai, what do you think?"

"I don't think we need to tell them about the Great Tomb here. After all, Seventeen, you said the Sarekh Dynasty isn't easy to deal with. If the Adeptus Mechanicus learns there's a Great Tomb here, I think they'll fight a major war over it." After giving it some thought, Mai Mai explained his plan. "We'll only tell them that there is a Necron tomb on Rostov II, then use that to seek sponsorship. Surely the Adeptus Mechanicus will be happy to put up some money to sponsor us, right?"

"The more likely outcome is that the Adeptus Mechanicus will assemble an expedition team, dig open the entire Necron tomb, take everything away, and leave us with a few scraps." Chen Xi shook his head. Sponsorship was not so easily obtained from the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Yet Mai Mai seemed very confident about this. He assured him, "I'm confident about that. Don't forget, I'm a Rogue Trader now. Even the Adeptus Mechanicus won't casually cause trouble on a Rogue Trader's territory, will they? Not to mention that this is the Coreworld of a Rogue Trader Dynasty."

"Borrowing a tiger's hide to make yourself look formidable? A Rogue Trader's influence depends on the strength of his Rogue Trader Dynasty. Are you planning to claim this Sub-sector as your dynasty's territory?" Chen Xi looked at Mai Mai, not expecting him to play it this way.

Rogue Traders enjoyed special privileges within the Imperium. Generally speaking, a powerful Rogue Trader Dynasty could even control more than a dozen Imperial Worlds. In a sense, they were the Warhammer 40K version of the East India Company.

And a Rogue Trader's strength was not measured by who had signed his Warrant of Trade or what powers it granted him, but by how much wealth and force he possessed as a Rogue Trader.

In this respect, Mai Mai was practically a complete novice as a Rogue Trader. Aside from a frigate, he had nothing.

However, Chen Xi was not worried about whether Mai Mai could accomplish what he intended to do. After all, every piece they had placed in the Warhammer world possessed a matching background and the corresponding abilities.

If a Rogue Trader was willing, even with nothing but a Warrant of Trade, he could still bring himself immense wealth and persuade others to invest in him.

Just as Chen Xi clearly possessed no talent for administration, yet after arriving in the Warhammer world, he had still been able to fulfill his role as governor.

Still, he reminded Mai Mai, "The Warrant of Trade in your hands should be enough to persuade all sorts of factions to invest in you. As long as you can secure enough sponsorship, we can order everything we need from the Adeptus Mechanicus."

"I don't intend to claim this Sub-sector as dynasty territory. I intend to use legitimate means to acquire the development rights for the entire Sub-sector, then seek sponsorship from the Adeptus Mechanicus." Mai Mai appeared exceedingly confident.

As an ancient technological religion originating from humanity's Dark Age of Technology, the Adeptus Mechanicus had followed the Emperor across the galaxy during the Great Crusade Era. Over ten thousand years, they had collected an immense amount of human technology from before Old Night, then spent another ten thousand years quietly conducting research. The treasures in their hands were beyond ordinary imagination.

Contrary to what many people imagined, the Adeptus Mechanicus did indeed rely on archaeology for technology and on kowtowing for repairs, and it was indeed a religious organization. But that did not mean it conducted no research and relied entirely on archaeology for every advancement.

Although technological progress was extremely slow for various reasons—one could even say it had been steadily regressing—the Adeptus Mechanicus had still researched a great many things over the years and invented quite a few as well.

Dora Caur had single-handedly updated the entire armament system of the Space Marines and had even dug volkite weapons back out of old records. Those achievements had come from research, not archaeology.

The reason people had this misconception was mainly because humanity's development during the Dark Age of Technology had once been too rapid, reaching heights that the modern Imperium of Man could scarcely even hope to match.

Then, during Old Night, humanity's original civilization collapsed. Colonies were scattered across the galaxy, technology regressed and decayed severely, vast amounts of knowledge were lost, and the overall technological system fell apart. That was why the Imperium of Man had to rely on archaeology for technology.

After all, the things excavated through archaeology were genuinely useful! The Astronomican, the Golden Throne... those were all ancient creations of the Dark Age of Technology.

It was precisely because of this that many people considered the Adeptus Mechanicus barbaric and primitive. In truth, though, those Tech-priests and gearheads possessed technology so advanced it was terrifying.