Equipment Allocation

Facing this former Iron Warrior, now a Grand Commander of the Black Legion, Peter remained expressionless as he asked:

"I only want to know where our equipment is."

Valicar shook his head:

"Peter, if you want equipment from the Black Legion, you first have to tell me what you can bring to the Black Legion."

Peter stared into his former superior's eyes:

"Fifty-four brothers, one frigate, four transport ships, and over fifty thousand Auxiliary Army troops."

Valicar grinned:

"More men than I expected, but what are you doing with so many transports? Has my company adjutant become a Charter Captain and decided to go into shipping?"

Peter's reply remained cold:

"To carry the spoils, of course. If we're joining the war, naturally we expect to get something out of it."

Valicar snorted:

"Hmph! You should count yourself lucky you're meeting me. Anyone else would break your legs and throw you out. Other War Band Leaders would at least offer a few pleasant words and declare their loyalty."

"The fighting hasn't even started, and you're already thinking about loading up your spoils and sailing home. Has it never occurred to you that we could defeat that rotten Imperium and bring the entire galaxy under our rule?"

Peter answered without expression:

"You won't succeed, at least not this time. This lot is nothing but a rabble. Apart from the Black Legion's core forces, you have no other organized legions, let alone a Primarch commanding them."

Valicar immediately retorted:

"The age of the Primarchs is over."

Peter replied:

"But Primarchs can fight, and they have symbolic significance."

Then Abaddon's confidant let out a deep sigh:

"Peter, do you know something? Crassus was once the best company commander under my command. But I don't blame you at all for killing him. Your judgment at the time was correct. In a sense, you even saved my life."

Peter merely replied:

"I'm here to join the Black Crusade, not reminisce."

Valicar suddenly clenched his fist. This adjutant had angered him yet again:

"Enough! I'll assign you to my fleet. You can collect your equipment now. Get out."

Hearing the order, Peter replied:

"Yes, Battalion Commander Valicar."

With that, Peter turned and left, along with Anthony, another of the battalion commander's former subordinates.

After the three Forged Steel Brethren had left the hall, Valicar raised a gauntleted hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering to himself:

"We're no longer the Iron Warriors Legion, Peter, and I'm no longer your battalion commander."

Once he had calmed down, he pressed a communications button on his throne. When the connection opened, he issued an order:

"Dark Sage Alberto, increase the Forged Steel Brethren War Band's equipment allocation by one hundred percent."

Only two mechanical voices, one male and one female, came through the communicator:

"Confirmed. Understood."

After leaving, Peter and his companions followed a slave toward the Armoury. They passed through countless junctions in the Starport before finally arriving before a dark tech-sage.

The sage had replaced his entire lower body with tracks, making him look like someone squatting on a tank. But his body split in two at the waist, with a torso on either side, like conjoined twins concealed beneath two black robes.

The sage's two heads spoke in turn, one on the left and one on the right. Their voices sounded male and female, their rising and falling tones perfectly synchronized.

The Dark Mechanicus sage extended a mechanical tentacle from his abdomen and held a Dataslate out to Peter:

"Lord Peter, here is the list. You may choose equipment from it."

Peter took the Dataslate and began examining it. He had to admit that the selection was extensive, ranging from bolts by the crate to entire warships. Power Armour could be selected by the suit, while Bolter Guns, meltaguns... Thunderhawks, ground vehicle weapons, and vehicles offered an even wider range of choices.

Unfortunately, warships were something he could only look at. Those were reserved for War Bands numbering hundreds or even thousands. All these supplies came from Dark Mechanicus Forge Worlds serving the Black Legion. Abaddon was being so generous that Peter wondered whether he truly had such wealth or was merely putting on a show.

Peter also saw options for things tainted by Chaos, such as Helbrutes, Daemon Weapons, Hell Drakes, and Chaos Marks, but he ignored them all.

Peter handed the Dataslate to the Voidsmith beside him, and the two discussed their options. This was precisely why he had brought Filon along. With his advice, they could choose equipment that was easy to maintain and offered good value wherever possible.

Once they had finally made their selections, the sage opened the Armoury's Adamantium Gate under the protection of the surrounding Black Legion Space Marines. Biometric verification, electronic keys, the nearby Astartes guards, and Tarantula Sentry Guns ensured that no one could lay a finger on anything inside.

Sage Alberto's voice echoed through the Starport's Weapon Depot:

"Space Marines, you are about to embark on a new crusade against the followers of the Corpse Emperor. Today, you will receive your new equipment from my hands. This equipment will accompany you as you defeat the Imperium."

As the sage spoke, the adamantium doors slowly opened, revealing the equipment stored within. It gleamed coldly in the dim light, the culmination of the sages' wisdom and craftsmanship. Countless Chainsword Weapons, Bolter Guns, and Power Weapons lay quietly inside. Farther back stood Thunderhawks, Drop Pods, Leman Russ Tanks, Vindicator Tanks, and even Ironclad Dreadnoughts.

Of course, daemon-infused weapons and vehicles were stored elsewhere, and Peter had no interest in weapons tainted by chaos power.

As the transport Servitors entered, the hauling began.

Since they already had enough Bolter Guns, along with a bolt production line, Peter first selected ten Chainswords and ten Chain Axes.

Power Weapons were too precious, and what they needed now was more serviceable melee weapons for their Neophytes. A Monofilament Combat Knife or its extended version, the Combat Long Knife, was ultimately little more than a large strip of metal. They worked well enough against mortals, but against Astartes or armoured vehicles, Chainsword Weapons were needed to tear through the armour.

For Power Armour, they chose forty suits of MK5 Heresy Pattern Power Armour. This type of armour used rivets to crudely fasten adamantium and plasteel together. Its advantages were easy maintenance and better compatibility with other Power Armour patterns.

However, the Heretic Pattern had heat dissipation issues. Prolonged operation could cause the temperature inside the Power Armour to rise abnormally, though this was not a major problem. They could lower the Power Pack's output to reduce the heat, or simply endure it. After all, Astartes had a high tolerance for extreme temperatures.

The suits bore obvious signs of wear and repair. In particular, the countless rivets characteristic of the Heretic Pattern were not even uniform in style. Clearly, this equipment was all secondhand. Since it was being given to other War Bands, they would naturally keep the good stuff for their own people and give away the used equipment they had replaced.

For vehicles, Peter chose three Thunderhawk Gunships, also secondhand. After all, ground vehicles would be of little use in the coming war. Securing air superiority would give them a better chance of victory.

It was worth mentioning that, before leaving, they also helped themselves to a heap of battered Power Armour Parts. They were Iron Warriors, after all. With some repairs and patching, they might manage to cobble together another suit or two of Power Armour. Even if they could not, the parts would still make useful spares.

While bringing the equipment back to their ship, the three finally had a moment to spare, and Filon could not resist asking:

"Boss, do you know this Valicar from the Black Legion?"

Peter answered flatly. He knew it was a pointless question; Filon should already have known about this:

"He was the commander of the battalion I used to belong to. You should know that."

Filon did know. In fact, he had known who Peter's former battalion commander was back when he was still a Neophyte. He was simply curious about the company commander named Crassus.

But seeing his boss's stern expression and reluctance to say more, he did not dare ask further. At least they had secured a large haul of equipment this time, so the trip had yielded something.