"Commissar Kester, this city has the best industrial foundation on Euronia III." Cornwall walked beside Kester through a factory.
Kester did not answer Cornwall immediately. He turned his head and exchanged a few words in a strange language with a red-cloaked figure beside him who was half man, half machine.
After several exchanges, he told Cornwall, "Priest Kater says your people show too little devotion to machinery. He has sensed neither the Euronians' respect for machines nor their faith in the machine spirit. That is why your industrial output is so poor."
Cornwall suppressed a twitch at the corner of his mouth. Those people from the Adeptus Mechanicus were all mad, but nothing good would come of opposing them. Better to swallow it and keep the peace.
"I am very sorry, Priest Kater. We are too far from the Imperium's core regions, so its glory has had less influence here. The Ecclesiarchy, the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the Departmento Munitorum have never invested in this place. Colonial development has relied entirely on funding from the nobility, which is why our industrial capacity has lagged behind."
The Adeptus Mechanicus priest named Kater offered no response to Cornwall's explanation. He simply stated his demands.
He wanted control over ten cities-absolute control. The Adeptus Mechanicus would be free to dispose of the mortals living there, enact laws, and manage every aspect of those cities.
When Cornwall heard the names of the ten cities, he could no longer maintain his practiced social smile.
Ten cities did not sound like many, but the value and revenue they represented were enough to make Cornwall's heart ache. Add the tangled interests involved, and his head began to ache as well.
Euronia III's industrial output was already low, and these ten cities accounted for a tenth of the entire