Chapter 131: Chapter 132: Port Wander
Chapter 132: Port Wander
In the Expanse, Lucan still had Verre and Rebecca carrying out development. Of the habitable worlds required for the third game program, four had already been acquired. And the ecological circulation system obtained from the Stellar Pioneer could be used to stably terraform planets.
It had to be said that the System's requirement for "habitable" was very strict; just because humans could survive on a planet didn't mean it counted.
Some of the wastelands near the hive city on Agathos were already showing signs of life again. However, the process of transforming an entire planet would take a very long time. But as long as development proceeded steadily, unlocking the third program was only a matter of time.
A large number of void defense platforms were also being constructed outside The Maw. With a massive investment of resources, these defense platforms were sufficient to inflict a devastating blow on any enemy who dared to intrude into the Expanse.
And in these two years, fleets would even occasionally arrive at Footfall through The Maw and attempt to launch attacks.
However, in the face of the massive defense installations and the powerful fleet, the enemy fleets were all destroyed. And from the wreckage and the bodies of the enemies, it was clear that those people were all heretics who worshipped Chaos.
Lucan knew that the Chaos Gods were also trying to figure out his existence. Without dense Warp energy to work with, they could only rely on mortal followers.
Port Wander, a massive void station located on the border of the Calixis Sector in the Imperium's Halo Stars region.
Compared to it, Footfall in the Expanse was like a newborn child.
If Footfall was just a platform of chaotically stacked structures for travelers to temporarily rest, then Port Wander was a hive city standing tall in the void.
Its function was similar to Footfall's. If Footfall was the necessary path to enter Imperial space from the Expanse, then Port Wander was the distribution center connecting to the Expanse. Its initial establishment was also due to the discovery of the Expanse's warp routes.
However, the current state of Port Wander could not be described as good.
The total population within Port Wander was now less than 4 million, even smaller than Footfall's.
Battered and scarred warships were docked in the starport. Tech-Priests and workers were repairing these warships day and night.
And the void-farers' faces were also etched with exhaustion.
The legitimate rulers of the entire Port Wander were the Imperial Navy. The Navy occupied the central citadel in the heart of Port Wander, but other factions also occupied various districts of this hive-station.
However, the Imperial Navy, which should have been the most powerful force in Port Wander, was caught in a war of endless attrition. They didn't even have any more reinforcements coming.
Most of the Imperial Navy fleets had been redeployed to support more brutal war fronts.
And orders from the sub-sector capital, Malfi, were to continue to draw away the remaining warships and combat personnel from Port Wander.
This also meant that Port Wander was to be completely abandoned, along with all the Imperial citizens here.
For the past two years, more and more enemies had been trying to bypass Port Wander to enter the Expanse, as if something was attracting them.
Although the wealth within the Expanse was tempting, that was only relative. In terms of the scale of discovered star sectors, it was still far from comparable to the territory within the Imperium.
And as loyal followers of the God-Emperor, how could the Navy of Port Wander just watch them cross through The Maw? Although Port Wander intercepted a portion of the enemies, a considerable number of enemies still successfully passed through The Maw.
But the bad news didn't stop there. The long-term fighting had even attracted Ork fleets. These Orks, like sharks that had smelled blood, all swarmed over.
For a time, the battle became a three-way free-for-all.
And enemies continued to pour in, the Orks were endless, yet Port Wander could not obtain more support. Even the large number of Rogue Traders who had previously been present in Port Wander had been conscripted to transport supplies towards Scintilla and Cadia.
Otherwise, the fleets of these Rogue Traders could also have provided a large amount of support.
The Imperial Navy Rear Admiral here, Larrius, knew very well that if he were to leave, the people here would all be slaughtered by the xenos. The existing transport ships and fleets were simply incapable of taking everyone away.
Larrius Thann, the naval commander of Port Wander, roared furiously at his subordinate.
"By the God-Emperor! Those madmen of House Mand are still thinking about that little bit of profit at a time like this! Don't they know that if Port Wander can't be held, their losses will only be greater?!"
Looking at the document his subordinate handed him, Larrius couldn't believe it. This group from Mand, who styled themselves as bankers, actually dared to offer him a loan!
Port Wander was currently lacking everything. Not being a planet meant it had almost no local production of supplies; everything had to be supplied from the outside.
Weapons and equipment, personnel, materials for warship repair – House Mand was actually demanding he purchase them with Thrones at a price tens of times their original value. No money? No money was fine. All the Imperial Navy's assets in Port Wander could be used to offset the debt. They could also write an IOU in the Navy's name. The Mand Merchant House would take it all.
"Has there been any reply to the request for support sent to the Departmento Munitorum on Scintilla?"
"No. The Munitorum has rejected all our requests for supplies. They've even ordered us to immediately follow Malfi's previous orders and head to Malfi to assemble."
"How is that possible?! Do they just want to watch Port Wander be completely destroyed?"
What Larrius didn't know was that the crisis Port Wander was facing was just a small scene.
Throughout the entire Halo Stars region, it wasn't just Chaos, Orks, and Eldar; even the Necrons and Tyranids were making their own moves.
The loss or gain of Port Wander was insignificant in the face of the threats the entire sector was facing. And Larrius had also discovered that the fleets returning to Imperial space from the Expanse had almost completely disappeared.
Originally, Larrius could still obtain some supplies from these returning Rogue Traders. He had even heard from some Inquisitors returning from the Expanse that a Rogue Trader from a so-called Mongorte Dynasty was attempting to unify the forces within the Expanse.
It was this Mongorte Dynasty that was preventing other Rogue Traders from returning to the Imperium.
And the fleet from the Expanse should have arrived to fill the defensive void at Port Wander.
"This Mongorte Dynasty is also a bunch of selfish bastards! Not a single Rogue Trader is a good person!"
And House Mand had clearly received some information he didn't know about. They had him cornered, knowing he had no other choice.
They knew Port Wander was going to be abandoned, so they were doing everything possible to extract profit.
"These madmen who only see profit… do I really have to accept their demands?"
Larrius clenched his fists. Port Wander, which he had once held firmly in his grasp, was now being constrained by this scum.
House Mand also had an elite mercenary force here. And most importantly, Larrius had no idea where their supplies were hidden.
Port Wander, like a hive city, had countless secret locations where supplies could be hidden. Even Larrius couldn't find them.
But before Larrius could make up his mind, the alarms sounded.
"Enemy attack!"
"Enemy attack?! Who is the enemy? Pirates? Traitors? Or Orks?!"
"It's those Orks!"
"God-Emperor preserve us… it's these Greenskins again, truly endless. Have the soldiers prepare for battle!"
The weary soldiers once again boarded their warships. Larrius had agreed to House Mand's request. He couldn't be bothered with anything else and wrote an IOU in the Navy's name in exchange for material assistance. Otherwise, the soldiers wouldn't even have ammunition, and the macro-cannons needed by the warships would lose their supply.
Larrius could no longer be bothered with being held accountable by the Departmento Munitorum for doing this.
The members of the Mechanicus could have manufactured supplies, but without materials, they couldn't conjure them out of thin air.
They had to face the battle again even before the warships were completely repaired.
The Orks' scrap-ships were now swaying as they approached.
The engines at the rear of the ships spewed intermittent flames. The bridge didn't even have a decent viewport. It was a true mystery how these Orks could survive under these conditions.
But even if the warships were dilapidated, no one dared to underestimate the combat effectiveness of this group of Orks.
Ten scrap-ships charged straight towards Port Wander. And the remaining seven Imperial warships near Port Wander also began to detach from the dockyards. They did not leave Port Wander; the crew knew they didn't need to go out to meet the enemy. These Orks would proactively approach them. Then, they could use Port Wander's fixed defenses to fight against this group of Orks.
(End of Chapter)
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