Chapter 21: A Good Product, Naturally, Needs Good Publicity
Inside a huge warehouse at the docks, the pirates of the Void Consortium had also received the news.
"He's insane! This Rogue Trader is insane! What the hell does he think he's doing?" Ryder Collins, the Void Consortium's leader in Footfall, said angrily.
"Boss, could they just be passing through?"
"Have you been hitting those trash chemicals too hard? This is damn well aimed straight at us!"
"Perhaps they just want to make a show of force? Retaliation because we refused him earlier?"
"Let's hope so… They don't know our real stronghold. Even if they wreck the public front to let off some steam, it doesn't matter. Also, tell the lads to get their gear out. If they really do find this place, we can't just sit here and wait to die. It's just one Rogue Trader. The Consortium has clashed with them before. We even dare to fight the Navy, let alone him!
Besides, this guy just went through a Warp storm; who knows how many of his crew are left alive? And his capital world is in civil war. No one will come to help him! Once he realizes he can't do anything to us, he'll try to negotiate!"
"But… that's a Rogue Trader… Are we really going to have a direct confrontation with him?"
"Are you a damn coward? A Grox has more courage than you! What kind of pirate are you with guts that small? Careful, or I'll send you to those Dark Eldar freaks."
"I won't dare again, Boss!" The pirate clearly cowered; he knew his boss was capable of such things.
Under Ryder's orders, one shipping container after another was opened. Lasguns and automatic weapons were taken out and distributed to the pirates. Among them were some Eldar shuriken weapons and even Igharian crystal grenades – these xenos devices would release exceptionally sharp crystal fragments upon explosion, their destructive power far exceeding normal grenades.
The pirates even took out a significant amount of carapace armor from the boxes – something not even fully supplied to the Astra Militarum, yet these pirates possessed a good deal, showing just how terrifying the profits of the Cold Trade could be.
Within the warehouse, there were also over a dozen xenos soldiers.
Kroot. This humanoid xenos species had the ability to consume their opponents to acquire their DNA traits and pass them on to the next generation. They were one ofthe few xenos warrior races that could be hired as mercenaries.
These dozen Kroot were from the Bloodhawk Clan and were elite, genetically improved over several generations. They possessed intelligence, excelled at hunting, and could use human weaponry while possessing strength and speed far exceeding ordinary humans.
Some Kroot, through genetic inheritance, could even achieve feats like briefly entering the Warp physically and returning unharmed to realspace.
Kroot, fully equipped combat servitors, and nearly five hundred pirates armed to the teeth – it was clear how much the Void Consortium had invested in their Footfall stronghold.
And Lucan's contingent, tipped off by Jae, was heading towards this very Void Consortium stronghold.
Lucan hadn't expected Jae to have an informant mixed in with the Void Consortium, who had even relayed their personnel and firepower deployment to him.
Jae had kindly warned Lucan that the two hundred men he brought might not be enough and asked if he needed reinforcements, even offering to have her own gang members join the fight. Unfortunately, Lucan directly refused all such offers.
What a joke! This was meant to be a product demonstration. If he needed help from other combatants, what would that look like?
The stronger the opponent, the higher he could raise his prices later!
He could take down daemons and psykers from the Warp, so why would he fear a bunch of pirates? If so, wouldn't his advanced technology from StarCraft be too pathetic?
And the group, making no effort to conceal their tracks, immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Various factions sent their representatives, eager to watch the spectacle. Even Tantos made no move to send his guards to prevent or mediate the conflict.
Lucan used his psychic senses to perceive the surroundings. Countless eyes were currently observing them from the shadows.
"A priest of the Ecclesiarchy? Those implants… a Tech-Priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Imperial Navy… that rank… a General? Oh? Even the Adeptus Arbites sent someone to watch? Tsk, tsk, tsk… that rosette hidden at his waist, an Inquisitor present in person. It seems many people are very curious about me. Alright, the audience is assembled; it's time to begin."
The Raiders ran swiftly, their combat boots clanging rhythmically on the alloy deck plates beneath, a sound like a death knell to those inside the warehouse.
Nearby civilians wisely dropped what they were doing and cleared the area, thinking it best to stay far away from a conflict between major players.
Seeing the huge warehouse ahead, Lucan knew he had reached his destination.
And the Void Consortium's lookouts on the periphery had long since reported the movements of Lucan's group back to their base.
"He actually found it? Damn it, how is that possible? Is there a mole?!" Ryder looked out through a hidden window, then scanned the underlings behind him.
"By the God-Emperor, Boss, don't look at me! I'm not the mole!!"
Just as Ryder was still considering whether Lucan would choose to fight directly or negotiate, a spike round gave him the answer.
"Madman! This Rogue Trader is a madman!! God-Emperor preserve us! Fight back! I don't care if he's a Rogue Trader! Take him down!!"
The onlookers outside probably thought similarly to Ryder. They all would have assumed Lucan would negotiate first, or use his status as a Rogue Trader to force the Void Consortium to submit and apologize.
No one expected Lucan to open fire immediately without a word.
Gang fights happened almost constantly in Footfall; even the deaths of a few "Kings of Footfall" wouldn't surprise the major powers.
But a large-scale, direct conflict involving a Rogue Trader in Footfall – that was exceedingly rare.
After witnessing Lucan's ruthlessness and directness, the crowd also saw the power of the CMC series power armor.
"Is that power armor? No, absolutely impossible! Even a Rogue Trader couldn't afford so much power armor! And these weapons, I've never seen them before! By the God-Emperor, is the Mongorte Dynasty about to strike it rich? Did they discover new lost technology?!"
Every observer was pondering this in their minds. Even the Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus could find no information about this equipment in their databases.
"/Lost_technology/Initiate_Explorator_Protocol/Knowledge_is_Truth/Seek_cooperation_Rogue_Trader/Acquire_relevant_technology/" one intoned in binaric.
The C-14 electromagnetic rifle demonstrated penetration comparable to a lasgun, but its rate of fire was something a lasgun couldn't even dream of matching.
And the terrifying sustained firepower of the Marauders' quad grenade launchers left a deep impression on everyone.
This was thanks to the ammo feeder on the back of the CMC-660 combat suit. It wasn't just a magazine; this feeder could also be loaded with raw materials to continuously fabricate grenades within, giving the Marauders uninterrupted suppressive fire capability.
The pirates in the warehouse were completely stunned for a moment. Their difficult return fire was blocked by the boarding shields held by the Raiders.
"Kroot! You took the money, now do your job!! Charge out there!!!"
One of Ryder's arms had already been shattered by a spike round. His pirates, even in carapace armor, couldn't withstand more than a few spike rounds. And the continuous, uninterrupted bombardment from the enemy's grenade launchers made him think they had deployed an armored detachment. Was this the firepower of just two hundred men?
The Kroot were professional. Even in this situation, they didn't flee. Regardless, they were qualified and excellent mercenaries.
Like geckos, the Kroot climbed towards the roof of the warehouse, then, with speed far exceeding humans, they launched themselves towards the foremost Marauders.
They threw down grenades, then tightly gripped their metal spears.
The weapons in their hands looked like primitive spears, but the spearheads had long been replaced with monomolecular blades. Just as these Kroot were about to use the spears that had killed countless enemies to take out the Marauders before them by surprise, they didn't know that they had already been detected by Lucan's psychic senses while they were climbing.
And as they leaped out, the warning systems within the combat suits alerted the Raiders inside at the first possible moment.
Half the Kroot died before they even landed. The rest, intending to fight relying on their superior strength, found themselves disastrously mistaken.
Although the Raiders' speed couldn't match the Kroot's, with the augmentation of their power systems, their strength was almost greater than even these Kroot, who had been enhanced over several generations.
(End of Chapter)